Classes at the Chaguanas North Secondary School are set to resume as normal today, albeit with an increased police presence.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia said yesterday that police officials have agreed to maintain a “very visible presence” inside and outside the school compound at Helen Street, Chaguanas. This comes two days after classes were dismissed early because of a planned gun attack at the school by gang members who have close links with students attending the school.

It is alleged that the gang members planned to attack certain teachers and students because their associates had been reprimanded for indiscipline.

News of the “credible threat” was brought to the attention of the ministry, as well as the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (Ttuta) on February 19, which prompted an emergency meeting and forced officials to cancel classes for the remainder of the day.

Contacted via phone, Garcia revealed that he had spoken with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon on the matter. Garcia said the number of security guards would be doubled from four to eight. The minister added, “If the situation warrants, we will have more.”
Admitting that this was a new level of school violence being displayed, Garcia described it as a “serious and troublesome issue.”

Revealing that he had already consulted the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services for their assistance, Garcia explained that this was “a societal problem and one which we do not want to escalate any further.”

Garcia said, “This situation has its genesis in the community and that seems to be migrating into that school.”

Garcia is expected to return to the school tomorrow at 9 am. Ttuta president Davanand Sinanan said his members who were assigned to the school had experienced “very real fear” which had prompted them to reach out to the association for help. 

Sinanan agreed the violence had “reached a new level,” and it was up to the authorities to “take up the matter now.”

Sinanan said while there have been previous incidents of drug use, internal school violence, weaponry and teacher/student intimidation reported at that school, “It was nothing like this one.”

Relating an incident from last year when police were called to the school, Sinanan said a scratch bomb was lit and thrown at a police vehicle but nothing was ever done about the issue.

Using this incident as a benchmark, Sinanan asked, “If there are students who are so emboldened and have no respect for the law, how do you think they will treat the teachers?”

Chairman of the National Insurance Property Development Company Ltd (Nipdec) Michael Toney has given the assurance that millions owed to 290 pharmacies for services rendered under the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP) will be paid.

But he said the problem was not a lack of funds but rather the process by which the monies were generated. Toney made the statements in response to a story in the Sunday Guardian in which president of the Pharmacy Board of T&T Andrew Rahaman made the claim of non-payment.

Rahaman had said the pharmacies had been awaiting payments for the past eight months and had also threatened to withhold services to thousands of CDAP patients until they were paid.

Toney said on an i95 call-in show yesterday that the matter was first brought to his attention, and that of management, around 3.30 pm last Friday. He said with the change in Government last year, a new board was appointed in January this year. Describing it as a two-fold issue,  Toney added: “There is the period from July to October and there is the period from November to date.

“My information is that the funds to pay the pharmacists were received around the end of last month by Nipdec from the ministry of health and we are processing those cheques.” He said when claims were sent in from pharmacists these were in the form of copies of CDAP prescriptions.

“That claim has to be translated into dollars before the quantum can be ascertained. We outsourced the programme that has to deal with the conversion from the claim form to the dollar amount and there has been some problems with the service provider. But on Friday we were able to get the conversion we needed to take this quantum of money, submit it to the ministry of health so that we could get the money to pay the pharmacists,” Toney said.

He did not identify the provider but said the person was local.

On the time frame when this was expected to be sorted out, he said this was difficult to say but it was a matter which was being urgently addressed as officials had also been working over the weekend.

Saying that he was concerned regarding the current process, Toney said what was needed to be done in Nipdec was to get a firm grasp of all the various projects and an understanding of them.

“If it is that Nipdec is spread too thin what we have to do is fix Nipdec so we can generate an efficient and effective service for the ministry.

“I empathise with the situation that the pharmacists are in but, I want to give them the assurance that we are going to be working assiduously to correct that situation and to make sure it does not happen again. As far as I know the problem is not the lack of funds, because these funds would have been allocated in the budget,” Toney said. He added the ministry has been “very timely” in providing the necessary monies.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, who had also been contacted by the Sunday Guardian, had promised to get to the bottom of the issue. In the article, Deyalsingh had complained that Rahaman “just runs to the media for every little thing.” Regarding this, Toney said he did not know Rahaman therefore could not comment.

The national council of the Congress of the People has agreed with a proposal by the outgoing leader of the party Prakash Ramadhar to hold elections for the Political Leader and national executive elections on the same day, April 24.

That was one of the major decision’s taken during yesterday’s regular national council meeting of the party at Charlieville, Chaguanas.

Speaking during a news conference after the meeting, party chairman Jamie Bahadur said a motion for the two elections to take place simultaneously was passed “unanimously” during the meeting at COP’s Operations Centre, Charlieville, Chaguanas. Ramadhar tendered his resignation on Wednesday.

One of the party’s deputy leaders Dr Anirudh Mahabir said the executive “begged” Ramadhar to remain in office until the election was held because himself and the deputy leader, former National Carnival Commission chairman,  Lorraine Pouchet, were “not as good as he is.”

COP general Secretary Clyde Weatherhead said the party’s constitution does not provide for Ramadhar’s resignation to be accepted or rejected. 

“There is no need for the national council to approve or accept any resignation according to our Constitution, “ he added.

He said the motion to have the two elections on April 24 was done in order to ensure the party was prepared under new leadership for the local government elections , which are expected by November.

He said the party’s membership stands at about 40,000 and the COP’s elections commission will outline the process for the conduct of the polls early next month, adding that the campaign will be for a one-month duration.

Ramadhar was re-elected political leader in 2014, defeating his two main challengers, former party chairman Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan and former arts and multiculturalism minister Dr Lincoln Douglas. His term was due to expire in 2017. Ramadhar told party members he is quitting the leadership position because he wanted members who were disenchanted with his leadership to return under a new leader.

Ramadhar again said that he was taking full responsibility for the failures of the party over the past few years under his leadership. “Having lost the elections for local government (2013), having lost the general elections (2015), I take responsibility and if i shall have to fall on my sword that is what I do,” he stressed.

Ramadhar said: “The blood as it is to be spilled will be mine and no one else or the party’s.” He said his decision to resign was “to give the party a  new avenue, a new path moving forward.” And some COP members yesterday expressed relief over his decision to resign.

