Maulana Mushtaq Ahmad Sulaimani says while it is easy for citizens to blame the Government for crime and other ills affecting the society, many fail to recognise that each citizen has a critical role to play in resolving the problems.

He said that while delivering the feature address at a special Eid ul- Fitr function hosted by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s on Sunday.

It was closed to the media.

Maulana Sulaimani said: “We are very well aware of what is going on in the country, anytime someone is commiting crime or other wrongdoing, we find it very easy and convenient to point our fingers at the Government .”

He said many in the country do that “not knowing that we as parents , we as elders, are duty-bound to educate and teach our children about character building.”

Maulana Sulaimani said: “The parents (in this country) are failing in their duties to teach the young ones what are their duties (responsibilities). We as parents, we fail in the society.”

He said this failure was taking place “despite the clear guidance (given) in the Holy Quran,” adding that

citizens “should not surrender to godlessness and reckless living .”

Maulana Sulaimani said: “We are responsible for our wrong doing (and) we must not point fingers at anybody else. We must do our homework. We must teach our children (and) we must set an example.”

Maulana Sulaimani said Rowley had signalled to the entire population “that our nation was facing many challenges and and all of us must assist in putting things right.”

He said the Prime Minister was also indicating that to make things better in T&T “we must put aside all petty differences and hold hands with each other and get the job done.”

He said T&T was still a free country where Muslims can serve Allah in comfort and without fear.

He told Muslims that their teaching indicate that in those circumstances “we must rise to the occasion.”

Maulana Sulaimani said Muslims were grateful to Rowley for treating them as equals, adding that PM Rowley has recognised them as having valuable contributions to make towards T&T’s future development.

Maulana Sulaimani said the various religious doctrines were respected in T&T and citizens must have absolute faith in the Creator.

Among those who attended the event was Point Fortin ASJA pupil, Lexi Balchan, who placed first in this year’s SEA exam.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia said the creative writing scores for this year’s SEA examination were low when compared to last year and one resulting factor was the regurgitation of essays.

He was responding to questions from members of the media after delivering the feature address at the opening of the Knowledge Marketplace titled Re-envisioning Education in T&T; Evidence at Work for improved policy and practice- Researching now; Impacting the future held at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain yesterday.

“The marks the students made this year were somewhat lower than the marks the students made last year. However, the creative writing component last year stretched over a period of two years where the students were asked to write ten essays and during that process they were approached on how to write properly and five of those top scripts were sent for assessment.

“It is a totally different method of assessment that was entered into this year,” Garcia said.

The CAC Component focused on report writing only.

On whether the low marks could be attributed to narrative writing being reintroduced at a late stage to effectively prepare students for this year’s exam, Garcia said, this was not the case.

“What has happened in many cases was that children regurgitated what they have learnt or have been forced to learn.

“Even when I wrote the common entrance exam we were given a model essay and I remember up to this day some paragraphs. What has been happening is in many cases children are given some model essays and therefore there is panic if there is some shift,” Garcia said.

Asked to identify what schools scored below 30 per cent this year the minister said he he did not have that information available.

Pressed as what areas performed low Garcia said, “It is spread over the seven educational districts in Trinidad.”

Regarding the querying of this year’s results by many parents Garcia admitted that many were still seeking transfers for their children.

“In fact I personally have been receiving a number of calls from parents seeking transfers for their children,” Garcia said, adding that it was still too early to determine whether the number of parents who wanted transfers were more than that of last year as registration was only completed late last week.

“There is a process which must be followed whether people are seeking transfers and firstly the child must be registered at the assigned school. That information must be passed on to the school supervisors and to the officers in the Education Ministry who are dealing with transfers and depending on the availability of space and the performance of the child... these are some of the considerations,” Garcia added.

On criticism made by former education minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh about the current education system Garcia said, “ He (Gopeesingh) seems to have a big problem in understanding that he is no longer the Minister of Education. In spite of what he says I stand firm in the belief that our education system has been moving forward and he has been disingenuous in some of the statistics he has been producing.”

Garcia added that under his purview there has been a tremendous reduction in indiscipline in schools and an improvement in the quality of work among students.

Two week after the passing of former T&T Guardian photographer, Lester Forde, came the sad news that another former photographer, Noel ‘Sally’ Saldenah has died.

Both Forde and Saldenah were close friends.

Forde, a father of three, of St James, died two days after he celebrated his 54th birthday.

The deaths of Forde and Saldenah occurred some two and a half months after former T&T Guardian employee Marsha Arvelay died, marking three deaths in about three months for the company.

A father of three children—one daughter and two sons and two grandchildren, Saldenah, 74, died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital around 3 am yesterday after suffering from a prolonged illness.

Saldenah’s former common-in-law wife for many years, Vercil des Vignes and mother of his two sons Dwayne, 36, a solider and Devon, 30, a Special Reserve Police officer, described her former partner as a dedicated father and grandfather who “did it his way.”

“He lived his life to the fullest. Last Thursday when I went to see him he was somewhat sad. But I was happy he recognised me and that I saw him before he passed.

“We had many ups and downs like everyone else but he was a good person. He loved his job and he loved working for the Guardian,” des Vignes said yesterday.

She said Saldenah was also fondly known in the Arouca community where he spent many years with des Vignes at their Bon Air home.

