Faced with two drownings over the Easter weekend, the T&T Life Saving Society has renewed its call for Government to hire more lifeguards to patrol T&T’s beaches.

In an interview yesterday, president Ann Singh said more than 100 people were certified annually by the society with the hope they could be employed by the Ministry of National Security.

“There are many certified lifesavers who want to be employed as a lifeguard. 

We work in collaboration with the Canadian Life Saving Society and we are trying to minimise drownings so it is really sad that so many people drowned over the long weekend,” Singh said. 

Among those who drowned were 61-year-old Beville Simonette, of Tacarigua, who drowned in Maracas and Trevin Lalla, 31, of Balmain, Couva, who drowned at Guayaguayare on Monday.

Singh said during long weekends when more people were likely to go to the beaches the Government should consider hiring more lifeguards to patrol.

She also called on members of the public always to obey the instruction and advice of lifeguards, particularly when they imposed restrictions on specific bathing areas.

“People disobey the lifeguards and take too many risks. You should always speak to lifeguards first if you are uncertain about the sea conditions before you go into the water,” Singh said.

She added that guards work from 10 am to 6 pm, yet people go into unsafe areas before guards take up official duty.

“We have an ongoing public education drive in several schools along with the Ministry of National Security. 

Our aim is to take preventative measures to minimise drownings,” Singh said. Asked to confirm reports that lifeguard equipment used at Maracas Bay was dysfunctional, Singh said she had no information on that.

However, a lifeguard, who requested anonymity, claimed the inflatable rafts and jet skis used to patrol the beaches were in need of maintenance. 

Contacted yesterday for comment, a senior official at the Life Guard Department of the National Security Ministry said that was not so. 

He also denied there was a shortage of lifeguards. 

Saying that recruitment takes place regularly, the official said each guard had to undergo two years of training before he could officially take up duty. 

The source also said that in some areas, lifeguards took up work before 10 am. 

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and permanent secretary Simeon Yearwood were engaged in meetings and did not respond to questions. 

A list of questions was sent to the ministry’s Corporate Communications Department but up to press time, there was no response to them.

KOLKATA—The West Indies team was determined to win a second World T20 title after criticism by the media and its own cricket board ahead of the tournament, captain Darren Sammy said yesterday. Amid a lingering pay dispute, the West Indies Cricket Board had said it was considering sending a second-string team if the players did not agree to its terms.

“All that happened before the tournament, the disrespect from journalists, from our own cricket board, that was out of order,” Sammy said after West Indies beat England by six wickets in the final at Eden Gardens. 

“The only way we could make a statement was by winning this tournament. The hunger for success and victory was there in all of us.”

Sammy also blasted a media report which claimed his players did not have enough “brains” to win at the top level.

“The so-called experts, commentators, journalists did not give us a chance. One said we play with no brains. That really brought us together with the contract issues,” Sammy said.

“At one point, we were wondering if we would be part of this tournament. A lot of things were happening. To come out and play this sort of cricket in front of passionate fans was amazing.”

West Indies became the first team to clinch the World Twenty20 title twice, having also won it in 2012. Marlon Samuels struck an unbeaten 85 and Carlos Brathwaite 34 not out, including four straight sixes in the last over to seal victory with two balls to spare. Sammy said his team had taken inspiration from the success of other West Indies teams.

“This means a lot not only for us as a team but for our fans all over the world. We started the tournament by saying we were inspired by our under-19 boys (winning the World Cup) in Bangladesh (in February) and this afternoon the way our women played to win the (WT20) cup, we had to go out and win it,” he said.

Sammy hoped the T20 success would trigger better performances in test cricket as well.

“We get a lot of stick because of the way we play test cricket. T20 is a totally different format. We are very good in T20 cricket,” he said. 

“We don’t play the brand of cricket that can win us tests but I hope this win can inspire our test players to do better.”

Carlos Brathwaite struck four straight sixes in the last over to seal the dramatic four-wicket win for West Indies. West Indies needed 19 runs in the 20th over, which Brathwaite (34 not out) provided in style by smashing Ben Stokes for sixes off the first four balls.

Speaking about the win, Sammy said, “It’s something we’ll cherish for a long time. Every game somebody stepped up. It was good to see Carlos play like that in his debut World Cup. It shows the T20 depth we have in the Caribbean.” 

World T20 Hall of Fame
2007: India def. Pakistan by 5 runs, Johannesburg
2009: Pakistan def. Sri Lanka by 8 wickets, London
2010: England def. Australia by 7 wickets, Bridgetown
2012: West Indies def. Sri Lanka by 36 runs, Colombo
2014: Sri Lanka def. India by 6 wickets, Dhaka
2016: West Indies def. England by 4 wickets, Kolkata

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday congratulated the West Indies women’s and men’s cricket teams, after they emerged as champions in their respective final matches in the 2016 ICC World Cup Twenty20 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India. A press release from the Prime Minster’s Office described their performances as “superb.” 

“In superb performances which confirmed the resilience and prowess of West Indies cricket, despite recent challenges, the teams have brought honour back to the region,” the statement said.

“Playing earlier in the morning we witnessed the skills of the women’s team who took their maiden title beating Australia by eight wickets to win their match 148/5. This victory was followed by a sterling performance from the Men’s team which snatched victory from England with a 161/6 win.”

The Prime Minister also sent congratulations to captains Stafanie Taylor and Darren Sammy and all the players on well-deserved wins. The Powerful Ladies of T&T (PLTT) also congratulated the teams on yesterday’s victories and for their outstanding performance throughout the WT20 Tournaments.

“Both our women and men teams today secured the World T20 Championship in their respective tournaments. The first world cup win for our women's team and well deserved.”

T&T Guardian photographer Andre Alexander was in Guyana over the Easter weekend and confirmed that that country is a paradise for nature lovers, adventure seekers and the eco-tourist. He had the privilege of witnessing the Phagwah festival, traversing the Essequibo River and travelling to Lethem for the Rupununi Rodeo.

“I never imagined the Essequibo River had so many islands, white sand beaches and river resorts,” he said.

