Chief Fire Officer Kenny Gopaul says investigators have not yet determined the cause of Monday’s fire which destroyed businesses at a warehouse in El Socorro. The fire broke out at one business place on NCL compound and quickly spread to others, destroying millions of dollars worth of stock. 

In a brief interview yesterday, Gopaul said it was the second time firefighters were called to put out a fire on the compound at Boundary Road, El Socorro. He added: “This is the second occasion we responded to a big fire at that business place. We will have to speak to them about their housekeeping.” He said it was a multi-million dollar loss in goods and firefighters were still speaking with the affected owners.

“We are working on the claims and we are still working with the occupants to determine the extent of the losses,” Gopaul said. He said investigations were still ongoing and the cause was yet to be determined by Fire Prevention officers.

Co-owner of S Chang, Will Chang, said up to yesterday there was a fire still burning at his warehouse. “We are providing work for the employees at the retail stores,” Chang said. Chang estimated a loss of $4 million in stock and Gary Hunt, of Radical Designs, estimated he lost $6 million in stock.

Like everything else, computers have a life span. When that time is up, most people take the machines to the dump and upgrade to newer models. But Restore a Sense of I Can (RSC), a non-profit organisation, is collecting old, unwanted computers and partnering with schools to repair, refurbish and donate the machines to those less fortunate in society. 

Yesterday, RSC launched its partnership project with students of Naparima College’s IT club. Together, they repaired, refurbished and rebuilt 19 computers to donate to Hope Centre, a home for abandoned children in San Fernando. Speaking at the launch, Naparima Boys’ principal Dr Michael Dowlat said the move would not only assist those in need but would give the students a sense of social responsibility.

“This programme will teach students about their social responsibility, that they are blessed to be educated so richly and can give something back to society,” Dowlat said. 

RSC’s technical director, Raj Ramdass, told the students electronic waste (E-waste) was a major environmental problem that the programme could  tackle.

“E-waste is a significant global problem and in T&T we don’t have the policies to properly handle our E-waste. 

“This programme can reduce the negative effects on the environment by reusing and recycling old computers and not just letting them sit in the country’s landfills,” Ramdass said. He said the IT club could also teach students to develop applications that could be used as teaching tools.

“You can develop simulations and apps that can be used in the classroom or at home to help with your school work,” he said.

RSC’s marketing director, Randall Sinanan, told the T&T Guardian that RSC was hoping companies and private citizens would get on board with the programme.

“Basically all they have to do is get in contact with us or take the unwanted and used machines to the nearest high school that is partnered with us and the students there will fix it. 

“Right now there are about 60,000 to 100,000 machines in T&T’s landfills. Those machines could make the world of difference to someone who can’t afford one,” he added.

Sinanan said RSC was also loading educational software programmes onto the computers before donating them. Anyone interested in donating their old computers can contact Sinanan at 485-0338 or Ramdass at 474-3280. 

Young farmer, Nawaz Karim, is fast emerging as the hot pepper king of T&T and is even heating up New York and Miami with his special brand of Moruga Reds. Karim, 34, plants four acres of carefully grown peppers, most of which are exported to North American markets. 

Word is, he says, buyers are well pleased with his peppers and there is a high demand for them. 

“Incidentally, hot peppers from our farm in Trinidad were voted by buyers as the best in New York and Miami a couple weeks ago. Buyers there had also been importing peppers from Mexico and Costa Rica.”

Karim is the son of Nazimool Karim, who was respected around the Caribbean for his hot peppers. He is also the nephew of deceased Sham Mohammed, former host of television show, Mastana Bahar. Passionate about agriculture and hardwork, he also has a plan to bring out his own brand of pepper sauce, Aunty Jam’s, named after his deceased grandmother, Jamila Karim.

Karim, a holder of eight CXC subjects, said he turned his back on other careers for agriculture and never regretted it. “I went to collect my CXC passes in my agriculture clothes and walked away and never looked back.

“I made up my mind at a very young age what I wanted to do. Practical agriculture and nothing else.”

Agriculture has been an exciting, lucrative business for him, he said. “Agriculture is not old men in old shirts catching their tail.

“Yeah, it’s hard work but there are opportunities that come with it.”

Karim said he was obsessed with agriculture. “My whole days revolves around it,” he says. He rises around 4.30 am at his Tacarigua home, goes to his agro shop and then his Maloney farm. Several times a week, he goes to evening agriculture meetings and training sessions. He is president of the Maloney Farmers Association. 

“My days closes off at 10 pm,” he said.

Telling of how many of his peppers leave T&T’s shores and end up in North American kitchens, he said: “We ship out between 200 and 300 forty-pound bags of peppers twice a week. Our aim is to increase this to between 800 and 1,200 bags.”

On his farm adjoining Piarco Airport, he grows other crops like pumpkin, tomatoes, melongene, paw paw and some sweet potatoes. 

“I employ 19 permanent labourers, among them three women. I mostly manage but can do a bit of everything.” Karim said the North American tastebud has a growing interest in hot peppers and he planned to plant more of it on the 140-acre farm in Maloney he occupies.

Moruga Reds is a creation of the Caribbean Agricultural Research & Development Institute and his pepper farm is an initiative of the Agriculture Society of T&T of which he is a member. His Moruga Reds have about one quarter of the heat of Moruga Scorpions, deemed to be among the world’s hottest peppers. “The Moruga Red has a nice sting and a strong flavour, he said.

As for planting them, Karim said there were some dos and don’ts. 

“We try to use more biological than chemical products in the cultivation of the peppers. I would say we are about 60 per cent biological.

“Biological products destroy harmful insects but protect the useful ones.” There is a trick in the way the peppers are harvested, as well.

“For export purposes, the peppers have to be almost totally green, about 40 per cent turning when you are picking them,” Karim said.

He said, previously, farmers had been exporting peppers produced for the local market to foreign buyers which was not going down too well with them. “North American buyers were opening bags of peppers and finding bugs and worms in them.

“My peppers are in big demand because of their quality. We grow them specifically for export and sell a small amount locally.”

Karim wants to show young people how they can turn agriculture into a success. “I don’t want to be hot pepper king forever. I want to encourage many to get into planting.

“This is how I want to contribute to my country,” he added.

