Two men who police described as relatives of a “reputed drug dealer” were arrested on Thursday by officers of the North Eastern Division during their ongoing efforts to arrest a Las Cuevas gang leader.

Recently two other male relatives of the man were held with marijuana and were charged. On Thursday the men, 30 and 29, both nephews of the targeted drug dealer, were held during an exercise led by Sgt Sterlin Taylor in the Las Cuevas and Maracas Bay areas which took place between 3 pm to 7 pm. The exercise also included Cpl Shiraz Ali and Constables Lindon Holder, James Stafford, Ali and Oliver.

The 30-year-old was held with a 9mm pistol and 6 rounds of ammunition and the 29-year-old was held with less than half a kilogram of marijuana with an estimated street value of $13,000. Both men are expected to appear before a Port-of-Spain Magistrate on Monday.

The person who murdered Japanese steelpan player was left-handed and missing four to six front teeth, according to forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov.

Alexandrov disclosed these details publicly for the first time as he addressed students during the Ministry of Education’s Caribbean Youth Science Forum at the University of the West Indies in St Augustine on Thursday.

He made reference to Asami Nagakiya’s case as he made a plea for closer collaboration with police and pathologists in an effort to solve crimes. Nagakiya’s body, still dressed in her Carnival costume, was found in the Queen’s Park Savannah on Ash Wednesday in 2016. She was strangled to death.

“It (the murder scene) happens to be one mile away from the Forensic Science Centre and they did not call me to the scene. They put the body in the mortuary so by the time I came it was frozen. I would have understood if it were in Tobago,” Alexandrov said as he claimed that the delay and change in surroundings affected his ability to estimate the time of Nagakiya’s death.

Referring to photographs of Nagakiya’s body Alexandrov pointed out to the students how he was able to assist police in building a profile of her killer.

He said the marks of violence to her neck showed that her attacker was left-handed and bite marks on her cheeks showed that the attacker was missing between four to six front teeth.

He said the information was used to clear the 10 suspects who were initially detained for the crime. Despite Alexandrov’s profile, the case remains unsolved.

Alexandrov said an increase in collaboration between homicide detectives and forensic pathologists may assist in improving the country’s detection and conviction rates for murder.

Giving examples of his experience in working on homicide cases in T&T since 2009, Alexandrov said that he felt that the police did not understand the important role that professionals such as himself can play in solving murders.

“They (the police) think that forensic pathology is just determining the cause of death. It is not just butchering a body but can be used to draw a conclusion regarding the scenario that caused death,” Alexandrov said.

He complained that there were difficulties in determining an approximate time of death as pathologists usually viewed bodies hours after death and almost never are allowed to inspect crime scenes as soon as bodies are found.

Alexandrov described the method of using District Medical Officers (DMOs) to view bodies on crime scenes and ordering autopsies as outdated.

“This is a general practitioner who is appointed to view the body. It’s ridiculous. It is like asking an optometrist to deliver a baby,” he said as he noted that the archaic system was also still in use in other Caribbean islands.

Alexandrov also complained over the failure of police to provide possible murder weapons found on crime scene before autopsies are performed.

“I cannot recall a single occasion when they recovered a weapon and brought it to my attention,” Alexandrov said as he claimed that the evidence would assist him in recreating the last moments of victim’s life which can be used in court to disprove possible defences raised by accused persons.

Alexandrov also produced photographs of the autopsies of Richard and Grace Wheeler, a British couple who were murdered during a botched robbery at their Tobago home in 2015.

He claimed that while police initially believed that the couple were chopped to death, his investigations showed that they were beaten to death with a piece of wood and the male victim was tortured with a heating iron before his death. Both items were then recovered at the crime scene.

A contracting firm has been given the green light to challenge the decision of acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle-Caddle to grant police a warrant to search its offices as part of an ongoing probe into the Estate and Management and Business Development Company Ltd (EMBD).

Lawyers representing TN Ramnauth & Company were yesterday granted leave to pursue their judicial review claim during a hearing before Justice Joan Charles in the Port-of-Spain High Court.

Presenting submissions on the company’s behalf Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, said his client was challenging the basis used by Busby-Earle-Caddle to grant the warrant to detectives of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau (ACIB).

Maharaj claimed that when the company’s offices were raided in late June in connection with a multi-million dollar contract granted to it by the EMBD under the People’s Partnership tenure, the officers did not present the search warrant that was granted by Busby-Earle-Caddle.

He stated that after the incident, he wrote to the acting chief magistrate to obtain her reasons for granting the warrant but she failed to respond.

“The contract was awarded by a tender process and there can be no reasonable grounds to suspect criminal activity,” Maharaj said.

While he admitted that Busby-Earle-Caddle would not have been able to reveal all the evidence presented to her by investigators, she should have given basic information.

“You may not give all the information but at least some edited information,” Maharaj said.

The application for leave was unopposed by Roshan Ramcharitar for the Office of the Solicitor General, which is representing Busby-Earle-Caddle. However, Gilbert Peterson, SC, who represented the T&T Police Service said his client intended to apply to be made an interested party in the case.

