T&T’s high alert continues.

This following a magnitude 6 aftershock earthquake yesterday, damage reports from all over the country and more reports expected - but no injuries or fatalities, all in the wake of Tuesday’s huge earthquake that measured 6.9 on the Richter scale.

T&T’s Seismic Research Centre confirmed yesterday’s after-shock which occurred at 9.27 am. It was initially assessed at 5.9 but was later reassessed as 6. The epicentre was the same as Tuesday’s earthquake - the Gulf of Paria peninsula. The SRC stated the after-shock was felt up to St Vincent and Guyana at a depth of 80 kilometres. Investigations are ongoing to see if tremors were becoming shallower, which could pose more risk. (See page A7)

Yesterday’s after-shock sent workers in downtown Port-of-Spain scampering out of offices. Several business places and Government agencies later closed to assess the damage.

The Local Government Ministry, which collected reports of damage via the 14 municipal corporations, yesterday confirmed reports from over 30 locations - but no injuries or deaths. The ministry noted volcanic activity at the Devil’s Woodyard mud volcano in South Trinidad - but no eruption. Following yesterday’s aftershock, all corporations continued receiving reports of power outages and structural damage, the ministry added.

At yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing, Communication Minister Stuart Young said he expected more reports of damage between yesterday and tomorrow. Cabinet members felt yesterday’s after-shock during their meeting.

He added,”With these types of incidents, we expect some after-shocks. It’s impossible to scientifically predict what will happen next when after-shocks will occur, or if there’ll be a further earthquake. But the state’s apparatus and National Security arms are in place.”

Young said he’d received photos of damage to homes.

“We thank God at this stage there’s no report of fatality or serious injury. I hope it stays that way. We’re also thankful the situation didn’t warrant a call for a nationwide shutdown.”

Yesterday’s after-shock caused power outages at Pt Cumana and Westmoorings, near the earthquake’s epicentre. Power was restored by 11 am.

Udecott chairman Noel Garcia, whose engineers inspected various structures, said the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and Trinity Cathedral sustained serious structural damage.

“We’ve recommended they hire someone to do a dilapidation survey to ensure they’re safe. Tonight (Wednesday) we’re moving pieces of the structure at the Cathedral which are threatening to fall on the public and (on Thursday) we’ll move such pieces from Trinity. The repair costs will run into a big sum,” Garcia said.

Garcia said there was no major structural damage to the National Academy for the Performing Arts North (NAPA) or South (SAPA) facilities, the Waterfront Plaza or the Government Campus. Udecott also signed off on the Couva Hospital and Brian Lara Stadium as not sustaining structural damage. He said the Education Tower on St Vincent Street had only mortar damage (cracks to windows.) The Tower, which was closed yesterday, re-opens today after infrastructural assessment, repairs and cleaning.

Works Minister Rohan Sinanan said ministry teams had inspected over 35 Government buildings so far and found no serious structural damage. Road and bridge networks have also so far shown no damage, save for one South Trinidad road, he added.

Yesterday, repair crews were busy with several structures in downtown PoS, inspecting or securing parts of buildings that require repairs. A large jagged crack has split part of the front of the former Sports Ministry office on Abercromby Street. Personnel at Queen’s Park Cricket Club were also seen photographing hairline cracks there.

Young said while T&T lacks formal building codes, the structural integrity of buildings held up. However, he said Government will look at implementing building codes. Government buildings are built to the California (US) building codes, he noted.

Young urged high-rise building residents - and private landlords of state agencies - to get private engineering inspection of their buildings’ stability, following which it could be inspected by Works. He agreed if earthquake tremors were shallower, they might have had more effects.

Damage to houses, jetties at ‘Epicentre’

Among the most chilling impacts of Tuesday’s earthquake was a video of the tip of Centipede Island breaking off and falling into the sea, with a huge splash which sent water up into the air. Down the Islands residents near the ‘quake’s epicentre yesterday confirmed damage to properties.

Robert Tardieu, navigator of Great Race speedboat White Heat lives on Monos Island.

He said, “There’s a lot of structural damage, everything fell off shelves, walls and counters during the earthquake. We had no current for nine hours and were isolated. But people who have homes on the island haven’t been down here to assess properties.”

His brother Derick Tardieu, who owns Tardieu Marina in Chaguaramas, said the jetty and other parts of the facility were damaged.

Also heavily traumatised were some southern construction workers who were on cranes when Tuesday’s earthquake hit and had their crane swaying shakily from side to side, causing them to yell in fear.

Communications Minister Stuart Young yesterday said Centipede Island wasn’t high on the list of priorities since it’s uninhabited, but the Coast Guard is patrolling the area. The situation in Tobago, where Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley will stage a Conversation with the PM this evening, seemed alright, he added.

A High Court judge has halted a special immigration inquiry for a Jamaican woman, who failed to apply for residency before her Trinidadian husband died.

On Wednesday, High Court Judge Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell granted an injunction to Nicola Rowe after her attorney filed a lawsuit over the failure of the Immigration Division to disclose the evidence against her before the inquiry, which was scheduled for yesterday.

