RALPH BANWARIE

An argument over a game of pool has left one man dead after he was stabbed several times about his body.

Garfield Pickering was pronounced dead by the district medical officer after being rushed to the Arima Health Facility.

Police reported that Pickering was liming at a Pool House in Blanchisseuse when an alteration broke out between him and a group of men. The men used knives to stab Pickering about the body.

Blanchisseuse police responded as well as Supt Ramkahelawan and officers of Arima CID along with Homicide Officers Region 11, Arouca.

Investigations led to the arrest of three men of Blanchisseuse who were being interrogated by police at the Arouca station yesterday.

RADHICA DE SILVA

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

When gunfire erupted outside his son's business place early yesterday, pensioner Stephen Pope, 65, left his bed and crouched down on his front porch hoping to get a glimpse of the action.

But his curiosity cost him his life when a stray bullet struck him on the head, killing him instantly. Four others—John Charles, 23, John Mark Ashford, 27, Anthony Mitchell, 32, and Elon Chatterpaul, 25, were also injured during the shooting which took place around 4:50 am outside Hashtag Lounge at Cipero Street, San Fernando.

Thirty-five spent shells were recovered from the scene of the crime. Charles and Ashford of Bayshore, Marabella, remained in critical conditions yesterday at the San Fernando General Hospital having been shot in the chest and back. Mitchell, who was shot in the leg, remains warded in a stable condition while Chatterpaul, who got a bullet graze, was treated and discharged.

During an interview yesterday, a close relative of Pope, who requested anonymity, said they were asleep upstairs when they heard the sound of gunfire.

"Then everything died down. We went to the porch to see what was going on. People were in a panic, running, cussing..." the relative recalled. He said they began hearing louder voices followed by the sound of breaking glass.

"I tell him to let us move from here. It getting rowdy downstairs. People started to pelt bottles. Others started to run. I told him to move but he was a man who liked to do his own thing. He told me "'I seeing it!'" Then suddenly, there was more gunfire and he slumped to the ground.

The relative said he crawled to Pope and saw him bleeding from a wound to the head. The bullet exited through the back of his head.

"I took a towel and started to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. It was chaos," the relative said. The bar owner David Pope called the ambulance however, the relative said the paramedics were more interested in knowing who did the shooting.

"It was ridiculous. Eventually, we picked him up and put him in the car and took him to the hospital," the relative said. He died a short while later.

Saying the crime situation in T&T was out of control, the relative said Trinidadians were too interested in partying.

"Party is all they want to do and they calling it our culture. It is not the Government that is responsible for the crime, it is our people, the way we think and behave."

Police increase patrols at bar

Head of Operations Insp Don Gajadhar said that officers have increased patrols at bars. He said a team checked in at Hashtag around 4 am, an hour before the shooting occurred. Gajadhar said it was impossible to have a continuous police presence at every bar.

"People are hiding their firearms in bushes and when an argument happens, they go and get their guns and return to cause madness," Gajadhar said. He said it was time for proper legislation to be put in place so that bars cannot stay open after 2 am. He also said that there are inadequate security officers at some bars, adding that law-abiding citizens must exercise wisdom when choosing liming spots.

Since the shooting, police have been sourcing video footage from surrounding cameras and interviewing several witnesses. Police were unable to determine the motive for the shooting. Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.

Investigations are continuing.

RADHICA DE SILVA

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

Hours after a shooting rocked the south city leaving one man dead and four others injured, deputy mayor of San Fernando Vidya Mungal-Bissessar expressed hope that the police will find the perpetrators.

She was speaking to reporters after visiting the Pope family at their Cipero Street, San Fernando home yesterday.

Mungal-Bissessar, who is a personal friend and neighbour of Stephen Pope, said she was very saddened when she heard of his death.

As the councillor for Les Efforts East, Mungal-Bissessar said she knew Pope for over 25 years.

"He was a very nice gentleman. If you knew Stephen Pope if he heard any sort of commotion he would definitely want to come out and see if there is something he could help with, if he can defuse a situation. He was that type of person," she said.

She said despite the increase in murders across T&T, many people still felt safer in San Fernando rather than in other parts of the country.

"I have full confidence that the police would come to the root of this. Any death is a death too much," she said. She called on San Fernandians to come forward and help the police with information.

"As a citizen, crime touches everyone and the veil of secrecy and not wanting to get involved, whether it be murder, whether it be guns, domestic violence, whatever it is, we have to get involved," she said.

She said citizens must protect themselves and be their brother's keeper.

La Horquetta/Talparo MP Maxie Cuffie says he is feeling "great" and ready to attend to the needs of the people in his constituency.

Speaking to reporters yesterday at the site of construction of the Manuel Congo bridge, the major bridge in the village, he said “So far it is good. I feel great and that is why you see me here today. Yes, I have been carrying it out even when I was in hospital. But I feel great today.

"Although I was away, I have been liaising with Minister Sinanan who has been handling affairs in the constituency on my behalf and other ministers who have been helping with this matter."

Cuffie thanked Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan for coming out in the constituency and keeping his promise to visit the area.

He said he spoke to Energy Minister Franklin Khan about illegal quarrying in parts of the constituency and he was addressing the problem.

Sinanan toured bridges and other infrastructural projects in the constituency. He was accompanied by Navin Ramsingh, Ag director of Highways, Hayden Phillip, director of Pure (Programme for Upgrading Roads Efficiency), and other ministry officials.

Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan and MP for the La Horquetta Talparo Constituency Maxie Cuffie visit a site at Manuel Congo in La Horquetta, during a tour of projects in the constituency yesterday. Also in picture are, from left, Navin Ramsingh, Ag director of Highways and Hayden Phillip, director of Pure.

