The new board of the National Library and Information System Authority (Nalis) will focus on raising literacy levels and encouraging more people to read.

Newly appointed chairman of the board Neil Parsanlal said this yesterday during an interview with the media.

Parsanlal and seven other people were given their instruments of appointment by Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie at the Old Fire Station on Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain.

“I am quite happy for the opportunity to serve as chairman. The question of libraries and our whole information system was a very integral part of the ministry when I served as minister,” Parsanlal said.

Parsanlal served as information minister prior to the 2010 general election.

“I am not coming to a situation that I am not aware of; there have been some changes in the last five years. The importance of libraries and what we bring to the table, I think, is going to be critical for us as a society.”

He said the board would look at the way T&T looked at libraries, the way the country invested in libraries and the question of the heritage library that is going to cost the country $21 million.

He said the board would also look at libraries in Toco, Mayaro, Moruga and Chaguanas.

He said when he looked at the front-page picture of a daily newspaper and saw students of Chaguanas North going into their schools he thought they were visiting a maximum security prison.

“I keep wondering whether if we build more libraries, would we need more prisons, and that is going to be one of my emphases. 

“We will look at how we can use libraries, raise our literacy levels, encourage more people to read on a wider basis so that the language skills and literacy become more important for us, because when language ends that is when violence begins and, therefore, part of my remit as chairman is going to be to drive home that we must become a more literate society.”

Cuffie said he had been anxiously awaiting the appointment of the new board. 

“There are several urgent matters to attend to. It has taken longer than we anticipated because it takes care in appointing the boards, getting the right people. Now they are on board, we have some urgent matters, construction of the Chaguanas library, Mayaro, and we have some issues with the Toco library. 

“Those are the matters they will have to attend to immediately.”

Nalis board

Chairman, Neil Parsanlal, deputy chairman Charleen Philip, a former permanent secretary; Elmelinda Lara; Cathyan Townsend; Indrani Rampersad; Lynette Tyson-Noel; Karel Douglas; and Jefferson D Guy.

Nalis’ executive director Elizabeth Mahadeo is the ex-officio member of the board.

Angered by their inability to pay their bills, purchase groceries and send their children to school, Construtora OAS workers who have not been paid in the last two weeks dismantled work sheds and burnt material as they shut down work on the overdue Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension Project yesterday.

Just over 30 workers stormed work sites at Rousillac and Vance River yesterday, telling workers of two local contractors that unless Construtora OAS pays their outstanding salaries, there will be no work on the highway. 

The workers said they are frustrated at the discourtesy the Brazilian firm has displayed. Meanwhile, hundreds of employees gathered at the company's Golconda head office, setting up a tent at the gate to ensure nothing entered or left the premises until they are paid.

Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) branch president Sean Dyer said the workers are still owed bi-monthly salaries from January 22, while the company is selling out equipment to settle debts with local sub-contractors. He said the company had also withdrawn union dues from workers' salaries but have not transferred those funds to the union.

He said the reason workers blocked the Golconda gate was because the company sold the asphalt plant and has since moved to a new office at Gulf View. Company officials did not respond to calls yesterday.

“The company owes us salaries. They told us to go back home and they will pay us but now they are telling us that they are awaiting money from (project manager) National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO). Nidco is telling us that they overpaid OAS. We are now calling on the Government to intervene in this matter very seriously because 1,000 plus workers need to know what is going on. 

“As far as we can see, OAS wants to pull out on us because they sold out their trucks, asphalt plant and excavators. Workers are saying no to that. We are saying that workers have to be paid first before anyone else does,” Dyer said.

At the work sites yesterday, the Construtora OAS workers met little resistance from workers under sub-contractors. At Rousillac, the frustrated employees dismantled a tent and blocked the access path to excavation work. Dyer said expatriates from OAS were working at Vance River and there were time sheets and Job Safety Checklists with the company's logo at the work station. He believes the company is trying to force workers out of jobs.

Families stressed out

Work on the $7.5 billion project was suspended on December 18, last year, for the Christmas season and was expected to resume on January 5. However, workers were told to return home and the company will continue to pay their basic salaries. Those payments stopped and according to truck driver, Anton Noel, workers cannot afford to feed their families. He said his children have not gone to school since last week as the last salary he collected was on January 5.

“This is affecting us very badly, people have bills to pay, car loans, families to see about and the company is not telling us anything. We want government's involvement, we want to know what is going on and we need some answers because we are getting fed up. These people are foreigners and we are locals and the local authorities need to step in, take charge and assist us local people. 

“These people come here to rob us and leave with our money. We will shut down every work site until we get some kind of answers. We are stopping all and any work that is taking place. We want no work taking place because now there are contractors coming in to do the work that we are supposed to be doing and we are just sitting down home,” Noel said.

He said while they fear being jobless during the recession, he believes the company should pay the workers and leave the country. He said Government should make arrangements for local contractors engaged in the project to absorb the former Construtora OAS workers.

The Children’s Authority of T&T says after nine months of operations it is managing some 4,158 cases of children in need of care and protection. This is the highest number of cases to be reported in the country’s history.

In a statement yesterday the authority noted that the figure was an indication of the public heeding the call to report child abuse which has led to children being brought to its attention. 

It said the authority would release its nine-month statistical report later this week, which would provide details of the types of abuse reported as well as demographic information, which it expected would inform immediate policy interventions. 

The report will reveal that the highest categories of child protection issues are sexual abuse, neglect, physical abuse and children lacking care and guardianship. 

The report will also show that in its first nine months of operations, the Authority’s Emergency Response Team rescued over 300 children, “a chilling reality of how poorly we are doing as a society to protect the most vulnerable.” The authority also lamented that placement for children remained a major challenge, particularly children with special needs. 