Rowe came to T&T several years ago and married a man from Cantaro Village in Santa Cruz. Although she was legally married, she only sought to apply for permanent residency after her husband passed away, last year.

While the application was still pending, Rowe was detained by Immigration officers on June 19 and was ordered to appear before the inquiry to determine her immigration status.

She remained at the Immigration Detention Centre in Aripo and was only released on an order of supervision shortly after her attorney Matthew Gayle filed a separate habeas corpus lawsuit, last month.

In the lawsuit, Rowe is claiming that the division and the Ministry of National Security acted unfairly by failing to respond to her applications under the Freedom of Information Act for details of the evidence, which would be used against her in the inquiry.

Gayle sought the injunction, this week, as the inquiry was set to go on without him given the information, which he claims is necessary to prepare her defence.

“The applicant, through her husband’s estate, has significant financial interests in T&T and by preventing her from properly defending herself at the special inquiry, there is a real risk of her being unlawfully and/or unjustly denied of her right to enjoy the said property,” Gayle said in the court documents.

While Donaldson-Honeywell granted the injunction stopping the inquiry, she did not order the disclosure of the evidence as that would have to be decided when the substantive lawsuit goes to trial. Under the injunction, the inquiry cannot take place until the lawsuit is determined.

Donaldson-Honeywell, who heard the case during the Judiciary’s vacation period due to its urgency, gave directions for filing submissions in the lawsuit. The case will come up for hearing after the 2018/2019 Law Term opens, next month.

Arms, ammunition, marijuana and police operational clothing have been seized during a police exercise in Diego Martin.

According to police reports, on Wednesday, officers of the Western Division Task Force and Canine Unit searched an abandoned house at Riverside Drive, La Puerta where they discovered a Glock 19 pistol, 30 rounds of ammunition and over half a kilogramme of marijuana.

A 29-year old man was subsequently detained for the find.

The officers then proceeded to another house in the area where a 41-year-old man was arrested for being in possession of a Glock 17 and 16 rounds of ammunition.

Further information led officers to search an abandoned building where they discovered two rifles, a semi-automatic shotgun with 13 cartridges, a cylindrical magazine, a bulletproof vest, and items of clothing resembling that of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment and the Police Service.

The exercise was coordinated by Snr Supt Neville Sankar and spearheaded by acting ASP Dhanrajh Ramesar and acting Insp Godfrey Vincent.

The owner of a boat charter company is challenging a decision by the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) to evict it from the Alcan Bay fishing facility, next month.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Martin “Green” Hourie, owner of Island Royalty Cruises, said that he planned to take legal action over the move, which was announced by the CDA, this week.

Hourie, a life-long fisherman, said he and his family began using the facility over 50 years ago.

“My deceased father had a jetty here. All we do is cast the jetty into concrete to ply the fishing trade,” he said.

Hourie, who now owns five fishing boats at the facility, said that due to the Government’s neglect of the dilapidated facility, he and other fishermen took it upon themselves to build their own toilets and refrigeration facility.

He claimed that the CDA was aware of the development and did nothing to stop it.

“It is not like the CDA did not know. You can not build a concrete structure in two days. If you came and see that something was building, why you did not stop it?” he asked.

He said several years ago he got the opportunity to purchase a used boat, which he repaired and converted for fishing and pleasure charters.

“I got an old boat to buy and I fixed it to carry people down the islands. Everybody here doing the same thing,” Hourie claimed as he said that fishermen were forced to diversify due to economic uncertainty in the trade.

While the CDA has maintained that registered fishing vessels would not be removed, Hourie alleged that fishermen would be eventually be moved by the CDA.

“They (CDA) want to give the place to (name withheld) and they tell the fishermen they want to develop the place for them. They are getting evicted,” Hourie said, as he claimed that he had evidence to substantiate his allegations.

Although he admitted that CDA may demolish structures that were built at the facility, he claimed that it had no jurisdiction over boats anchored off the coast.

“CDA cannot say what boats are to stay in the water. The CDA has no control over that,” he said.

In a release issued earlier this week, the CDA said illegal occupiers have until September 7, to remove their vessels and items and demolish structures that were built onshore without permission.

It also stated that if the CDA was forced to demolish the structures if the deadline passed, the owners would still be responsible for removing the debris. It was careful to note that bona fide fishermen were not included as the location is reserved for a fishing port.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries has proposed to develop the location into a state-of-the-art facility, but no official plans or timeline have been announced.

When a news team from Guardian Media visited the facility and spoke to the fishermen, they were not hopeful over the proposal.

“We hearing about that just as long as we hearing that they going to move us. We will have to wait and see because with politicians they will say two years and it will take 20,” one said.

kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt

On any given day, students walking along Harris Promenade could have their lives disrupted by threats and harassment from the many street dwellers who now live there.

San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello described some of them as menaces to society as they abused drugs and alcohol.

At yesterday’s statutory meeting at the San Fernando City Hall, Regrello said there is increasing aggression and unruly behaviour shown by several of the 85 socially displaced people living in the southern city.