Media icon June Gonzales, the first female programme director of a Trinidadian radio station, has passed away at the age of 91. Gonsalves, a former announcer and the first female programme director at Radio Trinidad, died at her home in Anderson Terrace, Maraval, on Friday evening.

Gonsalves joined Radio Trinidad in August 1956 and hosted the woman's programme "Listen Ladies."

She was also the voice of "Mrs Frico" on the promotional programme Frico For Me in the late 1950s.

Gonsalves moved on to Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) as a TV newscaster. She also worked with the Roman Catholic Church.

She hosted several programmes, including a Catholic religious programme, “The Catholic Forum of the Air”, on Sunday afternoons at 12.45.

In 2000, she became the first woman in T&T to be named a Dame Commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great.

Gonsalves also served as secretary to the late archbishop Anthony Pantin until his death in 2000.

Funeral arrangements are yet to be announced. (Charles Kong Soo)

“I will say I am the sum of my books.”

So said T&T-born novelist Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad “VS” Naipaul as he delivered a lecture during his receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.

Naipaul, who had published more than 30 books over five decades, died at his London home yesterday, one week away from celebrating his 86th birthday.

Lady Naipaul confirmed that her husband had died peacefully.

“He was a giant in all that he achieved and he died surrounded by those he loved, having lived a life which was full of wonderful creativity and endeavour,” she said.

Born in Chaguanas, Naipaul moved to Port-of-Spain with his family when he was six years old.

Port-of-Spain was the setting for his 1959 novel Miguel Street.

Naipaul’s 1961 novel, A House for Mr Biswas, was based on the life of his father Seepersad, a reporter for this newspaper, T&T Guardian.

And on February 2014, Naipaul’s childhood home at Nepaul Street, St James, was unveiled as a cultural heritage site.

In 1989 Naipaul was awarded this country’s highest national award the Trinity Cross. He was also knighted in 1989.

However, Naipaul has sometimes been seen as a controversial character in T&T.

Writing in the Times Literary Supplement in August 1958 Naipaul said “Trinidad may seem complex, but to anyone who knows it, it is a simple colonial philistine society.”

‘Govt must properly honour Naipaul’

Dr Jerome Teelucksingh yesterday described Naipaul as a “genius”.

“Naipaul had certain talents and certain gifts and sometimes he came across harsh, crude, he had idiosyncratic behaviour, some people saw him as eccentric or odd, but we have to remember that sometimes being a genius comes with certain flaws, we have to recognise the genius and also recognise the flaws within the genius.

“Some people have rejected him because of his caustic and bitter comments, some people believe he has rejected Trinidad and he has adopted England as his homeland and this is all part of the immigrant experience. Many immigrants today in the 21st century also tend to reject their homeland and the upbringing that they had, but he spent a great time of his life here in Trinidad at QRC, so we have to remember that.”

After Queen’s Royal College, Naipaul won a scholarship and studied at Oxford University.

Teelucksingh said Naipaul made a valuable contribution to literature and brought pride to the Caribbean.

“Here is a man who delved into fiction and non fiction, he produced a literary tapestry that would remain unmatched, a very prolific writer, someone who was fearless, he was a writer who used his pen like a sword to attack certain ideologies and certain behaviours and certain beliefs that he felt was backward or primitive,” Teelucksingh said.

“Naipaul used his pen and his tongue as swords to attack sometimes people and institutions that he felt would have been not progressive, and over the years he has had a love-hate relationship with Trinidad and Tobago, but we need to remember that he has played a very important role to shape the Indo-Trinidadian identity and I think we need to remember him for this.”

Teelucksingh called on the Government to properly honour Naipaul.

“We need to find a way to honour him, maybe by a scholarship at the university. I don’t think building a statue will profit anyone. We might even want to consider bringing down one of our Trinidadian writers every year and have a Naipaul Memorial Lecture to keep his memory alive.”

‘One of the giants of Caribbean and world literature’

Dr Merle Hodge described Naipaul as “one of our greatest gifts to the world.”

“It is widely recognised that he is one of the giants of not only Caribbean literature but world literature,” Hodge said.

Hodge said the first part of Naipaul’s works provided us with “very uncompromising portraits of ourselves.”

These works included the Mystic Masseur, The Suffrage of Elvira, and The Middle Passage.

“He was a controversial figure in our literary tradition partly because of his critical attitude to our society, a really incisive critique of Trinidad and Tobago, but this attitude often comes over as contempt. But criticism is one of the functions of literature, so we have to accept that from our writers of fiction who really would observe us closely and paint us in all our glory and all our faults,” Hodge said.

“There was a point in his career where he made a declaration where he seemed to suggest he didn’t consider himself a product of Trinidad and Tobago, he tried to reject us as it were but his fictional works suggest otherwise, the sheer precision of the portraits that he paints of us, that made him Trinidad and Tobago true and true, the fact that he was able to observe us so closely and render some of our features,” she said.

Hodge said when Naipaul made the controversial statement then, she labelled him then as a “neemakaram”. But in spite of that, she has great admiration for his work.

“He made the statement which seemed to place him outside of our influence as it were, so although at that time I’m afraid I called him a neemakaram but in spite of that, I have great admiration for his work. His skilful use of language, and this is both Standard English and Trinidadian Creole, his early novels represented our creole with a great deal of accuracy, skill, and art,” she said.