The statement added: “The public is reminded that protecting children is everyone’s business. Therefore, the authority will soon be rolling out its National Protocol on Reporting and Investigating Child Abuse to assist the public in understanding the roles of the various agencies involved in the child protection sector.”

The authority said it continued to appeal to parents and guardians to be extremely vigilant in ensuring the safety of their children and to report all incidents or suspicions of child abuse to 996 or 800-2014.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia yesterday vowed to take action against deviant students at the El Dorado East Secondary school after learning that staff was living in fear as the institution had become overrun by illegal activity, including drugs, gambling and thefts and those teachers who tried to instil some discipline were being threatened by the students.

“I know where you live. I know when your wife and daughter does be home. I know what to do to get revenge,” one student reportedly told a teacher who attempted to discipline him.

This was one of the shocking bits of information Garcia received during a lengthy meeting with the school’s principal and teachers. 

One school official, who wished not to be identified, said many times students were discovered trying to sneak onto the compound with illegal drugs, including weed and cocaine, which they try to hide even in their body cavities just “like prisoners do in jail.”

“Imagine they having gambling rings and money lending businesses, too,” the official added, noting teachers’ tyres are also constantly slashed by students.

The T&T Guardian also was told of an alleged sex ring where girls were paid as low as $5 to perform sexual acts on boys.

After yesterday’s meeting, Garcia said he had instructed the school’s principal to provide him with a list of all the problematic students. 

However, he did not say whether there would be another act like at the Chaguanas North Secondary School (CNSS) where 24 students were removed from the school. 

In that school, several students were also arrested and charged on various offences, including a plot to kill a security guard, threatening to harm a teacher physically and use of obscene language.

Garcia said yesterday since the removal of the students at Chaguanas, there had been a vast improvement.

Speaking about the El Dorado situation, Garcia said: “We have heard the cries of teachers today and we intend to do something about it. As soon as I am provided with that list we are going to sit and decide what we are going to do. I am not going to tolerate any deviant behaviour in any school.”

He added: “Imagine a parent complained to me her Form One student came home with his pants wet in front because he was afraid to go to the toilet because he was bullied, beaten and made to pay to use the toilet facilities. We have been told that teachers face the worst kind of curse and derogatory statements by students.”

Garcia said the school was once known as the “Jewel of the East” and he intended to return it to that kind of status again. He assured that the security at the school would be heightened.

First vice-president of the T&T Teacher’s Unified Association (TTUTA), Antonia de Freitas, said a number of systemic problems at the school needed to be addressed immediately.

“We also recognise the need for cross ministerial collaboration because it is not an education problem but a societal problem. We are advocating for ministries to come together to find solutions to support teachers and students. We will also be having discussions with the Ministry of Education on school violence and indiscipline,” De Freitas said.

National Parent Teachers Association (NPTA) president Zena Ramatali, who was also part of the visiting contingent at the school, said she was very disturbed to hear the kinds of things coming out in the meeting.

She said the NPTA would be recommending a national parenting policy across the board “to have programmes in place to help parents and children... programmes for children to be placed in rehabilitation programmes so that they can go through rehab and then be reintegrated into the school system.”

Ramatali also said they were looking at the Suspension Centre Programmes that were in existence in Barbados and Jamaica and would hopefully meet with officials from those countries to see how best they could implement their systems in T&T.

Government will redouble its efforts to protect, secure and ensure an environment “that is not conducive to fear and terror” aimed at those who provide security to the population, Prime Minister Keith Rowley said yesterday.

Rowley extended condolences to the family and friends of prisons officer Fitzalbert Victor Jr, who was gunned down in front of his Laventille home on Monday. 

He was the third prisons officer slain in the past year and it has caused outrage among the ranks of the Prisons Service, which has bitterly blamed the state for failing to implement legislation to protect prisons officers.

Rowley’s statement, which responded to complaints from the Prisons Service, came at the same time yesterday that National Security Minister Edmund Dillon met with the executive of the T&T Police Service on various issues, from crime to police management, and gave them the assurance his team would treat urgently with issues raised by them.

Rowley, in his statement on Victor’s death, said: “One cannot overstate the importance of the work done by the men and women of the Prisons Service, Police, Coast Guard, Regiment and other arms of the nation’s security system, who put their lives on the line and stand in defence and promotion of law and order in our communities. If they don’t, the result will undoubtedly be anarchy.”

The PM added: “Government acknowledges that the level of criminal conduct in Trinidad and Tobago is unacceptable. We also acknowledge that incarceration of persons on remand and convicted persons remain an integral part of the national security regimen.

“The level of violent crime and criminal conduct is objectionable and continues to attract the full attention of the Cabinet, National Security Council and all other arms of the State, whose duty it is to work assiduously to ensure that we return, in the shortest possible time, to good order, peace, safety and security in T&T.”

The State’s billion dollar case against former Petrotrin executive president Malcolm Jones for negligence over the company’s failed low sulphur diesel plant has collapsed. 

The company on Monday was forced to withdraw its case against Jones after its attorneys advised that he had a strong likelihood of defending the claim in light of new evidence which would have been made available to him. 

Its decision now means the State has to pay Jones’ legal costs estimated to be a little over $3 million. During a brief hearing before Justice Ricky Rahim in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, attorneys for the State made submissions seeking to have the sum lowered. Rahim reserved his decision to next week. 

Speaking at a press conference after the hearing at his Cabildo Chambers office in Port-of-Spain, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi explained the State’s legal team, led by Queen’s Counsel Vincent Nelson, gave the advice after Jones’ attorneys made an application for disclosure of documents related to Petrotrin’s arbitration with World GTL Inc, the company it had contracted for the plant. 