Charles gave the date for the filing of evidence and submissions in the case and said a case management conference will be held in the new law term in mid-September.

The company was also represented by Jagdeo Singh, Keil Tacklalsingh and Criston Williams.

The EMDB is a Government-run limited liability company, established in 2002 with the responsibility to assist in the development and management of State land.

The operations of the company were put on hold due to allegations of impropriety in the award of contracts shortly after the 2015 general elections.

In April EMBD board members who appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Enterprise Committee (PAEC) were criticised for failing to disclose the company’s annual financial audited reports for 2011 to 2015. Several forensic audits have been since been undertaken in addition to the police probe. The company formerly fell under the control of the Ministry of Housing but has since been transferred to the Agriculture Ministry.

The company is one of five that were raided by officers from the ACIB in late June.

Hours after going outside the Bethel House of God Church to sell produce to help his mother make ends meet, 15-year-old Emmanuel Okeiro’s mutilated body was being fished out a Freeport River.

Autopsy reports showed that Okeiro was stabbed 15 times on the neck, face and scalp.

Forensic pathologist, Dr Valery Alexandrov said that in recreating the scenario, the 176 lb Okeiro would have been restrained by one or two attackers while another stabbed him.

Alexandrov said that although the wounds were superficial, they caused severe blood loss. By the time Okeiro broke loose from his attackers and ran away, he collapsed from haemorrhagic shock.

While unconscious, he was thrown into the river behind the church and he drowned, the pathologist opined.

News of Okeiro’s murder sent shock waves through the Calcutta community yesterday as neighbour’s described him as a respectful and decent young man.

“Just yesterday I saw him walking out the road and he was making jokes with me. He was such a good young boy,” a worker at the nearby business along Seeram Trace said yesterday. A neighbour said he was a hard worker who spent hours in the sun, selling his goods.

Okeiro, who lived in Calcutta #1 with his mother and would usually sell eggplants and tomatoes from his garden in front of the church along Calcutta #2.

Reports stated that around 2.15 pm Thursday, he left home to set up his stall and was expected to stay there for a few hours. Witnesses reported that they saw him set up his table and was selling at the roadside. His mother told police that she called him on his mobile phone around 3.15 pm and everything was well.

But an hour later when she called again, his phone rang out and went to his voice mail. After several calls, she began to worry and decided to go to the area and search for herself. When that failed, she contacted Freeport police and Sgt Jobe and other officers joined the search.

The officers said they found a significant amount of blood near the annex of the church and called in Crime Scene Investigators to process the scene. However, Okeiro still could not be found.

When ASP Smith, Sgt Jobe, PC Smith and PC Huggins returned yesterday, they spotted something floating in a widened part of the river. When the officers checked, they found Okeiro’s body floating face down in approximately five feet of water. Region Three Homicide Officers along the District Medical Officer visited the scene.

When the T&T Guardian visited yesterday, the church compound was closed with a few members and police officers in the yard. They declined to speak about the incident.

No one was at Okeiro’s home either. Residents suspect that someone may have robbed him, however, police said they are working on information which they could not disclose.

The post of Inspector of Prisons has been filled after remaining vacant for over a year.

The Ministry of National Security in a statement yesterday announced the appointment of attorney Cedric Neptune for a period of two years.

The decision to appoint Neptune, a former police officer, was taken at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, the release said.

The announcement came less than a week after the Law Association and Neptune’s predecessor Daniel Khan both wrote to National Security Minister Edmund Dillon complaining that the post had been left vacant for over a year.

The ministry said that Neptune had served as a police officer between 1988-2007 and had been called to the bar in 2001.

“Neptune was admitted to the legal profession in 2001 and practices Family Law, Property/Conveyancing Law, Non-contentious Probate Law, Immigration Law, Criminal Law, Industrial Relations/Labour Law, Civil Litigation, Public Law and Contract Law,” the release said.

Under the Prison Act, the Inspector is required to inspect the nation’s prisons and remand facilities and to provide annual reports, inclusive of recommendations, to Parliament.

The T&T Guardian attempted to contact Neptune for comment but several calls placed to his cellphone went to voicemail.

During his tenure, which ended in July, last year, Khan submitted annual reports to the Government in which he described the conditions in local prisons as “disgusting and sickening”.

In addition to the conditions for both remand and convicted inmates, Khan also called for the reform of archaic prison rules to reduce incidents of prison beatings, which results in prisoners winning sizeable compensation from the State.

A second man has been charged with the murder of 36-year-old Akeeno Thomas who was shot and stomped on in a drain last month.

The court appearance of the second man, Adio Mustapha Smith, comes five days after 20-year-old Beetham resident Kareem Richardson appeared in court charged with murdering Thomas.

Smith, alias Gecco, 30, of Pioneer Drive, Sea Lots, appeared before Tunapuna Senior Magistrate Indrani Cedeno charged with murdering Thomas on July 27.

Thomas’ killing was captured on security camera footage and circulated on social media. His body was found in a drain at Pentecostal Road, El Dorado.

