Hundreds of candidates intent on sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations yesterday lined up outside the Marabella South Secondary School, facing heat, rain and abuse from a police officer.

Some of the applicants went to the school as early as 6 am to meet the deadline for registration but by midday, the lines stretched from inside the school compound at Tagore Avenue, all the way to Seventh Street and Bayley Street. All of the candidates, whose surnames ranged from P-Z, were expected to register yesterday.

However, only one centre was set up at the school to accommodate hundreds of applicants from Icacos to Gasparillo. By 10 am, with more than 100 applicants inside and a couple hundred more outside, a police officer came out of the school and began shouting at the crowd, saying nobody was allowed inside the compound.

Gillian Francis said she was appalled.

“We are not dogs. We have been here for hours and were told to come today. We were verbally abused by this officer. People were fainting in the sun.

“Why couldn’t this be done online? What a backward arrangement this is,” she exclaimed.

She said anyone who missed Friday’s deadline will have to pay late fees on Monday.

Joanna Wallace, who also waited for hours, said a better system should have been put in place for the students.

“They should have set up more centres so that the candidates do not have to face this problem. I am here since 7 am and we still waiting. To make matters worse, the police instructor came out here speaking to us as if we were animals,” Wallace added.

Sandra Maharaj, who journeyed from Palo Seco to register her daughter, called on the Education Ministry to offer another day for registration. She said after the earthquake on Tuesday, candidates were unable to register on Wednesday and this caused a backlog.

Andy Singh also said the ministry should take into account the number of pupils who wanted to write the January exams.

“I feel very frustrated with this process and something must be done,” Singh added.

Contacted yesterday, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said he was made aware of the concerns raised by applicants and was exploring the possibility of extending the registration deadline to Monday. Asked whether other centres could be set up throughout south Trinidad rather than the one registration centre, Garcia said this too can be explored.

Charles Kong Soo

While there are nine chair rental companies operating on Maracas Beach, Jamelia Williams, manager of Livin Trini, is the only company licenced to operate on the beach and recognized by the Ministry of Tourism. She is the only second generation rental chair operator, the company having been started by her father, Jimmy Williams. She is also the lone female chair rental operator among the nine chair vendors and was easy to spot on the beach.

Williams said in terms of beach chair vending, Maracas Beach was a new and improved look for tourism in the country, but it had become very overpopulated due to a lack of regulations. She said the situation had been ongoing for several years even during the now dissolved TDC's (Tourism Development Company) tenure.

Williams said at the time, TDC authorised only her rental company to operate on the beach and there were two unregistered groups. Today the numbers have grown. She was the only one paying a rent to the Government up to last year.

She said unfortunately as Livin Trini was the only branded company, it bore the brunt of the negative comments about the beach chair issue at Maracas. Williams said she received hate messages on Facebook and 'bad comments' such as her chairs should be torched again like last year's incident in December when she lost 112 chairs and her tent was stolen on the beach.

She said without proper regulations and intervention by the ministry, the situation will continue to worsen as more players will come with no fear of the consequences for their actions.

One of the “new kids on the block”, Nicholas Alexander, 29, from Maracas, an employee of Nat's Beach Rentals, also wanted to give his perspective on the services the youths from the community provided and the challenges they faced in the industry.

Alexander said “On this side very hard, when you go to town to work for $150 a day, time you eat and travel, that money comes like next to nothing.”

Alexander said it was because of the beach chair operators' presence that there were no robberies, theft, missing cellphones or bags on the beach, they didn't tolerate those activities as they also lived in the area; it came like they did the job of the police.

He said he had 15 years working in the industry, it was a 'set of nonsense', and the police were not doing anything. He agreed that operators should not blanket the beach with their chairs.

The young entrepreneur, who said poor people had to make an honest living, added that people came down on him for his outspokenness.

A bake and shark vendor, a beach accessories vendor, and two lifeguards are selling beach chairs along with several other chair rental companies adding to the chaos at Maracas Beach.

There are nine chair vendors on the beach but only one is licenced by the Government, and was paying a rent up to last year.

The Sunday Guardian visited the beach last Sunday after several complaints from citizens that the ‘rogue’ chair rental companies had literally taken over the beach staking their territory with their chairs and umbrellas early in the morning, preventing beachgoers from getting a spot on the sand and in effect pushing them out or extorting them to rent their chairs and umbrellas for the space.

As soon as I alighted from the car in the Maracas car park, a teenaged tout asked politely if I wanted a chair or umbrella.

The scene on the beach resembled a slum overrun with the visual pollution of plastic beach chairs and umbrellas that numbered more than beachgoers. There were children in the water watched over by their guardians or parents on the water’s edge and a few spaces in the shade.

One man who did not want to be named said “These two businessmen and lifeguards are filling up the beach with their chairs and umbrellas and then going and protest and complain about the number of chairs on the beach.

“I would like the Government to ask the young fellas to produce police records and certificates of character before they could sell and interact with people on the beach.

“There are all types of people on the beach, families, young children, seniors, visitors and some of these chair vendors are using obscene language, smoking marijuana, and fighting.

“Most of these youths have matters before the courts and these same fellas are among people on the beach with their children which could be dangerous.”

There was a murder in Tyrico Bay last year over beach chair ‘territory’, he recalled.

Kimberly Lewis, 24, was chopped to death and her husband, Jonathan Garcia, 29 was stabbed about the body at their business/home, the Beach Viewers Mart, opposite the entrance to Tyrico Bay, on May 22, 2017.

Police said the attack stemmed from a dispute with another couple two months before involving a neighbour’s missing beach chairs.

The man suggested that the Government should charge the chair rental companies for use of the beach as they were using resources such as water to wash their chairs.

He said the young men renting the chairs were running people from the beach since they had no training in etiquette.

The man said this was becoming an all too frequent occurrence on the beach now when one group of young men would pitch their chairs and umbrellas on the beach and another group would come and throw the first group’s equipment away. See story on A16

Beach chairs an impediment to lifeguards, people feel harassed

Myra Gosein, from Princes Town, said the umbrellas and chairs posed a potential life-saving hazard to the lifeguards in the event they had to respond to an emergency on the beach or water as their view was blocked by the umbrellas and the chairs presented an obstacle course for them to cover the distance to render assistance.

Jon Mahabir, from St James, said for a while now he had been hesitant to bring his foreign family to the beach due to its overall poor condition.

He said he was approached to rent chairs and they made it seem like it was a necessity and that he almost felt bullied into doing so.

Mahabir said he usually carried a large beach mat that can comfortably fit four people and keep their belongings off the sand so he doesn’t usually use chairs.

He said he had been to many famous beaches worldwide and beach chairs were by request only unless it was a private beach in which case the chairs were complimentary and were also heavily regulated at most popular beaches.

Richard Robinson, from Cunupia, said he and his wife and other parents came with their children and members of their swim club (teens) to Maracas to train for the Maracas Open Water Swim Classic on September 16.

He said there were constant badgering and throwing of words at them by the chair vendors for either not wanting to rent or being abusive when asked to move the chairs. Robinson said he would like the authorities to put some regulations in place for the use of the foreshore and beachfront at T&T’s beaches.

He said commercial operators must be licenced and properly identified and the rules needed to be enforced when it came to illegal vending on the beaches.

Robinson said people go to the beach to relax; not to shop.

Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell did not return the Sunday Guardian’s messages on Friday.

