Central Trinidad Steel Limited (Centrin) terminated the services of over 200 employees yesterday, prompting the Steel Workers Union of T&T (SWUTT) to call for the intervention of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. 

Around 10 am yesterday, about 50 of the terminated workers gathered outside Centrin’s main gate on Mediterranean Drive in the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, Couva, to vent their anger over the decision, asking how they would now take care of their families.

The workers, led by union president Christopher Henry, showed their termination letters to reporters.

“We are again calling on the Prime Minister of T&T to step in here, to sit and have a meeting not only with the company but with the union together and let us have a discussion on the way forward,” Henry said. 

“I am also saying some sort of discussion at the government level must be had with ArcelorMittal in terms of the company’s operations in our country.

“Since last year to now, we have approximately 2,000 workers that have hit the breadline. When you work that out it’s about 15,000 citizens of T&T being affected,” he added.

Henry said numerous efforts by the union to negotiate with Centrin to stay open had failed.

He added: “Comrades who have been working in this company for the last 20-25 years, today have been informed that because of the company’s inability to be serviced with raw material from ArcelorMittal they have to close their doors.

“The union would have sat with this company and reached out in regards to what could we do together to keep this company open.

“They would have said to us there are two things that can be done, either ArcelorMittal opening its doors once again, supplying the raw material or the opportunity for US currency to import the raw material to ensure these workers stay viable, that the company remains open and the workers stay employed.”

SWUTT, which also represents the hundreds of dismissed ArcelorMittal  workers, said it also met with ArcelorMittal management to discuss the future of Centrin workers as well.

“We would have made approaches to ArcelorMittal as it relates to what is the future of the company here because the management of Centrin is saying their staying open depends on Mittal. 

“To date ArcelorMittal has not made any statement as it relates to the future of the company. 

“We would have met with them last Friday, indicating to them that we demand to know what is the future of the workers. They say at the end of February they might be able to say something on it,” Henry said.

Although the economic downturn has far reaching effects, Henry said workers should not be the ones to bear the full brunt alone.

“One suggestion is that the employers cannot just be looking at continued profit when we are in a recession. It has to be that we look at all avenues and everybody in the sphere of this whole challenge that we are facing...face some sort of cut and all the citizens of T&T will be able to survive the challenges and will be able to rally this challenge that we have until it turns around.”

He made a appeal to those in authority to recognise that the job losses were a national issue.

“We must now realise it is not just a matter of steel union workers being displaced, it is a national issue and it will continue to get worse. We have to come together to see how best we could stop the hemorrhaging that is taking place,” he added.

The T&T Guardian contacted Centrin for a response and was told to contact Centrin’s parent company, Bhagwansingh’s Hardware & Steel Industry Limited, to speak to the company’s director Vinoo Ramoutar.

However, a member of staff said Ramoutar was not at the office and messages left for him were not returned.

Workers confused

Temul Khan has been with Centrin for the past 32 years, since its inception.

Khan told the T&T Guardian yesterday that at age 53 he has no idea what he would do now to support his family.

“I started working here when I was just 21.

“None of the guys who work here come from any kind of wealthy background. It’s mostly the poorer class and we would have worked to build this company up to what it is today,” he said.

Khan started at Centrin as a machine operator and before yesterday’s termination was a production co-ordinator.

He blasted Centrin and its parent company, Bhagwansingh’s Hardware & Steel Industry Limited, for not absorbing the 200-plus employees in its other companies.

“They should have at least tried to absorb the workers in the other companies they own, instead of just sending people home. Most of us do not know if or where we will get another job. With all the job cuts facing the industry, who is going to hire us?” he asked.

Police are working on the theory that teenaged friends—Daniel Halls and Stephan Singh—were killed in a dispute over the torching of a car. 

According to police reports, around 4.40 pm on Tuesday, residents of St John’s Road, St Augustine, heard gunshots and alerted the police. Officers responded and found the bodies of Singh and Halls, both 16, in a forested area. 

Police said they were told that the teens were seen in a group of five entering the bushes. Singh was a student of Trinity East College while Halls attended Aranguez North Secondary. Police said Halls had an empty revolver on him when he was found. 

Police said they received information after receiving a voice note sent by Halls to another friend trying to clear Singh’s name. On the voice note, Halls was addressing another man who was blaming the friends for partially burning a Nissan Sentra but Halls tells the person to confess and to offer compensation for the damage.

“Let the men and them know me and you bun down the thing boy and you willing to pay the men and them, or if you not willing to pay the men and them I done tell you look how much guns I have here. 

“It’s bacchanal. It’s bacchanal. You moving like a real rocket. Dog, I telling you even Stars and them coasting you, making it look like Stars and them put up the ting when Stars had nothing to do with it dog. It is me and you stamp the shot. Let the men and them know it’s me and you do it dog,” Halls is heard saying.

Tunapuna police eventually found the burnt car but no report was made about the incident. Police said they believe the two friends went to clear the air on the issue and may have ended up in a further altercation, resulting in their deaths. 

Singh was buried yesterday following a funeral service under Muslim rites at his Plantana Drive, Dyette Estate, Cunupia, home. 

Speaking with the media following the funeral service, Theatre Arts teacher at Trinity College East, Shawn Smart, said the entire school was “hit hard” when they learned Singh had been killed and both teachers and students alike were affected. 

Joint patrols for high risk schools

Meanwhile, Education Minister Anthony Garcia yesterday announced that he was in discussions with the Ministry of National Security to discuss the issue of placing joint army and police patrols at high risk schools.

In a statement, the minister said teacher safety was a top priority and they were reviewing security levels at such schools. 

He also said the Ministry of Social Development had been asked to support the services already provided by the ministry’s Student Support Services Unit to schools being affected by issues of violence. 

Inmates at the nation’s prisons can now make outgoing calls to relatives and friends locally and abroad.

Prison officers at the Golden Grove Prison received training in the Inmate Calling Solutions (ICS) to monitor the inmates’ calls and manage the system.

So far some 300 inmates at the Remand Yard in Golden Grove Prison and at the Maximum Security Prison have registered with the programme.

Phones have been placed in both prisons in the hallways where the inmates have access to spend their air-time. There is none at the Port-of-Spain State Prison as yet.

Speaking with members of the media yesterday, Assistant Commissioner of Prisons, Dane Clarke, said the system was to allow the inmates to make legal authorised calls to their attorneys, sib-lings and friends.

“To keep in contact with the outside world, they are allowed ten free calls once enrolled,” he said. Up to $400 in credit can be bought at TSTT.

Clarke said it was a joint venture by the Prisons Service, TSTT, ICS and the Government.

However, the inmates were warned they would be monitored and their conversations possibly recorded.

When questioned about if that would be used against them, Clarke said it was still up for consideration and the organisation would have to speak with the Attorney General. He said it was a pilot project but it was not new to other countries.

Clarke said members of the Prisons Officers Association were notified of the new system and supported the idea.

Kyle Bobb, one of the inmates at the prison, used the phone to call his father.

He said his father was busy at the moment but asked him to visit him today at the prison.

“I wanted to call granny and mammy but my father on work. My mother in Tennessee. He said he will come to visit me tomorrow. 

“This is working better than a cell-phone. It is loud and clear and you can’t make any bad moves because they recording you,” he said.

Bobb said he liked the system because the calls were “straight” and asked that his credits be “topped” up. 

Urgent action is being taken to deal with the unacceptable murder rate in Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday.