“There is also his sharp sense of humour and keen powers of observation, I do believe VS Naipaul is one of our greatest gifts to the world.” (See Page A25)

BOX

2010-The Masque of Africa

2007-A Writer’s People: Ways of Looking and Feeling

2004-Literary Occasions

2004-Magic Seeds

2002-The Writer and the World: Essays

2001-Half a Life

2000-Reading and Writing: A Personal Account

1999-Letters Between a Father and Son

1998-Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions

1997-Letters

1994-A Way in the World

1990-India: A Million Mutinies Now

1989-A Turn in the South

1987-The Enigma of Arrival

1984-Finding the Centre

1981-Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey

1980-The Return of Eva Peron; and The Killings in Trinidad

1980-A Congo Diary

1979-A Bend in the River

1977-The Perfect Tenants; and The Mourners

1977-India: A Wounded Civilization

1975-Guerrillas

1972-The Overcrowded Barracoon and Other Articles

1971-In a Free State

1969-The Loss of El Dorado: A History

1967-A Flag on the Island

1967-The Mimic Men

1964-An Area of Darkness

1963-Mr Stone and the Knights Companion

1962-The Middle Passage: Impressions of Five Societies - British, French and Dutch in the West Indies and South America

1961-A House for Mr Biswas

1959-Miguel Street

1958-The Suffrage of Elvira

1957-The Mystic Masseur

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has confirmed that he will be seeking re-election as political leader of the PNM. He said he has the right to prevent “imps” from entering the executive to ruin the party and on September 30 the party will be called upon under the one-man one-vote system to vote not just for a political leader but for executive members.

Speaking at the party’s family day at the Edinburg 500 grounds, Chaguanas, Dr Rowley reminded PNM supporters that he was the one who led the charge to change from the delegate system to an individual one.

“I am putting you on notice that I intend to put my name forward to lead the PNM into the next term,” he said. “You have the right to vote for whoever you want to lead this party but I have a right to prevent you from electing into the party’s executive imps who will damage this party.”

He added that there are those who criticised the party over the last seven to five years but had maintained their party membership.

“I take careful note of who offered themselves. I will stay silent on some and I will not stay silent on others because I have a responsibility to protect the party.

“There is one particular imp who spent the last four years before the election going to every mosque in this country saying Rowley is against Muslims. You want to run in party office now.. meet me in Balisier House.

“There is another one who took the position that this skin colour of mine disqualified me from being leader of the PNM,” Rowley said, adding that there are “raggamuffins” within the party.

He said in 2015 he took the position that he would not get involved in the campaign but this time around he will be fielding a full slate.

“There’s nothing worse than going to battle and at the first sound of the enemies’ canon those behind you start to shoot you in the back,” he said.

Dr Rowley also took a dig at the media for what he said was “encouraging stupidness.”

He said he had gone to spend a few days in Tobago.

“I maintain a functional house in Tobago on my grandfather’s land. As Prime Minister I am entitled to 30 days leave a year. I take three of 30 days and go home to Tobago and the next thing I know that is the biggest thing in Trinidad and Tobago because the media in this country has encouraged stupidness,” he said.

“Watson Duke can call up the media and tell the media the Prime Minister is in Tobago and what is worse the Prime Minister is in Tobago driving around with his glass down and that is news,” Rowley said.

Focusing on crime, he said the matter will not be politicised as criminals did not care what party card people held.

He also criticised the Opposition for “praying for Maxie Cuffie to dead” instead of supporting the La Horquetta/Talparo MP during his time of illness.

Businessman Harry Ragoonanan, who claims he was suspended by the People’s National Movement (PNM) because of his stance on Government’s handling of the inter-island ferry service, joined attorney Nyree Alfonso and Opposition activist Devant Maharaj at a media conference yesterday.

However, he insisted that his presence did not mean he had defected to the United National Congress (UNC)

Ragoonanan, who was suspended from the ruling party over allegations related to a Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) contract, claimed the action was really taken because of his position on procurement of vessels for the inter-island route.

Maharaj was careful to note that Ragoonanan’s participation in the press conference did not mean that he had defected to the UNC.

“Harry is not joining the UNC. Although they (PNM) are having their family day and he is here because he is concerned over what is happening on seabridge,” Maharaj said.

Ragoonanan said his first involvement in the controversial issue was when he alerted the PNM’s general council that the contract for maintenance of the T&T Express and Spirit was due to expire

“I indicated to them that a proper replacement is not in place to continue the excellent service that Bay Ferries was providing for us for almost 12 years, where they never missed a sailing to Tobago other than two occasions with hurricanes,” he said.

Ragoonanan claimed his warnings were ignored and because of the lack of maintenance of the vessels after the contract ended, both broke down.

He said the T&T Spirit cost more than US$12 million to repair and the T&T Express now has to be sold because of the cost for repairs.

Ragoonanan, who has been working in the maritime industry for more three decades, said he offered to help the party procure a new vessel and provided recommendations to the Port Authority.

“After preparing vessel to bring it to Trinidad and Tobago, they got a one-line letter that they no longer interested in the vessel . . . was told that somebody called the Port and told them not to deal with that vessel because the man behind it is a scamp. Nobody called me a scamp, because that I am not,” he said.

Ragoonanan repeatedly said his role in attempting to assist the Government was not for financial gain.

“I would not have benefited anything from the supply of these vessels contrary to what they may have said. I used my influence to help my country get a proper service to Tobago,” he said.

On the issue of the Galleon’s Passage, Ragoonanan joined with Maharaj and Alfonso in questioning its suitability.

“That is a disaster waiting to happen. It will cause a lot of seasickness,” he said.

Don’t threaten me. That’s the warning Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is sending to OWTU President General Ancel Roget. Dr Rowley said he had no quarrel with the union leader and had invited him for talks but he refused.

“He refused to speak to me as Prime Minister. He preferred to stand on the pavement and shout and I understand he is coming to kneel down outside the Prime Minister’s residence to march,” he said.

“I want to say to the leader of the OWTU I have no quarrel with you but get your facts straight. The house in St Ann’s is not my house.”