The United States Department of State says T&T has made considerable accomplishments in the fight against illegal narcotics in 2015, including the extradition of a major drug trafficker.

Its findings are in the 2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) released yesterday.

The report shows an increase in the amount of drugs seized by law enforcement officers in 2015, over the previous year.

It states: "Robust interdiction efforts in 2015 resulted in an increased overall volume of drug seizures. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago continues to progress in its ability to investigate and prosecute complex drug cases that target criminal networks."

For the year 2015, law enforcement entities seized 2,541 kilograms of marijuana and 392 kg of cocaine, an increase compared to 471 kg and 83 kg of these respective drugs in 2014. 

It commends this country for extraditing a major drug trafficker last year.

"In 2015, several fugitives were returned to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago for prosecution, including a major narcotics trafficker," the report says.

The report also notes that the more drugs entered T&T waters than in 2014.

"Illegal drug shipments appeared to increase in 2015, mainly originating from Trinidad’s southern neighbors," it says.

The report says that T&T demonstrates continued commitment to drug control through bilateral cooperation with the United States and intelligence sharing with countries of origin, transit, and destination. 

"The Government of Trinidad and Tobago regularly communicates with local, regional, and international organizations, collaborating on international and national priorities," it adds.

However it notes that T&T’s drug control institutions, are challenged by deficiencies in staffing and funding, and that distrust within and between certain units of law enforcement, the military, and the intelligence community impedes effective interagency information sharing and collaboration.

The report concludes that while the entities and individuals working to combat narcotics trafficking in T&T face considerable institutional challenges, "there were considerable accomplishments in 2015 that included successful investigations and increased interdictions, extraditions of known narcotics traffickers, and improved international cooperation."

From CNC3

Prisons Commissioner Sterling Stewart said yesterday he could not guarantee his officers’ safety since the prison system, and by extension the country, is being held to ranson by gang leaders who could use their cohorts both inside and outside the prison system to target his colleagues.

He said in the case of some 15 officers who were on a prisoner hit list  was why he could do little to protect his officers, since there were prisoners (and one in particular who he did not name) with high links in the criminal world who were able to organise attacks against his colleagues.  

“It has a high-risk inmate in our environment and I can’t guarantee the safety of my officers. God is in control and he don’t like evil and this is evil going on,” he told the T&T Guardian in a telephone interview yesterday in response to queries about what measures were being put in place for the other prison officers named on a reported hit list of 15.

Prisons officer Fitzalbert Victor Jr, who was killed outside his Laventille home on Monday, was said to be on that hit list and the other officers are now fearful for their lives. Yesterday, Stewart said Victor, who had survived two attempts on his life before this week, could have made a request for a transfer by his supervisor but noted that because he was living in Laventille, which is deemed a high risk area, he became a target of gang members who had influence in those communities.

“He was a target that was easily reached and whatever happened inside (circumstances that led to his death) and these gang leaders can call their people and they forward the act on the officer,” he said.

He added: “My officers are caught in the middle where their lives are at risk and they are sacrificing their lives for the reduction of crime and we paying with our blood. 

“It is a grave situation and unless certain actions are changed... the leaders who calling these shots are in our environment for too long and I not seeing change happening.”

When asked about the hit list itself, he said: “Everybody under threat including myself... they gunned down a commissioner.”

Stewart was referring to Prisons Commissioner Michael Hercules, who was shot dead at his home in Malick, Barataria, in 2009.

“We are under siege by these lawless killers. The Prime Minister (Dr Keith Rowley) talk about monsters and hypocrites rise up but these are who we are dealing with.”

He said, however, that for there to be a resolution to their woes, the inmates and circumstances had to change.

“Something has to be drastically done and they (gangsters) continue to hold the country and nothing is hardly being done because they not changing,” he said.

Contacted yesterday, Assistant Commissioner of Police Carlton Alleyne confirmed  their investigations had so far revealed that Victor’s killing was possibly called from behind prison walls.

“That is the information that I heard and we are working with that and others. Several people have also been questioned,” he added.

Alleyne said, however, prisons officers fearful for their lives could apply for a firearm licence through the commissioner’s office.

The Prisons Officers Association has knocked Government for what it says is the lack of response to calls for more measures to ensure their safety. 

Yesterday during a post Cabinet press briefing at the Magdalena Grand in Tobago, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the Government would continue to do what it could to address the situation. 

In response to reports that some prison guards were threatening to resign, he said, “Now that the criminal element has turned on them, so as to create the kind of fear and the kinds of responses that you’re talking about walking off the job. What I will say to prison officers is that the population expects that you like every other citizen will do your duty.”

Guard on hit list fearful

One of the prisons officers on the hit list, meanwhile, yesterday complained that his cry for assistance in the midst of danger was ignored.

In a brief interview, the officer (who did not wish to be identified) said he was approached by two different inmates who told him of the plot. 

He said the information, also since corroborated by another inmate, revealed plans to assassinate him, other officers and an inmate who other prisoners believed was a snitch.

“If the prison has a mandate to do certain things, why they not doing it?” the prisons officer asked. “I am next on the list and they never lifted a finger to help him (Victor). Victor worked reception where they search the inmates when they come in,” he added.

He said the threats were evaluated by a threat assessment team but complained that they often did not do a proper job of that.

“Sometimes they don’t really business and if you stay away from work they locking you up. They even keep putting the officers back to work in hot spots in the prison,” he said. 

The officer said he had been keeping himself out of the limelight and his house locked up since learning of the threat to his life. He said something should be put in place for the officers who were threatened by the inmates.

He added: “They should have a place just for men to go in and apply and have a special committee set up. They dragging their foot too long. The process is no good and we shouldn’t be going through that. I should not have to stand up and wait like other people. 

He said there were other people on the hit list which also included an inmate who revealed to prison officers that there was a plan by a group prisoners to break out the Port-of-Spain prison.

Trinidadian Kashma Maharaj made headline news all over the world yesterday, as the woman who tried to go through an international airport checkpoint with gun-themed shoes and two bracelets lined with realistic-looking bullet figurines.

Maharaj is a partner at Fashionista Trinidad, owner-operator at kashmamaharaj.com and owner at Supernova Sports Ltd. She is also a fitness instructor and personal trainer.