One member said the party membership was “relieved  as under his leadership the COP failed to capitalise on some issues in the former PP Government.”

Another member said the party was “looking forward to this new chapter in the party’s existence in the hope that it would lead to a revival of the COP and a return to its true identity.”

The Media Association of T&T says CNC3 breached journalistic ethics in airing an edited video clip of Tuesday’s clash between Crime Watch host, Ian Alleyne and Inspector Roger Alexander. 

According to MATT, “It was CNC3’s duty to inform the public that the video had been altered. Not having done so, CNC3 omitted essential features of the confrontation and that omission amounted to misrepresentation.”

MATT said the “breach of duty requires CNC3 to make amends with the public it serves and the industry in which it operates.”

MATT turned some of its fire on the police, saying that there is the potential for ethical conflicts by the commingling of the TTPS with the commercial interests of private sector media. It was a reference to a revelation by a police spokesman, that Beyond The Tape is an official police programme.

MATT said law enforcement and the media serve the public interest in different ways and, consequently, the public should be furnished with detailed information on the protocols that govern the Beyond the Tape programme.

MATT said: “The degree of force used by the arresting officer appears disproportionate to the offence and the circumstances (and) MATT questions the refusal of the TTPS to investigate these allegations of excessive force,” their statement added.

 It said the right of media workers to reasonable treatment from the police while pursuing a story must be respected. MATT said  another potential breach of conduct by the police related to a recent video on social media which appears to be recorded by police officers at the Chaguanas Police Station. The video shows Alleyne being taunted and ridiculed. 

Wooden carvings (often of human faces and figures, steel pans and local flora and fauna) are a common sight in Tobago. 

Sold largely at roadsides, on beaches or in small stalls in populated areas, these creations are so plentiful that it is easy for the average person to take them for granted and underestimate the skill and passion required to produce them. Recently, while cleaning and sorting through boxes, I came across a wood carving set given to me by my father some time last year. 

Immediately a strong desire to begin carving sparked in me. Previous attempts were in childhood. A small electric guitar, of which I was very proud, was the most memorable result of my wood carving efforts.

On Google and YouTube I discovered various articles and videos on carving and the art of whittling—the latter involving use of a small, sharp knife to gradually shave and cut figures from raw wood. I envisioned myself sitting outdoors in quiet moments, at one with nature, “whittling” away.

Later that morning on the beach I picked up two interesting-looking pieces of driftwood. The one that resembled a bird was the one that I started whittling as soon as I got home. I do not own a whittling knife and, unable to find one in hardwares (where the word “whittling” was unknown to those I asked), I used my Swiss Army knife.  

Later that evening, I sat with friends having drinks and eats. Looking up at the walls of the venue I noticed wood carvings created by Collins Andrews-Toussaint of One Love Arts (Booth No 1) in Store Bay. 

I had seen these carvings many times before, but that night I viewed them through new eyes. I noticed the depth of detail—the scaly appearance of a mermaid’s tail, the smooth curve of a body, the texture of hair, the “swish” of wood carved to look like fabric—and I wondered: “How did he do that?”

Through carving and whittling, one can speak a new language, pulling stories out of grain and returning life to what now seems “dead” (wood) but was once living (a tree). As woodwork is one of my father’s hobbies, I grew up with this awareness, but did not ever fully put it into practice myself.

Every Friday evening when I teach yoga in the Kariwak ajoupa, a majestic, detailed wood sculpture of the Egyptian Goddess Hathor stands behind me. She is the creation of Omesh Cain, Tobago-born, Germany-based sculptor and artist. I know that the next time I see Hathor, I will examine her form and features with curious “how-did-he-do-that?” eyes.

Hungry to understand more about the art form, I visited Booth No 1 in Store Bay. Lerelynne Andrews-Toussaint (wife of Collins) greeted me with a hug and outside of their One Love Arts booth. Inside, Collins sat carving a piece of cedar. 

Hearing of my interest in learning to carve, he invited me in and demonstrated some basic cuts with the heavy-duty X-Acto blade he uses a lot in his work. It is fascinating that such a simple tool can be used to create intricate wooden wonders. I happened to have the beginnings of my whittled driftwood bird with me. 

In my eyes, it was a chicken...to Lerelynne, a seahorse..to Collins, a pelican. In one piece of wood, the possibilities are endless. One Love Arts will be offering wood-carving and jewelry-making workshops later this year.

Please contact Collins and Lerelynne at 794-5818 for more information.

Corn chow, dongs chow, peewah chow, mango, pineapple, pommerac, green apple, whatever fruit is in season, you can be sure Hot Mouth on Main Street in Chaguanas has it. There is always a small crowd waiting for chow around the Hot Mouth cart at the side of the bustling street opposite Centre City Mall.

Kavell Forde, 30, and his brother, Johnny Fernando, 41, who describe themselves as “chowologists,” are always in matching white T-shirts , briskly bagging this favourite spicy fruit snack of every true Trini. The brothers said they are Christians and actively involved in ministry and insist Hot Mouth was set up by divine inspiration.

Their mission, they said, is twofold; to earn their own honest dollar and make Trinis healthier by helping them have their daily servings of fruit. Fernando said before they even set up Hot Mouth, he literally tasted in his mouth the kind of chow they were to make.

“This business is a story of faith,” he said, as he told of how chow helped them rise from poverty to success. 

Convinced of the health benefits of fruit, they developed the logo, Taste Your Health, which is printed on all their T-shirts. “You are supposed to have a serving of fruit daily but a lot of people don’t. Making fruit tastier encourages people to eat them,” Forde said.

In their chow, they use their own special mix of sauces, which includes chadon beni, and make their own pepper sauce, use no artificial additives and a minimum of salt. 

“Sometimes, people ask for more salt but we try to discourage it.”

As for hot peppers? They are actually fat burners and are filled with vitamins, they said. Fernando and Forde search out the best hand-picked fruit and when mangoes are out of season and expensive, bring them in from Tobago, Grenada and even Guyana for their loyal customers. All of Hot Mouth’s chow sells out daily.