So much so that this increased aggression has led to the murder of Junior Miguel, a street dweller, who was kicked off the pavilion at Skinner Park by another street dweller during an argument over a pair of rubber slippers.

In a later interview, Regrello said parents have been complaining to him that several street dwellers have been walking up to their children on the promenade, after school. The street dweller would tell their children “what they can do to them.” He said there were several reports where some homeless men had exposed their private parts to children.

There are seven schools near the promenade which serves as a thoroughfare for children after the school day. Regrello added that there was a street dweller who defecates and masturbates on the pavement, in the full view of those passing. Earlier this year, a security fencing was built around the fountain along the promenade as street dwellers had begun bathing nude. Requests for benches on the promenade by people waiting for transportation have been temporarily denied because, in the past, the street dwellers would sleep on them.

“Coupled with the increasing aggression and unruly behaviour by these socially displaced persons, who assemble on the promenade, their actions are a major cause of concern as some of the young girls from the nearby schools are constantly harassed on their way to and from school. A contributing factor is the free meals provided on a daily basis by good-hearted individuals and charitable organizations,” Regrello said.

In San Fernando, there is a by-law that prohibits feeding the homeless on the streets. This decision was taken because street dwellers would discard their styrofoam containers and plastic bottles on the pavements and roads. As a few homeless people slept outside the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday, garbage could be seen between the fence and an electrical installation on the compound.

Regrello’s appeal was for charitable citizens to work with the San Fernando City Corporation to provide the homeless with meals in a clean environment that is suitable for proper disposal of the waste. Regrello said the San Fernando Centre for Socially Displaced Persons will be up and running soon while Court Shamrock is still functioning. If the homeless have to go there for food, he said it will take them off the streets and allow them to be in a safer environment.

Laws in force

Currently, the Summary Offences Act prohibits sleeping or loitering in public places, wilfully and obscenely exposing oneself, obscene language, disturbance of the peace, annoyance, danger of residents or passengers, throwing of stones or missiles.

The Mental Health Act also allows a mental health officer who has reason to believe that a person found wandering in public who, by reason of his or her conduct, appearance or conversation is mentally ill and in need of care and treatment in a psychiatric ward or hospital, may be taken into custody and conveyed to such to a medical facility, with the assistance of the police.

The 47-year-old financial manager of a manufacturing company in Caroni who was charged with embezzling $1.3 million from the company’s account was yesterday granted $300,000 bail.

Deanna Naalini, 48, of St Augustine Circular Road, Tunapuna, yesterday appeared before a Justice of the Peace and is scheduled to appear before a magistrate in the Tunapuna Magistrates’ Court today.

According to Fraud Squad officers, the woman was slapped with 88 charges—32 offences of money laundering; 32 offences of larceny and 24 offences of falsification of accounts.

She was previously employed by TYE Manufacturing Company Limited.

A report was made by company officials to the Fraud Squad and investigations and exercises were conducted under the leadership of Snr Supt Totaram Dookhie, including ASP Ghisyawan, Sgt Cornelius Samuel, Sgt Damien Thomas and WPC April-Ann Adams. The woman was arrested on Monday.

Investigations continued and restraint orders were obtained from the High Court, freezing her bank account and seizing a Volkswagen Passat sedan, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act.

All charges were laid by Sgt Cornelius Samuel.

A prison officer with over 22 years of service has been arrested at the Golden Grove Prison after being found with contraband items.

The arrest took place around 10.35 yesterday.

A statement by the Prisons Service says during a random search, the officer was found to be in possession of several packets of sealed cigarettes as well as 50 packets of wrapping paper.

He was subsequently handed over to the Arouca Police.

During a search of the officer’s vehicle, police found four mobile phones which were confiscated.

The officer was taken to the Arouca Police Station where charges are expected to be laid

Acting Commissioner of Prisons Dane Clarke applauded the ongoing vigilance and efficiency of the dedicated officers who continue to hold the service in high esteem, a statement of the Prison Service said.

The statement said measures had been implemented which were designed to apprehend and convict people who were intent on bringing the service into disrepute.

Police officers were busy yesterday in Central with three murders occurring within the space of six hours yesterday.

All three victims, two of whom were executed, up to press time last night were unidentified.

According to a police report, at about 12.30 am the body of a man was found in the Las Lomas No. 2 area. It was clad only in a pair of blue jeans and the hands were bound behind the back.

The man was shot in the head.

The second victim was found along Mon Plasir Road, Cunupia with gunshot wounds to the head and back on Wednesday night. That victim also had his hands also bound. He was also gagged.

The third victim was shot several times and his body found close to Tin Can Tavern and Grill along Factory Road, Chaguanas at about 5 am. Police said the man’s body was found several metres away from a vehicle.

All three bodies were sent to the Forensic Science Centre to await identification.

Police officers are asking members of the public who may have any information regarding the three incidents to come forward to assist in their investigations.

Roman Catholic priest Father Michael Cockburn and a small congregation attending evening Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception had a close call during Tuesday’s 6.9 earthquake.

