Little Zakiah Lorde, who was struck by a falling tree branch on Wednesday, was fighting for her life at the Scarborough General Hospital last night because doctors there have not yet been able to stabilise her so she can be transported by air ambulance to Trinidad.

Lorde suffered multiple fractures about her body and severe head injuries, resulting in swelling and bleeding in her brain, after she was pinned under the branch. The branch fell from a nearby tree which was being cut by a crew from the Tobago House 0f Assembly. Lorde, a Black Rock Government Primary School student, was outside her Hopeton Road, Black Rock home getting ready to head to school at the time.

In a statement yesterday, the THA’s Division of Infrastructure, Quarries and the Environment expressed deep regret over the incident and promised to launch an investigation.

“Preliminary reports reaching the Administrator indicate that a team dispatched to the area was in the process of cutting overhanging trees. As a result, the Office of the Administrator has launched an investigation into the matter...Moreover, the Division has initiated an immediate review of its safety procedures and protocols in an effort to mitigate against these types of incidents,” the release said.

The division said it had been in contact with the family and will continue to provide support during this difficult period, while arrangements are being made to provide counselling for the employees involved in the incident.

A lawyer representing six members of Pan Trinbago’s central executive who were ousted from the organisation last month, yesterday sought to stop an alleged move by the organisation to hold a special convention.

As members of the organisation gathered at the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) Hall in Port-of-Spain yesterday, attorney Farid Scoon arrived to serve them with an injunction granted by High Court Judge Ronnie Boodoosingh two weeks ago.

The injunction bars the interim committee, which was appointed by a large group of members after they voted to remove the executive members last month, from meeting and making any decisions in relation to the organisation. The injunction will last until the former executive members’ lawsuit before Boodoosingh is determined.

But Scoon was greeted by a group of boisterous band members and there was a brief verbal exchange.

In a telephone interview afterwards, Scoon said the exchange was not as bad as it initially appeared to onlookers.

“Somebody threw beer on me but other than that it was just loud talking,” Scoon said.

After Scoon left, former Pan Trinbago president Keith Diaz, who stepped down last month and was given a spot on the interim committee, was seen sitting outside.

While the media were barred from going inside, several members said the meeting was not a special convention as initially alleged, but rather a general meeting for a group of members.

“They are just looking to inform the members of what happened in court and what it means for the organisation,” one member, who asked to remain unidentified, said.

The group of ousted executive members consist of secretary Richard Forteau, treasurer Andrew Salvador, PRO Michael Joseph, external relations officer Darren Sheppard and trustees Allan Augustus and Trevor Reid.

In addition to Diaz, they are also suing Gerard Mendez and Marie Toby, who chair the organisation’s Northern and Tobago Zones respectively.

Mendez and Toby were chosen at the meeting to be part of the caretaker committee that was meant to oversee the organisation’s operations until an election due in October.

The group of former executives is claiming that the extraordinary meeting, in which they were purportedly removed, was illegal.

According to his affidavit filed pursuant to the claim, Forteau is claiming that while the organisation’s constitution requires that he (the secretary) facilitate such meetings, he was excluded from the process. He also questioned whether there was the appropriate quorum of members to requisition the meeting.

The constitution requires that 60 per cent of the membership (122 out of 204 steel bands) is required to call for such a meeting, but Forteau claims only 85 bands were represented in the requisition that was sent to Diaz last month. Forteau also alleged that from his analysis, some of the signatures on the requisition were from two delegates from the same band, but that such a move is illegal as each band is allotted one vote.

During the application for the injunction earlier this month, the organisation’s lawyer Frederick Gilkes submitted that Diaz had no choice but to call the meeting, as he did not have a discretion once he received the requisitions from sufficient members.

University of T&T president Sarim Al Zubaidy has been given a deadline of 3 pm today (Friday) to respond to the trade union representing the retrenched lecturers of the university’s Centre for Education Programme (CEP) or “face the courts.”

In a letter dated yesterday to Al-Zubaidy, Sanctuary Trade Union head Devant Maharaj also renewed the call to have the dismissal letters revoked, immediately reinstate them, award damages and legal costs incurred and cease any action aimed at the dismissal of employees pending discussion with the employees and their trade union representatives.

The letter said Al Zubaidy’s actions had resulted in “extreme hardship upon the dismissed employees.”

“It is incomprehensible how persons of a reputable organisation like the UTT can be fully aware of their employees’ plight and yet still adopt the cold-hearted position that they are continuing with termination.

Social conscience dictates that the employees ought to be reinstated in their respective teaching positions,” Maharaj said in the letter.

The letter said should Al Zubaidy fail to take the necessary steps and/or fail to respond favourably by 3 pm today, the affected employees will resort to the courts to enforce their rights against UTT. Maharaj claimed the retrenched employees said they were blindsided, as no indication was given to them that dismissals would have started last Friday.

The dismissed workers continued their silent protest for a second consecutive day yesterday but were still not met by any Government Minister on the issue.

On Wednesday, the retrenched lecturers held their first protest outside the Education Ministry’s St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain head office. They claimed that Minister Anthony Garcia refused to meet with them.

Yesterday they started off their day outside of the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair at 8 am. They then shifted to outside the Diplomatic Centre and official residence of the Prime Minister in St Ann’s, after they got wind that a Cabinet meeting was underway.

However, the group left disappointed shortly after 3 pm when no feedback was given as to what transpired in the meeting, although Garcia said he would have discussed the issue with his colleagues.

Meanwhile, in an open letter to UTT’s programme head for CEP, Dr Judy Rocke, the dismissed workers said they were given no indication at their last meeting that dismissals would start on May 11. They also asked how many more dismissals were planned. The letter also questioned the criteria given for selecting persons for retrenchment.

The letter stated that the dismissed lecturers have been blocked from UTT communication apparatus and some students still have to get coursework feedback. “How are these student issues to be sorted out?” the letter stated.

Meanwhile, a group of students who went to Corinth on Wednesday for Science and Math classes allegedly had no lecturer. This situation, the T&T Guardian was told, has been occurring since Monday. The students claimed no one contacted them about changes in their courses or instructors.

Attempts to contact Rocke and Al-Zubaidy for comment yesterday were unsuccessful as calls went unanswered.

Cabinet has instructed the University of T&T to explain to the public the process that was undertaken to arrive at the decision to dismiss staff. This decision was taken after Education Minister Anthony Garcia met with his Cabinet colleague on the issue yesterday.

In a release, the ministry said: “While the Cabinet is aware and understands the need for this move, the UTT must be given the opportunity to fully elaborate on the process that was followed to the public.”

It was also noted that all retrenchment letters that were distributed last Friday remain valid and on the matter of halting the issuing of the remaining termination letters, Cabinet said it has left it to the university to decide when it will continue with the process.

“The Ministry of Education has now sufficiently ventilated, mediated and addressed concerns of all parties involved and will be stepping out of the day to day involvement in this issue,” the release said.