SASCHA WILSON

Loud rumblings from Piparo mud volcano following Tuesday's earthquake have stirred up frightening memories for the survivors of the deadly eruption on February 22, 1997.

Concerned residents are calling on geologists and the relevant authorities to conduct more tests and surveys to monitor the activity at the volcano.

Sporadic loud noises emanated from the volcano while mud pitched up on two occasions from the mounds while the Guardian was at the site on Friday.

Housewife Jasmin Mohammed said they would usually hear faint sounds from the volcano, but the noises had increased since the earthquake. "It really scary. Yesterday morning and last night it making noise non-stop. We hearing it here because the sound wave coming down this way so we will hear it more often than the other side. Yesterday, my son went up and he said he hearing a sound like a wave," said Mohammed.

She said around midnight on Thursday the noises were so loud that she could not sleep. "Just because of the earthquake, I a little more concerned and shaky about it."

Recalling the 1997 experience when the volcano erupted, she said "That is something I never want to experience again."

Another resident Sheriffa Solomon, 64, said during the early hours of Friday morning she heard "like big waves crashing. It get a little louder since the earthquake".

Solomon, who was displaced for six months after the 1997 earthquake, said those memories came flooding back to her. "When I heard the noises I was thinking where to go when this volcano erupt again. I don't ever want to go through that (1997 eruption) again."

Solomon said she was getting a strong scent of sulphur in the area. "That has to be coming from the volcano. They should come and check so at least they could allay our fears."

However, retired police officer Samlal Harrilal, who lives very close to the volcano, said while he has not observed any increased activity, the experts should still monitor the volcano.

He was also concerned that a cell tower which was mounted about 50 to 75 feet from his home could fall as a result of frequent land movement.

Harrilal complained that since the 1997 eruption the village had been neglected and was in need of proper drainage.

Geologist Xavier Moonan, who visited the volcano the day after the earthquake, confirmed that the volcano had become more active. "We are keeping a close eye on it because that's the one we anticipate will erupt next. Based on the cyclicity, it is expected to erupt in the next five years, but events like the earthquake could possibly trigger an eruption. We have done a number of surveys on it earlier this year and we will be doing more later this year."

Dr Roger Hosein

Senior Economics lecturer at UWI, St Augustine and co-ordinator of the Trade and Economic Development Unit

In terms of economic analysis, an earthquake (as with other natural disasters) can be classified as a random shock affecting numerous parts of an economy. An earthquake can cause direct and indirect economic consequences dependent on the country's vulnerability to seismic risk. The direct impact of the disaster refers to the quantifiable loss of physical and human capital, while the indirect impact encompasses economic losses in terms of a subsequent fall in output, revenue, and productivity as a result of the disaster. Direct and indirect losses distinguish between the immediate and delayed losses as a result of a disaster.

Year Death Toll Country Event

2017 98 Mexico Chiapas earthquake

2016 676 Ecuador Ecuador earthquake

2011 20,896 Japan Tohoku earthquake and tsunami

2010 250,000 Haiti Port-au-Prince earthquake

2010 525 Chile Chile earthquake

2009 192 Samoa Samoa earthquake and tsunami

2008 87,587 China Sichuan earthquake

2007 23 Indonesia Sumatra earthquake

2005 1,300 Indonesia Nias-Simeulue earthquake

2004 227,898 Indonesia, Indian Ocean Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

Direct losses refer to the physical or structural impact caused by the disaster such as the destruction of infrastructure due to the force of ground shaking. This consists of the economic losses due to destroyed or severely damaged buildings, roads, and other physical structures. The direct impact also includes losses to movable assets such as damaged or destroyed contents of buildings and other private property. Public sector economic costs accrue because of loss of revenues and increases in expenses for the public sector. This is estimated as the cost for repair and replacement of assets.

For instance, the direct cost associated with the 2010 Haitian earthquake was estimated at US$12 billion. The earthquake destroyed the country's main airport, significant amounts of its paved roads and the majority of the ports. Approximately 300,000 homes were damaged with 36 per cent being completely destroyed. In the capital, 80 per cent of schools were either damaged or destroyed along with 60 per cent of other government building.

A few months after the disaster, Haiti experienced an outbreak of cholera. This is believed to be as a result of faecal matter which contaminated the Artibonite River. At the time, the river was a major source of drinking water. This epidemic spread around Haiti and by 2016, 770,000 became ill, while 9,200 succumbed to the disease. The earthquake also seriously affected some agricultural access roads with one source citing the lost to the agricultural sector was approximately US$30 million. The Government had to also put out a significant amount of resources to maintain shelters. The GDP declined five per cent in 2010 as compared to 2009.

Generating gains

Even so, the impact of disasters can also generate gains, and not only losses, for some people and economies, for instance, the demand for construction material and expertise following a disaster can prosper construction industry. No doubt linked to some amount of reconstruction activity, Haiti's unemployment rate although rising to 20 per cent in 2010 as compared to 15 per cent in 2009, fell thereafter to 13.1 per cent in 2011.

This presents an avenue to generate economic growth in times of disaster through increases in employment in the construction sector thereby creating a multiplier effect. Indirect effects are the subsequent or secondary results of the initial destruction, such as business interruption losses.

Other consequences include psychological (post-traumatic stress), cultural, and environmental (contamination of drinking water, saltwater intrusion, etc) impacts. Loss of productivity due to adverse impacts of the transportation system resulting from landslides and collapsed roads and bridges are also real emergent possibilities. The indirect costs also account for both earthquake-induced supply shortages and demand reductions. For instance, due to infrastructural damage, firms supply may be disrupted while as it relates to demand, damage to private properties may result in redirecting spending away from usual commodities towards necessities and property repairs.

The T&T case

These factors will not interplay in a deep way in the T&T economy in such a way so as to compromise the free flow of the price mechanism.

On account of the earthquake, numerous institutions were closed to facilitate damage assessments. These included various government agencies and private sectors service providers such as Unit Trust Corporation, Flow and Movie Towne. Agricultural producers in some areas also took a hit and some access roads were damaged. Even the public hospital was affected.

Daily GDP in T&T is valued at approximately $400 million, our losses from the earthquake were nowhere in that vicinity. I would be surprised if it crossed $20 million overall.

In the T&T case, the earthquake was closer to Venezuela. Shoddy building habits are definitely a factor in the developing world explaining the heavy impact of earthquakes. In T&T there are many cases where people erect structures without Town and Country and other approvals and even these approvals are sometimes obtained through underhanded means. Global warming and other related changes that increase the frequency of a certain type of natural disasters will hold us to higher standards. Failure to comply would have all type of consequences.

Curtis Williams

History was created in Caracas yesterday when Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley signed on the dotted line for the importation of cheap natural gas from Venezuela.

This will make T&T more attractive to billion-dollar downstream investments in the energy sector. T&T has experienced gas shortages in the last five years and there has not been a single new investment in the petrochemical sector since.

In what must be considered one of his most significant achievements since coming to office almost three years ago, the Prime Minister beamed with pride as he told reporters that not only would the gas be coming here to support this country’s development but that the cost was less than the National Gas Company (NGC) was paying many of the upstream producers.

“We may have been able to save our industry by getting a secure source of gas for the downstream sector. It may over time also allow us to look at the expansion of the downstream sector and investments there, as long as we can show investors we have a secured stream of gas,” Rowley told journalists on the flight back from the Bolivarian Republic.

