The Director of Public Prosecutions last night gave investigating officers instructions to charge a 24-year-old suspect for the double murders of Haffiza Rose Mohammed and 13-year-old Videsh Subar.

The Arima man will be taken before an Arima magistrate on Monday.

However, three more suspects remained in police custody last night as investigations continued. Those suspects are a 32-year-old who was rearrested on Wednesday night, a 25-year-old Sangre Grande man and Mohammed’s 54-year-old relative.

Mohammed, 56, and Subar were both found tied up and their throats slit at Mohammed’s home at Ajim Baksh Street, Malabar, on June 27.

On Wednesday morning, one of the first suspects to be detained for questioning, Kendall “Sausage” Garcia, 23, was shot during an alleged exchange of gunfire with police officers from the Central Division who had responded to a robbery in progress call.

Garcia was a known drugs and firearms offender and had two addresses - 40 Gokool Street, New City, Valencia and at LP645, Eastern Main Road, Maturita Village, Arima. 

Former San Fernando deputy mayor Sabrina Mowlah-Baksh says women approached her for help as far back as 1996, claiming that officers of the Contractors and General Workers’ Union (CGWU) had been trying to exact sexual favours from them in exchange for jobs at the San Fernando City Corporation (SFCC).

Following yesterday’s T&T Guardian article which alleged CGWU officials were hand-picking 70 per cent of workers for casual employment at the SFCC in return for sexual favours in some cases, several workers came forward to share their experiences yesterday. Mowlah-Baksh, who served as a United National Congress councillor during 1996-2000, said when she raised the issue at a statutory meeting the union led a protest against her.

“In 1996, women came to me and made those allegations. They asked me to treat with the matter. I raised it at a meeting as a matter of concern and called for an investigation,” Mowlah-Baksh said.

“At the very next statutory meeting, the union came out in their numbers and protested against me for raising the matter. The same women who complained to me alerted me that the union was going to come out to protest my call for an investigation.”

The issue came to light on Thursday when San Fernando mother Jovanne Edmunds raise the issue of “unfair” recruitment practice by the SFCC’s administration on the steps of City Hall.

Agreeing with Edmunds, Mowlah-Baksh said the SFCC’s recruitment policy is skewed in favour of the union.

“I agree with the protester that the councillors should have a greater input on daily paid recruitment. The recommendations (By the Union) is really a demand.”

A Pleasantville labourer visited the T&T Guardian office yesterday and said he plans to write letters to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein and Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus calling for an urgent investigation.

The man, who asked not to be identified for fear of victimisation, said he and several of his colleagues were casual workers at the SFCC for between nine and 15 years and cannot be guaranteed continuous employment. He said persons the union selects are guaranteed jobs every fortnight, although some of them started working two or three years ago. He claimed in order to get work, a job seeker first has to join the union and pay a fee, while some women would sometimes be called out of their homes at 10 pm to discuss “employment.”

“The habit of demanding sex has been going on years now. A certain man, who has been running a department in the corporation for years, had to run down a shop steward in the yard on Carib Street with a shovel. The shop steward was approaching his daughter,” the man claimed.

“Imagine they called out a woman to a bar at 10 o’clock to talk about employment. A woman from Embacadere told me she does not mind having sex with the man for a work because she has her children to feed, but she needed to be assured of getting regular work.

“We’ve even seen union officers coming out of hotels with the workers. If you are a woman and sexually active with one of the union officers, you will get work right through. For men, the union will take a day’s pay from your salary.”

In a voice note, another casual employee said even some union members cannot get work unless they are favoured. She said consideration for employment also meant they would have to patronise private events hosted by union officers.

MATTHEWS: COUNCILLOR OUT OF PLACE

Responding to the fresh allegations yesterday, CGWU president Ainsley Matthews said they would not bother to respond to them, reiterating they came with the territory.

However, he said the union was concerned about the councillors taking issue with the collective agreement, which allows them to recommend 70 per cent of the casual labour. He said this has been the practice since 1975.

“We find they are farse and out of place in that the union, through the collective agreement, has the right to nominate people and they cannot prevent that right. It is our right represent the causal workers and seek employment for them. If we are getting 70 per cent, they have to live with that. Common practice becomes common law,” Matthews said.

Calls made to Hosein yesterday were unanswered.

Also contacted yesterday, San Fernando East MP Randall Mitchell, whose constituency the SFCC falls, said he has not heard of the allegations. But he said if there is any truth to them, the SFCC and all corporations should revisit their recruitment and selection practices with a view to ensuring fairness, transparency and that there is no exploitation of the vulnerable.

On the heels of an emergency landing in St Lucia by an ATR aircraft belonging to Caribbean Airlines (CAL), pilots yesterday held a “critical” meeting to discuss safety concerns over the aircraft.

The T&T Guardian was told by a source that the pilots are threatening to ground all flights until CAL rectifies all issues raised by them, including recurring technical problems on aircraft.

Contacted about the meeting held by the T&T Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA) yesterday, CAL communications manager Dionne Ligoure said she was aware but could not comment further on it.

On Sunday, Flight BW434 was forced to make an emergency landing at Hewanorra International Airport in St Lucia after a warning light came on in the aircraft’s cockpit. In a media report, it was alleged that a fire broke out in the aircraft’s engine. However, Ligoure categorically denied this. She added that it was also the first time a warning light had come on in that particular aircraft.

“There was no fire on any Caribbean Airlines plane. The crews did exactly what they were supposed to given the situation that presented itself,” Ligoure said.

“It is the first time on that aircraft. Warning lights do come on on aircraft, it happens but we must understand in context what warning lights mean. We would need to define what technical problems are. Our planes are serviced routinely and there are different types of maintenance checks that have to be done. In fact, we operate in a highly regulated industry and when you say technical problem it could just mean that a bulb needs changing.”

She, however, assured that all was being done to “get to the bottom” of technical issues, although admitting they were not a “normal thing.”

“In such cases we have operated and acted in accordance with all required procedures. This business is one that is highly regulated,” Ligoure said.

Asked what was the status of the aircraft, Ligoure disclosed that the necessary inspections were done by the relevant independent bodies in St Lucia before it was returned to Piarco on Thursday. She, however, admitted that the aircraft would not be resuming its route as further rigorous inspections need to be done.

“We have very competent operations and technical people at CAL and we have been able to make the necessary adjustments to minimise any inconvenience to our passengers,” Ligoure said.

Also contacted for comment on yesterday’s meeting, TTALPA’s executive administrator Shelly Sadaphal replied: “This is quite a serious matter and we will issue a release if needed.”