Garcia indicated that “UTT is capable of handling this process and looks forward to the university strengthening its human resources while maintaining service excellence to its major stakeholder, the students.”

He said the ministry will continue to monitor the process to ensure that no student is adversely affected. 

Marijuana has long been used to treat cancer cells and when Ms Patsy (not her real name) was diagnosed with inoperable cervical cancer she decided to take some advice and treat the cancer with marijuana.

After buying a few ounces of the herb, Patsy soaked the marijuana buds in alcohol and boiled it for 20 minutes in a rice cooker. Daily doses, she believes, caused her cancer to go into remission.

In an interview yesterday, a senior pharmacologist said because marijuana is still illegal, many people who use the herb for medicinal purposes do so secretly without advertising its success. She said research has shown that marijuana extracts kills cancer cells.

“It can also be used to treat a range of illnesses including Parkinsons disease, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV, chronic pain and Alzheimer’s disease but there is a stigma to it,” the source said, adding that a statement by Health Minister Dr Terrence Deyalsingh not to endorse medicinal marijuana was “close-minded.”

“Marijuana could help so much people. Apart from stemming the growth of tumours, it can also fight pain causing inflammation.”

Pharmacist at Valini’s Drugmart Sarah Balkaran said she supported a call by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to have a referendum on the legalisation of medicinal marijuana.

“People who suffer with chronic ailments can use it. Lots of research has been done about it and it is something that we could explore,” Balkaran said. However she said there was a risk of marijuana abuse if it is legalised.

“I am concerned that doctors will be able to prescribe it to anyone and people could easily misuse it for other reasons apart from medicinal purposes,” Balkaran added.

Nazma Muller, who has been petitioning for the legalisation of marijuana through her group T&T advocacy group the Caribbean Collective for Justice (CCJ), said a referendum made no sense as the laws existed allowing the Minister to issue licenses for the sale and distribution of cannabis.

“The minister says he is not endorsing it. Has he done his research? Just google cannabis and you will find articles on the therapeutic benefits. The cannabis regulates all kinds of disease. Dr Raphael Mechoulam is the world’s foremost cannabis researcher and he says there is a strain of cannabis that can cure any disease known to mankind. The World Health Organisation has looked to change the categorization of cannabis. Research is going on right now at the UWI about the health benefits of cannabis,” Muller said.

She said that there was a reluctance to legalise marijuana because multinational corporations which rake in billions on man-made drugs will lose if medicinal marijuana was legalised. Deyalsingh said Under the Dangerous Drugs Act or Food and Drug Act, anybody can make any application to bring in any drug. It is then adjudicated upon by the Drug Advisory Committee, who then advises the Minister of Health.

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

Under Section 4 of the Dangerous Drugs Act the Health Minister may, subject to regulations made under Section 57, “issue licenses for the import, export, diversion, sale, manufacture, production or distribution, at a stated place, of any dangerous drug” or “issue licences for the cultivation, gathering or production, at a stated place, of opium poppy, marijuana, or coca plant”.

Under Section 57 (b) of the Act the Health Minister may make regulations “for the use, purchase, sale or possession of any dangerous drugs for medicinal or scientific purposes.”

MORE ON MARIJUANA

Marijuana has over 100 cannabinoids. Currently, the two main cannabinoids from the marijuana plant that are of medical interest which are marijuana chemical cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana’s main mind-altering ingredient that makes people “high.”

Spanish microbiologist Dr Christine Sanchez who explored the antitumor effects of marijuana wrote, “Cannabidiol, or CBD, which does not have a psychoactive effect, has long been known as a potent anti-cancer agent because of its ability to interfere with cellular communication in tumors as well as in its ability to instigate apoptosis (programmed cancer cell death). Studies have also been conducted on the combined effect of CBD and THC on lung, prostate, colon, pancreatic, liver, bladder, cervical, blood-based, brain, and other forms of cancer. These studies lend increasing evidence to the fact that cannabinoids are not only antioxidant phytonutrients but powerful “herbal chemo” agents.” See https://herb.co/marijuana/news/dr-christina-sanchez-cannabis-cancer.

Caribbean Nitrogen Company (CNC) expects lower profits due to higher costs and the shortage of natural gas. According to CEO Jerome Dookie, T&T is no longer an attractive location for investors in the petrochemical industry.

Dookie, who spoke during a media conference and tour of the Point Lisas plant yesterday, Dookie said while CNC’s parent company, Proman Group, of Germany, is not likely to make new investments in over the short to medium term, it will upgrade and maintain its current assets. He said there is not enough gas to meet overall demand, so it would be illogical for companies to be lining up to build new plants.

“I think that capital will always follow where investments return and in terms of new projects being built, Trinidad and Tobago is no longer an attractive destination because the feedstock availability is questionable and the pricing is higher. Certainly in the US now where there is shale gas, it is a preferred destination for capital, so for new construction projects here there is no sense of attractiveness in this jurisdiction,” Dookie said.

However, he added, given the number of assets and size of investments Proman has in T&T, there are opportunities to build on.

CNC was forced to shutdown last January when its gas supply contract with the NGC ended and the companies failed to reach a new agreement. Close to 400 employees were temporarily laid off. However, in April, a new agreement was finalised with CNC paying a higher price for its supply from NGC.

Dookie said this increase in cost will affect the company’s profitability but offered no further details.

The Proman Group operates 14 plants in T&T and employs more than 850 people.

From Monday, its Nitrogen 2000 Unlimited plant undergo a turnaround at a cost of $110 million.

The group is also undertaking its first upstream petrochemical project with construction of DeNovo Energy’s gas processing plant at Point Lisas Industrial Estate. DeNovo Energy operates Blocks 1(a) and 1(b) in the Gulf of Paria and first gas from its Iguana field is expected later this year.

Negotiations are ongoing for the gas supply as Government has not approved DeNovo Energy’s plan to sell directly to its sister company, Methanol Holdings Trinidad Ltd. (MHTL). T&T’s upstream companies are not allowed to sell gas directly to downstream producers and must sell to the National Gas Company.

Declaring zero tolerance on corporal punishment, Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis is reminding all teachers in the nation's schools that it is illegal to physically punish students.

His comments came a day after a Penal grandmother complained that her grandchildren were struck by their teachers in separate instances for dropping a book on the floor and for going to the wash-room without permission.

In an interview, Francis said the Ministry's position was clear.

"The Ministry does not condone corporal punishment and teachers know that it is against the law to hit students. Francis, who spent most of his years in academic teaching said he never believed in administering corporal punishment. 

"There comes a time when the child becomes unconcerned about being hit. It does not work except to harm the child. There are other ways you can discipline a student. My experience is you empower the child and build a relationship with them. You motivate them to do what is right and if you are successful in empowering them, they will do what is right," Francis said. He added that rebellious children is not necessary a bad thing.