Rowley, in his address to supporters at the PNM’s Family and Sports Day at the Edinburgh 500 Recreational Grounds yesterday, commented on Roget’s call for workers to gather outside the Prime Minister’s official residence at St Ann’s on August 26 to kneel and pray for Petrotrin. The union leader claimed the State-owned entity is on the brink of disaster.

The PNM leader, who declared that his homes are at Goodwood Park and Mason Hall, said: “The house at St Ann’s is a Government office and those of us who work 24 hours a day work at the back of of that house.

“And if I too was getting $100,000 for doing nothing I would walk around the country and kneel down too. But let me say to the workers of Petrotrin, as I said to the leader of the OWTU, don’t threaten me. I will not be threatened because I am not in fear of losing any election.”

Dr Rowley said as Prime Minister his door is open for talks with anyone in the country who represents workers and citizens. However, he reiterated that Petrotrin must be restructured and he assured workers of the energy company that they will not be thrown out on the pavement. In fact, they will be offered equity in the new company.

“At this point in the country’s history what has to be done has to be done and what has to be done is that Petrotrin has to be restructured,” he said.

“We are not engaging in any old talk about who earns what at Petrotrin. We are engaging in looking after the interest of all the people of Trinidad and Tobago and so far as Petrotrin is concerned we are engaging in ensuring that whatever the country has to offer in the hydrocarbon sector under Petrotrin, the interest of the workers and the families of Petrotrin is taken care of. That is not taken care of by high paid people walking around the country trying to create mayhem.”

Dr Rowley recalled that when an offer was made to TCL workers to take certain advantages, they were encouraged not to do so.

“I want to tell Petrotrin workers when the steel industry collapsed around the world and our steel industry owners in Trinidad and Tobago wanted to talk to the workers there were those who were telling them don’t talk to the owners. The owners then closed the doors and left a liquidator in charge,” he said.

He added the PNM is a political party and did not hide the fact that it sees its fortunes in the political arena. He urged Petrotrin workers to distinguish between a trade union and a political party.

Responding to comments by Public Services Association (PSA) leader Watson Duke, who is demanding that each public servant be paid $15,000 a month as part of settlement outstanding monies owed to them, Dr Rowley said public servants are not being neglected.

He said: “Let me not talk to Watson Duke at all. Let me talk to the thousands of public servants who look for their monthly pay roll from the Government every month. This is a Government facing the difficulty we have faced . . . There has never been a month you have not been paid.”

He gave public servants the choice of either following Duke or the Government.

On the progress of the National Investment Fund (NIF), Dr Rowley said it was oversubscribed by 50 per cent. Government intended to get offers of $4 billion but the figure stood at $6 billion.

He also stated that the F his detractors gave him for his performance is high on the scale of the alphabet.

“Down on the alphabet you have a W an O a T and they tell me that means waste of time. You have a U meaning undermine. “So let me settle with my F because if I had gotten an A they have those who say depending on how you approach the matter A can be a well-known . . . let me stop right there,” he said.

Political activist Devant Maharaj has written to Australia’s Attorney General Christian Porter calling for an investigation into T&T’s planned AU$100 million purchase of two new Coast Guard vessels from Austal.

Maharaj revealed the correspondence yesterday during a press conference at the law chambers of attorney and maritime law expert Nyree Alphonso in Port-of-Spain. He said the complaint, which was also forwarded to that country’s Opposition Leader and transparency institute, centres around the absence of proper procurement procedures for a contract signed by the T&T Government with the Australian shipbuilder.

The contract was signed in July when Austal representatives came to T&T following a visit by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and a Government delegation to its headquarters earlier this year. The proposed deal is to be financed through a loan arrangement with the T&T Government.

“The Australian Government supports ethical business practices and the prosecution of those who engage in illegal practices, your office has a responsibility not only to the people of Australia but also to that of T&T to ensure that this $100 million deal was conducted in conformity with international best procurement practices,” Maharaj wrote.

Porter has acknowledged receipt of the correspondence, which was sent, last Thursday, but has not responded substantively.

Maharaj said he first became concerned when he noticed that the deal was struck without the input of government technocrats or officials from the Coast Guard.

“I ask the question if the Australian PM had visited T&T and decided to buy $100 million in pan, without any sort of expert advice, would the Australian people and Parliament be as equally as accepting as we in Trinidad have been?” he asked.

Alphonso, who has been critical of Government’s handling of the procurement of vessels for the inter-island ferry service, also raised concerns about the deal with Austal. She noted that T&T had a relationship with the company dating back to 2009 when Government ordered six patrol vessels for the Coast Guard.

“Within months of the vessels arriving here, many of them were not operational or badly operational,” she said.

Alphonso claimed the vessels had design flaws which made them unsuitable for rough seas like those between Trinidad and Tobago.

She produced a report from the New South Wales Police Force which showed that it had experienced similar issues with the Austal patrol vessels in its fleet.

In addition with the suitability of the vessels, Alphonso noted that Austal does not have a large presence in the western hemisphere.

“We are buying two Cape class 58-foot vessels and I cannot find a single country in the world who have purchased one of those vessels. Isn’t that interesting?” Alphonso said.

Noting that Austal and fellow Australian manufacturer INCAT were the only producers of fast ferries in the world, Alphonso said Government should consider the latter as the T&T Spirit and Express and other leased ferries were all produced by the latter.

“Their aesthetics value tends to be greater than an INCAT vessel, but when you are looking for a vessel to give 15 to 20 years service, I don’t think aesthetics is what you are looking for,” Alphonso said.

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

Police are calling for witnesses to come forward with information about Saturday’s shooting at Hashtag Lounge in San Fernando in which a pensioner was killed and four others wounded.