There are actually 365 different islands on the Essequibo River, including the house and studio on the island owned by internationally acclaimed Guyanese singer Eddie Grant. The team Alexander travelled with visited the Hurakabra River Resort, Aruwai Resort White H2O, Baganara Island, Sloth Island and Forth Island.

Forth Island, now a national monument, was once the capital of the Dutch colonies of the Essequibo and Demerara during the 26th and 17 centuries.

Easter weekend annually in Guyana sees the hosting of the Rupununi Rodeo at Lathem, the Guyana-Brazil border town where competition in bull riding and wild horse riding runs high among various ranches of the Rupununi region. 

Today, the T&T Guardian shares somes of the memories Alexander captured.

All five-year-old Jaden Cudjoe wanted on Saturday evening was a “sweetie.” But the trip to a nearby mini mart for the sweet treat eventually cost the youngster his life, as he was struck by a motorcycle and killed a stone’s throw away from his home. The incident which took the First Year Tabaquite Presbyterian School pupil’s life took place around 6.30 pm along the Tabaquite Main Road, Tabaquite.

However, the reports on how young Jaden died differ, as his family members said yesterday he was on the side of the roadway when the cyclist careened into him, flinging his small body almost 30 feet away. His uncle, Mikhail Joseph, who took him to the Radica’s Mini Mart that evening, recalled the events leading up to his nephew’s death during an interview with the T&T Guardian. 

“He had just finished bathing and he say he wanted to go for a sweetie in the parlour. I was holding his sister, Rae-Murrie in my arms and he was walking at my side,” Joseph said. Joseph said on reaching to the front of the mini-mart, a motorcycle came around the corner, swerved and began heading straight for them.

“Instead of slowing down, he (cyclist) keep pressing more gas. Jaden was on the side of the road next to me and I pulled back and he pick up with Jaden instead...he (Jaden) was next to me and the bike was coming straight to me, I try to brakes for the baby and the bike pick up with him instead.”

The child, affectionately called ‘Bellies,’ was flung into the air and his tiny body rolled under a nearby van and came to rest in a drain.

“I run up to him and I was shaking him and bawling for his father to come...he wasn’t breathing or anything. His face, hands, feet, chest...everything was covered in bruises...he had tyre marks all up the whole side of his body.”

Joseph said after the incident, he went up to the cyclist and asked him what happened.

“After everything happened I went up to him and ask him what happen and he say he didn’t see Jaden on the side of me.” Jaden’s mother, Maurissa Cudjoe, was at home at the time of the incident and ran out into the roadway upon hearing the noise.

“I heard when the bike fell and because the boy (cyclist) is our neighbour, I ran out to see what happened. It’s only when I came to the roadside I heard Mikhail screaming for my husband to come., Cudjoe said. 

Cudjoe and her husband, Jaime, ran to the child’s body and after checking for a pulse and not finding one, began performing CPR. The couple then rushed Jaden to the Couva Health Facility, where he was pronounced dead.

“My husband was giving breaths and I was doing the chest compressions, we didn’t stop until we got to Couva and they pronounced him dead,” the distraught mother said.

Cudjoe, a student nurse, said at the time she knew the child was dead but she could not bear the thought of him being gone.

“When I checked for the pulse and didn’t get any, I knew...but I couldn’t give up my baby just so...we really tried...I would have done anything to have my baby back,” she said before breaking down into tears. Her husband, a secondary school teacher, was too distraught to speak and had to be consoled by relatives. The couple have two other children, Jaime (Junior), six and Rae-Murrie, 18 months.

cyclist’s father on death

A short distance away from the Cudjoes’ home is the mini-mart where young Jaden was heading when he was struck and killed. The T&T Guardian understands that the cyclist who struck Jaden is a close male relative of the owner of the mini-mart, Ronald Maharaj. 

Maharaj told the T&T Guardian his relative suffered multiple bruises about his body and was resting. He expressed sympathy for Jaden’s death, saying: “We are friends with that family for the past 23 years and it’s unfortunate that something like this had to happen. Nobody would want something like this to happen.”

Asked if the relative had spoken of how the incident unfolded, Maharaj replied: “He didn’t run into the child, the child run into the road, that is why it’s a police thing...the bike in the station, you could go and ask the police to see it.”

One day before he was recaptured, wanted murder accused Sheldon “Rhino” Thomas claimed he escaped from St Ann's Psychiatric Hospital last Tuesday because he was being beaten too much by prison officers. Thomas, 31, is due to appear before a before a Port-of-Spain magistrate today charged with escaping lawful custody.

In a text message sent to the T&T Guardian on Saturday at 11.34 am, Thomas, 31, wrote: “Morning to you sir, this (is) Sheldon Thomas, from small I ran away from home because of licks. I am getting plenty licks in d prison 12 years without a trial. Last year prison officers tape me an it is very prejudice 4my trial, its unbearable I cant take it no more they force me to take my freedom, mask men at d prison beat me for absolutely nothing I got licks 3 times this year on the 18 of February I was beaten in the ecrc (Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre) prison. it got a camera system there get a view u will see wat am going tru (through) I thank GOD FOR MY FREEDOM I AM NOT COMMITTING A SINGLE CRIME, AM ENJOYING PEACE.”

Thomas’s mother Claudine Henry gave a similar story when she spoke to the T&T Guardian the day her son escaped. She said she believed her son, one of six who had escaped, was frustrated and that was his reason for escaping. She said her son had been incarcerated for the past 11 years and that would frustrate anyone, but she alleged he was also constantly abused by prison guards.

The taping Thomas referred to was footage which went viral on Facebook showing him threatening the lives of prison officers if they entered his cell to beat him. Thomas was captured by officers from the Western Division Task Force and the Coast Guard on Saturday night. He was captured alongside a 21-year-old Venezuelan national at a jetty in Carenage. 

According to police, on Saturday they received information and went to the jetty where they saw Thomas. However, when he saw the officers Thomas jumped into the sea and swam underneath the jetty. The Venezuela national was apprehended but the police called the Coast Guard for their assistance. Several hours later, Thomas was arrested and Immigration officers were called in. 