Cockburn had just moved into the sanctuary to put the Eucharist after Communion when one of the church’s finials, shaken out of place by the 90-second quake, fell through the roof and into the church, landing in the sacristy.

There were about 30 people on hand for the Mass but no one was injured, Vicar General and administrator of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Father Martin Sirju, confirmed yesterday.

Sirju said Fr Cockburn himself was doing fine and “he does not seem to be traumatised” but they do now have a hole in the roof to repair on top of the other damage sustained to the overall structure.

Efforts to contact Cockburn were unsuccessful yesterday.

Yesterday, Fr Sirju said there were no estimates yet for the restoration work to be done at the cathedral. He said the basic integrity of the cathedral “is intact” and structural engineers visited the site and said it had withstood the shock of the quake quite well.

The cathedral is over 150 years old.

The “weak point,” according to Sirju, “are those structures jutting out from the sides of the top of the cathedral, the finials”, which he likened to “chimney tops”.

Sirju thanked the Ministry of Works, Port-of-Spain City Corporation, UDeCoTT, the police and the fire service for responding quickly to assist the church. On Wednesday night, the Works Ministry and UDeCoTT also assisted in removing the piece of the finial on the northern side of the cathedral, which Sirju said “was seriously compromised and could have fallen on people or vehicles”.

Sirju said they expected to get an estimate of the work to be done on the roof of the church by next week and money for the repairs will be used from the Archbishop’s Appeal Fund.

“I cannot say if the amount of money would cover it or if it would require more or less,” Sirju said.

It would be the first work to be done on the roof since the cathedral underwent extensive restorative work just under three years ago.

The main thing to be done is to fix the roof temporarily, he said and to remove the “treacherous pieces of lumber hanging precariously from the ceiling. When that is removed we can begin the clean-up exercise in the sacristy”.

Restoring the ceiling, according to Sirju, “is not very specialised. What would be more specialised and what would not be done now is the reconstructing of the finials so that they would be sturdier in case of possible earthquakes.

The cathedral will remain closed at least for the next week and all masses will be held at the Sacred Heart RC Church on Richmond Street, he said.

But Sirju said “natural disasters are happening everywhere and we have to prepare ourselves for them”.

From a biblical point of view, he said, “Every time disaster happens it is time for internal reflection, it is also a ripe opportunity to recognise that life is short and unpredictable and to look at oneself and to better oneself and to better the country as we approach our 56th year of independence.”

The Trinity Cathedral also suffered damage to four of its finials during the quake. Officials are yet to get an estimate on the cost of repairing the damage done.

Anglican Bishop Claude Berkely, who is on vacation, told the T&T Guardian he was “thankful to God” that the damage had not been worse.

He said the Holy Trinity Cathedral would be 200 years old in five years and had sat through many earthquakes.

Noting there were plans to restore the building for the 200th anniversary, he said: “This will hasten whatever work we have to do.”

The church, he said, would be looking to the public and the wider community to assist in the repair and restoration.

Berkely recalled that just under three years ago some of the more decorative elements fell during another earthquake, “so it was not unexpected that some kind of damage would have been done given what happened before”.

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

Demanding relocation and compensation, a handful of irate farmers confronted Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat yesterday, as he braved rains and potential floods to meet them after their farmlands were devastated by Tuesday’s earthquake.

However, the majority of the 40 farmers eventually expressed satisfaction with Rambharat’s visit, saying they only wanted him to assist them as soon as possible to get back on their feet.

Los Iros Hill View Farmers Association president Reshinand Ramraj said the farmers lost 20 irrigation ponds and 40 acres of farmlands. He said hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crops, including hot pepper, tomato, ochro, bodi and eggplant, were buried in the dirt, while a plough and a tractor fell into the cracks created by the 6.9 quake.

“Many farmers are afraid to be on the area because the land is shifting at an alarming speed,” Ramraj said.

When Guardian Media returned to the area yesterday, the RE Road was impassable. The crew had to climb up and down steep precipices about 12 to 14 feet high to get fresh photos of the devastation.

Simone Cooper and her sister Akiesha Adams said they walked for an hour to get to the Erin volcano. They reported that there were several new active cones with fresh mudflows emerging off RE Road.

Farmer Nobbie Mathura trudged through cracks, slopes and embankments to get to his pimento crop.

“I cannot let this crop go to waste. I picked 10 bags of pimento and we managed to get it out. I lost over $400,000 worth of crops and equipment,” Mathura said.

Lopsided tomato trees ready for harvest were inaccessible. Irrigation ponds which were once 20 feet deep were also filled up with slush.

Farmer Anil Maraj said at least 10 farmers were in immediate need of relocation. He said although some farmers faced minimal loss, the Government should assist in giving compensation to everyone so they could go back to productive farming.

One of the oldest farmers in the community, George Ramdath, said much of the landslips triggered by the earthquake could have been exacerbated by the destruction of the forested buffer zone which was cleared for agriculture by new farmers in 2014.

In an interview during his visit, Rambharat said he will move as quickly as he could to assist the farmers. With regard to compensation, he said he will prepare a report and take it to Cabinet and Government will determine whether this can be paid.

