About 20 decommissioned traffic lights from one of the country’s busiest intersections, near Grand Bazaar, have been recycled to create a Christmas-tree “sculpture” near the Churchill-Roosevelt and Uriah Butler highways.

The monument, which has received some criticism on social media and from callers to radio stations, was erected over the weekend and is expected to remain in place indefinitely, having received the approval of Works and Infrastructure Minister Suruj Rambachan.

In an interview yesterday, Director of Highways Roger Ganesh said for drivers to slow down to look at the Christmas-tree traffic light, put up by the Highway Division, was a positive outcome in terms of driving safely.

But at this time of year, between Christmas and Carnival, when road accidents increase significantly, drivers have complained about this recently erected monument, calling it a distraction.

Jason Marcano, who drives past Grand Bazaar every morning, said it confused him.

“It’s distracting. Firstly, I wasn’t sure if it was an actual traffic light or not, but it is also confusing because I don’t know why it is there.

“There isn’t a sign or anything stating its purpose or whether it is decoration or has some sort of meaning.”

Besides being a form of decoration, Ganesh said his traffic-light Christmas tree, which was inspired by a similar creation in London, contained a piece of this country’s history.

“These lights were all reused from that previous intersection. Some of the 20 pieces are over 60 years old, and I thought that instead of just dumping them, we could do something creative.

“It isn’t at an intersection. It is supposed to be interesting. People recognise it as a Christmas tree and we plan to keep it lit all the time. It shouldn’t be distracting at all.”

Some drivers preferred to take a wait-and-see approach.

“It's already difficult for Trinidadians to comprehend an amber arrow light alongside the normal three-colour traffic lights. I have to see how this works before I could have an input,” said Chaguanas resident Shenice Williams.

Ashley Donald, of Sangre Grande, said she thought the Christmas-tree idea was creative and beautiful. 

—Kalifa Clyne

IN BRIEF

• One shooter dead.
• Second gunman still believed at large in downtown Ottawa.
• Additional shots fired near Parliament Hill.
• Police going door to door in downtown core. Schools locked down.
• Canadian PM reported safe

A masked gunman dressed all in black shot and killed a Canadian soldier standing guard at a war memorial in the country’s capital Wednesday, then entered Parliament, where dozens of shots rang out, authorities and witnesses said. At least three people were taken to the hospital. A suspected gunman was also killed, police said, although Ottawa police Constable Marc Soucy said officials “believe there is more than one’’ gunman.

The attack came two days after a recent convert to Islam killed one Canadian soldier and injured another in a hit-and-run before being shot to death by police. The killer had been on the radar of federal investigators, who feared he had jihadist ambitions and seized his passport when he tried to travel to Turkey.

Canada had raised its domestic terror threat level from low to medium Tuesday because of "an increase in general chatter from radical Islamist organizations," said Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, a spokesman for the public safety minister.

Tony Zobl, 35, said he witnessed the soldier being gunned down from his fourth-floor window directly above the National War Memorial, a 70-foot, arched granite cenotaph, or tomb, with bronze sculptures commemorating World War I.

"I looked out the window and saw a shooter, a man dressed all in black with a kerchief over his nose and mouth and something over his head as well, holding a rifle and shooting an honor guard in front of the cenotaph point-blank, twice," Zobl told the Canadian Press news agency.

"The honor guard dropped to the ground, and the shooter kind of raised his arms in triumph holding the rifle."

Zobl said the gunman then ran up the street toward Parliament Hill. Shots were also fired at a shopping mall near Parliament, police said. All three sites — the war memorial, Parliament and the mall — are within less than a mile from each other.

Cabinet minister Tony Clement tweeted that at least 30 shots were heard inside Parliament, where Conservative and Liberal MPs were holding their weekly caucus meetings.

"I'm safe locked in a office awaiting security," Kyle Seeback, another member of Parliament, tweeted.

The top spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Harper was safe and had left Parliament Hill.

Ottawa Hospital said it received three patients, two of them listed in stable condition. It would not comment on the condition of the third patient, the soldier shot at the memorial.

National Security Minister Gary Griffith has condemned yesterday’s brazen attack on the Canadian Parliament and reminded T&T citizens that the cost of real freedom is eternal vigilance and those who fail to prepare are dooming themselves to failure. He made the comment yesterday after the attack by a lone gunman left a soldier and the gunman dead. Asked if any T&T nationals living in Canada had been injured in the incident, Griffith said up to late yesterday he had received no such information, but his ministry would continue to monitor the situation.

In a press release earlier, Griffith said: “This latest incident that reverberates throughout the Commonwealth, of which both T&T and Canada are integral parts, sends a strong message that no country is safe from the violent and the depraved. “As such, security experts and law enforcement personnel remain vigilant and must to be armed and ready to deal with any attack against our country’s freedom and democracy.”

Describing yesterday’s incident as reprehensible, Griffith said it highlighted that his ministry had been proven accurate in its predictive planning and preparation for threats to national security. 
He said initiatives and policies implemented in the last few months were being done in the best interest of T&T and there was a need for intense training, increased manpower strengthening and the acquisition of assets to defend T&T against all manner of security threats. “Highly trained officers and the provision of resources are all part of the ministry’s strategy to ensure that all members of the protective services are equipped and outfitted to securely stand in the first line of defence for this country and its citizenry,” Griffith said.

He said he intended to make every effort to ensure the units and key agencies of the ministry were well prepared for a similar situation. “The risk and the clear and present danger were real and evident in today’s (yesterday’s) occurrence and the response of the Canadian authorities was appropriate and in accordance with their threat assessment,” Griffith said. The first assets and response team on site during the shooting, Griffith said, were the armoured personnel carriers and the special operations group, He said his ministry was  exploring similar initiatives. “These are the same armoured personnel carriers that some had taken to calling expensive toys. Today these APCs have proven their worth, pressed into service in a hostile civilian environment, and the message could not be clearer for us here at home, especially as we have had experience with attacks on our very own seat of democracy,” Griffith said.