Rowley, who is also the chairman of the National Security Council, made the comment as he responded to questions put to him by Naparima MP and former Ambassador to the United Nations Rodney Charles in the House of Representatives yesterday.

Charles had asked Rowley if, given the high murder rate for the year-to-date in the country, he was satisfied with his government’s plans to reduce the murder rate. 

Rowley got up and said: “The answer is yes.” 

He then took his seat. 

The Opposition MP then asked Rowley if he agreed that the country was likely to have its highest annual murder rate this year and that there was need for urgent action to prevent that from becoming reality.

Rowley said: “The answer is that the trajectory is unacceptable and urgent action is being taken.”

He did not elaborate further.

There have been some 79 murders within the first 57 days of this year, among them 30-year-old Japanese pannist Asami Nagakiya, whose body was found under a tree in the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, on Ash Wednesday, and four teenage schoolboys—Denelson Smith, 17, and Mark Richards, 16, in Laventille (January 21), and Stephan Singh and Daniel Halls, both 16, in St Augustine on Tuesday of this week. 

Days after the killings of Smith and Richards, Rowley said joint army/police patrols would intensify in crime hotspots and remain in effect for as long as deemed necessary by the authorities. But the murders continue in Laventille and across the country.

Rowley arrived in the Parliament more than two-and-a-half hours after the scheduled 1.30 pm start of the sitting yesterday, after attending the funeral of a PNM stalwart in San Fernando. (See page A6) The questions to the PM were therefore deferred to shortly before the 4.30 pm tea break when he arrived in the Chamber.

Responding to another question on the Couva Children’s and Adult Hospital which was opened by the former government days before the September 7 general election last year, Rowley said the project was still under construction and was scheduled for completion at the end of March. 

He said consequently the defects liabilities provision will take effect from April this year. 

He said pending the completion of the hospital, Udecott would continue to provide oversight and have any defects identified and addressed by the contractor. Udecott will also ensure that the security of the facilities and equipment at the hospital was maintained, he added.

He said, however, that if the Government was unable to secure the equipment for the institution the former government would be held personally responsible for putting it there while the hospital was still under construction.

 Rowley added that the issue of providing staff to operate the hospital when completed remains a major issue. 

“Where will the staff come from?” he asked, adding that it was not his government’s intention to take staff from other hospitals with the risk of compromising the services at those facilities.

He said consideration was also being given to have the facility at Couva operate under a public/private sector partnership.

The Prime Minister also updated legislators on the number of people who have benefited from the Children’s Life Fund since September to date. 

The fund was established by the former People’s Partnership government to assist children in need of life-saving operations abroad. Rowley said since September 2015 to present, seven children were assisted at a cost of over $2 million. He said for the same period, 16 applicants were approved at a cost of over $4 million. He said for February 2016, six applications were received. 

He said since the PNM assumed office last September “we have received no complaint of money being stolen from the fund.”

The Prime Minister said the CSO had also informed the Government that the unemployment rate for the third quarter of last year was 3.4 per cent, in response to a question from Princes Town MP Barry Padarath.

A 19-year-old father of twin girls was killed a few houses away from his Nicholasville, Barataria, home yesterday, in what police and residents believe was a case of mistaken identity.

According to police reports, around 8.45 am Jerron Douglas was shovelling sharp sand at a construction site when three armed, masked men pulled up in a vehicle and shot him several times. 

Douglas collapsed and died with the shovel on his chest. His killers then got back into the car and escaped.

Residents said yesterday there is an ongoing war between gangs from Malick, Barataria and Sunshine Avenue, two areas neighbouring Nicholasville, and they believe the intended target was a man who was seen in the area recently. Residents said Douglas’ hairstyle closely resembled that of the man they believe the killers were targetting.

Smith, Douglas’ girlfriend, said they were to be married next year. 

“The last thing he told me was he love me and that was it. He was always a family person and a people person too. I want to see justice and I want some kind of help for my two children, because the help we had just gone,” she said.

“If I didn’t have two children and you had ask me what was the next step, I would have told you down in the grave for me, but I have the children so I have to be there for them. 

His goal was just to work to get money to build a place, so we can have a life.” 

Resident Derick Cooper said Douglas had raised his infant twin daughters by himself after their mother Natisha Smith was arrested shortly after their birth. Cooper said Douglas was a man who placed family above all else, and turned down an additional $50 daily elsewhere just to be closer to the children.  

“A young innocent man lost his life for nothing, I never know him to be in crime or anything; all he does is mind his two children. The Government need to ‘camerise’ the whole country if they want to make a difference,” Cooper said.

“If a man do a crime anywhere they could ketch him on camera because he have to stop somewhere. What they waiting on? Police can't be everywhere and people fearful to give information most of the time, so this is the best solution.” 

Cooper, who was very vocal in his condemnation of Douglas’ killing, said the killers were “monsters,” adding that things like boot camps should be mandatory for teens who seemed to be heading down the wrong path.  

“I telling you this boy don't be in anything. His only crime is what? Being a rasta? This hurting me because I doing construction by my place, and I was offering him a job paying $250 but he take this job here because it closer to home and he rather be closer to his children. 

You understand the discipline that man have and the love he had for his children? This is just wickedness. 

My message to them youths is put down the gun. We done know we have to die and we can't live forever, so what allyuh shortening allyuh lifespan for?”

Douglas’ father, Godfrey, told the media he gave his son a small level and measuring tape after he began his career in construction. He said his last of six children was never involved in anything which warranted him being killed. 

“I just want justice. Let the police or relevant authorities take the necessary step and get the perpetrators who do this. I don't have to lie to tell you he would smoke a little weed, but that's it,” the senior Douglas said.

In an unrelated incident, police are also investigating the murder of Cunupia resident Ashton Villafana.

According to reports, Villafana, 26, of Homeland Gardens, had gone to a nearby lotto booth along the Southern Main Road on his bicycle around 3.30 pm, when he was approached by two gunmen who shot him several times. The men then got into a green Toyota Yaris and escaped. Police later found the vehicle abandoned in Chaguanas.

The murder toll stood at 79 up to last evening.

Former government minister Jack Warner’s extradition proceedings took another turn yesterday when the United States government attempted to intervene in his judicial review lawsuit challenging Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi’s decision to sign off on its request to have him extradited to face charges in the ongoing Fifa bribery scandal. 

During a status hearing in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday morning, attorney Vanessa Gopaul, who is representing the US, appeared in court and indicated her client intended to apply to be joined as an interested party. 

Her statement was immediately opposed by Warner’s lawyer Fyard Hosein, SC, who questioned the reason for the country’s attempt to enter the case. 

“It (the US) is partisan in its approach. They want to get Warner there in the shortest possible time,” Hosein said. 

Stating that Hosein will be able to make extensive submissions on the issue at a later date, Justice James Aboud then instructed Gopaul to file her client’s application by March 18. Hosein also has until that date to file an application to adduce expert testimony in the case. 

Warner, in his claim, is questioning the procedure adopted by the Office of the Attorney General in signing off on the US’s request for his extradition made in May, last year, at the end of the US Department of Justice’s investigation into Fifa. He is facing fraud and money-laundering charges related to his two decades as a vice-president of world football’s governing body. 

Earlier this year, Aboud granted Warner a stay of his ongoing extradition proceedings currently before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar, which will expire after Aboud decides on the legality and constitutionality of his extradition. 

Warner’s attorneys are alleging that this country’s extradition treaty with the US contradicts the Extradition (Commonwealth and Foreign Territories) Act. They are claiming that, in passing the act, Parliament afforded citizens certain protections which are ignored by the international treaty. 