“All the neighbourhood children have photos of themselves which Sally took out. He was passionate about photography...he was always taking out something or the other,” des Vignes reminisced.

Des Vignes, also a former T&T Guardian employee who worked in the classified department, said she met Saldenah in 1981.

She was immediately enamoured by his charm and charisma.

Saldenha, who was well known throughout the media, won several top photographic awards during his career at the Guardian. They included the Jetsam Awards, BWIA, Best News and Best Sports.

“In every department Sally went to he would light up the place. He loved sports especially football and he would often get into arguments over football.

“He was a fella people just like to stop and ‘small talk’ with. He was good-natured,” Des Vignes said.

Saldenah retired from the T&T Guardian in 2003, a few years before his close colleague Brian Ng Fatt.

Contacted yesterday, Ng Fatt said it was the first time he was hearing about his friend’s death.

“I’m shocked but then I know he was not well. Sally always had a joke to share or a story to share. I remember one time, many years ago we were covering a general election ‘behind the bridge,’ Piccadilly Street, and it was a tense time but Sally kept our spirits up.

“He reassured us nothing was going to happen and in his own Sally way he would say, ‘What allyuh worried about. Ent I here,’ and he would let out this laugh in his own Sally way,” Ng Fatt said, adding, “Whenever he met somebody Sally would be ‘shadow boxing’. He was real into sports and was one of the top sport photographers at the Guardian.

“He was really an unforgettable person from the ‘original Guardian’ from long ago,” Ng Fatt added.

Veteran sport reporter, Kelvin Nancoo, also shared memories echoed by Ng Fat’s of Saldenah’s photographic ability.

“I will never forget a horse racing photo which Sally took. The horse just bolted and Sally captured the exact moment when all four feet were off the ground.

“That was an ace photo because it is very difficult to capture,” Nancoo said.

Head, Digital Content at CNC 3 News Sampson Nanton said even when Saldenah retired he would still visit the media house at St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain.

“Whenever he was in town he would often pass to look for everyone. He never forgot his colleagues,” Nanton added.

Funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised.

Interim measures have been put in place for the sterilizing of medical tools until the Central Sterilization Unit of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (POSGH) is back up and running.

This was yesterday disclosed to the T&T Guardian by the chief executive officer of the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA), Sheldon Cyrus.

Cyrus was responding to an article carried in yesterday’s T&T Guardian where hospital staff expressed fears of them being exposed to a high risk of contracting infections as the sterilization unit there has been dysfunctional for over four years. It was reported that the last of four sterilization machines broke down recently, leaving workers unable to sterilize medical instruments.

However, Cyrus said that the hospital’s medical tools are currently being sent to both the Eric Williams Medical Complex and the St James Medical Complex for sterilizing.

With respect to timeframe as to when the washers and cleaning machines at the Unit will be up and running, Cyrus confirmed that the required parts have already been ordered through a local supplier and that they were expected to be in receipt of them within the next two weeks.

With respect to the biohazard waste pile up on the hospital’s compound, located in a den to the back of the mortuary, Cyrus explained that in the usual circumstances a special contractor is hired to clear the waste “at least once a month, on rare occasions, sometimes twice a month…the waste is incinerated as it cannot be dumped just like that.”

Last month, at least 50 workers at the hospital’s kitchen also protested over the conditions they were being forced to work in. They complained that they were not being supplied with proper utensils and appliances to carry out their duties.

Asked the update on the situation there, Cyrus said that remedial works were completed and operations had resumed in the kitchen as normal.

Asked when the minor infrastructural works at the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital were expected to be completed, Cyrus said “by today.”

In a previous interview with the Health Minister, Terrence Deyalsingh, Deyalsingh laid blame on the hospital’s administrator for the poor conditions at the hospital. Deyalsingh also said that all requests to the executive management and the last board over the past five years were ignored.

Deyalsingh then gave an assurance that until he can get the executive staff to deal with the issues he will now be taking the responsibility.

A day after the Siparia Regional Corporation (SRC) threatened to "name and shame" errant landowners, San Fernando East MP Randall Mitchell took the Corporation to task over the state of the Siparia Public Cemetery where the grass is higher than the tombstones.

On Saturday, Mitchell attended the funeral of PNM community stalwart Davis Chadband who died last week of a chronic illness. He said when it was time for the burial at the cemetery located at George Street, Siparia, mourners had to part grass to get to the grave site.

"We met grass that was waist high. Everybody was disgusted at how the place was unkept. This showed that those responsible had a gross disregard for the dead and the families of the dead," Mitchell said.

"This is a public cemetery and I am calling on the Siparia Regional Corporation to get their act together and to please maintain the cemetery and other public spaces that are under its authority,"

He said residents living near the cemetery had complained that it had been months since the grass had been cut and it had become an eyesore. One woman said people attending funerals risk being bitten by snakes and other insects just by going into the cemetery.

On Sunday, SRC chairman Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh said the Corporation planned to embark on a "name and shame" campaign to expose property owners and developers who alter land and watercourses illegally. He was speaking about the flooding in the Fyzabad and Désir communities where landowners had filled their properties and diverted a river.

Mitchell said the SRC is the landowner of the cemetery and under the Municipal Corporations' Ac is mandated to maintain the compound.