A message sent to the pilots who attended yesterday by Sadaphal thanked them for their “overwhelming support.”

“We appreciate your unwavering commitment to the continued safe and professional operation of the ATR fleet. As indicated, we have advised our legal team on the matters discussed today (yesterday) and are awaiting further guidance,” the message read.

It disclosed that TTALPA was invited to a meeting with the chairman and vice chairman of the CAL board today at 11 am “to engage in further discussion.”

Sadaphal added: “We appreciate the company’s understanding of our deep concern for the current situation on the ATR fleet. We hope that our concerns can be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction and that we are able to arrive at an amicable solution to this grave situation.”

Trevor Ross took all the necessary precautions to preserve his life and was still killed yesterday morning, after a pick-up truck careened into him as he tried to fix his stalled car on the highway.

Ross, police said, of Powder Magazine, Cocorite, was on the emergency shoulder on the westbound lane of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, near the Grand Bazaar overpass, around 5.10 am at the time of the incident. He was attending to his stalled Datsun 280C when a white pick-up slammed into him, dragging him a few feet before stopping. Ross died at the scene while the injured driver was taken to the nearby Eric Williams Medical Complex, where he remained warded in a stable condition last night.

In a telephone interview yesterday with i95FM, co-ordinator of the Road Safety Project for the Police Service, Constable Brent Batson, said the driver of the pick-up could face possible death by dangerous driving charges.

“The only thing Mr Ross did wrong was attempt to repair the vehicle at the side of the road and it even wasn’t at the side of the roadway, it was the shoulder. So you have to wonder what the driver was looking at that he did not observe this driver on the road to begin with… People are taking for granted how they operate this machine on the roadway. This guy (the driver) did not even know he might have been facing a causing death by dangerous driving charge before today,” Batson said.

Ross was recorded as the 42 road fatality for the year.

The Ocean Flower 2, the passenger vessel leased by the Government to ease the current problems on the sea bridge, is now in Alaska as it continues to make its way to Port-of-Spain.

And a tough talking Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan reiterated yesterday that “we will not pay for a service we not getting,” telling the T&T Guardian if when the vessel arrives there are problems there is room for the Government to end the agreement. He said he had asked for a report on the status of the vessel and expected to get it before the end of yesterday in the wake of reports it had encountered mechanical issues on the way here.

But both Port Authority of T&T chairman Allison Lewis and general manager Charmaine Lewis are denying these reports. They say the vessel was delayed on its journey because of weather conditions which caused it to significantly reduce its speed and also because it is required to make various stops for fuel because it does not have long range fuel capacity. Lewis added: “We have no information that the vessel stalled or broke down.”

The vessel left its port of origin on June 29 and was originally scheduled to get here on July 17, but the arrival date is now set for July 26.

The Ocean Flower 2 is 21 years old and Lewis due diligence was done on the vessel, with International Surveyor LLoyds Shipping doing pre-hire and condition surveys which involved examination of the entire vessel, including the hull, engine and under-body, as well as assessing the viability of extending the vessel’s useful life. The vessel was given a clean bill of health.

“We have copies of the report duly signed by the international surveyor. They will not put their reputation on the line by saying the vessel is good when it is not,” the GM said.

Sinanan said before the contract with Bridgeman Services Limited was signed the port and ministry did what they had to do to “ensure the interest of the country was protected.

“We have an agreement with the Charter and if it does not reach on time the attorneys put a penalty in the contract,” he said.

While the vessel has a seven-day window if it does not get here by the scheduled July 17 arrival date, it will be slapped with a daily penalty of US$26,500 with interest.

Under the contract, Sinanan said once the vessel gets here and it does not work “then we don’t pay, this is not a vessel we buying, this is a lease and if it comes and it’s not working we can cancel the lease. If it’s not working we don’t pay.”

An undisclosed mobilisation fee was paid to secure the vessel and get it here.

Sinanan added that “this was an emergency and we did not have the luxury of waiting for months for another vessel,” but he assured the contract has an exit clause which the Government will use if it needs to.

Yesterday, Allison Lewis said the vessel was heading for Dutch Harbour in Alaska. From there it will “stop off in Panama for a few days for reflagging.” She said of the 13 submissions, the Ocean Flower 2 was found to be the “most suitable in terms of availability, time, cost, mobilisation and fuel consumption.”

An angry Charmaine Lewis said while other people may not believe the situation on the sea bridge was critical and needed to be addressed with urgency, “the port deemed it a critical matter to get the vessel here and time was a major factor. Other people may feel we could have waited but the port felt fixing the sea bridge problem was critical.”

T&T’s Cultural Ambassador, the Calypso Queen of the World Calypso Rose (Dr Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis) was yesterday honoured by Caribbean Airlines (CAL) after a Boeing 737 aircraft was named in her honour.

The name, CR77, was unveiled in an aircraft dedication ceremony that took place at Hanger 10 of the Piarco International Airport.

CAL’s chairman, Shameer Mohammed in his address said the airline was in discussions with Calypso Rose’s management team to gift her with travel benefits which will include complimentary Caribbean Miles for a period of three years and complimentary Caribbean Club membership.

“We also intend to place Calypso Rose’s most recent album “Far from Home” on Caribbean Airlines’ inflight playlist; and include the documentary feature The Lioness of the Jungle on our inflight entertainment playlist,” Mohammed said.

Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said Calypso Rose being hailed the Calypso Queen of the World was not the story of overnight success, “but one of perseverance, fuelled by passion and imagination.”

“Calypso Rose was born in Bethel in Tobago and began writing songs from as early as 15, and to date she has written over 800 songs. During her professional career, she has broken many barriers and has been pivotal in the transformation of the calypso art form,” Gadsby-Dolly said.

“As a pioneer, she made her own destiny, not conforming or walking within boundaries set by others. Her work has been studied, analysed, dissected and interpreted by scholars, while being loved and embraced by the common man,” she said.

The Minister said that she hopes that one day, her ministry will have the honour of Calypso Rose as a mentor in its Mentoring by the Masters programme, which she said, “aims at bringing together experienced artisans and young hungry talents for the transference of skills and information.”

Former Congress of the People (COP) political leader Prakash Ramadhar has lost his appeal against the decision of a High Court judge who ordered him to pay $255,000 in compensation to his estranged brother and two other COP members for defamation.

Delivering a written judgment at the Hall of Justice yesterday, Chief Justice Ivor Archie and Gregory Smith ruled that trial judge Vasheist Kokaram was right when he ruled against Ramadhar, former COP chairman Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan and founding party member, Iqbal Hydal in December 2015.