“We have regular clients. There are people who come just to buy our cucumber chow to eat with their lunch,” Forde said.

Hot Mouth is part of Ef & Ef Enterprises (for the two Fs in Fernando and Forde) and the brothers operate like professional businessmen. They have call cards, flyers and a Facebook page, take orders, do deliveries and work at special events. On Hot Mouth’s Facebook page, they constantly remind fans of the health benefits of fruit.

Grew up poor
This successful business was launched in Chaguanas 11 years ago with only $72 and the brothers endured many trials. 

“We were dead broke. We used to work hard for other people, in construction, supermarkets, fast food outlets. We did a little office work too.

“But we wanted to work for ourselves. We grew up poor and decided we should leave something for our future generation.

“After we got tired of working for other people and reaching nowhere we to decided to launch out on our own. But we had no money and asked God what to do.”

One day, Fernando went to Maracas and saw a man selling chow and the thought came to him that could have been a sign. With their $72, Fernando started off selling three types of chow on the streets of Chaguanas. He brought his younger brother in later.

There were many trials and struggles in the beginning.“We had a lot of trials on the road. In those days the streets of Chaguanas used to flood nearly waist-high and sometimes we would have to throw away all our chow.

“I got arrested once. One day the police came after vendors on the street and I asked questions and was arrested for disobeying instructions, resisting arresting and obstruction.”

But the brothers pressed on, trusting. “We had a grandmother who was always praying for us and were guided on the right path from an early age.”

Today, Hot Mouth is among the most respected street vendors in Central. “We are highly respected by business people and the police.

“They understand we are not here to give any trouble. We have full respect for the law and encourage our customers to do likewise.” 

Hot Mouth is such a success today that the company recently started a new branch at the University of the West Indies on Thursdays and will be opening another in San Fernando in March.

The Trinidad Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Association (THRTA) is to host an awards ceremony at Hyatt Regency at 10 am, to announce the Trinidad & Tobago National Culinary Team 2016. CEO of the THRTA, Brian Frontin, said the team will consist of a team captain, two chefs, one junior chef, one pastry chef and one bartender. 

From March to May, 12 practice dinners will be held as the team prepares for the Taste of the Caribbean competition to be held in the US in June. Frontin said the practice dinners will be open to the public to allow for direct interaction and feedback opportunities with the culinary team members. 

The competition, designed to be a premier culinary event, had showcased the best chefs and bartenders from around the region since 1993. It has been held annually in Miami, Florida, in the US, under the auspices of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association.

Since assuming the position of CEO in November last year, Frontin said he felt it was important to re-launch the competition after three years. 

“We have a history of success although we have not competed since 2013.” He said the response had been overwhelming. 

“We have 42 applicants which is the highest number of registrants we have ever had.” 

He said in addition to the pride and satisfaction derived from the team’s remarkable achievements over the years, the THRTA regards the competition as a training and development opportunity for local chefs, pastry chefs and bartenders. 

SUCCESSES

T&T's culinary successes
The first T&T national team entered in 1997 and won a gold medal in the centre piece competition and a bronze medal for kitchen standards. Several national teams were subsequently sent for an additional 11 appearances over a 16-year period and won 52 medals  in total—23 gold, 20 silver and nine bronze. 

In 2013,  the national team won the following titles: 
• Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year (Gold)
• Taste of the Island—Best Team Presentation (Gold)
• Seafood Mystery Basket Competition (Silver)
• Beef Mystery Basket Competition (Silver)
• Pastry Chef of the Year (Silver)
• Bartender Competition—Vodka category (1st place)
• Bartender Competition—(Gold)
• Chef of the Year—(Bronze)

My name is Robert Alexander Kendal Lee and I fought Ebola in Liberia.

I am fifth-generation Trinidadian, descended from people who arrived from Canton, a small town outside Paris and either Northern Ireland or Scotland in the 1800s. One of my great grandfathers had five wives. I am descended from the half-Chinese, half-Scottish (or Northern Irish) wife. 

Medicine has been the family trade for three generations. My mother’s father, Dr Joseph Tsoi-a-Sue trained at Guy’s Hospital in the 1920s. My father’s father, Alexander David Lee, a cocoa merchant, had no formal education, but [was] determined all his sons would be university-educated. He bought a De Verteuil family house on Frederick Street and installed his four sons in the first multi-practice building in Trinidad. The Lee Building was finally demolished last year.  I went to medical school in Edinburgh at 18 and qualified at 22. 

My sixth form class at St Mary’s College was outstanding.  Sixteen of us are medics. And even the class dumbo eventually ended up running an oil company and made  more money than most of us. 

What happens when we die? We rot.

My parents mounted Willie Chen’s first exhibition at the newly-opened Hilton Hotel in 1963. They were the uncredited “angels” that helped Derek Walcott establish the Trinidad Theatre Workshop in their first home in the basement of the Bretton Hall, owned by my family. Vidia Naipaul set the opening of Guerrillas in our beach house in Salibia. Dad painted and played piano with Boscoe Holder and wrote a cookbook with Errol Barrow, Privilege, which still yields a couple of pounds a year in royalties.

In 1989, Farley Cleghorn, a young doctor, described visiting patients in outbuildings, tombs and under houses, and being shot at due to the stigma surrounding Aids. Together we set up the first integrated HIV services at the Queen’s Park Counseling Center at the former Kiernahan house around the Savannah. I joined Carec in 2000.

I volunteered to work in Atlanta after [Hurricane] Katrina. My preparation for working in emergencies can be directly linked to my experiences of making mas with Minshall. It’s the same thing: mass confusion, poor communication, time-sensitive deadlines, rubbish rumours, a combination of technically excellent individuals and well-meaning but hopeless volunteers, major thiefing and so on.  

I felt I had to volunteer to work for the WHO in the Ebola outbreak. It is the reverse side of the coin of entitlement. Though it was major stress, I never felt more alive and productive.

I have a video clip of villagers singing a hymn to greet a woman who survived Ebola. It shall be sung at my funeral (along with Maggie May by Rod Stewart): “He didn’t have to do it, but he did/ He didn’t have to do it, but he did/ He woke me up this morning/ And sent me on my way/ He didn’t have to do it, but he did.