Rowley also revealed that the NGC has been able to negotiate a tranche of gas for power generation at an even lower price than the rest of the gas to be used by the petrochemical sector.

The dream of the processing of Venezuelan gas in T&T and its sale to major international markets was one that was articulated by the late prime minister Patrick Manning, and while there have been negotiations on various cross-border blocks to achieve the same objective nothing has been achieved in more than 15 years. Today’s signing in the Venezuelan capital brings this dream one step closer to reality.

The Prime Minister was not willing to disclose the price of the gas, pointing to commercial confidentiality, but he revealed it will be 150 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d), with the possibility of it increasing to 300 mmscf/d.

Rowley said the pipeline carrying the gas from Venezuela’s Dragon Gas field in Eastern Venezuela to Shell’s Hibiscus platform off the North Coast will be built and owned in a joint venture between the NGC and Shell Trinidad. The estimated cost of the construction of the pipeline is over $1 billion TT.

To put the deal into perspective, Trinidad would access enough gas to support at least two methanol plants from Venezuela, it will help with the shortfall in natural gas to the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, and would provide a guaranteed source of cash to the Venezuela government.

As President Nicolas Maduro puts it, the deal will lead to money to build schools and provide drugs to Venezuela’s hospitals. The drive from the Simon Bolivar Airport to Mira Flores demonstrated how much the cash is needed as long lines could be seen everywhere in the capital as people struggle to deal with the worst economic crisis in the Americas.

Both Rowley and Maduro acknowledged that the signing of terms of the agreement had come a year and a half after they signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the very project, but both said it was better late than never.

The two neighbours are also involved in negotiations to develop gas in the Loran/Manatee fields that straddle both countries' maritime borders. The Loran-Manatee field has an estimated 10.25 trillion cubic feet of gas of which roughly 74 per cent belongs to Venezuela with 26 per cent belonging to T&T.

The deal

T&T and Venezuela signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) in March 2017 on a project that will see gas piped run from the Dragon field in Sucre state to the northeast of Venezuela from PDVSA’s Mariscal Sucre project to the Hibiscus platform in T&T operated by Shell and then to the NGC for sale downstream.

Rowley met with a high-level delegation from Venezuela on January 24, 2018, as negotiations for the supply of natural gas to T&T continued to progress. In June, Stuart Young, then minister in the office of the attorney general, had led a delegation to continue negotiations.

The Government has promised that the natural gas shortages experienced by the downstream companies will come to an end by 2021. It has based its projections on improved production from the upstream energy companies and on natural gas from Venezuela’s Dragon Field.

Joel Julien

Newly appointed police commissioner Gary Griffith yesterday paid a surprise visit to nine police stations across the country as he embarked on a tour to meet officers "working on the ground", so he could hear their concerns first-hand.

Arising out of those visits Griffith yesterday promised to get rid of the derelict vehicles littered at police stations across the country so the facilities could "look the part".

Griffith said it was common to see a "little fortress" of derelict vehicles at this country's police stations.

He, however, said this was "unacceptable" and promised to have the matter dealt with urgently.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian, Griffith said the derelict vehicles will be either "sold, removed or repaired".

Griffith began his tour yesterday visiting police stations in west Trinidad and those at Penal, Mon Repos, Marabella, Siparia, and Fyzabad.

He has promised to visit all the police stations in this country.

He is hoping to have this done within his first month as Police Commissioner.

Griffith said the surprise visits are done so he can see for himself what the public and the police officers are faced with on a random day.

Griffith described yesterday's visits as productive, saying he was happy to meet with his team of police officers and talk to them and listen to whatever concerns they may have.

He said the police officers all responded positive to the visits.

Griffith reiterated that dealing with the country's crime scourge is not a one-man mission and can only be successful if he has the support of the police officers.

In principle, the Government is to be commended and congratulated for its decision to expand the tertiary-level opportunities available to students of this country, and possibly others, seeking to improve their life prospects. Therefore, the official land dedication ceremony for the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, south campus in Debe, which was held at the Debe High School on Thursday, was an auspicious occasion in the country’s history as it signals the willingness of the Government to continue the policy of past administrations in placing a high priority on education.

As Professor Clement Sankat, the principal of the St Augustine campus of the UWI, pointed out at the ceremony, the enrolment of students at the institution had grown from 7,000 to 17,000 between 2000 and 2010. And this does not take into consideration the number of locals who are receiving tertiary-level education at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, at other local universities or nationals who are receiving their university education in foreign countries. The main impetus for the expansion of tertiary-level opportunities in T&T was the decision by former Prime Minister Patrick Manning to introduce free tertiary education in January 2006, some two years before it was scheduled to come on stream, as a result of the inflow of revenue from Atlantic LNG.

The expansion of the T&T campus of the UWI is crucial for the country because it faces a future in which it will be required to rely more on the intellectual capacity of its citizens than the ability of the Government to extract rents from the foreign multinationals who extract T&T’s mineral wealth. One of the key drivers of T&T’s competitiveness in the future is going to be not only the number of its secondary school graduates who go on to university education, but in the quality of that education—especially as it relates to the jobs of the future and the ability of graduates to create their own jobs through their enterprise and entrepreneurship.

So, this newspaper wholeheartedly endorses the drive by the Government to expand the university and its location in south Trinidad, the home of many of this country’s current and future scholars. At this point, we do not subscribe to the overly cynical position outlined by an opposition politician, himself a graduate of the UWI and someone who spent some years of his working life there, that the Government was attempting to establish a campus in Debe “because of the demography of the student population without discussion or agreement with the other parties in the University of the West Indies.” Where there may be some concern is in the perception that the Government and the UWI appear to want to place the construction of the southern campus on a fast track.

As was noted at the ceremony, there is an anticipation that the first phase of the southern campus will be completed and ready to accept its first students, who it is envisaged will be budding attorneys, by August 2013. This ambitious deadline of 30 months was given even though the procurement process has not started, no work has been done in the preparation of the site and there is no indication of the amount of money the Government proposes to spend on this project. As we have had cause to warn previously, the Government should be guided by the previous administration’s experiences of attempting to fast track the construction of the cricket stadium in Tarouba.

While we expect a speedy procurement process in keeping with the mandate outlined by the officials at the ceremony, there should be no cutting of corners, either in the procurement process or in the quality of the workmanship at this institution of higher learning.

The lights were on in the House of Representatives yesterday. But not everybody was at home.
(In the physical sense) these included Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, PP MP Suruj Ram- bachan and PNM MP Marlene McDonald. Persad-Bissessar and Ramba-chan are at the Caricom intersessional meeting in Grenada. McDonald, according to House Speaker Wade Mark, was unwell.
It was a different story on Wednesday when the House was set to continue death penalty debate.
The lights were off and most everyone was “home.”

The chamber had been plunged into darkness as Speaker Mark started the opening prayer that day.
Mark continued praying. But the power supply failed to be touched by divine appeal. Darkness pervaded for an hour until the situation was rectified. PP MP Jack Warner, hawk-eyed for political opportunities, made the best of the moment, laying the blackout at the PNM’s door.  “Shame! Shame.... this is PNM’s legacy!” Warner pronounced. Relieved of debate, all kinds of activities took place in the darkness.
PP’s Roodal Moonilal chewed a snack widely.