Smith, who wrote the judgment, said that Kokaram was “patently aware of the law” and had properly applied it to the facts and circumstances of the case.

“The exercise was fairly performed and in the present case I find no reason to second guess the impressions he formed and the findings he made on the contested facts before him,” Smith said.

Appellate judge Prakash Moosai disagreed with his colleagues and gave a dissenting judgment. However, Moosai’s written reasons was not attached to the judgment.

The lawsuit arose out of a controversy in October 2013 after Ramadhar’s brother, Kishore, and COP members Rudolph Hanamji and Satu-Ann Ramcharan were accused of sending a letter with information about the COP’s membership to the then Opposition People’s National Movement.

The letter stated that three other members who contested the last local government elections were not members of the COP, as legally required.

The PNM subsequently wrote to the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) challenging the membership of the candidates.

Kishore, Hanamji and Ramcharan, who were suspended from the party’s national executive and national council, denied any wrongdoing as they claimed their signatures had been forged on the leaked document.

Ramadhar was ordered to pay his brother $90,000; the same amount to Hanamji and $75,000 to Ramcharan.

Seepersad-Bachan was ordered to pay Kishore $75,000; the same amount to Hanamji and $50,000 to Ramcharan while Hydal was ordered to pay $25,000 to Kishore Ramdhar; the same sum to Hanamji and $20,000 to Ramcharan.

Ramadhar was the only of the three to appeal Kokaram’s decision.

In his appeal, Ramadhar, an attorney, claimed that Kokaram misinterpreted his statements and failed to properly consider his defence of fair comment. The grounds were dismissed by the Court of Appeal in its judgment.

There’s no deadline for homeowners to the submit Valuation Return Forms at Valuation Division offices nationwide even though the implementation of the property tax law remains tied up in court.

Residential property owners can continue submitting forms after yesterday and there will be no sanctions, Minister in Finance, Allyson West said yesterday.

West gave the clarification, responding to concerns by members of the public after the Ministry had last month stipulated a July 14 “deadline” for submission of forms.

The High Court ruled in June that submission of Valuation Return Forms is voluntary and that the Finance Ministry must advertise information on this, the Ministry extended the initial deadline to July 14 for submission.

The original deadline was May 22 which was extended a week later following which the court action ensued by the Opposition halting the process and resulting in the judgment. The substantive case challenging the law has been listed to be heard in September.

The impending “deadline” this week, caused an increase in the number of people seeking to submit forms in the last three days although the numbers had been only a “trickle” in several regional offices in previous weeks.

Valuation Division officials said the increased numbers were nowhere near the “rush” which occurred for the first May deadline when offices were “swamped.”

Senior Valuation officials told T&T Guardian that since the court had ruled submission was voluntary, there couldn’t really be an official cut-off date like July 14. They said once the process was voluntary, people could continue submitting forms after July 14.

Contacted on the issue, West gave similar confirmation. She said, “It’s a voluntary process so people can certainly continue to submit forms after yesterday and there will be no penalties for submissions after yesterday’s date.”

On public concerns about the security of their personal information, West also said “The Valuation Division of the Finance Ministry and the Board of Inland Revenue have historically kept people’s information confidential. I don’t know of any instance where there has been leakage of someone’s confidential information. So all information from this exercise will also be kept secure.”

“We’re very much aware of public concerns on this aspect and we are careful with people’s information,” she said.

Port-of-Spain Valuation office reported a slightly larger number of submissions yesterday. East Trinidad and San Fernando offices reported “steady flow,” and “trickling” flow.

Valuation officers estimated the overall exercise would take a couple years to complete. They added assessors - who will be visiting properties whether or not forms are submitted - are currently training at the University of the West Indies and should be on the field from September.

On Thursday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert could not give the number of forms received so far when asked about this at the post-Cabinet media briefing. He said he didn’t have the figure at hand and promised to send the information, but none was forthcoming up to yesterday.

Yesterday former minister Devant Maharaj who had filed the court action challenging the property tax legislation, agreed with West that there could not have been a “deadline” of July 14 since the court had ruled that submission was voluntary.

“Being voluntary, there can be no ‘deadline’. To have set a ‘deadline’ of July 14’ was an apparent thumbing of the nose at the court’s order that the process was voluntary. Wasn’t that understood? It seemed it was another attempt to pressure the public into submitting their information.

Maharaj advised that homeowners who’d been seeking to get back their property tax forms - as some Valuation offices reported had occurred - and were unable to get them back, should contact him. “My legal team will be happy to deal with it,” he said.

“Government has to come clean on the number of forms which have been received including since the judgment and they should clarify that it’s an estimated $4 billion they stand to collect from this. If they’ve targetted 400,000 households with average payments of $1,000, it should be over $4b. On one hand the Prime Minister is signalling public sector job cuts and on the other his Finance Minister wants to tax people to pay property tax with money they may not have.”

At the very end of the notes to the 2016 year-end audited financial accounts of beleaguered insurance giant Clico lies note 37. It reads: “To facilitate the implementation of the Resolution Plan, in January 2017, the Company was directed by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago to take the necessary steps to effect the transfer of its 100% shareholdings in Occidental Investments Limited and Oceanic Properties Limited to the state enterprise Buccoo Limited. This transfer agreement was completed on March 2017.”

In effect, this note says that Clico’s 100 per cent interest in Occidental Investments Ltd and Oceanic Properties Ltd, more commonly known as the No Man’s Land ocean property in Tobago, and carried on Clico’s balance sheet at a value of roughly $187 million, is now owned by the Government of T&T.

One of the concerns arising out of this transfer, according to chairman of the Clico Policyholders Group Peter Permell, is the fact that the Minister of Finance by virtue of the powers under Section 44D of the Central Bank Act can give general or specific instructions to the Central Bank in this particular transaction.

Permell said: “What is troubling is the fact that the note is silent on the price at which the transfer took place and there was no indication in the note to the accounts of whether there was a gain or loss on the transaction. What that suggests is that this prime piece of real estate was transferred at the carrying value as opposed to the fair market value. According to the Project Rebirth report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoppers (PwC), the fair market value of the property is estimated at circa $867 million. This represents a substantial difference in value of $680 million.”

The process of selling and/or transferring Clico’s assets requires oversight by the Central Bank for accountability and transparency, statutory independent valuations in accordance with Section 44D of the Central Bank Act and consultation with the Minister of Finance under Section 44F (5) of the said act.”