On Monday, Richardson appeared in court charged with possession of a gun and ammunition apart from being charged with murdering Thomas, who lived at Lackpat Road, El Dorado.

Both men were charged by Cpl Shawn Jones are will re-appear in court on Monday.

Auditing firm KPMG’s has been awarded the contract to assist the Police Service Commission (PSC) in the recruitment and selection of a new Police Commissioner and Deputies.

In a press release issued yesterday, the PSC said took the decision on July 20 as the body met to discuss the implementation of the project.

“The recruitment phase of the project is expected to take four (4) months to complete with the firm providing support to the Commission in designing and managing the advertising, application and assessment processes so as to ensure that the T&T Police Service has the leadership it requires to meet the needs of the organisation and to satisfy the requirements of safety and security for all of T&T now and into the future,” the release said.

The appointment comes two months after acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams was given a 10th six-month extension on his post, which he acquired after the resignation of Canadian Dwayne Gibbs in 2013.

Gibbs and his deputy Jack Ewastski, a fellow Canadian, were the last to be appointed to post following a recruitment drive outsourced by the PSC.

The duo was appointed in 2012 after being selected by a team of consultants from the Penn State University’s Justice and Safety Institute, which was hired by the Government in 2008 to assist the PSC.

In 2015, the Government introduced the Police (Selection Process) Order of 2015 in an effort to assist the PSC in hiring another firm to address the issue of the long-standing vacancies.

The order contained a provision requiring the Minister of National Security to initiate the recruitment procedure and another compelling the PSC to utilise State-owned procurement company, Nipdec, to select a local recruitment agency which would then be contracted to assist in the selection process.

However, the order was challenged by the Opposition, who claimed that it was unconstitutional as it infringed on the powers of the PSC, which has the exclusive remit of recruiting prospective candidates for the positions.

Delivering a judgment in the case in July, Justice Peter Rajkumar struck out several measures which he said constituted an “unjustifiable and unlawful fetter on and interference with the independence, jurisdiction and functions of the Police Service Commission (PSC).”

Referring to the involvement of a Government minister in the process, Rajkumar said the Constitution did not require such as the role could be filled by an independent PSC.

The body of the man found floating in a river at Cunjal Road, Barackpore on Wednesday has been identified as 55-year-old Thakorie Adheen.

He was stabbed, choked and thrown into the river still alive and eventually drowned, an autopsy found yesterday.

According to the autopsy Adheen was stabbed to the left side of his abdomen and choked until he passed out before his body was thrown into the river, pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov said.

He added that Adheen may have been attacked by at least two men as one held him while the other stabbed him, given the cluster of stab wounds to the abdomen.

Adheen’s sisters, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, identified his body yesterday. They said their brother moved out of the Sumaria Trace, Charlieville home after their mother died three years ago and he had not been seen since.

They added they heard he was working at a sawmill in Caparo, Central Trinidad.

“He wasn’t on drugs or anything like that, it could be he was keeping bad company. He was a quiet person and he had no wife or children,” one sister said.

Adheen’s body was found around 6 pm by police who responded to an anonymous call that the body of a man was spotted in the river located at Cunjal Road South.

Adheen was found in blue trousers with a crocus bag wrapped around his head.

Vice president of Canadian-based ferry service provider Bridgeman’s Services Group LP Andrew Purdey yesterday objected to the Port Authority of T&T’s (PATT) termination of the Ocean Flower II’s one-year contract.

Despte this, Purdey says his company is now considering its options on how to move forward, including providing PATT with a short-term rental proposal for its consideration of the 21- year-old vessel, since it will be “ready for services if called upon in the coming days.”

Purdey said Bridgeman’s was “willing to provide a workable solution that would be a win-win for all parties and is committed to delivering its contractual obligations in a professional and effective manner to ensure that PATT is served to the highest standard.”

Purdey outlined the proposal in a release he handed to the T&T Guardian yesterday, one day after holding secret talks with PATT deputy chairman Adrian Beharry and a legal team from the Ministry of Works. He said he wanted to clear the record on the issue. The T&T Guardian was told Purdey attempted to salvage the deal by offering the PATT a month-long free trial of the vessel to prove its worth on the sea bridge during the meeting.

Two attempts by the T&T Guardian to get him to talk about the controversy surrounding the leasing and cancellation of the ferry to PATT at a daily charter rate of US$26,500 (TT$185,000) and his company’s suitability for the job failed.

“I have no comment. Everything we want to say is in the press release,” Purdey said.

The only question he responded to was entering into any sweetener deal with PATT when they spoke on Thursday.

“That is not true,” Purdey insisted.

In outlining his company’s profile and history, Purdey maintained that Bridgeman’s has a proven track record of successfully delivering its contractual obligations to its clients and strongly believes in developing long term relationships, having successfully completed “several hundred millions of dollars of contracts.”

He said the contracts between PATT and Bridgeman’s were negotiated and completed within the highest standards of professionalism and ethics and while under the guidance of international maritime law.