He is also complaining that Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi failed to give his attorneys a fair opportunity to make representations to him before he signed off on the Authority to Proceed, which was required to kick off the proceedings before Ayers-Caesar. 

Shortly after taking over the case from his predecessor Garvin Nicholas in September, last year, Al-Rawi extended the option to Warner. However, his attorneys allegedly refused as they said it was made a day before Al-Rawi was required to approve the extradition. 

Warner is also being represented by Nyree Alfonso, Rishi Dass and Anil Maraj, while the State is being represented by Douglas Mendes, SC, and Michael Quamina. 

Approximately 846 people—and possibly more—have so far been retrenched from 27 private sector companies since September 7, 2015, Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus said yesterday.

Replying in Parliament to opposition questions, Baptiste-Primus said she agreed with Opposition Whip Ganga Singh that the figure could be larger since companies do not have to advise of worker terminations in official notices if the retrenchment applies to fewer than five.

Baptiste-Primus said retrenchment numbers for Centrin workers were not among the list since that retrenchment occurred recently. She added that ArcelorMittal workers were not among the figures since those had been temporarily laid off and not retrenched.

“We’re concerned about retrenchment and don’t want it to become the norm. We the Government are advising employers that one worker losing his/her job is one too many,” Baptiste-Primus said, appealing for efforts to minimise job losses.

She said an exercise to assess how many public sector workers have been retrenched is underway.

On another opposition query, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said government’s plans to prevent international terrorist suspects from returning to T&T include using the anti-terrorist laws, utilising the advance passenger lists to determine United Nations listed terrorists, evaluating border control as well as biometric and facial recognition, and automated finger-printing systems at airports.

He said detection of fraudulent, stolen or forged travel documents will be enhanced. Government is also evaluating threats to T&T and evaluating protocols to manage the return process.

On international terrorist suspects already in T&T, initiatives to strengthen border control are in train including setting up a Joint Border Protection agency, restructuring intelligence agencies, upgrading databases to monitor people and surveillance on security concerns, he added. The police service is also engaged with international partners to develop an international database.

On another opposition question, Works Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said request for payment by contractors is currently being audited to determine legitimacy and once legitimate, payments would be made subject to availability of funds. Hinds also said the route alignment for the final part of the Point Fortin Highway was under review. He said there were no outstanding payments to OAS Construtora. 

Media house WIN Caribbean Ltd has until Monday to pay almost $5 million in outstanding licensing fees to the Telecommunications Authority of T&T (TATT) or it will be forced to shut down its television and radio stations. 

The company’s owner, Shantel Jaikaran, yesterday lost her application for an injunction which would have forced TATT to grant it a temporary extension of its licence whilst it challenged TATT’s decision not to renew it until the arrears, owed since 2011, were cleared. 

In a 17-page judgment, High Court Justice Vasheist Kokaram ruled he could not grant the injunction as the company had failed to raise an arguable case that TATT acted irrationally and unfairly when it made its decision earlier this month. 

“Indeed through the vehicle of interim relief WIN will in effect obtain the luxury of operating its radio and television station after the expiry of its concession and licences and in the face of accepted breaches of their conditions. I would have expected a much more serious complaint mounted against TATT on clearly articulated, not fanciful or speculative, justiciable grounds to have obtained such relief,” Kokaram said. 

In her application for judicial review, Jaikaran claimed TATT had informed her that the company’s non-transferable licence was not being renewed because it was in the name of her father, Mohan, who died in April last year. TATT had agreed to consider transferring the licence and recommending its renewal if the arrears were cleared. 

Jaikaran had claimed that she only learned of the debt after her father’s death and needed time to sell some of the company’s assets and could not meet next Monday’s deadline set by the authority. She had also contended that she was in ongoing negotiations with TATT when it made its final decision and was not consulted before being informed on February 17. 

Describing Jaikaran’s claim as a “humanitarian plea without justiciable grounds,” Kokaram ruled that TATT acted within its powers in adjudicating on the company’s licence issue. 

“TATT’s decision is not outrageous or in defiance of logic nor beyond the range of responses open to a reasonable regulator of a liberalised telecommunications industry,” Kokaram added. 

Kokaram also criticised Jaikaran for waiting on the eve of the expiration of the company’s licence to file a lawsuit and intensify negotiations with TATT, which he said should have been finalised by her father before his death. 

“What is disappointing is that WIN knowing what was at stake in terms of its radio and television operations would take the risk of not having put in an application for renewal of the licence as soon as possible or make an application for a licence or concession in its own name and waited for the 11th hour to make entreaties with TATT and present payment plans, yet to date it is in no better position to guarantee the full liquidation of the outstanding fees,” Kokaram said. 

As part of his judgment, Kokaram also ordered that the company pay TATT’s legal fees for defending the injunction application. 

Earlier this week, Shantel and her mother, Indra, made a public announcement on the company’s television station, WIN TV, claiming it was being “hounded out of business.”

In the statement Shantel Jaikaran gave no reason for the company’s trouble but said there was a possibility of losing their licence from the TATT and that there were people who did not want the company to survive.

The company was represented by Sophia Chote, SC, Anil Maraj and Nesha Abiraj, while Deborah Peake, SC, Ravi Heffes-Doon and Natasha Bisram represented TATT. (DA)

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley paid glowing tribute to former diplomat and senator Winston Steve Moore at his funeral service in San Fernando, yesterday. 

Rowley was among hundreds of mourners from all walks of life, including former prime minister Patrick Manning and his wife, Hazel, who attended the ceremony held at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church. 

Rowley thanked Moore, 76, for his contribution to the PNM party and the nation, saying that he made public service his life.

Recalling a critical role Moore played in his life when the PNM lost its first general elections in 1986, Rowley said he was one of five young people appointed as opposition members. Moore was the sixth opposition member.

Rowley said while they were being advised that tremendous defeat would be the ending of the PNM party, even if they were inclined to believe that, it was Moore with his deep knowledge and abiding confidence in the organisation who gave them confidence to realise that that defeat was simply a step along the way.

“But, his position of having the tremendous belief in public service caused us not be broken by defeat,” he said, adding that he provided them with the encouragement which caused them to push forward.

“Steve Moore represented the best of citizenship of Trinidad and Tobago,” said Rowley who added that his contribution was immeasurable.

His daughter Nicole and son Gary eulogised him as a man for all seasons, who lived life to the fullest and shared an intimate relationship with his faith.

In his prayer, Monsignor Christian Pereira lamented that too many people were dying by violence.

“Too many of us give in, succumb, fall to the bullet, to the vehicular recklessness on our roads. 

Many people suffer daily a death which no one is entitled to in domestic abuse, many nations are engulfed in war, families are burdened and are fleeing as refugees.” 

Manning did not speak at the funeral, but on his Facebook page he paid tribute to Moore who served as the ambassador to Brazil under his stint.

Reflecting on Moore’s life, Manning credited Moore’s assistance in propelling the San Fernando East Constituency and eventually the PNM to national prominence once again after its crushing defeat in 1986.

Describing him as a language specialist, Manning said Moore delivered excellent speeches. 

Following the service, a private cremation was held at Guide’s Funeral Home in Coffee Street.

Data regarding violent acts in secondary schools for the past three years have remained more or less the same as in 2012 when there were 1,912 cases. There were 1,709 cases in 2013, 1,405 cases in 2014 and 1,650 cases in 2015.

