JOEL JULIEN

A High Court judge has ordered that the freezing order on the assets of Super Industrial Services Ltd (SIS) be continued, the National Gas Company (NGC) stated in a release yesterday.

On December 23 a court order was granted by the High Court in favour of the NGC against SIS which saw assets in the sum of US$180 million being frozen “until the determination of intended arbitration proceedings between NGC and SIS concerning the Beetham Water treatment Project.”

The question on the status of SIS’ assets was brought to the fore earlier this week after newspaper reports stated that they were unfrozen.

On Friday Justice Joan Charles ordered that the freezing of the assets remain in place.

Apart from the freeze remaining, “the injunction restraining Rain Forrest Resorts Limited (RFRL) from disposing of properties mortgaged to it by SIS was also continued,” NGC’s release stated.

“Additional injunctions were also granted removing Deeds of Release of mortgages of properties owned by SIS which were registered by RFRL in breach of the injunction and against SIS restraining it from in any way dealing with the properties,” it stated.

SIS and RFRL were ordered to pay NGC’s costs.

“These were confirmed in a hearing on June 10, 2016, at the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago. Neither the freezing order, the injunction nor the action have been struck out by the High Court as erroneously reported recently in the media,” the release stated.

The matter is scheduled to continue on June 21.

“NGC continues to work towards resolution of this matter. The company respects the rule of law in Trinidad and Tobago and would like to assure the public that it will continue to exercise its best efforts to ensure that the terms and spirit of the Law are observed in the interests of its shareholder, Corporation Sole, and by extension, the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” NGC stated.

Rosemarie Sant

GML Enterprise Desk

The State owes in excess of $2 billion to local contractors. 

Reeling under the pressure, some contractors have been forced to close shop, employees are being sent home and, fearing foreclosure by banks, there is now a threat from some of legal action to get monies owed to them.

The grim picture emerging from the construction industry was painted by president of the T&T Contractors’ Association Mikey Joseph, who told the GML Enterprise Desk that among the debtors are Nipdec, Nidco, the Educational Facilities Company and the HDC.

Joseph noted that when the People’s Partnership came into office they met a $1 billion debt, “but they ignored it. In some cases the funding was misappropriated and used for new projects.” He said the previous administration “in trying to win power extended themselves beyond capacity to pay and gave out a lot of contracts. Today, contractors are screaming again as the debt has now climbed to over $2 billion.”

While he could not say how many contractors are owed, Joseph said the bulk of the debt—in excess of $800 million—was owed by the Educational Facilities Company Ltd.

Debt owed to contractors:

Nipdec—$600m

Pure Programme

—hundreds of millions 

Nidco-hundreds of millions

HDC—$600m

EFCL—$800m

No payments to date 

Joseph said as far as he was aware, no payment has been made to any contractor to date. He said two or three months ago, a payment of $200,000 was made “to a small number of contractors,” but that is just a drop in the bucket and the huge amounts owed are not being paid.

As a result, he said, some contractors have had to “close shop, others have scaled down their operations, some are now operating two to three days a week, it is a difficult period.” 

Asked about the outstanding debt to contractors, Finance Minister Colm Imbert told the GML Enterprise Desk that because the contractors are “engaged by government departments and agencies the question cannot be answered immediately or easily.”

He said, “Each individual ministry or agency has to complete its audit of work done under the previous government before the amount can be quantified.”

However, Imbert told us that in “some cases departments and agencies are making partial payments pending the completion of audits.”

Forced to scale down 

operations, send home staff

Contractors admitted that because they are not being paid they are feeling the pinch. 

A large contractor who procured contracts for roads and bridges through Nidco and Nipdec told the GML Enterprise Desk that he is owed in excess of $50 million by the state entities. Speaking to us on condition of anonymity, the contractor described the current situation as “very, very bad. It real bad, we don’t know if we going forward or backwards.”

He said the last payment he got was in September 2015. The contractor said he has had to scale down his operations and has sent home 80 per cent of his staff. He said he has been trying to get information about outstanding monies owed to him but to no avail.

The contractor said he was forced to change banks because “the bank I was with just did not want to understand the situation. They wanted their money. I moved to local banks which are more understanding.”

He warned that if a payment is not made within the next six months, he would have no option but to initiate legal action against the State.

Another contractor told us that he has downsized his operation by 30 per cent. He said they were waiting to be paid just like everybody, but to no avail. 

Like his counterpart in the industry, he did not want to be identified for fear of victimisation but he said he had written letters to the different agencies which employed him and has been told that “when things settle down the debt will be settled.”

He declined to tell us how much money was owed to him but said “we have to understand we in a declining economic situation and everybody has to be understanding.”

Roger Ganesh of Kallco told the GML Enterprise Desk that “this is the worst situation I have ever experienced in my lifetime in terms of the debt owed to contractors by the State; things terrible.”

Kallco recently removed its equipment from the Maracas Bay improvement project because it was not receiving payments from the State for work done.

Trickle-down effect

There has been a trickle-down effect with contractors not being paid. We are told that suppliers have also not been paid as a result. Many contractors owe suppliers hundreds of thousands of dollars. While some suppliers have been “understanding,” they aren’t sure how long their credit lines will hold. Some contractors said they even owe their employees money, while others are unable to meet VAT commitments.

Added to this, some banks are not willing to facilitate people with government contracts. Asked about this, Joseph said, “Five years ago a government contract was considered money in the bank, and the banks would have financed your operation based on that, but because the payments from the Government are so unreliable you find that the banks are not willing to accept government commitment as any form of paper to lend money or to continue to have you run a high overdraft.”

In some instances, he said: “The banks are calling in overdraft facilities from some of our members.”

Meanwhile, there are no new government contracts on the horizon, and contractors continue to suffer from lack of payment and no new jobs.

Around this time annually, contractors are invited to site visits at schools which the Educational Facilities Company may have deemed to be in need of repairs. When told this may present an opportunity for some work for contractors, Joseph laughed and said: “If there are contractors who are brave enough to want to work for EFCL I wish them luck.”

He said EFCL had effectively “bankrupted some small contractors who have worked on school programmes in the past and have not been paid.”

Joseph is not optimistic that a lot of contractors would be open to taking the risk “because there are many contractors who have the EFCL before the courts for payments owed to them.”

Education Minister Anthony Garcia gave the assurance that “although it’s a lot of money, given the current state of the economy the $800 million owed to contractors will be paid.”

He said an evaluation was currently being done of the invoices from the contractors “so we can verify that the work was done and that we got value for money.”

Once that process is done, he said, an application would be made to “the Minister of Finance for monies to pay the contractors.” He said it would be up to the Minister of Finance to determine the source of funds for the payment to be made.

​Head of the Contractors’ Association Mikey Joseph is lamenting that the construction industry has been hurt in the past by ‘collusion’ which saw some “investors having 21 companies and when you go on a site visit six of the companies belong to the same group tendering for the job, and then you want to talk about collusion and clauses where you sign that you are not colluding. 

“It is natural collusion because they have the same set of shareholders. We need laws that deal with how we compete and set up businesses.”

He said to address this problem there needs to be “contractor registration and licensing. In addition we definitely need to have the new procurement legislation fully proclaimed, operationalised and functioning because at the end of the day, the only people who are losing are the ordinary people, the middle class and the poor.”

Industry dormant 

for eight months

Meanwhile, Joseph said the construction industry in T&T has been dormant for the last eight months.