A close and dear friend asked me what I wanted from my life and, when I answered, ‘To be amused until death’, his face fell. He had hoped I would say I wanted to be happy. I guess I should have said happy but I would really have meant loved, but can’t say that. 

I really resent dimwits who inflict their beliefs on others. It’s the only time I admit to being Catholic, when they come with their sorry-assed loser spiels. Once I turned the hose on them. 

I went to Beijing in 1984 [for] the 35th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution and stayed six months. I had always been curious to know what it would be like to not be a minority—but the Chinese could see I was a hua chiao—an ‘Overseas Chinese’. I belonged nowhere and everywhere but I belonged to those who didn’t belong anywhere either. I realised how Trinidadian I was.

A Trini can network with and put people at ease very quickly. Using humour and politeness as an entrée.

We’re breeding a race of dragons, young people who do not expect to live beyond the age of 25 and who are angry at the system. And I don’t think we can stuff that back into the bottle.

Trinidad & Tobago is the only place I feel I belong. I don’t feel I belong to everybody—elitist, privileged, overeducated—but I know how to use it. I know how to sweet-talk and when to pull rank on people.
• Read a longer version of this feature at www.BCPires.com

Ajay Baball
Student, Hugh Wooding Law School

We hear about “human rights” regularly and we seem to know a couple of them. The right to life; the right to liberty; the right to freedom of expression. But what about a person’s intellectual property rights? Are those rights really “human rights?” 

Human rights are those rights which you possess by virtue of being human, born free and equal in dignity. 

Intellectual property rights are the rights given to people over the creations of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of time. Still not sure if intellectual property (‘IP’) rights are “human rights?” 

Well Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that: “(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in the scientific advancement and its benefits; and (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic protection of which he is the author.”

Now that we know that IP rights are human rights too, how do we protect them? There are various types of IP rights. For instance, a copyright allows its holder/originator to have the exclusive and assignable legal right for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, film, or record literary, artistic or musical material. 

A month ago, there was a publicised feud on social media when an international artiste allegedly used a local photographer’s work without permission or credit being given. A public uproar ensued, “there must be some violation of the photographer’s rights?!”… 

Trinidad and Tobago’s Intellectual Property Office states that “Copyright is essential to human creativity. It gives creators incentives in the form of recognition and fair economic rewards. Creators can be assured that their works can be disseminated without fear or unauthorised copying. This will help increase access to and enhance the enjoyment of our culture, knowledge and entertainment all over the world.” 

What about a person’s moral rights? The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) says that moral rights to a work not only belong to its author, but moral rights allow the author to take certain actions to preserve the personal link between himself and the work. In fact, the Berne Convention recognises moral rights as having underlying rights, namely: the right to paternity and the right to integrity. 

The right to paternity is that right which allows an author to claim authorship of his work. The right to integrity affords an author the opportunity to object to any distortion or modification of his work among other things. So do you have any other intellectual property rights available to you besides copyright? 

Of course! There are patents, industrial designs and trademarks among others. A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention. A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the good and services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. An industrial design constitutes the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article.

So what’s your take away from this article? You can be assured that you too have intellectual property rights as one of your human rights. So get creating and don’t sleep on your rights! 

This column is not legal advice. If you have a legal problem, you should consult a legal adviser.

Chairman of the Tourism Development Company (TDC) Dennise Demming is urging local chefs and bartenders to explore innovative ways of showcasing their products without using styrofoam or plastic.

Declaring that this country was “drowning in styrofoam and plastics,” Demming said it was crucial that people make more environmentally friendly and sustainable choices.

Delivering brief remarks at the Trinidad Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Association (THRTA) awards ceremony at the Hyatt Hotel, yesterday, Demming tossed out a challenge to the handful of chefs and bartenders present as she said it was up to them to redefine the palette of the average Trinidadian and revolutionise customer service in the country.

Describing these as complex challenges, Demming said the statistics were there to prove that Trinidadians were suffering from obesity, high blood pressure and other lifestyle diseases, due largely in part to their food choices which had changed over the years from authentic culinary cuisine to fast food.

Urging the chefs present to accept the task of transforming local produce into attractive and tasty dishes which would entice persons to change their eating habits, Demming also said it was time to change how people interacted with each other on a daily basis.

She said mutual respect, empathy and love were needed to transform the customer service sector.

To the bartenders, Demming urged them to incorporate more local rums and mixtures into their drink offerings, as she said the purchase of high-end scotch would only translate into more foreign exchange leaving the country.

Overall, Demming said, these factors could assist in improving the tourism industry which has always “been a second thought” in this country.

She said this was the perfect opportunity for this industry to contribute in a more meaningful way to the country’s Gross Domestic Product and thereby reduce the reliance on the energy sector.

Deputy permanent secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Samdaye Rampersad, echoed Demming’s call that the time to transform the Caribbean’s tourism sector was now.

She said in 2015, the Caribbean attracted the most foreign visitors with 28.7 million persons, who spent close to $30 billion.

Rampersad said this represented the sixth consecutive year of above average growth in this sector and it was an area of tremendous potential—one which T&T needed to capitalise on as persons searched for culinary delights indigenous to each country.

Prior to the announcement of the winners of the 2016 Making The Cutt culinary competition, chief executive officer of the THRTA, Brian Frontin, commended those who had participated in this latest instalment of the competition, as well as past winners and participants who had moved on to providing culinary advice at hotels and those who had even started their own businesses. Formed in 1999, the THRTA is the main private sector body representing the tourism industry.

In the mid-1990s, the THRTA developed the concept of a local culinary competition which identified talented chefs, pastry chefs and bartenders who would form part of a team to compete at Taste of the Caribbean, the premier culinary event showcasing the region's best talent, held in Miami annually, under the auspices of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.

Over the past 16 years, local teams have amassed a total of 52 medals including 23 gold, 20 silver and nine bronze medals, for their efforts.

This year, the competition attracted a record number of participants including 15 chefs, nine pastry chefs, two junior chefs and 14 bartenders from top local hotels and restaurants, as well as established business owners.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says the education system in T&T is failing students.

