The Government and unions yesterday agreed to disagree: Petrotrin’s refinery will be closed.

This was the final word from Government on the Petrotrin issue following yesterday’s meeting of 18 union leaders with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and six Ministers.

At the end of almost three hours of discussions at the Prime Minister’s Office in St Clair, Government didn’t bend to the call by unions - including the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union - to re-examine its decision to close the refinery.

Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis told reporters at a subsequent media briefing nothing new came out of the meeting.

“We have agreed to disagree - the refinery will be closed. It’a bitter pill to swallow, but it’s the best medicine at this time. Government has taken a decision that will affect 1,700 workers, but if we don’t it will affect 1.4 million citizens.

“The Prime Minister was firm in his view that what should be done now is discussions between Petrotrin’s board and the union on finding the best way forward for workers.”

The closure is now in the hands of the union and Petrotrin’s board guided by Energy Minister Franklin Khan - and the focus is on working out separation packages for workers, she explained.

OWTU members who awaited the meeting’s outcome outside the PM’s office expressed their views with statements, some placards and an effigy in a suit. OWTU president general Ancel Roget addressed them after the meeting. (See Page A5)

While he did so, Robinson-Regis told reporters, union members who requested the meeting came with an agenda topped by the Petrotrin issue. Other matters concerned daily rated pension, outstanding negotiations, payment of arrears and retrenchment.

She said Roget said the union had brought certain issues to Petrotrin’s board and the OWTU wanted Government to re-examine its refinery closure decision.

“But Government is firm in its view that that decision cannot be re-examined at this time. We’ve looked at this situation for over 18 months and now is the time for us to make the move to ensure the haemorrhaging occurring at the refinery doesn’t continue,” she added.

Robinson-Regis said the decision was looming for many, many years as Petrotrin had sustained losses and it was now necessary to protect the economy.

Robinson-Regis said the OWTU brought “nothing new” to the table yesterday and its plan for the company wasn’t different to the plan they’d presented previously.

Minister in the Finance Ministry, Allyson West, said the OWTU felt the refinery should continue, but didn’t say how an upgrade would be financed, how low-quality products could be handled or how to get over losses.

“Nothing suggested a viable alternative to the path we set,” she said.

Energy Minister Khan said the OWTU plan concurred with Government’s on Exploration/Production but was weak on a feasible alternative to closing the refinery or to bringing profitability in future or presently.

Robinson-Regis said the union admitted it had participated in discussions on the issue with Petrotrin’s board, yet wanted a change of Government’s decision. She said that wasn’t on the cards, since if it continued Government would lose at least $2 billion annually in the refinery business. She said Government understands the decision is “very far-reaching” but couldn’t maintain the status quo.

Robinson-Regis didn’t feel the outcome would heighten tensions. Rather, she had the impression the meeting produced a better understanding of each other’s position.

Assistance for South in 2019 Budget

The current objective now is for the Petrotrin board and union to work out separation packages for workers.

“The best T&T has to offer will be given to workers,” Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said yesterday.

Robinson-Regis said Government didn’t want workers to feel “put upon,” and they would be taken care of. Fenceline communities near Petrotrin would also be properly dealt with, she said.

“We sincerely empathise with workers and understand this isn’t an easy situation. But we’re of the firm view Petrotrin’s board and OWTU will come to an agreement for the severance that will be the best T&T can offer at this time.”

Minister in the Finance Ministry West said Government would allocate significant proportions of the Public Sector Investment Plan’s projects “for the next year or two” to support San Fernando and environs to cushion the refinery closure blow.

Khan said in the restructured entity, “The thinking at present is that anybody would be able to apply for jobs, but we’ll use our best efforts to re-employ as many as possible of Petrotrin and/or the company’s former workers.”

Robinson-Regis said the National Tripartite Council’s general thinking—not specifically on the Petrotrin issue—was that once a worker has specific skills, they’d be more likely to be re-employed.

Khan said the “current thinking” is the refinery will be decommissioned “hopefully by the end of December.”

While it won’t be dismantled, stocks and plants will be preserved “in the event it has to be restarted.” He said a big cost could arise if assets aren’t preserved properly.

Khan said he never said the refinery would be sold. But he said Government will be willing to talk to anyone interested in making a proposal if they have commercial interest - for example, someone who has a crude oil source and needs a refinery and wants an arrangement with the state. The refinery will have salvage value at minimum or operational value based on what type of model anyone brings to the table, he added.

The Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU), backed by the majority of the trade union movement, last night entered a “war room” to discuss its next move on the future of Petrotrin, after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley reiterated his position that the refinery will be shut down.

This was the outcome of an almost three-hour long meeting yesterday between OWTU’s president general Ancel Roget, union leaders and Rowley at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, to discuss the closure of Petrotrin’s refinery among other issues.

The meeting was held after National Trade Union Centre president Watson Duke delivered a letter to Rowley on Monday asking for an urgent meeting with him on Petrotrin.

Yesterday, Roget summed up the meeting as “not productive. And yet for another time, we saw where decisions were made really leaving out the people that counts. That is a worrying signal.”

Another worrying signal, Roget said, was the “arrogant” posturing by Rowley and his Government, noting he was not open for dialogue to come to an amicable decision.

“They seem to believe that they will be there forever. We have a different belief. The Government is perhaps bankrupt of ideas, so they cannot see that they are blindsided and beyond the horizon of the doom and gloom they continue to preach every day,” Roget told the media and union members afterwards.

Roget said four issues were discussed with the PM, among them outstanding negotiations that were stalled, the non-implementation of settled negotiations and non-payment of arrears and retrenchment at Petrotrin.

When the issue of Petrotrin arose, Roget said they mentioned the April 3, 2018, Memorandum of Agreement registered with the Ministry of Labour that the Government had signed off on to start the restructuring of Petrotrin and for talks to be held between the OWTU and Petrotrin’s board.

Roget said Petrotrin’s board had departed from that approach and went to Cabinet and came back with a decision to shut down the refinery, which they objected to because the OWTU had no opportunity to have a say, which they felt was wrong.

“And it was done in bad faith to agree on an approach and come back with something else. The Prime Minister is holding to the position that they should violate the agreement that we had. So they are going ahead,” Roget said.

Taking that into account, Roget said the workers will be sent home. He said Rowley insisted that he was not prepared to go back on his initial decision.

Roget made it clear the union was never against the restructuring of Petrotrin. He said when he questioned the PM on plans for the refinery, Roget said Rowley told him “that is tomorrow’s story.”