But there has been an increase in suspensions for the period 2014 to 2015.

In 2014, 4,201 students were suspended, whereas the following year 5,329 students were suspended.

However, chief education officer Harrilal Seecharan said this must be looked at in the context of the ministry taking a zero-tolerance approach to school violence.

Seecharan, along with other ministry officials, appeared before the Joint Select Committee on Social Services and Public Administration which took place at the Office of the Parliament, Tower D, International Waterfront Centre, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

“If you weren’t aware that the ministry had instituted a policy of zero tolerance of these activities you would not have realised that the increase may have been related to that directive,” Seecharan said.

And topping the list of reasons for suspension included disrespect for authority, fighting and bullying.

Male-on-male violence, he said, seemed to be more prevalent than female-female violence or female-male violence in schools.

Seecharan said for the past ten years there has been no expulsion of students.

However, despite counselling sessions for students deemed high risk, the negative elements in the community continued to influence wrongdoers, he added.

Parental involvement in schools also came to the fore. Seecharan said it was not compulsory for parents to attend meetings.

Also appearing before the committee were members of the Police Service who said social workers were often involved in antibullying sessions.

Saying that taxing was a serious problem, public relations officer for the Police Service ASP Michael Pierre said some students were not aware that this particular offence could have serious consequences.

The committee was headed by Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir who said the subject of crime and violence in schools was not only of tremendous concern to society but was unacceptable as students represented the next generation.

Echoing his sentiments was permanent secretary in the ministry, Gillian MacIntyre, who said there was an apparent increase in bullying and violence in schools.

The issue was a complex one, she said, with low levels of literacy and numeracy often showing up as early as standard one and filtering into secondary school.

Teacher absenteeism, the committee heard, also had a negative impact on discipline in schools as this particular problem continued to plague the service.

He said there were 100-plus teachers who were more than “1,000 minutes late,” which is being probed by the ministry.

Regarding the issue of boot camps as recommended by National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, communications manager for the Police Service Ellen Lewis said there were “home grown” solutions like police youth clubs which have yielded tremendous success.

Mahabir recommended that there be an increase in community policing patrols so as to keep violence in schools to a minimum.

There remains only one confirmed case of the Zika virus in T&T.

This is after the two samples submitted to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) last week tested negative.

The samples were taken from two members of a Chaguanas family who exhibited symptoms of the virus.

Announcing this at the Ministry of Health’s weekly media briefing yesterday, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh reassured the nation that all available resources were being used to assist in the fight against the mosquito-borne virus.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed H1N1 cases has risen to 81, with seven more cases being reported between last week and yesterday.

He said while 103,593 homes had been inspected across the country, approximately 39,109 homes had not been, because of locked gates.

Deyalsingh said while the authorities were doing their part to eradicate the mosquito population, residents had the main responsibility to ensure their premises were free and clear of breeding sites.

A total of 217 dengue fever cases have been reported, with nine chikungunya cases recorded for the year so far.

Each regional corporation has also received a grant of $500,000 from the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, to assist in their respective public health campaigns.

Revealing that the last shipment of 20,000 vaccines was due to arrive in the country early next week, Deyalsingh took great pains to explain that with the 2015/2016 flu vaccine coming to an end in May/June, global production of vaccines for the current flu season had ceased.

He said there would be a gap between when the last shipment of flu vaccines and the new shipment of vaccines for 2016/2017 would arrive.

Deyalsingh said the new shipment of vaccines would be here by late August/September.

With the flu season running from October of the previous year to May of the current year, Deyalsingh said, "We are coming to the end of this year’s flu season."

However, the ministry had ordered an extra 20,000 doses "to take this country up to a total of 116,000 doses of H1N1 vaccines from the typical 6,000 doses," Deyalsingh said.

Also delivering brief remarks yesterday was CARPHA’s executive director Dr James Hospedales and Asst Director Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control, Dr Karen Polson-Edwards who elaborated on the work being done by the agency to fight the virus.

Hospedales said they had recently launched an application for cellphones seeking to educate children on the eradication of mosquito-breeding sites.

Prisons Commissioner Sterling Stewart says security systems at the nation’s prisons have been beefed up with the installation of scanners and jammers.

Now the inmates can no longer make phone calls on illegal cell phones but may make outgoing calls to relatives and friends locally and abroad using the Inmate Calling Solutions (ICS) system.

Several prisons officers received training at the Golden Grove Prison on Thursday on using ICS to monitor the inmate’s calls and manage the system.

Some 300 inmates at the Remand Yard in Golden Grove Prison and at the Maximum Security Prison have registered with the programme.

In a brief telephone interview yesterday, Stewart said the calls were monitored for the safety and security of citizens living in and outside the prison.

“It is not a matter that is a prerogative of theirs. It is our mission statement to maintain safety and security and it is our mission statement to get rid of the contraband phones in our environment. If it is used for nefarious activity then we have a form of intelligence officers to monitor the calls. These phones are a positive.”

He said the use of the phones would allow inmates to make contact with their loved ones. 

“It is to prepare for their reintegration in society and we don’t want a disconnect from their loved ones and family support,” he said. 

Stewart said there would be prisons officers and officers trained in intelligence who would be able to decipher codes.

He said with the implementation of the scanners and jammers the inmates could no longer contact the outside world by means of illegal cell phones.

“It is functional now and they no longer can use their cell phones to contact people. The grabbers and jammers are there to jam the frequency of their cell phones.” 

He said the system costs millions of dollars but declined to state how much. 

“We continue to treat with all kinds of contraband coming in the prison inclusive of officers, inmate families and people who come to do activities in the prison. This is working quite well,” he said. 

He said recently a prisons officer who was found with contraband material was charged and brought before the court.

“It was detected by the full-body scanners. It is a deterrent. The scanners are there to rid the contraband material and the environment has less risk,” he said. 

Stewart saluted the committed and dedicated officers who placed their lives at risk on a daily basis.

Secretary of the Prison Officers Association, Gerard Gordon, said it was the association’s idea to install the phones for the inmates. 

“If you jamming the phone you must give the inmates and them something else,” he said.

However, Gordon said members of the association should have been invited to the ICS launch.

“And we do support the initiative.”

When that question was posed at the training session on Thursday, assistant commissioner Dane Clarke said that the association was informed of the system and supported the idea.

However, he said, they were not invited because they were not among the officers who were being trained.

To avoid a $500 fine and the hassle and frustration of retrieving their property, vehicle owners who park in west Port-of-Spain should avoid parking on street corners, near fire hydrants, in front of the entrances of private residences and on sidewalks.

This is the edict from Port-of-Spain Mayor Keron Valentine, which he announced during a press conference yesterday as he said the corporation would resume wrecking. The policy will be implemented on March 1.

West Port-of-Spain comprises the boundaries of Richmond Street in the East, Queen’s Park Savannah in the North, Wrightson Road in the South and Mucurapo Road in the West at the corner of Carlton Avenue and Jeffers Lane, St James

While there has been consistent wrecking in the city centre, this was carried out by the Police Service. The corporation ceased wrecking in the western part of the city, inclusive of areas such as popular Tragarete Road and Ariapita Avenue, in 2013. The cessation of wrecking was supported by Valentine at the time, who was then deputy mayor and chair of the city’s security committee.

It came after numerous complaints by citizens that wreckers were not following the appropriate guidelines of trying to locate vehicle owners and were carrying out their functions recklessly. Valentine described it as a “nuisance.”