Section 112 (1) (f) of the Act states that the Corporation Fund should be applied toward payment of expenses incurred in the maintenance and management of markets, slaughterhouses, pastures, commons, recreation grounds or cemeteries and crematoria, under the control or management of the Corporation.

Contacted for comment, Ramadharsingh said the cemetery will get urgent attention. He said the SRC is looking into the upgrade of all cemeteries and cremation sites.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia is now probing an “unfortunate error” made by the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of T&T (Costaatt) over payments under the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses programme (Gate).

Garcia’s action was prompted after thousands of students were given the impression, via an official Costaatt email, that they would have to pay their own tuition fees as far back as the 2013/2014 academic year as a result of Government’s impending changes to the programme.

The memo addressing the issue initially notified students that they would have to pay for Gate from the 2013-14 academic year dating up to just concluded academic year. It also told students that the new Gate arrangements would kick in from the new academic year from August 21, 2017.

This left many current and even former students wondering whether they would have to find money to both repay tuition fees and for the forthcoming academic year.

But after the issue was discussed on social media and on the local airwaves yesterday, Costaatt subsequently amended the notification memo, which was apparently sent prematurely by Costaatt.

A clarification was posted on Costaatt’s social media page said the message only applied to students who still had not yet applied for Gate funding for the periods in question. In the updated correspondence, the institution said it urges students on a “regular basis” to get up-to-date with their Gate applications, adding “many have not as yet attempted to apply for past academic sessions.”

GML understands the notification was sent to students after correspondence from the Gate office was issued indicating that students who were not up to date with their applications for past academic years would not be recognised after a certain period.

When GML contacted on the issue yesterday, Costaatt director Gillian Paul did not use the word “error” but admitted the initial email “may not have been explicit enough.”

“It wasn’t a miscommunication. I think when folks read it they did not focus on the word ‘application.’ The fact of the matter is that students are sometimes slow in submitting their request for Gate funding. The college has been working with them and set up its own Gate support centre to get them to process their applications in a timely fashion,” Paul said.

“Sometimes the turnaround from the Gate office might not be as quick as we need it to be. And what actually happened is we received notification from the Gate office that for students who had not yet submitted applications for past periods they would not be entertaining those requests.”

On who issued that notification, Paul said it was the “Funding and Grant Division.”

“We were trying to process the backlog of outstanding funds and we were trying to alert our students that this was a potential risk for them and that they should move very quickly to try and submit their applications for those past periods, and the formulation could have been more explicit about the fact that it was speaking about the students who had not yet submitted their Gate applications for past period and the students read it as all students and all funding owed from that period and that’s what triggered the panic,” Paul said.

She said it was subsequently clarified with the ministry’s permanent secretary and students that this applied to a “restricted group.”

Apology by text

But also contacted last evening, Garcia said he too was baffled over how Costaatt could have issued such a memo.

He said, “I received a text from the director of Costaatt apologising for the error and it has been corrected. It was an unfortunate error.”

Pressed further, the minister said, “I really don’t know and I am finding out exactly what happened.”

Under the new measures for the Gate programme, students will face a means test to determine if they qualify for assistance, what amount they will get, or if they will any at all. Asked when this will take effect, Garcia said: “We have set out the perimeters that would kick in from September 2017.”

He said students would be subjected to a means test and their household income would also be taken into consideration in determining whether they would qualify for Gate or not.

Following are the memos issued by Costaatt over the Gate programme:

First memo:

Dear Students,

Please be advised that the Ministry of Education has informed us (Costaatt), that from August 1st 2017 there will be no payments for GATE applications made for the following academic years:

• 2013-2014

• 2014-2015

• 2015-2016

They have also indicated that from January 1st 2018 there will be no payments for GATE Applications made for the academic year 2016-2017.

Those students who are not in receipt of GATE funding, for the academic years listed above, will be required to settle all tuition fees, using personal funds, before the beginning of the new academic year on August 21st 2017.

Further, queries on the details above may be sent to registrar@costaatt.edu.tt or call 625-5030 ext 5257/5265.

Updated memo:

Dear Students,

Further to the communication sent to you yesterday, we have received several e-mails seeking clarification on the different status levels of a GATE application. We also take this opportunity to clarify that the message sent below only applies to students who have not as yet made an attempt to apply for GATE funding for the cited periods.

As you are all aware, at every registration period, the College urges students “to get up to date with GATE”. Messages to this effect are sent out quite often but to-date, we note that many students have not as yet attempted to apply for past academic sessions.

Based on correspondence from the GATE office, please note again that if you have not applied for retroactive periods 2014-2016, you will not be allowed to do so after August 1st 2017.

GATE has also committed to reviewing 2013-2014 missed applications and if there are legitimate reasons for the non-application for funding, some consideration will be given to determine if funding is still possible. As the GATE office has indeed been working with us, you are hereby urged to take advantage of the support offered by the Office of the Registrar Costaatt to have all outstanding GATE applications brought up to date before 1st August 2017.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley last night hinted that the Government may have to cut some jobs in the public service.

Noting that public expenditure was what drives the economy of T&T during the return of “Conversations with the PM” at the Point Fortin East Secondary, the PM said: “So if Government revenues are strong then there is a lot that the Government can do. If revenues are weak and falling…not withstanding our best desires of wishes and needs there is only so much we can do.”