“We found that really to be unacceptable, and of course, it is disrespectful to the workers in the refinery. That tomorrow that he cannot tell today is one where somebody is going to buy it.”

Roget insisted the refinery will be purchased without terms and conditions to serve the interest of a few.

“The trade union movement has decided that on the basis of the refusal to halt the decision and go back to the MOA, that as we leave here we go and meet in emergency session to determine the next move and an announcement will be made. We are going to go in our war room and determine what is going to happen.”

The union leaders later gathered at SWWTU’s headquarters, Port-of-Spain, to discuss their next move. Roget said you cannot have a PM disregarding a process and then trivialising it “when that process will have dire consequences for workers.”

In due course, Roget said the OWTU will disclose its proposal on the restructuring of Petrotrin. He also warned, “We are not going to take this nonsense by Dr Rowley and his Cabinet ministers. All of them shaking their heads in agreement with what he is saying. All of them to us is nothing more than dashboard puppies for and behalf of a Prime Minister who they fear.”

Roget said today’s Rest and Reflection will be on more than ever, saying for three years Rowley administration had mismanaged the country.

Former Petrotrin worker Clyde Callender yesterday denied that refinery workers are taking home monthly salaries of $45,000.

Callender was one of several workers who showed up outside of the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair to lend support to Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) president general Ancel Roget and other union leaders who attended a marathon meeting with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to discuss the shutting down of the oil company’s refinery.

Among the unions standing in solidarity with the OWTU were the Communication Workers’ Union, National Trade Union Centre, Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union, Postal Workers’ Union, T&T Unified Teachers’ Association, T&T Farmers’ Union and Fire Services Union.

Backed by noisy drummers, scores of OWTU workers and members representing 20 trade unions vowed to vote out the ruling People’s National Movement, saying the Government was hell-bent on destroying Petrotrin, which they described as the country’s bastard child. (See page A13)

In unison, the flag-bearing workers chanted, saying that after voting for the PNM, the Government was going all out to “buss” their throats. “It’s time to make things right. We have to vote them out. Shake the tree and let Rowley fall,” the workers sang under the watchful eyes of armed police officers.

As the tempo built, the workers brought out a black mannequin, dressed in a suit, as they chanted, “When Roget light a fire, we don’t need water, let them burn.”

Petrotrin worker Ernesto Kezer warned the workers that after the refinery closes, the Government will cut staff at UTT, UWI, T&TEC, WASA and the Diego Martin Regional Corporation that could result in 200,000 workers facing uncertainty in the coming months.

Callender, 75, served the State-owned company for 41 years, starting in oil stocks and retiring as a grade six custody transfer agent. Having retired 15 years ago, Callender said he witnessed many things in the industry.

“So when they come to tell us that workers’ salaries are $45,000 a month they lying. It have no way fellas getting that salary. Who getting that salary must be in the bargaining unit,” Callender said.

At Tuesday’s People National Movement meeting in Marabella, Energy Minister Franklin Khan disclosed that the average salary of a worker at Petrotrin’s refinery was $45,000.

Callender said the late Malcolm Jones, former Petrotrin chairman several years ago, brought in an Australian company who met with the OWTU and did a job reorganisation for its workers.

“The salaries that we get…if we get $45,000 is because of Malcolm Jones and the job offers, because some jobs were upgraded, some jobs downgraded and some jobs stayed where they were.”

He advised the workers that if their pay packet is $100,000 a month they should never be ashamed because they turn the wheels of the economy in T&T.

Callander, a cancer survivor, said he wondered when the job cuts come what will happen to the workers and their children, saying the lives of many families will crumble and crash.

Another worker said the Government was imposing their “demonic and diabolic” policies on Petrotrin for their own gains. “They are trying to dig holes for us but they would soon fall in it,” the worker warned.

OWTU labour relations officer Joanne Phillip broke down in tears in her brief address on the outcome of the meeting with the PM, saying Roget went in to save thousands of jobs and was disappointed with the overall turnout.

radhicasookraj@guardian.co.tt

Mother of three Natalie Pollonais has disappeared without a trace and her family is now worried that she may have been kidnapped.

Up to last night, police were searching several parts of the country in a bid to find her. Initial reports indicate that Pollonais, 49, of Palmiste, San Fernando, went missing after leaving the Central Athletics gym at the C3 mall in Corinth, South Trinidad yesterday morning. Her white BMW 5308 hybrid vehicle, one of two in T&T, was also reported missing by her husband Jason Pollonais.

Police said Natalie’s phone was connected to her car. Traces on the phone showed it was in St Augustine before the signal was lost.

There were no calls for ransom to the family up to last night but police said they were not ruling out the possibility that Pollonais could have been abducted.

In an interview yesterday, her daughter Ashley broke down in tears as she spoke of her mother’s mysterious disappearance.

Ashley said Natalie left home to go to the gym yesterday morning, following which she was expected to visit a friend in Palmiste.

“She called her friend from the car after she left the gym and said she would be by her in 20 minutes. People saw her at the gym. Her phone connects to the car so we are sure she made it to the car. When she did not arrive at the friend’s home we began calling her but she was not answering anybody’s calls,” Ashley said.

She explained that Natalie wanted to get some errands done so she told her housekeeper that she was coming home early yesterday.

“When she did not show up or answer calls by 3 pm, we all got very worried and my dad said something was definitely wrong,” Ashley said, sobbing.

Saying her mother was always on the phone, Ashley said, “She would call us all through the day. She was always in touch. It is not like her to not call or answer. We are very worried about her.”

Contacted yesterday, brother-in-law Scott Pollonais said Natalie was not employed. Saying the family was baffled by the disappearance, Scott said, “All we want is for her to come back home.”

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith declined to comment on the disappearance yesterday.

Social media circulated Pollonais’ photo widely yesterday. On Facebook, many expressed the hope that she would be found safe and sound. Anyone with information on her whereabouts can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

Part of the ceiling at the Debe Hindu School collapsed yesterday, causing a total shutdown of the institution.

Since the opening of the school term on Monday, all the students from Infants to Standard Three have been sent home indefinitely because of a leaking sewer. However, the Standards Four and Fives were allowed to have classes in the school despite the infrastructural defects while the ministry did a scope of works for repairs.

But in an interview yesterday, public relations officer at the school Vandana Sankaar said the ceiling caved in yesterday.