Two years later, the council’s decision to resume wrecking has his full support, particularly as the council hopes to balance the rights of home owners with the business interests of the city. “The Port-of-Spain corporation has received numerous calls and complaints from residents and burgesses of the increase in indiscriminate parking and blocking of driveways and parking on sidewalks,” Valentine said yesterday.

“All in all we have listened attentively to the calls and the cries of our burgesses mainly and we have decided to reintroduce wrecking but under a new policy.” The new policy limits the hours wrecking will be in effect to business hours and focuses on key areas, mainly sidewalks, near fire hydrants, corners and entrances to residences and businesses.

Valentine said the previous implementation of wrecking under former mayor Louis Lee Sing had become a hustle for operators of wreckers. The financial arrangement between the corporation and wrecking companies split the earnings with $300 going to the wrecking company for each vehicle and the remaining $200 to the city corporation for administrative costs.

The city corporation is still in the process of purchasing two wreckers but has contracted two wrecking companies for now.“We have given a stern warning to wrecking operators that this is not just a matter of wrecking a car. We will be focused on burgesses who are inconvenienced. “The corporation spends a lot of money on rehabilitating sidewalks throughout the city annually and sometimes you go and see heavy vehicles, cement trucks parked on the sidewalk causing them to cave in.” The policy also requires wreckers to be outfitted with front and rear cameras so that police can closely monitor wrecking activity.

“It is going to be fair and above board,” said acting superintendent of the city police Erica Prieto. “This is not a profit situation. The police are here to support the decisions of council and by and large we are here to serve the community. “We are assuring burgesses they can call on us. People who feel trapped in their homes and feel inconvenienced because their driveways are blocked, they can call on the city police to assist at 290-3068.”

MORE INFO

​The days of wrecking in west Port-of-Spain will be as follows:

•Monday to Wednesday from 10 am to 6 pm 

•Thursday from 10 am to midnight

•Friday 10am to 2 am

•Saturday 6 pm to 2 am

Vehicles removed from these areas will be stored at the corporation’s parking lot at the western end of Wrightson Road.

On Charlotte Street, wrecking hours will be the following:

•Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm.

Vehicles removed on Charlotte Street will be stored at the TTPS Traffic Branch on Abattoir Road, Port-of-Spain.

According to the Road Traffic Act Chapter 48:50 as amended by Act 5 of 2010, section 108 sub 1, all police officers have the authority to remove any motor vehicle found in contravention of the provisions made under the act or any other regulations made or order made.

The Government has $31.9 billion in blocked accounts at the Central Bank, monies that were placed there in an attempt to sterilize excess liquidity, the bank disclosed on Friday.

The Central Bank was responding to questions from the Guardian, following the publication of a newspaper notice last week that the Government intended to unblock some $1.84 billion that would then be available for use by the State.

“The $1.84 billion that was unblocked represented the proceeds of two bonds that had been issued in 2003 and 2008 ($640 million and $1.2 billion respectively) under the Development Loans Act. The Government made a specific request for the unblocking of these particular funds,” the Central Bank said.

The Government moved to unblock the $1.84 billion as a result of a sharp reduction in excess liquidity in the fourth quarter of 2015 that was partly due to the sale of US$500 million by the Central Bank to authorised dealers of foreign exchange at the end of October.

The sale of the US$500 million would have removed TT$3.2 billion from the authorised dealers, who are mostly commercial banks. T&T commercial banks had $3.36 billion in average excess reserves (excess liquidity) in December 2015, down from $7.19 billion at the start of the year.

The money in the blocked accounts belongs to the Government and it “represents the proceeds of the sales of Government of T&T securities,” for liquidity absorption purposes, the Central Bank said.

In piloting legislation in December to increase the government’s borrowing limit from $70 to $120 billion, Finance Minister Colm Imbert told Parliament that the previous administration had pledged funds of $12 billion in the Green Fund and the Unemployment Fund against borrowings it undertook. He made no mention of funds in the blocked accounts in December.

A Ministry of Finance official indicated yesterday, however, that T&T’s Exchequer Account had been overdrawn by more than $30 billion.

The official said yesterday, “As far as I know, the Government does not have any access to the funds in the blocked accounts, except the $1.84 billion it just unfroze.

“Additionally, you need to appreciate that the Government will have to replace that $1.84 billion when the principal payments become due in 2017 and 2018, either from revenue or from borrowings.”

Imbert has blamed the issues surrounding the government’s overdrawn accounts as being responsible for its inability to settle up to $2 billion owed to contractors and suppliers and some $5 billion in backpay owed to employees of regional health authorities and members of the protective services.

When it became clear in December that tight domestic liquidity was preventing the Government from borrowing money from the banks to pay those debts, the banks were reported to have suggested to the minister that the solution would be to lower the reserve requirement.

The reserve requirement, which currently stands at 17 per cent, is the percentage of commercial banks’ deposit liabilities that they are required to maintain in non-interest bearing accounts at the Central Bank. 

On Friday, responding to a question on the advantages of unblocking the $31.9 billion held in blocked accounts for liquidity absorption compared with lowering the reserve requirement, the Central Bank made it clear that unblocking the accounts gives the Government access to its funds at the Central Bank.

According to the Central Bank, “Lowering the reserve requirement would mean that commercial banks are obliged to keep a smaller proportion of their eligible deposits at the Central Bank, thus directly increasing banking system liquidity.

“On the other hand removing the proceeds from the blocked account increases the funds available to the Government for its fiscal operations; until these funds are withdrawn there is no impact on system liquidity. Over time, liquidity may increase as the funds are withdrawn.

“Consequently, lowering the reserve requirement may have a more immediate impact on liquidity than unblocking the account.

“Moreover, in the case of lowering the reserve requirement, it is the banks that have more access to their funds held at the Central Bank, while unblocking the government accounts provides the government with greater access to its funds at the Central Bank.”

Economist cautions: 

Be mindful of the damage if $$ released too quickly 

But an economist yesterday cautioned that even if the entire $31.9 billion were available to the Government, it would need to be very mindful of the damage to the country’s inflation rate and the demand for foreign exchange that releasing that money too quickly could have on the economy.

“Unblocking the accounts is, in effect, creating money and the Government would need to be very cautious about the inflationary and foreign exchange impact of unleashing too much, too soon,” said the economist, who requested anonymity.

Asked if the unblocking of the accounts was a form of quantitative easing, the Central Bank said, “Broadly speaking, quantitative easing is a process by which Central Banks increase the level of liquidity in the financial system by purchasing financial assets from banks and other financial institutions. 

“Removing money from the blocked accounts will make more money available for fiscal operations; liquidity could eventually be impacted according to the level and pace of government spending. 

“Overall, therefore, unblocking the accounts could potentially have a similar result as Central Bank purchasing of financial assets on liquidity but the impact may be slower.”

The board of the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL) has taken a decision to terminate the employment of its suspended chief executive officer Sharma Maharaj and chief operations officer, Kiran Shah.

The termination was effective on February 23.

Both men, who were retained under the former People’s Partnership government, received their dismissal letters from the EFCL’s corporate secretary.

Confirmation came yesterday from EFCL chairman and former agriculture minister Arnold Piggott. 

Piggott said, “The board, having lost confidence in the two executive members, took a decision to terminate their employment.”

Piggott, however, refused to answer any further questions.

Last November, police officers were called in by the current board, as part of the ongoing criminal probe into the EFCL’s operations under its former board. 