He said as recently as two months ago a comprehensive risk threat and vulnerability assessment was done at T&T’s Parliament building by the National Operations Centre, Defence Force, Police Service, Parliament security and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM). On the basis of the findings the ministry has implemented proactive security planning, he said.

This country will be sourcing crude oil supplies from Colombia and Russia after Petrotrin workers refused to berth a tanker that arrived in T&T waters on October 18 from Gabon due to concerns over the Ebola virus. The action of the workers, represented by the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU), forced Petrotrin to use scab labour to offload the MV Overseas Yellowstone, which had arrived at Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre base since last week with $.5 billion worth of oil. 

News of the decision yesterday came via international news reports, including the reputable Bloomberg, which quoted Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine as saying he had halted oil purchases from Gabon which had been T&T’s only African supplier of crude oil in the past 20 months. The vessel eventually docked late Tuesday using outsourced tugs and labour, he also said. “The situation is dynamic and we will review if need be,” Ramnarine said in an e-mail response to questions on the issue posed by Bloomberg.com. “It should, however, be noted that there is no Ebola outbreak in Gabon.”

The stand-off has resulted in losses for state-owned Petrotrin, which was forced to reduce throughput to the refinery from 110,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 80,000 bpd because it could not immediately get the 750,000 barrels on board the tanker. The company had said without the supply of crude it could have been forced to shut down operations at the refinery which can take as much as two weeks to restart.

Gabon is not among the five west African countries from where passengers have been banned from entering T&T due to an outbreak of Ebola but OWTU president general Ancel Roget said at a news conference that did not matter, since ships normally used crews from other countries. “Therefore any threat or any exposure to the Ebola virus would put at risk not only the employee but the home, family, community and therefore it is in the national interest that we call on the company to put in place the necessary protocols in the interest of the workers at Pointe–a-Pierre,” the union leader said.

Roget said given that the ship had visited other ports, it was possible that someone on board could be carrying the Ebola virus for which there is no known cure. Gabon, which has had Ebola outbreaks in 2001-2002, 1996-1997 and 1994, is not among countries currently experiencing cases of Ebola and is not among the four countries on the banned list announced by the Government last week. The virus has killed more than 4,500 people in the current outbreak, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Roget Responds
In an immediate response yesterday, Roget described the company’s response to the workers’ complaints as “foolish.”  Speaking while taking part in the candlelight vigil for Highway re-route Movement leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh outside the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, last night, Roget said the workers’ problem was not where the vessels were coming from but the company’s failure to institute rigorous screening for all ships entering the port and lack of proper protocols.

He said: “They do not understand and appreciate that they are placing the nation at risk because these workers live in communities and if they are exposed they will expose their families and friends. “They are not claiming that there is someone ill with Ebola on the vessel but they are saying that they run the risk because ships come from all over the world at that port and they cannot trust the word of the captain and crew of those vessels.

“Those ships they bunker out in the open seas and even though they may not come from west Africa you don’t know who they would have come in contact with on the seas.” He also claimed the current procedure being used by the company and the Health Ministry was outdated and inefficient. “It is an age old procedure where they send someone, who is not a medical doctor, on board the ship. “He checks the ship’s records and then gives them clearance. There is no type of interaction with the crew to determine whether they exhibit any symptoms,” Roget said.  

Chairman of the Emancipation Support Committee Khafra Kambon says racism is still being practised against African people in T&T. Kambon was speaking  on Tuesday at a panel discussion on the topic, T&T’s International Obligations regarding Race Relations, Gun Violence and Human Rights—Assessing the Trayvon Martin Case, at the Noor Hassanali Auditorium, St Augustine Campus, University of the West Indies. Other panellists were Jasmine Rand, attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin, and dean of the Faculty of Law Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine. Martin was a 17-year-old African American of Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, in Sanford, Florida, in 2012.

Dealing with the ban on citizens from some countries with Ebola cases, Kambon said that move was “irrational, hysterical and there is no scientific justification for that action.” He said people with Ebola were more likely to enter T&T by sea than by air and banning citizens from entering the country would not protect the country from Ebola.  “It is rational behaviour based on science that is going to protect you,” he  pointed out. 

He criticised the Government for imposing a travel ban on Nigeria even after the WHO had said it was free of the virus. Kambon said: “Nigerians have been virtually banned from this country for a long time.” He was made aware of this ban last year after COPA Airlines said every time it brought Nigerians to T&T, they were being turned back and said he had to do a lot to get approval for some Nigerians to enter T&T.

There were only about 1,000 Nigerians in the country of an estimated 100,000 undocumented visitors, he said.  “When it comes to Africans from the continent, they are the most abused immigrants,” he added. Kambon said 80 per cent of the immigrants at the detention centre were from Africa and spoke of acts of brutality against people being held there, including one who was brutally beaten on May 21 and might have suffered permanent damage. He said the man was released under former National Security Minister Jack Warner but re-arrested under the current minister, Gary Griffith.
Kambon also said citizens should be very concerned about the level of police killings in the country for the year to date, as it was “absolutely unacceptable, no matter what fears we have about crime.”

If it were anyone else being killed other than young African males from particular communities, public reaction would have been different, he argued. He said in many instances “there has been no justification for the execution of young African males in this society.” National Security Minister Gary Griffith said previously the move to deal with illegal immigrants was not a witch-hunt but intended to ensure the matter was properly addressed and the Government would seek to regularise the status of illegal immigrants where possible.

President Anthony Carmona says “unwarranted attacks” which seek to bring members of his family and his office into disrepute will not be tolerated. A statement from his office yesterday confirmed a CNC3 report on Tuesday that attorneys representing his wife, Reema, had sent a pre-action protocol letter to comedienne and radio talk show host Rachel Price last Friday over alleged defamatory and offensive statements related to the First Lady’s attire at the UN last month.

The constitutional right of freedom of expression was not a licence to defame, the statement said. “The Office of the President respects and values the constitutional right of every individual to freedom of expression and the principles of fair comments. Freedom of the press remains sacrosanct,” the statement said.