“So far, RE Road is the only farming community affected. From what I’ve seen, I am recommending that some of these farmers be immediately relocated because they can no longer use the land to farm,” Rambharat said.

Saying Los Iros was a highly productive farming community, Rambharat said in 2016-2017 he spent $3 million to rehabilitate the RE Road.

“The soil type is clay and there is a lot of movement towards the sea. There are some places where the land cannot be restored to productive agricultural use and we will be looking to relocate farmers to other areas so they can continue productive farming,” he said.

Saying it did not matter whether the farmers had leases or not, Rambharat said all farmers who can prove they were doing productive farming will get assistance. He also said the Los Iros farmers will get leases in three phases, the first of which will be given by December.

North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) CEO Wendy Ali must find space at other institutions for the relocation of 250 patients previously housed at the Central Block of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, as the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) gets set to undertake critical remedial works on the building after it suffered damage during Tuesday’s 6.9 magnitude earthquake.

But while Ali has put forward several proposals for the relocation exercise, Public Services Association president Watson Duke and former health minister Dr Fuad Khan have condemned the move.

Following an assessment of the hospital on Wednesday, relocation of all the patients in the wing to other hospitals was deemed necessary and Udecott promised to have it repaired.

Yesterday, Ali said the hospital had come up with several proposals, among them relocating patients to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Caura Hospital and Costaatt. She said they were also looking at operating the Haematology Department out of the St James Hospital, which had to be finalised.

The EWMSC, Ali said, has been extremely supportive of the plan.

“I have not set up anything outside of Port-of-Spain as of now. I, however, have stabilised eight patients that needed to be admitted at the hospital’s Accident and Emergency and they have been referred to Eric Williams for admissions. That is a temporary measure,” she told the T&T Guardian

Ali said the NWRHA has been considering all possibilities available to them.

“As we examine them ,which one presents the best solution we will accept,” she said, adding at this time the PoSGH has been continuing its services to patients in as efficient a manner as it can.

“At this moment, we are decanting our third floor and as of now those persons are being housed within our institution,” she said, adding those patients were relocated to Wards One, Three, 15, 16 and 17.

Ali said while the Caura Hospital had available bed space this facility was still being considered.

“We will not move our patients until we are certain that the standard of care that they currently get will in no way be compromised. We have to be sure that all places are ready to receive patients,” Ali said.

“This is not about picking up people and running down with them. This is not how we are approaching this exercise. This is not a long extended halt of services. This is just a period to decant Central Block. Once we have decanted everything will resume.”

If patients are to be relocated, Ali said there must be an assurance that all services, equipment, dietary needs, pharmaceuticals, linen and resources are available to them. But she said the hospital had also not made a final decision on moving patients outside of Port-of-Spain.

“When we do, persons will know what wards and caliber of patients we have decided to relocate and where.”

Going forward, Ali said new wards will be created but could not say when as she was still awaiting a structural report from engineers on the building.

On other aspects of the PoSGH’s operations, Ali said the maternity department has been functioning, while its five operating theatres have been performing only emergency surgeries. Elective surgeries have been cancelled. On Wednesday, Ali said the A&E Department attended to 177 patients.

Asked how many patients are likely to be shifted from the Central Block, Ali said patients’ intake and discharge keep changing, but noted the hospital is “looking at approximately 250 patients that we would normally house.”

Questioned if hospital administration had been looking at utilising the Costaatt building, Ali said while this institution fell under the purview of the Ministry of Education “there is some dialogue going on. I cannot speak to it. Once I have a decision I will communicate to the media.”

She said her healthcare staff have been comforted by the fact that the hospital has been putting their health and safety first.

Also contacted yesterday, Costaatt president Dr Gillian Paul said they were unable to give the NWRHA any information as to whether any of their facilities will be suitable for their purposes.

“We are trying to get an understanding of how we have turned up on the radar screen somewhere that could take these patients. I didn’t understand how we surfaced as an option,” Paul said, admitting she was puzzled about how they could help the situation as all their campuses have full utilisation of classrooms.

But former health minister Khan yesterday said he strongly believed Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh was inconveniencing and deliberately provoking hundreds of patients in an effort to reinforce a false narrative that the Central Block requires demolishing and reconstruction. Khan said based on Udecott’s report on examining the structure, there was little reason to relocate patients.

“In fact, Deyalsingh is causing more pain and suffering for those patients than they would have sustained during any of the earthquakes experienced over the past three days,” Khan said.

Duke also argued that shifting patients to other hospitals would result in overcrowding on wards, while he insisted that the hospital’s health care workers should be transferred to the Couva Hospital to perform their duties.

The European Union Delegation to T&T has bestowed a €100,000 (TT$783,000) grant to Vision on a Mission to extend its pre-release and resettlement programme for former inmates.

In a press release earlier this week, the delegation said that the NGO was selected based on its decades of work with the Prison Service and Ministry of National Security.

EU Ambassador Aad Biesebroek, who spoke at the event, said that the grant was just one of several local human rights initiatives supported by the EU over the past three years.