“Contracts supported by international and highly reputable legal firms,” Purdey said.

He said the Cabo Star was in effect delivering according to plan, as the company is providing deck and engine services, while all other on-board services, such as cleaning, catering and port management remained with PATT.

Regarding, the Ocean Flower contract, Purdey said “Bridgeman’s Services does not agree the cancellation is valid. Bridgeman’s is considering its options on how to move forward.” He said the Ocean Flower was delayed due to several unplanned events during its 9000 nautical miles journey from Korea, through the Bearing Sea along the North Specific Ocean and onto the Panama Canal.

“All the events that caused the delay have been managed and the vessel is undergoing sea trials in Panama to ensure durable performance with all valid certificates to operate in T&T.”

He said they understand T&T’s public has been grappling with an unreliable system and “our proposal will ease the untenable situation being experienced by the Tobago business people, where millions of dollars have been lost.”

Contacted yesterday on Bridgeman’s objection to the termination of the contract and its short term proposal of the ferry to operate the sea bridge, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said that was yet to come to his attention.

“That is up to PATT. I have not received anything from PATT. Remember, I do not deal with Bridgeman’s as minister. I just take recommendations from the Port Authority, who acts as our agent and they will have all discussions and negotiations and then make a recommendation to the ministry.”

Sinanan said so far he has received no recommendations from PATT.

“Again, I cannot make any decisions until I get a recommendation from the board which I will then take to Cabinet and Cabinet will make the final decision, not me. I am getting enough trouble with this thing, unnecessary.”

Asked if Bridgeman’s should take legal action how the Government would proceed, Sinanan said he would have to get advice from his legal team.

About Bridgeman’s

Established in 2013, Bridgeman’s is a privately-owned company with an operational staff of over 100 staff. Its crew are of the highest calibre predominantly from the ferry trade in the Baltic region. The ownership group consists of five partners, four Canadians, and one American. All partners are successful businessmen with Brian Grande as the managing partner.

WASHINGTON

Trump told reporters at his New Jersey golf course yesterday that he’s “not going to rule out” a military option.” He added that it’s “certainly something that we could pursue.”

Trump has been blasting Maduro’s moves to consolidate power, describing him as a “dictator.”

The Trump administration has issued a series of sanctions against Maduro and more than two dozen current and former Venezuelan officials.

But a military intervention would be an extraordinary escalation in response. (AP)

A man was shot dead along Tunapuna Road yesterday taking the number of people killed for the year to 295.

According to reports, around 4.30 pm residents of Cornelius Street, Tunapuna heard six gunshots and then the screeching sound of a car speeding off.

Police said after the victim was shot, the unidentified man was dragged by his killers from Cornelius Street to Tunapuna Road where his body was dropped off and left for dead. Residents said the man of African descent, wearing a white t-shirt and a three-quarter pants, was still breathing as his killers drove off in a white Nissan Tiida but died before help could arrive.

Police said residents did not recognise the dead man and do not believe he was from the area.

Chinese national Lu Wuying was remanded into custody yesterday, after being charged with attempting to bribe a police officer in Princes Town last week.

Wuying was arrested on August 2 at the Joy Xin Supermarket where she worked as a cashier. According to the charge, she corruptly gave a gift of $2,000 to Sgt Roger Richardson as an inducement or reward for his not reporting the detection of a male person of Chinese descent suspected of being an illegal immigrant.

Wuying was detained for 10 days at the Princes Town Police and yesterday, attorneys Subhas Panday, Petranilla Basdeo and Kiran Panday filed a writ of habeas corpus calling on the police to charge or release her. However, even if Wuying was released on the charge she would have remained in custody, as her visa expired in January.

The matter came up for hearing before Justice Devindra Rampersad in the San Fernando High Court. In his application, Subhas Panday told the court that under the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, an arrested person should be taken before the relevant authority to be charged as soon as possible. He said 10 days is too long for a person to be kept in custody without being charged.

Panday said Richardson’s explanation that he could not meet with the DPP was not sufficient. He said if Richardson could not meet with the DPP, he should have tried meeting with the Deputy DPP, who has an office in San Fernando, for instructions on whether to charge Wuying. However, by way of state attorney Trisha Ramlogan, Richardson said under the Prevention of Corruption Act, only the DPP can have given instructions to charge Wuying in the matter.

Rampersad ordered that Richardson inform the court by 3 pm whether instructions were given to charge Wuying and the matter was stood down. When it was called again at 3 pm, the instructions were given to charge Wuying. Panday withdrew the writ and asked that the state cover the costs.

Rampersad ordered that the office of the AG pay the cost of Wuying’s legal team in the sum of $7,500.

People’s National Movement councillors and aldermen at the Siparia Regional Corporation are once again calling on chairman Dr Glen Ramadharsingh to step down.

This latest squabble in the corporation comes after the United National Congress councillors brought a motion to remove the corporation’s corporate secretary three weeks ago.

The motion was debated but the PNM members walked out of council before a vote could be taken. They now say since then there have been no statutory meetings and no public business being carried out at the SRC.

