With just a few weeks left until the presentation of the national budget for 2017/2018, two former ministers have shared their opinions and offered suggestions on varying aspects of the T&T economy.

Former Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne and Former Planning Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie were among a list of speakers at a conference titled, Breakthrough Strategy for a Sustainable Nation—Action Today for a Better Tomorrow, which was held at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, Mt Hope on August 9.

“The time has come for T&T to behave as though the country is in an oil bust and no longer in a boom,” Tewarie said.

He added that to begin the process of moving toward an economy that is in a “bust,” there is need to identify what the problems are; postponing this process was not an option.

Asked to expand on what strategising would entail in the time of a bust Tewarie said: “T&T needs to stop engaging in combat every morning between one force and the other, and we really have to make a concerted attempt to manage the country to sustainability through having a medium-term strategy for sustainable development.

“Sustainability can only be achieved through blending the economy, the environment and the people. So focus must be placed on how do you build a cohesive nation in which you can build trust, in which you can build harmony, in which you can have commitment to larger goals. A society in which you can have enlightened self-interest.”

In his presentation, Tewarie said in order to diversify the economy the first step involved building on what was already in place such as T&T’s energy, manufacturing, services, agriculture, tourism and entertainment and ensure that those sectors are competitively positioned.

“The second (step) is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and generate renewable energy and renewable industries. So there is an opportunity to fast track a green economy here. The third is what should we do with the new energy income from Juniper, Angelin etc? Should we put it in the HSF or should we support diversification with it, and how?

“One would assume that private investment would be attracted to opportunities for diversification and that, as a country, we would want to support that.”

Tewarie added that the right level of investment took place, new and innovative industries could develop

“Once industries such as alternative energy, renewable energy, food production, food processing have started, clusters would form and a greener economy would evolve. There is need to grow the Blue economy as well which comprise of business such as shipping and port facilities.”

In an interview after the event, Browne—who was critical of the measures in place to deal with the slow down in T&T’s economy—said he did not believe that enough was being done to cushion the slow down and that was unlikely to change.

“We are in the middle of what is a secular problem for T&T and it’s a competitive business problem. Even if we improve the volume of gas and solve the shortfall, the real issue is that the price of LNG has declined and we now have competition. North America is moving from an importer and the outlook is for it to be a very high volume exporter of LNG and gas.

“That situation has implications for price and openness of market, as well as T&T’s productivity capacity presently and how we use gas.”

He questioned if the current approach to maximise the value from gas was optimal.

“Should we continue to ship LNG in the form that we are doing it or should we spend more time on methanol? How do we deepen the petrochemical sector, those are critical questions none of which have been posed by this administration.”

Browne added that the country’s future had to be carefully considered and it could no longer be business as usual as the external environment had changed.

Asked whether he was satisfied that the government had done enough when it comes to diversifying the economy, he said in order for diversification to occur there is need to have a list of priority sectors/initiatives, but, at present, he does not see any.

“What are the priorities? If you say tourism, point to me the examples of how we are strengthening and reinforcing our tourism product. You can’t tell me Sandals because, by itself, that cannot work. If we found Sandals what about the other brand-named hotels? Were they invited (to tender/bid to start a hotel in Tobago)?”

Browne added that T&T has not really begun to focus on any real alternative to energy.

Regarding the ongoing problem of foreign exchange shortage, he said it could not be solved given “the mechanisms that we are using.

“We are exactly in the same position that we were in 1986. We are doing exactly what we did then, which did not work, and it’s not going to work now.”

On the issue of retrenchments, Browne said this was inevitable given the current economic realities.

Touching on the crime situation, Browne pointed out that the economics of the day was not the main driver behind the current crime situation.

“Between 1998/1999, crime has been at a pace so you can’t say job cuts will cause crime. Crime has been a problem for the last 20 years; that has to point to a social problem and a difficulty with our education system. It has to point to a lot of inefficiencies in the system.”

Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) says the organisation is concerned that there has been an unlawful grant of the environmental approval for the construction of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway Extension from Wallerfield to Manzanilla.