It said the pre-action protocol letter was issued on the advice of Senior Counsel and was in respect of defamatory statements only. “The Office of the President will be vigilant to protect the dignity of Office of the President and ensure that the citizens of the Republic of T&T continue to maintain respect for the office,” the statement said. During her radio programme yesterday, Price said she was yet to get the letter. But saying it was an attack on freedom of speech and her right to speak on a public figure and on an incident which drew public attention and comment, Price vowed to fight it in court.

Nigerians are once again free to visit T&T and the Government has agreed to contribute US$100,000 to the United Nations Ebola Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund to fight the virus in the affected west African countries. Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan announced at yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference the travel restrictions against Nigeria, which has since been declared Ebola-free, have been lifted with immediate effect. 

However, the October 9 ban prohibiting visitors from Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in an effort to prevent the virus from entering the country, remains intact. Cabinet’s decision to lift the ban follows the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaration on Monday that Nigeria was now free of the Ebola virus and the denial of entry to a Nigerian woman who came to spend time with her daughter, who lives in Trinidad.

At the briefing, at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital, Khan said: “Nigeria has been cleared by the WHO. At Cabinet today, discussions took place based on the new information from the WHO. 
“The honourable Prime Minister, as well as the Cabinet, have agreed that based on the information from the WHO and based on the stringent screening methods that have occurred in international countries, standard to embarkation and exit of passengers, the Cabinet has decided to lift the ban on the Federal Republic of Nigeria with immediate effect.”

WHO’s clearance came 42 days since Nigeria’s last reports of any new cases. Khan explained that period was twice the maximum incubation period for the virus to develop.  Before yesterday’s announcement, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had suggested a leaning to the lifting of the ban when she noted the close relationship T&T shared with Nigeria.

Speaking at the opening of the Golconda Interchange on Tuesday, Persad-Bissessar said: “We have a lot of Nigerian doctors who work here, a lot of Trinis go to work in Nigeria and in addition, you remember the President, Goodluck Jonathan, had visited us here and he is a friend of ours.”

Petrotrin Workers Wrong
Khan also challenged OWTU-represented Petrotrin workers, who refused to berth the Overseas Yellowstone oil tanker, to prove that vessel and crew, which came from Gabon, were dangerous and posed a danger to them. While acknowledging that workers had the right to refuse work under the Occupational Health and Safety Act if there were safety concerns, he said: “He who alleges must prove.”

He said the ministry checked the vessel and it was up to the OWTU to prove the vessel was dangerous and if it could not, workers had violated the rules of their employment. He said a Ministry of Health official boarded the vessel and made an assessment and if a boat came from a country where the virus was not present, they could issue a medical clearance certificate.

Hazmat suits were only for people coming into contact with Ebola-riddled bodies, he said. “They are getting the erroneous assumption that everyone must put on a hazmat suit, based on what the international media has shown happening internationally. “You don’t get somebody with a hazmat suit sitting in an area waiting for a boat to come in or boarding a boat,” he said. Khan said the Government was still awaiting isolation units, hazmat suits and protective gear and was still training medical workers to deal with the virus. He said thermal cameras soon would be installed at Piarco Airport.
 

Police are investigating the death of a 15-month-old boy who drowned in a shallow pond behind his Carenage home. Police said around 4 pm yesterday Kadeem Antoine wandered out of the family’s Constabulary Street home and went into the pond, which is about a foot to 18 inches deep. The child was found facedown in the pond and was taken to the St James Medical Centre where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Speaking with the media outside the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, the child’s mother, Jermmaine Noel, said she had planned to take Kadeem, her only child, to the Chaguaramas Boardwalk last night to see the “light-up” for Divali.  Noel said her son loved looking through books and pointing at pictures pretending he was reading. She said he was smart and had a favourite red teddy bear he would take around. 

The soft-spoken 23-year-old said her child never had wandered near the pond before. She said she began looking for him around 4.30 pm when she noticed he was missing. The search began around the house and then the road and eventually the backyard. At the time of the tragedy her mother-in-law, sister-in-law and her nephew were at home. The child’s father, Antonio Antoine, said he last saw Kadeem alive before 6 am before leaving for work in central Trinidad where he works as a mechanic. He said he would usually spend his early morning caring for Kadeem and did so the day he died. That was the highlight of his day, he said.

T&T will be well represented at the Caribbean Examination Council’s (CXC) regional top awards presentation in Jamaica in December after winning seven of the nine awards in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). This includes the award for the most outstanding student overall, which went to Naparima Girls’ High School student Sushma Karim. Boasting of T&T’s prowess in education at the weekly post-Cabinet briefing, Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh said it was one of the best academic years in T&T’s history.  Eight students also got top awards from CXC last year but Gopeesingh said the 2014 results represented a ten per cent improvement in students getting grades one to three passes over the last four years. 

Providing statistics, he said in 93.4 per cent of unit one students achieved passes, while in unit two there was a pass rate of 93.1 per cent. He added that there was an overall improvement in 11 subjects compared to 2013 figures. In the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, T&T students got three of the eight awards up for grabs.  These were in visual arts, two dimension, visual arts, three dimension and short story. He said the percentage of students in 2014 who were successful in five or more subjects at CSEC improved by 10.3 per cent over 2013 figures and there was an overall improvement in 19 CSEC subjects in 2014.

In recognition of their achievement, CXC will present these students with awards at a ceremony in Jamaica on December 4. Gopeesingh denied Sunday Guardian columnist Maxie Cuffie’s allegation that national scholarships were being given out in secrecy. Responding to the article, he said the ministry had to wait for the CXC marks which were received on October 15. He said those results were used by the scholarship committee to determine who got the President’s Medals and other scholarships. He said: “This unfortunate, misleading issue has been taken up by the Leader of the Opposition as well, and we are wondering to what intent. “Does it mean that they are deliberately telling the most brilliant students who won the scholarships, 447 of them, or telling their parents, their families, their teachers or their principals, that they did not really work hard for it? So you have achieved your scholarship by secret?”  he asked. “We deny that categorically on behalf of all our students who have won, by merit, their scholarships.”