And according to Joseph, there are no indicators that there would be a turnaround in this situation any time soon. 

In its latest report the Central Bank also indicated that in the last quarter of 2015 the construction sector had declined by 8.3 per cent. 

Joseph said apart from the planning and design of the road to Toco, which may take up to two years, he is not aware of any big projects that are being undertaken.

Asked whether local contractors have been asked to bid to complete the Pt Fortin Highway now that the contract with OAS has been halted, Joseph said: “I am aware some local contractors have tendered on packages for continuance, but I am not aware there has been any positive outcome, we are also not aware whether funds are being sourced to continue the project.” 

He said locally there wasn’t much available to contractors, and he does not anticipate that this country would be able “to sustain the level of activity we are accustomed to seeing for the next two or four years. I don’t see that happening.”

Although there are plans to spend $90 million to complete the Brian Lara Stadium, Joseph said when that is split up in several packages “it will bring relief but it is not going to be long term.” 

He said once the work to be done is well planned, “the work at the stadium should not go beyond the year because it is generally just a matter of doing some restoration to electrical and other things. There are no development packages coming out of that.”

Because of the situation in the local construction industry, contractors are now looking to other countries in the region for work. Just recently, NH International headed by TSTT chairman Emile Elias got a contract in Dominica and Adams Construction “won a fairly large contract in St Kitts,” he said.

In an effort to get clarity on what is happening, Joseph said the Contractors’ Association, which he heads, had been trying to meet with the Ministers of Finance, Housing, and Planning to get “an understanding of where we’re at, what direction is best to take, what the housing plan and housing development programme is really about, but we have been unable to get meetings.”

The industry, he said, is also still unclear on the government’s housing plan as outlined by the Prime Minister in his address to the nation last December. 

He said the Government indicated it would invite proposals for finance, some for design/build, and others who wish to have their own land developed, but “I don’t think that is the best model, but we have no further information other than the request for proposal.”

Joseph is suggesting that the best arrangement would be to have “a conglomerate which has financing in train.” 

He explained: “We need to find finance, a design-and-build team, develop a proper project, and then present it to the Government.”

Environmentalist Gary Aboud is calling on the Minister of Energy Nicole Olivierre and Minister of Works Fitzgerald Hinds to explain why they accepted lifetime membership from the Quarry Association of T&T, a group which forms part of a sector which has been poorly regulated by the Government.

Asking whether there was a potential conflict of interest in accepting lifetime memberships to the association, Aboud complained that the State had failed to properly regulate the destruction of the environment by a number of illegal quarries operating around the country.

“Earlier this year, the Quarry Association presented Lifetime Membership Certificates to former prime ministers, the Right Hon Patrick Manning and Basdeo Panday, the current Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, the Hon Nicole Olivierre, and current Minister of Works and Transport, the Hon Fitzgerald Hinds.

“This is an obvious conflict of interest. Due process of law is compromised when the recipients of ‘lifetime membership’ awards are the regulators themselves,” Aboud said.

Destruction of Cumaca 

watershed

Aboud’s comments came as he highlighted what he described as the destruction of the environment and particularly the watersheds in the village of Cumaca in Valencia.

He said the quarry operator had modified the course of the Turure River and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Ministry of Energy (MoE) had done nothing to stop it.

Aboud, who is the corporate secretary of environmental group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS), said the group was calling on Olivierre and Hinds and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to investigate the “continued destructive and illegal action openly taking place on this site daily.”

He said the quality of water to WASA’s Cumaca intake was compromised due to siltation and the potable water security was jeopardized.

“The constant flow of heavy machinery and the irresponsible method of excavation below the road have compromised the integrity of the public access road. Millions of public funds will need to be spent to repair the damage which this quarry is causing to the roads, but no amount of money can repair a potable water aquifer,” Aboud said.

“This conduct presents an opportunity for Government to set an example for all. Unless the Rule of Law is applied without fear or favour, our beloved country will continue its slide into muddy waters.

“Unless Minister Olivierre prosecutes this unlawful conduct with the prescribed fine and imprisonment, and until the damage is assessed and repaired at the developer’s cost, her Government risks becoming known as a Government which has been bought and sold.” 

He said if the problem was not addressed it would send a signal that the law only applied when it came to “prosecuting the poor man.”

Neither Hinds nor Olivierre answered calls from the Sunday Guardian.

After her story was highlighted in the Sunday Guardian last week, terminated ArcelorMittal worker Joanette Pariag says she is grateful for the outpouring of support from good Samaritans in the country.

Pariag said she had been receiving calls from members of the public who offered assistance to her and her 21-year-old daughter, Jade.

But while she is thankful for the assistance, especially for her daughter, she said many callers had some harsh and negative words to say. Pariag said she was a bit disappointed that some people appeared to be genuine but as the telephone conversation progressed, they started asking her very personal questions which made her uncomfortable. She said she had to politely let them know she would end the telephone call.

Pariag said, “I am thankful to all those who have contacted me and given support. I received lots of calls this past week from family, friends and the public.”

She said she is also considering taking up a job with an insurance company. Two popular insurance companies have offered her employment as an insurance agent. 

Pariag, 54, lost her job as a port coordinator in March. She worked at the steel manufacturing company for 36 years. She and hundreds of other former workers are still awaiting their pension.

As a result of her mother’s job loss, Jade was forced to withdraw from university for six months.

Jade placed first in the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) in 2006. 

After completing her secondary education at Naparima Girls’ High School, she started her degree in medicine at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, campus.

However, after the company closed operations and sent home over 600 workers without any compensation, it became a financial strain for Pariag to continue paying Jade’s monthly expenses.

Fortunately, this past week, a doctor offered Jade her medical textbooks, once they are the ones in use. Also, a community-based organisation said she was a winner of the SEA and considered a human resource who would give back to T&T; the organisation therefore committed to her education expenses while many others stepped forward with help. 

Pariag said, “Jade and I are truly thankful. We appreciate the assistance that we received and that there are still good people out there.”

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi wants citizens to watch out for potential victims of human trafficking as the Government forges international alliances to deal with trans-Atlantic crimes.

He was speaking to reporters at an HDC housing distribution function held at Omardeen Building in San Fernando yesterday, days after he returned from chairing the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force meeting in Jamaica. 

Responding to reports of the recent influx of Venezuelans to T&T because of widespread starvation, poverty and spiralling crime, Al-Rawi said he was personally involved in dealing with the human trafficking issue.

“Together with the Ministry of National Security, the Human Trafficking Unit is in full operation and we have lent some significant effort into tightening the results,” he said without divulging details. 

He also said the Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon was engaged in talks with Venezuelan security officials for joint sea patrols.

“The government of Venezuela patrols its border by air on the Colombian border where there is a significant flow of narcotics. 

Putting the cap on the transfer of narcotics at sea is the next end of the equation,” Al-Rawi said.

He added that joint patrols of all arms of law enforcement have started in San Fernando and environs which yielded favourable results.

“We call upon citizens to do their part because no one government can curb crime. 

It is by diligent reporting of activities even if it is through an anonymous hotline that we will deal with the issues,” Al-Rawi said.

He also said that during his meeting with representatives of 27 countries to address money laundering, counter terrorism and organised crime, he forged strong relationships.

He said while T&T had the legislative framework to combat crime, it was important to get the laws to work.

By now, more than one aspect of T&T’s issues has caught the eye of British criminologist Dr Simon Cottee, a writer for The Atlantic who’s in this country for research.