PP’s Herbert Volney and Stephen Cadiz must have been engaged in some sort of hair product conversation since Volney was seen (generously) stroking his colleague’s hair. PNM MP Colm Imbert crossed to the Government leader’s side—a seat he once occupied—to talk to Moonilal. PNM’s Patrick Manning chatted with PP’s Suruj Rambachan . An ole talk caucus among PP’s Nizam Baksh, Rudy Indarsingh, Nela Khan, Stacy Roopnarine and Jairam Seemungal was in progress on the backbench.
Halfway into the unscheduled “break,” everybody got bored enough to return to their seats and quietly attend to various tasks, looking exactly as if the sitting was in session.

The one-hour “rest” appeared to have energised PP MP Rambachan since his contribution in debate got more points for decibel level than delivery and graphic detail of the child rapes and murders he related.
(So much so that PNM’s Manning, grimacing and covering his ears, signalled to Rambachan that he was into overkill volume-wise.) Rambachan’s accusations against the PNM irked even mild-mannered PNM MP Pat McIntosh, who jumped to her feet twice in protest. Speaker Mark maintained a deadpan—somewhat robotic—refrain of “Your objection is not sustained” as PNM attempts against Rambachan continued.

Death bill headed for defeat
For all the Government’s sound and fury on the death penalty legislation in two marathon debate sessions, the bill seems headed for defeat when its final leg—committee stage—climaxes on Monday.
This final stage and any division call therein will test the Opposition’s strength in the Parliament since the Government requires two Opposition votes, in addition to its 29, for the special three-quarters majority needed to pass the bill. The PNM is standing firm on its position that Government should redraft the bill, removing sections seeking to entrench it in the Constitution and implement the timeframe for execution stipulated by the Privy Council in the Pratt and Morgan case. Since the PNM is seeking withdrawal of the bill, the Opposition will be unable to be part of any joint select team that may be mandated to examine the bill.

If the bill fails in Monday’s vote, Government has six months in which it can be returned to the Parliament, Government officials said. Superficial arguments by each side regarding who supported the death penalty (or not) in or out of government may have a tied result. However debate on the death penalty as deterrent as opposed to non-disincentive may indeed hinge on the State’s ability to apprehend culprits in the first place before the sentence can be implemented. With defeat looming, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan began plugging Government’s defence at Thursday’s Government media briefing. Noting major concessions Government has made to the Opposition, Ramlogan predicts dire poli- tical consequences for the PNM if Opposition support was withheld. Same could apply to the Government which has banked on the bill as a pivotal part of its anti-crime thrust. And image therein. But Government still has the convenient edge of blaming the PNM for future crime sans death penalty (as Ramlogan has signalled).

Politically correct noises from Government on the crime issue echoed this week in the emotive matter of Daniel Guerra’s death when Persad-Bissessar shed tears. (The PM has however put herself in the position of possibly being viewed askance if she does not apply same in the case of every other missing child henceforth. Particularly in Opposition seats.) Persad-Bissessar’s frontal role in initiating Defence Force patrols in “hot spot” areas may heighten her stocks as Caricom’s crime committee chairman at Caricom’s intersessional meeting However, regional states which look to T&T as the region’s leader may still harbour concerns on T&T’s lack of pace on curbing the crime situation. Also, regarding T&T’s security situation following disbanding of various security agencies, the firestorms which have erupted over Persad-Bissessar’s handling of recent issues within these divisions and recent police protests.
Yesterday in the House, Government and Opposition continued quarrelling about the Security Intelligence Agency (SIA), the handling of files under each other’s tenure, plus past and present SIA issues. PP’s Tim Gopeesingh found himself hamstrung from attacking Manning by the same ruling Mark had cautioned PNM’s Keith Rowley with, when Rowley went after the Prime Minister recently.
 
Crossed signals within COP
While COP MPs—Prakash Ramadhar, Anil Roberts, Lincoln Douglas and Rodger Samuel—have toed PP’s party line in death penalty debate, some members of COP’s executive want a referendum on the issue. The gaps between COP members in Government and COPers outside that circle regarding the legislation serves again to underscore the party’s own imbalanced situation within in the coalition Government. The sensitivity by some COP senior officials regarding the party’s place in the Partnership would only have been furthered after Tuesday’s statement by Independent Senator Subhas Ramkhelawan. Speaking about third parties, Ramkhelawan said: “In any event they (COP) are not in power.

They’re a party in power but they are not the leading light in the administration,” COP deputy leader Robert Mayers said Wednesday that Ramkhelawan—a former COP treasurer—was saying what he’d already articulated. “...And was criticised for,” Mayers added, noting condemnation by colleagues Ramadhar and Roberts. “I wait to see if Mr Ramkhela-wan will also be criticised. But I don’t know if he’s still a member,” Mayers said. COP deputy leader Wendy Lee Yuen, who says COP parliamentary caucuses are held, said talks on the death penalty issue were not concluded. Nor has a second meeting of Partnership chairmen been convened following the first in January, she added.

Lee Yuen said the executive was asked to wait until leaders received the minutes of that meeting. None has been forthcoming, she confirmed. That meeting will have to be after Carnival since UNC chairman Warner is overseas next week. Lee Yuen said, “You must develop a process for dialogue and if relevant persons are delaying this, then we’re no closer to getting on with the process of dealing with governance. “We promised the public participation and when, for instance, these bills come to the Parliament, your MPs need to get public feedback.” Lee Yuen added, “Instead you now have 41 MPs voting without feedback from the people, much as we had before. One cannot assume a majority position by MPs is a majority position by the people, which is why we say this issue is worthy of referendum.” 

Lee Yuen’s referendum stance—also held by COP vice chairman Vernon de Lima—wasn’t articulated by COP MPs like Roberts in debate. Roberts said, “The vice chairman is confusing himself and citizens. Referendum isn’t part of T&T’s law. That’s why our platform promised to examine referendum and other issues in constitutional reform. “It makes no sense now to call for referendum on the death penalty when referendum doesn’t exist.” Saying he agreed with Ramkhe-lawan, Roberts added: “What we are also includes disjointed positions presented by one or two individuals who continue espousing positions without proper information...  and then there are deputy leaders who are just shooting their mouths off. It shows that we in COP need leadership.” Roberts said there’s been a positive response to his hint about contesting COP’s leadership when that position becomes open—by July—and “when the bell rings, I’ll ring it back,” Roberts added.

New face of PNM exec
Government wasted no time capitalising on opportunities for attack provided by the PNM’s upcoming internal election. Picong flew in the House as early as last week Friday night’s session, hours before the PNM’s nominees were presented last Saturday. PP’s Warner, speaking on a motion by PNM’s Colm Imbert, was prompted by PM Persad-Bissessar that Imbert was campaigning. “Yes, he campaigning!” Warner echoed. Warner was still at it in the House on Wednesday.  On a question regarding the Point Fortin highway from PNM’s Gopee-Scoon, Warner said: “...This would be done in conjunction with the Point Fortin MP, who has no aspirations for political office in PNM’s  elections.”  The face of PNM’s new executive—including past ministers and PNM youth—has began shaping up since five nominees were unopposed. Unopposed are former Senator Mariano Browne (treasurer), former minister Neil Parsanlal (education officer), former Senator Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing (youth officer female), temporary Senator Daniel Dookie (assistant general secretary), and Joyce Bodden (welfare officer).
 

...R part of the price...