According to international reports, Maharaj was stopped at the Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport on Saturday by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, after they found the shoes and bracelets in her carry-on bag.

In a New York Post article, TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein tweeted: “Shoes and bracelets that are less than ideal to wear or bring to a @TSA checkpoint. These delayed a traveller at BWI.”

Farbstein later told the Baltimore Sun that Maharaj was ordered to put the items in her checked luggage, but refused and chose to leave them with the TSA because she was running late for her flight.

The report stated the stilettos Maharaj had in her possession, described as a Bondgirl-701-3 Gun Heel Platform Sandals, are made by exotic footwear manufacturer Pleaser USA and are said to be one of their most popular items.

“They look authentic, but the 7.5 inch gun-barrel heels are plastic, and finished with a chrome coating in order to make them look more realistic,” according to Pleaser USA spokeswoman Elody Romero.

Romero was quoted as saying that in her nine years at the company, she had never heard of an incident where heels were confiscated.

“She brought them in her carry-on luggage? That probably wasn’t the smartest decision,” Romero told the Baltimore Sun in a report.

Maharaj, who found the entire incident very hilarious, subsequently posted links to the various news articles on her Facebook page. On one post, Maharaj said: “I normally drive or just check all bags, but it was just a tiny overnight bag...can’t win...funny thing is I ended up checking the bag cause of limited overhead space.”

Efforts to reach Maharaj for further comment were unsuccessful.

Prime Minister Keith Rowley yesterday conceded that the government owed money to many contractors but he challenged the circumstances in which some of that debt was incurred and said there was a problem with “the Government’s financial ability to pay some of the debt.”

Speaking at the post-Cabinet news conference at the Magdalena Grand Hotel, Lowlands, Tobago, Rowley answered questions on a wide range of subjects including a possible investment in Tobago by the region’s top hotelier, Jamaican Gordon “Butch” Stewart, and implementation of the death penalty.

“The bottom line is the Government is taking responsibility for valid debts and will discharge them but we have to examine the circumstances to ensure that it is not paying what’s left of taxpayers’ potential in circumstances that ought never to have seen taxpayers’ support,” said Rowley.

Describing Government as a continuum, the Prime Minister made it clear that when an administration changed, the responsibility of the State to settle debts undertaken by previous administrations remained.

On the issue of the nature of the debt to contractors, Rowley said: “One of the things that happened in the previous period of time — I do not want to say the previous administration because I do not want to pass the problem of today onto the last administration — is that many people were let loose on the Treasury to spend money that they did not have in their portfolios.”

He gave an example of a small state company in which the chairman, without going through the tenders committee, awarded $400 million in contracts during the election season last year.

The contracts were to rehabilitate 37 kilometres of rural roads, said the Prime Minister.

“The point I am making is that kind of money could have been incurred when there was no money known to pay it,” said Rowley.

He cited another example of what he described as the removal of money from the Treasury, involving the 

construction of a head office for $180 million and the 

payment of ten per cent of 

the contract sum, $18 million, to a contractor.

He said while the contractor was expecting money to advance the project, the State company did not have the money, “except that they found $18 million to pay the contractor, which was the original objective. And since they cannot progress the project, the contractor is attempting to walk away under the guise of delay.”

The Prime Minister explained that under binding international building law (FDIC rules), if a client could not fund a contractor going forward, the contractor could terminate the contract.

“But we found out that the bond that covered the $18 million expired two days after he got the contract,” the Prime Minister said, saying that circumstances like that meant Government cannot “run out and pay contractors willy nilly.”

Rowley cited a third example of a contractor who was saying that Government owed him $1 billion.

“That might well be so but the question you have to ask yourself: This contractor was really a benefactor of the national community because to run up $1 billion of work with no money coming to you, we must say thank you very much for being so kind to us.”

Prime Minister Rowley yesterday defended the decision by Government to discontinue a lawsuit brought by the previous administration against former Petrotrin chairman Malcolm Jones for the ill-fated Gas-to-Liquids project.

Speaking in Tobago, Rowley said Petrotrin authorised the Attorney General to begin legal action against Jones (in 2011), based on legal advice that the former chairman of the state-owned oil company had committed some infraction of the law that exposed him to liability for $2 billion.

The Prime Minister said as part of his defence, Jones demanded that evidence from the arbitration hearings that preceded the lawsuit should be tendered into evidence in the court case.

He said the previous administration suppressed information from the arbitration hearing, which meant that Petrotrin’s lawyers did not have certain information when they advised the company to begin the lawsuit against Jones.

Rowley said: “Eventually in getting the evidence from the arbitration, it was seen for the first time that evidence in the arbitration makes the case against Malcolm Jones virtually a nullity.

“When that evidence came forward, Petrotrin’s lawyers advising Petrotrin that you no longer have a case that has a good chance in court.

He said that was a case of Petrotrin’s lawyers receiving evidence that caused them to advise their client that the case against Jones was weakened to the point of not having a good case to proceed.

The Prime Minister argued that the current board of Petrotrin could be held liable if it proceeded with the case against Jones after receiving advice from the company’s lawyers about the weakness of that case.

“What would the current board face if their lawyers tell them you have no case and they proceed to run up another $50 million in legal fees, who is going to hold them accountable?” the Prime Minister asked, pointing out that Petrotrin had spent $41 million on the case before the matter was argued in court. (AW) — See Page A11

Students from some crime hotspots risk their lives just to get to school and are also faced with gang culture at school.

So said the principal of Barataria South Secondary School, Sharlene Hicks-Raeburn, who added it was not realistic to expect some of her students to report to school on time.

She classified that as a “life or death situation for some just to leave their home to come here.”

Hicks-Raeburn was speaking yesterday at a symposium, titled Women Managing Education in Vulnerable Communities, at the School of Education, St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies.  

Hicks-Raeburn said many children today viewed school as a safe haven from the dangers that lurk outside the school walls and a place where they could seek refuge from home without participating in classes.

This view was strongly supported by principal of the Success/Laventille Secondary School, Hamida Baksh, who acknowledged the loss of several students within the last two years.

Yesterday’s discussion was dedicated to the memories of students—Mark Richards and Deneilson Smith—who were both dragged from a taxi and shot dead on January 21 as they made their way home. 