"Students should ask questions and challenge their teachers intellectually. It is how the teacher reacts to this challenge is what is important," Francis said.

He noted that he did not have any information about the incident at the Penal school but noted that the matter is now under investigation.

Francis also said that the Student Support Services will provide counselling to the pupils if needed.

Meanwhile, the grandmother said a schools supervisor contacted her yesterday and requested that she file an official report about the incident to the Ministry of Education on Monday. She said the official advised her against going to the principal for a meeting. The grandmother said she was relieved that the Ministry was investigating the complaint adding that it was not the first time that a teacher had beaten students.

She said the children were being physically disciplined for no good reason adding, "it is time that teachers realize hitting students is against the law."

On Wednesday, a nine-year-old girl told her grandmother that she needed to use the washroom and her teacher was not in class so she went because it was an emergency. When she returned the teacher struck her on the hand and said she was not to leave without his permission.

The grandmother said a year ago, the teacher forced the child to stay back after school causing her to miss the bus. The child was forced to walk home afterward. The grandmother accused the teacher of putting her child's life in danger by letting her walk home.

MORE ABOUT CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

In February of 2001, the then Education Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar pioneered legislation which led to a ban on corporal punishment in schools. The National School Code of Conduct (2009) of the Ministry of Education states that corporal punishment should not be used. According to the United Global Initiative: “Corporal punishment of children breaches their fundamental human rights to respect for human dignity and physical integrity. Its legality in almost every state worldwide—in contrast to other forms of inter-personal violence—challenges the universal right to equal protection under the law.” 

Article 4 of the Children Act 2012 confirms the right of parents, teachers and other persons having lawful control of a child or young person under the age of 16 years to administer “reasonable punishment” but excludes corporal punishment from this only for persons other than parents or guardians. 

Police are investigating whether a wrong turn into a community rife with gang violence led to the murder of a 49-year-old coconut wholesaler on Thursday night.

According to reports, shortly before midnight Ramesh Ramoutar and his 31-year-old friend Kerron Rampersad, both of Farm Road, St Joseph, went to meet a friend at a liquor mart at Richard Lane, Cunupia, but got lost and took a wrong turn into Howard Drive, a narrow dead-end road.

As Rampersad was attempting to reverse, however, they were ambushed by a group of gunmen who shot at the car before running away.

Rampersad, who was shot once in his left leg and grazed on his arm, still managed to manoeuvre out of the road and drive to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope.

Ramoutar, who sustained several gunshot injuries, was pronounced dead on arrival. Rampersad was treated and later gave an account of the incident to police when they arrived at the hospital yesterday. The vehicle was impounded for ballistic testing.

When a news team from the T&T Guardian visited Ramoutar’s community yesterday evening, his friends and relatives had already gathered for his wake.

They suggested that Ramoutar was attacked by the gang members because they mistook him for a member of the rival Rasta City gang, based on his hairstyle.

“He was at the wrong place at the wrong time but he was a good boy,” one man said.

“Somebody pick him up to go with him to check his girlfriend and I don’t know where they went for this tragedy to happen,” another said.

They also described his death as a major loss for the community.

“He was one of the few persons in Bangladesh that a youth could come to and get a juice or a hot dog,” he said.

However, homicide detectives are also exploring the possibility that the men went to the area to engage in a drug deal that went sour. A concrete motive for the incident is yet to be established.

Ramoutar’s killing raised the murder toll for the year to 206. He was the second businessman working in the coconut industry to be murdered this month, although both incidents are not connected.

On May 2, Narendra Sahadeosingh, of Syne Village, Penal, was murdered while plying his trade in Debe. Sahadeosingh and a worker were offloading his truck when a car drove by and the occupants shot at them. Sahadeosingh was killed but the 17-year-old worker survived.

Investigations are continuing into both incidents.

Come and pick up your son. He is sleeping and he can’t wake up.

This was the message given to the father of 28-year-old Uber driver Christopher Mohammed hours before his body was found by police after an apparent carjacking on Thursday.

Speaking with reporters at the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday, Mohammed’s father Kayam said he received the sinister cryptic response from a woman who answered his son’s phone after he went missing for several hours. Kayam explained that the last time he saw his son alive was when he left their Arima home that morning to go to work.

Mohammed, a deckhand and chef with an offshore drilling company, worked part-time as an Uber driver.

Kayam said he and his wife became worried after their son failed to call or return home at his regular time. After several failed attempts to call him, the strange woman, who only identified herself as Anne, answered.

“She said to come and get your son and that he sleeping and can’t wake up,” his emotional father said.

“I tell her madam, just give me directions to come and pick up my son. She said when you reach St James call me and I would give you the directions,” he added.

He said he followed the instructions and the woman gave him directions to a location at Bournes Road in St James. While on the way, he stopped when he saw a large group of people surrounding an empty lot along Mucurapo Road. He had no idea that police had just found his son’s body.

An autopsy performed at the centre showed Christopher died from several gunshot wounds. His car was found abandoned in Blue Basin, Diego Martin, yesterday morning and was impounded by investigators for forensic analysis.

In addition to attempting to trace the caller through the phone’s GPS system, homicide detectives also contacted the United States (US) transport network company Uber Technologies Inc for information which could be used to piece together the incident.

Police sources said the company may be able to provide information on Mohammed’s last trip and the customer who utilised the service, in order to determine if he was lured to his death using the popular application or if it was a random carjacking.

In a press release issued yesterday afternoon, the San Francisco-based company said it had already established contact with investigators.

“We are proactively communicating with the authorities to provide them with any information they need,” Uber spokesperson Julie Robinson said.

“At Uber, we are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Uber driver, Christopher Mohammed. We offer our deepest condolences and prayers to his family during this difficult time.”

Mohammed’s father said his son had worked intermittently with the company since it launched in T&T last January. Mohammed stopped for a while and only resumed after he purchased the vehicle last month.

He said Mohammed had not gotten around to installing a GPS security system in the car.

He said his son was an avid footballer and would try to play every afternoon after work.

“After work, he would just come home and go and play football with his cousin and two friends. He used to play football every evening since he was in Hillview College,” he said.

Mohammed is the second past pupil of the school to be the victim of a violent crime this week. On Monday, Scotiabank employee Rostan Mahabir was shot during a robbery in front of his workplace in San Fernando. He survived but remains warded in a stable condition. (See Page A5)

Past students took to an alumni Facebook page yesterday to express shock over the incident and send condolences to his family.

“So brothers. We need to do something to raise awareness, get people into self-defence etc. Any ideas welcomed. It’s about time we look out for one another. RIP Christopher Mohammed,” one user posted.

Detectives of the Region One Homicide Bureau are continuing investigations.

ABOUT UBER

Established in California in 2009, Uber now operates in 633 cities worldwide. The technology platform connects drivers, who are independent contractors, with riders.