“I understand the witnesses were very convincing at the arbitration proceedings and there is no reason why in the circumstances there is a reasonable likelihood that a judge would be persuaded that this was a bad business decision but not negligence,” Nelson said in written advice sent to Petrotrin and the Office of the AG in October last year that was quoted directly by Al-Rawi.

Al-Rawi noted that Nelson had not had sight of the evidence when he advised that there was a prima facie case against Jones in 2011 and was only made aware of it when Jones’ attorneys filed their application last year. 

The Attorney General attributed responsibility for the collapse of the case on his predecessor, Anand Ramlogan, who he claimed failed to disclose the evidence to the attorneys even after he spoke on the Government’s successes in the arbitration proceedings in 2012 and 2014. 

“T&T is going to have to pay $3.179 million in legal fees for a claim that if clearly one had paid attention to the arbitration proceedings, which the last government was so proud to speak of, surely a claim such as this would have not been launched. Surely counsel would have been provided with all the material so a proper opinion could have been provided,” Al-Rawi said. He was also critical of other corruption lawsuits initiated by Ramlogan during his tenure as AG, including a similar lawsuit against the former board of the University of T&T (UTT) over the lease of a guest house for staff which was withdrawn during a trial last year. 

“It is therefore of something of great concern for a country to look at material like this, especially when we are aware that the UTT claim dissolved in the witness box. 

“That was another product of Mr Ramlogan’s charge against what he considered to be allegations of corruption, which collapsed and caused the State millions of dollars in fees and judicial time,” Al-Rawi said as he noted his office had already paid almost $45 million in legal fees for the arbitration and the case against Jones.

Al-Rawi also claimed that in addition to the issue of new evidence, his office did not have any documents related to the case even though it was in charge of managing it on Petrotrin’s behalf. 

“While on record the AG’s office was driving this action, I am confident to report that we had not one single shred of paper related to this case,” Al-Rawi said as he claimed he only discovered Nelson’s advice on how the case should proceed when he requested that the private legal team hired for the case provide him with copies. 

However, despite his criticism Al-Rawi stated that the Government would not be discontinuing all cases filed by Ramlogan and was currently assessing the status and validity of those still before the courts. “This track record, notwithstanding, the current Government will continue to pursue all bonafide litigation that has commenced, provided there is merit in relation to it. We have been careful to demonstrate with our conduct of this management litigation that we have not gone idly by and changed legal teams to procure a certain result, far from it,” Al-Rawi said. 

Gerald Ramdeen and Varun Debideen appeared alongside Nelson. Former attorney general John Jeremie, SC, and Kerywn Garcia represented Jones.

About the case 

In 2013, the Office of the Attorney General filed a $2 billion lawsuit arising out of a forensic report into the construction of the failed Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) plant at State-owned Petrotrin’s operations in Pointe-a-Pierre.

The forensic probe was one of many mega projects undertaken by the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) government.

Petrotrin was claiming that there was a breach of fiduciary duty in the management of the construction of the GTL plant at Pointe-a-Pierre, which was contracted to be built at a cost of $2.7 billion to convert natural gas into a more ozone-friendly liquified form of diesel.

United States-based World GTL Inc was contracted to equip the plant with the necessary technology and make it operational.

Though completed, the plant remained non-functional due to the lack of the appropriate technology and it has since been deemed scrap iron. Petrotrin initiated arbitration proceedings against the company which it eventually won. 

The lawsuit against Jones alleged mismanagement by the payment of US$190.4 million (TT$1.12 billion) towards construction of the plant, in excess of the cost of its construction.

It claimed that despite concerns raised in some quarters Petrotrin went ahead with the project. In October last year, with the trial of the case still pending, Cabinet appointed Jones as a member of its Standing Committee on Energy. 

The United National Congress (UNC) yesterday defended its decision to initiate legal proceedings against former Petrotrin executive president Malcolm Jones for the company’s failed gas to liquid plant. 

In a press release yesterday evening in response to a press conference held by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi earlier, the party stated its decision was based on “sound, clear and competent legal advice” from a Jamaican Queen’s Counsel and local Senior Counsel. 

“We were advised that there was a viable case to pursue against Mr Jones for the loss of over $1.2 billion as a result of the failed GTL project. 

“The loss thereby sustained paralysed Petrotrin and crippled its business development projects, leaving a gaping hole in its balance sheet. Petrotrin was eventually forced to sell the plant as scrap-iron without a single cent returned on its investment,” the release stated. 

The Opposition party also called on Al-Rawi to disclose his position in all other corruption cases before the court. 

“Al-Rawi should also come clean and tell the nation whether he intends to adopt a similar course in the remaining cases against Calder Hart and the Ken Julien-led board of E-Teck. 

“The E-Teck case is in fact before the Privy Council after the PP Government won the matter in both the High Court and Court of Appeal,” the release added. 

A few months ago, a video surfaced on social media showing a man walking naked along Tumpuna Road, Arima, and then stealing a bicycle. The video went viral and there were many comments about what may have caused the action.

It’s only last week the man now identified as Joseph Nipper, 18, resurfaced again on social media and this time fully dressed and in the company of a friend.

The latest video was recorded just days after Joseph was discharged from the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital and GML Enterprise Desk got the opportunity to meet Joseph and his friend Jerimiah Carimbocas.

The two have been childhood friends and even attended the same pre-school and primary school in the village of Santa Cruz.

Joseph was willing to tell his story about what led him to strip naked and run through the streets.

He seemed a bit nervous but he wanted to go even further back as to what led him to that point.