He dubbed the article deliberate, mischievous and false, saying it was a calculated effort to provide false information to the public by creating hype. There had been no change in the criteria used by the ministry in determining scholarship winners from past years, he said.

MOST OUTSTANDING CANDIDATES
CAPE
• Sushma Karim, Naparima Girls’ High School, most outstanding candidate overall in the region.
• Sharla Goolcharan, Lakshmi Girls’ Hindu College, business studies.
• Mandela Patrick, Naparima College, information and communication technology and in mathematics.
• Ranita Mathura, St Joseph’s Convent, San Fernando, environmental science.
• Arifa Satnarine, St Joseph’s Convent, San Fernando, modern languages.
• Celeste Jaggai, Naparima Girls’ High School, technical studies.

CSEC
• Kriston Mohammed, Tunapuna Secondary School, best short story.
• Shivanna Sookdeo, Naparima Girls’ High School, visual arts 2, dimension.
• Nneka Jones, Bishop’s High School, visual arts 3, dimension.
 

Chairman of the Mediation Board, Justice Vasheist Kokaram, is urging all parties involved in the contentious Debe to Mon Desir portion of the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway to Point Fortin to go to mediation immediately, saying it is a fundamental step in dispute resolution. He added the country was anxious over the matter and hoped good sense would prevail. Leader of the Highway Re-route Movement (HRM) Dr Wayne Kublalsingh and religious bodies, like the Roman Catholic Church, have urged the Government to take part in mediation but Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has refused to do so.

In an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Kokaram said while mediation might not be the magic bullet, it was an avenue for all parties to come together to listen to concerns. He said: “I would strongly urge all parties to consider seriously mediation as a viable option to solve emotional conflict and produce everlasting solution. This must not be ignored. “Both parties must see this from their different perspectives. That type of polarised view is seen in many ways and we see it all the time in family matters.” Saying people do not live in isolation, he said engaging in mediation brought fresh perspectives which would assist in greater understanding. “In the highway dispute, the need to mediate would result in an understating of each other’s perspectives... what are the common concerns. “The process of mediation takes those discussions in a forward-thinking manner... what are the common interests we all share and how we can come up with some ideas,”  he added.

Kokaram said mediation had proven to be one of the more successful means of resolving conflict outside the legal framework. Using mediation, he added, would also result in a “buy-in”, leaving room for no uncertainty, especially by members of the public. “With mediation there is also a sense of healing and it is also less costly. It has a success rate of 75 per cent. “And even if, at the end of the day, there is litigation, parties can also mediate at the end of the litigation, as there may be many unresolved issues left,” Kokaram said. Asked if he believed Persad-Bissessar should agree to mediation, he said while that was welcome no one was obligated to do so. “You cannot force someone to mediate and mediation is not a question of conceding your position.  “On the other hand, there must be an understanding of the community being a subset of the wider community,” Kokaram added. 

Project 40 keeps camp going
A few weeks ago, the HRM camp outside the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, was too small to accommodate the large number of supporters who turned up on a daily basis. Yesterday only a handful of supporters were present. A few members of the Project 40 movement, a 40-day youth “relay fast” in support of the HRM and Kublalsingh, sat under a tent supporting each other. The 12th member to undertake a 24-hour fast was Nkosi Myers, who is studying economics at the University of the West Indies Saying young people were the future, Myers said: “No one is trying to see where they can meet each other halfway. It is not a problem they are going to face. It’s going to affect my generation and younger.” Contacted yesterday, Kublalsingh said he was getting weaker and feeling more lightheaded each day. He was visited by RC priest Fr George who prayed with him. “I am putting my body on the line and that is what it is all about. It is about going on unrelentingly. “That is what people do when they go to war... they fight... they could die or they could live... that is how it is,” Kublalsingh said.

A foreign-used car parts dealership in San Fernando was destroyed by a fire on Thursday (Divali) night.

Karricharan Maharaj, the owner of K Maharaj and Sons Ltd, at Palmiste Branch Street, Duncan Village, San Fernando, speculated that the mishandling of fireworks could have caused the $8 million fire.

“I don’t know if it could have probably been someone playing with fireworks, I just don’t know,” said Maharaj in an interview with the T&T Guardian.

But officers of the Mon Repos Fire Station, who responded to the blaze, say while they are not ruling out that possibility, they are not certain what caused the fire as investigations are ongoing. 

Maharaj said it took him 13 years to build his business and was astonished to see it destroyed in such a short space of time. 

His son, Dean Maharaj, wife and eight-year-old daughter who lived on the compound were able to escape with minor injuries.

Fire investigators returned to the scene yesterday and interviewed several family members. 

Dean Maharaj said his family was asleep after celebrating Divali, when he heard an explosion. 

“I heard a noise around 2 am, something like it blew up and when I peeped out I saw the front of the building on fire. I woke up my wife and daughter and we just ran for our lives.”

He said the thick, black smoke made it difficult to see.

“We had to run out the back, but we couldn’t see anything. My wife fell a few times and I got a big cut under my foot.”

The family was treated at the San Fernando General Hospital and released. 

Maharaj said the building, containing the car parts and five vehicles, was completely destroyed. 

Acting assistant Divisional Fire Officer, Ansar Ali, said when they arrived on the scene the building was completely engulfed.

Neighbours evacuated

​
Residents of Duncan Village, San Fernando, were awakened when thick, black smoke filled the air early yesterday morning, forcing them to evacuate their homes and run out into the streets. The smoke was from the fire that destroyed K Maharaj and Sons foreign used car parts place. 

When the T&TGuardian visited the scene yesterday, one resident, recounted his experience.

“I heard a noise about half one, then the place just full up with smoke,” she said. “We had to leave the house and run, all my neighbours had to run too.”

The woman said worried residents rushed to rescue pets and other animals from the smoke, lining the street for hours, as fire fighters battled the blaze. 

“Everybody was standing on the next side of the road, there were sick people, people with their little children and even people with their animals.”

A Point Fortin truck driver who raped an American teenager ten times in a year has been sentenced to a total of 29 years in prison.