Another student, Salim Dalzell was also gunned down outside the school gate in November 2014. The three had been students of the Success/Laventille Secondary School.

Referring to the “gang elements” which the two officials agreed had crept into school halls, Hicks-Raeburn said the safety concerns by students interested in learning were yet another problem they had to grapple with daily.

She revealed that last week, a student was caught with a knife and cutlass in his bag, which he claimed he had to use for his own protection in school.

Remembering the students whose lives were lost in violent circumstances during the past two years, principal of Success/Laventille Secondary School, Hamida Baksh revealed the personal and professional transformation she had undergone as a result.

Commenting on the role of the parent, Baksh said that schools along the East/West Corridor were under “pressure.” 

She said as many parents struggled to survive daily, there was often little time or interest paid to the child’s school progress and even slimmer attention towards homework and revision.

Referring to gang violence as the most urgent “real problem” facing the authorities now, Baksh said students were constantly battling peer pressure, violence and gang leaders.

She said teachers were finding it increasingly difficult to “sell” the education in the face of these factors and that some parents seized the opportunity to send their children to school so they could remain “safe.”

Presenting her changed mindset and how she interacted with her students, Baksh said she was grateful everyday when students turned up at school.

However, officials from secondary schools in Port-of-Spain, Barataria and Cunupia yesterday said that it was an uphill task as the “curriculum of the street” seemed to be wielding more influence among their students.

Traffic came to a standstill in the busy Claxton Bay area yesterday as frustrated students, accompanied by their parents, blocked the Sum Sum Hill Main Road to complain once again about the closure of their school due to a recurring sewerage problem.

For a few moments the situation became tense as the driver of a dump truck jumped out of his vehicle and squared off with the protesters, mainly women and infant students, including one in a wheelchair, demanding they clear the road.

The intervention of a more-robust villager, who dragged a blue plastic drum in the middle of the road and ordered the protesters to continue, quelled the confrontation, but the driver then turned on the T&T Guardian photographer who was recording the situation.

The placard-bearing protesters marched from their school, Mt Pleasant Government Primary School, to the main road about a quarter of a mile away, chanting: “Fix the sewer right now. It’s too stink to think.” 

President of the Mt Pleasant Parent Teachers Association (PTA) Denise Kamal thanked the drivers for their patience and for allowing them the opportunity to highlight their plight.

She also appealed to Education Minister Anthony Garcia to intervene and stop denying the children the right to an education.

Kamal said the school was closed on February 19 after officials of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) unit were called in to view overflowing sewer.

Two weeks later, she said, there had been no visible attempts to have the pump repaired. 

Kamal said that was unacceptable as in the last term a similar problem kept students out of the classroom for six weeks resulting in their being unable to sit their end of term exams. 

She said in an effort to resolve the situation, letters highlighting the problem had been sent to the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA), the Ministry of Education, the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL), the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) and their Member of Parliament, David Lee.

Lee also wrote to Garcia on February 26 seeking his intervention to have the problem rectified and over 200 students back in school.

Parents have also taken to the Ministry of Education’s Facebook page which evoked the response that the EFCL was handling the matter.

However, Kamal said when they called the EFCL, “the clerks responsible for our school were unaware of the school’s closure and had no information on the reports and quotations submitted.”

She demanded the immediate servicing and repair of the sewer pump so classes could resume next Monday as well as ongoing dialogue between the PTA and the principal towards a long-term solution.

“We refuse to deal with this situation every three months. 

“Parents are unwilling to accept that a job that can take half-of-an-hour to repair has now stretched into 12 days,” Kamal added.

The Opposition has called for Government to facilitate a local or regional consultation on crime and use citizens’ suggestions in addressing the problem.

In a statement, United National Congress chairman David Lee said: “At this point one can safely say that one of the basic constitutional rights is being violated as citizens no longer feel safe nor are they able to enjoy their property comfortably. 

“It’s the role of Government to upkeep this right by strategically finding measures to battle the horrendous wave of crime plaguing T&T.

“The views, concerns and solutions of citizens are critical in the fight against crime. Crime is an issue which must never be politicised. However, there’s no denying it is the stringent role of politicians and those in authority to not only take responsibility but create measures to protect citizens.

“Government must, therefore, show an ‘all out’ attack on crime as well as criminal elements as we seek to protect the greatest asset of our nation, our human resource. It’s quite bewildering that Government’s approach at this time appears very laissez-faire and non-committal.”

He said the UNC would continue to offer its suggestions and solutions to fight crime.

Lee added: “My heart goes out to the families affected by crime due to murder of loved ones. The records will show that at this point in 2015 under the People’s Partnership, the murder rate was substantially lower than it is presently.”

In recent days, Prime Minister Keith Rowley has acknowledged that crime levels, particularly murders, were unacceptable. Following last month’s double murder of two schoolboys in Laventille, soldiers were called out to help patrol the crime hot spots.

Fix forex shortage

Apart from the crime problem facing T&T, Lee also said businesses and individuals were increasingly constrained by the minimal and nominal amounts of foreign exchange made available to them for purchase from commercial banks.

 “The various Chambers of Commerce, such as those representing San Fernando, San Juan, Couva/Point Lisas and Chaguanas have all confirmed that businesses within their respective regions have been facing this dilemma.”

Lee said it was important to note that one of the major concerns raised by the business lobby groups was the allegations of inequitable distribution of foreign exchange by the Central Bank. 

“Therefore, it is pertinent to the sustainability and protection of the economy that both Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance implement mechanisms which are geared to not only educing the shortage of foreign exchange, but ensuring equity as it relates to its distribution,” he said.

“It’s of public importance to have this rectified as soon as possible, as failure to do so will result in businesses and individuals being unable to honour their contractual and financial obligations to foreign suppliers. 

“Further perpetuation presents disastrous repercussions, such as the collapse of businesses, loss of jobs, destabilisation of the economy, a loss of confidence in T&T by foreign investors and suppliers as well as an unprecedented plethora of social problems,” Lee said.

The Central Bank has reverted to the previous regime in distribution of foreign exchange to commercial banks after People’s National Movement assumed office in last September but business people are still complaining about the lack of foreign exchange available from their bankers.