Rowley said while people have been saying the Government has been on a job cutting exercise, they have in fact been trying to maintain jobs “even if we cannot pay you salary increases or substantial increase. So the first priority is to hold on to the jobs that you have.”

He said based on information obtained from the Ministry of Labour, there were 50,000 public servants on the Government’s payroll. Of this figure, he said 19,000 are daily-paid workers, 15,800 were contract workers and 20,000 were monthly paid.

Noting that the population would notice that the Government did not have any major lay-offs in the public sector, the PM said: “Question is, how long can we do that if the revenues continue to decline? I leave that with you.”

He said, however, that while jobs were lost, a number of jobs were also created as well.

Between September 2015 to now, Rowley said the Government had seen oil prices plummet to US$27 a barrel. In 2014-2015, he said revenue stood at $57.3 billion and the following year (2015/2016), the first year the People’s National Movement assumed office, those revenues fell to $44.9 billion.

“That is $12 billion less. So obviously this Government cannot pretend or ought not to try and spend money the way previous governments spent money, simply because the money is just not there.”

In the period 2010 to 2015, the Government borrowed to spend on its citizens, $ 30 billion.

“That was when we had the highest level of earnings, in 2008, in the history of the country.”

But Rowley said in 2015/2016, to prevent the economy from collapsing, his Government borrowed $12 billion to keep the country’s expenditure and payments going.

“We have had to borrow to fund our lifestyle,” he admitted.

During the period when earnings were strong, Rowley said and the country’s projections were positive certain kinds of salaries could have been afforded.

“Today, when we are facing and living the reality of those kinds of reductions, it would not be a reasonable expectation that you could get the same kinds of support from the Government as you would get as when revenues were there.”

The PM was joined by Energy Minister Franklin Khan and National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, while La Brea MP Nicole Ollivierre hosted the proceedings.

Earlier on, the PM also asked the gathering whether they were in agreement with a recent call for a fresh election, to which he got a resounding ‘no’ from the audience.

Two women lost their lives, while two police officers remained warded in critical condition at hospital last night, after a three-vehicle smash-up along the Antigua Road, Valencia, on Monday.

Dead are Sandra La Barrie, 64, of Phase 1, La Horquetta, and relative Calystra Daniel 43, of La Horquetta Boulevard. Warded in critical condition at the Port-of -Spain General Hospital last night were Cpl Browne and colleague WPC Harding, who both suffered broken bones and internal injuries. Browne was reported to be last attached to the St Joseph Police Station.

According to police reports, around 10.30pm on Monday, La Barrie was driving her red Tiida south along the Antigua Road, when the vehicle began to swerve and ran into a white Corolla, causing that vehicle to run off the road. The Tiida then collided head on with a black Mazda pick-up driven by Cpl Browne, which was heading north.

Occupants of both vehicles remained trapped inside and had to be removed by fire officers with the assistance of the ‘jaws of life.’

La Barrie and Daniel died on the spot, while Browne and Harding were rushed by ambulance to the Arima Health Facility and later transferred to Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

Speaking to the media at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, La Barrie’s son, Quentin, said she was a careful driver who had been driving for 38 years. He said the family had been celebrating the wedding of his brother over the weekend.

“It is a case of from joy to sorrow tomorrow, because my brother got married on Sunday. He was supposed to leave for his honeymoon today (yesterday) but he is really broken up right now, ” Quentin La Barrie said, adding that his mother and aunt were returning from dropping off some wedding utensils in Sangre Grande when the accident took place.

He said Daniel, a wedding planner, was a devout Jehovah’s Witness who learned sign language so that she could preach to the deaf.

He added that his mother, who bore five children, had never been involved in an accident and recalled dancing with his mother to a Latin song at his brother’s wedding. He said the family, a close-knit one, are dancers and the greatest memory he has now of his mother is that last dance.

District Medical Officer Dr Gopaul viewed the bodies. Visiting the scene were Supt Neville Sankar, Sgt Dollarway, Cpl Manswell and other officers from Arima Police Station.

Cpl Manswell, of Arima Traffic Branch, is continuing inquiries.

RALPH BANWARIE

Two suspects who were detained by police in connection with the Malabar murders of Nafeeza Rose Mohammed and schoolboy Videsh Subar were freed yesterday evening.

The T&T Guardian was told by defence attorney Fareed Ali that the suspects, 24 and 19, from Arima and Mt D’or respectively, were released at about 6.50 pm.

However, a third suspect has been arrested and up to late last night remained in police custody. The latest suspect and a relative of Mohammed remained in custody last night.

Ali said the 24-year-old was detained for six days while the 19-year-old for three days. All three men were placed on identification parades at the La Horquetta Police Station on Sunday evening but none were positively identified.

Mohammed and Subar were both found tied up and their throats slit at Mohammed’s home at Ajim Baksh Street on June 27.

Ali had claimed that his clients were badly beaten while in custody, with one of them showing visible swelling about the right side of his face. That suspect claimed that six officers had beaten him, kicked and cuffed him about the head, stomach and legs. He alleges he was also made to sign a statement against his wishes which, according to Ali, had amounted to a forced confession. The other accused refused to speak to police officers.

Ali claimed that both men were also forced to give DNA samples against their will. They also claimed they were given little food and denied the opportunity to access baths.