The group is appealing to the line ministry and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to address what it described as a “serious and sensitive matter of a highway running alongside the last pristine boundary of the Aripo Savannah, an internationally renowned savannah with rich biodiversity.”

FFOS said this biodiversity has earned the area the protected title of a designated Environmentally Sensitive Area and a Strict Nature and Scientific Reserve.

In a statement the group added, “Without a long hard look of the serious environmental concerns stated by the EMA’s technical experts and stakeholders, this already approved highway will negatively affect and will potentially inflict irreversible ecological destruction on this resource.”

FFOS said it welcomed all forms of development, including the construction of proposed highways, but all development impacts must be scrutinized with technical eyes, must be mitigated according to the best science, the precautionary principle must be guiding and the long hard look must be applied.

It said most of all the public must be privy to all except trade secret information.

“As a nation, we should be working towards sustainable development and we therefore need to balance economic growth and environmental conservation. There cannot be sustainable development if there is unexamined destruction of designated Environmentally Sensitive Areas in our country,” the statement said.

FFOS said a letter concerning the objection had been sent to Minister of Planning and Development Camille Robinson-Regis. It was copied to President Anthony Carmona, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Works Minister Rohan Sinanan and chairman of the EMA Nadra Nathai-Gyan. In the letter, the FFOS said the Works Ministry had applied for a Certificate of Environment Clearance for the construction of the highway extension and it was granted on June 22, 2017.

The letter said the Aripo Savannah is internationally renowned for its unusual flora.

“This eco-system is considered unique as there is a high density of rare, threatened, endemic and possible endemic species. A total of 457 plant species have been identified thus far, 38 are restricted to the Aripo Savannah with 16 to 20 that are rare or threatened and two endemic floral species. It contains 78 insect species, eight amphibian species, 26 reptile species, 132 bird species and 25 mammals,” the letter also said.

Acting Attorney General Stewart Young is assuring that if there is any culpability regarding the procurement of the Cabo Star and the Ocean Flower 2, those responsible will be brought to justice.

Young, also Minister in the Ministry of Attorney General and Legal Affairs, made the comment after speaking at a rotary luncheon in Port-of-Spain yesterday.

In a statement issued yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley appointed Christian Mouttet as the sole investigator into the circumstances surrounding the procurement of the two vessels. The announcement was made in a press release from the Office of the Prime Minister and noted that Rowley was acting on behalf of the Cabinet. Mouttet, who will be provided with support from the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, is expected to submit a report within 30 days.

Asked whether Mouttet’s appointment signalled a lack of faith in the Port Authority, especially amid calls for its chairman Alison Lewis to be fired, Young said this was not the case.

“Absolutely not. The Prime Minister and Cabinet has taken the decision to appoint a sole investigator and more will be heard about it in the days to come,” Young said.

Regarding how much was being paid to Mouttet, Young said, “at this stage there is no cost element associated with the probe and described Mouttet as one of this country’s stalwarts.

“He’s someone who is very respected and he’s someone who we see as being very independent and the Prime Minister saw him fit and he is fully supported by the Cabinet as being a good sole investigator into what he has been asked to look into,” Young stated.

Regarding possible legal action following the outcome of the investigation, the acting AG said it was too early to determine, adding he did not want to “pre-empt anything.”

Pressed about calls for the police to also launch its own investigation into the matter, Young said, “Let’s see what the investigation brings up. If the investigation brings up anything along those lines, as a Government we will send it to the police. I would expect persons to fully participate with a Cabinet-appointed investigator and if they choose not to do so then they will have a lot of questions to answer.”

The political leader of the Congress of the People and the party’s general secretary both resigned yesterday ahead of Sunday’s leadership election.

Dr Anirudh Mahabir and Clyde Weatherhead announced their resignations yesterday in the face of legal action by a member who has challenged the candidacy of Nicole Dyer-Griffith for the leadership of the party.