“I started using drugs from 15 years old; this led me to start to experiment,” Joseph said.

“My dependency on drugs started when I was enrolled in the Military-Led Academic Training programme (MILAT). When I look back at my life now I regret not being able to complete the programme.”

Joseph attended the San Juan South Secondary School, but owing to behavioural issues he was taken out and placed in the MILAT programme.

He said the day he ran naked through the streets he was given a bag of marijuana and a joint. 

Joseph believes the marijuana was laced with other drugs.

“After I smoked it, I could not remember what happen, even when I saw the video I was still shocked,” he said.

It was only when he was being admitted to the St Ann’s Hospital that Joseph started to come to terms with what was really happening with him.

“I started to cry, I asked my father not to leave me there, I was placed in a seclusion cell,” he said. “In there was scary, it was there I realised I made a grave mistake in my life using drugs.”

Joseph was admitted for three months and two weeks at the institution and was prescribed medication and enrolled in the outpatients’ clinic.

“I know I am not 100 per cent as yet since I know the drugs had an adverse reaction to my body,” he acknowledged.

It’s not clear what exactly caused Joseph to react in such a manner.

But the recent video posted on social media, with Joseph and his friend Carimbocas, has also gone viral, showing the brotherly love between the two.

“I knew Joseph since we were in pre-school. We grew up together, we shared everything,” Carimbocas said.

“When I saw the video with him I was not sure (it was him). I called a few of our friends and then it was confirmed.”

Carimbocas said he took Joseph to his church.

“All the youths in church, the Monday after the video was released, held a pray and fast for Joseph’s recovery,” Carimbocas said. 

“We were unaware as to what was happening in his life since he moved with relatives in Arima.”

He said Joseph is a good person and he believes it was following the wrong company that led to his downfall.

Carimbocas said one day while on his way home he saw Joseph in San Juan. 

He had just been discharged from the hospital and during their meeting the two best friends rebonded and Joseph related what prompted him to strip in public.

“I wanted the whole of T&T to know since there were too many negative comments about Joseph,” he said.

“So I recorded a video with Joseph sharing his story and letting the whole country and the world know what really happen and the dangers of drugs.”

Since the ordeal, Joseph has vowed to stay away from drugs and wants to get his life back on track.

“I want to do something more meaningful and this was a true eye opener and I hope youths out there understand that drugs can ruin you,” Joseph said.

Joseph is attempting now to get qualified in a trade and wants to create real change in his life.

The medical condition of Yvonne Arjoon, the woman who survived a suicide pact with her husband on Sunday, is slowly worsening at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Arjoon and her husband, Ralph Buchoon, both 42, took a decision to end their lives on Sunday by ingesting a poisonous weedicide, Paraquat, as they were unable to repay thousands of dollars in debt.

They sold fruits for a living but were unable to pay their suppliers. 

Buchoon died after being taken to the Couva Health Facility, but Arjoon was kept alive by first responders.

Now her mother, Leela Arjoon, says she fears her daughter may die from the effects of the poison which she consumed. 

Speaking from her daughter’s bedside at the hospital, Leela said Arjoon can no longer speak.

“When we had come on Monday, she was talking and telling us why she do it. Now it looks like she get some kind of infection and she can’t talk at all,” Leela said. 

“I only seeing her mouth moving, but we can’t hear any sound.

“Her inside cut up and she can’t eat or drink anything...the nurses giving her pieces of ice to chip and sometimes a little sip of water, but other than that she can’t take any food or anything.”

She said despite this, she still has hope her daughter will survive.

“She making signs with she hands, like she trying to tell us that she won’t make it...but I feel she could still make it, she is a strong woman.”

Leela said Buchoon’s body was collected by his relatives but she does not know when he will be laid to rest. (SR)

Dissolve Government Information Services Ltd (GISL), dispose of its television station TV4 and cease all contract work. These are among the recommendations contained in the report on the future of Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG) and GISL, prepared by the company’s board under former chairman Helen Drayton. 

The report was submitted to Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie several weeks ago and is being reviewed by the Cabinet.

Drayton, a former independent senator, who was among the first to be appointed by the Government, resigned late last month.

The report also recommended CNMG change its name to be more reflective of its mandate. The report suggested the entity be renamed the Broadcasting Trust Corporation (BTC) T&T Ltd.

The report also found that GISL and the Government Information Services Department (GISD) provided the same services.

Amidst fears for workers employed at those entities, the report recommends that the core operations of GISL be reintegrated with the older GISD.

It said GISL should be dissolved as a limited liability company and GISD restructured to co-ordinate the implementation of government’s information policy and provide services aligned with that particular function, as well as to support ministries and departments with the dissemination of information.

The report said there should be complete reintegration by July 2016.

In relation to the Morvant-based television station, the report said it was “a weak brand with only 40 per cent market coverage, which is below the requirement for national broadcasters of 80 per cent.”

The board said the station’s operating cost was approximately $14 million (in 2015) and employs 50 people.

“Even with considerable expenditure in upgrades, repositioning and rebranding, the prospects for achieving broad-based viewership are dim,” it said.

According to the report, “One television station is adequate for the Government’s needs and that is CTV, which has universal market coverage.

“CNMG can fill educational needs for universities and secondary schools during the peak student time between 9 am and 2 pm.

“As it now stands, there is no compelling reason GISL and TV4 should continue to exist,” the report said.

“The same may apply to CNMG, except for the sound reasons provided by citizens during the consultations,” the report said, adding that in such a case, there are valid reasons for the Government to continue its investment in some broadcast media, “but certainly not two television stations and three radio stations.”

The Government also operates the Parliament Channel 11 and Parliament Radio 105.5FM.