She said following a meeting, the parents decided that the school was no longer safe for the teachers and pupils. A decision was taken for the building to be evacuated.

“We are waiting on the ministry to fix the sewer and now that the ceiling has gotten worse, the ministry now has to do a scope of works to repair the ceiling. In the meantime, all pupils will be sent home,” Sankar told the T&T Guardian.

Sankaar called on the ministry to fix the school as soon as possible. The school, which is one of the high performing primary schools in the area, has 360 pupils and 17 teachers.

Meanwhile, the Barrackpore East and West Schools also remained closed yesterday as the Education Facilities Company Limited continued repairs to the rectify the damage done during the August 21 earthquake. Parent Nadia Singh said they were told that classes will resume next Monday. She said a staircase on one of the classroom blocks detached from the building during the earthquake.

Meanwhile, at the St Dominic’s RC School in Penal, an electrical engineer from the ministry visited the school yesterday to look at the faulty electrical which parents say was a health hazard. The parents staged another round of protests yesterday, saying they were fed up with the poor response from the ministry in getting schools ready for the new term.

At the Fanny Village Government Primary, parents said they were expecting a meeting with ministry officials to discuss completion of their new school. The school, built at a cost of $28 million, is 85 per cent complete but is sinking in a swamp.

In an interview on Wednesday, Minister of Education Anthony Garcia said the ministry was working on rectifying the leaking toilets and sewer at the Debe Hindu School. He said assessments were still being done on the 66 schools damaged by the earthquake and once investigations are complete he will take a note to Cabinet requesting funds. He could not say how much money had been spent to fix the schools or how much more was needed to get the schools ready. More than 25 schools failed to open this week because of poor infrastructure.

With regard to Fanny Village, Garcia said, “I cannot say at this stage when it will open. We have visited the school and looked at what could be done and if we can we will try to have the school up and running at the shortest possible time.”

He added, “As you know the contractors have not been paid and have withheld their services, so schools have not been finished. We want to make sure that the contractors are being paid. Cabinet has appointed a committee to head planning and development so they can meet and work out a plan for payments. A meeting was held with contractors and we are looking at a way forward. Once contractors are paid then construction of our incomplete schools will start as soon as possible.”

RADHICA DE SILVA

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

National Security Minister Stuart Young yesterday applauded citizens for not heeding the call by the Joint Trade Union Movement to engage in a day of rest and reflection.

Speaking to reporters at the signing ceremony of a drydocking facility at the Lake Asphalt administrative building in La Brea, Young said from all indications the country operated like normal yesterday. However, he said the only area affected was schools.

“We want to applaud the rest of the population for acting responsibly. Everything is operating normally, our airports, our ports and the protective services, fire services, the police service and the Defence Force. T&TEC is normal, National Helicopter Services, Caribbean Airlines, all of this operated normally,” Young said.

Asked about Petrotrin’s operations, Young said there was a low turnout of workers there but this, he said, was expected. He also chastised a union leader for flying out to Miami on Thursday evening after rallying members and citizens all week for yesterday’s event.

Young also denied that army officers were deployed at Petrotrin.

“Our national security machinery has been working in the last four weeks. There was no need to deploy the army at Petrotrin,” Young added.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh also commended his staff for working yesterday. He said operations continued as normal in the nation’s hospitals.

However, Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus declined to comment on the shutdown.

“My role is very clear under the Industrial Relations Act. This matter will end up before me so I will not make a public statement on this matter,” Baptiste-Primus said.

Asked whether she had turned her back on her former trade union comrades, Baptiste-Primus said, “I have not turned my back on the unions. I did remind my comrades in the union that I do not represent workers in the Cabinet, I represent citizens of T&T.

“In that context, I will also have to make a decision in the best interest of T&T. They are familiar with my position but I will not comment on this issue.”

The body of a worker employed at the Embassy of El Salvador was yesterday found in an agricultural area in Cunupia.

The employee was identified as Jose Tito Rivas, 53. He was the official driver of El Salvador Ambassador Raymundo Ernesto Rodriquez Diaz.

According to a police report, shortly before midday officers of the Cunupia Police Station, acting upon information received, went to an area off Warren Road where they found a blue Toyota Fortuner, licensed PCM 321.

A party of police officers from the Central Division, who reported on the scene shortly thereafter, carried out further checks where they found the body wrapped in a sheet in the trunk of the vehicle.

The body was later positively identified as that of Rivas.

The T&T Guardian was told by investigators that Rivas was last seen leaving the Queen’s Hall compound in Port-of-Spain at about 9 pm on Thursday evening.

Rivas had reportedly took the Ambassador to a diplomatic event—Brazilian National Day celebrations hosted by the Embassy of Brazil—as his final tour of duty that day.

Rivas was eventually reported missing by his wife when he failed to return to his home in Valsayn later that night.

A diplomat at another embassy, who wished not to be identified, expressed sadness and concern at the incident. He also extended condolences to officials at the El Salvador Embassy.

Investigations are continuing.

Petrotrin chairman Wilfred Espinet says the board is willing to consider any alternative plan that would make the company competitive, get it on a path to sustainable profitability and enable it to refinance its debt.

As such, Espinet said yesterday that the board of the state oil company will meet on Tuesday with the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union, led by its president general Ancel Roget, as it continues consultation as part of the Memorandum of Agreement signed on April 4, 2018.

In late August the board announced plans to exit the oil refining business and establish a new Exploration and Production company as part of its plan to make the business viable.

On Thursday, the union met with Government and presented what it said were counter-proposals to the closure. But the Government said nothing new was put on the table and held fast to its position that the Petrotrin refinery will be shut down, with Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis telling the media both parties “agreed to disagree” after almost three hours of talks.

The OWTU has indicated that it will be tabling a counter-proposal for consideration by the Petrotrin board.

Yesterday, however, Espinet told the T&T Guardian the board is “open to any solution that will result in a self-sustainable, commercially viable company. This is a business and its purpose is to provide a return for its owners, the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Once Petrotrin moves out of the refining business it will import gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and other products for markets within the region and all of the oil which the company produces will be exported, he pointed out.

Espinet dismissed suggestions that the decision to exit the refining business would cause the price of fuel to increase on the local market.

He said, “Petrotrin currently sells fuels to NP and its other customers at prevailing world market prices; that is not going to change.”

According to Espinet, the Government “determines the price of fuel at the pump. One is a market-driven number and the other is a policy decision. So there is absolutely no correlation between the two.”