Yesterday, aldermen Christopher Encinas and Alston Cadore and councillors Maurice Alexander, Gerald Debesette, Christine Neptune and Arlene Ramdeo held a press conference at Irwin Park, Siparia, to air their views. The council has been marred in controversy since Ramadharsingh took over the chairmanship from UNC councillor Leo Doodnath. The UNC has seven council members — five councillors and two aldermen — and the PNM six council members — four councillors and two aldermen.

Earlier this year, the PNM councillors moved a motion to have Ramadharsingh removed from his position, citing mistrust in his chairmanship and his handling of the corporation’s affairs. That motion was defeated as it did not get a majority vote.

Yesterday, Debesette said the move to stop having meetings and carry out corporation business was disrespectful.

“We are here to highlight to the general public what has been happening at the Siparia Regional Corporation. Nothing has been happening for the past three weeks and that is because of the fact of the failed motion against the corporate secretary and the UNC chose to stay away from the corporation and shut down the business of the people for the past three weeks,” Debesette said.

“We had filed a motion against the chairman and the then CEO a couple of months ago and immediately after, at the next meeting, we came back and continued the business of the people. This motion came forward against the corporate secretary and it failed and since then they have not been attending any of the council meetings at the corporation.

“It is disrespectful and we are questioning the leadership of the chairman and asking for him to do the honourable thing and demit office.”

Alexander said Ramadharsingh’s handling of the motion against the corporate secretary had given new life to that motion.

“When we brought the motion two months ago against the chairman, we did it hoping he would pull himself together and take stock of his actions but this action gives that motion life,” Alexander said.

“It shows why we brought that motion and we were well within our rights to bring that motion at that time, because what is happening now is a clear picture of what we were talking about two months ago. That is why at this time I am calling on Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh to understand where he is at this time and do the honourable thing and step down.”

Alexander added: “I am also calling on the Member of Parliament and the Opposition leader and political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to get involved and have Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh removed because this is your constituency of Siparia, this is your business as well.”

Contacted for comment yesterday, Ramadharsingh said it was the PNM council members who were not operating.

“They are not operating, they walked out of a meeting and their electorate are suffering now,” he said.

“But in our areas, work is continuing and all the funding that had already been approved is being put to proper use, maybe they are not working as hard as they should be.”

He said on August 11 all UNC and PNM members were present to begin the council meeting, but the person who was supposed to chair the meeting did not show up and could not be reached via phone.

“We could not continue with the meeting as the meeting chairman got caught up in a personal emergency and could not come and could not be reached by phone to hand over the responsibility. All of us were there and all of them were there as well, you can call them and ask them.”

He made his own call on the Ministry of Local Government to intervene in the impasse with the corporate secretary.

“I am calling on the relevant authorities to do what is necessary in this situation. We have a situation where the second highest officer holder in the corporation is being perceived as biased. We cannot continue to operate under these conditions.”

The Port Authority of T&T’s (PATT) Chief Engineer, Brendon Powder, ruled that the Ocean Flower II may not have been suitable to service the sea bridge between Trinidad and Tobago because of several mechanical issues and explosion risks identified during a sea trial he conducted in Panama.

Powder instead recommended that the vessel should remain in Colon Panama to urgently attend to all repairs prior to it sailing to Trinidad.

Powder and a team of PATT officials, including acting chief executive officer of the T&T Inter-Island Transportation Company Limited (TTIT) Leon Grant, visited Panama to inspect the Ocean Flower over the period July 30 to August 6.

According to the report summary, a sea trial of the vessel was conducted on August 5 but there was an hour delay in commencement due to bunkering and difficulty in getting all the engines operational. The trial was eventually completed on August 6. It was noted that president of Bridgeman’s Services Group Limited (BSG), Brian Grange, witnessed the sea trial and the mechanical issues with the vessel.

In a letter dated August 7, 2017, to the PATT’s general manager, Charmaine Lewis, Powder noted that there was no maintenance history for the vessel’s machinery on board.

“In the absence of the maintenance history of the vessel, tracing what is due, overdue or completed will be difficult,” the letter stated.

With respect to the actual mechanical issues identified during the sea trial, Powder explained that it took an additional hour and a half to get the “starboard outer main engine started, while the port inner main engine encountered a return to idle slow-down fault and could not ramp up at all from 330RPM idle speed, which was eventually rectified, after which starboard outer main engine could not ramp up past 440RPM and kept going into overload. This also was rectified soon after.”

Powder wrote when the four engines were finally running the sea trial officially began, but a number of issues surfaced, including highly dangerous and explosion risk issues.

“Exhaust leaks from the part inner main engine were significant, with the other three engines not far behind and portions of the lagging were either damaged or missing. This posed quite a significant fire hazard and will affect the performance of the main engines as the turbochargers and charge air cooler will become affected,” the letter stated.

“All main engines were running off the electric fuel transfer pump because the main engines were not sustaining sufficient fuel pressure on their own past idle speed. This is not normal operation.

“Should the electric pump fail then propulsion would be totally lost on that respective side whether part or starboard machinery space.”