—With reporting by Camille Clarke

A Belmont taxi driver yesterday became the country’s latest murder victim. Police said Nicholas John was shot to death by a man who walked up behind him as he was playing a game of cricket with friends along Erthig Road, Belmont.

Police said around 3.30 pm, John, a father of one, was playing cricket when a car pulled up nearby. A man then got out, approached John from behind and shot him several times. John fell into a drain at the side of the road as the driver then calmly got back into the car, which sped off. Police did not have a motive for the killing up to last evening.

In an unrelated incident, a 23-year-old man is now warded at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, after he was shot by a patron at a bar on Lopinot Road, Arouca.

Police said around 2 am yesterday, the man, who is from Windy Hills, D’Abadie, entered the bar and announced a holdup. It is alleged that he then robbed the patrons and attempted to make an escape. However, one of the patrons, who is a licensed firearm holder, took out his firearm and shot him in the leg, police said. Investigators said a revolver was recovered at the scene but they assumed the firearm was empty. 

Police officers said they had been looking at the suspect for quite some time, as he was a suspect in numerous shootings and robberies in the Arouca district. Arouca CID is continuing investigations. 

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday expressed alarm at the brazen and brutal way criminals have been killing citizens, saying crime in T&T had now become a national crisis.

In addressing hundreds of delegates at the People’s National Movement (PNM) special convention at St John’s Ambulance Brigade Hall, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Rowley said there were three issues—security, economy and unemployment—that had been affecting the country and “attracting the attention of the Caribbean in a way that we have not anticipated.” 

Of the three issues, Rowley said the most worrying was crime, since the murder rate for 2016 had reached 122 as of yesterday.

“So for January, February and March the criminals have put away 122 of us. At that rate, if it does not abate we could be looking at about 500 people being killed in Trinidad and Tobago. That is a whole unacceptable state of affairs...unacceptable,” Rowley told the crowd at the convention, which was themed “Enriching Our Democracy”.

Despite increasing the strength of the protective services, Rowley said it was disheartening to know that firearms have been flooding the streets and people have been losing their lives by way of “strangulation and gasoline. The last person I saw being killed was by gasoline...something like that.”

He said while people continue to kill one another in a brutal and uncaring way, the Government has a responsibility to find the perpetrators “and put them where they belong.” He said while many people believed that crime was a political issue, it was currently a “national crisis”, noting criminals were now using the Internet and cellphones to conduct their illegal operations.

While criminals continue to become a law unto themselves, Rowley said the detection rate of the T&T Police Service was poor. “Our detection level is totally unacceptable. We cannot have a detection level in the face of a crime wave and a killing spree like this. The criminals now know the odds are in their favour. We have to undo this,” he said.

It is for this reason Rowley said the Government was attempting to amend the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) Act to give the Government greater ability in collecting and gathering information on people who are intent on committing crimes. However, he said the Opposition was now finding issue with the SSA Bill, describing it as a deadly molotov cocktail waiting to explode.

“I am telling you here today, we are inviting the Opposition to join this battle against the criminals...and with or without them we are going to pass the bill.” Rowley said the PNM supported the Interception of Communications Act in 2010, which gave the then People’s Partnership government the power to intercept people’s conversations in a bid to find criminals. 

“Is to hear them now...who will spy on who. I easily led my team to support that bill because the prime minister of the day, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, had told the country that she had found evidence of the last prime minister (Patrick Manning) and his government spying on a whole range of people. And I was upset about that. I said we have to have a law to control that. And we supported the bill and we ask the last prime minister where is the evidence? To this day they have not provided one iota of evidence.”

In the last six months, Rowley said the Government had done a proper assessment of the state of the country and were now in a position to act.
 
Point highway under scrutiny
Rowley also spoke about the People’s Partnership entering into a contract with OAS Constructora for the extension of the Solomon Hochoy Highway to Point Fortin three days before the September 7 general elections last year.

“You would have thought that they would have learnt from Section 34. A leopard does not change its spots. On that day (September 4) they entered into the contract that existed before with OAS and waived the clause and allowed the Government to fire the contractor for being bankrupt. 

“And they trying to explain today that there was good reason for doing that. That was a conspiracy between the Government and the contractor. Very much like section 34 or in the same vain. If we find evidence of one suspicion they will be prosecuted.”

He said “if our institutions cannot function to hold people accountable when they do wrong,” T&T was in a bigger risk than we thought. He said T&T could no longer depend on oil and gas as its main revenue earners, but we needed to keep afloat.

“We may not survive the same way...the same level...splurging the same way. We will survive. What it calls for is good level headed thinking and serious leadership.”

The economic crisis that is before us, Rowley said, will affect all in some way or the other. 

“There is nobody in this country who could say that what is ahead of us will not affect me. Is either you not aware or you don’t care. We are all in this together. We will ensure that the burden is shared by all in a way that is equitable, reasonable and practical.”

Just in case the West Indies Cricket Board had plans to take credit for the victory of the men’s team in the World T20 competition, captain Darren Sammy, with the certainty he often shows as a late-order hitter of tremendous power and precision, scuttled the thought from board president Dave Cameron. And he did so before the watching world.

“We had a new manager in this tournament in Rawle Lewis, he had never managed any team before. He came here, we were at a camp in Dubai, but we had no uniforms, no printed … he left Dubai, went to Kolkata, that’s where he started,” said Sammy at the end of his team’s thrilling victory in the 2016 World T20 final yesterday.

Asked by the end-of-match interviewer (Nasser Hussain) to make comparisons between the 2012 first victory of the WI in the T20 championships and yesterday’s, Sammy deliberated for a second before responding. In the end he thought it a grand opportunity to tell it like he and his team must have felt it.

“Disrespected by our board,” was how captain Sammy chose to characterise the relationship between the players and the WICB. To be noted too in the conflict between team and board, the players objected strenuously before the T20 World Cup of the board reducing player pay without consultation with the team.

But Sammy was far from finished with the board, its perceived inefficiencies and its lack of the basic managerial ability to give guidance and inspiration to the team. To do so, the skipper compared the absence of inspirational motivation from the board to that of Caricom prime ministers who have been asking Cameron and his board to leave office.