He accused unidentified people of “trying to instil fear in the population to achieve their own ends.”

In presentations made to Government, unions and the management in August, Espinet said if Petrotrin were to remain an integrated company it would require TT$25 billion to stay alive, to refresh its infrastructure and repay its debt. Even when that is done he said it will continue losing about TT$2 billion a year.

Figures from the company and the Government indicate that Petrotrin lost more than $8 billion in the last five years; is $12 billion in debt and owes the Government more than $3 billion in taxes and royalties.

Espinet said, “Our goal is to make the business internationally competitive; a sustainably profitable leader in the local energy sector; and an employer of choice, that is a source of national pride.”

In a memo to employees this week, Espinet informed them that while October first marks the start of the transition “it is not the last day of work for every Petrotrin employee.”

While the Government is claiming the unions failed to muster majority support for yesterday’s day of rest and reflection, trade union leaders claimed intimidation tactics levelled against the workers by Government may have led to the good turnout reported among employees in various ministries.

Speaking at a media conference yesterday evening at the Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union Hall on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union president general Ancel Roget described the overall day as a “success.”

Roget said he estimated a 65 per cent absenteeism across the board, with a 90 per cent support for Petrotrin. But he added that the success would have been greater if it wasn’t for the Government’s acts of intimidation.

Roget was referring to statements made by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Minister of National Security Stuart Young, Minister of Education Anthony Garcia and Minister of Public Administration Marlene Mc Donald in the build-up to yesterday’s day of protest action which had threatened workers with various punishments for staying home yesterday.

“Of course, we also recognise that we would have achieved more success if it was not for the brazen and frontal acts of intimidation coming from the Government itself,” Roget said.

“I have never witnessed before such high level of intimidation coming from five Ministers,” he added.

However, Roget disclosed that yet to come is “an element of surprise.”

“We may not put out everything…the element of surprise is very potent in this regard. When they expect us to come from the right we will come from the left…when they expect us to come from the top we will come from the underneath…when they expect us not to come from the front door we will enter from the front,” Roget said.

In observance of yesterday’s day of Rest and Reflection, supporters of pressure group Stakeholders United Movement (SUM) staged a noisy protest outside the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair, calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to “resign and call general elections now” in the interest of peace and tranquillity.

The group’s chairman, Zahid Ali, also hand-delivered a two-page letter to Rowley’s office which outlined a number of issues affecting the country, ranging from lack of confidence in the economy, poor health services, escalating crime and rising unemployment.

The letter stated that as a group, they were interested in good governance, sustainable prosperity and equality.

“To avoid the deepening of widespread discontentment and to put your own assessment to the test, we believe requesting early election will build the waning impeccability of your character and reinforce your verbal commitment to patriotism—a patriotism that is being questioned as lip service,” the letter stated.

At the time the letter was delivered, Rowley was at the signing ceremony of a drydocking facility in La Brea.

Incidentally, many of the SUM supporters turned out to be familiar faces in the United National Congress (UNC).

These included Lennox Smith, who severed ties with the UNC and formed his own Laventille-based party and Beetham Gardens UNC activist Anderson Wilson.

SUM was formed last year but became active last month. Also in attendance was leader of People’s Empowerment Party leader Phillip Alexander.

As the placard and flag-bearing group gathered on the pavement in the scorching sun, armed police officers cautioned the noisy group that they needed permission to carry out their protest, which they did not have.

The officers eventually allowed the group to walk around the block of the PM’s office as they chanted and clapped for Rowley to go and an election be called immediately.

Smith, an adviser to SUM, told the T&T Guardian that while the trade union movement called on the working class for a day of Rest and Reflection at home, the group opted to come out and let their voices be heard. He said SUM stood in solidarity with the unions, as they were against the shutting down of Petrotrin’s refinery because the livelihoods of thousands of workers would be adversely affected.

Ali also said they were willing to work closely with the trade union movement to bring to the fore pertinent issues affecting the country and its citizens.

“We have a common agenda with the unions to get rid of this administration, having regard to its poor performance and the impact it has on the national community,” Ali said.

Asked if the group had links to the UNC, Ali denied this.

“It cannot be when it’s a pressure group because we invited all and sundry to this gathering to express their views. What is being played out as patriotism by this current administration is a travesty,” Ali said.

T&T Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) president Lynsley Doodhai yesterday accused the police of using intimidatory tactics on principals of several schools to collect data on teachers’ attendance.

However, Police Commissioner Gary Griffith refuted Doodhai’s allegation, saying the police’s presence at some schools was to ensure the safety and security of teachers and students during the country’s planned national strike.

Doodhai made the comment even as the teachers across the country gave the most enthusiastic response to yesterday’s day of rest and reflection in a show of solidarity for the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union, which was dealt a hard blow with the announcement of the Petrotrin’s refinery shutdown.

At a press conference at the Ministry of Education’s Port-of-Spain headquarters yesterday, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said he was heartened by the 52.5 per cent attendance of secondary school teachers and 50 per cent of primary school teachers for work. Principals also acted responsibly, he said.

“To us, that is indeed encouraging. In the majority of schools, we’ve had acceptable areas of attendance. The majority of teachers have decided to accept their responsibility to the nation’s children,” Garcia said.

He said this figure was pleasing bearing in mind that TTUTA had called on all teachers to stay away. He said on any given school day, between 70 to 75 per cent of teachers would show up for work.

“So when we extrapolate the 52 per cent we can see that there is a high percentage,” Garcia said, adding the country has 15,000 teachers and approximately 700 schools in T&T.

As for the students’ turnout, Garcia said they did not pay much attention to this but said based on feedback from principals there was a good measure of students’ attendance. Asked if the ministry will be disciplining teachers who stayed home, Garcia said since the ministry was working with preliminary futures, that matter would be discussed with the Attorney General, their legal adviser and Cabinet in going forward.

Up to the time of the press conference, however, Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan said they had no reports of schools dismissing or sending students home.

“There may be situations where some principals decided we tell parents to pick up their children,” Seecharan said.

But Doodhai gave an estimation of 65 to 70 per cent of teachers staying away, with students’ attendance being far worse. He confirmed that there was 100 absenteeism of teachers at ten primary schools. He said in his discussion with some principals in Rio Claro, Carapichaima, Couva, Port-of-Spain and Freeport, they complained that the police had entered their schools to collect data on the teachers’ attendance, which he stated was an act of intimidation.