• UNC MP Chandresh Sharma’s new “toy” in the House is a glass coaster which he con-verted to a mini tassa, accompanying PP MPs’ desk-thumping of approval.

n ...Sharma, though, appears to have no idea his novel “instrument” comes over as a harsh rattle of a din, obscuring any remarks on the floor.

n Was it yea or nay? Did PNM’s Manning really side with Government in a House vote yesterday? Or was it just Carnival humour?

n Then again, PNM Senator Fitzgerald Hinds, at Tuesday’s Senate, pounded his desk along with Government senators who desk-thumped approval of PP Subhas Panday’s announce-ment that Government had answered all agen-da questions.

• “Point Fortin—how come I ent hearing you at all?” PP’s Lincoln Douglas’ query to PNM’s Paula Gopee-Scoon as PP’s Gopeesingh waded into the PNM yesterday.

• Douglas then proceeded to hear from Gopee-Scoon. Personally. At length.

• PP MP Gopeesingh’s shot at PNM division had unexpected feedback yesterday when he attempted “reminding” MPs their former leader had “tapped” their phones.

• “You could prove dat?!”—PNM’s Imbert.
“ ...How you know that”—Imbert again.
“Bring the evidence...!” MP Donna Cox.

• Gopeesingh was determined however: “Words can’t express the feelings of those who’ve had their privacy (sic) tapped,” he ploughed on.

• On the last note: Independent Senator Subhas Ramkhelawan’s quote from Benjai on Tuesday, will be echoed in a week by everyone else who is “...a Trini.”

CHARLES KONG SOO

After several complaints from citizens and pedestrians of a foul smell and raw sewerage emanating from a locked-up property that were posing serious public health risks in the heart of the city, the Port-of-Spain Corporation moved in on the premises of the errant land owner at 78-80 Frederick Street, with two sewage cleaning trucks, public health inspectors, and a work crew yesterday.

Chief Public Health Inspector at the corporation Mitra Sooklal said the pungent smell and effluence were going on for about two weeks and the corporation was unable to contact the owner.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian yesterday, Ag Mayor Hillan Morean said “The corporation is tasked with treating with public health hazards and challenges in the city. What we would have recognised was that there are several properties that are abandoned or in a very ruinous state that create public health challenges for people in the city. As such we've embarked on a campaign to address some of these properties, as many as possible.

“We've published the names of these errant land owners in the newspapers and we've started to see some responses.”

He said for some time now they had been trying to get the owner to address the problems there.

Morean said even though they were served notices on at least two occasions from public health officers, the owner had done absolutely nothing.

Morean said the property owner will be billed for the clean up as they had to recoup costs because public funds were utilised in the exercise.

A watchman had to run for his life after intruders made a failed attempt to steal livestock at the Chatham Youth Development and Apprenticeship Centre in Cedros on Saturday night.

Angry that they could not get at their intended bounty, the thieves torched the watchman’s car before leaving the site.

Fearful for their safety, the 30-plus employees at the centre are now calling for proper security measures and lighting at the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs-run facility, which was established in 1966.

Recalling the frightening ordeal yesterday, Davanand Seetaram, 49, who has been working there for the last 15 years, said around 11.45 pm on Saturday, he heard a noise to the back of the compound where they keep the animals which include cattle, goat, sheep, pigs and ducks.

Saying that area was pitch black in the night, he recalled, “When I flashed my flashlight I hear a voice say ‘they coming.’ I run, but I did not see anybody.”

While he was running out the compound towards the main road, Seetaram said he looked back and saw his burgundy Almera on fire. He called a co-worker, the centre’s director, the police and his relatives.

Nothing appeared to be stolen from the centre, but the hinges of sheep’s pen were broken, Seetaram explained. The employees believe the intruders went to steal the animals.

The centre is a training camp for youths interested in masonry, woodwork, carpentry, agriculture and other skills. The employees said over the past few years they have had several break-ins and larcenies—the most recent being four days ago when the air condition unit was stolen.

Employee Ramsajan Manohar said the lighting system was very poor and there are no lights at the back where the farm area is housed. Another employee, Depoo Baldeosingh, complained, “We not taking no chances to go in the back there (in the night). We have no form of protection. We are not going to risk our lives.”

Baldeosingh was hired as a handyman, but like Seetaram, who was hired to care for the animals, they have to double up on their jobs because of a shortage of workers.

“It getting more and more worse because look at where it reach to now. My co-worker’s car burn down. What if he lose his life, what they will say next?” Is a real terrible situation on our job site. We need some sort of action,” lamented Baldeosingh.

Cedros Councillor Shankar Teelucksingh said the situation at the centre was alarming and immediate steps must be taken to address the employees’ safety and manpower shortage concerns. With $.5 million worth of livestock at the compound and no ongoing apprentice programme, Teelucksingh called on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Sports Minister Shamfa Cudjoe to indicate what is the plan for the centre.

Teelucksingh said it appears as though the Government plans to shut down the facility, noting three years ago they shelved refurbishment works for the facility and workers have since been sent home and the facility is in a state of neglect.

A daily diet of prayer, home-cooked meals and a loving temperament are believed to be Louise Theophille-Albert’s secret to longevity. Born on August 25, 1916, during the First World War, Theophille-Albert, fondly known as Aunty Baby, celebrated her 102nd birthday on Saturday with prayer and fun-activities at the “family headquarters” at La Romaine.

She lived most of her life at her birth village of Buenos Ayers, but eight years ago her relatives moved her into the Compassionate Care for the Ageing in La Romaine. The old age home is opposite her sister’s house, which is known as the “family headquarters” and is run by a close family friend.

Her great-niece Roxanne Gonash-Marshall said her great aunt never had children and was married at one point but it eventually failed. Describing Theophille-Albert as a loving person, Gonash-Marshall said her great-aunt helped care for several of her many nephews, nieces, several great and great grand nephews and nieces.

“My grandmother is her sister and she (Theophille-Albert) will travel from Buenos Ayres to my mother’s house in La Romaine, the headquarters, and she will bring her delicious bread and fish and she would cook and everyone will come down and all the celebration would take place there, that is why we call my grandmother’s house the family headquarters,” she said.

Cooking, praying and singing were the things she is most passionate about, said Gonash-Marshall, who added that her great aunt lived a simple and family-oriented life.

Nephew Morris Theophille, 72, said his aunt was born to Nathaniel and Mathilda Theophille and was the third of seven children but her siblings were all deceased now. She worked as a domestic worker before landing a job as a cook in Petrotrin.

Apart from exhibiting early signs of Alzheimer’s, Theophille boasted that his aunt had no other health problems and moves around on her own. He believes his aunt, the longest living member of their family, has lived such a long life because she ate well, cooked her own meals, prayed all the time and was always loving and compassionate.

“She lives a very quiet, private and God-fearing life. I never heard my aunt say a bad word in her life,” he said.

During her birthday celebration, she blew out her candles, ate cake and ice cream, a home-cooked meal, prayed for her family, sang a hymn and was serenaded by her great-nephew, well-known singer Dexter Theophille.

The parents of 11-month-old Ky’Mani Thompson are pleading with the public to help them raise US$16,000 for their baby to undergo surgery in Miami to save his eyesight.

Ky’Mani has been diagnosed with Bilateral Stage Five Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and is in danger of becoming blind.

But, there is no paediatric vitreo-retinal surgeon in T&T to perform the surgery on Ky’Mani, who, according to a letter from Dr Anil Armoogum of the Ophthalmology Department of the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH), needs highly specialised care to avoid blindness.