It also mentioned that none of the main engines’ oil mist detectors were functional or even had a power supply to them, “which is highly dangerous and poses a potential explosion risk in the engine crankcase.”

Powder noted that under the circumstances, Grant conferred with him and it was agreed that it was untenable to have the Ocean Flower 2 sail to T&T in that condition.

“Citing all the aforementioned, in my humble opinion I therefore cannot recommend the MV Ocean Flower 2 for the inter-island high speed ferry service between Port-of-Spain and Scarborough at this time or until such issues mentioned herein above are addressed and rectified,” Powder said.

The report was presented to the media during a press conference called by Opposition Senator Attorney Gerald Ramdeen yesterday.

He said based on Powder’s report Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan and the entire PATT board should either resign or be fired.

He also called on the Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams to launch a full criminal investigation into PATT’s board.

“I want the police to enter on the premises of the PATT and seize all material in relation to this matter, not only hard copy documents but take the servers of the PATT and extract all email communications between Lewis, Sinanan, board members and BSG and preserve it,” Ramdeen said.

“It is amazing even in reading this report…This is what the PATT bought for the people of T&T? This is what they wanted the people to go on?

“I wonder if that is the reason as to why the contract was cancelled and not what they feeding the people that it was cancelled because it was delayed? It just could not have reached here.”

He added: “We must hold them (referring to Lewis, the board members and Sinanan) accountable. I call upon Lewis and Sinanan to tender their resignations and if Sinanan doesn’t, then the Prime Minister should do the right thing,” he added.

PATT chairman Alison Lewis last evening told Guardian Media that the PATT considered all factors in making the decision to terminate the deal, including the delayed arrival, failure to meet an extended deadline and the chief engineer’s report.

Where are the jobs?

It’s a question being asked by hundreds of young people across T&T, as they attempt to find their way in an economy they feel now lacks opportunities.

Last week, the Central Bank of T&T released its annual economic survey for 2016, which recorded increased rates of unemployment among the youth population.

The report noted that the highest rates of unemployment were recorded among youths, elementary workers and secondary school leavers with zero passes. The 15-19 age group recorded an unemployment rate of 13.3 per cent, while the rate for the 20-24 age group was 11.2 per cent. Meanwhile, all other age groups showed unemployment rates ranging between 0.9 per cent and 6.5 per cent.

The report said within occupational groupings, elementary workers had the highest unemployment rate of 6.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2016, more than double the unemployment rate recorded for this occupational grouping in the corresponding quarter of 2015 (3.0 per cent).

In terms of educational attainment, people who attended secondary school but achieved no subjects had the highest unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2016 (8.5 per cent)¿—much higher than the unemployment rate (3.6 per cent) recorded in the same quarter of 2015.

President of the Trinidad Youth Council Shanice Webb said it was clear even before the published report, that the number of young people facing unemployment and underemployment was growing.

In an interview last week, Webb said when it came to finding and keeping employment the cards were stacked against young people, particularly during a recession when employers are usually more likely to let the newer employees go in retrenchment exercises.

“It is something that we are trying to formulate plans toward tackling,” Webb said.

“There are young people who are qualified and certified, went through GATE but they aren’t employed or they are underemployed.

“We had a project called ‘Take a Seat, Take a Stand’ where we went into communities and asked young people what was bothering them. The top two answers were crime and unemployment.”

Webb said when her NGO went to 15 communities between 2015 and 2017, they recorded high numbers of unemployed youth.

“I think there is the economic downturn, but there is also a fear of employers willing to hire more people in terms of instability in the market. People are trying to downsize and in LIFO (last in, first out)-type policies, where the newest members of staff are the first to go, young people are going to be the ones at a disadvantage.”

The youth council often works with the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs on projects to address youth issues, but said financing these projects have always been a problem.

“Finance is a big issue in terms of funding going to youth development. I think the funding goes to sports as opposed to youth development. People see sports as a greater tool but there is a need for other initiatives.”

Webb said in a culture where young people were not judged based on performance but on experience, the cards were already stacked against them at the start.

“Some fall through the cracks. They try to be positive and open businesses, even though it is difficult to access funding or loans.”

One such person is Timothy Ali, a 29-year-old shop-owner who is currently pursuing his Masters degree and finding it difficult to find employment.

Ali, who has a BSc in Sociology with a minor in Criminology and Psychology, signed up to be a teacher with the Ministry of Education in 2012. After not being called for an assessment, he opened a stationery business but is struggling to sustain it.

“I started the stationery shop as a way to earn income when I got married. I had applied for jobs online, signed up with Ministry of Labour, looked at jobs in the newspaper and got nothing,” he told the Sunday Guardian.

“I planted a kitchen garden to sell to family and friends in the neighbourhood to make extra money. I do car washing on a small scale to make extra money.”

Ali recalled that when he was attending university he had received job offers but had chosen to dedicate time to his education.

“When I went into UWI in 2009, it was a dream come through but now I watch my friends who have less qualifications and are employed and I see how better off they are. With the way the economy is going it is a lot harder.”