And while one of the candidates for leadership Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan believes that the development will hurt the party, another candidate Sharon Gopaul-McNicol said both men “landed us in this situation and it was wise for them to resign.”

The election originally carded for July 9, had been postponed to Sunday and the men were threatened with further legal action if they tried to postpone the election again.

Mahabir and Weatherhead issued a joint statement yesterday detailing the reasons for their resignations. They say they had been placed “in an untenable position between warring factions, and are both saddened and frustrated,” that they were brought to the court “despite all of our hard work and the support that we have given to the party.”

The men said they had been in discussions with COP member Kirt Francis, who initiated the lawsuit, as well as the three candidates over the past six days “in order to arrive at a resolution in the interest of the COP.”

But were “extremely disappointed,” that despite their “best efforts all through the weekend and up to yesterday (Monday) no mutually acceptable resolution was found.”

Francis has filed an application to the High Court seeking injunctions to prevent Dyer-Griffith from voting and being a candidate and to prevent 34 other members from voting in the election. Efforts to contact Dyer-Griffith yesterday proved futile.

Both Mahabir and Weatherhead said while the membership of the party had mandated that the election take place in a manner that was agreed, they had been sued and have been placed in the “firing line” before the court and have been threatened that they would “again be subjects of further legal action” if they agree to “postpone the elections.”

Both men reminded the membership of the COP that “elections are not won through the courts but through the will of the people.”

Seepersad-Bachan said the development “does not augur well for the party.”

She said one of the principles of the new politics which the party had as its genesis is “the principle of good governance, and one of the principles of good governance is the rule of law. We must operate at all times within the constitution.”

Seepersad-Bachan said, “This is not about winning at all cost. In winning at all cost you could end up destroying the very entity you want to lead. There must be give and take that is what our new politics preaches, we must look at the bigger picture.”

She said in her campaign for the leadership she had found that “people were coming back to the COP, they are being energised.”

Gopaul-McNicol felt both men needed to go, “given the fact that they are the ones who landed us in this situation it was wise for them to do that.”

She did not think the development would hurt the COP saying “sometimes you have to fall in order to rebuild. If a home is breaking you have to let it fall and then rebuild.”

She said the COP was “an excellent party with the best policies for national development,” but there has been a problem with the leadership of the party in the last five years. She said the leadership of the COP needs to be in sync with the vision and mission of the party “our policies were right on education, social, police, housing, legal, everything was just right. But we did not have the right leadership in the last five years to take the party forward.”

The Congress of the People was founded in September 2006 by Winston Dookeran, after he left the United National Congress following a period of internal feuding with the UNC executive led by UNC founder Basdeo Panday.

Dookeran said then that the party was on a mission to bring what he called ‘new politics’ to the national landscape, which sought to uphold good governance and integrity as principles of political behaviour.

sharlene.rampersad@guardian.co.tt

Although the Congress of the People (COP’s) leadership election is set for this Sunday, a High Court judge will hear an application today filed from a party member in hopes of preventing one of the candidates to contest the party’s top post.

Kirt Francis, a COP member, is seeking an injunction to prevent Nicole Dyer-Griffith from contesting the leadership post and to prevent her and 34 other COP members from voting in the election.

Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan and Sharon Gopaul-McNicol are also contesting the leadership post.

The matter was filed in the San Fernando High Court on Monday.

Later in the day, the party’s political leader, Dr Anirudh Mahabir and its general secretary and deputy political leader Clyde Weatherhead, who are the only two named defendants in the suit, both resigned from their posts with immediate effect.

When the matter was called before Justice Devindra Rampersad yesterday, Francis was represented by attorneys Lester Chariah, Kingsley Walesby and Alvin Ramroop while attorneys Darrell Allahar, Rajkavir Singh and Keith Scotland appeared on behalf of Mahabir and Weatherhead.

Rampersad offered to recuse himself from the matter and through his attorneys, Francis accepted his offer.

Allahar told the court that in light of his clients resignation, there is no action that they can take to prevent Dyer-Griffith or any other member from participating in the election.

As a consequence, Allahar said there are other members more suited to be named in the lawsuit.