After a rider makes a request, they have to wait for it to be accepted by a nearby driver. It gives you an estimate of the time the driver would take to reach your location as well as alerts the user as they are about to arrive.

It also provides a user with information on the driver including name, vehicle type, license plate number, with photographs of the driver and their vehicle.

The service is completed after the rider exits the vehicle at their final destination.

It is a cashless system, with the fare being automatically calculated and charged to the payment method linked to their Uber

Declaring zero tolerance on corporal punishment, Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis yesterday reminded all teachers in the nation’s schools that it is illegal to physically punish students.

His comments came a day after a Penal grandmother complained that her grandchildren were struck by their teachers in separate instances for dropping a book on the floor and for going to the washroom without permission.

In an interview with the T&T Guardian, Francis said the ministry’s position on corporal punishment was clear.

“The ministry does not condone corporal punishment and teachers know that it is against the law to hit students,” he said.

Francis, who spent most of his years in academic teaching, said he also never believed in administering corporal punishment.

“There comes a time when the child becomes unconcerned about being hit. It does not work except to harm the child. There are other ways you can discipline a student,” Francis said.

“My experience is you empower the child and build a relationship with them. You motivate them to do what is right and if you are successful in empowering them, they will do what is right.”

He added that rebellious children are not necessarily a bad thing.

“Students should ask questions and challenge their teachers intellectually. It is how the teacher reacts to this challenge is what is important,” Francis said.

He noted that he did not have any information about the incident at the Penal school but noted that the matter is now under investigation.

Francis also said the ministry’s Student Support Services will provide counselling to the pupils if needed.

Meanwhile, the children’s grandmother said yesterday that a schools supervisor contacted her yesterday and requested that she file an official report about the incident to the ministry on Monday. She said the official also advised her against going to the principal for a meeting.

The grandmother said she was relieved that the ministry was investigating the complaint, adding that it was not the first time that a teacher had beaten students. She said the children were being physically disciplined for no good reason adding, “it is time that teachers realise hitting students is against the law.”

On Wednesday, the woman’s nine-year-old granddaughter told studentsher that she needed to use the washroom and her teacher was not in class, so she went because it was an emergency. When she returned, however, the teacher struck her on the hand and said she was not to leave without his permission. The grandmother said a year ago the same teacher also forced the child to stay back after school, causing her to miss the bus and having to walk home afterwards. The grandmother accused the teacher of putting her child’s life in danger by letting her walk home.

The issue was also raised in Parliament yesterday, where Government Senate Leader Franklin Khan told UNC’s Wade Mark the incident was being investigated, “following which (probe), appropriate follow-up action will be taken if necessary.”

MORE ABOUT CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

In February 2001, the then Education Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar pioneered legislation which led to a ban on corporal punishment in schools.
The National School Code of Conduct (2009) of the Ministry of Education states that corporal punishment should not be used.
According to the United Global Initiative: “Corporal punishment of children breaches their fundamental human rights to respect for human dignity and physical integrity. Its legality in almost every state worldwide—in contrast to other forms of inter-personal violence—challenges the universal right to equal protection under the law.”
Article 4 of the Children Act 2012 also confirms the right of parents, teachers and other persons having lawful control of a child or young person under the age of 16 years to administer “reasonable punishment,” but excludes corporal punishment from this only for persons other than parents or guardians.

Shelly-Ann Anganoo is serving a sentence for killing a teacher outside of school when she was 18 years old, but yesterday she returned to school to urge pupils to choose peace instead of violence.

Anganoo was one of several speakers who participated in the Central Division’s Student Empowerment Caravan at the Couva West Secondary school.

Giving a heartfelt testimony, Anganoo recalled how she never listened to her mother and how she went into a life of crime because she was trying to fit in. “I was not smart enough to say no. I was skipping school, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. At the age of 18, I was sent to prison for murder. I could have been sentenced to hang,” she said.

Instead of the death sentence, Anganoo said she was given a second chance and she used her time in prison to write and pass eight CXC subjects and three A Levels.

Anganoo was sentenced to 20 years hard labour for the murder of school teacher Ralphy Ramcharan on March 25, 2003, at Barataria. She was not a pupil at the time and had met Ramcharan at a bar.

Also speaking at the function was Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy Monica Morse, who urged pupils to stop bullying.

“As a child my dad attempted suicide and I became a target. Later I married a man who bullied me, but I found a way to break the cycle. I was a victim but now I am a survivor! I am a champion,” Morse said to loud applause.

She said she managed to break the cycle by developing self respect and respect for others.

“I found self love and so I developed self respect. I also developed respect for others. Tearing people down is never a good thing,” Morse said. Central Division ACP Patsy Joseph also urged the pupils to stay on the right side of the law, while sensei Marva John Logan said sports can be used as a positive alternative to delinquency and violence. Former pupil Leandra Ramdeen told the pupils she faced good and bad times at the school but engaging in sports helped her to deal with her frustration.

Supt of Prisons at the Youth Training Centre, Germaine De Graff, also advised the pupils to choose peace over violence, saying many youths were now forced to spend their life behind bars because they got caught up with bad company.

Mason Ramjassingh, an inmate at the YTC, said he has regretted his life’s choices which landed him in prison. However, he said he hoped by sharing his experiences he could help others make better choices.

Principal Fay Rasheed Persad said safety in schools was of utmost importance. She thanked the Central Division police and the other agencies for speaking to the pupils.

The firing of University of T&T (UTT) academic staff continued yesterday, as close to 30 more of them were given retrenchment letters at the various campuses, including O’Meara, Valsayn Teachers’ College, John Donaldson and Point Lisas.

And management is next, with as four vice presidents and about 20 managers identified, deputy chairman and acting chairman of the board of governors, Clement Imbert, said during a media conference yesterday.

Imbert said in the first phase, 59 retrenchment letters have been prepared, 30 of which were given out last week Friday, including 11 lecturers from the Centre of Education Programme (CEP). The remaining letters in the first batch were sent out yesterday.

Yesterday’s letters were supposed to have been sent out on Monday, but the board halted the process after Minister of Education Anthony Garcia said he was going to raise the issue at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting.

After Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, Garcia, in a release, said UTT had been instructed to explain to the public the process that was undertaken to arrive at the decision to dismiss staff.

In his explanation yesterday, Imbert said academics, which is the core of the university, had to be looked at first.

“UTT embarked on an audit of the workload of the academic staff, which revealed a relatively low student to staff ratio. In other words, the university could deliver international quality education with fewer academics,” he said.

He said the criteria for separation of lecturers in academics were based on the adoption of a Staff Loading Model, whereby the teaching load, research and community service were taken into consideration to ensure that staff were fully occupied with an equitable distribution of academic duties.

“UTT’s new structure will see a reduction in the top management from seven VPs to three and 56 managers to about 33 to 36,” Imbert said.