Ky’Mani, the last of the three children to parents Sarah Greene-Thompson, 29 and D’Andre Thompson, 35, was born prematurely at 29 weeks with a weight of 1.365 kgs at the SFGH on September 13, 2017.

After being in an incubator for a month, Ky’Mani underwent a routine eye test for premature babies and was subsequently discharged.

Speaking at their La Romaine home about the situation, Greene-Thompson, an administrative clerk, said the disease affects premature babies and had it been detected at birth it would have been easily treated. However, the mother was told by doctors that in Ky’Mani’s case the disease affected him later on, which is rare.

However, she recalled that she had complained several times to the doctors during routine check-ups at the hospital that Ky’Mani was not focussing and something was wrong with his eyes.

“They kept saying because he was born premie the muscles behind his eyes need to develop,” Greene-Thompson told the T&T Guardian.

She took her son, then five months old, to a private ophthalmologist who examined him and gave her a referral letter to take him back to the hospital.

She said he was again examined at the hospital, tests were carried out and he was diagnosed with the condition.

She said Ky’Mani was later scheduled and in the operating room for surgery at the SFGH but the surgeon cancelled it.

“He was prepped for the surgery and sedated. After he was examined the doctor told me that in his medical opinion nothing could be done because of the amount of scarring that has already formed in his eyes,” she said.

“And if (he) goes into his eyes into his eyes it is possible Ky’Mani could be afflicted with glaucoma, it could cause further damage to his eyes and they could become discoloured and look as though he is blind. He refused to do the surgery.”

Greene-Thompson said Dr Armoogum subsequently referred her to a paediatric doctor at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami.

They contacted the institute and were given a consultation appointment for August 16, but they had to reschedule because they could not afford the plane tickets and the US$5,000 consultation and examination fee.

The cost of the entire process—consultation, exams and surgery—is US$16,000.

While they await a new appointment, the parents have been trying to raise funds through various food sales.

They also made appeals via social media and also set up a Go Fund Me account and reached out to the Hope of a Miracle Foundation.

The parents also sought help from the Children’s Life Fund but were told his case did not meet the requirements.

“We are nowhere close to raising the money. We are just trying to see what we could do but the grace of God,” Greene-Thompson said.

“We are just hoping that by some miracle we get through with the foundation to assist us.” Greene-Thompson, a slot machine technician, believes their son can now only see bright lights but said they have been told his sight will continue to deteriorate. She said Ky’Mani has no pain but the glare affects his eyes, causing him to frequently rub and squint them. The parents are still in the process of setting up a bank account.

Persons willing to assist can send donations to https://www.gofundme.com/save-ky039mani039s-sight, or contact them at 394-3926 or sarah-greene-thompson @hotmail.com.

What causes ROP?

According to the National Eye Institute in the United States, ROP occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow and spread throughout the retina, the tissue that lines the back of the eye.

These abnormal blood vessels are fragile and can leak, scarring the retina and pulling it out of position.

This causes a retinal detachment. Retinal detachment is the main cause of visual impairment and blindness in ROP.

La Horquetta/Talparo MP Maxie Cuffie broke down in tears yesterday, as he made his first official public appearance before his constituents at an interfaith service held for him at the La Horquetta Regional Complex.

After much praise and worshipping of God and giving thanks, Cuffie dismissed claims that he was brain dead which surfaced during his rehabilitation period, saying, “I was not brain dead but I’m born again.”

Cuffie, who sounded as though he had a very slight slur, shared a bit of his experience, emphasising how scary the passage of the period was.

He said when he suffered the first stroke and was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital they had no medication, which is usually available at all public hospitals, to reverse strokes.

“They checked the other hospitals and none. Because of an arrangement with St Clair, they had it, but before they applied the medication they needed to do tests to see if I would survive it,” Cuffie said.

Joined at that time on stage by his wife, Hermia, she said prayers went up before a decision was made for him to undergo the tests.

“I looked at my head and my brain was looking like it was outside my head. I had to go to the US for rehab,” Cuffie added.

Breaking down in tears, Cuffie said it hurt him inside when he heard about the horrible comments people were making about him and the petition that went around for his removal “from serving his constituents and the country.”

Hermia said in the first week of her husband’s rehabilitation in Washington, Cuffie had a “second episode” where there was a strange shaking of his head. This also led to a second surgery, she revealed.

Cuffie proudly mentioned that when he pulled through, he and his wife renewed their marital vows.

Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon, in her brief address at the event, thanked God for Cuffie’s return.

“He is a very courageous and respectable man. Maxie gave contributions in Cabinet and is always a team player and a gentleman around the table,” she said.

“Maxie is a miracle in front of us. Thank God for you.”

One of Cuffie’s doctors, who monitored his progress from beginning to end, was Strokes and Diabetes Specialist Dr Jerry Antoine. Antoine, who has been working abroad for the past 45 years but is originally from Arima, said he was contacted by Cuffie at about midnight some months ago.

“Strokes and diabetes are devastating in this country...I have seen miracles in action,” he told the gathering.

Earlier, Cuffie, his wife and Gopie-Scoon entered the hall at 4.38 pm. As he entered there were shouts of “Welcome back” and “God bless you.” But there were even shouts of “Dead man Alive” and “Miraculous Maxie”.

Cuffie returned to T&T on July 26 after his eight-month stay in Washington for rehabilitation and neurosurgery following a stroke last September. He had received surgery locally before going to Washington last November for further medical attention. Cuffie had neurosurgery in May and after completing physiotherapy was cleared to travel back home.

Cuffie is expected to return to Parliament when the current mid-year recess ends next month and also return to work at his new post of Minister in Public Administration. He was given that post when the ministry was split between Marlene McDonald (Public Administration) and Stuart Young (Communication) in June.

Also present at last evening’s function were several of Cuffie’s colleagues, including MPs Ancil Antoine (D’abadie/Omeara) and Nicole Olliviere (La Brea) and Sangre Grande Regional Corporation chairman Terry Rondon.

The Government is looking to sell the Petrotrin refinery and is trying to scale back on the number of workers in order to ensure a sale.

That is the firm belief of Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) leader Ancel Roget.

Roget, who led a prayer session outside the Prime Minister’s official residence in St Ann’s yesterday, said he believed Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley wants to get rid of the refinery.

If that is the case, then hundreds of Petrotrin employees could face the axe tomorrow after Petrotrin’s planned announcement following a proposed meeting with the union.

Roget yesterday admitted he was sceptical of the meeting with Petrotrin executives.

“It is not a meeting, they are going to make an announcement,” he said in a telephone interview after his union ended three-hour long prayer session outside the PM’s residence.

Tuesday’s announcement could affect the livelihood of hundreds of jobs at the refinery, he said.

“Whoever they (Government) planning to sell the refinery to they want a much smaller staff,” Roget said.

He said some of the union’s recommendations to the company were taken and he suspects these will be used by the incoming owners. He said Rowley told the union he had received a recommendation from advisers on the best move for the company but did not share that information with the union during a meeting last week.

“He would only say that it would be painful and that the country does not need to be a refinery, that the refinery is the problem. He (Rowley) said that the region is moving away from liquid fuel,” Roget said.

Roget asked if the PM believed this, why did NiQuan Energy receive the Government’s support to invest and purchase the failed World Gas to Liquids plant.