Cambridge scholar, Cottee, who’s attached to Kent University’s sociology division, also worked at Bangor University’s Social Science unit and UWI, St Augustine’s criminology division several years ago. Currently doing work on the sociology of religion, he’s recently completed an Economic and Social Research Council-funded study of ex-Muslims in Britain and Canada.

Cottee visited T&T earlier this year, investigating radicalism in T&T and possible alignment of nationals to the Islamic State (Isis), a subject in which he specialises with The Atlantic which analyses issues regionally.

After returning last week, Cottee said he’s sensed a new dynamic on the crime front,

“...Violence targeting criminal justice—attacks on prison guards, police and similar officials, such people being killed with ease and impunity.”

This is in addition to a moral coarsening in T&T which he’s detected, but acknowledges is a worldwide trend.

Cottee isn’t wrong. In the brief space of recent months the population has been on high alert as security forces deal with a spate of unusual incidents.

• The recent central Trinidad crime wave

• Port-of-Spain “jailbreak jitters” over months

• A grenade detonated in Barataria between warring Rasta City and Muslim gang members

• Golden Grove prison remand facility unrest where inmates include members of Central’s “Unruly Isis” gang

• Slaying of prisons officers, servicemen and a prisoner transport service officer

• Firebombings of DJ’s car in Woodbrook and policeman’s Central home

• Social media voice note threats over a week ago of an Isis bomb attack at local malls followed closely by bomb threats in North and South, and subsequently by a similar threat on schools

• A grenade which fell out of a bag held by a man in Carli Bay the previous week

• Keys to the Port-of-Spain prison remand area going missing, with a prisons officer now before the courts
And this week: Another bomb threat at the University of the West Indies. Plus discovery that day by a Point Fortin resident of a fake hand grenade near a Point school.
While the latter may confirm the population is heeding National Security’s call to “report it if you see it,” it also confirms uneasiness with the landscape.
And confidence hasn’t been helped by the foul-ups (by all parties involved) regarding recent issues with the Prime Minister’s security detail.
The military men who have headed and currently head T&T’s National Security Ministry aren’t unconcerned by the confluence of events, in the face of a murder rate already at 209. 
A rate outstripping the days so far this year, says Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who failed to get Government to debate the matter in Parliament last Friday.
Corresponding measures have been enacted. Security forces on alert. A deepened intelligence-led thrust by police targeting known culprits and gangs. Prison systems “swept” and tightened. International meetings following recent “terror” threats, plus partners on point regarding upgraded intelligence and strategy sharing. 
Neighbourly collaboration on coastal watch following an influx of Venezuelans. Upgraded Strategic Services Agency with an expanded intel-flow following proclamation of legislation upon the attorney general’s return.
Also recently announced, leadership for the Joint Border Security Unit—a PNM promise— headed by former ACP James Philbert. It includes former security unit heads Ramesh Lutchmedial (Civil Aviation), Herman Browne (Immigration), Fitzroy John (Customs), Kent Moore (Defence Force maritime).
Calls for public to be eyes, 
ears of the authorities
National Security Minister Edmund Dillon at Tuesday’s Senate has, however, urged the public to be the “eyes and ears” of the authorities. The follow-up to the Prime Minister’s calls to communities to stop remaining silent on perpetrators among them.
“...Law enforcement agencies cannot do it alone,” Dillon urged.
Dillon said over the last five years, 2,000 firearms and 30,000 rounds of ammunition had been seized in T&T.
Police communications director Ellen Lewis provided further information on the number seized between January 1 and June 8, that there were 350 guns.
The information (see box) also indicates the majority of guns seized in the last term and up to the present are revolvers and pistols; seizures increased in 2014-2015 .
Information also shows a noteworthy increase in seizures of machine guns over 2014 to 2105 (18 and 23) with five already seized for this year.
Former National Operations 
Centre head Garvin Heerah said such weapons aren’t part of the normal criminal arsenal, though the experience has been that some gangs can access them for special jobs/threats and they’re returned to source.
Dillon has also confirmed grenades aren’t part of the normal criminal arsenal. These arose on the scene in July 2015 when one was found outside the Port-of-Spain prison after the Port-of-Spain jailbreak by Allan “Scanny” Martin, Hassan Atwell and Christopher Selby. 
Another grenade was detonated in March between warring Barataria gangs. One fell out of a bag carried by a man in Carli Bay two weeks ago. Despite no arrests in the latter instance, Dillon said it’s considered a “very serious matter.”
Dillon has acknowledged grenades normally come in batches and not singly. Coupled with recent bomb threats, the implications of such facts call for reinforced intelligence gathering, tracking the grenades and comparing all three to get an origin “...which will facilitate a sense of where to place our emphasis,” he added.
Focus on guns, however, largely involves coastal patrolling. 
“Eighty per cent of murders are committed with guns. Arms and ammunition which aren’t made here enter T&T with narcotics, primarily in southern areas,” he noted.

South—Big gun seizures
Southern Division Sr Supt Irwin Hackshaw, whose division extends from Claxton Bay to Oropouche, outlined strategies his team has been incorporating on seizures. To date, Southern has seized 75 firearms, the highest haul among the nine divisions, he claims.
“We’re not letting up, we’re on the ground. We largely see handguns—9mm, 38 specials, .380 guns,” Hackshaw added.
Apart from hotspots—Claxton Bay, Marabella “Trainline”, San Fernando wharf—Moruga is also of concern for gun entry.
South Western’s Sr Supt Nazrool Hosein said his division was seeing fewer guns around than previously. He believes they may be entering at points apart from South. Divisonal hotspots include Penal, Siparia, Santa Flora, Oropouche and Pt Fortin. No organised gang activity exists. “Despite the fact something was in La Brea,” he says, there’s been general crime reduction.

Grenades emerging—Alfonso 
The PP’s former national security minister Carl Alfonso, a former chief of defence staff, during his brief tenure between February and September (last year), got a taste of the situations to come (this year) which would challenge Dillon.
It fell to Alfonso to deal with the July 2015 jailbreak by inmates “Scanny,” Atwell and Selby, where a grenade was found on the pavement outside the Frederick Street prison after their escape. There has never been information to contradict security forces’ findings that it was part of their armoury.
The current scenario is cause for concern by law enforcement, Alfonso said about the grenade discoveries.
“I can’t recall this number (of grenades) coming to light, it’s as if someone is sending a strong message...designed to make people panic. But I’m confident the Defence Force and police combined can suppress any acts of internal aggression.”
Only the Defence Force has grenades and officers are trained to disarm them, he added. He wasn’t aware of police weaponry. TTDF grenades came in batches of 24 to 48. The manufacturing source and possibly age can be traced by the numbers.

Faced with an influx of mosquitoes and the possibility of contracting Zika, frustrated residents of St Croix Road, Princes Town, want Government to spray their homes and dig a drain to rid the area of stagnant water.

The residents live close to a swampy piece of land once used to cultivate rice. Resident Shamir Mohammed said over the past 50 years, residents backfilled the lagoon lands to build houses without providing proper drains.

“Now the water is backing up and causing damage to people’s properties,” Mohammed said. He said people could not live in their homes because of the mosquitoes. 

Anesha Hosein, who was among those backfilling her lands, said she had to send her two-year-old son Josh out of the village because of the mosquitoes.

“We sleep under nets but it is not enough. Since we living here five years ago we cannot rest,” she said. About one month ago, Hosein said, she developed high fever and body pains. 