According to Permell, the deficit in 2016 came down from roughly $1.2 billion in 2015 to $910 million in 2016 and had this transfer been done at fair market value, “the $910 million deficit shown on Clico’s balance sheet, causing it to appear technically insolvent, would have been reduced by a further $680 million, moving the company even closer to solvency.”

He said this transaction was a glaring example that if all the assets on Clico’s balance sheet are revalued at their current market value, this would totally eliminate the apparent insolvency position of the company that now exists. Permell said what was equally troubling is the manner in which the transaction was carried out.

“Based on the manner in which the transaction appears to have been done, it conceals the $680 million worth of value that the Government actually received from Clico and conversely a loss of value to the company and by extension policyholders.”

Permell is also questioning why this transaction has not yet been disclosed by the Government to the taxpayers of T&T.

He said: “The note clearly states that the transaction had been completed since March 2017 and we are now in July (some four months later). And as far as I am aware, to date, the public has not heard anything about this. I am therefore now calling on the Minister of Finance for full disclosure on the particulars of this transaction.”

For the year ended December 2016, Clico recorded an after-tax profit of $447.3 million. This represents a 50 per cent decline from its 2015 figure when the company registered $894.3 million in profit after tax.

IMBERT RESPONDS

Finance Minister Colm Imbert, responding to a text message from the Sunday Guardian on the matter last night, said, “Reports on the monetisation of Clico’s assets and repayment of the money spent by the Government of the Republic of T&T are laid in the Parliament and in court at regular intervals. There are strict court ordered procedures for disposal or transfer of Clico’s assets to repay the Government.”

He said any transfer or sale of assets that take place in an intervening period is recorded in the next report that is laid in Parliament and in the court. This is done at regular intervals.

Imbert further directed the Sunday Guardian to the Clico Resolution Plan, which was announced by the Central Bank in March 2015.

Central Bank’s Clico Resolution Plan was developed to repay all creditors and policyholders and to ultimately facilitate the transfer of Clico’s traditional insurance portfolio to a suitable buyer by ensuring that enough appropriate assets are put aside.

Clico Resolution Plan that you need to remember:

1. Government, as the single largest creditor of Clico, will receive $4 billion in 2015, and the balance of around $3 billion in lieu of cash upon the transfer of three Clico assets, Angostura Holdings Ltd, CL World Brands Ltd and Home Construction Ltd.

2. The 1500 non-assenting STIPs policyholders will receive 85 per cent of their claim or about 950 million dollars in three months, and the remaining balance after the sale of Methanol Holdings International Ltd.

3. Creditors outside of the Statutory Fund such as non-Government mutual fundholders and non-residential Short Term Investment Products policyholders will be paid following the sale of Clico’s RBL shares and other assets.

4. The policyholders who accepted Government’s offer of bonds and shares in the Clico Investment Fund will be no worse off.

5. The claims of British American Insurance Company Trinidad Ltd (Bat) policyholders will also be settled.

ANDRE WORRELL

As Calystra Daniel and her sister Sandra La Barrie were together as full time ministers or “pioneers” in the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith, so too were they together in the end holding each other’s hands.

This was said by Brother Lemuel Smith, of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith, in his eulogy at the funeral service yesterday for La Barrie, 64, and Daniel, 53. The service was held at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, La Horquetta, Arima. The siblings were killed in an accident on Monday night in Wallerfield.

Smith said: “They were very courageous girls, they truly had faith in Jehovah. I don’t know, perhaps realizing what was going to happen, they died holding hands.

“Maybe they just gave themselves back to Jehovah as they’ve always been doing. That was not unusual, that was their lifestyle and that is how they came through very much together.

“It does send home a powerful message in our trust, faith and reliance on a true and living God.”

Smith said even in death Jehovah put his hand in and it was not only a day of mourning but also a day of comfort.

Quoting from the Bible, John Chapter 5 Verses 28-29 about Jesus Christ resurrecting the dead, he gave the analogy of a dead computer to a human body as just being the shell and the person as a memory card which God will reinsert into a new body and the promise of everlasting life.

Daniel’s daughter, Shakila said her mother’s love for Jehovah was foremost and she also appreciated her sentimentality. She said her mother would notice the small things and it was that quality that really helped her be such an extraordinary pioneer, very effective legal clerk and very good wedding planner.

Daniel’s cousin, Andrea Walker said she was truly impressed by her warmth and ready smile which would immediately draw people to her and feel comfortable in her presence.

She said this contributed a lot to her success in the ministry, she was a deeply spiritual woman and passionately loved Jehovah.

After the service, Daniel and La Barrie were taken to Belgroves Funeral Home for cremation at Tacarigua.

National rugby player Jivon Alexander had aspirations of joining either the Police Service or the Air Guard, but his life was snuffed out by a single bullet to the chest.

He was killed at the Southern Main Road, La Brea, home of his 19-year-old childhood friend on Friday, in what relatives believe was an accidental shooting.

The friend, who contacted the police after the shooting, initially reported that around 4.45 pm they were proceeding towards his home when he heard a loud explosion and Alexander slumped to the ground.

Up to late yesterday, the friend was still assisting police with investigations. Dismissing rumours that they were playing with a gun, Alexander’s sister Alisha Quashie said, “He was not playing with a gun. It was an accident.”

Speaking at her Pierre Road home where Alexander’s mother, Patricia “Lizzy” Quashie, also lives, Quashie said Alexander and his friend went to the Pitch Lake to swim and then walked back to the friend’s house. She said the friend was allegedly showing Alexander the gun, unaware that it was loaded, and he accidentally pulled the trigger.

Patricia said when she got to the scene after receiving the tragic news from her other son, she met Alexander’s godmother, who is a police woman, and a male officer.

“From the time I see my child on the ground, I black out,” said Patricia, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure.

Patricia said Alexander was not involved in any illegal activities.

“He was not a person like that, he different. He don’t smoke . He don’t lime. He is not a drinker. He will not even go a fete.”

Describing Alexander as a respectable and ambitious child, she said while he was waiting to be recruited either in the Police Service or the Air Guard, he worked PH with a relative’s car. She said he lived with his father at Sobo Village, La Brea.

An autopsy is expected to be performed tomorrow at the Forensic Science Centre, Port-of-Spain.

Officers of the Homicide Region 111 and La Brea Police Station are investigating.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar will discuss campaign finance reform, internal self government for Tobago and the Integrity Commission, among other matters when they meet on Tuesday. The issue of jobs and the economy, Rowley said, would not be discussed.

Persad-Bissessar indicated that she would not be swayed from pursuing those specific issues, and that she intended to raise issues of crime, jobs and the economy during her private meeting with Rowley although it is not listed on the agenda.