The statement was made at the third leg of the National Consultation on Education held at the Magdalena Grande Beach Resort in Tobago yesterday.

Dr Rowley said the consultations were geared at using the opportunities and information derived from the events to examine what the country has been doing. He said the reason for such an event and focus is that it is recognised that Trinidad and Tobago was not doing as well as it should in the sphere of education, as the country was not training well-rounded students.

“In fact as a person who has benefited from serious public policy on education, who has been responsible for a large number of people over a long period of time and who is a citizen of this country, I can say to you that it is my view that our education system is failing, in so far as what we are really achieving is putting our children through school and not educating them,” he said

He said although billions are being pumped into the education sector, society has only been concerned with certification and not education, and the returns are not seen in the human resource of the country.

He said, “If you go a little deeper you will find that that is not in itself a blame-sharing thing, but where we came from in the colonial era to be certified in the small numbers was to advance in life where opportunity was rare, but then we as a people, an independent people, have consistently spent the largest chunk of our budgetary allocation on education and education has changed the lives of every family of this country, but the template has been one about certification and we have gone completely in the direction where it’s about getting a certificate, to the point now they are telling you that they can give you an MBA in six months and then you go and roll it out for somebody to employ you, a lot of false papers washing in Trinidad and Tobago, with uneducated people, and worse, a lot of money is spent on education, but we don’t see commensurately the educated returns for that expenditure” he said

The Prime Minister compared T&T’s educational model which is copied from the British system with that of the United States and Canada, noting that all stakeholders are needed to assist in the transformation of the education sector

“The average citizen has to look for more in education, the teachers who teach have to teach more than what’s coming for exam and the students who come out from school have to come out benefiting from a moulding that sets them on a pathway for life,” he said

Meanwhile, president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Devanand Sinanan believes the education system in the country needs more than tweaking. He said a system is needed to cater to the diverse needs of each child despite their socioeconomic background.

He said, “We cannot afford to continue to perpetuate a system that prevents thousands of students on an annual basis from becoming decent, productive citizens. Unfortunately, as a people, we are very often afraid to think in revolutionary and unorthodox ways, because maybe we ourselves are products of an education system that discouraged and in some cases killed creativity. It is not surprising that the ideas coming forth thus far only seek to tweak the system, rather than promote a total revamping process.

“We cannot afford to be left with more of the same. Currently it is inadequate, we need surgery. 

“We may have equality of opportunity, but we are still striving for equity.” 

“What kind of people would do this to a dying man?” a relative exclaimed yesterday as she mourned the death of Petrotrin operator Adrian Pancho, who was robbed as he lay dying after crashing his SUV into an embankment yesterday.

Eyewitnesses said Pancho, 25, of Santokie Trace, Fyzabad, survived being pinned inside his Kia Sportage for 25 minutes, but according to a female relative yesterday, thieves used that time to steal the money from his wallet and the battery from his SUV.

Police said Pancho was driving north along Lady Hailes Avenue, San Fernando, around 2.45 am when on reaching Cemetery Road, he veered onto an embankment and crashed into a sign. 

Police believe Pancho, who was returning from a cousin’s wedding in Palmiste, fell asleep while driving as there were no skid marks on the road leading to the crash.

Brandon Brown, who lives nearby, said when the SUV hit the embankment, it propelled upward and into a sign. When he and other residents ran out, they noticed Pancho not wearing his seatbelt and he was pinned under the steering wheel.

“The man was not wearing his seatbelt so he end up underneath by the pedals for the gas and on top of the gear level, halfway across. It looked like he had a little girl child but there was not anyone else in the vehicle with him. 

“We saw a baby seat and a key chain for a girl so it look like he had a little daughter. We are unsure who the man is and where he is from.

“The car was coming down the stretch and like the man dozed away behind the steering. He lost control of the vehicle and hit an incline right there as you can see. When he hit the incline, he end up in the air and hit a sign. When he hit the sign, the car started to spin in the air and fall back on the ground,” Brown said.

He said as soon as residents saw the accident, they called the police but emergency responders took between 30 and 45 minutes to arrive.

A relative said yesterday that both she and Pancho attended the wedding but he left around 1.30 am to return home. Minutes later she got a phone call saying that he was in an accident but she was given few details. 

Although she was angered that Pancho appeared to be robbed, she did not want to speculate as to who did it as she did not know all the details of the accident. She said Pancho, who turned 25 on February 8, had planned to get married in the next two years.

CNC3 has issued an apology over the airing of a news report on Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne’s clash with TV rival Roger Alexander, in which a brief segment of the videotape of the incident had been cut. 

In the segment that was edited out, Alleyne could be heard swearing at Alexander, once, briefly. 

The did-he-or-didn’t-he mattered, because Alleyne charged that Alexander had used unreasonable force and was unjustified in physically removing him from a suspect’s yard, where he’d gone to shoot a segment for his Crime Watch show. Alexander’s accusation that Alleyne had used coarse language was central to the policeman’s defence in justifying his removal of Alleyne.

Last Friday, a news report by TV6, on which Alexander co-presents his Beyond The Tape programme, highlighted the edit. On Sunday, the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT) weighed in, saying that CNC3 had breached journalistic ethics by not informing the public that the video had been altered.

CNC3 yesterday insisted that there was no intentional deception with the edit, and it had been done on the grounds of good taste and decency.

“In our desire to abide by the provision of the Telecommunications Act, we removed offensive material from the video of Mr Alleyne, which was not lawfully fit to be published in a newscast,” the CNC3 statement read.

“In hindsight, we recognise that we should have also publicly indicated that an obscenity was used. If any of our viewers were misled, we unreservedly apologise.”

The accusations stung journalists at a station which hosts the most-watched TV evening prime time newscast in T&T, fronted by some of the most respected names in TV journalism. CNC3, however, defended its reputation for fair and accurate reporting.

“Since its inception, CNC3 News has always upheld the highest standards of journalism, and we recommit ourselves to those,” the statement began by saying.

It added: “We wish to make it clear that at no point did CNC3 intend to deliberately mislead the public in our reporting on the arrest of Alleyne.”

Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus says her Government fully supports the depoliticisation of appointments to the Industrial Court as recommended by the Industrial Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC).

Baptiste-Primus was speaking at the Tripartite Stakeholder Consultation on the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill, 2015, at the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC), in Point Lisas yesterday.

The consultation saw leader of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) Ancel Roget, Co-operative Credit Union League president Joseph Remy, head of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Claudia Coenjaerts and chief executive officer of the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Dr Catherine Kumar, also bringing greetings from their respective organisations. 

The ILO’s Rainer Pritzer and IRAC’s Dr Hyacinth Guy both made presentations on the recommendations of the IRAC report. 

“Today represents the beginning of the process of consultation, among Government, labour and the business sector. We are focusing on IRAC’s report and recommendations,” Baptiste-Primus explained. “It spans recommendations from institutional strengthening of the Ministry of Labour to the recognition board and the industrial court.

“One of the recommendations I am particularly attracted to is the depoliticisation of the appointment of judges to the Industrial Court, because in my political position in the party as the labour relations officer, the labour relations committee developed a paper on this exact issue and the general council of the PNM accepted it.”

Whereas Baptiste-Primus says she is hopeful the amendments to the bill could be laid in Parliament before year’s end, she said several key stakeholders had not seen the IRAC report.

“I just had a discussion with Dr Catherine Kumar of the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce and also Nirad Tewarie of Amchan, even the Employers Consultative Association, that they did not have a copy of this report, which is from 2013. Now I am amazed. I was acting on the presumption and I shouldn’t have done that, that they had seen it.

“So they have requested some time in terms of meeting with their own memberships before submitting their comments, and I intend to accommodate it. The process will be slowed down, but it is a situation that I have to understand.”

Baptiste-Primus said the legislative changes were needed to bring T&T industrial relations laws up to ILO standards.

Students at the Chaguanas North Secondary School were searched on arrival at the compound yesterday morning in light of the recent planned gun attack made against members of staff.

On Friday, a plan to execute members of staff, which included a teacher and security guard, was thwarted after authorities received information.

School was dismissed early that day and members of the Defence Force took up posts at the school to assist.

Bags were checked manually and the students were checked with scanners for any possible weapons.

Six estate constables from the MTS took up duty at the front of the compound with police officers regularly crossing the compound.

The usual complement of security officers is between two and three, the T&T Guardian learned.

When the T&T Guardian visited the school, several of the students were making loud animal noises and walking in classes and around the compound.

Other students were playing football on the west side of the compound.

One teacher said, “What do you expect when they are not being supervised?”

He said it was frightening to hear of the plan to have a gun attack on the school.

“I was afraid when I heard it was happening last week but I came early today knowing it have security,” he said.

Security officers at the school were pleasant but kept a watchful eye on the property.

Yesterday, staff members which included some 150 teachers, the school supervisor, MTS supervisors and the Chaguanas police held a meeting to discuss alternatives and options.

Several teachers left the compound before lunch, driving quickly off of the premises.

Police officers visited the compound to check on their colleagues who were in the meeting.

In an interview outside the school several students claimed they did not know of the plan but were afraid.

“It have a lot of security and police. I was a little afraid about the guns. I don’t interact much with the students but there is guns there, I heard about it,” one of the female students said.

Another student said, “It makes no difference because it is just words and nothing happened.”

“I am afraid of what I heard in the media,” another female student said.

Other students refused to comment on the issue, taking their time and waiting for transportation.

Nonetheless, neighbours claimed that the students usually terrorised pedestrians and people living in the community.

Roxanne Craig, one of the residents from Enterprise, said parents needed to take a stand against the problem.

“Parents should come together and bring attention to this situation in the school. It has been long ongoing and there was always an issue,” she said.

Craig said the students go into a nearby fast food outlet and create havoc on the premises. She said they throw garbage on the ground and cause problems.

“It is a like a big confusion and the students are totally lawless. People don’t want to pass with them there. They walking in front of your car and not moving and have an attitude. You have to pass around or go before they come out,” she said.

She said that the few students who are indisciplined are the ones causing the problems.

“It is bad and the teachers are afraid and don’t want to say. It need police in the evening to come here and send them home,” she said.

Craig said the cameras on the school compound don’t serve any purpose.

“Because the school is really large and they destroying the cameras.”

Stanley Fader, another resident, said the students were a big problem to the community.

Fader said he has lived in the area 55 years, even before the school was built.

“What! These stupid children. I see a girl not even 18 years old ‘chook’ (stab) another boy while they was in the school uniform. Then she mother come and take up the bottle too,” he said.

“They even having sex in the school toilet. I can’t believe it. They even thieving my orange and grapefruit,” he said. 

The school’s supervisor and the principal refused to comment yesterday, referring all questions to the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Education.

After mother of two, Abiola Noel, and her on-again off-again boyfriend, Andre La Touche, had been shot in Laventille yesterday, their killers spent a few moments peering at them as they lay dying in order to satisfy themselves that the job had been done.

According to police reports, Noel, 25, and La Touche, 28, were leaving Noel’s Eastern Quarry, Laventille, home in a silver Nissan Tiida around 8.30 am when gunmen approached the moving vehicle and fired several shots at it. La Touche, the driver, crashed the vehicle into a concrete dumpster. 

After the vehicle crashed, however, the gunmen reportedly walked over to it and peeped inside at their victims. Police believe that they did that to ensure La Touche, who they suspect was the target, was dead, and to confirm their fears that they had inadvertently murdered Noel, who was one of their neighbours.

Police said the only motive they had was that the killers wanted La Touche, who was "known to them," police jargon usually meaning the person has either a criminal history or has been accused and/or arrested on numerous occasions for a criminal offence, typically gun and drug related.

Police said La Touche, originally from Fifth Avenue, Malick, Barataria, had gotten into an altercation with some men from Eastern Quarry, Laventille, at Malick and the men targeted him when he returned to Eastern Quarry.

Speaking with the media at the scene of her daughter's murder yesterday, Michelle Andrews questioned why her neighbours for the past 16 years would blatantly and brazenly murder her child. Andrews said her daughter was like “saltfish,” meaning she got along well with all who knew her.