“I really want to thank the heads of Caricom, throughout this tournament they have been supporting the team, we've got emails, we've got phone calls, Prime Minister [Keith] Mitchell [from Grenada]. He sent a very inspiring email for the team this morning … and I'm yet to hear from our own cricket board. That is very disappointing,” Sammy told the tens of millions watching the telecast all over the cricket-playing world on several continents.

Sammy’s comment seemed a definite intervention in the contention between the Caricom prime ministers, who have asked the board to resign on the basis of a report put forward by a specially appointed committee to examine the way forward for West Indies cricket and the insistence of Cameron and the board that they are not planning to leave anytime soon.

Perhaps predicting a negative response by the Cameron board to his open exposure and denunciation of them, the St Lucian-born former Test captain said his farewell to the 15-member West Indian touring party and coaching staff.

“I don’t know when I’m going to be playing with these guys again because we don’t get selected for one-day cricket,” said Sammy. And he sought to reinforce his criticism of the board by adding that “we (this champion T20 team) don't know when we’re going to be playing T20,” the suggestion being that the board may not be capable of organising series against quality opposing teams notwithstanding the “champion” status of this team.

He had a special word of praise for coach “Phil Simmons, who has gone through quite a lot,” he having been suspended from duties a couple months ago by the board for reporting what he considered to be inappropriate interventions by the board in team selection.

But Sammy did not forget at least one of the critics of the West Indies, who seemed to have engaged in a mind game, or maybe in the mind of Sammy it was traditional antagonism that has long been agitated against the West Indies, and this time it started long before the series got under way in India.

“Mark Nicholas described our team as a team with no brains,” noted Sammy, but making it clear that the team with “no brains” had “the ability to just put all those adversities aside and to come out and play this type of cricket in front of such passionate fans, it's just tremendous.”

Even before Sammy had said his piece to Nicholas, man-of-the match Marlon Samuels singled out former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warner for special attention, donating (with much sarcasm) his award to him: “Shane Warner has been talking continuously and all I have to say without talking, this is for Shane Warne (as he held the trophy as if stretched out to the former leggie) I answer with my bat not with the mike.”

For the future, captain Sammy said the all round performance by several players during the series “shows the depth we have in the Caribbean in T20 cricket and hopefully with the right structure and development our cricket will continue to improve in one-day and Test cricket.”

Finance Minister Colm Imbert yesterday said he would speak with the senior official at the Ministry of Finance appointed to liaise with Republic Bank Ltd, the trustees of the ArcelorMittal Point Lisas pension fund, to determine the true facts of the state of the fund. This comes one day after the Steel Workers’ Union of T&T (SWUTT) said the pension plan was jeopardy.

Imbert had announced at a March 21 press conference that a senior ministry official was instructed to get the facts on the adequacy of the company’s pension plan. But yesterday, Imbert said he had still not received information from the official. “The senior official has not yet reported back to me. I would speak with him tomorrow (today),” Imbert said in a telephone interview

Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal, via a press release from Lisa-Ann Joseph, yesterday denied certain reports in a Sunday Guardian article about the pension plan. In the release, ArcelorMittal said it complied with the recommendations made by the actuary, Bacon Woodrow & de Souza Limited, in its 2012 report. 

The company said this compliance was to pay contributions at six per cent up to September 30, 2015 and then 23.7 per cent for the period October 2015 to March 2016. However, the actuaries advised that because the economy was small and developing, it meant that the outlook for key economic factors such as inflation was uncertain. The actuaries said both the plan’s financial position and the company’s contribution rate in the future were volatile. The company was therefore advised to increase its contribution for employees to 12 per cent before October last year. 

The actuaries also advised that if the plan’s experience followed the assumptions in the valuation, the company could continue to contribute at the 12 per cent until August 31, 2016. However, yesterday’s press release did not address this. ArcelorMittal issued termination letters to 644 workers on March 11. 

The Sunday Guardian, in an email on Saturday night, also directed questions to Joseph about a $9 million payment made in February towards the plan. She did not address this. Yesterday, the union said it was convinced the company had defaulted in its pension payments and called on the relevant parties “to come clean.”

The 2014 financial statements for the pension plan showed that the surplus of revenue over expenditure for 2013 was $$64.791,005, the union claimed. The fund at the beginning of that year was $799,588,165. The surplus of revenue over expenditure for 2014 was $1,920,962—a drastic drop by about $62 million. The fund as at 2014 was $864,379,170.

T&T Guardian received a copy of the financial statements. SWUTT second vice president Ramkumar Narinesingh said, “It seems that the company’s failure to follow the actuaries’ suggestion in the 2012 report to increase from the six per cent to the 12 per cent, resulted in the surplus diminishing.”

Yesterday’s press release from the company spoke to the 2012 surplus which was then $53.6 million. The 2015 financial statements are outstanding. The union also maintained yesterday that at last Thursday’s meeting with the actuaries and trustees, it was not told of any decision regarding closure and terminated workers. 

Yesterday, however, the company said, “Both trustee and the actuary were informed of the current status of the company and termination of all employees, having had both telephonic conversations and a meeting with the company as early as on March 14, 2016.”

As the unemployment rate continues to rise, the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services is offering an array of social services to help the jobless get back on their feet. The services range from grants, temporary food cards and counselling, Minister of Social Development and Family Services Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn said in an interview over the weekend.

Crichlow-Cockburn spoke about the services the unemployed can access through her ministry in the wake of Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus’ claim that approximately 5,000 people were thrown on the breadline in the last seven months.

Told that the projected figures of retrenchment were likely to reach more than 100,000 in the economic downturn, Crichlow-Cockburn said she did not think the figure would be that much.

“If we have 100,000 people, that translates into many families,” she said.

“We will do our best to try and accommodate everyone, even if it means having to get to private sector in terms of accessing counsellors out there. If it means that the ministry would have to utilise those services, that is something I would be prepared to take to Cabinet and get approval.”

In an interview on CNC3 on Thursday, Prof Karl Theodore, Director of the Centre for Health Economics at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, said the country should brace itself for more unemployment, which is expected to peak in about three years to about 15 per cent of the working population. Theodore, a member of the Government-appointed Economic Advisory Board, urged restraint on the expenditure of foreign reserves, noting that in the 1980’s recession the unemployment figure rose to 22 per cent.