“It is frightening to hear about this because the ministry has its own policy to collect such data. There is no need for the police to collect this data on attendance. We are concerned that police came to these schools. It was intimidation,” Doodhai said.

The highest absenteeism of teachers came from the central and south areas, Doodhai said. He noted that in the first week of a new academic term at least 95 per cent of teachers attend school.

However, Griffith said the police were on mobile patrols at some schools to ensure the safety and security of students and teachers.

“At no time instructions were given by the Police Service to collect data for attendance of teachers,” Griffith said in an interview with Guardian Media Ltd.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is emphatically rubbishing all speculation that he agreed to take in some 20,000 Venezuelan refugees as part of the gas deal signed between the two countries last month.

Rowley, in response to texts from the T&T Guardian, said that a rumour such as this had the capacity to “damage the image of the country”.

“There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in this mischief-making lie. No subject even came up or was discussed far less agreed to,” Rowley said.

Rowley and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro signed off on a gas deal last month but since then there has been very little information provided to the public on the specific details deal. During the meeting between the two leaders, local journalists were kept sequestered in a room away from the dignitaries.

The PM said this type of misinformation was not even a rumour but an outright “deliberate falsehood”.

“(It) is aimed at generating resentment and instability in Trinidad and Tobago. I strongly condemn this gross irresponsibility,” Rowley said.

He also aimed his ire at the United National Congress (UNC) for their role in spreading damaging misinformation in the public domain.

“It is time for the UNC Opposition to stop trying to undermine the interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” Rowley said.

“They live here, they make a living here and even if they don’t see a future here, the least they could do is be a little more patriotic to a country that did so much for them and their families.”

Rowley’s words to the Opposition comes even as its leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, added her support to today’s union-led day of rest and reflection.

Persad-Bissessar’s Siparia office is closed today and she has advised that all other UNC offices close in support. She also directed the membership to take the day off.

Despite a call from the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) for a Day of Rest and Reflection, there was a turnout of over 90 per cent of all arms of the divisions under the Ministry of National Security yesterday.

The T&T Guardian understands that there was either little or no absenteeism recorded in the T&T Police Service, T&T Prison Service, T&T Defence Force and the T&T Fire Service.

Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith added that many officers who were supposed to be off yesterday reported for duty.

“In fact, there was an escalation of the presence of officers. Our duty is to ensure law and order,” Griffith said.

He pointed out that there were several strategic meetings held in preparation for yesterday and they had put measures in place to deal with any outcome, including setting up of Operation Command Centres in every division.

TTPS’ Social and Welfare Association president Michael Seales thanked the officers for their service to the citizenry today despite calls by the unions for people to join in the protest action.

Seales said in some stations there was a full complement of officers reporting to work.

“Overall, we had about a 90 per cent turnout and we thank our membership for reporting to duty,” he said.

A senior officer in the Central Division, who wished not to be named, said they had no reports of any absenteeism throughout the division.

“Our officers not like that to stay away. They are dedicated in carrying out their service to the people and the country,” the officer said.

In a release issued yesterday, Minister of National Security Stuart Young thanked all staff for “ignoring calls to avoid reporting for work…and for opting instead to continue serving the nation.”

A 47-year-old fisherman has been released on $150,000 bail after appearing in court charged with raping a ten-year-old girl.

Shawn “Skunky” Adams was granted bail after reappearing before Magistrate Adia Mohammed in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning.

Adams initially appeared before Mohammed on Thursday afternoon, but Mohammed had to defer the hearing as police were unable to obtain his criminal record tracing because he refused to be fingerprinted. Adams eventually consented after the hearing.

Adams was not called upon to plead to the sexual penetration charge, which was laid indictably. The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

As part of the conditions of his bail, Adams was ordered to refrain from contacting the victim and was ordered to report to his nearest police station several times weekly for the duration of his case.

Adams is accused of attacking the girl at his home in east Port-of-Spain on Sunday afternoon. The girl told her parents and they reported the attack to detectives of the Besson Street Police Station.

Adams was arrested later that night and charged by WPC Whitney Charles of the Child Protection Unit.

Adams is expected to reappear in court next month.

The private sector was not affected by calls from various trade union leaders to participate in the day of “rest and reflection” yesterday, with businesses reporting that staff turned out for work as normal.

In a joint statement, the T&T Chamber, AmChamTT, Energy Chamber and the TTMA said a comprehensive survey showed that 88 per cent of their members were not affected, 10 per cent reported a minor impact and only two per cent experiencing a major effect from the protest action.

They thanked workers for ignoring “the irresponsible calls for a national strike and for their continued diligence and hard work.”

The chambers said: “This pattern was similar across sectors and for both unionised and non-unionised companies. The pattern was the same for both state-owned and private companies.”

A minor impact reported an absenteeism of four per cent, the release added

TTMA president Christopher Alcazar said: “Our membership’s feedback indicated that in most instances the turnout was nothing out of the ordinary in all areas of operations.”

He said workers had shown “maturity and discipline” and he praised them for their commitment to productivity and the greater good.

Anton has been working at the Petrotrin refinery for close to five years.

The 35 year old is classified as a "temporary" worker there.

Before, while not being a permanent employee was of little concern to him, now Anton is scared that not having this classification will be extremely detrimental as the Government prepares to close down the Petrotrin refinery.

Petrotrin’s refinery will be shut down as the company refocuses its efforts on exploration and production.

All 1,700 permanent workers at the refinery will be terminated, Petrotrin stated.

There was no mention of the temporary workers, Anton said.

"The Government right now only letting the public know about the permanent workers, but the majority of workers in the company are temporary workers and there is no mention about us," Anton said.

"So let's say the permanent workers getting a package to go, but what about the temporary workers, the public may think we are getting a package too but we are not getting anything and we are the ones at more risk because we are working there hard just as a permanent employee."

Anton claimed there are more than 3,000 temporary workers.

"Temporary employees will be going home empty-handed. What about their families, what about their children? The effect will be very bad," he said.

This scenario has been playing out in Anton's head since the announcement of the closure of the refinery two Tuesdays ago.

He has been having problems sleeping since then.

Top of the agenda for Anton is his family—his wife and two sons who are still in school.

"I am feeling sad because right now I am studying what is my next move. I need to find a plan B because things are looking dismal here," Anton said.

He, however, still reports to work.

It was under a green shed on the Petrotrin compound, where the workers sometimes congregate, that the Sunday Guardian caught up with Anton on Thursday.