Justice Hayden St Clair-Douglas sentenced the man, who was found guilty in the San Fernando High Court in July, on Wednesday.

The judge sentenced him to 19 years and six months on the first three rape charges.

And on the other rape charges he was sentenced to nine years and six months.

The sentences were ordered to run concurrently, so he would only serve 19 years and six months in prison.

The girl was first raped in 2006 when she was 13 years old.

Her mother sent her to Trinidad in January 2006 to stay at a female relative’s home in Point Fortin. The prisoner was in a relationship with the relative.

The girl, who was among seven prosecution witnesses who testified, has since returned to the US.

The State’s case, led by state attorney Angelica Teelucksingh, was that the attacks took place between June 2006 and April 2007 in the house and in a shed in Point Fortin. 

The girl testified that she was threatened by the man that if she said anything he would put her out of the house. The girl testified that her attacker gave her money which she used to buy school supplies and food.

After the last sexual assault the girl was sent to live with another relative in Port-of-Spain.

Three months later when her grandmother came on vacation from the United States she found out what had happened and got the United States Embassy involved and a report was made to the police. 

The man was charged by PC Christopher Garraway, of the Point Fortin Police Station.

He denied raping the girl. He was represented by attorney Everard Davidson. 

A Point Fortin mason who beat his girlfriend on the face with a concrete block so that no other man would want her was put on a two-year bond on Wednesday and ordered to pay $20,000 in compensation.

Peter Dyer, 57, attacked his then girlfriend, Nikesha Elliot, while she was asleep on the couch in the living room of her Moruga home eight years ago.

Dyer, the father of five, appeared before Justice Devan Rampersad in the San Fernando First Criminal Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to wounding Elliot with intent to do her grievous bodily harm.

State attorney Angelica Teelucksingh said around midnight on July 5, 2006 Elliot was asleep when she felt someone choking her. 

When she opened her eyes she saw Dyer, whom she had known since childhood as they lived on the same street.

Teelucksingh said Elliot tried to alert her father, who lived next door.

Dyer then grabbed Elliot by the shoulder and dragged her out of the house.

Teelucksingh said Dyer then picked up a concrete block and hit Elliot on the face more than five times, telling her: “I want to tell you when I done with you, no man must want you. You playing hard to dead.”

Elliot’s son came out of the house and began screaming and Dyer ran off when he saw Elliot’s father. 

Elliot, who was bleeding from the mouth, was treated at the Princes Town Health Facility and San Fernando General Hospital for injuries to her head, eye and mouth. She also had a broken tooth. 

When Dyer was arrested by PC Hamilton he said: “Boss, me eh beat that woman, that woman fall.”

Attorney Carine Jailal asked for a bond, saying Dyer had accepted responsibility, never had any other matters in court, was an outstanding citizen, had spent 13 months in prison awaiting trial and was seeking forgiveness.

She told the judge Dyer and the woman had been in a relationship and the assault was triggered by a dispute.

Saying it was an unpleasant attack on a defenceless person, the judge said such offences were prevalent in society. 

He said he took a number of things into consideration, including Dyer’s age, his guilty plea, that he had offered compensation, and was remorseful and that he was unlikely to offend again.

However, he warned Dyer that if he broke the $20,000 bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour he would be brought back for sentencing. He ordered him to pay $1,700 of the compensation immediately and the rest within 12 months.

Having spent a week in hospital, Anthony Williams was discharged on Wednesday and returned to his home at Nepaul Street, St James, on Thursday. 

The 83-year-old veteran pan inventor, composer, tuner, arranger and founder of the defunct Pan Am North Stars fell at his home on October 17 and was admitted to the St James Infirmary. He was subsequently transferred to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for tests and was eventually given a clean bill of health by doctors.

Williams has been suffering from diabetes and hypertension.

Pan Trinbago Tuners Guild president Fitzroy “Popo” Henry said yesterday: “Tony has been having seizures. He fell and struck his head and was rushed to the infirmary. 

While at the hospital afterwards he was given the best of care and his doctors deemed him well enough to be discharged.”

Among a number of inventions and innovations, Williams is credited with inventing the spiderweb pan. (PRB)

Community Development Minister Winston Peters says elder-care professionals are needed more than ever as the ageing population increases.

Speaking at the Geriatric Adolescent Partnership Programme (GAPP) Level II graduation ceremony at Naparima Bowl, San Fernando, on Wednesday, Peters said the 120 graduates were now advanced professionals in the field of elderly care.

Noting that October 1 was the United Nations-declared International Day of Older Persons, he said by the year 2050, it is expected that there will be more people over 60 than children in the world.

Noting that the UN defined a country as having an ageing population when ten per cent or more of its population was over 60, he said he fell into that bracket, since he celebrated his 62nd birthday a few days ago.

“According to the CentralStatistical Office, at present, the elderly population of T&T is 12 per cent,” he said.

“This means a significant portion of our population comprises the ageing.”

He said it was predicted that the percentage of people 60 years and over would be over 17 per cent in 2025 and that was expected to grow to 30 per cent in 2050.

“This means that your services will be needed more than ever as we move forward as a nation.

“You have a serious mission to face as you practise what you have learnt through Level II of GAPP.”

Two of the six blood collection centres in T&T fear we will not be prepared to treat Ebola victims if they come to our shores.

This was after Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan on Wednesday stated that lots of blood will be needed to treat Ebola patients if there are any infections, and he urged people to start donating. About 27 pints of blood are needed for the treatment of one Ebola victim, Khan said.

But Khan’s call has not stirred citizens to donate their blood.

According to the Ministry of Health Web site, T&T needs 65,000 units of blood per year, given its population. However, only 20,000 units of blood are donated annually. 

Head of Port-of-Spain’s Blood Transfusion Unit Dr Ileana Nordet, meanwhile, said this year 30,000 units of blood were donated so far. 

Nordet, a haematologist from Cuba, said the ministry was working to increase its blood supply. She believes that hospitals would have sufficient blood to treat Ebola patients.