But in addressing the concerns, Crichlow-Cockburn said her ministry had partnered with the Ministry of Labour to develop a mitigation plan to treat with individuals who were retrenched.

Although the ministry offers social programmes to help the vulnerable, disabled and elderly, she said they would try to encourage the jobless to access a $15,000 grant through the Sowing Empowerment Through Entrepreneurial Development (Seed) programme to help establish small businesses ventures like farming, hair-dressing and mini marts. To access the grant, she said applicants must send in a business proposal and legitimise the reasons for starting a business. 

“You have to show that you cannot do it on your own and that you need financial assistance. It is very easy to access. We have been focusing and pushing on that. We have been trying to offer the grant to people whose living conditions are poor.”

Some of the areas they have targeted are Sangre Grande, Rio Claro and Mayaro.

Another area of assistance was through the distribution the Targeted Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, more commonly known as the food card. The minister said once a family’s disposable income is below $410 a month, they could be provided with a card which carries values between $410 to $700. For a person to qualify for the card they must provide information about their expenses and income. In the last seven months, Crichlow-Cockburn said the ministry had issued 3,049 cards, but she could not state how many were distributed to the unemployed.

She said the ministry is also working to provide counselling for retrenched workers. 

“Sometimes it is very difficult for people to deal with this change that has taken place in their lives. We recognise that people who have lost their jobs would be looking for something else...to go into a small business and to get food for their families, she said.” Under the Family Services Unit, Crichlow-Cockburn said they would provide counselling to the unemployed and their families.

Tomorrow, the Labour Ministry will host a jobs expo at the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC) in Couva, where retrenched workers will get to meet employers who are seeking more staff.

RALPH BANWARIE

A market vendor and father of two was shot yesterday in the presence of his wife and daughter at their home at Cunapo Road, Coalmine.

Sheldon “Shabazz” Sutton, 43, of Cunapo Road, Coalmine, was pronounced dead on arrival at Sangre Grande Hospital after he was shot several times by two armed men.

Police said around 11.30 am, Sutton was about to enter his van to go shopping for electrical lights with his wife and 15-year-old daughter when two armed men approached. 

One of them placed a gun to his head and forced Sutton back into the house where they took him, his wife and the teenager and locked them in Sutton's daughter bedroom and opened fire.

The woman and her daughter were not hurt but were hysterical and traumatised at the scene yesterday, screaming and calling for “Shabazz”. 

The two gunmen walked out of the house and escaped after the shooting.

Neighbours, alerted by screams for help, responded and took the injured man to the Sangre Grande District Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Sutton was shot to his chest, abdomen, arms and back, police said.

His son, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he saw two strange men running out of Cunapo Road close to his home, unaware that his father had been shot.

When he got news of his father’s death he too began screaming.

“Who killed this loving man who always gives away his produce to the needy?” his son asked. 

“I can't believe my father was killed,” he said.

His wife could not speak and had to be consoled by relatives as she kept running from the house and shouting her husband’s name.

Villagers described Sutton as a jovial vendor who would give willingly to the needy.

They said he was known by shoppers when they went to the market on Saturdays and Sundays.

Police officers, led by ASP Robain, Sgt Pamela Persad, Cpls Randy Castillo, Jason Osouna and members of Sangre Grande Crime Scene Investigators, Task Force and Homicide Region 11, were among the officers who visited the scene.

This is the second murder in the Eastern District between yesterday and Sunday.

The other killing took place on Sunday night after Wendell Thomas, a businessman of Arima, was gunned down while liming with friends at North Manzanilla beach.

Thomas, 43, a father of three, died on the spot after gunmen sprayed his body with bullets. Thomas, of Printery Road, was shot to his chest, legs, arms and back when he went to his vehicle.

Police reported that around 7 pm they responded to call of shooting at North Manzanilla beach.

On arrival they saw a group of men standing next to a car and the body of a man lying in a pool of blood on the North Manzanilla Road.

Several spent shells were recovered by police.

Police said they could not determine a motive for killing and ruled out robbery as the victim’s gold chain, other jewelery and his wallet were left untouched.

Friends of Thomas told police they were all liming and having fun at the beach when Thomas left the group to retrieve something from his vehicle parked a short distance away. 

Thomas friends were alerted by several loud explosions and later found him dead.

District Medical Officer Dr Ardillal Borde viewed the body and ordered its removal to the Sangre Grande District Hospital mortuary.

PC Mc Queen of Homicide Region 11, Arouca, is continuing with the inquiries.

Cops seek help to identify body

In a separate case, police are seeking the public's assistance in identifying the body of a man who was found murdered in Arima on Sunday night.

According to police, around 11.30 pm residents along the Arima Old Road reported hearing gunshots. Police said after the shooting they found a man dead. Police said he was shot in the head and chest. 

The murder toll is now 126 for the year, compared to 98 for the same period last year.

One of the Prime Minister’s official vehicle, PM 1, will be put up for auction.

In a release issued yesterday by the Office of the Prime Minister, it confirmed that a new S-Class Mercedes Benz had been procured for Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, which would replace PM 1, a nine-year-old vehicle, which was “currently out of commission.”

PM 1 is a Toyota Royal Saloon, which was used by two former prime ministers, Patrick Manning and Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

The release stated that the cost of the new car from Sterling Services (Battoo Bros) Ltd is $970,763.26. 

It also stated that procuring motor vehicles for the use of the Office of the Prime Minister was an administrative function carried out by relevant staff at its office.

“There are a number of matters that are considered in determining the vehicle (s) used to transport the honourable Prime Minister, including, safety, comfort and security. 

“The Office of the Prime Minister has been replacing motor vehicles on a phased basis as those older than five years have become increasingly costly to maintain. 

“The estimates of the Office of the Prime Minister for the years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 included sums for the replacement of motor vehicles. 

All replaced vehicles are and will be publicly auctioned in accordance with the law,” the release added.

On Sunday, in addressing delegates at the People’s National Movement special convention in Port-of-Spain, Rowley defended his position on the purchase of the new Mercedes Benz, claiming that PCM 1, another official vehicle of the Prime Minister, which was used by Persad-Bissessar during her term in office had “vomit” which was difficult to clean and had a terrible smell.