He was still dressed in his blue coveralls with the Petrotrin logo over his heart and his name stitched over the other side of his chest.

Anton, however, asked that his real name should not be used in this article.

He had just finished work.

"It is a sad thing for the employees at the lower level, we work hard, it's a hard job and we get stigmatised," Anton said.

Anton believes a lot of misinformation about the salaries of Petrotrin workers is being bandied about in the public.

"People not hearing the truth because they are not working here, they don’t know the company runnings so they are being misinformed," he said.

During a political meeting earlier this week, Energy Minister Franklin Khan said there were 1,229 non-per­ma­nent em­ploy­ees at Petrotrin with a wage bill of $21,000 per month each.

In the past sev­er­al years, he said the over­time bill had av­er­aged $22.7 mil­lion, adding that there was once a car­pen­ter who earned $70,000 a month in over­time.

Anton said this was not a normal salary.

While Anton faces his own struggles, he acknowledged that all affected workers are connected together facing the unknown.

"Everybody has their own personal things but it is all similar, we are all connected people, we have bills to pay, loans, and mortgages to think about," Anton said.

"And then we have the budget coming up just now, so the price of things can also rise."

While speaking to Anton, David pulled up to the shed for a smoke while driving a van with a Petrotrin logo on its side.

David said unlike most of his colleagues he is scheduled to retire from the company in a few months time.

The blow of the refinery's shut down was not as devastating for him, Anton said.

He has been a worker with Petrotrin for the past 39 years as a permanent employee

But while the news of the planned closure of Petrotrin may not affect him as much as others, David said he empathises with his colleagues.

"I have co-workers who are working here who have real commitments. They took housing loans because they got a permanent job, they took loans to build their houses, married, have children, and right now some of them they cannot take it," he said.

"These workers worked alongside me for years and I feel it for them because it is a real stress on them, they came and cut them halfway and now their whole family life is disrupted. Right now I think they have people thinking all kinda things right now."

David hopes no one affected by the closure will succumb to suicidal thoughts.

"I spoke to a few co-workers and they sounded confused and distraught," he said.

Several have already considered selling their homes, David said.

Food business slows down

Steven, a "small contractor" with Petrotrin, said he too was uncertain of what the future holds and has actively begun thinking of selling his family home to survive.

"We the contractors are human too," Steven said.

Steven said he believes the contractors will be even harder hit than the workers.

"To be a contractor here, even a small contractor, you have to invest lots of money to adhere to all the safety requirements," Steven said.

"And once that contract is ended, we have absolutely nothing to get, everything goes down the drain, how do I face the bank now?"

Steven said the lack of food vendors under the shed was testament enough that people were already feeling the pinch.

He said previously the shed where we were chatting had five vendors selling lunches and snacks to the Petrotrin workers. There was only one there that day.

The place has now become a ghost town, he said.

The only vendor present was Janet.

Janet said she had been selling under the shed for the past ten years.

She sells lunches as well as sweetbread and other snacks.

"I am hoping for the best, you know you hope for the best in every situation, but I am just waiting to see. It will affect me because it will slow down business," Janet said.

"I am trying to make arrangements to make the best move and whatever is the outcome of the situation I will face it."

She said gradually she saw the other vendors leave.

Janet said she may have to do the same eventually.

This is a decision that sisters Sandra Ramesar and Jassodra Kallicharan who sell primarily fruits outside the Petrotrin refinery compound from their van are also contemplating.

The sisters have been in that location for over 20 years, Kallicharan said.

"We came and set up here and we got no problems so we decided to stay. We've been here so long and we have gained a lot of customers, the majority are (workers) from Petrotrin they are our main customers," Kallicharan said.

"(The closure) will certainly affect the business because we have already begun to see declines in our sales and we expect that it will only get worse as time goes by. We may have to consider relocating."

Kallicharan said the closure of the refinery will have an adverse effect on the nearby bustling town of Marabella.

Workers patronise Marabella stores

Kaleem Amin, of the popular Amins Restaurant and Caterers in Marabella, anticipates the closure will also affect his business.

Amin said approximately 65 per cent of the customers at the restaurant for breakfast is Petrotrin workers.

Petrotrin workers also account for approximately 40 per cent of the restaurant's customers.

The restaurant which has been around for 65 years has fed three generations of Petrotrin workers, Amin said.

"Definitely (the closure of the refinery) will have a negative effect, we are still trying to be optimistic about it, that things can improve and get better so right now we just watching and waiting to see what takes place as we go forward," Amin said.

"We definitely will see a decline in business, we are looking at roughly 3,500 people less in Marabella on a daily basis. Marabella is a place where there is a lot of traffic to get into but now people are saying it is a breeze to pass through, this is what we can expect when (the refinery) actually shuts down," he said.

Food places are not the only businesses expected to be affected by the shut down of the Petrotrin refinery.

Fareed Amin, the owner of Fareed's Shoe Store, said his business has been in existence for the past 43 years.

He supplies protective boots to Petrotrin and its workers.

"We will hold on and wait and see like everybody else, everything will slow down a little bit but I feel it will catch back up nicely," Amin said.

"I feel the doctor (Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley) knows what he is doing. He is making a decision that could cost him the election or he could be back there happy and smiling, so I don't feel he will make a bad decision to jeopardise everything for him, so we just have to wait and see because he is saying that they are not closing down the whole company it is just the refinery, so I think it could be a good idea you know.

"If he has to do it, he has to do it, what we could do."

Amin said people in Marabella built businesses so that the oil companies could get all they needed close by.

So while the closure of the refinery may be a hit to the community, Amin said he is sure it will be resilient.

Renuka Singh

Fourteen residents in the path of the planned $221.7 million Curepe Interchange project are seeking legal protection against Government's last-minute forced evictions.

The group, represented by lawyer Michael Rooplal, is seeking an injunction and judicial review on the project in order to stop the Government from evicting them from their homes and businesses. The group was notified on August 27 and 28 and given just 15 days to vacate their premises­—by September 11 and September 12.

The residents said that contrary to the provisions in the Land Acquisition Act, there is little transparency in the manner in which the land acquisitions are being handled. They are also condemning the Government for forcing them to accept between one third and one-fifth of the value of the land (on the open market) through compulsory acquisition.

While these residents are still unclear of their future or how much compensation they would get for their land and properties, the Sunday Guardian understands that Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan and the two other owners of the Kay Donna drive-in have already divested those lands to the Government.