“UTT has taken other restructuring measures…it has eliminated certain programmes, merged certain programmes and will be looking at all programmes, campuses and systems in its restructuring exercise and the strategic direction for the future.”

Imbert further explained that there were over 400 academic staff and after looking at all the programmes and staff, it was found about a quarter “we could do without.”

“Where we saw we had surplus, we said fine. First, we did a numbers game, look at programmes and speak to programme leaders to ensure that the programmes could survive,” Imbert said.

But speaking at the press conference, which was held at UTT’s NAPA campus, one the dismissed CEP staffers, Solomon Ragnathsingh, who lectures in Math Specialisation, claimed they were told by their programme leader that the Staff Loading Model was not applied to them. He questioned Imbert on what criteria was used for the CEP. Imbert said he was not sure.

A UTT student, who is in the Indian Classical course, told Imbert there were two instructors for Kathak and Odissey and since the teacher for Odissey was sent home that style of dance cannot be taught by the Kathak instructor.

“Must I think that I only have Kathak alone because my Kathak teacher cannot do Odissey and in addition, to which, she teaches four other courses?” the student said.

In response, Imbert said he “will have to investigate.”

CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts over the past three days have led to the arrest of a suspect in the shooting of Scotiabank employee Roston Mahabir.

Mahabir, 28, of Carapichaima, remained warded at the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday following surgery on Tuesday to remove a bullet from his abdomen.

Confirming the arrest yesterday, Snr Supt Zamsheed Mohammed said investigators conducted surveillance work following the shooting and located the suspect.

An operation was coordinated with South Western Division police and around 2.30 pm the man was arrested at a house in Fyzabad. He was expected to be transferred to the San Fernando CID for questioning last evening.

A report stated that around 8 am Monday, Mahabir, a premiere relationship officer, was just about to enter the bank at the corner of Penitence and High Streets, San Fernando, when he was approached by a man who grabbed his computer bag and other items. Mahabir held on to his bag and was shot once in the abdomen.

The gunman then ran off with the bag, leaving him bleeding on the ground.

Investigators attempted to obtain a statement from Mahabir yesterday but were unable to as he was still sedated.

The Government keeps getting letters from other Governments calling on the State to use T&T taxpayers’ funds to help Clico policyholders in other territories who suffered due to Clico’s 2009 collapse, Finance Minister Colm Imbert revealed yesterday.

Imbert noted the problem yesterday in the Senate when he piloted a bill to repeal and replace insurance legislation. It will regulate insurance businesses and privately administered pension funds
The Bill’s 282 clauses seek to increase policyholder protection.

Among the clauses the bill proposes are standards of market, conduct for insurers/sales people in dealing with the public. It also gives the regulator of the sector the power to revoke an insurer’s registration where claims practices are found to be unfair or there are unreasonable delays in settlement.

Citing a host of inadequacies in current law, Imbert said, “Even with the 2009 CL Financial/ Clico crisis of 2009, our insurance sector is still being governed by woefully deficient legislation which dates back to 1980 and which cannot address adequately the current emerging risks in today’s insurance sector.”

“The financial sector is only as strong as the weakest link. It’s instructive for T&T to learn from its own costly crisis and enact appropriate legislation for the insurance industry,” Imbert said the assets of the insurance industry totalled $49.4 billion at September 2017 and accounts for approximately 33 percent of GDP.

“Assets under management for the pensions sector total $51.4 billion and accounts for 34 percent of GDP,” he said. “The combined assets of the insurance and pensions sector are of the order of $100 billion dollars of which more than one third is invested in securities of Government,”

Before the 2009 Clico debacle, Imbert noted a 2005 IMF report had forewarned about the risks posed by the rapid structural changes in T&T’s financial system and shortcomings of local legislative/regulatory framework.

On issues such as those arising in foreign territories from the Clico debacle, the bill proposes insurance companies doing business through overseas branches, will be required to maintain/hold adequate assets to support their liabilities to foreign policyholders.

Clauses also allow the Central Bank Regulator oversight over overseas subsidiaries. This removed the need for undue reliance on the regulators of other jurisdictions who may not have the ability, due to resource constraints or otherwise, to deal with these operations effectively.

Imbert particularly thanked Opposition and Independent senators including UNC’s Gerald Ramdeen for “a very supportive collaborative, co-operative” committee scrutiny of the bill.

PROVISIONS INCLUDE

• Stemming excessive risk taking, promoting good governance and sound risk/capital management practices by management/boards of regulated entities.
• CEOs and CFOs must now sign a statement acknowledging the board of directors’ and management’s responsibility for (a) preparing financial statements, (b) maintaining adequate internal controls, (c) establishing and maintaining adequate procedures for the settlement of claims, and (d) complying with prudential criteria Regulations and Guidelines issued by the Central Bank.
• Mandatory Audit Committee.
• Restrictions on an insurer in respect of the credit exposures it can, directly/indirectly, incur to anyone/group
• Insurers’ Board must ensure policies /procedures established for transactions with connected parties/employees.
• Owners/shareholders must have a stake in the outcome Insurance companies and financial holding companies will be required to hold adequate capital and adequate and appropriate forms of liquidity.
• Expansion of tools for preventative /prompt corrective action and intervention triggers by Central Bank.
• Deterrent for breaches via a regime of improved fines/penalties.
• Provisions for restructuring of business groups that engage in financial/non-financial activities and would require the formation of a financial holding company to hold exclusively the regulated financial entities in the group.
• Powers of the Regulator to deal with the re-emergence of systemically important conglomerates in the region.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharath has expressed concern about a development on the financial landscape in the country which he fears may one day “grow to a Clico-like situation.”

Contributing to a debate on the Insurance Act in the Senate yesterday, Rambharath said, “As we fix the insurance industry today, we have in this country today something that has developed, this thing called crypto currency.”

He cautioned that the “same men who came selling insurance,” are now going around the country “asking people together in groups of 10 to fork out $8,500 per person for training, your eight to 10 coins valued at $500, and you would get eight per cent interest on a five thousand dollar investment.”

He noted that in March this year the Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission Hayden Gittens had something to say about crypto currency, “but he did not come down on one side,” speaking instead to benefits and risk. Rambharath expressed concern that “we are creating a problem and allowing a problem to fester that would one day grow into a Clico-like situation.”

Both cases, he said, “are driven by human beings desire for greed and the wish to take advantage of the vulnerable and most important at the root of CL Financial and Clico are an abysmal failure of the regulators to do what they were supposed to do,” as he again pointed to the men in “suits and bright lights.”

He said in all the discussion on the Clico and CL situation there had never been any real drilling down into the “men in the fancy suits selling the product knowing the inability of the insurer to pay,” the country, he said, had never focused on those who never disclosed the “difficulty Clico was experiencing in cash flow prejudicing its ability to pay.”

While the Parliament was seeking to pass what he described as “excellent legislation,” he was concerned that it was those outside who must administer and make it work.