PCM 1 is an older model Mercedes Benz. 

Desperate because they are unable to pay home mortgages and vehicle loans, over 100 former ArcelorMittal employees overpowered security guards as they stormed the Point Lisas plant yesterday, demanding answers about their pension and savings plan.

The sun was barely up when the company’s internal security officers and Allied Security Ltd guards rushed to stop the incensed former workers and the Steel Workers Union of Trinidad and Tobago (SWUTT) from entering the compound. 

Superior in numbers, the former workers forced open the unlocked gates, leading to the officers retreating to their stations to call for help.

The union came prepared though, with locks and chains, and they ensured the Central Division Task Force officers, who responded in two vehicles, could not enter. Only three additional security officers from the Point Lisas Industrial Development Estate Company’s (Plipdeco) Tactical Response Unit were able to enter through the pedestrian gate before it too was locked. 

However, all those officers did was stand to the back of the workers, who congregated at the entrance and sang union songs, some even embracing some of the company’s security officers who were offered a month’s contract for the liquidation period. 

Other vehicles attempting to enter the plant were turned away.

Allied Security Ltd officers who were expected to change shift at 7 am were also left stranded inside the compound while their relief waited outside.

SWUTT’s second vice-president Ramkumar Narinesingh told the Guardian that they came to get a meeting with ArcelorMittal’s management over the status of the pension and savings plans. He said based on the information they obtained, it seemed that there was a deficit in the company’s contribution to the pension plan at Republic Bank—the trustee of the pension plan.

“We would contribute six per cent of our weekly salary towards the plan and the company would match that. The actuary said it should have been raised to 12 per cent in order to remain viable in 2014 and to 23.7 per cent in 2015. However, it appeared that the company kept it at six per cent.”

Last week, union officials met with Republic Bank representatives to discuss the status of the pension plan. 

“We are trying to get our money now because once they liquidate the plant and wind up everything, our pension would be lost,” Narinesingh said. 

As for those already receiving pension, he said those payments are supposed to be converted into an annuity by the trustee. Former workers also used the opportunity to collect their payslips for the period ending March 11, the day the company terminated 644 workers.

The workers were retrenched by the steel manufacturing company after it closed its operations in February citing poor sales and mounting debt.

They were upset that the company still deducted contributions to their pension and savings plan. Another reason the workers were desperate to get their pension and savings payment before the liquidation is complete was that at least 70 of them have home mortgages while 300 others have vehicle payments.

One worker said he has already defaulted on his car loan while another has to use his Kia Optima sedan, which sells at approximately $340,000, as a PH taxi.

Narinesingh said, “A lot of men and women are just home doing nothing. We were under pressure until we got last month’s pay so we could purchase some groceries. When this pay finishes next month, that is when the real pressure starts and we will start to lose our homes and vehicles.”

Finance Minister Colm Imbert has said the Government had no intention of buying the plant as it would have to compete with cheap Chinese steel flooding the market and a $3 billion debt incurred by the company.

Union representatives said they intend to be present at today’s creditors’ meeting called by ArcelorMittal at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain.

The meeting takes place the same day as a job expo at the National Energy Skills Centre, Rivulet Road, Couva, hosted by the National Employment Service of the Ministry of Labour to help displaced workers find alternative employment. 

The workers remained on the plant late yesterday even as Ministry of Labour officials intervened to organise a meeting between the trustees of the pension plan, Republic Bank; the trustees of the savings plan, the Unit Trust Corporation; and the union at its head office, Tower C, Waterfront Centre, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

A warehouse and office building used by beer manufacturing company, Carib Brewery, was completely destroyed by a raging bush fire in Mt Lambert yesterday afternoon. 

According to reports, the fire started around midday at a strip of bushes which separates the pavement from businesses and homes on the north side of the Eastern Main Road. 

The fire quickly spread to stacks of wooden pallets and plastic bottle cases being stored on the building’s compound and then to the building itself. No one was injured as staff in the building noticed the smoke and were able to evacuate to an empty lot located next door. 

By the time fire officers and tenders from Morvant, San Juan, Tunapuna and Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, arrived on the scene, the entire building was already engulfed in flames. 

Some of the officers were seen removing unburnt pallets and cases surrounding the building while their colleagues battled to extinguish the blaze which threatened to spread to the adjacent Mt Lambert Community Centre and other surrounding businesses. 

It took fire officers almost two hours to extinguish most of the fire using water and foam, but by then the roof of the building had already collapsed and its contents completely destroyed. 

In a brief interview, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Siewnarine Ramsaran confirmed that the incident was caused by a bush fire which was possibly ignited by a discarded cigarette butt.

Ramsaran said that the damage could have been mitigated if inflammable material which fuelled the fire had been stored away from the bushes.

“We advise everyone to practise good housekeeping. In an area like this we would advise to place a fire trap next to your property so it will not come into your building. Even though it is not your land next door you keep it clean so it will not affect your property in the case of a fire,” Ramsaran said.

When asked how the Fire Service was coping with numerous bush fires during the dry season, Ramsaran said most could be avoided if people followed the law. 

“During the bush fire season you can not light any fires outdoors unless it is for cooking or if you have a fire permit. The law is specific and people have been arrested for that,” Ramsaran said as he noted that the service will continue to be vigilant in its public awareness campaigns during the season.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Carib Brewery managing director Gabriel Faria said that the building was not owned by the company but instead was a rented property used to store raw materials. 

He said that only a handful of staff worked there and they escaped without injury. When asked to estimate the extent of the damage, Faria said that it could not be done up to late yesterday as company officials had not had an opportunity to visit the site since fire officers were still on the scene. 

Three people have been killed by bush fires this year. On Good Friday, senior forestry officer, Keith Campbell, 54, died after being severely burnt in a bush fire off Lady Chancellor Road, St Ann’s. Three of his colleagues who were assisting in extinguishing the bush fire were also burnt but survived.