Dealing with the issue of contract work at CNMG, the report said it must be addressed.

“The cycle of contract work must cease, except to cater for freelancing and transitory talent to anchor programmes as required. There must be a pool of permanent employees who the company engages as loyal and committed workers,” it added.

Insulate media service from political influence

​Between 2010 and 2015, CNMG maintained an average of 123 fixed-term employees and 60 freelancers. 

Its wage bill increased from $13.9 million to $17.6 million over the same period.

The report said the December 2014 audited accounts showed CNMG revenues totalled $30.2 million and its expenditure was $53.6 million. 

The public consultations cost CNMG more than $69,000.

CNMG was incorporated in 2006 as a limited liability company to replace National Broadcasting Network (NBN) which operated Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) and three radio stations.

The report said there was a need for the Government to rationalise all of its communications information services with the objective of cutting costs, while achieving synergies and operating efficiencies.

It was also intended to “insulate public service media from political influence,” the report said.

The report said during the public consultations citizens felt “the state media should view its investment as a contribution to fostering national identity and promoting national development.”

The report was commissioned by Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie in September, soon after the board was appointed, and is now being studied by the Terrence Farrell team which is examining state enterprises.

Criminologist Prof Emeritus Ramesh Deosaran says a lot of the current school misery, violence and delinquency could have been prevented if action had been duly taken when the signs and growing evidence were pointed out.

He was speaking about the recent acts of violence which have placed the Chaguanas North Secondary School in the spotlight.

Deosaran said a school, like the education system itself, had limits in changing a community or a society. 

“So the extent to which a community is severely fragmented, criminogenic, lawless and largely occupied by slack parenting, to that extent will its school become vulnerable to such perversities.

“If you look at the nature of many of the communities surrounding the Chaguanas North Secondary School and some others so affected, you will see the extent to which this community-school relationship exists,” he noted.

For this reason, he said, inserting anti-violence and delinquency programmes in a particular school should also be firmly accompanied by community restoration programmes. In addition, he said, a new type of teacher was also required for such schools. 

Beyond industrial relations issues, Deosaran said, teachers’ views from the ground level upwards needed to be taken more seriously and attended to more expeditiously.

“The extent to which many teachers have themselves become demoralised in tackling the problem has also contributed to the apparent increase in both frequency and seriousness.”

Deosaran said the Government must note that many primary schools were also becoming infected with increasing delinquency.

Asked whether boot camps, as suggested by Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon, was a good idea, he said there was already an expensive set of programmes for youths who drifted away from formal schooling. 

Deosaran said first find out what were the rewards of the boot camp. 

“To jump sporadically from programme to programme can well be another policy that wastes taxpayers’ money. 

“In any case, we are yet to hear the precise framework, enrolment type and objectives of this boot camp idea,” he added.

School violence ‘a

saddening monstrosity’

It was better to now focus on recognising the seriousness of the school violence and delinquency problem and perhaps, more seriously, ask instead why those who had a chance to bring positive change did not do so, Deosaran said.

“The entire situation has become one of saddening monstrosity.”

He said the management of student discipline had to be an inter-connected system—from teacher, dean, principal, supervisor, ministry and possibly the Teaching Service Commission (TSC).

Deosaran said as a former member of the TSC, there were supervisory and management breaches at each point in the system, that even when a dean or principal sought to act properly, “the chain becomes as strong as its weakest link.”

As for corporal punishment, he said as a public policy, it faced a continuing dilemma; and apart from the philosophy behind it, the manner in which it was abruptly disbanded created a special challenge for teachers. 

“The dilemma is that while surveys show over 80 per cent of teachers support corporal punishment with appropriate controls, both TTUTA and the previous government do not support it,” he added.

However, he said, the irony was that a related survey revealed that parents imposed a higher proportion of corporal punishment at home than teachers did at school for similar offences.

Deosaran said global remedies for all schools and all teachers would no longer work effectively since, as has been quite evident for a long time, schools differed from one another in social characteristics, community conditions and student challenges. 

In the present circumstances, he said, the more strategic approach was to take each affected school, as a priority, properly measure and then insert an appropriate set of ameliorative remedies with benchmarks for improvement. 

He said: “Each such selected school should be evaluated on its own terms—academic output, student discipline, leadership and extra-curricular activities. It is no longer good governance to wait until a school crisis explodes to rush into action.”

The recommendations from the Telecommunications Authority of T&T (TATT) for the renewal of Concessions for a number of broadcast service providers has been approved.

The approval was made on Monday by Minister of Public Administration, Randall Mitchell.

The renewal of the Concessions and licences, which expired on February 22, provides for continuation of broadcast operations for a ten-year period. 

Under the Telecommunications Act, TATT is required to make recommendations to the minister on the granting and renewal of concessions and to monitor and ensure compliance with the conditions established. 

The process of receipt of application, evaluation and the submission of recommendations to the Minister on granting of Concessions rests with the authority.

One of the key issues taken into consideration by the authority in recommending the renewal of a Concession is the performance of the Concessionaire in relation to its compliance with the conditions of the Concession and the Telecommunications Act.

On signing the Concessions, Mitchell said that these new Concessions reflect Government’s commitment to a vibrant, inclusive and independent media.

“This, in turn, improves openness, transparency and accountability in public life, and encourages citizen participation in the business of Government,” Mitchell said.

“Since the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Sector was opened up to competition initially during the 1990’s and again with the establishment of TATT in 2004, we have seen the number of free to air radio stations in T&T increase from just two stations to 37 stations—an increase of more than 1700 per cent,” he added.

Mitchell said that the renewal of these Concessions constitutes a small but critical part of the Ministry of Public Administration’s continuing mission to create a suitable enabling environment for the uptake and usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by the citizens, businesses, and public institutions of T&T.