“The doctor told me that I have to do a blood test that it could be Zika or ChikV but I am afraid of needles so I never did it,” she said. Her younger son fell ill and that was when Hosein and her husband, Anil Bridgelal, decided to take him out of the village. Hosein said they are now contemplating whether they should sell their house and relocate.

Another neighbour, Farook Hosein, said several months ago, a portion of the swampy land was backfilled. “There used to be a drain here but since the land was backfilled the water has nowhere to run. Snake and alligator coming up in the back here. It making us sick. We want help to open up the drain,” Hosein said.

Chicken farmer Ahamad Hosein said the residents were willing to open up access to their lands to allow the authorities to fix the problem.

Contacted yesterday, chairman of the Princes Town Regional Corporation, Aiknath Singh, said he will have the area sprayed as early as tomorrow. He also said that he will investigate the residents’ complaints.

The National Commission for Self Help Ltd (NCSHL) is now a dormant body. 

This was the view of Surujdeo Mangaroo, former NCSHL chairman, who said he was still getting calls for assistance from members of the public. Mangaroo spoke with reporters when he delivered a wheelchair to Sybil Gopaul, a pensioner, at her Mc Bean Village, Couva, home yesterday.

Mangaroo delivered the wheelchair in his capacity as the charter president of the Penal Rotary Club. 

He said, “I have been receiving a lot of calls on social media from people seeking assistance. Unfortunately, I am no longer the chairman of the NCSHL, but I would like to call on the chairman and the relevant minister to reach out to the poor people. 

“During my tenure at the NCSHL I reached out to thousands of needy cases. I am pleading to the authorities to look at the poor; they need your help.”

He said during his stint as chairman, 115 starter houses and 11 activity centres were completed.

Couva North MP Ramona Ramdial said she has also been bombarded with calls from five families who are fire victims and have applied for assistance from the NCSHL since December 2015. Ramdial said these people have not gotten any assistance as yet. Ramdial said she hopes that some of the $2.5 billion extracted from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund will go towards assisting the needy and vulnerable in society.

Venezuela is in turmoil and according to the latest news reports coming out of that country, even once middle-class citizens have now resorted to sifting through trash in order to feed themselves.

This, however, has not stopped hundreds of T&T nationals from flocking to Venezuela’s tourist island, Isla de Margarita, every week in sold-out chartered flights, the Sunday Guardian has learnt. Isla de Margarita is located 16 kms away from Caracas.

While uncertainty in Venezuela has led to the dwindling of the North American and European markets for Margarita, the T&T market has now become the island’s most loyal.

A reduction in the airfare to Margarita this month is said to be responsible for the cheaper prices. For as little as $1,600 an adult can spend four days and three nights at one of Margarita’s all-inclusive hotels this month. That $1,600 total includes return airfare and the cost of the hotel where guests are provided with all they can eat and drink.

This represents a 40 per cent decrease in the cost of the same package two months ago. For the Easter weekend the cost of that package was $2,680.

The Trinidad to Margarita route became active in the 1980s and has thrived ever since. The Sunday Guardian spoke to several travel agencies to find out if Venezuela’s economic collapse has affected travel to Margarita. Philip Navarro, a director at NavTours Ltd, said the chartered flights continue to sell out every week and the feedback from visitors has been positive.

“The charters are selling out. We cannot put enough planes on the routing, they are doing very well. Visitors are coming back with minor complaints, there are issues over there with crime as we have in Port-of-Spain, but no worse or no better. If you go in the bad areas, if you hang out in some bar downtown in the dark, you have issues yes, but generally on the compounds and within the hotel industry they don’t have any issues,” Navarro said.

“The rate of exchange is fabulous. The cost is fabulous and of course, the properties themselves have been built to appease all global tastes. So yes, they (Margarita) have had a slump generally due to the public perception of how things are in Venezuela but in general from the feedback we are getting from our clientele, the hotels are in good shape, the food is excellent and of course, what is really attracting them, let’s be frank, is the affordability,” he said.

The exchange rate right now is approximately 900 Venezuelan Bolivars to one United States dollar.

Navarro said there are several issues that make Margarita an “easy choice” for Trinidadians and NavTours has been doing “quite well” as a result.

“We are able to expand and reduce the pathway to Margarita very easily...so we are not having to plan eight months in advance for our clients. 

“This is not always available to them when you go to other Caribbean islands and other destinations, even Tobago. In Tobago these days, if you don’t plan four or five months in advance you can’t get a room in a decent place. So these are all the things that make Margarita a very easy choice and in general. Alvin Ramsook, from World Travel Agents, said because of Venezuela’s instability potential visitors to Margarita usually have lots of questions.

However, when they actually visit the island they return pleased.

“Venezuelans themselves go to Margarita from the mainland to vacation so it (Margarita) is not affected as much as the mainland. The hotels get their supply of food internationally from their chains but this month, as you can see, there are much cheaper rates to go there so we have had a bulk of passengers going every week,” Ramsook said.

Flights aboard Rutaca Airlines leave this country every Thursday and Sunday to go to Margarita.

Government was liaising up to late yesterday with US Florida authorities to ascertain if any T&T nationals were hurt or killed in the early morning shooting at Orlando gay club Pulse, where a suspected Isis sympathiser killed 50 people and injured 53 others. US President Barack Obama, in a nation-wide address, described it as the most deadly mass shooting in US history.

The shooter, Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, 29, born in New York of Afghan parents, was from Port St Lucie, Florida. He reportedly shot and injured 103 people between 2 am and 5.54 am yesterday before being killed by US police.

US authorities treating it as an act of domestic terrorism, described it as the deadliest terror attack on American soil since 9/11. They said Mateen had been on their radar as having suspected radical Islamic leanings. Isis yesterday claimed he was a “soldier of the caliphate.”

Mateen’s father told US media, Mateen had recently been outraged by the sight of men kissing in public places.

Obama, addressing countrymen yesterday, described the mass murder as an act of terror,  “What is clear, he (Mateen) was a person filled with hate...this is an especially heartbreaking day for the (LGBT) community...the place where the shooting occurred was a place of solidarity and empowerment,” Obama noted.

The incident, which occurred in Florida’s third largest city— which has a significant T&T population— put a dark stain on Gay Pride month currently being observed by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. It’s also elicited shock and horror among T&T’s LGBT community.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, who was in touch with T&T’s consul general in Miami from early yesterday, said at 4 pm: “Government via T&T’s consul general in Florida is in immediate and constant touch with Orlando police, still in the process of identifying persons and going through material in this tragic crime. Our people on the ground are also in touch to ascertain whether our citizens or family members were hurt in this tragedy; we should have a clearer picture by later tonight.

“On behalf of Government I can only condemn persons who mounted this attack and offer prayers and sympathy for the victims and their families who have this Sunday, awakened to the tragic news of such a savage incident — we are ever vigilant.”

Al-Rawi briefed Prime Minister Keith Rowley and National Security Minister Edmund Dillon on the situation.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert acting for Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses, said he hadn’t received word regarding nationals who may have been affected, but the matter was being checked. He expected word last night.

A list published by the city of Orlando up to 6 pm yesterday had six names of persons ages 36 to 22  of apparently Spanish descent but no confirmation of T&T nationals.

Opposition urges vigilance

Opposition MP Ramona Ramdial, condemning the attack as heinous, added, “We need to respect all individuals whatever their choices. Only with proper legislation can we have security and safety for all. T&T is known for copycatting, we don’t want to see this (Orlando) take place anywhere.