After their visits the officers reportedly carted away several hard drives from computer systems at the offices and other documents.

A private room was also discovered when the new board, led by Piggott, toured the Maraval offices. 

A small group of EFCL employees were found to be doctoring documents and back-dating contracts. 

Following the discovery, Maharaj and Shah were suspended with full pay and benefits, pending the outcome of an investigation into the EFCL’s operations under the previous board.

The EFCL also ordered two independent audits.

“The audits were conducted because the company was in a bad shape. We would need to put in a lot of controls in the area of accounting and auditing in particular, so that we can cut back on any wastage and provide value for money in the awarding of contracts,” a source at the EFCL said. 

The source said the EFCL was seeking to re-establish good management principles and improve its image.

“EFCL is committed to focussing on the core business of the company, which is to build, repair and maintain as well as outfit all schools from Early Childhood Care and Education to secondary. This with the objective of providing a healthy and comfortable learning and teaching environment.”

The positions of both men would have to be filled, but the source could not say when.

“The board is on a re-organisation of the company and in that process will determine what is required to deliver on its mandate.”

A new political leader of the Tobago Council of the People’s National Movement (PNM) will be elected in the coming months as the party prepares for the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election in January 2017. 

Current leader, Dr Orville London, will not be contesting the position. 

The party will host its special convention on April 3 at the St John’s Ambulance Association & Brigade of T&T, Fitzblackman Drive. 

This, according to PNM chairman, Franklin Khan, when he addressed the media after yesterday’s general council meeting at Balisier House.

He said the main item on the agenda for the convention would be amendments to the party’s constitution as it relates to the voting of officers under the one-man-one-vote system in Tobago. Khan said, “In 2013, when we amended the party’s constitution to the one-man-one-vote, Tobago was not included in that.

“Tobago still voted for its officers under the delegate system.

“This proposal will now make the positions of political leader of Tobago Affairs and chairman of the Tobago Council subject to the one-man-one-vote system.

“These two positions will be elected every four years and all other positions on the executive Tobago Council will be under a delegate system for a two-year period.”

Khan also said Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley informed all 41 constituencies that they needed to submit a comprehensive and detailed plan as to the types of donations and contributions they intended to make towards the restoration of Balisier House and the construction of a new building. 

The management of Wonderful World is in the process of concluding an official enquiry into the case of Njemile Webb, who accused the company of denying her a job because she wears a hijab.

The company which has been in existence for 42 years has categorically denied that Webb’s incident stems from any gender, religious or ethnic discrimination.

In a press release issued yesterday, the clothing company said in the interest of fairness to all parties concerned, it was their respectful view that an enquiry must be undertaken before any comprehensive statement is released to the media and its customers.

The company said it was imperative that they met with staff members who were involved in relation to the incident.

“As a locally owned company we have prided ourselves as being responsible and celebrate the diversity of our customers. We have always appreciated the support received from our customers who comprise of all ethnicities and religious persuasions.”

Wonderful World stated that they were not against members of the Muslim faith.

“We state unequivocally that Wonderful World employs persons from all denominations and religious persuasions and will continue to do so.”

It’s now one year and 23 days since an explosion at the El Pecos Restaurant in Maraval left one man—John Soo Ping Chow—dead and 11 people injured and traumatised. 

El Pecos’ owners suffered $2.1 million in losses of building and stocks and further loss of earnings during rebuilding.

The family of Soo Ping Chow, who died four months after the explosion on June 5, 2015, at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, are still trying to come to terms with their loss and are waiting for someone to be held accountable. 

Others who were injured are still recuperating and are also awaiting justice.

The site of the fire has long been cleared of rubble and owners of El Pecos have managed to rebuild their business, but questions about what really happened that day and whether there was neglect or a breach of regulations by the gas supplier remain unanswered. 

A copy of the official fire investigation report from the Fire Service into the El Pecos explosion obtained stated there was a “leakage of gas from the delivery line of the North Plant LPG truck.”

However, the report compiled by Ishmael Noel FS/O #2498 deemed the fire “accidental”, saying “the most probable cause of the fire was as a result of ignition to a mixture of LPG and air, within the rear passageway near the El Pecos LPG cylinders.” 

The investigation done by the Fire Service spanned the period February 5 -24, 2015, and the investigation involved the following organisations, according to the report: The T&T Fire Service, The Police Service, The Electricity Commission, The Ministry of Energy, North Plant LPG Co-operative Society Ltd.

Police officers under the supervision of ASP Smith, “took responsibility for securing the North Plant LPG delivery vehicle and all of its apparatus and contents.”

No one has been held accountable for the explosion as the investigation remains incomplete.

Investigations by the GML Enterprise Desk revealed that the assessment of the nozzle of the LPG delivery hose used by North Plant LPG Co-operative Society Ltd, which was sent to the Forensic Science Centre to determine if it generated “sufficient sparks to ignite a mixture of LPG and air,” remains outstanding. 

Calls to the director of the Forensic Science Centre and her assistant to find out what was the status of the tests to be done went unanswered. 

The GML desk learned from a source at the centre that the samples would have been sent to the chemistry department, but they could not say why it was taking so long. 

To compound matters, a year to the day, on February 4, 2016, the very same supplier, North Plant LPG, was delivering gas to Kleen Rite Dry Cleaners in Mucurapo Road when there was a similar explosion. The driver of the LPG truck in both instances was the same person, Neville Rampersad. 

Richard Camacho of El Pecos said since the fire he had changed his supplier, but he is concerned about the length of time it has taken to complete the forensic investigation. He said: “We’re waiting like everybody else before we move forward.” 

President of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association Gregory Aboud said: “It is worrisome there is as yet no conclusion to the investigation.” He is concerned that it may happen a third time with even worse consequences. 

Silence from NP

But there’s been a deafening silence from North Plant on both explosions. 

Several calls were made to the company’s CEO Kerry Maharaj since early February but there was no response. On February 15, after leaving several messages and placing several calls, he responded briefly saying: “I just came out of a board meeting, I am going to see my lawyer.” 

Asked for an interview, he said he had a “busy week” and was unable to grant one. But he gave the assurance that the company was “drafting a statement to send out to the media.” 

Thirteen days later, no statement was forthcoming and all calls to his cell phone were met with the same message, “I am in a meeting.” 

Energy Minister forms committee to probe

Meanwhile, Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre has set up a committee comprising members of the Ministry of Energy, the Fire Service, the Police Service and the Occupational Health and Safety Authority to investigate the El Pecos and Kleen Rite fires. 

The committee has been mandated among other things to determine what went wrong—Why was there a recurrence? Were there violations? Was there need for housekeeping? 

The committee’s first step was to visit North Plant’s base at Gaston Street, Chaguanas, where they met with company officials and inspected the plant. 

North Plant supplies 17-20 per cent of LPG to the market. The rest, 80 per cent or over, is supplied by Ramco. Officials from both companies are members of the Liquefied Petroleum Dealers Association which works hand in hand with NP and the Ministry of Energy on guidelines for the industry. 

LPG guidelines

While the GML desk has not been able to get an interview with North Plant executives on the operating guidelines, Ramco’s General Manager Lochan Samsundar said there were clear guidelines from the Ministry of Energy on the procedure to be followed:

• Before filling a tank the provider needs to ensure that the tank is properly certified or recertified for use. The stamp with the date indicating this is usually at the top of the tank, on the shroud which protects the tank. 

• The provider is also required to conduct a physical inspection of the tank to ensure that it is not corroded and there are no physical defects.