The matter will come up for hearing today before another judge in the San Fernando High Court.

Overcome with the grief of losing her only child and a sister when their Moruga home was deliberately set on fire, Nicole Gopaul screamed for answers when the single casket bearing both their charred remains arrived at her father’s home yesterday.

“Why they do this to my child. I’m not ready to tell my child goodbye forever. Let me hug her up,” were some of the heart-wrenching cries of Nicole Gopaul, 32, while surrounded by other relatives around the casket bearing the remains of eight-year-old Alliyah Primus and Nolene Nesha Gopaul, 41.

Armed police stood watch during the entire funeral proceedings. Other relatives pounded the sealed casket in their moments of anguish. On top of the casket framed photos of Alliyah and Nolene collapsed with the commotion.

A faint scent of smoke from the ruins of the house where Gopaul shared much laughter with her daughter, Alliyah, Nolene, and other relatives were a reminder of last Friday’s tragedy.

One of Gopaul’s sisters has been given police protection as investigators try to find those responsible for the deadly fire. She attended the funeral and was closely guarded.

Eleven other family members, including four children, were forced to jump through the windows after someone set fire to the front and back doors of the house.

That house was located at the back of Gopaul’s father’s house at Fifth Company Village.

“If you called me I would ah come and help you. Why you did not call me? Ah would ah buss the window for you,” cried Nolene’s other sister Natalie who also fled from the burning house.

Sharing fond memories of her daughter during the service at the Open Bible Church at St Mary’s Village, Gopaul recalled how she begged God to spare her daughter’s life when at birth she had to be put on life support. Since then she had been very careful with her.

“I did not even want an ant to bite my child,” she said adding that she had gotten so many signs but did not know it meant she was going to lose her child. She said the night “the devil decided to take” Alliyah.

She said everyone thought that Alliyah would become a fashion designer because she had a passion for designing clothes.

“She will turn a vest into a skirt, a top into a head tie, she would cut plastic bags to make clothes,” said Gopaul.

The mother said she was also putting things in place for her daughter to visit Disney World, in December.

Since the incident, Gopaul said she has not been able to eat or sleep.

“I will live the correct life so one day I will see my daughter again,” the mother said.

Karlene Ali said Nolene will be remembered for her loudness, vibrance and loving nature.

The third of 11 children, Ali said Nolene’s 15-year-old daughter was her world. But, she also had unconditional love for Alliyah.

“They shared an unbreakable bond,” said Ali, who recalled that Nolene would help Alliyah with her homework and organise her for school. “Their love knew no bounds. She selflessly gave her life to protect the child she loved as her own,” she said.

Following the service officiated by Rev Valerie Samuel, their bodies were interred at Paynter Cemetery.

High Court Judge Joan Charles has deferred her decision over whether the Defence Force can continue to detain two soldiers who are being investigated in a $2 million payroll scam.

Charles was expected to deliver her judgment in the habeas corpus applications filed by the two soldiers yesterday, but when the case was called she said she had to consider fresh evidence filed by their attorneys after the case was adjourned on Monday.

The duo’s lawyers Mario Merritt and Stephen Wilson said that they were only able to raise the new issues after they had spoken to their clients for the first time during the previous hearing.

The Defence Force’s alleged refusal to allow them to speak to their lawyers during the three-week period they have been detained at Teteron Barracks, Chaguaramas, is one of the issues raised in the case.

Charles gave the Defence Force until 4 pm yesterday to respond to the issues in writing and postponed her decision in the case to 10.30 am tomorrow.

Charles ordered that the soldiers remain under “open arrest” ie being detained at the base with free movement under supervision until she gives her decision. Charles also noted that the investigation into the alleged fraud can continue unimpeded. While the two soldiers were again brought to court, dressed in their uniforms, by officers of the Defence Force’s Military Police yesterday on Charles’ request, they can not be identified as they are yet to be charged with any criminal offence.

In their lawsuit, the soldiers — a Lance Corporal and a Private — are questioning the length of the investigation which began on July 27 as they claimed that their continued detention is excessive and unreasonable.