The killings have raised the question of the easy availability of weapons.”

Opposition MP David Lee also urged citizens to be vigilant against acts of terrorism and criminal activities that threaten local security, “It’s important that we all be our brother’s keepers.”

US reports detailed the situation unfolded at Pulse at 2.02 am yesterday when over 300 were in the club. Shots were exchanged between Mateen and an officer working at the club. Pulse’s Facebook page then warned persons to “get out of the club and keep running.” 

SWAT teams later used an armoured vehicle to ram the building, eventually cornering Marteen ,who’d retreated inside the club where he took people hostage. He was killed around 5 am in gunfire exchange. 

Up to 10 am yesterday, US media reported bodies were still inside the club. Some injured were reported as critical. Surgeons projected the death toll might rise.

Marteen, a  trained private security guard was armed with an AR-15 rifle and handgun. He’d been interviewed by the FBI over the last two years. Authorities reported he called 911 during the incident, expressing support for Isis and the Tsarnaev Boston bombers.

Isis-aligned Amaq news agency yesterday published  an Isis message that  Mateen was a “soldier of the caliphate”. Last month, Isis urged  European and  US sympathisers to attack civilians on homeground if they were unable to travel to Syria and Iraq.

Paid a $25 dowry in exchange for her hand in marriage, child bride Rosey Ali remained trapped in a loveless, abusive, adulterous marriage for 36 years. Ali, who is now 78, wants the Government to change the Marriage Act to restrict parents from marrying their 12-year-old daughters.

Giving snippets of her life during an exclusive with the T&T Guardian, Ali of Lands Settlement Road, Ecclesville, Rio Claro, recalled the trauma she faced after she was forced to drop out of school at age seven and marry at age 13 under Muslim rites.

Ali suffered years of abuse at the hands of her husband, Hydar Gugoon Ali, who first saw her while she played in a muddy puddle at her brother’s house. He was five years older than her. It was a marriage marred by adultery. Ali admitted that she was not compatible with her husband and she stayed with him only because of their five children. 

Even though her face bore no signs of the distress she faced, a smiling Ali said she was the only daughter for her parents Madan Durgadeen and Sumintra Bissoon, who were both Hindus. When their marriage failed, Ali went to live with her mother while her brothers—Ramsundar and Boysie —went to live with their father.

“My mother worked hard on the estate to mind me. We were very close and she took good care of me. Ramsundar was much older than me. I had to stop school when my father died. I remember running from Ecclesville school barefeet to Torrib Tabaquite Road and wetting my foot at every stand pipe. Today I am paying for that because I have arthritis,” she recalled.

After Ramsundar got married and his wife got pregnant, Ali said her mother sent her to stay with them.

“I think they were worried that I was staying home alone when she went to work so when I went to stay by my brother. Gugoon passed and saw me one day on the way to the garden. He went to my brother and asked to marry me. I had no say,” Ali added.

She recalled that a $25 dowry was passed for her hand in marriage. The wedding was no fanfare.

“The Imam came and married us quietly. I could not say anything. In those days when they talk you have to listen. I knew everybody was marrying so I did not say anything. I was not so smart so I stayed quiet,” she added. She explained that she never talked much to her new husband. When five years passed and she had no children, many people began whispering that maybe she was barren.

“It was only when I was 18 years that I had my first child,” Ali added. She said one day while Gugoon worked in the garden, a branch fell and hit him in the eye.

“He spent one week at the hospital and after that he decided not to work the land. He started to run taxi and he get wild. He went with one woman after the other. I could not handle it,” Ali recalled. She said every time she spoke to him about the women he would beat her.

“At that age I depended on him. I was not educated so I had no choice but to stay. I could not say anything. If I ask where he was he would beat me. Eventually I stopped asking him anything,” Ali added. She said her husband never allowed her to go anywhere on her own.

“If I wanted to go anywhere he would carry me but only if he wanted to. I could not even go to visit my parents,” Ali said. She added that even now she had a fear about going anywhere alone. 

Ali said her husband’s infidelity became unbearable. One day when her mother came to visit, she told Ali that if she was unhappy, she should leave.

Following her mother’s advice, Ali left her husband. He kept all of their children as he did not want to pay maintenance, Ali added. She said years later, Gugoon came to her and said he wanted to reconcile.

“My brother and my mother said I should not go back but I was studying the children. I really did not experience life in a happy way. After we got back together, he stopped being unfaithful and we started to live here in Ecclesville,” Ali added.

She said she was 30 years old at that time and, without an education, felt she did not have any options. Asked whether she believed being married as a child had hampered her opportunities, Ali said she never really thought about it.

However, she said it was important that girls are given an education before marriage so nobody could take advantage of them.

“I have an 18-year-old granddaughter Angela Ali and she don’t even think about marriage now. She wants to go to UWI and get her education. That is the right way,” Ali explained. 

She said while her husband was “nice and friendly” and was good with children, she believed they were married too young.

“You have to leave children to get some sense before they marry because children don’t know how to live a married life,” Ali said. She explained that even though life was better now with proper amenities such as pipe-borne water, people had more money worries.

“Look how expensive baby milk is. When you get married too young, with no education, people will take advantage of you.” Ali said her mother died at the age of 80 and she took care of her until she died. 

“My husband got a heart attack but I cannot remember when he died. It was a long time ago when he was 54 years and I was 49,” Ali said. She added that her life could have been better or worse. Either way, she is happy to have her five children: Cecil, Selwyn (deceased), Reena, Sherry and Judy as well as her grand children.

Ali said maybe her story will not have any effect on the change in legislation but she hoped that more child brides could come forward and speak out about their lives so the rest of the population could be informed.

T&T’s Marriage Act (1923)
The Marriage Act which governs Civil (Christian) marriages sets the age of consent at 18 for males and females. The Marriage and Divorce Act which governs Muslim marriages and divorces, sets the age of consent at 16 for males and 12 for females. The Hindu Marriage Act sets the age of consent at 18 for males and 14 for females. However, provisions are made for persons under these set ages to be contracted in marriage with consent. The Orisha Marriage Act sets the age of consent at 18 for males and 16 for females.

Tears flowed down the faces of Point Fortin residents yesterday as the news spread that popular businessman Vishnu Singh had died after being shot by a lone robber.

Singh, 55, of Reid Road Extension succumbed to his injuries around 5 pm on Saturday, six hours after he was shot twice in the lower abdomen while standing in the yard of his businessplace. The gunman escaped without taking anything.

Police said Singh, who was fondly known as Lalee, was conducting business at his store named Hardware Supplies when the gunman accosted him. Singh shouted for help but the gunman fired two shots in Singh’s direction hitting him. The assailant escaped as Singh fell to the ground bleeding.

He was rushed to the Point Fortin area hospital where he died. Investigators said Singh supplied residents with kerosene, gasoline and hardware supplies. 

He also fixed weed wackers and gave free training to people in Point Fortin. Described as a generous man who had touched the lives of many, residents said they were broken-hearted to learn that Singh had passed.

His neighbour, Kennedy Harriman, said, “He was a man who helped everybody. He used to fix people wackers for free if they could not afford it. He never trouble anybody. He was a quiet man. He never drink, smoke or lime.” 

Harriman said Singh was robbed three times in the past but this never deterred him from operating business. “He was not one to fight back but he was never afraid of anybody. We still in shock that he died,” Harriman said.