March has been dubbed Baptist Month by the National Congress of Incorporated Baptist Organisations of T&T (NCOIBOTT).

According to public relations officer, Canon Desmond Griffith, the time has come for members of the faith to stop hiding and being ashamed of their religious beliefs.

Urging all followers to proudly don their traditional attire at all functions during the month, Griffith said they also had to establish their “home” at Maloney and stop “going to all kinds of places” to host their various activities.

Griffith made the brief remarks as he delivered the vote of thanks at the media launch of the NCOIBOTT calendar of events for March 2016, at the St Francis Spiritual Baptist Church, Second Caledonia, Morvant, yesterday.

The theme for this year is Jesus Christ The Same God, Yesterday, Today and Forever.

Welcoming the small group who turned out for the launch, secretary of the Archbishops Council, Archbishop Winston Ironside, called on all members to remember the older heads who had fought for freedom and the opportunity to openly practise their religion.

He said although they were liberated, followers were previously denied many opportunities but now had a chance for equality in schools and employment.

Chairman of the organisation Rev Dr Hazel Ann Gibbs De Peza presented the calendar of events which she explained, sought to educate both the young and old as to the contributions made by the faith.

School visits, open-air service sessions, public lectures, lunch-time concerts, a skills display, a procession, youth rally and visits to elderly homes, orphanages and prisons have been scheduled to take place during the month, as part of the run-up to the liberation day celebrations on March 30 at Baptist Boulevard, Maloney.

De Peza said the main objective was “to build awareness and appreciation for the contribution of the Spiritual Baptist faith to the national fabric and to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about the faith.”

With activities scheduled to take place across both islands, De Peza said the NCOIBOTT was about “offering prayers for the nation and to make people conscious of the role of the Almighty in bringing changes to the nation.”

She added, “We will be getting back to our roots.”

The NCOIBOTT comprises eight local Baptist organisations including the West Indian Spiritual Baptist Sacred Order; the Tribune Shouters Baptist Inc; the National Ecclesiastical Council of Spiritual Baptist Churches of T&T Inc; Garazin Shouter and Baptist Archdiocese; Mt Zion Independent Spiritual Baptist Church Incorporated of T&T; International Spiritual Baptist Ministerial Council of T&T; Levitical Council of Spiritual Baptist Ministers Inc; and St Ann’s Church of Spiritual Metaphysics Inc.

Civil society must play a greater role to police those in authority, says chairman of the T&T Transparency Institute Deryck Murray. He was speaking at a press conference at Fernandes Industrial Estate, Laventille, yesterday to announce the fifth annual transparency anti-corruption conference scheduled for next Monday.

“Governance and integrity are fairly standard things that we talk about but at the end of the day it’s people and we need to galvanise.”

The conference, themed “Unmask the Corrupt,” is expected to be held at the Hilton Hotel, Port-of-Spain, and has listed several foreign speakers, including former journalist Frank Vogl, co-founder and former vice-chairman and adviser to the managing director of the advisory council of Transparency International. Prime Minister Keith Rowley is also expected to speak at the conference.

Regarding the collapse of the case against former Petrotrin executive chairman Malcolm Jones, Murray said the institute could not make any immediate pronouncements but said the matter would be looked at as there were processes to follow.

“But justice is not something that can change every five years with a change of government. Every case has to be investigated on its own merit.

“One of the things we all know and all notice is that it appears that nobody faces the consequences for actions taken at various times and that is not acceptable,” Murray added.

On Monday, the State withdrew the US$109 million lawsuit against Jones for a breach of fiduciary duty arising out of the failed billion-dollar Gas to Liquid Plant (GTL) project.

On whistle-blower legislation, Murray said while that may be in place there must also be a strong body of protective services to ensure such protection. He said given the recent corruption perception index of this country, T&T had much more work to do.

“Out of a possible score of 100, I am not convinced that 39 is such a good mark and we need to do things to improve.

“We need to look at our neighbours, like Jamaica, who improved by three points this year and we need to see that they have imposed legislation and they have been involved in the prosecution of high levels officials and we need to do that,” Murray urged. 

On whether there were any matters engaging the attention of the Transparency  Institute, Murray, who said he preferred not to be specific, added: “At the moment there is a lot going on.”

Vogl, who also spoke, said reporters played a key role in unmasking corruption and any effort made by Government or any other authoritative bodies to stifle such a process must be strongly condemned.

“Journalists want to comfort the afflicted by afflicting the comfortable. Journalists have a vital mission and if they don’t stick with it and if they allow themselves to be intimidated the world will be a worse place. 

“Governments that are curbing civil society and anti-corruption are also curbing press freedom. It is an enormous problem for us today,” Vogl said.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert has called on State-owned bank, First Citizens, to provide him with information on the systems in place at the bank to ensure there is compliance with financial obligations regulations. 

He requested the information from the bank following disclosure of a financial transaction by Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, who at a news conference on Monday said she withdrew $93,000 from the bank after an Express reporter questioned her about the transaction and accused the bank of leaking confidential information.

Imbert confirmed his request in a brief statement yesterday. Robinson-Regis, who is the MP for Arouca-Maloney, yesterday received support from the constituency’s youth league. In a release yesterday the PNM group said it was inordinately dissatisfied with the recent breach of confidentiality and subsequent misinformation circulated in the public domain involving the minister.

It said Robinson-Regis had lawfully attained all of the funds in question.

"It is unfortunate that an employee of First Citizens Bank sought to breach the confidentiality agreement to which they are bound, causing Robinson-Regis’ character to be called into question," the group stated.