In response, the Defence Force is claiming that their continued detention is necessary as they are required to appear before a Board of Inquiry, which is investigating the alleged fraud, later this week.

The organisation is also contending that because they were soldiers they were subject to military law which allowed them to be detained at their base for an undefined period of time.

The two soldiers were detained after the alleged fraud was discovered last month. The T&T Guardian understands that the soldiers are accused of working with a civilian member of staff to receive inflated payments in their salaries between February and June.

When they were first confronted the officers reportedly admitted to seeing inflated sums in their accounts and withdrew the money without knowing its source.

The T&T Police Service is conducting a parallel investigation into the incident. The Defence Force is being represented by Ravi Rajcoomar and Tiffany Ali.

A teenager was among three men who appeared in court yesterday charged with poaching Trinidad’s national bird, the Scarlet Ibis, at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary.

Shivanand Ramnarine, 23, of Bamboo Settlement, Valsayn, Randy Bachan, 35, and Brian Ramlochan, 18, both of El Socorro, appeared in the Chaguanas Magistrate’s Court hours after they were detained by game wardens on Monday night.

They were charged with hunting at the protected site and being in possession of the dismembered carcass of a bird.

The first charge carries a maximum fine of $20,000, while the latter carries a fine of $1,000 and up to a month imprisonment.

They were also charged with four offences of being in possession of the protected bird as the body parts — head, wings, feathers and feet — were allegedly found on their boat with no way of telling if they all came from the same animal.

The trio pleaded not guilty to the charges and will remain out on bail granted to them after they were arrested and charged on Monday.

The men will reappear in court on September 7.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat visited the sanctuary following the group’s arrest and also was present in court yesterday to show solidarity to the game wardens who fall under his ministry.

In an interview with CNC3 after the case was adjourned, Rambharat said that he was currently in discussions with Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi over the possibility of increasing the fines for possession of the protected animal.

“It is inadequate but what happens is that persons are usually arrested in game sanctuaries where the protected birds are found,” Rambharat said.

He said that he was also working closely with his ministry’s six enforcement units to ensure that they had all the resources required to effectively perform their duties.

A pre-action protocol letter has been sent to Mario’s Pizzeria after a six-year-old boy’s right arm was broken when he allegedly fell through a gaping hole in the safety net inside the designated playroom of the El Dorado outlet.

The boy’s parents are now seeking $204,000 in compensation from the fast food company for what they claim was negligence.

The pre-action protocol letter dated Monday and signed by attorney Kyle Fortuné was sent to Mario’s Pizzeria’s chief executive office Roger Harford threatening legal action.

According to the pre-action protocol letter, on July 8 Lamar Paynter visited Mario’s El Dorado branch around 8 pm with his grandmother Volouris Maynard.

“While playing in the designated play area my client fell through a hole in the safety net causing him to fracture two bones (radius and ulna) in his right arm causing him tremendous pain and suffering,” the letter claimed.

The letter claimed that “no assistance or apology” was given to Paynter and his family and he had to be taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex “in a private car”.

Paynter was in such “severe pain that he was sedated after his X-rays and a cast was put on his arm,” the letter claimed.

He was then warded overnight at the hospital.

On July 9, Paynter’s mother Charisse Bramble visited the fast food outlet and spoke to the management there.

On July 18, Bramble met with Harford about the situation, the letter claimed.

He provided his cellphone number to her, the letter claimed.

However, Bramble claims in the pre-action protocol letter that since meeting with Harford almost a month ago there has been no headway with respect to the situation. She has now opted to take legal action.

Two separate cases in this country where persons were awarded $93,000 and $195,776 for the pain and suffering caused by fractures to their arms were cited in the pre-action protocol letter.

“My client has incurred medical expenses to date at the cost of $800 as well as legal costs to date in the sum of $7,500,” the letter stated.

“In light of the foregoing, my client claims the sum of $204,000 in full and final settlement for pain, suffering and past and future expenses arising out of the negligence of your establishment,” it stated.