“Second chances are important. This project ensures that rather than slipping through the cracks and falling into recidivism, ex-offenders will be given the opportunity to reintegrate and make positive contributions to society,” Biesebroek said.

The others local projects supported by the EU included research on the death penalty, support of single fathers seeking to maintain contact with their children and the promotion of gender equality and the reduction of discrimination based on sexual orientation. The organisation’s founder Wayne Chance said he was pleased after his organisation was selected.

“There are very stringent measures to qualify and we are very happy that we could have met the international standards to qualify,” he said.

He said that the application was made because they felt that its current pre-release programme could not provide the skills and training required for reintegration into society.

“For a lot of those leaving the prison, the impact of their imprisonment and the programmes they were exposed to were not all that sufficient to make them marketable,” Chance said.

He said that under the new two-year programme, former inmates would be trained in food and agro-processing.

“We are going to work with 70 persons to help them become entrepreneurs,” Chance said as he stated that the aim of the programme is to be sustainable.

The grant will go to setting up the programmes, hiring staff to facilitate it and establishing an outreach centre in San Fernando. While he said the organisation was thankful for the support of the EU and its Government subvention, Chance called on corporate entities to partner with it.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley told an audience in Tobago that they should not expect a fast ride on the Galleons Passage, the passenger ferry, which embarks on its first trial run next week.

The vessel is expected to take in excess of four hours to make the journey between Port-of-Spain and Scarborough.

The Prime Minister was fielding questions on Thursday during the fifth instalment of Conversations with the Prime Minister series at the Scarborough Library, Tobago.

Rowley said the Galleons Passage is a single hull boat that travelled at a top speed of 22 knots.

He was asked about the state of the ferry service by businesswoman Shirley Cooke, who operates at Crown Point. Cooke said business was bad for the past two years because of low tourist arrivals.

Rowley called upon Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan to give an update.

Sinanan said the crew for the Galleons Passage arrived on Thursday and trial runs to Tobago are planned for next week. The vessel arrived in T&T in July after a four-month journey from China.

He said once things work as planned, in three weeks time the Galleons Passage, alongside the T&T Spirit should be servicing the islands.

Sinanan said an advertisement was posted in a daily newspaper inviting applications for another fast ferry. He said the plan was to use a third fast ferry to service the islands under a two-year lease arrangement. Sinanan said Cabinet plans to purchase two new ferries that would replace the older boats before they go into a state of disrepair.

The Prime Minister said the Australian Government is assisting the Government to purchase two new ferries that should be in service by mid-2020.

Rowley appealed to Tobagonians to stop bad talking the island and discouraging Trinidadians, whom he said are now spending their vacation monies elsewhere.

“If I was in Trinidad, as I am, and I wanted somewhere to go, the last place I want to go is Tobago because you get on as if Tobago is a hell hole. We have five planes going back and forth and you can’t get a seat but no tourist in Tobago.”

He said people in St Lucia have told him that Trinidadians are coming to St Lucia because Tobagonians are discouraging them from visiting.

Speaking on the Sandals project, Rowley said the Government would be in the process of drawing up a contract to sign with the hotel chain.

Rowley made it clear that the government has not yet entered into a contract with Sandals. Rowley said the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with Sandals and arrangements with the hotel chain would be negotiated before any contract was signed.

Rowley said the public utilities, airport and infrastructure were being upgraded in preparation for a growth of tourism on the island. He also noted that the THA was spending $20 million to fix agricultural access roads in Tobago so agricultural produce could be developed for the tourism sector in Tobago.

Rowely said the Government has received two applications for a public/private sector venture to develop a marina at the Canoe Bay, Cove area that would also attract other upscale tourists to the sister isle.

Some members of Pan Trinbago are calling for an independent body put in charge of all nominations and the election process.

The suggestion came from several members during Thursday night's Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) which was held at the Communication Workers' Union Hall, Henry Street, Port-of-Spain.

According to a member, the suggestion was made because the "majority of the membership has lost full confidence in the existing executive and they do not want them to handle any of the nomination papers. They want the Elections and Boundaries Commission to take charge of the elections when it does happen."

However, Guardian Media understands that the elections may not be on September 16 as scheduled, as there was no quorum at Thursday's meeting to take the necessary decisions.

However, a new meeting date will soon be announced where at that meeting decisions can be made on the way forward.

A member explained: "They said that 110 bands are needed and there were only about 86 present. But from my experience, we have never gotten 110 bands and I'm here since the 70s. So some people are trying to be mischievous."

The reasons for calling Thursday's EGM was to apprise members on several matters including a status of the organisation, report on the court matters and elections 2018 -2021 but instead the meeting turned into a complaint forum and debate on whether there was a quorum to convene.

Initially, Nomination Day was set for today, with elections carded for September 16, at a venue and time to be announced.

Throughout the meeting, members were seen leaving the venue and were overheard expressing their disgust and disappointment at the failed EGM.

"I leaving here because this not making no sense. None of the matters on the agenda can be discussed and people here only taking up time to talk about all other issues. I don't know when all this comess will stop. People being misled too much and nothing doing to correct it," one of the members said.