It also said such breaches were an indictment on the leadership of national institutions which failed to take the necessary steps to ensure the highest levels of professionalism were upheld.

It added: "This is a disheartening and clear illustration of how easily honest, hard-working, public officials can be placed in precarious positions, facing the court of public opinion without just cause."

It said the poor attempt at besmirching the character of Robinson-Regis was unfortunate and has highlighted the resilience and strong ethics of the MP. The group said it wanted an apology from the bank.

The matter arose after an Express report which claimed the minister failed to make the required declaration for allegedly depositing money to the value of $150,000. Robinson Regis said the amount deposited was $93,000. She has since closed her accounts at the bank.

Between 25 to 30 El Dorado East Secondary School students who were allegedly involved in illegal activities, ranging from gambling, drugs, sex and threatening teachers, could be removed from classes.

The figure was given yesterday by Education Minister Anthony Garcia shortly after arriving in Tobago, where Prime Minister Keith Rowley will hold his second Cabinet retreat.

Garcia made the disclosure one day after visiting the East-based school, where he vowed to take action against wayward students after learning staff was living in fear, as the institution had become overrun by illegal activities. He also instructed the principal to provide him with a list of all the problematic students.

Yesterday, when questioned if he had obtained that list, Garcia said no. Garcia said once the list reached his hands, he would examine the offences committed by the students.

Asked how many students were likely to be on the list, Garcia “some say it could be 25...it could be 30. This matter is in the hands of the director of the school supervisor so I would contact him today to find out whether he has been in contact with the principal to get that list. 

“Then, we will be able to decide. I can tell you that one of the things that we plan to do as a matter of urgency is to get in contact with the parents and guardians of those students and have a meeting with them to have control over those students.”

Garcia promised  action would be taken against them “as soon as possible.” Last month, the ministry decided to remove from classes 24 students from the Chaguanas West Secondary School after police were alerted of a planned gun attack at the school. Some of the 24 are said to hold criminal records and others are currently before the courts for criminal activity.

Garcia said the ministry would come to a decision soon on its next course of action with those students.

“I have been engaging them (Support Students Services Division) in treating all the students who have problems.”

Questioned if school violence will be discussed at the Cabinet retreat, Garcia was unsure. “That is the Prime Minister’s call. I don’t want to prejudge anything. As the person who has responsibility for the education system in the country it must be very worrying to me. 

“Therefore, I can use all the resources and information that I can gather...everything at my disposal to bring to an end this sorry state of affairs.”

Behaviour change consultant, Franklyn Dolly, believes deviant students should be given psychometric testing “to know what is happening with them.” He estimated at least five per cent of students in “about 60 to 70 per cent of schools” needed the test.

“If the ministry fails to address the five per cent of these children the figure would increase.These children are angry. They can not cope in the system. The only thing that is helping them to cope is the illegal activities,”  he said.

Yesterday, president of the National Parents Teachers Association Zena Ramatali said the association would have a closed-door meeting on Saturday to discuss the issues at the El Dorado East Secondary School.

Several calls to president of T&T Unified Teachers’ Association Devanand Sinanan’s cell phone went unanswered yesterday.

Police would support security at schools by liaising with them on a daily and weekly basis and officers would also have a working relationship with principals and school deans in areas that needed that, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said yesterday. He confirmed the situation following yesterday’s Joint Select Committee meeting at Parliament. 

Commenting on violence at some schools, he made it clear that there would not be any soldier patrols at schools unless the situation got worse.

“And I don’t think we have reached that stage of escalation,” he added.

On security for schools he said: “We have to go beyond reactive. We have to get long-term solutions.” He said police would be used for schools in all jurisdictions and he wanted to see a police officer providing a school with a strong determination to treat with delinquent students.

Vehicular patrols by police would also be done to provide a regular deterrent presence since Dillon said there were “external factors” that influenced schools.

“We want to show them we have a presence there so (police) vehicles will pass by,” he added. He also said police patrols would be done around pre-schools, in an unobtrusive, friendly way, that would get students acquainted with police, help them learn about such institutions and role models. 

He said police would not enter such schools or act aggressively around children but would demonstrate to students they could relate to and chat with police and get to understand the system. He said one would not want to overwhelm a school environment with such excessive security since it would send negative signals not only to students but to the international community.

On troubled El Dorado East Secondary School, Dillon said his ministry was lending support to the Education Ministry and he had “thrown out” some thoughts to the acting  Police Commissioner on the issue and was awaiting feedback. He declined details of the “thoughts,” but said the situation involved a collaborative effort among Education, National Security, the National Parent Teachers’ Association (NPTA) and other stakeholders.

The police riot squad was called out to restrain workers yesterday as they attempted to prevent High Court marshals from executing a court order to seize roughly $4 million in assets from OAS Construtora at its Golconda headquarters. 

Workers who have been protesting since last Thursday for unpaid salaries sat on the ground with their backs against the closed gates and with their arms interlocked, singing union songs. Other workers stood under a tent constructed in front of the gate. Two barricades, consisting of tyres and wood, were also set up in front of the entrance.

In the end, however, no one was arrested and the machines were seized and carted off the compound. T&T Guardian was told a shipping company had filed an injunction in the High Court to recover millions owed to it by the Brazilian construction firm for work done on the $7.2 billion Solomon Hochoy Highway extension from San Fernando to Point Fortin. 

The contractor is among 60-odd local contractors who are owed US$40 million from OAS for work done on the highway.

The T&T Guardian was told around 8 am two court marshals and an adjuster arrived at the headquarters to serve the order. Six trucks also came to transport the seized equipment, including a bulldozer, excavator and overloaders, out of the compound but the workers prevented them from entering it.