In a release yesterday, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) indicated that the two political leaders would also discuss Anti-Gang legislation, difficulty with the Judiciary, specifically the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC), the effectiveness of the Service Commission and a Code of Conduct for MPs.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday at the Parliament on Wrightson Road.

According to the OPM, the invitation also indicated that the Leader of the Opposition was free to have a note-taker accompany her to the meeting.

The release said Persad-Bissessar, after being provided with the agenda, requested that the matters of crime, jobs and the economy be included among topics for discussion.

However, Rowley made it clear that the items on the agenda were those carded to go before the Parliament which require a special majority.

“It is in an effort to obtain Parliamentary collaboration as a way forward. In this regard, jobs and the economy do not fall into the category of items to be discussed. However, some discussion on crime could be entertained under the agenda item of Anti-Gang legislation.”

The release said Rowley looked forward to productive and fruitful discussions on these matters which require the engagement of the Opposition in the Parliament, and that he was of the view that this approach is in the best interest of the nation and will redound to the benefit of the people of T&T.

Kamla disappointed

Addressing a forum hosted by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University at the Raja Yoga Centre in San Fernando yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said she was disappointed with the agenda set out by the Prime Minister because it did not include the crucial issues of crime, jobs and the economy.

Persad-Bissessar said: “Whilst the issues listed are matters of importance I was disappointed, I didn’t see issues that would be of immediate benefit to persons and I responded to his email and I said please add onto the agenda the issue of crime and the issue of jobs and the economy. I feel these are two critical areas in our nation at his time, crime is the number one issue.”

She said the Prime Minister told her the issues of jobs and the economy were not within the remit of the meeting.

“He said we could have a conversation on it, but it seems he has a fixed position in his mind that it should confine itself to only that which require parliamentary majority.

“But, we could have a conversation on it, but, to me, those are the two most crucial national matters and I intend to raise them at the meeting—crime, jobs and the economy, those are the two most significant national issues today in terms of the crisis our country is facing,” she told reporters afterwards.

Persad-Bissessar said she intended to take a member of her opposition staff with her as her note-taker. “I am prepared in the interests of the children of this country, in the interest of the people of this country, I am prepared to go, brave the lion’s den, if it is a lion’s den.”

Prepared to advise PM on Ayers-Caesar issue

Persad-Bissessar said with regards to the issue with former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar, she will explain to the Prime Minister why she believes there is a “particular direction that we can take as we go forward with that”.

Asked about what she expected to come out of the meeting, she said, “I trust we will have discussions such as to improve the quality of life of the people of T&T in the short term and certainly medium term. I would not want to say more to pre-empt what is to come. I go with an open mind and open heart. I am prepared and willing and we, in Opposition, are to do such that is necessary for the benefit of the people of T&T.”

On whether the Opposition has a position on the items on the agenda, she said, “It will be impossible to have a position on that without knowing what it entails and that’s why the discussion is important.

“Campaign finance reform is a buzzword, all are buzzwords, we will only know what the substance of it is following the discussion. I think it will be foolhardy and reckless of me to commit the Opposition on a position on something where we still don’t know the details of.”

What both parties have already said:

n INTERNAL SELF-GOVERNMENT FOR TOBAGO

Rowley: The PM said the issue of Tobago’s self-government will be dealt with as a matter of urgent importance by Central Government and said he was leading...to ask the Parliament, by way of Joint Select Committee, to very urgently receive Tobago’s request, and the Parliament of T&T engage in national discourse, so that the matter could be resolved once and for all. He raised concerns about the content of the bill.

Persad-Bissessar: In 2013, Persad-Bissessar said she and her coalition government, the People’s Partnership, were committed to internal self-government for Tobago. During the launch of the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) January 21 THA election campaign in Scarborough, Persad-Bissessar said a Constitutional (Amendment) (Tobago) Bill 2012 has been prepared, taking into account the views received. She was then criticised by then chief secretary Orville London, who described her statements as insulting, and accused her of failing to have discussions at the THA level.

n CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

Rowley: During the opening ceremony of the “Forum on Campaign Finance Reform” in May, Rowley said Government needed to craft legislation that was enforceable and legislation that could be operated.

Persad-Bissessar: During a luncheon by the Joint Consultative Council (JCC) at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre in 2015 Persad-Bissessar said she intended to declare who are her party’s financiers but only if other political parties did the same. She said she was very committed to campaign reform, saying even while in Opposition she had called for such legislation.

n ANTI-GANG LEGISLATION

Rowley: In February 2016, at an HDC event, Rowley said the State’s intention was to “make full use” of anti-gang legislation to protect citizens from those who would overthrow their communities.

Persad-Bissessar: Persad-Bissessar, who introduced anti-gang legislation in 2011, issued a statement in July 2016, where she said the Opposition cannot in good conscience blindly support legislation that was passed for a specific period of time as a temporary measure to assist in the fight against crime.

n DIFFICULTY WITHIN JUDICIARY—JLSC MATTER

Rowley: Rowley said the imbroglio involving the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) and former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar, might very well only be resolved by the issue reaching Parliament.

Persad-Bissessar: Following the short-lived appointment of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar as a judge, Persad-Bissessar said Chief Justice Ivor Archie and the JLSC should resign immediately in the interest of the country and the Judiciary.

n THE INTEGRITY COMMISSION

Rowley: The Prime Minister recently said there was an Integrity Commission that had no integrity in T&T, adding that when he looked at the overall situation on this particular matter (Marlene McDonald investigation), in his own experience and record of the Integrity Commission…”it could very well be a situation where the Integrity Commission is playing in the politics of Trinidad and Tobago and people are being hurt in the process”.

Persad-Bissessar: In January 2013, Persad-Bissessar issued a statement saying she had “voiced what many members of the public believe”, that the Integrity Commission was “inconsistent with the way it reacts and pronounces on matters before it, rushing to make public statements selectively on certain matters while remaining stonily silent on others of even greater public importance and urgency.”

This country’s Judiciary “will self-destruct if major changes are not made”, a High Court judge speaking under the condition of anonymity has said.

The judge made the statement in light of the current imbroglio facing the Judiciary.

Within the past few months, the Law Association of T&T has passed a resolution calling for Chief Justice Ivor Archie and other members of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) to resign in the face of the controversy surrounding the appointment of former magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar as a High Court judge and her subsequent resignation.

Ayers-Caesar said her removal as a High Court judge was “unlawful and unconstitutional” as she was put under pressure to resign. She was sworn in as a High Court judge on April 12 and resigned on April 27.