Rumours of drugs and mental problems surround the death of 23-year-old Kelly Ann Clarke, whose nude body was found in Point Fortin yesterday afternoon.

Around 1.30 pm, Point Fortin police responded to a report of a body seen between the Point Fortin Hardware and another building along the Guapo/Cap-de-Ville Road. When they arrived they found Clarke, of Warden Road, Point Fortin, nude on the ground with blood covering her head. Investigators found her clothing nearby and blood stains on her underwear, raising suspicions that she had been raped. However, this will have to be determined by an autopsy carded for today at the Forensic Science Centre, St James.

Police said they received information that the victim was seen walking through the town last week, partially dressed and speaking loudly. They were also told that a drug habit may also be factor in her death. However, they said this will have to be confirmed through their investigation.

The baby boy born after a seven-month gestational period to a Fyzabad couple died of natural causes consistent with a pre-term delivery, pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov said yesterday.

Speaking with Guardian Media after completing the autopsy, Alexandrov said the child, who was to be named Kemron by his parents, died due to insufficient surfactant, a chemical produced in the womb to help the body exchange oxygen in the lungs. He added that if the child had been placed in an incubator soon after birth, he would have had a 75 per cent chance of survival.

Speaking at the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday after viewing the autopsy, the child’s father, Kimraj Jurai, said they delivered him at home on July 1 with the assistance of the doctor over the phone. Jurai and the child’s mother, Gail Sooknanan, then immediately took him to the doctor’s office for a check-up.

Jurai said Sooknanan wanted to stay with the child during that period, but the doctor advised her to go home, clean up and return. However, Jurai claimed when they went home and later contacted the doctor to return for the baby, the doctor told them he had taken the baby boy, measuring about 18 inches, to the hospital. Checks since then revealed there is no record of such an event happening.

“After seeing the baby we decided on the name. When the baby born she say she would stay with the baby (at the doctor’s office when they returned later in the day), but the doctor say no go home and clean up. He was giving we instruction on what to do over the phone. The baby was alive when he was born. He had all his body parts he was just small,” Jurai said.

Relatives also told the media yesterday that one minute they saw the child and the next the child had “disappeared.” One relative claimed the mother also denied she was pregnant when asked before the child was born prematurely.

Police said they got involved when a close relative of the couple contacted them after the baby was born and no one could account for the child’s whereabouts. Officers later found the dead baby in the refrigerator of a doctor’s office in San Fernando on Monday, after carrying out a search of the office.

Two fire officers remained warded in hospital last night after being injured when they came into contact with high tension wires while responding to a fire in El Dorado yesterday morning.

According to reports, around 11.45 am fire officers from the Tunapuna Fire Station received a report of a fire at a house at Lackpat Street, El Dorado.

Neighbours noticed the smoke and contacted the Fire Service as the owner of the home, Earl John, his common-law wife Joanne Peters and nephew Clint John reportedly left home around 10 am to go to work.

They arrived on the scene within minutes and quickly managed to contain the fire to the house where it originated.

However, as they were attempting to extinguish the fire, two of the officers made contact with the burnt-out electricity wires leading to the house.

The officers, who were only identified as Fire Officers Baldeo and Hypolite were wearing protective equipment but still received minor burns to their hands.

“They received a minor shock but as a precaution we sent them to hospital,” a colleague who was on the scene said when contacted yesterday.

Baldeo and Hypolite’s colleagues were unable to save John’s home and an attached wood working workshop, which were both completely destroyed.

The officers remained warded at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope for observations up to late yesterday. They were visited by several of their colleagues as well as senior officers including Assistant Chief Fire Officer Mervyn Layne.

A senior officer who visited the duo described their injuries as minor compared to injuries sustained by other officers in similar circumstances in the past.

“It was not as bad as at first seemed. They were wearing their gloves but felt it as they were water soaked in trying to fighting the fire,” the officer said as he sought to give an explanation for the incident.

Fire investigators were on the scene of the fire up to late yesterday as they were attempting to determine its cause.

A day after psychiatric patient Christopher Wolfe complained that he could not get drugs at the San Fernando outpatient pharmacy, chief executive officer of the South West Regional Health Authority, Gail Miller-Meade, assured that there is no shortage of psychiatric drugs.

Wolfe, who suffers from mental illness, said his supply of Tegretol 200 g, CPZ 75, Skolozeine and Arlone drugs could not be sourced at the pharmacy because they were unavailable. Saying he needed the medication so that he would not “trip off,” Wolfe said he was scared that police could attack him if he had a mental breakdown.

“This is scary for me because we had so many cases where the police killed mentally unstable people,” Wolfe said.

“I have a boxing gym and once I take my medicine I am alright. When the hospital doesn’t have the medication, it is dangerous for us,” Wolfe added.

However, contacted yesterday, Miller-Meade said checks with the pharmacy showed that the prescribed psychiatric drugs were available at the SFGH outpatient pharmacy.

Saying the medication could be sourced at any other pharmacy as they fell the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP) programme, Miller-Meade explained, “We do not purchase drugs as we get this from central stores (C40). If the medication has to be changed this should be done by the doctor.”

A source at central stores (C40) said that there were no shortage of psychiatric drugs.