The legislation makes provision for fines for directors. But the minister said the strength of the legislation “relies on the ability of the regulators to do what they are supposed to do.”

As he had done once before he again raised concerns about the 2017 report of the Financial Intelligence Unit which attributed $7 billion worth of suspicious transactions to insurance companies and which made the observation that insurance companies were increasingly being used for money laundering.

A Joint Select Committee of Parliament inquiring into waste management policies has been told that as an industrialised country T&T needs a contaminated land inventory to ensure that lead and chemically contaminated land is not being used for construction of houses and agricultural purposes before proper remediation of contaminated land is done.

Technical manager of Green Engineering and a member of the Council of Presidents of the Environment, Kelli Danglad yesterday told the JSC, chaired by independent Senator Sophia Chote, that over the last ten years the company had managed a number of soil projects which involved areas contaminated by lead, caused by the improper disposal of batteries.

Danglad said one such area was in Arima. “There used to be in the 1970’s, a lead smelting factory and they used to dispose of slag in the communities so the soil became contaminated with lead,” she said.

Danglad said the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and UWI did a blood lead study with primary school children in Arima and found unusual quantities of lead in the blood of the children.

“When they went to their homes to investigate why and they realised they were living in an area where batteries were indiscriminately disposed and that led to lead contamination,” Danglad said.

In another case, she said, there was an individual in La Chance Trace, Arima, who was collecting batteries and recycling them in his yard.

“We visited the site and the soil is grey, you could see the lead and this was running into the Arima River. It is disturbing.”

The man’s children, according to Danglad, “had mental retardation from incidental ingestion of the lead.”

Asked by Chote whether injunctive action was sought against the man given the effect of the lead on the brain and the “life outcome” of the children, Danglad said she was uncertain whether that was explored by the EMA or even the health authorities. She said it was worth having “some kind of legal injunction or follow up monitoring.”

Danglad said the problem was not unique to Arima but also happens in Guayaguayare, where the recycling of lead is used as “sinkers for fishing”. In one case she said animals were affected.

Danglad said contamination of the soil not only leads to health issues including cancer and other diseases, “but it also costs the State to remediate.” She is suggesting that instead of taxpayers and the State be burdened with the costs “it should be the polluter who pays.”

Describing the situation as “alarming and frightening,” committee member Tarhaqa Obika suggested that a list of the offending persons be submitted to the committee to assist them in determining whether the offenders had gone elsewhere and were doing the same thing.

Danglad said Green Engineering had “developed a preliminary land inventory for Trinidad of sites which were previously used for industrial purposes, “where it could have been a battery factory, previous gas stations, previous chrome plating.”

DISPOSAL OF BATTERIES

Sarah de Freitas, Business Development Executive at Ace Recyling and Caribbean Battery Recycling, told the committee that the company is the only battery licensing facility certified to collect lead batteries for export.

She expressed concern that the company has had to report persons who collect batteries from the landfills to both OSHA and the EMA because “they drain the acid to get the lead into the ground and in this draining process there are lead particles which go into the ground.”

Salvagers, she said, also take the batteries to yards where the “handling of it is not environmentally sound.” She said if the batteries are taken to Caribbean Battery Recycling “we pay for it.” Payment depends on the size of the batteries but scrap dealers get paid $4,000—$5,000 per metric tonne for their batteries.”

She said the bulk batteries which they purchase are loaded “into lined containers and the majority goes to South Korea.”

Pan Trinbago secretary Richard Forteau intends to launch an investigation as to who was responsible for throwing beer on attorney Farid Scoon when he tried to serve an injunction granted by High Court judge Joanne Charles to hold a special convention called by its president Keith Diaz.

Scoon, who was representing six members of Pan Trinbago’s central executive consisting of secretary Richard Forteau, treasurer Andrew Salvador, PRO Michael Joseph, external relations officer Darren Sheppard and trustees Allan Augustus and Trevor Reid, on Thursday, at the Communication Workers’ Union Hall, Port-of-Spain, was greeted by a group of boisterous band members and there was a brief verbal exchange after beer was thrown on him.

On May 3, High Court judge Ronnie Boodoosingh granted an injunction to Pan Trinbago’s central executive, restraining Diaz or any purported caretaker committee from exercising any of their functions.

In granting the injunction, Boodoosingh said there would be no substantial prejudice to Diaz and the status quo would result in him remaining a member of the executive and the interim committee would return to their non-executive status.

The executive members, who were ousted on April 17, took the matter to court challenging Diaz’s decision to convene the meeting at which the interim committee was set up to run the organisation until elections are held.

The injunction, which bars the interim committee from meeting and making any decisions in relation to the organisation, will last until the executives’ lawsuit before Boodoosingh is determined.

Forteau said he did not attend Thursday’s meeting which was called by Diaz, stating that he wanted the rift between them to end in the interest of the organisation.

This meeting fell outside the scope of Boodoosingh’s injunction, forcing the executive to seek a secondary injunction from Charles late Thursday.

Forteau said Diaz wrote him on May 7 asking for a special convention on May 17.

“I wrote Diaz on May 9 indicating to him the time was too short of the court’s decision,” Forteau said.

The executive members contended that the May 17 meeting was not called with the requisite 28 day-notice.

Though Diaz agreed to meet with them on May 28, Forteau said Thursday’s meeting was still held.

“While you are saying you would meet with us on May 28 you are doing things to amend the constitution of the organisation. Justice Boodoosingh would have told you the caretaker committee you put in place is null and void. So Diaz is defying the court order.”

Forteau said the executive is willing to meet with Diaz despite the court matter, since the conventional bands had not been paid their $16 million prize monies for the 2018 Panorama competition.

“We have to sort out this matter.”

He did not take lightly beer being thrown on Scoon which he said tantamount to assault.

“We are going to get to the bottom of it. We are going to find out who threw the beer. This was assault.”

Once the perpetrator is identified, Forteau said action will be taken against them based on its constitution.

Forteau said there was need for mediation to stop the ongoing feud.

“I am not happy to be coming out in public to talk about our affairs. Why can’t we set aside the little wrangling for the good of the organisation?”

In defence, Diaz said according to Pan Trinbago’s constitution he can call a special convention if there is an emergency.

Diaz said he was also accused of using the organisation’s funds to pay his legal fees which was not true.

“I have my legal fees to deal with. They took me to court. I didn’t take them to court.”

He described the executive as a cabal.

“The executive went ahead and kept meetings without my authority and made decisions and payments without my authority.”

Diaz said when the beer was thrown on Scoon, he was sitting away from the incident.

He refused to comment when asked if Culture Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly should intervene to bring peace on both sides.

Diaz has to appear in court on May 25.

Several calls to Gadsby-Dolly’s cellphone yesterday went unanswered.

The University of T&T’s (UTT) massive restructuring exercise is expected to save over $140 million in overhead expenses.