Up to late yesterday, John Charles, 23, and John Mark Ashford, 27, of Bayshore, Marabella, were in critical condition at the San Fernando General Hospital. Another victim, Anthony Mitchell, 32, was in stable condition, while Elon Chatterpaul, 25, has been discharged from hospital. Investigators found 35 spent shells at the scene leading them to believe there were multiple shootings outside the establishment on Cipero Street, San Fernando.

Charles and Ashford were shot in the chest and back, while Mitchell, was shot in the leg and Chatterpaul was grazed by a bullet.

An autopsy is to be done on the body of Stephen Pope, 65, who was killed by a stray bullet as he watched the commotion from the front porch of his home.

Officers are reviewing CCTV footage to piece together the sequence of events which led to the shoot-out at around 5 am on Saturday. Eyewitnesses can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 800-TIPS.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has extended condolences to the family of novelist and Nobel Laureate, Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, who died Saturday at his home in Britain, six days shy of his 86th birthday.

“This proud son of T&T established himself as an icon in the literary arts on the global stage and his world-renowned achievements caused his birthplace to shine in a positive light,” he said in a statement issued shortly after news of Naipaul’s death.

Rowley said the Nobel Laureate was “unwavering in his resolve to tell his stories as he saw fit. Moreover, his strength of character was responsible in no small part for his renowned success.

“His literary works will always remain a testimony of his strength and amazing talent as well as ensure that he will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace,” Rowley said.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar described Sir Vidia’s works as inspiring and uplifting.

“For people of my generation, the children of the post-Colonial society that was Trinidad and Tobago, a society and people struggling to find and assume our identity after centuries of being ruled as marginal addendums to a social, economic and political framework that previously treated us as merely tolerated outcasts, Sir Vidia’s work was inspiring and uplifting.

“Like so many of my local and regional contemporaries, I would have been raised on books from Europe and England which described and deified people, cultures and civilisations that essentially reflected all that I could never be, until, as teenager and young adult I read Miguel Street, The Mystic Masseur and A House for Mr Biswas.

“And it was in these works, still so dear and personal to me, as they also are undoubtedly to many other of my countrymen and women, that Sir Vidia’s greatest contribution to my country and the world became not only clear, but inspiring in the greatest possible way,” Persad-Bissessar said.

His widow, Lady Naipaul who described Sir Vidia as “a giant in all that he achieved” said he died “surrounded by those he loved having lived a life which was full of wonderful creativity and endeavour.”

Locally, people took to social media to post their tributes to Sir Vidia.

Columnist Ira Mathur shared a photo of her son at an event with the Nobel Laureate during his 2008 visit to T&T and wrote on Twitter: “I heard of his death in the middle of a family celebration. Something shattered in me. The greatest writer in the English Language dead at 85. #Walcott, now him. #CaribbeanLiterature. Thank you for the words #SirVidia.”

On Facebook, Nigel A Campbell recalled his encounter with the renown writer:

“The UWI SPEC hall was ram, and all I thinking was, ‘if I don’t get up early to join that line, he might only sign a few books and leave.’ So you could imagine the scramble when his readings were over, and the announcement was made to form a line for signings. So here I was in the line with my ratty copy of the first American edition of his first novel, The Mystic Masseur. (US$5 on eBay in 2001. Some people don’t value “old books”) I nearly left the book in my car thinking that he wouldn’t want to sign an old book.

(My pal Afra and his mother said, ‘nah bring it.’)

“So you could imagine my horror when Vidia wife, Nadira, grab the microphone and said, ‘Sir Vidia won’t be signing old books! only new books purchased at the event.

“At this point, I was three from the front of the line. Someone earlier handed him random pieces of paper to sign so they could have his signature. He get vex or she get vex, I ain’t know who to blame now. I turned to my right, and his agent Gillon Aitken standing next to me, watched me dead in my eye and said, ‘don’t worry, he will sign that.’

“Aitken shepherded my book to the author. I smile inside.

“We reach the man, he flip it, he turn it back to front. He said, ‘I haven’t seen this in a long time.’ He glanced at me. He was not impressed, I guess, as he said nothing to me.

“He signed it quickly and pushed it aside and looked to the next person in line. I was still rambling to him, “thanks for your presence, for your writing,” but he moved on.

“Now that he is gone, my $5 investment has taken on a new significance. An encounter that lasted all of 30 seconds maximum is now an heirloom. (My daughter likes to write.) Thank you, Sir Vidia. RIP.”

Sir Vidia, who was born in Chaguanas on August 17, 1932, wrote more than 30 books, won the Booker Prize in 1971 and the Nobel Prize in literature in 2001, following the late St Lucian Derek Walcott who won the award in 1992.

The Nobel Prize in literature committee awarded Sir Vidia for “having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.

“Naipaul is a modern philosopher. In a vigilant style, which has been deservedly admired, he transforms rage into precision and allows events to speak with their own inherent irony,” it added.

Sir Vidia, who as a child was read Shakespeare and Dickens by his father, was raised a Hindu and attended Queen’s Royal College in Trinidad. He moved to Britain and enrolled at Oxford University in 1950 after winning a government scholarship.

His first book, The Mystic Masseur, was published in 1951 and a decade later he published his most celebrated novel, A House for Mr Biswas, which took over three years to write.

The editor of the Mail on Sunday, Geordie Greig, a close friend of Sir Vidia, said his death leaves a “gaping hole in Britain’s literary heritage” but there is “no doubt” that his “books live on”.

His first wife, Patricia Hale, died in 1996 and he went on to marry Pakistani journalist, Nadira.

A Princes Town man will appear before a San Fernando Magistrate today charged with the murder of Curtis Marcano who was shot and left to die in a track near his home.

The shooting occurred on July 17 and Marcano succumbed to his injuries eight days later at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Homicide officers led by PC Lewis conducted investigations and arrested a 28-year-old man of Teesdale Road, Mandingo, Indian Walk. He spent the weekend in police custody. After investigations were completed, a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and instructions were given for a charge of murder to be laid.