“All of the medication named were also available at the St Anns Psychiatric Unit,” the source added.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Health also said it was evaluating the system of drugs procurement so that there could be a continued supply of CDAP drugs to patients.​

​Former deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) Eden Charles has been granted permission to pursue a lawsuit against Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and members of his Cabinet over a decision to revoke his appointment.

In a 15-page decision delivered in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, Justice Frank Seepersad granted Charles leave to pursue his judicial view case as he ruled that he (Charles) had raised arguable grounds that have a realistic prospect of success in an eventual trial.

In his lawsuit, filed in January, Charles, of Union Hall, Cross Crossing, is claiming that Rowley and his Cabinet acted unfairly when they decided to revoke his appointment as ambassador in September, last year.

He is claiming that the decision is “flawed and defective” as Rowley failed to consult with him and provide details reasons when the decision was made.

He is also contending that he had a legitimate expectation to maintain his rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary after the completion of his stint at the UN, as he claimed that was the Government’s policy in the past.

However, this claim is being challenged by Cabinet, which is contending that the official policy is that in the case of career diplomats they will return to their substantive positions in the civil service once their term in office are completed.

“The issuing of reasons would be even more critical, if the course adopted altered a long-standing policy with respect to the treatment of career ambassadors when they are recalled to headquarters. The Applicant’s assertion that in the interest of natural justice the Prime Minister ought to have informed him of the various allegations made against him, is in the Court’s view, covered with the cloak of arguability and is a ground which has a realistic prospect of success,” Seepersad said.

Charles is also seeking a declaration that his constitutional rights were infringed and that the decision was illegal and made in bad faith.

Charles was appointed to the post in March 2012 under the People’s Partnership administration.

Charles is being represented by Devesh Maharaj, while Reginald Armour, SC, and attorney Nadine Nabbie are representing Rowley and the Cabinet.

Former public service head Reginald Dumas is still pursuing his lawsuit challenging composition of the Police Service Commission even though the two members who he felt were unqualified, may no longer be on the commission.

Lawyers representing Dumas stated his position as the lawsuit, filed after President Anthony Carmona made the appointments in 2013, came up for hearing for the first time since the Court of Appeal and Privy Council ruled in Dumas’ favour over a procedural issue which threatened to derail the case before it even started.

Attorney Elaine Greene informed presiding Judge Robin Mohammed that she had written to the State on Dumas’ behalf last year to seek information on the status of members Dr James Armstrong and Romar Achat-Saney and received “no substantive response”.

Greene submitted that notwithstanding the members’ current position, Dumas’ case should continue as it calls on the court to interpret the Constitution to determine the criteria for selection to the commission.

She said: “Whether these people are sitting, the issue as sought by the claimant still stands.”

Attorney representing the Office of the Attorney General confirmed that they had made similar inquiries from the commission and had no received an official response.

Mohammed set dates for the filing of submissions in the case and adjourned it to November 23.

Dumas filed the lawsuit, a constitutional motion in April 2013 after Carmona announced his nominations of Armstrong and Achat-Saney to the commission, which is tasked with the responsibility of appointing, dismissing, promoting and appraising the executive officers in the Police Service, including the Police Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners.

Dumas is asking the court to interpret Section 122(3) of the Constitution to determine if the nominations were lawful as the commission requires members who qualified and experienced in one of four disciplines: law, finance, sociology and management.

The President nominated Achat-Saney as a person who was qualified in the disciplines of law and sociology, and he nominated Dr Armstrong as a person who was qualified and experienced in the disciplines of management and finance. Dumas disagreed with their suitability.

State attorneys had initially asked Mohammed to strike out the lawsuit as they claimed the he was not allowed to bring it because he could not prove that his constitutional rights were directly affected by the appointments. Mohammed agreed.

However, the Court of Appeal disagreed as it held that Dumas had an arguable case on a matter of public importance and was not a busybody acting for a collateral purpose.

The local appeal court ruled that a judicial review claim would have been more appropriate lawsuit to seek the court’s interpretation and that Mohammed had the power to administratively convert the lawsuit to facilitate Dumas.

The State appealed the decision but it was upheld by the United Kingdom-based Privy Council, which ruled that citizens do have the right to approach the Court to seek an interpretation of the Constitution in the public interest, even though they were not directly affected.

Dumas is also being represented by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC.

Only 15 per cent of child abuse cases have been detected and taken before the court so far for 2017.

This was disclosed by Ag Superintendent of the T&T Police Service’s (TTPS) Child Protection Unit (CPU), Beverly Rodriguez during yesterday’s weekly police briefing at the Police Administration Building in Port-of-Spain.

Rodriguez said for the period January 1 to June 30, there have been 472 reports made to the CPU and 72 reports have been detected and are before the courts.

Keeping in mind that the July/August school vacation is here, Rodriguez urged parents to be mindful about who they have supervising their children while they are away from their homes. She also advised that they look out for any warning signs that may suggest some sort of sexual abuse.

“Parents are required to make decisions about the care and welfare of their children by several means. Parents/guardians, please research the day-care/camp and other places you intend to leave your children in the care of.

“Find out about the people who are going to be in charge of your children, the safety measures that are in place to secure your children and the persons who have access to the facility,” Rodriguez said.

Parents were also asked to ensure that they have developed “comfortable” relationships with their children.

“Do not be afraid or ashamed to talk to your youngsters about behaviours which may be detrimental to them.