Another of his friends who requested anonymity said he was the only one who supplied the community with gas and kerosene. “Where we going to get pitch oil now? When we have no lights. He used to give us pitch oil for free,” the man cried. Singh’s uncle Sookram Ramnarine said he single-handedly took care of his two nephew—Ramesh and Suresh  Mahabir—both mentally challenged.

“He was so quiet. He built this businessplace from scratch. He worked hard every day and he was an honest man,” Mahabir said quietly. Singh’s nephew Ricardo Ramsaran said crime was getting out of hand. Saying his uncle did not own much and was not very wealthy, Ramsaran said criminals were becoming more desperate each day.

“Police told us that this weekend there were many robberies and hold ups in Point Fortin. It is sad that the gun man killed him. Such a sad loss of life,” Ramsaran said. He noted that Singh never advertised his business and worked hard to help his fellowmen, yet his life was snuffed out in a horrible way.

An autopsy will be done on Singh’s body today at the Forensic Science Centre. Homicide officers are continuing investigations.
 

The doctor of the popular weight-loss clinic has been released without any charges being laid. The doctor is claiming that, while in custody, she never had the privilege of meeting with her lawyer.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Dr Surelia Reid of SureWay Weight Loss Clinic, said that last Monday she was approached by four male officers and a female officer from Fraud Squad while outside her St James Clinic.

Reid said she was forced to go with them without an arrest warrant shown to her. 

“I turned off my vehicle and was forced to enter into an unmarked vehicle. My many attempts to find out what it was about was met with hostility,” she said. Upon arriving at the Fraud Squad Unit, Reid said that her cellphone was confiscated and she was not allowed to retrieve her attorney’s number.

“I managed to call a friend and ask him to send my attorney for me,” Reid said. Four hours after, Reid was able to start her interview in the presence of her lawyer. “However, after that, were not allowed to meet again,” she added.

Asked if she was questioned in connection with any fraud cases, Reid said, “Yes, two cases.” Reid said she was also shown related documents, including cheques.

“I told them I have never met the individuals nor contracted them to do any work for SureWay Weight Loss Clinic. Nor was the handwriting on the cheques mine,” she said.

Reid said after the interview she was put in a cell and told she would be there until the officers completed their enquiries.

“I was not fed nor given anything to drink during my five days of custody nor was I allowed to bathe or communicate with anyone from outside. I was kept on the floor of a cell filled with faeces and urine,” Reid alleges.

On the fifth day, Reid said she was approached by an inspector who told her she had to be placed on an identification parade. Reid refused saying that she will do nothing until her attorney was present.

“That was when I took in sick and had to be hospitalised at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. I was released after a submission was filed, without charge,” Reid said.

Minister of Public Administration and Communication Maxie Cuffie yesterday confirmed that the contracts of 16 employees of the Government Information Services Ltd (GISL) which recently came to an end, were not renewed.

“The fact of the matter is that they had contracts which ended. The reason why they were not re-employed is because the jobs they had to do no longer exists. It became redundant,” Cuffie said in an interview yesterday.

The latest batch of GISL production workers and cameramen whose contracts were not renewed at the end June comprised those involved in the preparation and broadcast of daily newscasts on Channel 4.

Cuffie said the contracts expired “all around this time. Some would have expired last month; some would be this month.” For the year, Cuffie said approximately 16 GISL employees, who were not re-employed by the State, got their full entitlements.

“That is the total figure as far as I understand.”

Channel 4 was established to provide information relevant to T&T’s society and culture. GISL is the State’s primary media and information company. Cuffie said the media environment was a fluid one and was positive that some of those employees who were sent home would move on to other media houses.

“I am pretty sure some will be absorbed elsewhere.”

In thanking the employees who worked hard to develop GISL, Cuffie wished them the best. Cuffie said Channel 4 employees were hired to bring out a daily news programme. But this was not done.

Instead, Cuffie said the television station had been feeding off state-run Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG) nightly newscast through CTV and other broadcasts, rather than come up with its own news.

“The employees who were not rehired were working on producing a news programme. When I was there, Channel 4 did not produce a news programme. All it did was carry other materials such as government programmes and news programmes,” Cuffie explained.

“We also think it was not important that Channel 4, GISL and CNMG have a news programme. So CNMG (CTV) is the news outlet and they work with GISL. They (Channel 4 and CNMG) were both producing the same news programme and we felt that was a duplication. But we did not want to retrench anybody so we allowed everybody to work to the end of their contract.” 

Questioned whether the Government would close the doors of Channel 4, Cuffie said all of that would be determined when the Government makes an ultimate decision on GISL and CNMG. GISL and CNMG are both heavily debt-ridden.

“Remember that the board of CNMG and GISL held a consultation and we produced a report, making four recommendations. Those recommendations were sent to the committee on state enterprises which will make a recommendation to Cabinet as to how we proceed. We will make an ultimate decision based on that.”

Cuffie was unable to say when this decision would be made, but stated that the committee has met with both companies and the matter was under active consideration.

A 44-year-old man accused of quadruple murder and injuring eight others, including his brothers, was found hanging in prison after he reportedly asked fellow inmates about various ways to kill himself. 

Peter Hyde, who police said was battling with and being treated for schizophrenia, was reportedly last seen alive on Saturday night in his cell at the Maximum Security Prison around 11 pm. Police said at 5.30 am yesterday he was found with a piece of rope around his neck hanging from his bed. 

Hyde, unemployed, was charged with the murders of ten-month-old Destiny Lara, two-year-old Denicia Campbell, Akeem Young, 15, and his sister-in-law Lisa Charles, 46. 

He was also charged with causing grievous bodily harm to: Campbell’s mother Delicia Young and Young’s siblings, Felicia Young, 22, Lara’s mother; Ashton Young, 16 and the trio’s mother Beverly Julien-Young, 47. He was also charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Julien-Young’s grandson Kadeem Johnson, 11; his nephew Josiah Charles, 8; and his two brothers Curtis Hyde, 39; and Nigel Hyde. 

It was alleged Hyde set fire to Curtis’ apartment on December 20, 2011 at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) building, Trou Macaque, leaving 100 residents homeless. The survivors of the attack were all relocated to Oropune Gardens, Piarco, following the fire. 

Hyde was arrested by police in a maxi heading east along the Priority Bus Route. It was alleged that he set the apartment on fire after he got into an argument with Curtis over his occupancy of the apartment with his two brothers, Charles and his nephew.

Police say there was no signs of foul play in Hyde’s death but, as a matter of precaution, an autopsy has been ordered. This will be done today at the Forensic Science Centre, St James. 
 

In the coming weeks, consumers would have to pay more for locally grown food as chemical importers are now forced to pay duties on herbicides. The move has come like a thief in the night, leaving importers in a quandary and furious. 

At least two of the country’s largest chemical importers—Caribbean Chemicals and Massy Distribution Agri and Industrial Chemicals—have confirmed they have had to pay Customs and Excise Division 20 per cent duty on their overall bill.

This is in total contradiction to what was outlined in last October’s budget presentation, delivered by Finance Minister Colm Imbert, who stated the Government would exempt from all duties and taxes imports into the agricultural sector, including approved chemicals, pest control, approved vehicles, approved fishing vessels and equipment, which took effect on January 1.

Managing director of Caribbean Chemicals Joe Pires said in an interview that he was so upset by the duties charged that he wrote Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat on June 7, calling for his immediate intervention into the matter.