A High Court judge has reserved her decision on whether one of the United National Congress’ (UNC) six election petitions challenging the result of last year’s general election should be struck out due to a technicality. 

Justice Mira Dean-Armorer did so yesterday after hearing submissions in the Port-of-Spain High Court from lawyers representing the People’s National Movement (PNM), who claimed that the UNC gave them notice of petition for the La Horquetta/Talparo constituency outside the five-day limit prescribed by the Representation of the People Act. 

In its application the PNM is claiming that the period began on September 19, the day after Dean-Armourer granted the UNC leave to pursue their challenge against the Election and Boundaries Commission’s (EBC) decision to extend the poll in Trinidad by one hour due to heavy rainfall on election day. 

“We say the petition was presented on the 19 to the (Assistant) Registrar who took it into custody. 

“There was a failure to comply with the time (for service) in election petition matters. It is a harsh result but that is what the Act requires,” Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes, lead attorney for the PNM, argued. 

However, the UNC is contending that while it delivered its documents to the Assistant High Court Registrar on the day specified by the PNM, the period for giving notice of the petition started when the documents were stamped and returned to its attorneys two days later as the process could not be done outside the court’s working hours. 

Former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, who is leading a team of attorneys for the UNC, appealed to Dean-Armorer to dismiss the preliminary application by applying purposive and contextual interpretation to the Act. 

He said the presentation of the petitions included physically lodging the document as well as obtaining official acknowledgement or receipt of the petitions by having the document stamped. 

Adjourning her decision to a date to be announced, Dean-Armorer said she needed time to consider the issue.  

During yesterday’s hearing, Dean-Armorer also set tentative dates for the hearing of the petitions: June 27 to 30. 

About the case

In its petitions, the Opposition party is claiming that the EBC’s returning officers acted illegally when they followed the EBC’s directive to extend the poll as the commission did not have the power to adjust the 6 am to 6 pm time period for  elections. 

It contends its defeat in the constituencies was marginally affected by the EBC’s decision to extend the polling hours. 

In addition to La Horquetta/Talparo, the other marginal constituencies being challenged are Toco/Sangre Grande, Tunapuna, St Joseph, San Fernando West and Moruga/Tableland. 

The PNM and the EBC had initially challenged Dean-Armourer’s decision to grant the UNC leave to pursue the petitions but her decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Besides the petitions, Dean-Armorer has also been assigned two cases in which three private citizens are challenging the EBC’s decision. 

Social activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj has filed a judicial review seeking the court’s clarification on whether the EBC had the constitutional power to make the decision.

Irwin Lyne and Melissa Sylvan are claiming that the EBC breached the constitutional rights of Tobagonians by not allowing them an extension. 

Both cases have been deferred as they would be directly affected by the outcome of Dean-Armorer’s decision on the petitions.

The UNC is also being represented by Timothy Straker, QC, Gerald Ramdeen, Wayne Sturge and Kent Samlal. 

The PNM’s legal team also includes John Jeremie and includes Michael Quamina, Kerwyn Garcia, Terrence Bharath and Celeste Jules. 

Senior Counsel Russell Martineau and Deborah Peake are leading the EBC’s legal team. 

Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) president general Ancil Roget is challenging the Government to immediately discontinue pending court matters against trade unions just as they did for former Petrotrin president Malcolm Jones. 

Roget was speaking at the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) national cossabo on the state of the economy at the OWTU’s Paramount Building, San Fernando, headquarters on Wednesday.

His challenge came two days after Petrotrin withdrew its case against Jones after its attorneys advised that the defence had a strong case. 

As a result, the State now has to fork out over $3 million to pay Jones’ legal fees.

Commenting on this issue, Roget said the reason the previous government took legal action against Jones was not to seek justice.

He said: “The union’s position on that is that in the first place, Malcolm Jones was put before the court not for any justice or to deal with any situation with respect to his responsibility, with respect to the various boards that he was responsible for. No.

“Malcolm Jones was called before the court because it was a means of making money on that part of the former government, feeding frenzy with their attorneys. 

“So it was a money-making machine. 

“The trade union movement, members of the progressive arm of the trade union movement, members of JTUM also suffered like Malcolm Jones because they would have taken us before the court on a number of matters, knowing they would lose those matters, simple and frivolous matters but that too was a money-making machine for them.” Roget added: “So if we know that Malcolm Jones was before the courts just because they know they wanted to make money for their attorneys and also the trade union movement, members of the JTUM. 

“IRO, left right and centre, firing workers, 68 workers at NP, workers are being dismissed summarily and they are being told the management is being told fire them.

“We will spend the money in courts because we have deep pockets and those deep pockets were supposed to align and make other deep pockets, pockets of thier friends, their attorneys and so on and is prisongate and industrial relations gate.

“My point this morning and I want them to hear me loud and clear: Malcolm Jones is no better than anyone of the unions or any member of the trade union movement and if you could remove Malcolm Jones’ matter from the court and allow him to go free, remove immediately every single matter you have pending against every union without delay,” he added. 

Roget said while the union won the T&TEC and NP matters it was at a high cost as it had to pay exorbitant costs for senior attorneys. 

Saying that what’s good for one, good for all, he said: “And therefore if you could refund or repay Malcolm Jones’ attorney for defending him in the court, we demand that all of the monies that we paid to our senior counsel be returned to our union.

“On one hand, you saying we don’t have money, on the other hand, you seeing other people getting money, we will not accept that.” 

He said there were a number of outstanding issues, a number of outstanding wage and salary negotiations which must be addressed immediately.

Saying that workers must be treated fairly and equitably across the board, Roget said at the end of the consultation they would resolve to take some form of action. 

Recalling the national turmoil faced during the last recession, David Abdulah said whatever economic measures that have to be taken must be based on social justice and equity. 

He said the objective of the measures must be to increase government revenue, reduce unnecessary expenditure waste and corruption, create more decent sustainable jobs and create new activities that earned foreign exchange, more exports and reduced imports. 

He recommended that special purposes companies be disbanded and their functions absorbed into the various ministries.