“Teach them that there are predators in this world, and they come disguised in many forms (family, frien ds, and strangers). Encourage them to come to you when any situation feels uncomfortable. Let them know they can speak out,” Rodriguez said.

Regarding vacation camps, parents have been advised to be aware of the co-ed aspect “as the interaction between the genders, particularly adolescents, can prove to be a very sensitive issue.”
 

• The child showing signs of discomfort whilst walking or sitting.

• Reluctance to undress in the presence of others who they may have previously felt comfortable doing so.

• The child seems to possess unusually wide knowledge or interest in sexual acts which may be inappropriate to his or her age, or where seductive behaviour is displayed.

• Shying away from physical activities.

• Recurring sexually transmitted diseases. Pain, itching or burning in the genitals. Frequent urination.

• Making strong efforts to avoid a specific person, without an obvious reason. The child may not want to be alone with an aunt or uncle, with a minister or family friend, or with a coach or older brother or sister. The child may also cling to one person more than other. The reality is, all of the aforementioned can be sexually abusive towards the child.

• Running away from home.

• Exhibiting poor personal hygiene.

A second suspect who police claimed is linked to the kidnapping of San Fernando businessman, Gregory Laing, has been granted $150,000 bail.

Quincy Flatts, 24, of Picton Road, Laventille, was granted bail as he appeared before Magistrate Rehanna Ali in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court charged with negotiating and disposing of Laing’s ransom.

Flatts was not called upon to plead to the charges which was laid indictably.

He was represented by Ian Brooks.

Flatts’ court appearance came days after his 29-year-old neighbour, Jesten Superville, appeared in court charged with being in possession of $2,500 linked to the ransom paid by Laing’s family for his safe release.

Superville was denied bail by acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle-Caddle as he was already on bail for firearm offences when he was charged in relation to Laing’s kidnapping.

Both men will reappear in court on August 7.

Superville and Flatts were among the seven suspects who were detained on July 1, two days after Laing’s kidnapping.

Three of the suspects including Superville and a 17-year-old girl were arrested at Alicia’s Palace in Maraval, while the others were arrested at their homes in east Port-of-Spain. The teenager, whose six-month-old baby boy was with her at the time of her arrest, and another man were released by police earlier last week.

Last Friday, Superville and another suspect, an imam and CEPEP foreman, filed habeas corpus application asking police to justify their detention for over a week.

High Court Judge Ricky Rahim did not find police’s detention to be unlawful but ordered that they be charged or released by 11.30 am on Saturday morning.

Superville was charged by the deadline, while investigators decided to release the other suspect.

The two remaining suspects remained detained up to late yesterday.

Laing was kidnapped around 3 am last Thursday as he was opening his family’s Puff N Stuff Bakery at Circular Road, Vistabella. His family is also the owners of Tradewinds Hotel in St Joseph Village, San Fernando. Almost an hour later, his brother received a phone call from someone demanding a ransom of $270,000 for his safe return.

Police traced the call to the Beetham Gardens area and police immediately began conducting search exercises in communities in East Port-of-Spain for the missing man and his abductors.

As police intensified their search, Laing’s relatives reportedly delivered the ransom in two payments — $30,000 at a track in Beetham Gardens and later $240,000 near TATECO (Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission) Credit Union in Barataria.

Minutes after the final payment was delivered Laing was released unhurt along the Beetham Highway.

Tighter security is expected at a President’s House swearing-in function today, as officials there have implemented a new security protocol following the last such function when the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) Marlene McDonald was sworn in as a Government Minister on July 1, before being fired 48 hours later because she was accompanied by an unofficial guest.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who’d fired McDonald, had said there was need for ensuring adherence to protocols and water-tight systems at President’s House in the wake of the appearance of Sea Lots community leader Cedric “Burkie” Burke at the swearing-in function of McDonald.

In fact, the PM noted that he had fired McDonald for aligning herself to Burke at the event.

Today, President Anthony Carmona will administer the oath of office to a member of the Statutory Authorities Appeal Board at 11.30 am.

The Office of the President yesterday stated that the names of members of the media attending the ceremony must be submitted to the office before 10 am and will not be accepted after 10 am. The notification stressed—in red—that a dress code, such as a jacket for men, will apply.

“The office also stressed (in red) “compliance with dress code is a must.”

Sources said protocols are being strictly adhered to at today’s function and all others, following the recent issue when McDonald was sworn in.

Although he appeared with McDonald at that function, Burke’s name had not been on the guest list for the function at President’s House. Burke also confirmed he hadn’t been invited, as did his neighbour Sea Lots activist Kenroy Dopwell, an officially invited guest of McDonald.

Burke, who took issue with the PM’s statements, subsequently called on the Police Commissioner to say if he was being investigated or facing any charges.

Contacted yesterday, Burke’s attorney, Richard Clarke-Wills, confirmed there’s been no response from the CoP yet.

Williams didn’t immediately reply to calls yesterday. He was said to be overseas.

Last week, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said the CoP and aide-de camp at President’s House were “looking into” the issue of whether any security breach occurred at the July 1 ceremony.

The CoP was examining aspects concerning Special Branch, which is involved at President’s House and the aide-de-camp was examining administrative aspects concerning the House.

Last week sources at President’s House conceded Burke’s name had not been on their guest list but he was allowed access despite that.