Last Wednesday, nine-year-old Hezekiah Hospedales was burnt to death when a bush fire spread to his San Juan home. His mother Shaliser Theodore-Hospedales was severely burnt as she attempted to save her son and one-year-old daughter Rekeia Bruce. Their neighbours Phillip and Jeremiah Jones intervened and managed to rescue an injured Theodore-Hospedales and Bruce, who was unscathed. Theodore-Hospedales succumbed to her injuries at the San Fernando General Hospital three days later. 

The father of a man shot eight times by an off-duty police officer at a gas station on Sunday night is calling for the Commissioner of Police to launch an investigation into the incident.

Franky Lewis, 59, of Penal, visited the T&T Guardian’s South Bureau office yesterday after seeing his son, Franklyn, in the hospital for the first time since the incident. He says CoP Stephen Williams needed to hear both sides of the incident as he believes the officer’s actions were totally unjustified.

According to police reports, around 10.15 pm on Sunday, an officer attached to the Criminal Gang and Intelligence Unit (CGIU) was at an NP Quick Shoppe along the SS Erin Road, Debe, when he was involved in an altercation with another customer. 

The report stated that the officer was slapped and pushed to the ground. 

According to the report, when his attacker began walking towards him with a glass bottle, the officer pulled out his firearm and fired several shots.

The attacker was wounded in his stomach and chest, police said.

Barrackpore police responded along with an ambulance and took both men to the San Fernando General Hospital. 

But the elder Lewis said although there may have been a dispute between his son and the officer, he cannot understand why Franklyn was shot eight times. Franklyn, 31, a labourer, is his eldest son and lives with him in Penal. 

“We were told he and his friend went into the service station, paid for gas and bought two beers,” Lewis said. 

“When they came out, they saw someone break the line for gas and pull up in front of their car. “Franklyn was trying to explain to the man that they had already paid for the gas at the pump, but (the man) didn’t want to hear that.”

Lewis said his son and his friend did not know the man was a police officer at that time.

He said the man came out of his vehicle and the officer and Franklyn began arguing.

“They was arguing over whether this man should move or not and I think they had a scuffle, then the officer pulled out his revolver and began shooting Franklyn.”

Lewis said he wants an investigation into the officer’s actions.

“He shoot my son eight times at close range. The doctors telling me today my son lucky to be alive. Why he shoot my son eight times?” Lewis asked. 

He said since the incident, he has not been able to rest, as he feels as though the incident will be swept under the rug.

“I went to three different police stations today before they would take my report...yet the Commissioner is on TV telling people they can go to any station to make a report? I feel like this is already being stifled. I want the CoP to get involved, police can’t be running mad like this.”

He said his son has only had one brush with the law before for fighting at a bazaar in Penal two years ago. 

“Since then, he don’t give no set of trouble. He does work hard to provide for his daughter, making a day work here or a day work there.”

Franklyn has a 13-year-old daughter who is paralysed from the waist down.

Lewis said he intends to lodge a formal complaint with the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).

Franklyn is to undergo another surgery on Wednesday to remove a bullet that is lodged in his hip.

Murder accused Sheldon “Rhino” Henry appeared in court yesterday charged with escaping lawful custody from the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital, and told the presiding magistrate that he enjoyed his short-lived freedom and committed no crimes while on the run.

With his hands handcuffed behind his back for the duration of his court appearance, Henry spoke of alleged abuse at the hands of prisons officers and the delay in his court matters. 

Henry, who had bruises on his left wrist, forearm, middle and ring fingers along with bruising on his right little finger, stated that the harsh treatment and slow criminal justice system led him to escape. Henry told Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar that it was police who gave him the name Sheldon Thomas and his real name is Sheldon Shaka Ajuju Henry. 

“Ma’am the justice system failing me and forcing me to take illegal means. They don’t want me to go home. I paid my lawyer $120,000 and my lawyer passing me straight in the court. Ma’am while I was outside enjoying my little freedom I never pick up a knife, an ice-pick or a gun,” Henry said. 

When told of his 16 pending matters, Henry, with an eidetic memory, said 13 of them were either dismissed or he served time for, and he has two pending High Court matters in Port-of-Spain and San Fernando for gun and ammunition possession and murder, respectively. Henry was unsure about the outcome of another gun and ammunition possession case in the Port-of-Spain district.

“They wanted to inject me in St Ann’s, ma’am, but that is very unfair because I not mad, I good in my head. The judicial system failing me. Since I am 19 I lock up and I am 32 years now and none of my matters start,” Henry said, adding that he has been in custody “since Big Bird was a humming bird,” causing the courtroom to erupt into laughter.

Henry told the Chief Magistrate that he was thankful for being alive after he was recaptured on Saturday night by Coast Guard officers in Chaguaramas, who later handed him over to the police. He added that he was also thankful for his days of freedom after his escape last Tuesday. 

Henry’s mother, Claudine, also addressed the Chief Magistrate and said she would like to “fight this case with my son.” Henry had earlier told Ayers-Caesar that he was not going to hire an attorney in the matter because of failed relationships with lawyers in the past. His mother added that all she wanted was for her son to be tried and if he has to be convicted so be it but the limbo stage waiting for his day in court is killing her.

“I feeling like is both of us lock up. Look at him, he need some good food, the amount of wickedness they do him inside. I and he will fight this case, ma’am,” his mother said, adding that she does not know much law but she knows what is “real, real.”

Before the matter was adjourned to April 21, attorney Shanice Edwards offered to assist Henry in his case pro bono (free of charge). 

According to police reports, Henry along with five other men allegedly escaped from the St Ann’s Hospital’s Forensic Ward between midnight and 2 am on March 29 by cutting through the burglar proofing of Ward 27. 

The other escapees, Kyron Lewis, Maikie Hendrickson, Gabriel Solomon, Michael Thomas and Andre Harvey, were either recaptured or surrendered the same day. They appeared in court last Friday.

Before he was allowed to leave the courtroom, court prosecutor Insp Mohammed queried where Henry will be remanded since last Friday the prison refused to accept the other five men on the grounds that their records showed they were supposed to be at the mental hospital.

After being assured by another officer that the prison will accept Henry, Henry was ordered to be remanded at the Port-of-Spain Prison. Henry was referred to the hospital on March 7 for observation, based on an order issued by a judge of the High Court. 