Mario’s has been given seven days to reply or face a lawsuit.

The Children’s Life Fund Authority has agreed to consider and decide on the case of a four-year-old girl from south Trinidad, who has to undergo a critical bone marrow transplant in India to treat a blood disorder, within 24 hours.

The authority gave the commitment to the family of Haleema Mohammed hours after her mother Kristal yesterday filed a lawsuit challenging its previous claim, filed in June, that it would take between one and three months to consider her application.

Mohammed is scheduled to undergo the operation at the Fortis Memorial Institute for Allogeneic Transplant in Gurgaon, India, in early September.

The authority’s decision is expected to be communicated to Mohammed’s family by midday today.

In the lawsuit, Mohammed’s lawyer Gerald Ramdeen claimed that the lengthy period for considering the case was unreasonable considering that the board had determined previous cases within a week.

As the board effectively conceded the case, High Court Judge Devindra Rampersad ordered that it pay the family’s legal costs for threatening the lawsuit.

Mohammed was diagnosed with beta thalassemia, a blood disorder which reduces the production of haemoglobin — the iron-containing protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body.

However, Hameela’s blood transfusions only began when she was around a year and eight months when her blood count went extremely low. She began taking the blood transfusions every three months, then every two months, every month and now every three weeks.

Doctors have advised the family that the child’s iron level had risen to high levels as a result of frequent blood transfusions and this could lead to organ failure and death. The surgery and associated costs are expected to cost $400,000.

The legal action against the authority comes less than a month after the families of two children suffering from the same genetic disorder were given permission to challenge its refusal to provide funding for their treatment.

In their judicial review case, which is yet to go on trial, four-year-old Shannen Luke and five-year-old Terrance Chandoo’s lawyers are contending that the authority wrongful rejected their applications as it claimed that it does not facilitate reimbursements to families who managed to raise the funds for their operations.

As clean up operations continue today on the major landslide that occurred along the North Coast Road, near the Maracas Lookout, engineers have been instructed to find a permanent solution.

Minister of Works and Transport, Rohan Sinanan told the T&T Guardian yesterday, that landslides in that particular area have been recurring over the past 10 years and he instructed one of his engineers at the ministry to visit the site.

“This is a recurring problem and is very dangerous and risky to all and I have instructed the engineer at the ministry to do something about it. Whenever it rains the soil becomes saturated and the land starts slipping so there needs to be an engineering solution,” Sinanan said.

On Monday, around 11.45 pm the massive landslide blocked the road as mounds of dirt and trees came down after a torrential shower.

From as early as 6 am teams from the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation and the Ministry of Works were out clearing the debris. Officials of the T&T Electricity Commission (TTEC) were also expected to visit the area to stabilise leaning electricity poles.

Residents have labelled the area a disaster zone and called for urgent attention from the relevant authorities.

Resident Peter Jones said that for years they have been experiencing such landslides which pose “an obvious risk to our lives.”

“One day we could be going home and the hill could come down on us burying us alive or pushing us over the cliff. Maybe, if something like that happens then whoever would do something serious to try and get rid of this thing. For years the earth coming down. Just now it wouldn’t have no hill here.”

Another resident, a fisherman from Maracas Bay, who wished not to be identified, said that whenever land slides and blocked off the North Coast Road they cannot ply their trade.

“Everything is affected. We cannot get our fish sold to the vendors who come up here to buy wholesale from us. How will we make our money when the roads blocked off for days sometimes because of the landslides and the danger?” he asked.

Councillor of the Maracas Bay/Santa Cruz/La Fillette area, Lyndon Lara said that he believes that nothing could be done to bring about a permanent solution.

“This is an area where there are regular landslides and it is too dangerous even for excavators to go up there. I think nothing can’t be done and there will continue to be landslips and when that occurs clean-up operations will just have to be done every time,” Lara said.

“I don’t think the quality of the soil is good enough. Once the earth is saturated it would have land slippage,” he said.