“It seems there is an agenda to ensure the sale of the refinery,” Roget said.

Yesterday, just hours before the prayer session, Energy Minister Franklin Khan said Petrotrin’s debt could bankrupt the country. Khan held a media conference to shed some light on the Petrotrin situation and the deal signed with Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday. He said the restructuring of the state-owned company is expected to be rolled out tomorrow, following the meeting with the OWTU.

Over the weekend Rowley waded into the fray as well, saying that Petrotrin could not continue the way it was going and that things must change.

The T&T Guardian sent messages to both Rowley and Khan about Roget’s statement but did not receive a response up to last evening.

The Tassa Association of T&T (TATT) believes it is being discriminated against and disrespected by the Government, Opposition and the Tobago House of Assembly.

The claim came from TATT vice president Wendell Eversley as he addressing the audience at the 2018 National Tassarama Competition at the Gilbert Park, Couva, on Saturday night.

Eversley said despite appeals to Government for a subvention to run their office, no money had been given to them. However, Eversley said he was told by a former government minister that the current Government is allegedly paying $400,000 a month to PanTrinbago to run a culture office.

He said only $80,000 was given by the Ministry of Culture to run Saturday’s competition and from this TATT spend a lot of the money for police and the Fire Service for the event.

He said tassa is being used at all events and by politicians on the campaign trail, including past and present prime ministers.

“Let me say how hurt I am as the vice president to see that the Ministry of Culture continues to disrespect the tassa, continues to disrespect a competition that we keep once a year, we do it just as the Panorama. We begging for this tassa to be the second national instrument,” he said.

Eversley said the disrespect is so much that TATT had to write a letter to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to assist them to get flights for the Bao Simba Entertainers Tassa Band to come from Tobago for the competition. However, he said the letter was in vain since the band was unable to get any flights to attend the event.

“Caribbean Airlines refused us 10 tickets and refused the band from Tobago to take part in this competition. You know they have a boat park up and we pay millions of dollars for the boat and we hear about two more boats coming and we can’t get 10 persons to represent Tobago,” he said.

“I am ashamed and I am crying shame on the Tobago House of Assembly, I am crying shame on Kelvin Charles (THA Chief Secretary), I am crying shame on the Minister of Tourism for Tobago and I am crying shame for the Tourism Secretary of the THA. This association will not sit idle, we will continue fighting.”

Eversley also knocked the Opposition UNC for neglecting appeals made to them for assistance at the level of the Lower House.

Some 20 senior bands and six junior bands took part in the competition. First Citizens Dragon Boys took the senior title ahead of Qualitec Sanjay Boys and the F5 Tassa Drummers respectively. Moving Stars Tassa Band took the junior title while the Demolition Youth Tassa Band and D’ Evolution Tassa Band were second and third respectively.

Government is giving no details on the pricing structure this country will pay for gas from the Dragon Field under the agreement signed with Venezuela on Saturday, but Energy Minister Franklin Khan is assuring that the pricing structure agreed to was competitive and followed “months of negotiation, serious intervention, serious sharing of information and serious sharing of economic models, to come up with an appropriate gas price”.

Speaking during a press conference at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Khan said, “It is no cheap gas. It is competitively priced gas and is obviously no secret Dragon deal.”

Khan said Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, larger than Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States and has the fifth largest gas reserves in the world, which this country can benefit from.

“It’s a win-win situation, especially since we in Trinidad face challenges on the supply side,” he said.

T&T, he said, also has world-class gas infrastructure through which Venezuela can monetise its gas.

“This provides an ideal opportunity for Trinidad and Venezuela. If I can say so, I think it is a marriage made in heaven,” Khan said.

Khan said he took “umbrage” with the way the media reported on the deal signed in Caracas on Saturday by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, as he dismissed a report in another daily newspaper that under the deal the T&T Government would be buying the gas at a mere US$1 per MMBTU. Khan said that was simply trying to create mischief by telegraphing to the Venezuelan people that the government was selling “cheap gas to Trinidad and Tobago”. However, he said the price being paid was substantially more.

Both countries, according to Khan, have benefitted, as T&T could import the gas, process it into LNG and for downstream petrochemicals “and still make a profit and it is a price acceptable to the Venezuelans to get a good monetary return for the resources they own.”

Khan said when Rowley was asked by T&T Guardian journalist Curtis Williams about the price, “Dr Rowley said these gas prices are subject to strict confidentiality clauses. However, he took the liberty to say the prices are very competitive and in some cases lower than what we are paying to domestic upstream producers in Trinidad and Tobago”.

He said it was widely known in the energy sector that “the commercial terms of gas sales agreement are subject to the strictest confidentiality clauses”. As he revealed that he could not even answer a question in the Parliament on pricing when asked some time ago, he said because of the confidentiality clause.

“No government past or present, UNC or PNM, has ever made known to the public any negotiated price of gas,” Khan said.

The PM did, however, reveal that under the agreement the volume of gas to be provided will be 150 million cubic standard feet per day with an option to go to 300 million standard cubic feet per day.

On Saturday, Rowley and Maduro signed two documents - a base term sheet for the Dragon Gas deal which set out the commercial term for the gas sales agreement, including volume and price, which was signed by the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, Shell as the private investor and the National Gas Company.

Another agreement was signed where both governments committed to the implementation of the project and to see it to finality. Khan said while it was a cross-border relationship with Shell, PDVSA and NGC, “at its most fundamental level it is a government to government arrangement”. He said the gas deal had the effect of securing “a long-term symbiotic relationship with Venezuela”.

He said it was a pricing model and template to allow them to move forward with other fields, including the Loran Manatee, which was the first cross-border project identified between the two countries more than a decade ago.

The Loran-Manatee field contains in excess of 10 trillion cubic feet of gas with 7.3 TCF on the Venezuela side and 2.7 TCF on the Trinidad and Tobago side of the border. Khan said Maduro suggested and PM Rowley agreed “we should develop agreements for the production of Loran Manatee.”

Energy Minister Franklin Khan is sending a strong warning that Petrotrin’s current state of affairs has the ability to “bankrupt” the country, as he yesterday described the state oil company as coming to what is referred to in astrophysics as a “black hole.”

Khan’s stark warning ahead of tomorrow’s meeting between Petrotrin and the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union on the restructuring of the company, came at a news conference at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, as he described Petrotrin’s future as “the most fundamental issue the country faces in terms of our economic fortunes or lack thereof”.

“If Petrotrin is not handled properly, it could bankrupt this country. It is as serious as that,” Khan said.

Asked to explain this statement further, Khan said, “Once Petrotrin cannot face its bankers and put a plan in place to repay its debt the obvious corollary is that they will need a Government guarantee, which will throw all our indicators way off course, our debt to equity all these things. And then our repayment schedule, our debt servicing. It is unimaginable the dire consequences if not managed properly,” Khan said.

Khan urged citizens to support the Government in its attempt to bring stability and long-term viability to Petrotrin. He said while successive administrations, “both PNM and UNC, have kicked the can down the road” with respect to Petrotrin, it just could not continue as the company has serious systemic, structural and operational issues which must be dealt with.

He explained that Petrotrin “has a massive debt profile in excess of TT$13 billion and we all know about the famous bullet US$850 million payment due in November 2019.” He said if something is not done “Petrotrin and or the Government will have to find a cheque of US$850M to pay to the bondholders.”