She sent this message to her first-born’s killers: “All who out there and being on that gun thing and crime scene, I want them to know that my daughter don’t be on nothing. She is a saltfish. And this thing what going on where everyone fighting, it is not an easy thing. 

“I now have two grandchildren that I have to take care of and I am not well. I just want justice to prevail in this."

Andrews added that justice would be given lawfully or otherwise, but she was sure justice would be given.

She said she last spoke to her daughter about an hour before she died, when she left home. She said her daughter, a customer service trainee at Rituals’ El Socorro branch, was very jovial and she believed if the police had allowed her access to the victims immediately after the shooting, she might have survived.

“When I reached by the car her foot was still moving. I said 'Oh God, is my daughter!', but they (police) said that it is a crime scene and I could not go any further. The ambulance came and I was trying to talk to one of the ambulance personnel, but I could not even do that. I realise they had gone and left the body so I knew that they both died,” Andrews said. 

“She was alive when we rushed to the car. Her feet were on the dashboard and we saw it moving. It is a possibility that they could have saved her life. 

“What I am saying is, the police said it was a crime scene and I would not want to disturb and they know what they are doing, but if you see someone’s finger or toe moving that means they are still alive. ... But if they acted they might have saved her.” 

Andrews said she hardly knew La Touche, but said he was always respectful towards her. The couple's murder has pushed the toll to 73 for the year.

A 16-year-old student of the Chaguanas North Secondary School was yesterday charged with plotting to kill a teacher at the school.

The student will be taken before a Chaguanas magistrate at the Tunapuna Magistrates Court at 1 pm today.

The T&T Guardian was told that a contingent of police officers went to the school yesterday and spent several hours acting on intelligence they received. Several interviews were conducted, after which the schoolboy was arrested and charged with the offence.

In an immediate reaction to news of the arrest, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA), Devanand Sinanan, would only say: “The law has to take its course now.”

Asked if he was satisfied with the police investigations into allegations that gang members planned to attack certain teachers and students because their associates had been reprimanded for indiscipline, Sinanan said he would be visiting the school today, along with Education Minister Anthony Garcia, to get first-hand feedback from teachers and students.

“I will need to find out how they feel with the intervention of the police and the despatchment of extra security guards at the school,” Sinanan said. (See page A6)

Classes at the school resumed yesterday but with increased police presence in and around the school compound. There were also frequent foot and mobile patrols by police officers around the school and its environs.

On Sunday, Garcia said police officials had agreed to maintain a “very visible presence” inside and outside the school compound at Helen Street, Chaguanas.

This comes three days after classes were dismissed early when school officials received information of a planned gun attack by gang members with close links to students attending the school.

News of the “credible threat” prompted an emergency meeting on Friday and forced officials to cancel classes for the remainder of the day.

Water restrictions are on the agenda for the entire country as the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) heeds the warning of the Meteorological Service to brace for a harsh dry season.

Asked about the anticipated shortfall in its supply and how it intends to satisfy its thousands of customers during the drought, the authority’s senior manager of corporate communications Daniel Plenty said a statement on the authority’s plans would be issued shortly.

Two months into the dry season, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly Orville London said Tobago was already feeling the weight of a serious water crisis.

However, the San Fernando Business Association (SFBA) said its members were not waiting for WASA to tell them what to do. 

The association’s president Daphne Bartlett said her members, which included people who own and operate restaurants, food outlets and hotels, were already putting mechanisms in place to counter the anticipated shortfall.

“Owners of buildings, they have already taken in front and they have ensured that their water tank storage is adequate. They are keeping on top of it because this is not the first time they would be experiencing that.”

Bartlett said even micro entrepreneurs who operated car washes knew how to cope.

“Most people who wash cars use buckets. They have their tanks ready and use buckets to wash vehicles. The general public just have to realise what we are into and work accordingly and not waste water.”

Taking a jab at the Tobago water crisis, Bartlett said this is not new and wondered why after so much money had been allocated to Tobago, the situation had not been corrected.

“Every single summer time it is the same drama,” Bartlett said. 

Kendall Clement, Facilities Department supervisor at The Vehicle Management Corporation of T&T, said VMCOTT, which operates an automatic car wash in San Fernando, would be meeting between today and tomorrow to discuss the pending dry spell.

Clement said the company has a water storage capacity of 20,000 gallons, but depending on the supply consideration would be given to their opening hours or removing some of the features which used more water.

In a recent release the Met office said, “The outlook for the 2016 dry season indicates a harsh dry season will most likely occur, with odds that are highest for below average rainfall totals for the season overall, across the entire country.”

The Met Office said it expected the first half of the season from January to March to be particularly hot and dry with below average rainfall totals and hotter than average daytime and night time temperatures forecast across all areas of the country.

In Tobago, which depends heavily on tourism for its economic viability, London said the water situation to date was both challenging and critical.

London advised that both Trinidad and Tobago have been put on a drought alert for this coming dry season and expressed hope that WASA could adopt effective measures to mitigate the effects of the water shortage.

At last Wednesday’s post-Executive Council media briefing at the Administrative Complex, Calder Hall, London said he spoke with the manager of the WASA Tobago District, who confirmed that the water situation was quite challenging.

“Year-on-year there is a decline in the water levels in all the major sources,” the Chief Secretary told reporters.

“I am hoping that sooner rather than later that efforts would materialise by putting in place the promise for the operationalising of the wells that have been tested last year because that might be the quickest way for us to alleviate the situation. 

“An investment in operationalising those wells will give us an additional four million gallons a day,” London said.

“If we are talking now in February the situation is that critical, and if we do not do something quickly, we are going to have a more challenging period than last dry season.”

He called on Tobagonians to conserve water.

“We the people have to do what can be done in order not to exacerbate the situation. We have to really control the use of water and we have to be parsimonious in the way in which we utilise water in the next many months because the situation is critical,” London said.

While he gave the assurance that the THA would do all it could to encourage WASA to bring those wells on stream, he appealed to Tobagonians to play their role in ensuring they didn’t worsen the situation. 

Almost 1,000 citizens may soon be out of a job as the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union says highway contractor Construtora OAS has signalled its intention to retrench workers. 