Sports Minister:

They can create own jobs

Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Darryl Smith says while the ministry is monitoring unemployment among young people, it is his opinion the way to combat rising unemployment rates is through innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Unemployment among youth is a problem that not just T&T is seeing. There has been an increase in unemployment among youth across Latin America and the Caribbean. Add to that the current economic downturn and that is why you will see these numbers increasing,” Smith said.

He said in speaking to NGOs that deal with youth development and youth issues, they had highlighted a culture of “adultism” which contributes to unemployment among youth.

Adultism is a prejudice against children or youth.

“People stereotype young people and hesitate to hire them. They label them as lazy and unproductive and that is just not true,” Smith said.

He added that he thought the young people in T&T were naturally innovative and encouraged them to use the programmes available through a number of government ministries, such as the Ministry of Labour, Social Development and Agriculture, to start their own businesses.

The international community celebrated International Youth Day yesterday.

Diego Martin Central MP Darryl Smith says it is sad that people see sinister motives behind every action. He made the comment yesterday as he sought to further clarify the issues in the wake of the current furore over the existence or non-existence of the “Darryl Smith Foundation.”

In a telephone interview with the Sunday Guardian, Smith said the foundation does not exist and never existed, though the idea for a foundation had been shared among his team.

“We were advised against it,” Smith said.

Although he did not specify where the advice came from, he said he was advised that whatever help he wanted to give constituents should be done as an MP.

Earlier this week, CNC3 reporter Kristy Ramnarine produced a story questioning whether Smith’s foundation was legally formed. On Friday, during an interview on another station, Smith said the foundation never existed.

“We never opened a bank account for it and never received a cent toward it,” he said.

Smith reiterated yesterday that the foundation was never registered, never had an account or a board nor did it receive funds from any individual or entity.

He said the idea for a foundation came about due to his frustration as an MP over the inability to help all of his constituents.

“As an MP, our biggest stress may be in trying to get supply to meet the demands of our constituents. That gap, where we can’t help all of the people, is frustrating,” he said.

“After our first year we looked at the complaints in the constituency and we decided we wanted to do a project to help. There were young people who did the graphics and we launched the idea of helping people, but even then we never asked for money, we just wanted people to donate time or equipment or items to help in the community. We collected cement and sand.”

Last December, it was reported that the Darryl Smith Foundation had reached out to the Pantin family, who reside at Teixeria Street, Diego Martin, to facilitate a home renovation, with the assistance of local businesses, family and friends.

International Youth Day was celebrated across the world yesterday. Following is a statement sent by The University of the West Indies in commemoration of the event:

The University of the West Indies Youth Development Programme (UWI YDP) wishes all the youth of our Caribbean community a very conscious International Youth Day, this August 12th day of acknowledgement.

While many of our youth are fully engaged in pursuing their education and career goals, the shadow of youth unemployment is becoming a global epidemic. Our Caribbean is not exempt from this global trend. In the Caribbean, joblessness endures as a major challenge, according to the World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2017, the unemployment rate is expected to rise to 8.4 per cent across the region and spikes to 17 per cent in several of these countries. Youth unemployment is twice that.

The effects of youth unemployment are multidimensional and interfere with all aspects of our society, particularly its impact on youth violence. The relationship between youth unemployment and youth violence is only too well known and the corresponding rise in youth violence is as unsurprising as it is disturbing.

There are numerous contributing factors to youth unemployment in the Caribbean, many of which have been stated in one forum or another, yet there is more, much more, we can do in response to this challenge. This is not a message of hopelessness, but rather of hope, and a call to action.

Addressing youth unemployment first requires the acceptance by all stakeholders, of the fact that youth unemployment is everyone’s business. Secondly, it demands the formulation of a coalition of relevant parties and the mounting of an ambitious commitment to developing and implementing a medium and long-term plan aimed at reversing the current youth unemployment trajectory. A key priority of a youth unemployment strategy must be the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation thereby driving job creation and industry.

Undertaking the proposal in this message requires a prioritisation of this issue. It will include the political will of governments and call upon the social responsibility of the private sector. It must also be understood that addressing this issue is not a kindness to one part of our population, but the conscious effort to define the future of our Caribbean. We must not allow despair to promote crime and violence, unhealthy sexual practices and social apathy.

The UWI - YDP affirms its commitment to supporting the youth of the region by working with the governments of the Caribbean and the regional private sector in this endeavour. It is imperative that we contemplate our next decisions and what they will mean for our society during our lifetime and beyond. Will we continue to suffer from these same issues a decade from now? Or will we be able to look back with pride at the leadership of our decision makers and the cooperative spirit and dedication to progress by our civil society? Let us embrace the idea of the prosperous Caribbean we want.

We must embrace a Caribbean that is beyond these challenges and decided to shape a productive and growing Caribbean which embraces entrepreneurship and innovation. We must embrace a Caribbean expressed by cooperation, informed decision making, and strategic planning for the future.

The UWI – YDP looks forward to offering a supporting system to our governments and civil society stakeholders and encourages a moment of reflection and solidarity on this day, as we consciously shape the prosperous Caribbean we want.