Yesterday, sources were unable to say if the aide-de-camp had completed the review or if the President might speak about the situation after today’s function.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia says the means test for students who want to access Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) fees will be rolled out in about two weeks’ time.

In the meantime, he says students are free to fill out forms from facilities accredited by the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago (ACTT).

Garcia made the comment yesterday in the wake of the panic caused about access to GATE following a mix up in communication on the issue at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of T&T (Costaatt).

An official Costaatt email sent to students had initially gave the impression they would have to pay tuition fees dating as far back as 2013-2014, but the notification memo was subsequently amended to reflect that it was in fact a notice urging students who have not filed their applications for those years to do so urgently.

Garcia, who has said he is probing the “unfortunate error,” told the T&T Guardian yesterday that “Costaatt is a very important tertiary education institution which is accredited.”

He said from the forthcoming academic year (20127-2018), GATE funding will depend on the income of the household of the student.

Students whose household income is under $10,000 a month will be eligible for 100 per cent gate funding for tuition fees.

Where the household income is above $10,000, the student will be required to pay 25 per cent of tuition fees and where the household income is above $30,000 students will be required to pay 50 per cent of tuition fees.

Students must complete a means test to get access to funding, Garcia said. “While we have not yet rolled out the requirement for the means testing, we are hoping to have that rolled out in a week or two,” Garcia said.

He said many students wait until CAPE results are announced next month to begin the process, but noted “it is acceptable for students to fill out the application forms to the tertiary institution, in particular UWI and those accredited institutions.”

He said: “It is only when the results come out and they are accepted by the tertiary institution that they could apply for GATE funding.

“There are two separate things, one is the application form that students are required to fill out to gain entry and the other aspect is the application for GATE funding.”

Former tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim meanwhile told the T&T Guardian it is “imperative that what happened in the case of Costaatt is not repeated to cause further panic, anxiety and frustration among students.”

Karim is also calling on Garcia to “ensure that there is clear communication with respect to the means test, especially since we are in the middle of July and GATE registration has already started and will get in full stream by mid-August.”

According to Karim from the time CSEC and CAPE results are released in August “students will approach the institutions and therefore the ministry needs to issue very clear guidelines on how students will access GATE.

If it is determined that oil residue found on the Riviera Maya’s shores in Mexico are linked to a Petrotrin spill that occurred in T&T on April 23 this year then the entire board of the State-owned entity must resign.

The call came from environmentalist Stephen Broadbridge amid international reports that Mexican authorities were examining oil residues found on the Riviera Maya’s to determine a possible link to this country.

On Tuesday, a report by the Yucatan Times said the oil had spread “all the way from the island of Trinidad to the Mexican Caribbean coast,” affecting some Quintana Roo municipalities, such as Solidaridad and Tulum.

The municipal director of environment, Orquídea Trejo Buendia was quoted as saying that an inspection would have been conducted from Punta Maroma to the Mayakoba Hotel, detecting the existence of dark spots of oil residues along the coast.

“It has been determined that the origin of these spots is linked to the Trinidad incident,” the report said.

And if it is proven that this is true, it is also a major embarrassment to T&T, Broadbridge said.

He said no two oil spills were the same as they were like “fingerprints.”

“It is like a fingerprint because no batch of oil is the same. You can exactly match it up and if it is so then the entire board of Petrotrin should resign.

“It is a disgrace not only because of environmental damage but they have also embarrassed us to the world,” Broadbridge said.

Veterinarian Kriyaan Singh said an oil spill of this magnitude could have damning effects on wildlife especially birds.

He said when the April 23 spill occurred, several birds were rescued but instead of being allowed to be treated by local vets and non-governmental organisations they were mandated to be taken to the zoo.

“A notice was sent out in March this year that any rescued wildlife must be taken to the zoo so it did not take into consideration birds caught in oil spills.

“ About 41 birds which were rescued had to be left in crates at the security booth at the zoo because there was no one to receive them,” Singh said.

It was reported that the birds were placed in pigtail buckets and by the following day all died. It was also reported that no autopsies were performed on the birds so the exact extent of damage to wildlife could not be determine, Singh said.

“The notice must be amended because it is clear the zoo cannot handle the amount of wildlife rescued in our country and there are also not enough facilities for them. It is unfortunate we do not appreciate our wildlife and whenever anything happens all we do is just give fishermen money,” Singh added.

The Yucatan Times also reported that on July 6, an oil spot was found in the area of Playacar. Before that, another one was located near the coast of Tulum.

“The so-called equatorial stream of the south that runs along the Atlantic Ocean, from east to west and from south to north, directs the waters from the South American coasts towards the Mexican Caribbean,” the newspaper said.

It also quoted the chemical engineer Carlos Álvarez Flores, president of Mexico Communication and Environment who had said such petroleum residues had reached the Mexican Caribbean by marine currents.

Álvarez Flores had considered it was unlikely that those residues had any relation with boats or machinery.

“The distillation of crude oil generates three things: gases, at the top. liquids, in the middle, (usually gasoline and fuels used to run machinery), and “LP’s” at the bottom, (locally known in Mexico as chapopote, some kind of black tar),” Álvarez Flores had said.

Oil from the spill had also reached the coast of Venezuela.

Petrotrin has engaged in a massive clean-up exercise and has been working with Venezuelan authorities on the spill.