Abdulah also suggested that the Government put high premiums on foreign exchange, eg, making foreign companies like PriceSmart pay a 16.5 per cent exchange rate instead of 6.5 per cent.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert was “out of place” to ask First Citizens bank for a report on compliance with financial obligation regulations, since the Central Bank is the local bank’s regulatory body to whom they report, former minister of finance Mariano Browne says.

Browne was commenting yesterday on moves by Imbert following Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis’ claim of “breach of confidentiality” against state-owned First Citizens and the closure of her accounts there.

This followed media questions about a large deposit she made at the bank, her confirmation of a cash deposit of $93,000 and allegations that she didn’t do the required source-of-funds declaration. However, she said that this was done.

Imbert subsequently said he had asked First Citizens for a report on compliance regarding financial obligation regulations. At Thursday’s Cabinet media briefing, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley fuelled the issue when he said that he couldn’t trust First Citizens with his personal information.

But Browne, expressing concern about the situation, said Robinson-Regis has avenues for action and is entitled to pursue them if she chooses. However, he said the Finance Minister didn’t have the right to interfere, since it was a personal matter and didn’t require the intervention of any Government party.

Browne said the minister only had oversight of the health and structure of the financial system, which was the very reason the Government intervened in the creation of First Citizens years ago. 

“The minister has overall responsibility to look after the strength of the structure and economy and must be discreet and manage situations with sensitivity,” Browne said. 

Saying it was wrong for Imbert to get into public policy issues by seeking such a report from First Citizens in the manner he had, he added, “He’s completely out of place, not understanding his responsibility. The entire situation requires forbearance and patience and should have been handled more delicately.”

Browne said Imbert’s request for a report from the bank—where Central Bank was the regulatory body—could also undermine trust in the bank, since members of the public may feel if the Government can source information from the bank other information about people’s loans, accounts, and other information, might also be obtained.

Yesterday, the Central Bank of T&T (CBTT), replying to T&T Guardian queries about which jurisdiction banks fall under— CBTT or Ministry of Finance—confirmed that banks are licensed to conduct operations by the CBTT.

Asked if the ministry can seek reports from banks on compliance with financial regulations, CBTT stated that its Financial Institutions Supervision Department is the unit that monitors compliance with the obligations of licensed institutions.

On whether the CBTT is looking into the Robinson-Regis/First Citizens issue and if she had filed a complaint with CBTT, the CBTT stated, “Issues that need to be resolved between clients and banks are generally brought to the attention of the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman (OFSO) or the Central Bank.

“Confidentiality provisions prevent the OFSO and Central Bank from giving information on whether or not such reports are made or any other aspects of such matters.”

Banking sector experts also yesterday pointed out that First Citizens isn’t 100 per cent government-owned, since the Government only has 78 per cent shareholding.

An official said, “In a situation of a bank being 100 per cent state-owned the owner can ask about things, but when the bank becomes a public company—like FCB is—and the State is just one of several shareholders, you can’t ask for information like that. All shareholders get the information at the same time, not just one; and one shareholder cannot know someone’s business since that would compromise everything.”

Imbert didn’t reply to emailed queries on the issue.

Business sector concerned...

T&T Manufacturers’ Association president Rolph Balgobin said yesterday he couldn’t comment on the specifics of the First Citizens matter since he wasn’t sufficiently informed. 

But, he said, “What I can observe is confidence is integral to the successful operation of the bank as this is a very important indigenous institution.

“It’s very important that all the parties involved understand what’s at stake here and act accordingly as confidence is something that takes years to build—and moments to destroy.”

Amcham Chamber president Ravi Suryadevara said, “A large cash transaction, as reported, is unusual for an individual and in most jurisdictions would have a probability of further enquiry.

“However, all persons have a reasonable expectation of privacy, even if a process of further review is undertaken. Financial institutions should also always have adequate procedures to protect customers’ privacy. However, as with any system, individuals within can undermine these procedures. We are therefore expectant that the institution will deal with this appropriately and await the determination of what transpired.”

On the potential impact of the overall situation—including Government’s criticism of the First Citizens—on the financial system, he said, “The greater substantive issue facing the financial system and country is the wider rubric of the Fourth Round Compliance Review of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, for which T&T is the present chair. Within this compliance regime for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, dealing with politically exposed persons (PEPS) and exhibition of enforcement of legislation through prosecution are crucial elements amongst the other requirements.”

He added, “Greater compliance would also mean, as Amcham T&T has articulated in past submissions to the Government, improvements to the FIU, legislatively and resource wise. Such improvements will allow the FIU to be more effective in reviewing suspicious transactions and making determinations on appropriate action, including prosecution if necessary. 

“In the absence of this, in addition to the international reputational and business repercussions, too much room is left for wrongdoers to escape. Further, in the absence of a determination on matters flagged as suspicious, much room is left for speculation and reputational damage to persons engaged in legitimate transactions. This forms part of the essential discussions that Amcham T&T continues to pursue with the Government and other key stakeholders.” 

Southern Division police are probing the murder of a woman who was yesterday found with her throat slit at a housing construction site in San Fernando.

The woman remained unidentified up to press time as police were still at the scene and checks with the T&T Police Service Missing Persons’ database had not shown any missing person report recently matching the description of the victim.

According to police, the woman was found by a welder doing a job at SK Singh’s Hardware around 4 pm. The man was performing a job at the company’s Cipero Road, Retrench Village, outlet when he walked to the back of the building to see a nearby river. While walking through the housing construction site on the way, he came upon the woman’s body lying face down in the grass. Afraid, he ran back to the hardware and alerted the workers. However, they did not believe him and went to check for themselves. When they confirmed his story, they returned to the hardware to contact the owner. 

At the same time, an off-duty police officer was making a purchase and he contacted San Fernando police.

A team of officers, including ACP Cecil Santana, Supt Simbonath Rajkumar and Insp Don Gajadhar, were on the scene coordinating efforts to ascertain the woman’s identity. Rajkumar said it appeared the woman was murdered at another location and her body dumped there early yesterday. He called on citizens to contact the San Fernando Police Station at 652-5000 or the Regional III Homicide Bureau at 652-0495 with information

The woman was described as Indo-Trinidadian, 5’6” tall, of brown skin colour, with a short hairstyle, and appeared to be between 35 and 45 years old. She was wearing a pair of maroon long pants, plaid shirt and a silver-coloured bracelet on her right hand.