Approximately 40 donors come in on a daily basis to give blood, she said. “But that does not mean we would get 40 pints.” She also said that donations have not increased with the threat of Ebola. Nordet also said blood expires 35 days after going into storage.

At EWMSC: We’re not prepared 

Head nurse at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) blood bank Anita Seerattan-Abrahim, when asked if they are prepared to treat patients infected with the virus, said “No.”

She said: “In order to deal with an emergency situation like Ebola, they definitely need more staff, equipment, and the public’s support.”

She said surgeries and procedures at the hospital utilise the majority of blood. Surgeries can range from open heart to kidney transplants. Five pints are used for an open heart surgery, while a patient undergoing kidney transplant needs four pints.

Blood is also required for cancer and Accident and Emergency patients. The blood bank also supplies 11 private hospitals on a regular basis. Seerattan-Abrahim said the biggest setback was staff shortages.

The bank has only four nurses and one nursing assistant.

Of the four nurses only two are trained, Seerattan-Abrahim revealed.

“The problem is we need trained staff. For a registered nurse to work in the bank, they must undertake a programme called blood transfusion nursing. You need to have that qualification in order to properly assess the donors.”

Despite plans to extend its opening hours at the blood bank to facilitate the working class, Seerattan-Abrahim said the depletion of staff was inhibiting this.

Reclining chairs on which donors sit for blood to be extracted are also needed.

In Tobago: Woe unto us

A nurse at the Tobago General Hospital blood bank, who requested anonymity, said on a daily basis the hospital aims to get between eight to ten pints of donated blood to meet the needs of the wards and the island. “The most we would collect is three to four,” she said.

She said the blood bank sometimes require 30 to 40 pints per week to supply the wards. 

“But most times the demand outweighs supply.” 

Asked if they can come up with 27 pints to treat an Ebola patient, the nurse replied: “Definitely not! If Ebola should come, it would be woe unto us.”

The nurse said she often wondered two things: where the Ebola victims will be housed in Tobago and where they would obtain blood. 

“If we should have an Ebola case, I know we would be in for a problem.” 

From Monday to Wednesday, the nurses said only five pints of blood were collected.

Despite radio advertisements to woo donors, the nurse said “not many people are responding except for those giving blood for relatives or friends on the wards.”

​Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr Colin Furlonge is confident that all systems are in place to tackle Ebola if it comes our way.

“There is a difference between a patient with Ebola and a major situation. If we have a patient with Ebola, we are looking at 20 units of blood given over a period of time...a week or so.”

While people have been saying that the blood banks would not be able to supply blood to treat Ebola victims, Furlonge said Khan was heightening the awareness of citizens.

He said Khan’s call on citizens to donate more blood was to increase our need if we have to manage a case of Ebola. “What Dr Khan has recognised in preparing for the Ebola is that there is need to increase the donation of blood.”

Furlonge said it was impossible for a plane load of Ebola victims to come to our shores.

“Generally what we have seen is one or two patients with Ebola. They arrive in another country and they lock down the place in terms of spreading the virus.”

Furlonge said the ministry has been working to improve the blood bank services. 

“We are looking at bringing in a director with special qualification who can manage the national blood transfusion service.”

Another area was extending the working hours and training nurses and technicians. 

“When it comes to things like blood, there is need for a continuous drive. We want to reinstate that and make it a standard thing where we continue the voluntary donation.”

Tears welled up in the eyes of 40-year-old paraplegic Alana Gajadhar yesterday when she accepted her certificate from Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI) George Alleyne at the university’s graduation ceremony in St Augustine. 

Gajadhar, a business teacher at Swaha Hindu College, Sangre Grande, graduated with a Masters in Education with a concentration on curriculum.

“Well done Alana!” Alleyne told Gajadhar as her wheelchair slowly edged its way on the stage before university principal Prof Clement Sankat, hundreds of applauding graduands and parents.

Gajadhar became disabled at aged 16 after a vehicular accident along the Valencia Stretch, while on her way home from St Augustine Girls’ High School (SAGHS).

Overcome with emotion, Gajadhar struggled to contain her tears, which rolled down her rosy cheeks as she made her way down the ramp.

After the ceremony, Gajadhar said she became teary-eyed when she was presented with her certificate because the last two years of her life was “a big struggle and the most difficult” since the one person she needed to give her the final push—her mother—was not physically there. Her mother Naindra died in 2001.

“I felt proud but emotional as well because it was a lot of hard work, and it’s now over,” she said.

“I know mom is here in spirit looking down from above and smiling for what I have achieved despite my disability. When I wanted to give up, there was always an inner voice that gave me the motivation to press on. I know that inner voice was my mom. I still miss her,” Gajadhar said bursting into tears.

Gajadhar said she would not have reached this far in life without the support of her father Deodath, who is her main pillar of strength, her two brothers, friends and God. 

Gajadhar spoke of her tight schedule—teaching at school all day and then attending classes at the university on evenings.

“By the time I reach my Sangre Grande home I would take a nap, get up in the wees hours of the morning to study and do my assignments. Then it’s back to teaching again. For two years I did this, sacrificing everything to obtain my Masters. I will never tell anyone it was easy.”

Reverting to the fateful day of the accident, Gajadhar, who still lives in Sangre Grande, said she was in a maxi heading home on the Valencia Stretch when a vehicle collided with the maxi.

“I was left with spinal injuries. I became paralysed and was hospitalised for several months.”

At that time, Gajadhar was a Lower Six student of SAGHS.

“It was hard to overcome the fact that one minute you had the use of your legs and then, in the blink of an eye, there was no mobility in my legs.”

She took a year off from school and returned to classes to finish her A’ Level examinations.

From there it was no stopping Gajadhar.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and Management. Then she got into teaching in 2002.

In 2012, she also obtained a postgraduate diploma (Dip Ed with distinction) at UWI.

“I am not going for my PhD. That is it for me,” she smiled.

Gajadhar has a message for able-bodied people and those with disabilities: “Nothing is impossible. You see something that looks impossible...there is always a way around it, you can achieve it no matter what.”

Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan is condemning self-proclaimed herbalist Trevor Sayers’ latest claim that he has the cure for Ebola.