Also raised at the meeting, which was due to begin at 5 pm but did not get started until 7 pm, a member questioned why for the past five months staff of Pan Trinbago had not received their respective salaries. However, no explanation was given.

It was made clear that the National Carnival Commission is only trying to instil accountability and transparency from the executive of Pan Trinbago and not "trying to take it over."

By the end of the meeting at 9 pm, no kind of hope was given to the members who were present, not even by Pan Trinbago's president Keith Diaz, who was seated at the far end of the head table.

Pan Trinbago, steelband’s umbrella body, has been embroiled in controversy with its membership over a plethora of issues.

Even before the staging of this year’s National Panorama, accusations of misappropriation of funds were hurled towards the member’s of the Pan Trinbago executive. An untenable situation led to a number of issues been determined in court, resulting in the executive retaining leadership until an election is held.

Campaigning leading up to the elections is expected to be a tempestuous one as infuriated pannists continue to lobby for the rejection and complete removal of the incumbent executive and a new one elected to serve until 2021.

A 39-year-old man from Maraval, who jumped from the 11th storey of a building after being charged with murder, last year, has finally appeared in court.

Rodger Holder, of Hilltop Drive, Maraval, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Nanette Forde-John in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court charged with murder, kidnapping and possession of firearm and ammunition.

Holder, also known as Ras and Masman, was initially charged alongside Cornelius La Borde, 26, of Morne Roche Road, Maraval, in November, last year.

However, two days before they were due to appear in court, Holder jumped through a window at Riverside Plaza in Port-of-Spain, where he was being detained.

Holder was hospitalised and was only discharged by doctors at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, earlier this week.

He was then charged with escaping lawful custody and for attempted suicide.

Holder, whose foot is still in a cast, hobbled into the courtroom with the aid of crutches.

Holder and La Borde are accused of murdering 35-year-old Donald Marcano, of Maraval, on October 24, last year. Marcano was at home when two gunmen entered and shot him several times. Earlier that day, the same men kidnapped Marcano’s teenage nephew. The men took him away from his home and beat him before he managed to escape. Holder and La Borde are expected to reappear in court on September 19.

A businesswoman from Arima has appeared in court charged with defrauding three people of $279,400 in a car sale scam.

Rianne Fuchong, the owner of Riri’s Marketing of Tumpuna Road in Arima, appeared in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court on three larceny charges yesterday.

She is accused of defrauding three people of $161,400, $100,000 and $18,000 between April and August 2015.

The money represented downpayments for foreign-used vehicles that Fuchong was purporting to sell.

The victims reported Fuchong to the Fraud Squad after vehicles were not delivered as promised and she repeatedly failed to refund them.

Fuchong was arrested by police at her home during an anti-crime exercise on Monday.

The investigation was conducted by Senior Supt Totaram Dookie, Cpls Jamillia Joseph-Francis and Ricardo Toney and WPC Efaye Jointe.

Fuchong will reappear in court next month.

Mother of two Salasha Ali may have received a second miracle of life yesterday after she survived a horrid accident in which an industrial mobile welding plant ploughed into her at the side of the road in Cunupia.

Ali, 30, was standing at her vegetable stall at the side of Chin Chin Road when the heavy plant was thrown from the tray of a three-tonne truck which overturned as the driver took a bend.

Although she was alive at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex last evening, Ali was said to be in a “bad state” and up to press time was in the A&E department undergoing several tests.

Her 11-year-old daughter, who was also struck by the equipment, was also lucky after sustaining a minor injury to one of her eyes. She was treated at the Accident and Emergency Depart (A&E) of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mount Hope and subsequently discharged.

During an interview hours after the incident, Ali’s husband, Michael Sookwah, 51, said just seconds before tragedy struck he was standing at his wife’s side, where the three of them had just packed out ochroes, pommecythere, lemon and lime to sell on a table.

“I had just walked away from Salasha and her daughter when I saw this van speeding coming. In a split second I heard the brakes of the van bawling and as he take the corner I saw when this machine just pitch out from the tray and hit my wife and daughter. The machine landed on her right side, pinning she to the ground,” a worried Sookwah recalled.

Sookwah said his wife sustained a broken leg and hand along with other injuries to her right-side and head.

“She badly off from what I see,” Sookwah said with tears in his eyes.

He added that the driver of the van, on realising what had taken place, stopped and reversed the vehicle to where his wife lay on the side of the road.

“He came out and helped us lift the machine from off of her, but up to now he never said a word to us. Not even anyone from the company the man working for has even tried to contact us.”

The three-tonne truck, TDG 3594, sported the company’s name in a banner fixed on its windscreen. The vehicle belongs to a construction company which is owned by a villager, bystanders said.

Sookwah said he and his wife do gardening and it was normal for them to put stalls along the road to sell their produce. He, however, noted that they had just recently decided to set up at the spot where the incident occurred.

“We come there about two weeks now and we have always been careful,” he said.

Sookwah scolded the driver of the vehicle for speeding and for not securing the heavy equipment.