Pires said he pleaded with Rambharat to release the duties on a freight container filled with herbicides, which is due to arrive in the country soon. The cost of the herbicide was estimated at $275,000 of which Pires had to pay $55,000 or 20 per cent duty last week. Some of the herbicides that are imported are Gramoxone/Paraquat, Round-Up, Velpar, Tordon and Arsenal.

“We had to pay the hefty duty to clear the shipment. Every week we have shipments coming in. This will no doubt affect our business,” Pires said.

In the 50 years Caribbean Chemicals has been importing, Pires said they have never paid duties.

“If we are to begin paying duties on these basic items that the farmers require, it will then force us to pass this cost onto them (farmers) in an already challenging environment. Obviously, the farmers will have no choice but to pass on this cost to the consumer. It will create a chain reaction and increase the cost of locally grown food. Consumers will have to pay more for produce. That is the bottom line,” said Pires.

Pires said for the Government to now charge duties will be counter productive.

“If we are on a mission to reduce the country’s $5 billion food import bill we are spinning top in mud with these duties. It would also dissuade farmers from cultivating crops,” Pires said.

Dave Seebaransingh, manager of Massy Distribution, said importers are asked to fill out a duty-free application by the Ministry of Agriculture at the beginning of the year, which outlines the products they would import and the quantities involved.

“They (ministry) grant you duty free concessions. We had our duty free concession letter...we had everything, but yet still we had to pay the 20 per cent duty on a shipment we brought in recently.”

Seebaransingh said the shipment that came in late last month was “unsellable for the price we had to pay the duty on. I am in a quandary. The duties charged came as a shock to me. This was the last thing we were expecting.” He said agricultural shops which are his main customers would not buy the product because of the cost that is now attached.

“It would be difficult to sell this to the farmers. In fact, I am stuck with the product on my hands. Soon, I would have to cut my losses and sell it at the cost price because there is an expiry date on the herbicide,” Seebaransingh said.

Only recently, it was brought to the importers’ attention that Customs and Excise Division now carry a new tariff which states that importers would have to pay a 20 per cent duty if their packages are under six kilogrammes.

“Customs and Excise is telling us that our imported packages must be over six kilogrammes upon presentation of sale if we are to be exempted from duties. This just does not make sense. We are accustomed buying in small packages or containers abroad to meet the demands of our farmers,” Pires explained.

Seebaransingh said T&T’s farming community by nature, purchase in small amounts because of the parcels of land they cultivate. 

“Most of the farmers cultivate on one or two acre plots. Our products are sold in 250 ml, 500 ml or one litre sizes. A litre does not weigh anything close to six kilogrammes. It is far less,” Seebaransingh said.

If this problem is not resolved, Seebaransingh the consumer will have to pay a higher price for produce in the coming weeks. Seebaransingh said while they have had to pay the duty, there are unscrupulous importers who bring in poor quality herbicides/weedicides, but get away from paying duties. Minister Rambharat did not respond to a text message.

It is insensitive of National Security Minister Edmund Dillon to dismiss claims by members of the Police Service of being overworked after they complained that their workload is eating away at their family time.

This comment came yesterday from the president of the Police Social and Welfare Association, Inspector Anand Ramesar. The inspector has been speaking out for officers attached to the Prime Minister’s detail, the Special Branch and officers from Central and Southern Divisions who have complained about being overworked. 

Following the claims, Special Branch officers have been lending assistance with the security detail of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley along with members of the Defence Force. But Minister Dillon said on Saturday that securing the Prime Minister is not a 9 to 5 job.

Following the Port-of-Spain City Day of Thanksgiving at the Holiness Revival, Woodbrook, Dillon made a similar statement, adding that the work of security is a time consuming one, not bound by the rigid 40-hour work week. 

Dillon added that concerns about manpower shortages is best addressed by acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams as the working hours of officers is an administrative one.

Dillon thanked all officers for doing their jobs “quite effectively.” Recently a man was arrested as he was about to enter the Prime Minister’s residence. He had with him marijuana and a grinder for cleaning the prohibited herb. Dillon added there will now be further vetting of civilians with access to the official Prime Minister’s residence at St Ann’s.  

He said, “Once you are in the area of security, my friend, there is no time limit as far as security is concerned. If you understand security, you can’t tell what a moment will bring. It’s not a case of working 8 to 4 where you switch off and go home. Security means constant vigilance, 24/7. When I was chief of defence staff, there was no question in terms of time.”

Questioned about Dillon’s take on fatigued officers, Inspector Ramesar said: “A lot of people confuse the role of policeman with the role of the Defence Force. The police has an association that will represent him when there is unfair working methods, unlike the Defence Force which lack recourse. If they want to work people who cannot complain, then there is the Defence Force, but the police has the Police Service Act. We have regulations and we have collective agreements in place. These things are enforcable and this association will enforce them to ensure the quality of life for the police is the best that it can be.”

Ramesar added that police officers are human beings and it is not right for people “to make insensitive comments about how the police should not complain.” 

Ramesar said the comments made by Dillon seemed to be a disrespect to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention “that deals with decent working agenda which has international adaption by many countries.” 

Absorption of SRPs
On the issue of manpower shortage, Inspector Ramesar said it can be partially addressed in the absorption of close to 3,000 special reserve police officers who will have to meet certain criteria before acceptance into the regular policing fold. He said officers will have to abide by the 2008 absorption method once eligible. 

The criteria for absorption will be: two years full-time service, employment records and general ratings must be checked, age restriction will be removed unless the officer has already reached the retirement age of a second division officer; the removal of the academic qualification if the officer would have already spent two years in the service and a further vetting of the candidates to ensure no undesirable enter the police service.

The qualifications to become an SRP are at least three passes in Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations, (O’levels), a valid driver's permit and be at least 18 years old. 

To become a police officer, any citizen of this country must have at least five O’level subjects, including English Language. Female applicants should be at least four feet tall while their male counterparts should be at least five feet tall. All must have a certificate of good character and be in generally good physical and mental health. 

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has promised to promptly deal with the findings of two financial audits into the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL) which are now on his desk. Al-Rawi confirmed yesterday that packages of the files arrived recently at his Port-of-Spain office in “several stages.”

While he admitted that some parts of the audits “still require further clarification and further investigations” he promised to deal with the financial documents “in the four corners of the law and with alacrity. It is receiving co-ordinate advice from the respective authorities,” Al-Rawi said.

The two audits—one by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and an internal human resources audit—were both completed recently.

Last Monday, the board of EFCL, led by its chairman Arnold Piggott, terminated the employment of suspended managers Veda Ramnath, Ria Narinesingh, Frank Mahabir, Surendra Balgobin and Deva Sharma.

The sackings came seven months after a secret “contract millhouse” was discovered at the EFCL’s head office in Maraval, which resulted in armed guards being called in to secure a mountain of potentially damning evidence which pointed to the illegal manufacturing of backdated tender documents worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The recent firings brought the total number of EFCL managers who were axed to seven in the last four months. In February, EFCL’s suspended CEO Sharma Maharaj and the chief operating officer Kiran Shah were also terminated.

Last Wednesday, Education Minister Anthony Garcia confirmed that Shah and Maharaj have since taken legal action against the EFCL over their dismissals. As the guardian of the public interest, Al-Rawi said he would ensure the respective authorities that work hand-in-hand with his office do their jobs.