In a pre-action protocol letter, Ayers-Caesar threatened to take President Anthony Carmona and the JLSC to court if she is not given her job as a judge back. Ayers-Caesar said if she was not reinstated as a judge, she will be suing for compensation “for loss of office and the benefits that go with it” in addition to claims she is entitled to be a judge. She will also be suing for damages to her reputation.

The JLSC and Archie have come under fire.

On June 30 retired Justices Roger Hamel-Smith and Humphrey Stollmeyer both resigned from the JLSC citing unfair criticism as their reason for doing so.

In the face of criticisms Archie, however, has remained adamant that he will not be resigning.

Judges disenchanted but not divided

Judges are “disenchanted but not divided”, four judges speaking to the Sunday Guardian under the condition of anonymity have claimed.

“The Judiciary is not divided, there is still an overwhelming commitment to serve the people however, the majority of judges are disenchanted with the Chief Justice,” a judge stated. They said he has not been truly fulfilling his role as head of the Judiciary. 

“Each judge just has to plod through in a vacuum,” the judge stated.

The last time the judges all met as a body was a year ago.

“There is no consultation or collaboration and there is no evident desire by the Chief Justice to change,” a judge stated.

On January 24, 2008, Archie was sworn in as the eighth chief justice since this country’s independence and created history as the youngest person to have assumed that position in T&T.

Archie came to office at a time when this country’s Judiciary was facing a trying time after then chief justice Satnarine Sharma has been suspended twice while attempts were made to impeach him.

Sharma was first suspended on July 28, 2006, after the police obtained a warrant for his arrest on a charge of attempting to pervert the course of public justice.

The charge against Sharma arose out of complaints by then chief magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls that Sharma tried to unduly influence the outcome of the integrity trial against former prime minister Basdeo Panday.

On November 30, 2006, Sharma was charged but the case collapsed on March 5, 2007, when Mc Nicolls refused to testify.

As a result of this, president George Maxwell Richards lifted Sharma’s suspension and Sharma returned to his job.

On June 13, 2007, however, Sharma was suspended for a second time after Richards appointed a three-member tribunal to investigate whether he should be removed from office.

The tribunal chaired by Lord Mustill eventually cleared Sharma and on December 21, 2007, Richards lifted the suspension for a second time and Sharma returned to work.

Sharma retired a month later when he turned 65.

Baton passed to young Archie

The baton was passed to then 47-year-old Archie.

Archie was selected to become Chief Justice by the Cabinet led by former prime minister Patrick Manning.

“Behind that decision was a lot of internal lobbying and political machination. Bold as the decision had been at the time, it has come back to haunt a new PNM administration in Port-of-Spain,” former high court judge Herbert Volney stated in a Facebook post earlier this week.

Hamel-Smith, who was the next in line in seniority at the time and held on for Sharma during his two suspensions, along with three others, were overlooked in favour of Archie.

In a special sitting to mark his appointment Archie pledged to resist any attempts of interference by the executive.

During that sitting Archie is reported to have said that “challenging circumstances present fertile opportunities for fundamental change”.

“We will always resist stoutly any attempt to infringe on the independence of the Judiciary, but as jurists we ought never to presume any attack without weighing the evidence. We must find ways to achieve maximum co-operation within the boundaries of the constitutional framework, all the while respecting and observing the boundaries that define the respective arms of the State,” Archie said then.

WHO IS IVOR ARCHIE?

Archie was born in Tobago on August 18, 1960.

He attended the Scarborough Anglican Boys’ School and then when on to Bishop’s High School before eventually moving on to St Mary’s College in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, where he completed his Ordinary- and Advanced-Level examinations respectively.

Archie graduated from the University of the West Indies in 1980 with a Bachelor of Sciences Degree (Upper Second Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering.

He practiced as an engineer firstly at Trintoplan Consultants Limited in Trinidad, and then with Schlumberger (Africa) as a Wireline Logging Engineer stationed in Lybia.

He then proceeded to study law at the University of South Hampton in the United Kingdom.

In 1984 Archie returned to T&T after obtaining his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and entered the Hugh Wooding Law School where he received his Legal Education Certificate (LEC).

He was admitted to the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago, and began his legal career in private practice and then in service to the governments of Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands as State Counsel and Senior Crown Counsel.

He also served as Solicitor General of the Cayman Islands, and acted as the territory’s Attorney General on a number of occasions.

In 1998 Archie returned to T&T and was appointed a Puisne Judge of this country’s Supreme Court of Judicature.

On April 2, 2004, he became a judge of the T&T Court of Appeal.

Archie is also an elder at his local church assembly, and a member of the Lydians choir.

He is married to Denise Rodriguez-Archie and has two children.

Villagers along the north-eastern coastline have a luxury that those in the urban areas do not have—a breathtaking panoramic view of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

While they enjoy the simplicities of rural life, many of them are not too happy always being pushed aside and forgotten by the relevant authorities.

The Sunday Guardian visited villages such as Toco, L’anse Noir and Sans Souci to speak to residents about everyday life in the north-east coast.

Some complained about the lack of development, poor roads, drugs and unemployment.

Residents either work in the Public Service or depend on agriculture and fishing as a means of survival. While there are schools and health centres, some residents believe more could be done to uplift the rural part of the country that seems to be forgotten by many. Here are the views of some of the people who spoke to the Sunday Guardian.

Barney Marryshow:

We always have problem and these people (Government) not coming to the realisation of what they doing. They looking to segregate. I have children and grandchildren. I am a welder and I have nothing to do. I can’t get work. I have six children...that is mouths to feed. You have to make what you have do. Trinidadians getting fed up. Employment always slow in Toco. You have choices—government worker or the bush or the sea. Toco is a cool place.

Gillon Henry, 24:

I living here two years now. I moved from Maracas Bay. I have three kids—seven, six, and two and a half years. I wish they could develop here. Selling is my only livelihood. I make enough to care for my family. There is land all over, if they could build a little court for children to play...I will keep my kids home for the holidays.

Brenton Antoine:

I am selling about a month now. I used to sell produce before but wasn’t making much. So far, people supporting me. I born and grow here. The roads need fixing. We tell them and show them and then no feedback. We sit and wait like fools.

Dave: Right now the Government not doing nothing for we. We have no other choice to go in the bush and do what you have to do. Nobody wants to do it but man have to live. I sell a bag of seamoss for $20 or $25. Sometimes I might sell one or two packs. People might come and buy by the bag for like a $400. I selling years now, since I small growing up...generation to generation. I have a daughter who is 11. Up here, you don’t really hear about crime and thing but if it have, villagers will deal with that. Crime like shooting and killing, you don’t get that here.