In an unrelated incident, the decomposing body of a drug addict was found in an abandoned house in Diego Martin yesterday with bullet wounds to the head.

According to police reports, residents of Francis Trace, Union Road, Richplain, Diego Martin, got a stench coming from the abandoned house around 10 am and after investigating found the gruesome scene. 

Officers from the West End Police Station responded and found Jason Paul, 38, in the house. Police said Paul had been arrested in the past for robberies and break-ins. They added that Paul would sometimes sleep in the abandoned building he was found murdered in. Police said they had no immediate motive for his killing, which took the murder toll to 89 for the year. 

President of the T&T Contractors Association (TTCA) Mikey Joseph says contractors are owed between $1.5 and $1.7 billion by the Government and he has identified the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL) as the two main companies at fault.

The monies have been outstanding to the contractors for the past two years.

Joseph described the debt as “extremely worrying and troubling” since many contractors have not been able to pay suppliers, creditors and banks and have found themselves in a financial bind.

“Many are unable to meet their obligations. It has not been easy,” Joseph said.

To date, Joseph said, contractors (members) within the TTCA were owed in excess of “$1.5 to 1.7 billion.”

The TTCA has a financial membership of 95.

Joseph was responding to comments made by Prime Minister Keith Rowley who, on Thursday at the post-Cabinet news conference in Tobago, conceded that Government owed money to contractors, but challenged the circumstances in which some of that debt was incurred.

Rowley admitted that there was a problem with “the government’s financial ability to pay some of the debt” and that the Government will take responsibility for only valid debts.

“I can’t tell you what is the value of the valid debt. I was not a party to the contracts given out to members of the construction fraternity by different agencies.”

Joseph said the EFCL owed contractors “in excess of $600 million right now,” while the HDC had an outstanding payment of “$400 to $500 million” to its members.

He said while the $1.7 billion was valid “in some cases there were certified debts, whereby the contractor goes through all the approval stages and you have a certificate awaiting payment. All of our members would not have had that at this time because consultants are advised by clients, sometimes, not to issue further certificates when they are not in a position to pay.”

In some instances, Joseph said, the contractor would have continued working and would submit their interim payment claim and the client would not issue an interim payment certificate.

“Which means the debt is not certified.”

Joseph said between 25 and 30 per cent of the $1.7 billion owed “could not be certified. As far as I know our members are generally scrupulous in how they obtain these contracts.”

Since the PNM assumed office last September, Joseph said, the Government paid some contractors who worked under the Programme for Upgrading Roads Efficiency (PURE) in the last two months.

“I can’t say what was the figure these received. I really don’t know. So the Prime Minister is saying that they would pay valid debts...that is good. But what he needs to say is when will they start payments? They should not wait until they have validated 100 per cent of the debt to start paying. By that time the country might grind to a halt.”

He said while the country was in a recession and the economy was facing some turbulence, the Ministry of Finance should bring some measure of relief to contractors, who have been waiting months for their monies.

Prisons officer Fitzalbert Victor had been thinking about resigning from his job mere weeks before he was murdered, said one of his colleagues.

Speaking at the funeral service for the officer at Belgroves Funeral Chapel, Tacarigua, yesterday, a confidant and colleague of Victor’s, Dion Joseph, said Victor had approached him about three weeks before his death and told him that his mother, Marva Simon, wanted him to quit. 

Joseph told the packed chapel, and mourners occupying tents with speakers outside the church, that he advised Victor to consider what his mother was saying and make a decision. Joseph said he too lived in Laventille and following Victor’s death he is now afraid to return home. 

“It have officers who sleeping in the prison dormitory for months because they cannot go home. I can’t go home. Victor told me his mother begged him to resign. All of us are brave hearts, but he was a true lion,” Joseph said before sending a message to criminals that prisons officers will be fearless and will not be running and hiding “looking for refugee status.”

Joseph called on the communities to rally around what is right and just and asked those there to return respect and discipline to the communities they belonged to. 

He warned gunmen, like those who killed Victor, at 6 am on Monday, that they too will have to die, but asked the gathering to encourage values within their communities.

As he was eulogised by his niece Reann Parris, Victor was remembered as a selfless man who exemplified love and laughter and gave his life to the service of his country. Parris added that her uncle’s motto was “death before dishonour” and that he lived by that and died because of it.

Victor, 32, had been washing his black Nissan Xtrail just after 6 am when, police said, a gunman jumped the fence and shot him seven times before fleeing. 

Victor worked at the Port-of-Spain Remand Yard. He was said to be one of 15 officers marked for death by inmates because of his no-nonsense approach to his job.

Addressing the congregation earlier, Prisons Commissioner Sterling Stewart said his officers will not be operating in fear and will be committed to their jobs. He added that there was evil in high and low places plaguing the land, and law-abiding citizens must stand up to them. 

“We have to stand strong against the darkness of this world. Why must this darkness plague us? We have to fix T&T, there is too much lawlessness,” Stewart said.

Speaking with the media following the service, president of the Prison Officers Association Ceron Richards said his officers have not abandoned their jobs and called on the Government to do what is necessary to protect prisons officers and by extension other arms of the protective services.

Richards also responded to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s remarks that prisons officers should continue to work as the Government continues to find ways to assist them. 

“No one walked off the job. People are working and prison service is operating. What is missing is the Government doing their job. So while it is commendable for the Prime Minister to say don’t walk off the job and support the job and so on, we will want to say to the Prime Minister and Government to take a page from that statement and do their job as well.” 

Asked if his officers are still contemplating striking, Richards said, “Officers will. If you have people pushed against a wall to the extent that there is no hope, you take hope away from them, then they will react. Officers are human beings just like everyone else and if the reward for doing the job is death, what do you want them to do? It will be a natural reaction. T&T has to commend these officers so far for their due diligence by continuing to come to work. So it is up to the State now to work with the prison officers.” 

Prior to the funeral service there was a street procession, from the corner of Caura Royal Road along the Eastern Main Road, to Belgroves Funeral Home. 

The procession included members of all arms of the Defence Force, as well as police and members of the National Operations Centre (NOC).

Police officers are threatening to turn up the heat over the seven-month delay in their backpay and have given the State until the end of the month to pay the money owing.