He is also calling for the Consumer Affairs Division and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to take action against other herbal practitioners who make false claims about their products and their ability to cure various major diseases. 

Flyers have appeared on buildings, and an advertisement has been circulating on Facebook purporting a herbal cure for the deadly virus: Ebola treatment Ebola Cure from Dr Trevor Sayers, lime, honey, bayleaf, zephapeak (sic), Christmas bush, ashes and charcoal.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian in a telephone interview yesterday, Khan said, “That is carrying this nonsense to the highest extreme, and people have to understand this man now...if he’s trying to use Ebola to make money. 

“We have to look at what is happening now under the guise of economical self interest. 

“I’m condemning that advertisement and all others that indicate that herbal medicine can cure diseases without proper analysis. 

“I also wish that the Consumer Affairs Division and the DPP, which we have written to about that same character’s false advertising about cancer cures, should take serious action.” 

He said flyers for the Ebola cure had been placed all over the hospitals and notice boards, and he had instructed doctors to remove them.

Khan said there was no proof in Sayers’ claims as well as other herbal practitioners who were using innuendoes and supposition to fool the general public. Khan said there was no scientific basis for a lot of these herbal medicines except hearsay evidence. 

He said Sayers had now gone to the extreme with these advertisements.

Khan said Sayers’ claim was not legal and was false advertising. 

He said, however, the Medical Board couldn’t do anything except condemn Sayers’ action. He said he didn’t know what to do again, and that as Health Minister all he can do is bring the matter to the authorities.

Khan said Sayers uses “doctor” before his name and by law he should be dealt with by the legal authorities. He said the title was only reserved for people who have PhDs from recognised universities and pertaining to the medical profession. 

Trinidade: Sayers has no cure for Ebola 

When contacted yesterday, Dr Austin Trinidade, public relations officers of the T&T Medical Association said Sayers had no cure for Ebola and there was no scientific proof of the effectiveness of herbal medicine.

He said doctors only prescribed medicines that had undergone strict scientific testing and had benefits over a placebo and were also approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Trinidade said the association did not recommend herbal preparations which may be good for cleaning you out and providing some kind of tonic, but did not cure diseases.

He said there was major danger that people would stop taking their medicines which were known to work and use herbal supplements which were ineffective and also expensive.

Trinidade said it was not Sayers alone but a whole slew of herbal “pitchmen” that advertised a cure for virtually everything. He said it was dangerous and that it was a pity unsuspecting people were exposed to this. 

Sayers: Ebola cure from Africa

When contacted yesterday, Sayers, the self-ascribed minister of naturalized herbs and healing said his herbal product was his natural approach to dealing with Ebola and other deadly diseases.

He said people needed to build their bodies’ resistance to disease and infections.

Sayers said more than 4,000 people had died worldwide from Ebola, but in T&T more people have died from diabetes and hypertension combined than the deadly virus.

When asked how he discovered his cure for Ebola, he said the information on fevers, auto immune diseases that attack, paralyse the body and cause haemorrhaging has been known by ancient African civilisations from time immemorial by such tribes as the Mandingo near the Ebola river in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Sayers said with the ancient knowledge and information from the healers in Africa, he had made many medicines for various ailments and infections, and had even been successful in treating Aids patients with his herbal remedies.

When asked about the cost of his Ebola cure, he said he had given the information for people to use and he wanted to let the health authorities know it worked. Sayers, asked if he had tested his Ebola cure and how he brought it to market so fast as the World Health Organization had announced that millions of doses of experimental Ebola vaccines will be produced by the end of 2015, said vaccines of that nature only worked on less deadly viruses and “don’t really help.” 

Four murders and one police killing yesterday marked the start of a bloody weekend.

In the first incident, around 2.15 am, two men were walking along Wall Street in Pinto Road, Arima, when they were approached by a gunman.

After proceeding to rob both men, the gunman whipped out a firearm and fired at them. One man died on the scene. He remained unidentified up to late last night. The other man, identified as Jason Pierre, of Sangre Grande, was rushed to the Arima Health Facility and later transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, where he remains warded.

The second incident involved a 16-year-old student from the Arima North Secondary School.

According to reports, at around 1.50 am, the victim Anthony Seunarine was walking along Pro Queen Street, Arima, with his friends when a red Kia vehicle pulled up alongside the group. 

Seunarine and his friends started to run. Seunarine, who was running along De Verteuil Street, was being followed by the car when he tripped and fell. One of the occupants came out of the vehicle and stabbed Seunarine in the neck. The vehicle then sped off.

A relative at the scene said Seunarine left home around 4.30 pm on Friday, but did not say where he was going.

Meanwhile, in Tunapuna, Kadeem Sawyer, of Achong Trace, was murdered.

Reports are that Sawyer was sitting on a chair on the Eastern Main Road, opposite the Tunapuna Market, when two men came to purchase doubles from a nearby vendor. 

One of the men whipped out a firearm and shot Sawyer, who ran across the road towards the market. The gunman continued firing. Sawyer was shot four times about the head and upper body before collapsing. Police said the gunman then entered a white Elantra car and escaped.

The fourth killing occurred in Diego Martin around 11.30 am. Dale Mathias was sitting in his white Nissan X Trail outside TruValu Supermarket, when a gunman opened fire on his vehicle.

Mathias was from Rich Plain and is a known community activist. (SH)

​

Residents describe police shooting in Laventille as an assassination

At 2.45 pm, the peace in Prizgar Lands, Laventille, was disrupted by rapid gunfire when police shot and killed Nicholas “Bago” Caines, a shopkeeper.

Residents told the Sunday Guardian that Caines, who had marijuana in his possession, was walking in Eastern Quarry, and upon seeing a highway patrol vehicle began running.

Caines ran into a yard at O’ Garro Lane, where he attempted to jump a wall. He was shot once in the leg and twice in the head.

Caines died on the spot.

Yesterday, residents described the shooting as an “assassination.”

As the Government gives the green light for the $5.5 billion Invaders Bay development, the Joint Consultative Council is again renewing its call for an immediate halt on the project.