Meanwhile, a man from Morvant and a woman from St James, who beat and robbed a Williamsville businessman on Thursday, will also appear in court.

The couple is believed to have robbed the businessman around 3.42pm. The victim, 37, told police he was conducting sales when two people entered his business place and announced a robbery.

He handed over a quantity of cash and in the struggle that ensued the victim was beaten with a piece of iron. The assailants escaped in a silver Nissan Tiida which was later intercepted in Ste Madeleine by members of the Rapid Response Unit and the Southern Division Task Force.

The couple spent the weekend in police custody and will appear in court today.

The PNM’s 2015 manifesto is “comfort to a fool”, says political leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) David Abdulah as promises to regularise migrant labour and reform existing labour laws to prevent exploitation have not been kept.

At a press conference at the MSJ’s St Joseph Village headquarters in San Fernando yesterday, Abdulah said although consultations were held on the issues, this amounted to “old talk,” as nothing has been implemented.

“We are yet to formulate a policy on migrant labour even though we have seen a dramatic increase in migrants,” he said. “In the private and public sector workers are being exploited as they are being forced to work on short-term contracts.”

Abdulah said in the energy industry labour supply contractors have been recruiting workers for offshore platforms.

“If you go back to 1972-73, a Commission of Enquiry was held on contractor labour and it was said to be akin to slavery and indentureship because of worker exploitation. Today, in 2018, labour supply contracts are rampant in the old and gas sector and this breeds exploitation and breach of rights,” he said

The PNM had promised a comprehensive review of labour legislation but again failed to deliver, he said, adding that a system is needed for migrant workers to come into T&T legally to do legitimate work.

“If they are coming to work there should be the application of work permits by the employer. These migrant workers must be protected and systems put in place to prevent exploitation,” he said.

According to Abdulah, some migrant workers come to T&T illegally and are being forced to work in slave-like conditions.

Police are investigating murders in Arima, Blanchisseuse and Laventille between Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

At Tecoma Boulevard in La Horquetta, Arima, at around 6.45 pm on Friday evening, Ariel Thomas, 30, was in the gallery of his home when an intruder jumped the front wall.

The man shot Thomas several times in the head and chest. He was taken to the Arima District Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Less than 12 hours later, homicide detectives were summoned to the scene of a stabbing at a beach house in Blanchisseuse.

According to reports, the incident occurred at around 6 am. Garfield Pickering, 47, the caretaker for the beachhouse, was arguing with a group of men when they reportedly drew knives and stabbed him several times. He died on the way to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. The suspects were in custody up to late yesterday.

The latest incident took place at Mango Alley, Laventille, at around 4 pm on Saturday afternoon. Residents reported hearing gunshots and found 36-year-old Anthon Cox lying at the side of the road with several gunshot wounds. He died on the scene.

These murders and the death of a victim from a shooting D’Abadie, last week, raised the murder toll for the year to 336.

In that incident, Alika Scipio, Timmy Rangopaul, Tremaine Paul and 15-year-old Karimah Abdullah were shot while driving along Boy’s Lane in D’Abadie, around 8 pm on Wednesday night.

Scipio, 25, of Laventille, and Rangopaul, 25, a PH taxi driver from Oropune Gardens, Piarco, died at the scene.

Paul, 19, of Maloney Gardens, and the teenager from St Anns were taken to hospital for treatment. Paul succumbed to his injuries on Saturday morning. Abdullah remains warded in hospital. No arrests have been made in connection with the now triple murder. Investigations are continuing.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and members of his Cabinet have been invited to attend an international cannabis conference to be held in Jamaica next month, to help in their ongoing discussions on decriminalisation and possible legalisation of marijuana.

Douglas Gordon, founder of CanEx Jamaica Business Conference and Expo, extended the open invitation to T&T’s policy makers during a telephone conversation with Guardian Media.

The third annual CanEx conferences takes place in Montego Bay, Jamaica, September 27 to 29.

Keynote speakers for the event are former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, former television host in the United States, Montel Williams, and Bruce Linton, founder of Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC).

Gordon said he believes if government officials attend the conference their eyes will be opened to the medicinal and economic benefits of marijuana and the need to address the laws surrounding it.

“I had people who gave me a mouthful the first time I held this conference as to why what I was doing was anathema to good sense or being raised properly and these people have come full circle.

“These people are now huge advocates for the industry. They understand not just the power of the medicine—which is significant and that really is the main point—but they also understand the economic opportunities to be unlocked by countries that have been otherwise challenged for a very long time,” Gordon said.

“And when you put those two things together it is an incredible, not just compelling, argument that says you cannot wait any longer. I would encourage not just government ministers but also members of the medical fraternity, business people, potential investors, healthcare practitioners, cultivators, farmers, people in agriculture—a wide section of individuals—who should be looking at this industry,” he said.

Gordon said especially given the medicinal benefits of marijuana, we have a “moral obligation” to move it forward responsibly.

Williams has used medical cannabis products to effectively manage the symptoms of his multiple sclerosis (MS) since he was diagnosed with the disease in 1999.

At the height of his television career Williams experienced his first symptoms of MS—a sharp and 24-hour neuropathic pain in his feet and legs. When pharmaceuticals proved ineffective, his doctor recommended medical cannabis as part of his treatment.

Ever since, Williams has been using cannabis products as a medication to manage the debilitating symptoms of his MS.

Gordon, son of businessman Ken Gordon, said he grew up in a household, like most others here, where it was thought that marijuana was a bad thing. He has said, however, his mind has changed dramatically on the issue.