This from the leadership of the T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association yesterday.

Speaking at a hastily arranged media briefing, at their office upstairs the Besson Street Police Station, Port-of-Spain, association president Anand Ramesar said if the ultimatum was not met they would head to court.

“Should there be failure to commence then we are going to respond just in the manner that we should treat in the particular issue. We have already discussed the matter with our lawyers so there would be a legal position, in terms of treating with that particular issue. There would also be a membership issue,” Ramesar said.

Making reference to Prime Minister Keith Rowley’s call on national security and law enforcement officers to double their efforts, Ramesar said that there was no need to double efforts when it comes to paying them their backpay. 

“Just make a little effort because at this point in time, we are seeing no effort at all, and the information we are hearing that is coming to us is very damning to our morale and if anybody has spoken about how morale is impacting on performance, we have heard the Prime Minister speak about it and we are saying to you, don’t just talk about how we are suffering, and how low morale is affecting us. 

“You are the Prime Minister, and you have the capacity, you are head of the National Security Council, we are putting this matter into your hands and we are calling on you to intervene and ensure that police officers, that payment of their backpay commence by the end of March 2016,” Ramesar said.

Ramesar noted that while the association does not lead any industrial action he would only say that “in every organisation you tend to have informal behaviour; the association is very mindful that that could be a reality, and I know the relevant stakeholders are aware that could be a reality.”

On March 23, 2015, police officers in a co-ordinated operation blocked the main roadways in Trinidad and Tobago, in what was described as a Day of Total Policing, during the height of their negotiations, which in effect shut down the country. Many people believed the action was linked to the negotiations but a parliamentary investigation found no evidence to support that view.

Ramesar said yesterday that police officers had been promised that payment would have started in October, last year, then it moved to December, then it moved to January and since January, he said, they have heard no more talk about it.

“Should we wait any longer, it wouldn’t be fair to the membership at all. We have waited seven months and when you look at the period where we have waited which is characterised by no communication to the association and we want communication that is direct and specific to police officers that addresses the issue concerning police officers. 

“We are not minded to listen to the general conversation that is being spoken in the public. We have a specific issue and we expect that we would be addressed in relation to that,” Ramesar said.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert said earlier this year that public servants’ outstanding backpay would likely be paid by September.

More info

​Query over promotions, 

$1m survivor benefit 

In relation to the survivor benefit of $1 million for the family of police officers killed in the line of duty, Ramesar said to date no money has been allocated for payment of the survivors.

“We continue to see police officers lose their lives while being committed to policing in TT. At the very least, we are saying this matter should be given some level of priority. The lives of police officers is not being given the priority and the value that it should be and it is unfair to ask us to redouble our efforts to work extra, to go the extra distance and the simple things like welfare is not being attended to as a matter of priority. The scales must be even as we move forward,” Ramesar said.

Ramesar also noted that promotions remain a big issue, and that acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams needs to say when he is going to commence promotion of corporals to sergeants.

He disclosed that a letter was sent to Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon three weeks ago requesting a meeting in relation to matters affecting the welfare of police officers. However, Dillon is yet to respond.

Despite neighbours climbing a ladder and hosing a raging fire, pensioner Fyzool Mohammed suffered a cruel fate when he burned and died inside his Diamond Village home on Thursday night.

Mohammed, 73, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, was last seen standing in the middle of his bedroom, trapped by the fire which residents believe started in the kitchen. 

His son, Marlon Mohammed, 39, tried desperately to get him out of the house, but according to their neighbour Ramesh Ramcharitar, the fire was too intense.

Reports stated that the father and son were asleep at their Picton Road, Picton Settlement, home when around 10.30 pm, Marlon, a machinist, was awakened by a crackling sound. 

On realising the house was on fire, he rushed to his father’s room but was blocked by the flames. 

Mon Repos Fire Services were called in, but by the time they arrived the house was already gutted. Cpl Ifill, CSIs Mohammed and Goolcharan also visited the scene where they along with fire fighters found Mohammed’s burnt remains among the ruins.

When the T&T Guardian visited yesterday, Marlon was asleep at a neighbour’s home. Ramcharitar said Mohammed, a former truck driver at Caroni (1975) Ltd, stood little chance of surviving the fire. 

Ramcharitar said he was at home watching wrestling on television when he heard an explosion and looked across to saw the back of Mohammed’s house on fire. He said he rushed out to call Marlon, who was already searching for his father. 

“He was looking for his father in the building but when the fire spread, he ran out. He really tried to get his father out but the fire was too much. Neighbours came with a ladder and hose to try to get him out because he did not know where to go.

“When the guy climbed the ladder, he saw him (Mohammed) standing in the bedroom. He was awake but we could not reach to him. Fire services came within 25 minutes but the building was already gone,” Ramcharitar said. 

Mohammed’s tenant Franklin Ramdhan also lost everything in his ground-level apartment. In fact, the only items that were not destroyed were a washer, dryer and a few clothes that were hung on a line under the house.

After a man had bitten off a piece of his landlord’s ear on Wednesday night, he reportedly dangled the bloody part in front of neighbours telling them he was going to eat it. 

“Ah feel I would eat it yuh know. Ah wonder if it taste like chicken,” he asked.

Up until yesterday, the troublesome tenant that landlord Edmund Sinanan had been trying to evict remained at large. The landlord is still warded at the San Fernando General Hospital, in a stable condition. 

According to a neighbour, the tenant who lives with a woman and two children sold illegal drugs on the premises and had been ordered to leave several times by the landlord. 

However, they said each time he would threaten to kill the landlord. On Wednesday evening, Sinanan returned home and saw the suspect standing in the yard. An argument broke out between them. 

Sinanan’s wife rushed out to calm the argument but the suspect pushed her to the ground and then floored Sinanan, beating him on the ground.

After holding onto Sinanan’s head and biting off some of his ear, he held the piece of ear in his hand and threatened to eat it. He then picked up a shovel and charged towards Sinanan, threatening to kill him. 

But then he turned instead and ran towards the woman who ran into her home and locked the door.

When he could not reach her, he went across to a neighbour, showing off the ear like a trophy. 

Police said the man seems to be mentally unstable and they will arrest him soon. (KF)