In a release issued yesterday, the ministry advised that one lane of the roadway is currently open to allow the flow of vehicles; “however, moderate traffic is expected as a result of this and the presence of heavy equipment and workers on site.”

It said a technical team from the Ministry is also conducting further remedial work such as the removal of loose trees and soil that cause an immediate threat, and are “examining possible preventative measures such as benching of the slope.”

A Caribbean Airlines flight attendant has been released on $200,000 bail after appearing in court charged with attempting to smuggle US$39,054 into the country.

Vinosh Maraj was granted bail after he appeared in the Arima Magistrate’s Court charged with importing a prohibited item under Section 213 of the Customs Act.

He was not called upon to plead and was ordered to return to court on Friday.

Maraj was arrested at the Piarco International Airport on Sunday night after returning on a flight from Guyana.

Under the legislation, persons are required to fill out a currency declaration form if they bring more than $20,000 or US$5,000 in cash into T&T.

The offence carries a fine of $50,000 if convicted, but Maraj could have to pay three times the current value of the cash as the legislation provides for a fine of three times the value of the prohibited items in the event that its value exceeds the statutory fine.

Maraj is being represented by Reynold Waldropt and Jeron Joseph.

A conflict of interest!

That’s how many see yesterday’s appointment of well-known businessman Christian Mouttet by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley as the “sole investigator” into the sea bridge fiasco involving the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower 2, which the Port Authority of T&T (PATT) leased from Canadian firm Bridgemans Services Group LP.

Mouttet was given one month to present his findings to the PM.

Last Tuesday, the PATT terminated the Ocean Flower’s one-year contract, which initially led to Rowley apologising to the nation and calling a stakeholders meeting on August 21 in Tobago.

Yesterday, as news surfaced that Mouttet was now the behind the investigation, many criticised his appointment, saying it was a conflict of interest for the businessman, who uses the services of the cargo vessel, to be given such a task.

Weighing in on the issue, political analyst Prof John La Guerre said the fact that Mouttet admitted he utilises the ferry service for his chain of businesses was no doubt a conflict.

“It would be a conflict of interest and he could not be an objective assessor since he has vested interest there,” La Guerre said, noting he feels a committee chaired by someone who has experience in contractual obligations, investigations and shipping, should have been selected instead.

“Since the vessels involved contractual obligations and legal issues, someone with legal skills and training should have been considered. That is what Mouttet does not have. I would say the Prime Minister was ill-advised. He (Mouttet) is not the appropriate person for the job.”

Noting the role of an investigator is to both unearth and probe, La Guerre added: “It’s not just a matter of uncovering documents, doing interviews and putting them together. It is also a matter of assessment.”

La Guerra said with Mouttet’s inexperience it could “limit him in his assessment of the situation. It would also be a constraining factor.”

Political analyst Dr Winford James insisted it was a good decision by the PM to appoint someone to investigate the documentation of both vessels.

“One hopes that the report would not be for the Prime Minister’s eye only but for the nation, since the matter has become very public. And people would like to have answers to the questions that have arisen as result of the scandal of the hire of the boats.”

James said he hoped Mouttet would be as objective as possible in the performance of his work. He said, however, that the public would have every reason to question Mouttet’s credentials, objectivity and credibility.

“Let us hope that the matter is not exasperated because of the choice the PM made as him being the compiler of the information, because things have been going from bad to worse as far as the boat is concerned.”

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, in a press release yesterday, slammed Rowley’s decision and called on him to rescind Mouttet’s appointment and establish a Commission of Enquiry into the ferry fiasco.

“It is clear that the Prime Minister cannot be trusted to do the right thing. We are not comforted by Rowley’s appointment of a one-man investigative team to investigate one of his ministers and this matter.”

She said for months citizens of T&T have been calling for the Government to come clean on the deal and they had refused.

“This Prime Minister has shown that he cannot be trusted, and it appears that Rowley prefers to cloak his ministers and the Port Authority board’s actions in secrecy, rather than to make the facts known. Worse still, he is giving the investigator one month to investigate the matter.”