Karl: My issue is to reintroduce flogging in school and where a parent can hit a child. What can be done? They put a law not to touch children. Look at the crime in the country.

Lawrence Gonzales, 69:

Sitting on a fallen coconut tree by the picturesque Big Bay, he said: I live here my whole life. I resigned from the corporation. Here is more agriculture. Some will go in the sea. Three years now we have not had a crime.

Reynold Campbell, 73:

We like living up here. We have a problem with the buses. Sometimes you see it, then you don’t for weeks. I fed up complain. Sometimes twice a week I will go Sangre Grande. Sometimes we make groceries in the area or out town. We go and get all our stuff done in a day, you know.

Neville Peters, 63:

The illicit drug trade, if you know what I mean, is a problem. Fellas between the ages of 16 to 25, there we have a serious problem. They have nothing to motivate them. We need people constantly behind the scenes. It is not like they do not want to work the land or go into the sea. They think of the income...the fast cash. We have plenty land up here but not everybody wants to work it. They have short programmes. They start with large turnout but along the way, they drop out.

Shop owner, Rosalyn:

I make sufficient to support my family. However, in the last two years it has gotten very slow. One or two people when they run out, they will buy. The roads are bad. About four or five years now a piece of road and drain the same way. I went and complain but nothing is being done. We get accustomed to village life. The village council is active and they are trying hard. We have no street lights here (Sans Souci). I see they are patching the road. I hope is not so they are leaving it. We don’t have much crime. I go once a month to Grande, just to pay bills.

Good things come to those who wait: Rondon

Chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation and councillor for the area Terry Rondon said he was aware people of Toco and environs have been waiting a long time for improvement.

“I know they feel they have nothing, but I ask the people to bear with us. The country is going through a financial strain and the Government is trying its best to ensure citizens are comfortable.”

He said a major project in the area was the construction of the Valencia to Toco highway. “I am anxiously awaiting that.”

He added that all fishing ports will be developed; agricultural access will be improved; a farmer’s market will be set up in Valencia and roads are being repaired in Matelot.

“It has been a long time but good things come to those who wait.”

The Ministry of Planning and Development is finalising an indicator that will seek to achieve carbon reduction targets.

Finalisation of this indicator may see the ministry again be eligible for EU funding for Climate Change and Sustainability Programme.

Last week, this paper reported that the Government may have lost up to $18 million (TT) in funding due to its failure to achieve specific indicators, outlined by the prior government.

In response, the Ministry of Planning has said the new indicators developed by the ministry will be consistent with the policy directions proposed in T&T’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, which seeks to reduce emissions in the transport sector as a whole as well as under the provisions of the National Climate Change Policy.

The ministry anticipated that this new indicator would be finalised by end of July 2017, as the next step includes consultations with key stakeholders in this sector.

The ministry said the Government was moving ahead with its plan to reduce its cumulative public transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent or 1,700,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents compared to 2013 levels by December 31, 2030.

“As a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, Trinidad and Tobago is also committed to conditionally reduce its cumulative carbon emissions by 15 per cent in the power generation, transport and industrialised sectors by 2030, which is equivalent to 103 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.”

T&T was the first Caribbean country to communicate its international commitment, also called the Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement to the United Nations in August 2015.

The ministry said the new indicators were consistent with Government’s current environmental policy through Theme V of the National Development Strategy (2016-2030).

Vision 2030 commits to “Placing the environment at the centre of social and economic development.”

The ministry said the Government was already working on achieving the goals which include strengthening environmental management and governance systems, reducing T&T’s carbon footprint, assessing our climate vulnerability and creating comprehensive waste and pollution management systems among others.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday spoke “at length” on the meeting between himself and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar scheduled for Tuesday.

Chairman of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Franklin Khan said the Prime Minister took the opportunity to inform the general council of the basis of Tuesday’s agenda.

Khan said, “The basis is simple yet profound. These are legislative issues that require a special majority so it is incumbent upon the Prime Minister and the leader of the Government to engage the Opposition Leader early in the game to discuss and see if some consensus can be reached on these very, very important national issues.”

Among some of the items on the agenda are self-governance for Tobago; anti-gang legislation; matters pertaining to the Judiciary; campaign finance reform and Service Commissions.

He was speaking to the media at yesterday’s post-General Council meeting at Balisier House. Also in attendance were public relations officer Stuart Young and assistant general secretary Daniel Dookie.

Khan said three items were focused on in greater detail—self-governance for Tobago, campaign finance reform and a Code of Conduct for parliamentarians. He said these three were party policies.

On campaign finance reform, Young said, “Out of the AG’s office we are looking at draft legislation but as the chairman has said, the Prime Minister is asking the Leader of the Opposition to discuss this.

“We as a party and in particular, as a Government are prepared to take the legislation to Parliament and to pass it as we can in this term. It requires a special majority.”

Young said the Government was trying to follow what happened in Jamaica when the two political parties met outside of the Parliament.

“They met, they sat, they talked and came out with a joint set of ideas and then took it to Parliament. That is the approach we are taking.”

Questioned on whether any matters pertaining to the Judicial and Legal Service Commission were discussed, Young said the PM spoke about it but “without much detail”.

Again, he said it was up for discussion between Rowley and Persad-Bissessar “to see what comes”.

Young said, “As the Prime Minister told us in General Council, very preliminary advice has been given to him but he wants to hold proper discussions with the Leader of the Opposition to see what can happen.”

The PNM is expected to host its 47th annual convention in November.

The Port-of-Spain City Corporation has taken the decision to rename one of its busiest streets after this country’s first Miss Universe competition winner, Janelle Penny Commissiong.

In a release yesterday, Deputy Mayor Hillan Morean said the decision to rename Queen Street was discussed with the stakeholders of the city, including the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (Doma) and all other stakeholders.

Morean said discussions continue to be under-way to ensure proper consultation is had but that city council had agreed to show their love and appreciation by honouring Commissiong.

Today is Commissiong’s 40th anniversary since being crowned Miss Universe in 1977.

“The city council of the Port-of-Spain Corporation along with the burgesses of the city remain very proud of Penny, our very own queen. We commend her for her many accomplishments, national contributions, her legacy and the work she continues to do with excellence,” Morean said.

Prior to being called Queen Street, during the time of no footpaths when the streets were paved with limestone from the Laventille hills, the street was called “Calle de San Luis” but will now be renamed Queen Janelle Commissiong Street.