“There are parameters and boundaries that must be observed and the Office of the Attorney General intends to discharge that very carefully. It is for that reason we have not condescend into particulars and trial by the newspapers.” He said he did not want to prejudice in any way the matters that were before him.

“What the population is looking for is a responsible approach and for accountability where it is to be had.” The AG said T&T has all the laws which are necessary to give citizens good value for money and insistence.

“It is really in applying the laws and, in some circumstances, broadening a few of those laws.” Al-Rawi said his office has spent a lot of time dealing with matters such as money laundering, impropriety and organised crime.

“You will be seeing statistics and information come out in due course.” In last nine months nine, Al-Rawi said his office has done a lot of work in the criminal justice system, starting with the prisons.

“You will see that I have taken the same approach with the child marriage issue. Very shortly, we will be taking a detailed approach on money laundering and serious crimes. But all of this require some work product.”

About the EFCL
The EFCL is a special state enterprise formed to build, deliver and maintain modern building facilities, utilising best practices in project management.

Greeted by isolated and shattered showers, our lands are barren,
the soils are being watered by the blood that reluctantly flow through the streets, toiled only to bury its citizens’ bodies.
Fertilised by lies and empty promises, photosynthesis cannot take place when the atmosphere is masked by gun powder residue.
roots cling to the skulls of babies and innocent bystanders,
it’s starting to resemble the apocalypse, 
seems like a voice in the wilderness and no one is listening.
From Diary Entry #21 
by Zakiya Gill

When she was in her teens, Zakiya Gill would often walk to the beach near her Guayaguayare home, sit on the long wall and gaze out at the aquamarine waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Her troubled spirit hushed by the sea and natural beauty around her, she would write. About everything that was bothering her. 

Gill never knew one day she would be paid for her writing and it would become a job for her. Today, at 26, her “spoken word” pieces are respected and she is hired to do monologues at Government, community and other events. Individuals also ask her to write on specific topics for them.

Gill is employed with the Ministry of Community Development as a Best Village Assistant and lives with her mother, stepdad, brother and three dogs in Guayaguayare. 

Last week, she was asked to do a spoken word monologue at a Ministry of Social Development and Family Services event in St Augustine. She read Diary Entry #21, her last written piece for this year so far.  She got some hard stares. Gill is not bothered. She said she has a compelling urge to send out a message, one that’s like a fire shut up in her bones.

“There’s an African proverb that says the speaker of the truth has few friends. There are certain things people don’t want to hear or talk about. 

“But I am going to speak the truth. I am not going to sugar coat anything. Diary Entry #21 is about what’s happening now in the country.” 

Gill calls herself “Yahweh’s Griot” or God’s storyteller and said her purpose is to inspire positive change in people. Since she began writing at age 14 this has been her sole purpose, she said.

“The poems are to make you stop and think and consider your ways. Then, it’s up to you to decide if you want to be an agent of change or an agent of destruction. 

“If you are not adding to something, you are taking away from it. There’s no in between.”

Telling how Diary Entry #21 came about, Gill said she believes T&T, and the world, have reached boiling point. “I think everybody is frustrated.

“Crime is one way, the oil price and the economy is another. There is a lot of tension and it seems nobody has the answer.” She believes change starts with individual choice. “Be the change you want to see. And you can start with simple things, you know, like saying good morning and thank you and showing respect for each other.

“In such a short span of time this country changed completely from when I was younger.” 

Gill is working with a marketing team at present to come up with the best way to promote her spoken word pieces.

“The plan is to sell videos of my spoken work pieces accompanied with music through ITunes and Amazon. But, at the end of the day, I really just want to get my message out there.”

Gill said growing up with a broken family was tough on her. “My mom lived abroad when I was younger, my dad was not around and I lived with an elder sister. 

“I had terrible low self esteem.” She also had to struggle to complete her tertiary education because of financial constraints.

“I enrolled at the University of Southern Caribbean (USC) and started a behavioural sciences degree but had to quit in my final year because of financial constraints.

“I worked at several jobs and ended up with the Best Village office in Sangre Grande.” 

Gill plans to go back to school, this time to do a degree in theatre at the University of the West Indies, but cannot get access to Government Assisted Tertiary Education funding.

“I was told I am still doing a degree at USC and cannot get funding for two degrees. I don’t know if I will have to pay them back for the two years I did. She does not let her problems cloud her mission.

“I am just running my race with faith and patience,” she said.

Government is expected to announce a replacement in the Senate today for People’s National Movement Government Senator Hafeez Ali, who resigned his post last Friday, PNM officials have confirmed.

This occurred following a controversial social media video of a reportedly sexually explicit nature which emerged as part of a blackmail/extortion plot recently.

Word of Ali’s resignation was confirmed yesterday by a number of highly placed government officials, including members of the ruling PNM executive.

Leader of the Government’s Senate business Franklin Khan didn’t respond to phone calls, emails or texted queries on the matter yesterday. 

Also contacted, Ali declined comment.

But sources close to Ali confirmed that he resigned last Friday after he reported the issue of the online video to the Fraud Squad as a case of alleged extortion/blackmail. They told the T&T Guardian that he was the subject of an alleged extortion attempt by a person, hence the leaking of the video. The video has since been making the rounds, including in opposition and government circles.

Ali reportedly stepped down over fears that a combination of his public office and the furore which would develop when the information hit mainstream media would result in a backlash for his family. 

A spokesman yesterday confirmed Ali resigned of his own volition last Friday after the video issue emerged last week and he “wasn’t fired.” It was also confirmed he’d had talks with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, which preceded the resignation.

Another official said the matter had reached the political directorate and explained that once there, he’d have had to do what was “expected” (resign). 

Rowley was in Tobago yesterday and was unavailable to speak on the matter. The PM will be addressing a community meeting in St Joseph tonight.

Ali is listed by the PNM’s websites as a businessman, contractor and a pilot. It also states that Ali, 43, joined the party in 2003 and served over that time until 2006 as treasurer of the Barataria/San Juan constituency. He was also operations manager for the 2007 and 2010 general election campaigns in that seat.

He was selected last year by the PNM’s screening committee headed by Rowley for the Barataria-San Juan seat in the September 7 general election campaign. 

More than one government official yesterday confirmed that Ali’s replacement may not be PNM deputy leader Rohan Sinanan (who was initially tipped to replace him early yesterday), since Sinanan is already acting in the Senate for Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus. They said an announcement to revoke his appointment is expected to be made soon.

Ali, who is from Don Miguel Road, San Juan, lost to United National Congress incumbent Dr Fuad Khan, though their fight had made that seat one of two of the toughest-fought constituencies in that election. Khan held on to the seat with 8,722 votes, only 540 more than Ali. The other closely fought constituency was Moruga/Tableland, won by the PNM.

Ali was one of several unsuccessful PNM candidates who were given Parliament positions; among them Clarence Rambharat (now Agriculture Minister), Avinash Singh (parliamentary secretary-Agriculture) and Sarah Budhu (a senator).

Following his general election defeat, Ali was appointed a government senator on September 23, 2015, at the start of the 11th Parliament, sitting half-way down the Government front bench. 

His maiden contribution was to the 2016 budget debate in October 2015.

Ali is also listed on the PNM’s site as a teacher and principal at Nur E Islam mosque for the period 1999 to 2002 and boasts a sporting background with relatives in the field such as Fazeer Mohammed, a popular regional cricket commentator and talk show host, and Tamjeed Ali.