“I was raised to know marijuana was bad but as I got older and got more information (my mind changed). I understand why my parents did it; it wasn’t malicious. At the same token I understand it was based on information they did not have and that is the key now, there is no excuse for ignorance. There is too much information out there and it is not a fly-by-night information. It is empirical data from top institutions around the world and there is no reason to second-guess the research, no reason to not be informed about it,” he said.

The CanEx Jamaica Business Conference and Expo is a business-to-business conference that brings together cannabis industry professionals from 20 countries across North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and South and Central America to discuss the latest advances in the medicinal, health/wellness, legal, regulatory, business and investment landscapes.

The event features presentations, panel discussions and exhibitions from experts, policy-makers, researchers and business people, and provides a professional platform for knowledge sharing and high-level business networking.

The conference began in 2016 when Gordon said he recognised the issue of marijuana legalisation was moving quickly at a global level.

Gordon believes the Caribbean region has an important part to play in the global movement.

He said apart from the important medicinal benefits to be derived from marijuana, governments need to understand that the industry can also stimulate economic growth.

“A lot of governments are having conversations around the taxable income or taxable value and that is an absolutely important conversation but the economic impact is much more significant than that,” he said.

Gordon said while Colorado—the first state in the US was able to achieve US$150 million in taxable revenue from marijuana—more importantly 15,000 jobs were created as a result of the industry.

He said the economic impact of the industry to Colorado was calculated at US$ 2.5 billion.

“So this is not only a new opportunity in terms of taxes but it is a huge opportunity to create this whole economic ecosystem that benefits individuals as well as benefits the whole economy,”

Gordon said given the state of the global economy, now is the perfect time to act on the issue.

T&T is expected to hold its first local public consultation on the issue of the decriminalisation and possible legalisation of marijuana soon.

This was the key outcome as cannabis activists met with Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Fitzgerald Hinds for around two hours last month.

The meeting between the Government and the activists was facilitated after Rowley received a petition from Caribbean Collective for Justice (CCJ) head Nazma Muller which featured 10,000 signatures calling for the legalisation of marijuana.

Muller and her team, including criminologist Darius Figueira, CCJ director Denise Carew, Colin Stephenson, co-founder of T&T’s first incorporated marijuana law reform NGO, C420, and media personality Joshua Seemungal attended the meeting.

A witch hunt.

That’s how suspended People’s National Movement (PNM) member Harry Ragoonanan described moves to have him face the party’s disciplinary committee to answer charges of involving alleged corrupt practices and behaviours with respect to procurement of Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) buses.

His response came minutes after acting Attorney General Fitzgerald Hinds, at a press conference, in Port-of-Spain yesterday said the PNM received information and a complaint from a citizen “about a most untoward conversation that was electronically recorded between Mr Ragoonanan and a bus supplier to the PTSC.”

Hinds said the PNM found that the contents of the recorded conversation to be “sufficiently troubling,” stating that if this matter “yields information that should gain the attention of other agencies in T&T, it most certainly will.”

“Higer is a firm that provides buses to PTSC out of China. This conversation was recorded on June 1, 2016. This most revealing and troubling conversation that was recorded raised serious issues for us in the PNM because, after all, Mr Ragoonanan is a senior party member and at the time held office as chairman of the Oropouche West constituency of the PNM,” Hinds said.

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young, who also attended the conference, said when they talk about forensic work being done and recordings “they immediately start a conversation with a suggestion that it is the State apparatus for interception being used. I want to put this to bed before it starts.”

Young said the recording was done by an individual outside of T&T.

Like Hinds, Young, the recently-appointed National Security Minister, stated that the recording was “most troubling and suggestions of corrupt practices and behaviours with respect to procurement at PTSC was the content of that recorded conversation.”

Hinds said the contents of the electronic recording was raised at the PNM’s general council previously.

“The general council of the PNM took a decision that that complaint should be referred, in accordance with our party’s constitution, to the investigations committee of the PNM.”

Having been so referred, Hinds said the committee began its work where they arranged three meetings to which Ragoonanan was invited “so that his voice and position would be heard” in keeping with the principles of natural justice.

“He refused to show up on two occasions and on the third occasion did not show up but sent a legal representative. Left with little other choice and having heard his representative, the investigations committee continued its work and finalised its report and the matter moved in accordance with the party’s constitution to the disciplinary committee of the PNM which will hold a meeting on Thursday next.”

At this meeting, Hinds said Ragoonanan will be invited.

Ragoonanan said he was notified via the telephone yesterday that he had to appear before the committee chaired by Camille Robinson-Regis and team of PNMites on Thursday at 6 pm. He said he will attend with his attorney.

He said the PNM was on a “witch hunt,” and he has no idea what they were speaking about.

“I have no information about that tape. Where is the tape all this time? Months ago I asked them for a copy of the tape and they have not responded. They expect me to answer to it now.”

He said the PNM was trying to bring his name into disrepute because of what he has been revealing about the seabridge fiasco.

Ragoonanan said on the last hearing he sent his attorney but the committee refused his representation.

“I will attend and clear my name with my attorney. If they don’t want my attorney present, I will not attend.”

Hinds said he had to suffer the agony of seeing Ragoonanan joining with UNC activist Devant Maharaj and attorney Nyree Alfonso on Sunday, each of them speaking as a marine expert into the purchase of two new Coast Guard vessels from Austal.

Hinds said legal action will also be initiated against Alfonso shortly.

Young also revealed that Government has commenced legal action against Intercontinental Shipping “for what they did in relation to the Super Fast Galicia.” Young said the Government had sued for “$8 to $10 million in damages against Intercontinental Shipping.”

He also dismissed claims that the deal had been signed for two new vessels from the Coast Guard costing US$35m each. Young said those claims were premature.