Accusing the Government of operating under a shroud of secrecy, JCC president Afra Raymond said the project was being done in breach of the Central Tenders Board regulations.

In a telephone interview, Raymond said it has been three years since the JCC, which represents the construction industry, took up the fight to stop the project, which involves the development of 70 acres of land south of Movie Towne, Port-of-Spain. 

“The JCC said in December 2011 that the Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by the Ministry of Planning for the development of Invaders Bay was done in breach of the Central Tenders Board Act. 

“The State has claimed to have legal advice on the publication of the RFP but despite several requests from JCC, the State has refused to publish that legal advice and that is what we are challenging in court. 

“The JCC was successful in obtaining a landmark ruling on July 14, 2014, which the State has now appealed. That appeal is due for hearing on November 20,” Raymond said. 

Last October, Planning Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie received legal advice from the Attorney General’s Office authorising the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) to lease land at Invaders Bay for the private project. The advice gave Udecott the authority to sublease the land to developers who had been chosen by the ministry after a sole selective tendering process.

Two local companies—Invaders Bay Marine Ltd and Da Chin Commercial Development Ltd—got the nod from Cabinet for their proposals in August.

But Raymond said despite this, the JCC will continue to challenge the Government’s decision to continue the project.

“We will continue to press for the publication of the legal advice which the State is relying upon in this development,” Raymond said. He added that there has been no explanation of the failure or refusal to host public consultations on this large-scale proposed development. 

“This is a case of glaring double standards, when one considers that there have been recent public consultations on the southwest growth pole; the issue of city status for Chaguanas; the review of the Constitution; the redevelopment of King’s Wharf in San Fernando,” Raymond said.

He added, “When Udecott wrote to us on September 25, 2014, on this project, it was noteworthy that they again emphasised their compliance with the recommendations of the Uff Report. Given that the 17th of the Uff recommendations is for consultation before decisions are taken and Udecott is now proceeding with this development—whatever it is—one wonders when will Udecott be hosting the first public consultation on Invaders Bay.”

“More could be done to boost economic development’

Saying the JCC had no objection to private investment on this project, Raymond said more could be done in that area to boost economic development.

“The greater Port-of-Spain region needs to be considered together so that the society can make best use of this unique development opportunity. The redevelopment of east Port-of-Spain must be considered alongside the Invaders Bay matter,” Raymond said.

He added that the possible gains from the development of Invaders Bay must not be confined to a small number of people and must extend beyond basic employment. 

“It is also critical to address the real environmental concerns which arise in a development of this size in this location,” Raymond added.

Told that the Government was using this project as part of its diversification thrust, Raymond said, “Given the repeated emphasis on diversifying our economy away from its habitual reliance on foreign exchange, the JCC believes one of the essential criteria for this development should be that any proposed projects should be net earners of foreign exchange.

“If that was adopted by the State as a tangible commitment to this new type of development, it would immediately exclude a raft of familiar development modes—shopping malls, foreign franchise restaurants, luxury residential and so on. That exclusion would, in turn, open the way for a series of new possibilities which are not at this time visible.

“If the State is unable or unwilling to use prime property like Invaders Bay as ‘springboards’ to promote new development models, when and how will the new models be planted? If not now, when?” Raymond asked.

The chairman of Da Chin Enterprises and Multicinemas Ltd MovieTowne’s parent company, Derek Chin, revealed that his plan is to build themed spaces reflective of the country, such as Indian Street, African Street, Chinese Street, Syrian-Lebanese Street, Fashion Street, etc, to showcase T&T’s cultural heritage and people’s love of shopping.

Justification for Invaders Bay

​

In its Request For Proposals document dated October 4, 2011, the ministry said the Invaders Bay project would change the manner in which ports operate and cargo is transported, as waterfront property is now more valuable for its residential, retail and recreational function than simply for port activity with heavy industry, docks and fenced-off warehouses.

The development of the Invaders Bay area will definitely benefit the country both during its construction and operational phases, whilst at the same time producing a significant effect on the civic psyche by giving renewed pride to our nation.

It is expected that the project will:

1. Generate both temporary jobs (albeit over several years) during the construction phase and permanent jobs during the operational phase

2. Add value to the service sector, and contribute to improving the living conditions of the area, and target local companies and subcontractors for the supply of certain components of goods and services

3. Generate foreign exchange earnings

4. Facilitate an expansion of the skills base and the extension of services to the country inclusive of a transfer of technology, especially in “green building technologies” and so develop local entrepreneurship and technical skills

5. Have a demonstrable effect on the other countries in the region, which might follow this example

6. Transform the capital city’s coast line and herald a new age in the development of waterfront urban centres in the region

7. Boost property values in the area

8. Assist the government in realising our vision of making T&T a world-class destination for business and tourism, providing opportunities for greater economic inclusion and facilitating an era of prosperity for all

9. Ensure synergies with the surrounding development and add vitality to adjacent sites, including those in Port-of-Spain city centre and east Port-of-Spain.

Govt not operating in secret —Tewarie

In an interview, Tewarie said it was not true that the Government was operating in a secretive manner.

“As far as I am aware, the JCC is in communication with my permanent secretary and she has written them to indicate that she will respond to their questions,” Tewarie said. “I really don’t see what the charges of secrecy are about. 

“In addition, the matter is before the court, and I cannot and I need to honour the fact that it is before the court. At the same time they are engaging the courts, they are also engaging my PS and they wish to draw me into a public discourse in the newspaper.”

Tewarie said he was “really suspicious of their motivation.”

“I cannot see how they could be claiming the only issue that they are after is a public-interest issue. The facts of their involvement in this matter and the changes in issues over time make it clear that there is more in the mortar than in the pestle,” Tewarie said.

“I take this opportunity to point out that the legal opinion which they are seeking the right to have from the court is clearly already in their possession, because the legal opinions given to the Attorney General’s office have been publicly aired in at least one newspaper.

“I am at a loss to understand what could be their motivation. From my point of view, it could not simply be a public-interest matter,” Tewarie repeated.