However, questions are being raised among the management level as to why a whopping $45 million will be spent over the next three years in the re-do of its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) system.

Late last year, the UTT announced its financial challenge especially after it received a substantial reduction in its recurrent allocation in the 2016 budget (for the fiscal year 2016-2017). The allocation in the 2017 budget was further reduced.

Speaking with the Sunday Guardian under strict anonymity, a senior manager at UTT said instructions have already been given to the ICT head to replace the current student information (Jenzabar), Human Resource and finance system with Banner.

“The estimated cost over the next three years could be $45 million. The vendor has already made two high-level visits,” the manager said.

“Please note the vendor was selected before the needs analysis has been done. Also the lack of tendering process. Any capital purchase more than $200,000 requires an RFP. This is very wrong,” the manager added. RFP means a request for proposal, which is a type of bidding solicitation in which a company or organisation announces that funding is available for a particular project or programme, and companies can place bids for the project’s completion.

The manager also disclosed that UTT “continues to award millions worth in contracts to vendors–air conditioning, landscaping…despite the threat of attempts to close campuses.”

On Friday, at a media conference, UTT’s deputy chairman and acting chairman of the Board of Governors, Prof Clement Imbert indicated that as the retrenchment continued among the academics, next to go were about 20 managers and four vice presidents.

On that statement, the UTT manager said that during the period October to November 2017 “all corporate heads were asked by the new President to identify 50 per cent of staff to be terminated. This was in October 2017.”

He said none of the managers ever saw the new organisational chart and none to his knowledge were consulted.

“What I can say is that the cuts that have been identified to management includes: 125 in academics (which represents a 25 per cent cut) and 422 in administration (50 per cent cut). The President wants a one to two or one to three ratio for academics to corporate staff,” the manager said.

“This exercise was done although the list of 287 names was already sent to the representing union, the OWTU.”

The manager, who fears that he would be in the line up to go home in the second retrenchment phase, said his managerial colleagues have been preparing themselves to leave. “Many are job hunting and prepared to leave. A very high percentage of managers are currently on month-to-month contracts. One vice president has already been ‘hounded out already’ if I should say that.

“There is a total breakdown in trust among managers, much less to say the rest of the staff and evidently, lack of motivation,” he added.

The manager added that maybe if a voluntary separation package was offered to them “the impact would have been softer.”

UTT deputy chair: I will only know things when informed

When contacted on these latest issues at UTT, Imbert said he was not employed at UTT and was only the deputy chairman and acting chairman of the Board and would only know things when informed.

“I intend to continue to meet with those who are willing to put country before self to improve the lives of all the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”—Mickela Panday

Those were the closing words in a March 11 press release issued by Mickela Panday, daughter of former prime minister Basdeo Panday, in response to Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar declining to meet with her on what was supposed to be an attempt to unite the Panday-founded UNC political party.

Today Mickela is doing as she says—staging her first Meet and Greet titled ‘It’s Time,’ at Gaston Courts, Chaguanas.

The advertisement of this gathering appeared on Facebook two weeks ago sparking speculation on whether the younger Panday was about to form a political party or following in the footsteps of her father with a modern-day Club 88.

(In 1988, Basdeo Panday, along with Kelvin Ramnath, John Humphrey and Trevor Sudama, were expelled from the NAR after a disagreement with then prime minister ANR Robinson. Panday then founded the Club for Love, Unity and Brotherhood (CLUB 88) which later became the UNC.)

Her social media posts don’t give away much of what exactly is expected to take place today. But one can interpret it as an open forum meeting in which the public can come and speak freely on the socio-political issues affecting them.

The sub-slogans “It’s Time to be heard; time to effect change; time to make a difference and time to improve people’s lives, however, gives the inclination this ‘meet and greet’ might very well be a precursor and ‘feel out’ event which may lead up to the launch of a new-branded political party.

Daddy Panday who has tirelessly argued the need for constitutional reform may have hinted this when he said in a recent interview that the formation of a new political party could only succeed if it guaranteed constitutional reform.

But if this is the closeted plan, can the “Panday brand” stand in 2018? Would it really be a ‘new party’ per se if her father were to be involved at some level? Can Mickela lead independent of her father, a seasoned politician, should she ever become prime minister? And what of the allegations of corruption that hovers over the family’s name? Can the ‘Panday brand’ be trusted?

What the analysts say

Political analyst Bishnu Ragoonath told the Sunday Guardian he believed the meeting was an attempt by Mickela to feel out and get a sense of what kind of support was out there for her if she was considering launching the political party on her own.

He did, however, issue a warning to the young Panday, saying she had to be careful that she was not led astray, as not everybody present at today’s meeting would legitimately there to support her.

Some, he said, might well just be there to ‘macco,’ while others may come as spies.

He said numbers should not fool her and allow this to be a deciding factor in forming a political party.

“She is going to have to sift her audience to determine who might not be and who might genuinely want to join her on her journey for change or whatever it is she is pushing for,” Ragoonath advised.

But this meeting, he reiterated, is certainly one to gauge and test the sentiment out there. Would it be a one-off meeting or the beginning of many? That, he said, will be interesting to see.

The ‘Bas-kela’ effect

Making a point of reference, Ragoonath recalled his own initial reaction to Mickela requesting talks with Persad-Bissessar. He said he wondered on what basis would the opposition leader had to have talks with Mickela Panday.

“The whole thing about this initiated ‘talks’ for Mickela was because she is Basdeo Panday’s daughter. Mickela Panday does not have a constituency as such nor an electoral base. So all I could see her coming there with and requesting a meeting was simply on the merit, she was Basdeo Panday’s daughter.”

In regard to how independent Mickela can be if she were to lead a party, Ragoonath said one couldn’t be separated from the other.

“Regardless of how you go forward or when you go forward, that ‘Panday Brand,’ will always be there.”

He spoke of a recent event at which both he and Mickela attended and said during her presentation it was like watching Basdeo Panday all over again.

“So you really cannot separate Mickela from her father. The ultimate question is, if Mickela forms a party, what role is there for Basdeo Panday? Because I don’t think that he will just sit on the sidelines and leave her alone. So clearly, he is going to be a player. How much of a part is he going to be allowed to play and whether the same people she is trying to attract are going to come back and say “‘same ole’ ‘same ole.’”

The bite of the past

Another political analyst, Reginald Dumas said if today’s meeting went well, it might be encouraging to have follow-up meetings in different parts of the country to viably test the waters.

“Based on the feeback from these meetings, the conveners would know if a new party should be formed and what that new party should represent,” Dumas said.

He does not believe that any decision has been made yet on the part of Mickela and as such, he warned that jumping to the conclusion that a new party was going to be formed by the younger Panday might be premature.

Speaking to the issue of her father pulling strings in the background if Mickela is ever to lead this nation, James said he did see him playing a role as her father and as a person who had a great deal of knowledge on politics.