A 38-year-old man, accused of stealing CNC3 television anchor Khamal Georges’ vehicle from outside the Besson Street Police Station after it was recovered following an armed robbery, last week, is expected to appear in court today.

The suspect, from Layan Hill, Belmont, was charged with stealing the car yesterday as officers of the Port-of-Spain CID led by Senior Supt Ajith Persad completed their investigation.

Hours before he was charged, the suspect took park in an identification parade linked to a separate offence.

The vehicle, a Kia Sportage SUV, was first stolen as Georges was ambushed by two gunmen as he returned to his home after attending the opening Caribbean Premier League game on Wednesday night outside his St James home.

The vehicle was eventually recovered by police at the Bath Street Plannings in Port-of-Spain, the following day.

The vehicle was impounded at the Besson Street Police Station and advised Georges to return with the certified copy of the vehicle to retrieve it.

Shortly before 6 pm, police officers at the station realised the vehicle was missing.

It was eventually recovered at Roget Place, St Barbs Road, Belmont, to following morning. The vehicle has since been returned to Georges.

An internal investigation has also been launched into the theft at the station, which is also located within a stone’s throw away from specialist police units housed at Riverside Plaza.

The suspect was charged by ASP Anderson Pariman.

A 19-year-old woman was up to late yesterday assisting homicide detectives as they continued investigations into the circumstances surrounding the drowning death of her two-year-old daughter at Chaguaramas on Sunday.

According to reports, around 4 pm, the woman, of Quarry Road, San Juan, was at Williams’ Bay, Chaguaramas, with her two-year-old daughter and another toddler, when the little girl drowned.

Coast Guard officers attempted to resuscitate the child but were unsuccessful. She was taken to the St James Medical Complex, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

The incident occurred a little over a year after three-year-old Josiah “Messi” Gorkin died in similar circumstances during a family outing at the same beach.

Gorkin’s father Atiba was eventually charged with manslaughter (unlawful killing). That case is still at the preliminary inquiry stage.

Police sources said that investigators will continue to compile witness statements from those present during Sterling’s drowning and would approach the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), later this week, for advice.

Investigations are continuing.

Lifeguard warning to parents

Contacted yesterday evening, a veteran lifeguard warned parents with young children to be vigilant when visiting beaches during the school vacation period.

In a telephone interview, patrol captain at Las Cuevas Bay, Kirk Morton said that the special attention is necessary during the period as the already limited lifeguard resources were stretched by the high influx of people going to beaches.

Morton suggested that upon arriving at the beach, parents with children, as well as adults, should consult with lifeguards if there are any present.

“Normally there will be dangerous areas marked off. If you don’t understand the flags then consult the lifeguards and he or she would explain where you should and should not bathe,” he said.

Morton also warned against the use of boards and inflatables in the water these devices may cause swimmers to encounter difficulties.

Under the grim skies and persistent rainfall, thousands of commuters rushed for transportation to get home as flood waters rose across the country. According to the Meteorological Service, the Adverse Weather Alert #1- Yellow Level issued at 11.15 am yesterday was expected to continue today. The adverse weather came as a result of a low-level trough that is interacting with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ICTZ), which brings with it, chances of floods, gusty winds and landslides.

For those in the Port-of-Spain yesterday, all it took was 25 minutes of a downpour at noon for the South Quay and environs to be transformed into gushing streams and ponds. It was difficult to differentiate City Gate from the sea as flood waters rose several feet, making it difficult to see the roads and pavements. So voluminous was the runoff following the afternoon showers a section of asphalt was lifted off at the corner of the St Francois Valley Road and Waterman Road, Belmont. Motorists had little choice but to drive onto the pavement to pass.

Up to late yesterday, an engineering team from the Port-of-Spain City Corporation was assessing the damaged road.

Residents of Trou Macaque, Laventille were told that their concerns about crime and policing will have to wait as the Police Service cancel its town meeting at the Trou Macaque Community Centre, Laventille on account of the bad weather. In Diego Martin, motorists had to drive cautiously and strong winds and soggy soil almost toppled a utility pole with high tension wires onto passing vehicles.

Motorists on the Lady Young Road moved along precariously as mud covered their path. Several drivers and their passengers escaped serious injury after their vehicles skidded off the Solomon Hochoy Highway during the downpour.

Yesterday, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) issued a notice, asking citizens to delay travel for approximately 1-2 hours out of the capital city and avoid driving or walking through floods. According to the ODPM the Couva/Tabaquite, Talparo Region Corporation had the most reports of flooding as residents in Gasparillo, Williamsville, Piparo, Claxton Bay and Freeport felt to the pinch of swollen watercourses. There was also floods in the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation and minor flooding in San Fernando.

Citizens should continue to monitor the website and social media profiles of the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service and the ODPM for weather forecasts, alerts, warnings and cancellations. Visit http://www.metoffice.gov.tt or www.odpm.gov.tt. Too much for drainage system—Works Minister

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said that because of global warming, the country is experiencing extreme weather in which the volume of rainfall is burdening the country’s drainage system. This, he said, was the reason for yesterday’s floods.

Sinanan added that homeowners, developers and business owners who refuse to obey Town and County Planning regulations and build on river banks, thus narrowing the watercourses, were to blame as well.He said the Ministry has completed Phase I and Phase II of its watercourse cleaning project, which accounted for the major rivers and drains. Phase III, which has begun, deals with the minor watercourses under the Ministry’s purview. He said that a study done on the drainage in Port-of-Spain between 2013 to 2016 had failed so the Ministry has embarked on a new study. In the short-term, a pilot project, in which infrastructure is being built to accommodate a drainage pump near the Port of Port-of-Spain, is underway.

If this project is successful, nine pumps will be placed from Wrightson Road to South Quay to push the flood waters out into the sea.