Work on the $7.5 billion Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension Project was suspended on December 18 for the Christmas season and was expected to resume on January 5. 

However, OWTU branch secretary for the Construtora OAS workers, Muhammad Hosein, said nothing has been going on with the project. 

He said when workers returned to the contractor’s Golconda head office last month, they were told that work was not ready and that they should return on January 11. 

Since then, they have been receiving a basic salary with instructions to return the following Monday. 

Hundreds of workers gathered at the contractor’s gates yesterday, eagerly awaiting news of their future at the company. Hosein said the company called a meeting with the workers’ committee yesterday but there would be no meeting without OWTU president Ancel Roget. 

In a previous meeting with Construtora OAS, he said, the company said it had not received funds from the project manager, the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco), and was unable to pay workers. 

“We have some concerns where it comes to workers’ job security. We were sent home on December 18 for the Christmas holidays to resume on January 5. Since then to now, we have not resumed work and every Monday we come out, we are being told to go back home and the company will pay the workforce a basic eight-hour, five days per week pay,” Hosein said. 

He said they would usually earn overtime for extra hours worked daily and additional for weekend work. He said most workers supported a household of five or six people, meaning that almost 6,000 people would be affected by any laying off. Already, 980 workers were lay off by ArcelorMittal since 2015, increasing fears of more retrenchment as T&T battles a recession. 

Hosein said the union was informed that Construtora OAS is in the process of handing over its work to ten sub-contractors. However, calls to the company’s country superintendent Rodrigo Ventura went to voicemail. 

When the T& Guardian contacted Nidco yesterday, an attendant said acting president Steve Garibsingh was in a meeting. A few sites were visited yesterday but there were no signs of work, though there were vehicles at a site at Suchit Trace, Penal.

Less than a week after police were alerted to a planned gun attack at the Chaguanas North Secondary School, 24 students have been “removed” from classes there.

Some of the 24 reportedly hold criminal records and others are currently before the courts on criminal charges.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia made the announcement to the media yesterday following a tour of the school. 

He said the students have not been suspended or expelled but simply removed. A team at the ministry spent yesterday afternoon deliberating on what to do next with the students during a rehabilitation process.

The tour, which lasted approximately three hours, included Garcia, Minister in the Education Ministry Dr Lovell Francis, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, Chief Education Officer Harilal Seecharan, Chaguanas Mayor Theron Boodan and permanent secretary in the Ministry of Social Development Jacintha Bailey-Sobers.

President of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Davanand Sinanan and the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) Zena Ramatali also were present.

Last Friday, school was dismissed early after school officials got wind of a planned gun attack targetting a teacher and students. On Monday, a 16-year-old student was charged with plotting to kill a teacher at the school.

Yesterday during the tour, students milled about the schoolyard in groups. Some had their backpacks searched by officers stationed a few metres behind the barbwired front entrance. 

Some were made to spread hands and legs as metal scanners hovered over their bodies. Students walked past heavily armed police officers, though the presence of the openly armed officers was due to the presence of Dillon.

Dillon, speaking to reporters afterwards, questioned the security measures already at the school.

“When I came to the school this morning I noticed the fence along the side and I asked myself is this really a school? Is this what we want a school to look like? 

“When I went to school there was no fence, there were no walls, so the more fundamental question I ask myself is why have we reached to this?”

Dillon said the current scenario again highlighted the need to consider the introduction of a boot camp system or the reintroduction of corporal punishment.

He added: “From a national security point of view, we are here to ensure the safety of the students who come to school to learn and the teachers who come to school to teach.”

To Garcia, who said the school needed urgent attention, the fundamental issue was indiscipline among students. He said despite some opinions that Friday’s situation had been exaggerated, interviews with teachers and staff confirmed the threat was real.

“It was quite clear that this school suffers from tremendous indiscipline problems. It is clear that students are traumatised and teachers, apart from being traumatised, are fearful.

“It is true that there are students at this school with criminal records and there are a number of students in this school who are before the courts on a number of criminal charges,” Garcia added.

He said, however, that the ministry felt an intervention was needed but he said as the minister, he was the only person who had the authority to take certain action against errant students. 

He said the principal had identified 24 students “whose behaviour was the cause of a lot of the problems we see at the school.

“Many of those students have been engaged in taxing students, they have been engaged in bullying. I have taken the decision, in consultation with my colleagues, that with immediate effect those students will be removed from the school,” he said.

Garcia also committed to fixing certain infrastructural issues, such as breaches in fences and walls on the compound. He said he would also meet with the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) today to speak to it about making permanent appointments for positions at the school.

“On every level of the school system most of the persons hold acting appointments. Tomorrow we will impress on TSC that people be given permanent appointments. People with acting appointments do not feel empowered to take certain decisions,” he said.

Garcia said the ministry had not made any decision yet on how to treat with the students other than their removal from the school.

“We are going to have certain interventions and we are going to do whatever possible so we can have them rehabilitated in the school system, perhaps in the not so distant future,” he added.

Garcia could not outline the planned interventions but said that needed to be discussed further.

“We will leave no stone unturned to ensure our schools are safe. I have taken a definite decision that we will not tolerate indiscipline and violence in our schools,” he said.

Education Act

Section 5 of the Act states that the minister may “do all such other things as may be found expedient from time to time for the carrying out of his responsibilities for education and training.”

Section 44 states: 

(1) The principal of any public school may suspend from attendance any pupil who for gross misconduct may be considered injurious or dangerous to other pupils or whose attendance at school is likely for any serious cause to have detrimental effect upon the other pupils, so, however, that no such suspension shall be for a period exceeding one week.

(2) Where any pupil is suspended from attendance under Subsection (1), the principal of the school shall immediately notify the parent of the pupil and the minister of the suspension and the reasons therefore and the minister may, after receipt of the notification —

(a) order the extension of the term of suspension in order to enable proper inquiries to be made;

(b) after due investigation, order the reinstatement of the pupil on a date to be fixed by him;

(c) order the removal of the pupil to another school, including a special school;

(d) order the expulsion of the pupil.

(3) Any order made by the minister under Subsection (2) shall be final.