• Checks must be made to ensure there is no combustible material within ten feet of the storage tank. 

• Once the checks are done, the hose can be connected to begin the filling process. But even before the filling begins, checks must be made for leaks in the hose.

Samsundar explained that, in addition, Ramco sends technicians to an LPG school in Florida to be trained and certified. 

He said the driver and helper were also trained so if something happened they knew what to do. 

He said time and money must be spent to ensure that safety was built into the process, since the “responsibility comes down to us as the filler.”

While the Ministry of Energy is the authority to certify premises under the Petroleum Act, there is also a responsibility which rests with the OSH Authority. 

Section 9 of the OSH Act states that “the occupier of every industrial establishment shall—take special care to ensure that plant and equipment used therein are of such integrity and that such adequate safety systems exist as to prevent the occurrence of fugitive emissions not conforming with an approved standard.”

Section 10 of the act also imposes responsibility on the employee while at work to (a) take reasonable care for the safety and health of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work; (b) as regards any duty or requirement imposed on his employer to co-operate with him as far as necessary to ensure that that duty or requirement is performed or complied with; and (c) to report to his employer any contravention under this act or any regulations made, the existence of which he knows.

Penalties: A person who refuses to comply with subsection (1) commits a health and safety offence and is subject to the jurisdiction of the Industrial Court.

MSJ leader David Abdulah said the OSH Agency had been “woefully neglected for the last five years.” He said the agency needed to be “properly resourced so that there are qualified inspectors to do the work.” 

If there is an accident, he said, there must be inspectors to go out and investigate. “Inspectors must also follow up on complaints from workers. But the fact is that there are not adequate inspectors.” 

Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus could not be reached for comment.

Abdulah said moving forward, NP should ensure that all firms involved in the distribution of fuel met established standards. “We need to ensure that health and safety and environmental standards are observed to avoid loss of life or injury to workers.” 

The onus, Abdulah said, was also on the suppliers of gas to take responsibility to ascertain they maintained OSH standards. 

Safety and training

Asked about enforcement of safety and training in the industry, NP said: “NP and its LPG distributors are guided by the NFPA 58 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code 2014 as it relates to the training, health, safety and environmental matters concerning LPG.

“LPG distributors are fully responsible for the conduct and operation of their business operations.” 

It explained that both itself and by extension LPG distributors are guided by the NFPA58 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code 2014 as it relates to “training, health, safety and environmental matters concerning LPG.

(NFPA58 is the industry benchmark for safe LP-Gas storage, handling, transportation, and use. NFPA 58 mitigates risks and ensures safe installations, to prevent failures, leaks, and tampering that could lead to fires and explosions.)

Asked whether checks are done on plant and equipment of LPG suppliers, NP said, “The inspection of LPG equipment and the monitoring of compliance with relevant safety requirements are the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries.”

NP, we are told, has a “checklist” that must be followed by LPG distributors and that NP issues safety certificates to LPG distributors when their trucks have passed relevant inspections. 

NP said every effort was made to “confirm on a regular basis” that there was compliance with its safety standards by its LPG distributors.

Currently there are no mandatory standards in force for LPG hoses and ancillary equipment to be used by licensed distributors and commercial customers. The only approved standard is for pigtails and flexible hose connectors and that’s for domestic use.

In 2014, then energy minister Kevin Ramnarine said the ministry had developed, in consultation with stakeholders, applicable regulations for the use, conveyance, and storage of LPG under the Petroleum Act. 

Those new regulations outlined the general requirements for filling, handling, transportation and storage of LPG with respect to the cylinders and installation of the tank systems.

Pending the resolution of legal issues, he had indicated that steps would have been taken to put them into law. Stakeholders spent several months going through the regulations. However, they are still in the process of being prepared, although the ministry admits they are necessary to “provide an acceptable degree of protection from the hazards caused by accidents, leaks and other activities.” 

Bureau of Standards

The Bureau of Standards was contacted for information on its oversight of the critical LPG industry. A senior official, Theodore Reddock, said the bureau’s interest in such activity was with the “inspection of filling plants to ensure that the right quantities are metered.” He confirmed that since last year’s incident at El Pecos “we were trying to give some consideration to what needed to be done.” 

He said while the bureau could be “part of the development of standards to monitor that type of operation, the inspection required a specific skillset, something that the bureau does not possess.” 

Reddock said there was need for a more “holistic approach, through the development of a National Policy on Quality which would give guidance on quality aspects.” He said it was a “generic approach, but it will offer guidance.” It is not a new concept, he said, because it already exists in other parts of the world, “but it has not gotten traction in Trinidad.” 

Reddock suggested there may be need for annual inspections of LPG facilities or ongoing training of employees.

Injured

Noel Boucaud, 38

Elizabeth Diaz, 53

Roxanne Charles, 34

Lana Lewis Motley, 35

Camille Nicholas, 49

Sahida Nabbie, 54

John Soo Ping Chow, 49

Lessa Samuel, 34

Gregory Maicoo, 36

Lovan Rhamdine, 42

Shedine Elcock, 30

Samantha Lalla, 24

Eyewitness accounts

Several eyewitness accounts of what happened on February 5, 2015, point to a “cloud of gas filling the air.” 

The GML Enterprise Desk obtained photos of the hose used for the delivery on that fateful day and it appears there was a rupture.

The official report from the Fire Service quotes the loader Gregory Maicoo confirming “there was a rupture in the delivery hose at the time he was going to hook up the hose to the tank, resulting in the leakage of LPG.” 

Maicoo said the driver, Neville Rampersad, “went back to the vehicle to lock off the pump and he went in the opposite direction and hid behind a wall.” He said he saw an explosion and saw flames coming towards him. 

Rampersad admitted to hearing a “loud explosion” while waiting to deliver the fuel. On investigating, he said he saw the area “filled with gas” and Maicoo was “bleeding from his face.” He said he ran to the back of the building to “extinguish some small flames” where he was accompanied by a stranger. After extinguishing the flames at the back, he said he went to the front of the building “where he observed broken glass windows, and he observed flames in the ceiling of the El Pecos storage room area. 

Further investigations revealed the driver had parked the delivery vehicle behind a wall near the old Bagshot Hotel in Maraval. The hose delivering the gas was passed over the wall and there was no line of vision between the handler and the driver. Chief Fire Officer Kenny Gopaul told the GML Enterprise Desk the “line of vision is critical in the delivery of LPG.” 

In her eyewitness statement, manager of the restaurant Gail Camacho said Rampersad, an employee of North Plant LPG, had been delivering gas to El Pecos, Maraval, for the past six years. She said he often parked his delivery truck on the empty lot of land known as “Bagshot land” when there was no parking on the compound. “If he does park on the Bagshot Land he would put the delivery hose over the wall,” she said. 

It was also usual, she said, for “Neville to call out to me. When I hear him call out I usually prepare his cheque,” and go to the back to chat with him. 

On the day in question, she said she was meeting with Soo Ping Chow in her office and heard “a louder hissing sound than usual for the gas tanks being refilled,” and “almost instantly I noticed a very strong smell of gas.” 

She said she was immediately alerted that something was wrong and went to check. At the back of the building she saw “a large amount of white cloud coming into the building through the open space in the gate. The white cloud was low to the ground and the smell of gas was very strong.”

She called out to Rampersad but got no response. She said because of the amount and size of the cloud and the “overwhelming smell of gas” she thought “the hose must be on the floor and the gas was just flowing in.”