“As we speak, Petrotrin owes the state $3.5 billion in outstanding taxes and royalty, that is the people’s money which is being consumed by a company to satisfy whatever inefficiencies that operate in the company,” Khan said, noting the company is also saddled with high operating costs.

He said it costs an average of between US$30 to US$40 for the company to lift a barrel of oil and when oil prices are US$40 it is obviously uneconomic. The company is also generating no working capital to reinvest because it is operating at a loss. He said Petrotrin’s local crude production is a mere 40,000 barrels per day but the refinery has a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day.

Saying this means in order to keep the refinery going the company has to import 110,000 barrels per day, Khan said, “What compounds this matter is that for every barrel of crude refined the company loses US two dollars and fifty cents to US three dollars per barrel, so you importing oil to lose money.”

But Khan explained that Petrotrin is a “net user of foreign exchange, so here you have your state oil company not bringing in any net foreign exchange, because the amount they are spending to import crude and lose money on the crude they import, it has made the refinery unprofitable.”

Khan also expressed concerned that salaries and wages account for 50 per cent of the company’s operating cost.

“For an oil company to be skewed so badly that in excess of 50 per cent of its operating cost is salaries and wages, something has to be fundamentally wrong,” he said.

Khan said Petrotrin was coming to what was called in astrophysics a black hole.

“That means an area of such intense gravity which if you come to it sucks you in and you cannot come out. Before we reach that stage we have to do something and something quickly.”

On Tuesday when the Petrotrin board and OWTU meet, Khan said it will be the first time “we will lay bare what our plans are, what consequences will follow and the way forward for Petrotrin.” Khan urged all parties to treat the matter with maturity, pragmatism, and a certain level of patriotism, because of the fundamental national consequences. He said as the numbers reveal themselves the situation will become clear.

He said after Tuesday’s meeting between the union and Petrotrin Prime Minister Dr Keith will address the nation on the future of Petrotrin on September 2.

Quizzed on options Government could look at going forward, Khan refused to say whether privatisation or a merger with Shell could be involved.

A 28-year-old woman from east Trinidad has been released on $40,000 bail after appearing in court charged with having sex with a 13-year-old boy.

Molly “Doodoos” Houllier-Mahabir was granted bail by Magistrate Brambhananan Dubay after appearing in the Arima Magistrate’s Court charged with two counts of sexual penetration with a minor, last Friday.

As part of the conditions of her bail, which her husband stood as surety for, Houllier-Mahabir was ordered to refrain from communicating with the victim, who is now 15.

The offences allegedly occurred at her home between August 2016 and last year.

Under the Children’s Act, sexual penetration is defined as either inserting any body part or object into a child’s bodily orifice or the insertion of a child’s body into a person’s bodily orifice. The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Detectives of the Child Protection Unit began investigating the mother of two after video clips were posted on social media.

The woman was arrested and charged last week.

In a press release issued last week, the Children’s Authority noted that society may have a skewed view over such cases involving female adults having sex with underage boys.

“The authority is calling on the public to recognise that sexual abuse of boys is also perpetrated by women and must be reported. Although society often accepts boys having sexual experiences with older women, this must be condemned as it is child abuse,” the release said.

The authority also noted that while it receives frequent reports of physical abuse and neglect of boys, sexual abuse against them is under-reported.

The authority advised parents to speak to their children over the issue.

“Parents and guardians are encouraged to let boys know that they can be sexually groomed by a male or female adult, who will befriend them by building a close relationship in order to gain their trust, with the intention of later engaging in sexual activity,” the release said.

The authority also said that it would provide counselling for the teenager and his family.

The investigation was supervised by Supt Sharon Cooper and ASP Claire Guy-Alleyne of Northern Division’s Child Protection Unit. WPC Marsha John laid the charges.

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

Cedros residents are now calling on the Government to do an immediate screening, spraying, and testing in the south western peninsula to prevent any malaria outbreak after news spread of a Venezuelan national being treated for malaria at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital.

The patient, identified at Manuel Brunto, is receiving treatment at ward 11, after blood tests confirmed he was suffering from malaria.

Malaria is a life-threatening mosquito-borne blood disease caused by a Plasmodium parasite. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of the anopheles mosquito.

Once an infected mosquito bites a human, the parasites multiply in the host’s liver before infecting and destroying red blood cells.

Sixteen cases have already been reported for the year by the Health Ministry and residents of Cedros and Icacos are now calling on the Ministry of Health to begin immediate spraying of their communities.

In an interview, councillor for Cedros Shankar Teelucksingh said Venezuelans were continuing to enter T&T legally and illegally in droves.

“We want to know how many more Venezuelans are coming into the country with malaria. Both the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Health must do urgent work to prevent any outbreak of malaria. Cedros is the first place that is going to be affected. Venezuelans are migrating to Icacos and other areas. We need protection,” Teelucksingh said.

Teelucksingh said he had called Red Cross International with the hope that they too can offer assistance. Teelucksingh said house-to-house monitoring must be done in areas where there is a surplus of Venezuelan migrants.

“We need testing kits and other testing devices to detect and quarantine infected people who are diagnosed. We also need a mobile unit doing house checks to see where they are and have testing and medication for treatment of both local and foreign visitors. They need to equip the port with necessary scanners and blood testing equipment,” Teelucksingh said.

He requested an immediate spraying of mosquitoes for Boodram Trace, Lower and Upper Icacos, Point Coco, Lalla Trace, Bilwah Trace, Ramdhanie Trace and Grand Chemin Extension. Teelucksingh said the Ministry must take precautions to safeguard the lives of residents.

At Lower Icacos, Dilisa Garib said residents were worried about the potential outbreak of malaria.

“There is a lot of bush and abandoned buildings in Icacos and Cedros. The grass is not being cut. Icacos is below sea level so when rain falls it takes a long time to drain out. Mosquitoes breed in these waters. There are also illegal animals being brought into the peninsula. They too are bringing in sickness,” Garib said.

She also added that apart from the mosquito problem, there was still a severe water crisis in the region.

Another resident Abhiman Ackool said the authorities must do regular spraying in the entire peninsula.

“Whenever they do spraying, which is very rare, they spray during the day. This makes no sense because the mosquitoes come out later in the evening,” Ackool said. He called on Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh to take interest in the communities in case there is an outbreak of malaria such as what is currently occurring in Venezuela.

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Chief Medical Officer

says threat not real

International media reports, earlier this year said The World Health Organisation had reported that malaria was spreading rapidly in crisis-hit Venezuela, with more than an estimated 406,000 cases in 2017, up roughly 69 per cent from a year before, the largest increase worldwide.

The WHO said Venezuelan migrants fleeing the economic and social crisis were carrying the mosquito-borne disease into Brazil and other parts of Latin America. It urged authorities to provide free screening and treatment regardless of their legal status to avoid further spread.

Contacted yesterday, Chief Medical Officer Dr Rohan Parasram said most of the 16 malaria cases were Venezuelan nationals and citizens who visited Venezuela and returned to T&T.

He said the Port Authority had standard procedures regarding malaria and anyone exhibiting symptoms are tested. He said it was difficult to do house-to-house testing as the deployment of resources had to be done in an effective manner. Parasram said once a person tests positive, teams are sent into the community to do a screening of relatives and neighbours.

“The fact that we haven’t had a large influx of cases means this system is working. The threat is not as large as they are making it out to be,” Parasram said. He added that the suggestions raised by the residents will be considered by the Ministry.