However, whether he would be pulling strings or not, depended to a large extent what kind of person Mickela was, he said.

Dumas lamented that things were not what they ought to be in T&T. He said the institutions of the country were collapsing and “when the intuitions of a country go you have no country.”

“I do not know how the meeting will go today but I do hope there will be focus on the institutions of the country—how those that can be restored will be restored and the people that run these institutions, because it’s now a situation in this country where the guards themselves are attacking the citizens.”

The political DNA

He questioned where one could repose confidence as time after time, politician after politician had asked for the nation’s trust only to quickly disappoint them

He said Mickela must be able to persuade the public that she can really make a difference, but he was not sure how convincingly she could do that given the political DNA from which she was hatched.

Retracing history, Dumas told the Sunday Guardian if Mickela intended to continue pushing talk of “no more corruption,” she’d better be prepared to answer the public’s questions on matters of corruption that occurred during her father’s period in office.

He said from the “gift” alleged to have been received by Panday from former CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey to his conviction, though he was subsequently acquitted of the charges, left in the minds of public uncertainty and distrust. (See sidebar at right.)

“You see, Mickela cannot come to play this role and project herself to be better than those who are there now if there are question marks over her and her family’s head. I do hope that people raise hard questions and comments. People need to know why they should believe she is different,” Dumas concluded

Efforts to contact Mickela Panday for a response were unsuccessful.

THE PEOPLE SPEAK

Will you vote for Mickela Panday if she forms a political party and runs for the 2020 general election? If so, why?

Bruce A Pouchet
Only if Bas have no part in it.
Phillip Matheson
Will we vote on issues and stop seeking personalities? Should we begin to deal with matters of state then we can hold politicians accountable. When we continue to go along with “personality politics” we will continue to get our hopes dashed and mud slinging.
Cas Nel
Apples ‘nuh’ fall far from tree.
Mario Ali Xavier
To answer that question now would mean using superficial reasons such as family relations or ethnicity. To properly answer we need to know her ideologies and what she represents in order to make an informed decision.
Erline Andrews
I’ll be inclined to. I’m desperate for new/younger/different.
Thomas Armoogan
I’m satisfied with the Government at the moment, not interested.
Kerwyn Benedict Fox
Yes...she seems to have integrity; not the superficial
Krys Tal
No. She talks a good game but what is her experience? What is her track record in public service, charitable ventures or at the very least leadership of any organisation through any major restructuring?
Anne Fridal
Would have to hear her policies and observe who she will include in her party [but probably not], crime, and corruption, jail for bandits etc, etc, etc.
Tracy Donald
Trinidad politics has become a quick pick, I’m now officially afraid to vote.
Trevor Williams
Competent, intelligent, isn’t dragging the weight of corruption. The two past leaders are colossal failures who are sure to fail again.

BAS THE CHARISMATIC, CONTROVERSIAL LEADER

Words like “Neemakaram”, “parasitic oligarchy” and phrases like “Politics has a morality of it’s own” will forever be synonymous to the country’s fifth Prime Minister Basdeo Panday.

No longer an active politician, Panday’s colourful political history, wit, charm, and outspoken way have all earned him the description of this country’s most charismatic and controversial politician and post-Independence leader.

Perhaps we will owe that to his background in drama. He did attend the London School of Dramatic Art while attending London University, where he studied law and economics.

A former trade unionist, Panday fought relentlessly for the rights of workers, eventually earning him the title of President General of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers’ Trade Union (ATS&GWTU) in 1973. He remained in this role until he became the prime minister of T&T, three decades and one year after first entering politics in 1966 with the Workers’ and Farmers’ Party.

He was a founding member of the ULF, NAR, and UNC and served as opposition leader five times between 1976 and 2010.

But the trusted name and reputation of Basedeo Panday became sullied during his tenure in 1995 when he led this country.

The man once perceived to stand on truth—even resigning from the NAR party on the basis it practiced oligarchy, himself was accused of same when it was alleged he underhandedly accepted money from former CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey.

In 2006 at a court hearing Panday admitted to the court it was Duprey who gave his wife Oma 119,183 pounds sterling (TT$1.2 million) in November 1997, representing scholarships for two of Panday’s daughters who were studying in England.

But when Duprey took the stand, he admitted to giving the money to Mrs Panday, not as scholarships, but as financial assistance.

Panday was convicted that year, facing three charges under the Integrity in Public Life Act of 1987 with failing to declare to the Integrity Commission, the assets of the account amounting to approximately $1.6M held at the National Westminster Bank at Wimbledon Hill Road, London, for the years ending 1997, 1998, and 1999, while he was prime minister. He was subsequently imprisoned, however on March 20, 2007, the Court of Appeal quashed that conviction.

With the embarrassing turn of events, on May 1, 2007, Panday resigned as chairman of UNC, but the party’s executive refused to accept his resignation.

He eventually lost the party’s internal elections on January 24, 2010 to then deputy leader, now former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. This scandal left and remains a lingering disfigurement on the UNC administration.

In 2012 he was acquitted of charges, on the ground that the magistrate was biased and the conviction was deemed “unsafe.” Panday continues to make public appeals for constitutional reform.

Police Commissioner Stephen Williams says although non-lethal weapons will be utlised by the T&T Police Service in the fight against crime, there is a set date for its introduction.

Williams yesterday said “Part of our challenge right now is resources and we are budgeting for it in fiscal 2019.” The new financial year begins in October 2018.

On the issue that criminals were using pepper spray to aid in attacks against innocent citizens, Williams said “There are no boundaries for the criminal element. The criminal element is free to use anything because they are not bounded by the law, so they break the law on an every-day basis.” He said the main issue remained one of enforcement.

Addressing reporters as he attended the Ministry of National Security’s Family Fun Day at the Prison Sports Grounds, Arouca, he said: “It is not necessary to look at the pepper spray in the hands of the criminal element because they have many many things in their hands and it is about enforcement against the criminal element.”

With the one-year mark fast approaching since the announcement by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that consideration would be given to allow women to carry tasers and pepper spray, Williams said “It requires careful research and study and that is what we are doing at this moment before we can make any recommendations to Government.”

On the use of body cameras for police officers, Williams said although it had been implemented by the TTPS, plans were under way to expand the initiative following a recent partnership agreement with TSTT.

There are currently 100 body cameras in circulation.

Seeking to foster a greater sense of togetherness and unity among the employees of the nine divisions under his ministry, National Security Minister Edmund Dillion joined staff to dance in the rain as they sang along to this year’s theme of “Reunited and It Feels So Good.”

He said despite the economic hardships, “We felt we could still come together and enjoy ourselves.”

Dillion will meet with divisional commanders this week “to hear what’s happening in the various divisions and what do they need from the minister and Government in terms of resources and equipment and whatever else is required to ensure they keep the murder rate down.”