By the time she got to the front of the building there was a “loud explosion,” and she said she felt herself being “pushed to the ground.” 

Fire Officer Ishmael Noel in his report said there was a rapid spread of flames from the rear passageway of El Pecos to where the gas mixture travelled. 

The rapid moving flame travelled into the building on the ground floor “with the force of deflagrating gas” he said, causing “major damage on the ground floor and a resulting fire in the El Pecos Restaurant.”

A man was gunned down while on his bike at Dora’s Lotto Booth, Southern Main Road, Cunupia, on Friday. 

Police said that at 3.30 pm on Friday, Ashton Villafana, 26, a construction worker who lives at No 1 Teak Drive, Homeland Gardens, Cunupia, rode up to the Lotto booth where he was approached by two men armed with guns. The men, who came out of a light green vehicle, shot Villafana about the body and he slumped to the ground. Both men then ran back to the car which headed in a northerly direction along the Southern Main Road. 

PC Baptiste and PC Bisnath took the victim to the Chaguanas Accident and Emergency Department where he was pronounced dead by Doctor Beenitez. The vehicle was later recovered abandoned along Bernard street, off Mc Carthy Street, Dass Trace, Cunupia. 

Visiting the scene were Snr Supt Jason Forde, Supt Kenny Mc Intyre, ASP Sooker, Sgt Toolaram and Sgt Jodhan and other units.

Valencia man 

killed outside bar

Meanwhile, at 2 pm yesterday, Seon Edwards was gunned down while liming outside Copper’s Bar in Valencia. A white Tiida pulled up and gunmen opened fire on Edwards who died on the scene.

—Adrian Boodan

Former director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) David West has raised red flags about the $354,471,532 million in suspicious transactions reported by the FIU in its 2015 report, which was tabled in the Senate on Tuesday.

West described the $334 million as “alarmingly small” compared to the $698 million of suspicious transactions recorded by the FIU in 2014.

Between 2014 and 2015 there was a decline of $344 million in suspicious transactions.

The report is dated October 2014 to September 2015.

“I would have expected the figure (suspicious transactions) to increase. It should have exceeded $698 million. It is alarming that it has gone down...that means that something is not too right in the SARs (Suspicious Activity Report) that have been submitted to the FIU. People are not disclosing the proper value of the Suspicious Transaction Report (STR)...they are under-reporting,” West said, in giving an analysis of the report.

SARs and STRs are reported to the FIU by reporting entities and voluntarily by the public.

In light of this new development, the FIU in response to questions by the Sunday Guardian on Friday recommended that the Government “give serious consideration to instituting cash transaction limits on all goods and services including revenue collection at government offices” since “cash is the mainstay of criminal transactions.”

The FIU is a specialised intelligence gathering unit. It receives reports of suspicious transactions and activities from financial institutions and certain business sectors. It analyses this information with other information from various sources and produces an intelligence report, which is sent to law enforcement agencies to investigate.

Money laundering the suspected offence in majority of STRs/SARs received

The report disclosed that money laundering was again the suspected offence in the majority of STRs/SARs received.

The FIU explained that any cash-intensive environment has the ability to foster a lack of transparency in transactions and facilitate criminal activities.

“Criminals are always probing the safeguards in place to exploit vulnerabilities to launder or finance terrorism,” the FIU stated.

While expressing concerns about the decrease, the FIU stated that “one has to bear in mind these are suspicious transactions (and) not transactions of confirmed wrongdoing. If there is an actual decrease and not under-reporting of such transactions that will be good news for the country. Our main concern is the low dollar value of STRs/SARs reported.” the FIU stated.

The report showed that there were 152 completed money laundering STRs/SARs banks submissions valued $191,813,131.

It also showed there were 20 attempted money laundering transactions valued at $76,704,684.

In 2014, the FIU received 617 STRs/SARs with a monetary value of $698 million, while last year 609 STRs/SARs with a monetary value of $354 million were recorded.

“The analysis (2015 report) shows 523 of the STRs/SARs submitted had monetary values under $100,000, 40 STRs/SARs had values of under $1 million and only 46 STRs/SARs had monetary values above $1 million. From 2010 to 2014 we have seen an increase in both the number of STRs/SARs and the monetary value of those STRs/SARs,” the FIU stated.

For 2015, the STRs/SARs decreased by eight, but the total monetary value decreased by $344 million or 49 per cent.

Of the 609 STRs/SARs submitted, 566 were completed transactions with a monetary value of $272,802,553 and 43 were

attempted transactions with a monetary value of $81,668,979.

At least 55 per cent of the 609 STRs/SARs submitted involved cash transactions. 

For the period 2010 to 2015, the FIU has received 2,552 STRs/SARs from all reporting entities. 

In giving a breakdown of the 609 STRs/SARs reports that were submitted, the report revealed:

• 216- tax evasion 

• 81-fraud matters 

• 67-money laundering

• 78-drug trafficking

• 16-financing of terrorism

• 134-suspicious activity.

Majority of reports came from San Juan/Barataria/PoS

The majority of the STRs/SARs were reported from San Juan, Barataria and Port-of-Spain followed by San Fernando.

Categorizing the STRs/SARs by occupation/profession, it showed that 126 people who worked as bankers, teachers, senior company officials and consultants were reported for suspicious transactions. 

The next largest were business traders who accounted for 82 people, followed by 63 skilled workers, while there were five people in politics or as they referred to it, politically exposed people.

Over the period, 2011 to 2015, the total monetary value of transactions reported as suspicious was approximately $3.7 billion.

Susan Francois, in her statement as director of the FIU’s report, also expressed worry over the “possible under-reporting of the actual dollar amount of the suspected transaction or activity.”

She explained that the FIU had initiated steps to verify the actual monetary value involved in the suspicious transaction or activity recorded in the STRs/SARs, and if required would give instructions on the corrective action to be taken.

“In this reporting period, the FIU prioritised compliance monitoring and enforcement. More resources were deployed to increase the number of compliance examinations, to test supervised entities’ implementation of their AML (Anti Money Laundering/ Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) obligations. Directives were issued to several entities for failure to rectify AML/CFT deficiencies identified at the compliance examination,” Francois said. 

Francois stated that analysis also revealed that the number of reports of financial transactions suspected of being linked to terrorism had tripled over the past year. 

During this reporting period, the number of terrorism-related STRs/SARs jumped from five in 2014 to 16 in 2015.

The FIU in response to one question by the Sunday Guardian admitted that there was need to strengthen their analytical resources, due to an increase in complex money laundering and financing of terrorism cases, while they pleaded with Government to re-examine the FIU’s legal structure.

In the FIU’s six years in operation, eight people were charged for money laundering and fraud by the Financial Investigations Branch of the T&T Police Service under the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Anti-Terrorism Act.

These matters are still before the magistrates courts.

The fact that no one has been prosecuted in T&T, West said, could “weigh heavily on us” and have a negative effect on the country.

“That is one of the key areas that the Financial Action Task Force looks for.”

West said what the FIU needed was an accountant in the FIB (Financial Investigation Branch) and “foreign experts to properly train police officers.”

He said while members of the T&T Police Service have been attending courses to investigate white collar crime, financing of terrorism and corruption, they needed to work alongside skilled and trained individuals.

He said nobody in T&T has the “wherewithal” to unearth fraudulent activities.

West believes that the FIU’s model was wrong.

“The FIU has an administrative type model when they should have a hybrid type model.”

On Friday, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi did not respond to a text message by the Sunday Guardian.