The Sunday Guardian also understands that that land was acquired by the Government through compulsory acquisition.

The Sunday Guardian obtained two letters written by Rooplal, to the permanent secretary at Sinanan's ministry on September 6 and 7 questioning the Government's rush to enforce compulsory acquisition of the land.

In those letters, the Government was given until tomorrow to respond.

According to the Land Acquisition Act, the Government can use two methods to obtain land for State use—Private Treaty, which is the negotiation process used for normal, open-market purchases and Compulsory Purchase by which the Land Acquisition Act 1994 allows the State to acquire private property for a public purpose without the owner’s agreement.

From Private Treaty to Compulsory Acquisition

According to the documents, though the residents were informed of the plan to acquire their respective lands for the project through Private Treaty since 2013, no communication was initiated until last year. At that time, the State's acquisition method was also changed to Compulsory Purchase, giving the landowners no room to negotiate for their properties.

"However, despite correspondence from our clients' representatives in March 2015, it was not until September 2017 that the State took any further steps to formally acquire our clients' properties. Indeed, it was only at this point that the State officially commenced negotiations with our clients via private treaty for the acquisition of their respective properties," Rooplal said in his first letter to the PS.

While the negotiations for the land acquisition began under a private treaty, which afforded the residents a chance to have their land evaluated, they later learned that the Government switched to compulsory acquisition to get the lands needed for the project.

"Though our clients have accepted that their properties are to be compulsorily acquired in keeping with the provisions of the (Land Acquisitions) Act, it is utterly unacceptable that years of bona fides by our clients, the State would seek to exercise their right to possession of our clients properties in a manner that is grossly unreasonable and draconian," the letter states.

The letter also seeks to stop the State from forcibly removing the 14 residents from their properties until the negotiations are completed.

In the second letter to the Ministry of Works and Transport, Rooplal said that based on information in the public domain and their own observations of the initial work being done for the project, the residents are concerned that the State is treating the acquisition of lands for the Curepe overpass and ancillary roads in a "manner that is arbitrary and inequitable".

The residents, through their lawyer, are also questioning how the Government acquired the lands associated with the NP service station and the KFC/Pizza Hut lands near the Massy compound in Valsayn, and whether it was through private treaty or compulsory acquisition.

"Have negotiations been concluded via private treaty in respect of these lands or are they subject to orders pursuant to the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act?" Rooplal asked in the letter.

Rooplal said if the lands were acquired through private treaty, then the other residents deserved to know the cost the Government paid per square foot to the owners of those properties.

It is unclear when Sinanan and the other owners of Kay Donna were paid. Back in June, the minister said that Cabinet had approved compulsory acquisition for the lands. He also said then that a subsequent note was taken to Cabinet as negotiations continued to bring a speedy settlement for the residents.

He also said then that Kay Donna was not yet acquired by the Government. He reiterated that statement when quizzed by the media in July.

Negotiator, minister mum on land arrangement

The Sunday Guardian sought answers from Marlene Agge, the treasurer and the Institute of Surveyors of T&T and the one retained by Government to negotiate on their behalf.

"I'm sorry, I cannot speak on this matter," Agge said in a brief telephone interview Friday.

Agge said she could not answer questions on "this specific" matter and promised to provide the Sunday Guardian with a person who would answer questions on this land matter.

She did not respond to or return any subsequent calls.

The Sunday Guardian also contacted Sinanan on the matter an emailed the following questions for response:

1. Was the Kay Donna lands acquired by the Government through private acquisition or compulsory acquisition?

2. How is the process of acquisition determined for residents impacted by the project?

3. Was the original Curepe Interchange project altered in any way to bypass the Massy compound and instead utilise the lands by the NP filling station and smaller businesses in that immediate area?

4. Was Kay Donna on Caroni lands?

5. If so, was those lands officially transferred before being acquired by the Government?

Sinanan said he will forward the questions to the legal department at the MOWT to follow up. Up to late yesterday, there was no response.

HISTORY

The project, now awarded to China Railway Construction Company, comes with a mottled past spanning two successive governments.

In November 2014, the then UNC government approved US$309 million budget for the project. By December 2014, the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) rejected the proposals of two top bidders, Lutchmeesingh Transport Company (LTC) and Vinci Construction (Vinci), on the basis of price and expertise respectively.

Six months later, Nidco announced the contract was awarded to LTC and Vinci Construction. Vinci was responsible for the construction of the overpass near Grand Bazaar. The LTC pulled out of the contract negotiations and the matter was taken to the courts. By July 2016 the High court's verdict favoured Nidco.

The project was once again put out to tender in March 2017 and gave a three-month deadline. In August 2017, China Railway Construction Corporation was awarded the contract for some US$221.7 million.

Press conference today

Former transport minister under the United National Congress (UNC) Devant Maharaj is expected to join residents later today for a media conference. Maharaj had been contacted by some of the residents who felt that their cries for help fell on deaf ears.

Maharaj is expected to address the eviction notice received by some of the affected residents. The group will hold a media conference opposite Subway on the Southern Main Road at 1 pm today.

BOBIE-LEE DIXON

(bobie-lee.dixon@guardian.co.tt)

More signs will soon be visible along the Priority Bus Route to serve as reminders to drivers that pedestrians also heavily utilise the main passageway.

Even as soon as tomorrow, the public should expect to see engineers surveying the bus route to put forward recommendations and plans for the upgrade.

This was revealed yesterday by Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan, during an interview with the media, following the Ministry's Back to School Distribution Ceremony, held at his Port-of-Spain office.

The event was held particularly for victims and families of victims of road accidents. Twenty families were represented.

“We have to remind people that there are lights that they are approaching. When we look at the CCTV cameras on the bus route we realise that people actually drive at a higher speed especially when approaching the lights and when these lights change on you, there is nothing you can do,” Sinanan said.

He said lots of pedestrians use the bus route and it was actually designed for that, hence signage on the travel hub need to be upgraded quickly.

“I have seen in some instances paintings you could barely make out on the road. And I think if we are to do everything within our powers, we have to find a proper maintenance for some of these areas,” Sinanan said.

He said the ministry was also embarking on a programme where visits will continually be made to all strategic crossings to ensure that they're maintained. He said although the ministry had its own challenges, as the Minister of Works and Transport he gave the assurance that he will continue to fight to ensure infrastructure is a lot more friendly than where it is today.