A notice of violation was served to businessman George Aboud over the clearing and burning of 19 hectares of land at Las Cuevas yesterday. However, the developer remains confident this will not hinder the over $1 billion project.

T&T Guardian was told that the notice was served by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) yesterday.

EMA’s Corporate Communications manager, Mario Singh, said that over the past few days, EMA officials visited the area and were able to determine that the clearing of the land by bulldozing and burning of trees negatively affected the environment.

Singh said the developer had taken immediate steps to prevent further violations and both parties would soon be heading towards a consent agreement where strict guidelines would be laid down.

“As part of due process, the developer will be given the opportunity to come in and provide their information and data for the EMA to hear their side of the story. Nothing is fixed in stone,” Singh said.

When contacted for a comment yesterday, Aboud insisted that there was no violation as he had approvals from the EMA. He, however, said it was just a mere misunderstanding.

“The violation is for about 46 acres, which is a small piece compared to the close to 500 acres that I have there. What happened is that we did not notify them (the EMA) that we are supposed to start development. We have been doing little portions of work consecutively for the past three years,” Aboud said.

Asked if he was found to have committed any violations with regard to the Las Cuevas fishing bay or caused a threat to the fish in the area, Aboud replied, “No. It have nothing to do with the fish at the bay. We didn’t turn up dirt, didn’t dig. All that was done was cut down bamboo and we burnt it right there.”

Aboud said that he acquired the lands in Las Cuevas about 15 years ago and he would abide by and obey the restrictions set by the EMA. 

Asked about his plans for the area, Aboud said his main focus would be to improve local tourism. “I plan to construct luxury homes and apartments for rent. I will also be looking for foreign partners to develop one quarter of that land which will be over $1 billion alone.”

Last week, secretary of the group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, Gary Aboud, said that there was cause for serious concern over the bulldozing and burning of the land in Las Cuevas as it would adversely affect the Las Cuevas fishing community.

Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan wants the Central business community to invest more in arts and culture. 

He was speaking at the Chaguanas Carnival Committee prize-giving function for this year’s celebrations on Sunday at the Chaguanas Borough auditorium at Cumberbatch Street.

Boodhan said despite hard economic times the business community should inject capital where it was needed to ensure cultural growth takes place and there was no stagnation. 

He said through culture, arts and sports young people could attain more and contribute positively to the development of their community. On this note, Boodhan said the Chaguanas Borough would be paying special tribute to the successful T&T players on both the men’s and women’s T-20 squad. He said the cricketers would serve as positive role models for the borough’s youths. He said this event would be done in conjunction with the T&T cricket board.

Boodhan said now that the Continuous Assessment Component (CAC) of the SEA exams had been scrapped he would like to see more youths get involved in arts and culture. Boodhan said the junior calypso competition for Carnival 2016 had suffered a lack of participation because many students were wrapped up in doing assignments for exams.

The mayor said that the borough would have a mid-year consultation with bandleaders and schools to suggest the way forward for next year’s events. Boodhan said Carnival 2016 was a success as more bands participated than last year. He said the play park erected for children also proved to be a success in making the event a family-oriented one. 

Boodhan said the goal was to increase greater local participation in Carnival events in the borough. He said in the past years J’Ouvert celebrations had been growing. He said that was a positive sign that more people were being attracted to regional Carnival. Boodhan said the traditional mas celebrations, introduced for the first time this year, were also successful. He said this move would assist in the growth of traditional mas characters.

Carnival Committee chairman Ronald Heera said the committee had to maximise and use a reduced budget for this year’s celebrations. Heera also praised committee member Vashty Persad who coordinated the Carnival Queen Show. Heera said the pageant was entirely sponsored by the private sector.

Winner’s row

The Band of the Year title went to Chase Village Carnival for its presentation of Not So Traditional.

The Traditional Band of the Year went to Traditional Warriors from the band The Original Jab Jab.

The J’Ouvert Band of the Year went to Junabo’s Blu Hawaii, a presentation of Philip Jordan.

The Kiddies Band of the Year went to the 50th Anniversary House of Jacqui by band leader Jacqui Koon How.

Kyla Rigsby won the Calypso Monarch competition.

Special awards went to Ivan Ryce and Ali Rahaman. This duo have been playing midnight robbers since the 1950s.

Thick smoke blanketed the western coast off San Fernando for several hours on Sunday night after fire broke out behind Roodal Cemetery, destroying mounds of waste from the Embacadere landfill, spewing potentially toxic fumes into nearby homes.

The fire, which lasted for several hours, prompted a visit from San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein, who called for an increase in fines for those setting outdoor fires without a permit.

Saying he was outraged at the frequent fires at the landfill, Hosein said a committee was set up to address the matter.

“We are looking into the closure of the dump. It is situated at the heart of the city and we have set up a committee to look at doing consultations for the closure of the dump,” Hosein said. He added that the residential communities on the outskirts of the city were affected by the smoke.

“People bring a lot of white waste and dump it at this site. We want this landfill to be closed because there is a big housing area around it,” Hosein said.

Saying it was difficult to catch the culprits who lit fires at the dump, Hosein said he hoped increased fines would act as a deterrent. 

Community Comfort Patrol officers visited the landfill during the fire yesterday. Firefighters also arrived and managed to keep the fire from spreading over the wall into the Roodal Cemetery. 

Earlier this week, senior fire officers called on citizens to obtain fire permits before they set any outdoor fires. Anyone found lighting indiscriminate fires could face a fine of $1,500 and six months imprisonment.

Over the past week, more than 20 bush fires were recorded throughout T&T. 

Shaliser Theodore-Hospedales and her seven-year-old son Hezekiah Hospedales died as a result of bush fires on April 1. On March 25, Forestry Division officer Keith Campbell also died while battling a forest fire at Lady Chancellor Hill, St Ann’s. Three of his colleagues were also hurt in that incident.

Under the Agricultural Fires Act (Ch63:02 Act 20 of 1965) a permit, obtainable from the nearest fire station, is required to light outdoor fires big or small, during the period December 1 to June 30.