CARACAS—Venezuela’s government energetically rejected US President Donald Trump’s talk of a potential “military option” to resolve the country’s political crisis yesterday, calling it the most egregious act of belligerence against Venezuela in a century and a threat to stability in the region.

The stinging rebuke came in a statement read by Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in a meeting with foreign diplomats, including Lee McClenny, the top diplomat at the US Embassy in Caracas.

Calling Trump the “boss of the empire,” Arreaza said Trump’s latest comments fit a pattern of aggression against Venezuelan sovereignty and constitute a violation of international law and the UN charter. He said they were particularly menacing given President Nicolas Maduro’s renewed call this week for closer ties and request for a meeting with Trump at the UN General Assembly next month.

The White House responded to that request by saying Trump would “gladly speak with the leader of Venezuela as soon as democracy is restored in that country.”

Speaking to reporters Friday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump bemoaned the South American nation’s growing humanitarian crisis and declared that all options remain on the table—including a potential military intervention.

In a statement, Colombia’s Foreign Ministry also condemned “military measures and the use of force” and said all efforts to resolve Venezuela’s crisis should be peaceful and respect its sovereignty.

The Trump administration has slapped a series of sanctions against Maduro and more than two-dozen current and former officials in response to a crackdown on opposition leaders and the recent election. (AP)

The Port Authority of T&T (PATT) is not considering any proposal to use the Ocean Flower II, despite counter proposals submitted by owner Bridgemans Services Group.

Responding via text message to questions from the Sunday Guardian yesterday, PATT chairman Allison Lewis made it clear that the authority was following the mandate of its line ministry in this matter and will be putting out a new tender for a vessel.

“The Port Authority has been mandated by the Ministry of Works and Transport to go back out to tender for a vessel to provide ferry service on the sea bridge.

“In light of this, the port authority is not considering any proposal outside of that process,” Lewis wrote.

On Friday, Andrew Purdey, vice president of the Canadian-based ferry service provider, objected to the termination of the Ocean Flower II’s one-year contract.

Purdey said his company was considering its options on how to move forward, including providing PATT with a short-term rental proposal for its consideration of the 21-year-old vessel, since it will be “ready for services if called upon in the coming days.”

He said Bridgemans was “willing to provide a workable solution that would be a win-win for all parties and is committed to delivering its contractual obligations in a professional and effective manner to ensure that PATT is served to the highest standard.”

Purdey said Bridgemans Services did not agree the cancellation of the Ocean Flower II deal was valid, despite its failure to reach T&T in the specified time and the number of deficiencies identified during evaluations of the vessel.

He said the Ocean Flower was delayed due to several unplanned events during its 9000 nautical miles journey from Korea, through the Bearing Sea along the North Specific Ocean and onto the Panama Canal.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has called a meeting with the main stakeholders affected by the failure to find a replacement passenger ferry to service the sea bridge between Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow in Tobago.

According to the release from the Office of the Prime Minister, the meeting will take place at the Magdalena Grand Hotel from 2 pm and will include representatives from the Tobago Chamber of Commerce, Tobago Hoteliers and Tourism Association, Tobago Truckers Association and the Tobago Unique Bread and Breakfast and Self-Catering Association.

The release said Tobago West MP Shamfa Cudjoe and Tobago East MP the Ayanna Webster-Roy will also attend along with the Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan.

When the Sunday Guardian contacted Sinanan yesterday, he referred all questions to Lewis, adding that it was up to the port to respond to any developments.

While Tobago stakeholders will be present for the meeting, it is unclear whether a representative from the Port Authority, which is responsible for securing a new vessel, will be present.

When questioned on this, Lewis said she was not aware of any invitation to attend a meeting in Tobago.

On Friday, Rowley apologised to the people of Tobago over the PATT’s cancellation of the Ocean Flower 2 contract, saying the incident was of “great disappointment” to him.

Government had given approval to lease two vessels, the Cabo Star cargo ferry and Ocean Flower II, to service the sea bridge between Port-of-Spain and Scarborough at the end of June, but questions over the appropriateness of the latter was almost immediately highlighted in the media.

When PATT’s chief engineer Brendon Powder visited the vessel for a sea trial in Panama recently, he ruled that the Ocean Flower II may not have been suitable to service the sea bridge because of several mechanical issues and explosion risks.

Powder instead recommended that the vessel remain in Colon, Panama, to urgently attend to all repairs prior to it sailing to Trinidad.

According to the report summary, a sea trial of the vessel was conducted on August 5 but there was an hour delay in commencement due to bunkering and difficulty in getting all the engines operational.

The trial was eventually completed on August 6. It was noted that president of Bridgemans Services Group Limited, Brian Grange, witnessed the sea trial and the mechanical issues with the vessel.

In a letter dated August 7, 2017, to the PATT’s general manager, Charmaine Lewis, Powder also noted there was no maintenance history for the vessel’s machinery on board.

He said there was an issue with the engines which could lead to fire and explosion risk issues.