Walkovers on the way… traffic wardens to be placed at strategic points

Sinanan said currently there were three new walkovers being built—two in the construction stages and one to be started in approximately two weeks. The locations include Diego Martin, the intersection on Wrightson Road in Port-of-Spain in the vicinity of the Water Taxi Terminal, and Abbatoir Road in the vicinity of the Central Market. He said the latter was a bit behind schedule but he hoped to have it completed and ready for use later this month.

In addition, Sinanan said the ministry intended to deploy a lot more traffic wardens at the schools and intersections which are used by children.

Friday nine-year-old Emmanuel John passed away at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, after sustaining massive head injuries when he was struck last almost two weeks ago by a maxi taxi on the Priority Bus Route.

At yesterday's ceremony, Sinanan said he ditched a prepared speech after having just returned from visiting and speaking to John's mother and grandmother, whom he offered personal assistance with funeral arrangements after it was the one request made by the grieving mother.

“I can stand here and boast that this year we have an eight per cent reduction in road fatalities, but let's look at the pedestrians. Last year there were 35 road deaths, this year it is 22. But could you imagine the mother of that one child yesterday? You think the statistics matter to her? It doesn't.”

He said he understood personally the grief and trauma associated with the loss of loved ones to road accidents as some years ago he lost close relatives in a fatal car accident. Sinanan said one road death was one too many, and it was only until the statistics were down to zero, could we really be happy.

BOX

Families have often lost breadwinners of the household to road accidents and those who have survived often end up with disabilities. Sinanan echoed sentiments of Arrive Alive president Sharon Inglefield, who spoke earlier at the event on the importance of having a functioning Victims Support Fund, which was established nearly eight years ago but merely functions at an optimum level.

He said he gave a commitment to Inglefield a year ago to fight for the improvement of the existing Fund and he intends to deliver on it.

However, until the Fund is sorted out, Sinanan called on citizens to be their brother's keeper and assist such families with whatever little they can.

KEVON FELMINEkevon.felmine@guardian.co.ttLisa Sookram screamed in anguish after running a few hundred metres to find her home being consumed by fire.With the grief of losing her school books and uniforms, Sookram’s daughter Emelia, 16, fainted and was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital. Now, after spending one week in school, Emelia and her 13-year-old brother, Joshua, will not be able to return to school for a long time. The family of eight was brought to tears yesterday as they revisited the ruins of their home hidden in the bushes off Red Brick Trace, South Oropouche. A washing machine, a stove, and a wardrobe that Sookram had just finished paying for were reduced to ashes and shells. Sookram, 45, said that she and her family had gone to her sister’s home nearby on Friday to watch television as the house had no electricity. Around 7.30 pm, her phone rang and her son Emelio answered it. Suddenly, he dropped the phone and sprinted off towards their home.Sookram said, “I thought something happened to my parrot so I used my sister’s phone and called my nephew who would have been around. I asked him what going on?”His response was deafening. “ 'What going on is that your house is burning down'.”With her heart beating heavily, she said she went home and all she could see was fire.“I immediately put my hands on my head and started to bawl ‘Oh God! My house. Where are my children going to sleep? What I’m I going to do?'

"My daughter started to tremble and sweat, and she fainted away. I had to try to console my children because all we were left with were the clothes that we are wearing now.”Firefighters and an ambulance responded and met neighbours using water from a standpipe to keep their house from going up in flames. It was stressful for Sookram as she looked at the ruins, saying that it was difficult to find a home, having to move from place to place with her children previously. She and her children’s father were separated and in 2012, the burden of raising them fell entirely on her when he was murdered.Working Cepep and URP over the years helped her to slowly build the family's plywood home. Now work has dried up and she depends on her husband's income from SM Jaleel and Company Ltd where he works as a warehouse attendant. The family is also mourning the loss of their pet parrot Mommy and two dogs that died in the fire.“I feel like a person who has lost a child because this home was my children’s life. I saw real trouble to build this house because my husband was not working at the time and my children were young. I just finished paying off for furniture and appliance and it’s all gone now,” Sookram said.The family is hoping to get assistance to build back their home.

They can be reached at 321-4078.

KEVON FELMINE

kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt

Friends of Natalie Pollonais and the public are desperate for news on her disappearance, but investigators say that sharing sensitive information can compromise their chances of returning her to her family.

While US$300,000 ransom was initially demanded for Pollonais' safe release, senior police officers confirmed that she remained missing. Social forums were abuzz with prayers and hope for Pollonais' return. Among them, several women who frequent the shopping malls in south Trinidad said they are fearful of being followed and kidnapped. In the past three years, Debe hairstyle Ria Sookdeo, designer Kirby Mohammed, and businesswoman Caroline Katwaroo all disappeared when they left their homes. They were never seen again.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian yesterday, two senior officers said that in cases where a person is kidnapped for ransom, the victim’s life hangs on a thread as kidnappers often keep themselves apprised of the news and social media. If they feel that the police are closing in on their location, they can become erratic.

“There is nothing to report so far but we are still fighting, working around the clock to find her. This is a lady on a thin string in a matter of life and death and any misinformation can compromise our efforts. Our main concern is getting her safely back to her family,” a senior officer said.

The Pollonais family remained tightlipped on the investigation.

On Thursday, Pollonais, 49, the wife of Inland and Offshore Contractors Ltd (IOCL) director Jason Pollonais, went to the Central Athletic Club gym at C3 Centre in Ste Madeleine. CCTV footage showed that Pollonais visited a few stores and left comfortably in her BMW 5308 hy­brid sedan just before noon. According to her family, she was expected to visit a friend in Palmiste but failed to show up. When calls to her cell phone went unanswered, her husband made a missing person report.

A report stated that when police traced her, they got a ping from a cell tower in the Valsayn/St Augustine area. A witness reported to police that around 11.45 am on Thursday, he saw Pollonais near the Debe Interchange and her car was being searched by two men wearing police uniforms. He said he assumed that she was caught in the police roadblock but after her photograph began circulating as a missing person that he realised something was wrong.

Around 10.30 that night, officers from the San Fernando CID, Organised Crime and Intelligence Unitm, and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit found Pollonais’ car in the parking lot of an apartment building off Union Boulevard, Cypress Hills, Union Hall.

A false registration plate had been stuck over the original plate to throw off the police. However, Pollonais' car is just one of two in the country. It was taken to the Special Evidence Recovery Unit where forensic experts will check for prints and other clues.