“He wrong for speeding, especially around corners. If that was tied the entire van would have flipped but it pitch from the van. I just want to see my wife come back good and she gets compensation. I want to see that man in police custody and charged by the police.”

Eyewitness to the incident Foster Antoine, said he was willing to testify in any case which may go before the court. He noted that at that particular corner a lot of drivers tend to speed.

“How much time I will see speeding around this corner and how much time I will be saving people. I live around this corner and I see the van coming and I shout ‘clear’ but it was too late. The woman get pinned down and break leg, hand, ribs and neck,” he said.

“Them people trying to make an honest dollar. Now what will become of her?”

The T&T Guardian understands that the driver was questioned by police investigators and subsequently released.

Officers of the Cunupia Police Station are continuing investigations.

A 47-year-old financial manager of a Caroni company, who is accused of embezzling $1.3 million from her former employer, had her bail doubled when she appeared in court yesterday morning.

Deanna Naalini, 48, of St Augustine Circular Road, Tunapuna, was granted $300,000 bail by a Justice of the Peace on Thursday, as she could not attend court while the Judiciary was continuing structural checks on courts around the country following Tuesday’s 6.9 magnitude earthquake.

However, when she appeared before Magistrate Debra Quintyne in the Tunapuna Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning, Naalini’s bail was increased to $600,000.

As part of the conditions of her bail, Naalini was ordered to surrender her passport and report to police three times a week for the duration of her case.

Naalini, a former employee of TYE Manufacturing Company Limited, was slapped with 88 charges—32 offences of money laundering; 32 offences of larceny and 24 offences of falsification of accounts.

She was not called upon to plead to the charges during the hearing.

The company reported the fraud to the Fraud Squad after it was discovered earlier this year.

An investigation was conducted by a team of detectives led by Senior Supt Totaram Dookie and she was arrested on Monday.

In addition to the charges, investigators have obtained orders from the High Court freezing her bank accounts and seizing a Volkswagen Passat sedan, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The charges were laid by Sgt Cornelius Samuel. Naalini will reappear in court on September 12.

One hundred and twenty-two patients from the Central Block of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) have been relocated over the past two days to wards on the North Block of the hospital and the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) and all elective surgeries have been suspended pending further notice.

This was the word from North-West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) CEO Wendy Ali as she oversaw the process.

She told the T&T Guardian: “We are preparing another ward and executing a plan to get the place ready for the re-opening of the Haematology clinic, so there is a lot going on. Work continues apace as we continue to do what we have to do so that we can get back to some state of readiness and building out bed capacity.”

Ali said it was the first time such an exercise had been done.

“I don’t know that anyone ever decanted five floors of a public hospital. It was a great learning experience. We had a Disaster Committee Preparedness plan we put it into action and of course, while we were doing it there was a lot of collaboration and support from external and internal parties.

“I think we did the best that we could in the shortest possible time.”

She said they had a lot of support from the Defence Force, Fire, Prisons and Police Service and it was a great team effort.

Ali said elective surgeries had to be put on hold because they needed to keep the beds for persons who are acutely ill. While the decanting has been completed, she said the process will continue this weekend to bring back up all the services. She commended the doctors and nurses for staying committed to doing what is required in the circumstances.

The T&T Guardian understands Defence Force members assisted with removing beds and other equipment and supplies from the Central Block on Thursday night, as patients were relocated to wards in the North Block.

Yesterday, the NWRHA said the decision to relocate the patients “was taken out of an abundance of caution” to ensure the continued safety of staff, patients and visitors in light of the 6.9 earthquake and in the event of further aftershocks.

The Accident and Emergency (A&E) department remains open and will continue to provide full service.

In the interim, the Haematology clinic has been relocated to the St James Medical Complex and 14 patients from the Gerontology Ward at the St James Medical Complex have been relocated to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex.

North Central Regional Health Authority CEO Davlin Thomas said the EWMSC had accepted two tiers of patients. He admitted that the decanting had placed an additional burden on the EWMSC but assured everything was done to ensure the “transition was seamless and excellent.”

However, T&T Registered Nurses Association president Idi Stuart told the T&T Guardian that although they agreed with the decision to decant, “the manner in which it is being done really leaves one to wonder whether patients will get adequate care.”

Stuart said two wards from the old section of the hospital were being used to accommodate patients from the fourth and fifth floors.

“The remaining floors, they are trying to squeeze them into one ward of the hospital so you have six wards coming together to be housed in one ward. This mass exodus is really causing numerous problems, we are trying to reassure our members that with all that is happening patient safety remains paramount.”

He also expressed concern that because six wards were merged there would be an issue with “bathrooms because there is one bathroom for male patients and one for female patients.

Ali said the issue of the bathrooms was being addressed “but Mr Stuart must understand that this was an emergency.” She said some bathrooms were refurbished yesterday and will be made available for use.

Meantime, the Ministry of Health says as of yesterday patients from the Central Block were relocated to wards within the PoSGH, EWMSC, and the Caura Chest Hospital. It assured that the relocation was “conducted in a manner that ensured respect for patients and maintained optimal quality of care.”