When the police, who included Guard and Emergency Branch and Southern Division Task Force officers, arrived on the scene, Ag Sgt Beckles spoke with the workers, asking them to move and allow good sense to prevail.

“I understand your predicament but you all have to understand I must operate under instructions from the court,” the officer said. Dressed in their riot gear, the officers took up position but they did not approach the workers at that time.

Explaining the situation, worker Jameel Thomas, an OWTU representative, read from a letter, dated February 22, to the workers from OAS in which it promised to uphold the rights of the workers and union. The rights, the letter stated, included severance, back pay, promotional issues and retroactive appraisal.

In addition, it promised to continue to pay the workers’ salary until the termination of the labour relations. He said over 1,000 workers were affected.

“We understand the police have to carry out their instructions with regard to the injunctions made and we are just simply trying to get what is ours,” Thomas said. He called on the Government to intervene and take action.

Thomas and another worker were then allowed onto the compound where he met with the court marshals and an OAS director. 

When Thomas returned he explained to the workers  the marshals had a court order and any action to prevent the seizure of the equipment would be illegal. He told them they had a choice to move or be arrested.

There was some hesitation but eventually the workers cleared the way, the police moved the barricades and the tent and formed a shield blocking off the workers as the trucks drove into the compound to collect the equipment. Thomas told reporters the OAS director again assured him that they would be paid.

More than two years after over $640 million in cocaine was shipped to the United States, concealed in orange juice tins, top anti-narcotics police says “some progress” had been made in the case. 

The update was given by Supt Lloyd Mc Alpin, head of the Organised Crime Narcotics and Firearms Bureau (OCNFB), during yesterday’s weekly press briefing at Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain. 

Pressed to provide an update in what had been touted to be the largest drug bust at Norfolk Port, Virginia, Mc Alpin said local officials had continued to work with the US law enforcement and that “some progress is being made, albeit very slow.” He did not elaborate.

The discovery was made on December 20, 2013 when US Customs and Border Protection officers seized 332 kilos of cocaine which originated from T&T. The cocaine was concealed inside tins of Trinidad Juice Company juices which were part of a consignment of goods that arrived at the Norfolk Port after being shipped from Trinidad.

The narcotics believed to have originated from South America was hidden inside 700 juice tins bearing the markings of the Co-operative Citrus Growers Association (CGA), Eastern Main Road, Laventille.

Mc Alpin also disclosed that police had closed its investigation into $30 million marijuana seizure at the Pt Lisas port, where the illegal drugs was found  in September 2011 in a shipping container loaded with frozen chicken.

He said CCTV footage which had been obtained by Jamaican investigators showed the container had been moved to another location before being sent to Trinidad. That evidence, he said, had effectively cleared the local consignee of any wrongdoing. In that case, 921 kilogrammes of marijuana was found in 38 bags in the container. 

The officer also provided statistics regarding the seizure of illegal guns, cocaine and marijuana for 2014, 2015, and up to March 2016. The trends show an increase in the seizure of illegal items but a decline in the number of arrests for cocaine possession. On the issue of illegal guns, the officer said: “There seems to be an ever growing market for guns in T&T.”

Blaming the increased homicide rate and gun-related crimes on the proliferation of the illegal gun trade, Mc Alpin said: “Certainly we have a problem in T&T.”

Mc Alpin said his unit was committed to eradicating the supply and distribution of illegal guns, ammunition and dangerous drugs locally. Reinforcing the OCNFB’s mandate, Mc Alpin said they continued to work with regional and international agencies to stem the transnational narcotic and gun trafficking network.

He said while T&T was a destination for marijuana imports from Colombia, Venezuela, Jamaica, Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Canada and the US, it was not necessarily an exporter of marijuana, except for small amounts being trafficked to Barbados.

Mc Alpin said drugs were coming to T&T from the South American mainland via pirogues, containers intransit from Jamaica, courier packages and through the national postal service.

Lawyers for CNC3’s Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne have issued pre-action protocol letters to the Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, Inspector Roger Alexander and the acting Commissioner of Police (CoP), Stephen Williams, over his arrest on February 16 in Chaguanas.

Alleyne’s attorney, Gerald Ramdeen, said his client had given him instructions to sue Alexander personally.

“Reason is we want to see whether or not the Office of the AG and CoP is going to stand and defend the actions of Alexander, that we have already seen in the public domain,” Ramdeen said.

The letters to the AG and CoP were dispatched on Tuesday. On February 16, Alleyne was arrested and charged by Alexander for using annoying language, resisting arrest and obstruction of the police in the execution of their duties. Alexander is the host of TV6’s Beyond the Tape programme. 

The incident took place at the premises of businessman Sheron Sukhdeo who had been arrested on assault charges, based on a complaint from his wife, Rachael Sukhdeo.

Alleyne pleaded not guilty to all three charges when he appeared before Chaguanas magistrate Joanne Connor at the Tunapuna Magistrates’ Court the following day. Ramdeen said yesterday if there was no response to his legal letters within 14 days, together with an apology to Alleyne, he intended to head to the High Court.

“We will be going to file actions straight away. We have all documents prepared. We have taken two weeks to do this and what we expect is that there will be some resolution to this matter in a short period of time.

“This matter has grasped the public interest and the public is very interested in what transpires in this matter. 

“The public eye is also on the Office of the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Police’s office,” he said.

A pre-action protocol letter was also sent to Williams to challenge his failure to investigate the matter and provide with particulars as to why an investigation into the incident was not done.

Alleyne is claiming general damages for the assault and battery that was done to him by Alexander. He is also claiming aggravated and exemplary damages and damages for false imprisonment, having been detained for over 13 hours.