Morean said currently, general rehabilitation works were being scheduled in consultation with stakeholders and that some areas of works air marked for restructuring were the sidewalks, drainage works and road infrastructure in and around Queen Street.

He said it was the intention of the city council to continue to recognise national icons who continue to make the country proud.

“It is with great anticipation that the Port-of-Spain corporation look forward to the upgrade of the general infrastructure of the central business district area,” Morean said.

Commissiong, in response to questions from the Guardian, said 40 years seemed such a long time but that those years seemed to have gone by quickly.

“I’m now having a renewed appreciation for the title in the context of being the first person of colour to win that title and the relevance it has in today’s world.

“I really must thank the loyal Trinidad public both here and in the Diaspora for their love and support over the years.”

Five minutes from the capital city, Port-of-Spain, from major businesses and government offices, in the community of Belmont, lives 45-year-old Sharon Persad* and her family.

The Persads* have lived in Belmont for 17 years and the only thing consistent about their water supply, is the fact that they rarely have one.

“For the past 17 years it has been about the same, we get mostly no water during the week. We get water for three out of seven days and the times we get water is between midnight and 7 am or during the day between 11 am and around 4 pm when nobody is at home or everybody in school or something. Sometimes days and weeks we go without water as well.

“There are times we get more water than regular, in the raininy season we get water around four times a week and also, believe it or not, at election time.”

To Persad, it’s bad enough that her water supply is inconsistent, but what is equally frustrating is knowing that she pays for it.

“We pay for our water and we see how everywhere you go, it is leaking all over the road. It is very frustrating because we can’t cook very often and have to buy food. We cannot have showers often, we bathe in buckets from the tank. It is unhealthy, my mom sickly and had an amputation and needed running water to clean things and we couldn’t do that.”

Persad said she often wondered why people living in other parts of Belmont had a more consistent supply, but has not been able to get an answer from WASA.

“Sometimes there are leaks and I get really upset, especially on the hot days. It makes you feel to cry, going home after a long day you don’t have a shower, you use a bucket and then you see water running all over the road.”

WASA RATES

For the average homeowner, the water bill adds up to about $200 to $300 per quarter.

According to the information provided on a WASA bill, standpipes distribute water at a billing rate of $33.75 per quarter, while internally serviced properties are billed at a rate of $108 to $304 per quarter

Venezuelans residing in T&T joined with hundreds of thousands nationals across the globe yesterday in a symbolic rejection of embattled President Nicolas Maduro’s plans to rewrite the country’s constitution.

The rejection was done via a voting system at Arima, Port-of-Spain, Chaguanas and Tobago where over 1,800 Venezuelans residing in T&T cast their votes in an opposition referendum, objecting to Maduro’s move.

Voting was opened from 7 am and closed at 4 pm.

In May, Maduro issued a decree for writing a new constitution which has led to a political crisis that has drawn hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters in the streets of Caracas over the last 100 days.

In the last few months Venezuela has been faced with an economic crisis which has led to a shortage of food and widespread looting. Clashes between protesters and police have left at least 93 people dead, 1,500 wounded and more than 500 behind bars, according to the latest AP report.

Andreina Briceno who spoke on behalf of the the movement Mesa De La Unidad said the votes would reject and ignore the realisation of a National Constituent Assembly proposed by Maduro without the proper approval of its people.

It also demands the National Armed Forces or public servant to obey and defend the Constitution of 1999.

Last night the votes were sent to Venezuela to be recounted.

Of the four locations the votes were cast, Briceno who supervised voting in Arima said Port-Spain captured 1,025 with Chaguanas attaining over 500, while Tobago received the least with 50.

Briceno said they wanted to go back to a democratic system where they could vote and elect those who could manage the country for the best interests of its citizens.

The success of the opposition’s symbolic referendum will be measured by how many millions participate.

Democratic Unity, a coalition of some 20 opposition parties, has printed 14 million ballots for voters inside and outside the country of 31 million people. Few expect turnout that high but analysts say participation by more than 8 million people would significantly hike pressure on the government.

The government calls the opposition vote a manipulation aimed at destabilising the country, and has been urging its supporters to participate in the constitutional assembly, which it calls a way of restoring peace to Venezuela.

The Ministry of Labour’s hands are tied in bringing a resolution to the ongoing strike action taken by Caribbean Airlines pilots.

This was confirmed by Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus yesterday when asked if she intended to intervene to resolve the weekend protest taken by pilots.

“First to begin, I cannot intervene based on the Industrial Relations Act... outlines the conditions under which I intervene in any dispute. And neither of the parties (CAL and T&T Airline Pilots Association—TTALPA) have requested my intervention at this time,” the minister said.

Baptiste-Primus said based on information received “the pilots have agreed to go back to work.”

But when told that yesterday’s strike triggered a delay of several flights to and from Tobago, as well St Lucia, Baptiste-Primus said if this was the case “you don’t need rocket science to work that out...that they have not really gone back to work.”

The body representing the protesting pilots, the T&T Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA) was invited to a meeting with the chairman and vice chairman of the CAL board yesterday to engage in further discussion.However, T&T Guardian understands that talks broke down.

CAL pilots are refusing to fly the five ATRs for the airline because of the airline’s total refusal to address serious safety issues and concerns they have raised.

Since Friday, a number of flights had to be cancelled and were delayed due to the airline’s pilot refusing to operate the company’s ATR aircraft which they say have been experiencing constant technical problems.

At the Tobago’s terminal and Piarco International Airport yesterday many passengers whose flights were delayed complained of waiting for hours.

Last Sunday, a CAL flight crew had to make an emergency landing at Hewanorra International Airport in St Lucia after a warning light came on. Two days later another ATR aircraft scheduled to fly to St Lucia faced technical problems and passengers were forced to disembark and utilise another aircraft.

CAL’s communications manager Dionne Ligoure yesterday confirmed the flight delays. Ligoure said several flights from Trinidad to Tobago and vice versa as well as its lone St Lucia flight were delayed.

“In the airline business when you have delays running one after the other you would expect spill overs into the next day and we have had delays today as well. But that was expected.” Ligoure could not say how many flights were delayed.

She said a flight to Barbados may have been affected as well.

“I know last night Grenada went on time and it came in on time this morning. We have engaged the ATR aircraft and we are using jets to supplement the operation. We have put on the service to minimise disruption to the confirmed passengers.” She said all confirmed passengers were treated with priority.

Hoping that the strike is ironed out in the shortest possible time, Ligoure apologised to passengers who were inconvenienced.