She said it cannot be proper for a member of the business community, who may depend on the Government’s support and may also be a prime user of the sea bridge and other port facilities, to be asked to conduct an independent inquiry into the operations of the Port Authority and its relevant officials.

“Rowley missed the boat a long time ago in dealing with the Tobago sea bridge situation and now he has missed it again. This situation requires that there is no question of the independence of the investigator, especially in light of what we have all experienced over the past few months under the Rowley Government.”

She said citizens deserve to know the truth about this deal and those involved in any unlawful activity must be held accountable.

Former transport minister Devant Maharaj also saw Mouttet’s appointment as a conflict of interest. He also questioned what powers Mouttet had to conduct such an investigation, which the Integrity Commission was now handling. As a civilian, Maharaj queried how Mouttet would have any leeway to investigate a state enterprise.

“He has no jurisdiction or power conferred on him by any legal authority to conduct a lawful investigation. While he should be commended for his willingness to serve the country, he does not qualify in any way to investigate this issue,” Maharaj said.

He also queried what powers Moutett would have if a person refuses to participate in the investigation.

Two Port Authority of T&T (PATT) staff members have been suspended, while their computers seized for forensic analysis yesterday.

According to information reaching the T&T Guardian, the employees, including a senior official who has been at the PATT for over five years, were given word of their suspension following an impromptu marathon meeting by the PATT board on Monday.

It is alleged that instructions were given by higher authorities at the PATT to “find the source of the leak” of chief engineer Brendon Powder’s inspection of the Ocean Flower II, referring to a letter dated August 7, 2017, that was sent to the PATT’s general manager Charmaine Lewis on the issue.

“They are thinking that the senior and the other employee are responsible for leaking the document to the media, that’s why their electronic devices were seized so that forensic investigations can take place,” a PATT source said.

The source added that both employees had already sought legal advice on their suspensions.

The letter in spotlight contained crucial reasons as to why the Ocean Flower 2 may not be suitable to service the sea bridge between Trinidad and Tobago, following Powder’s sea trial on the vessel in Panama.

The PATT had delegated acting chief executive officer of the T&T Inter-Island Transportation Company Limited (TTIT) Leon Grant and Powder to visit Panama to inspect the Ocean Flower 2 over the period July 30 to August 6.

Powder had ruled that the Ocean Flower 2 may not have been suitable to service the sea bridge because of several mechanical issues and explosion risks identified during the sea trial he conducted. He instead recommended that the 21-year-old vessel should remain in Colon, Panama, to urgently attend to all repairs prior to it sailing to Trinidad. 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.

President of Bridgemans Services Group, Brian Grange, witnessed the sea trial and the mechanical issues of the vessel were highlighted to him.

However, the contents of the report were not initially revealed by the port despite questions over the vessel’s suitability. Instead, it had suggested that the Ocean Flower 2’s contract be cancelled due to its inability to arrive here by the July 17 deadline date.

The contents of the inspection were disclosed to the media by Senator Gerald Ramdeen last week and only then did the PATT admit the issues highlighted ion the report also contributed to the contract cancellation.

Of all the trade deals he lambasted on the campaign trail as threats to American workers, President Donald Trump reserved particular scorn for one: The North American Free Trade Agreement.

The NAFTA agreement with Mexico and Canada was “the worst trade deal in history,” candidate Trump declared. He accused NAFTA of having swollen America’s trade deficit with Mexico, pulled factories south of the border and killed jobs across the United States.

Trump promised to renegotiate the 23-year-old deal—or walk away from it. Now the time has come. Five days of talks aimed at overhauling NAFTA began yesterday in Washington, with negotiations to follow in Mexico and Canada.

The United States has never before tried to overhaul a major trade agreement. So analysts aren’t sure what will emerge from the talks.

But it’s clear that delivering on Trump’s campaign promises will be difficult. A new version of NAFTA would require approval from a divided Congress. And even an improved NAFTA might not deliver the payoff Trump and his supporters are hoping for: The restoration of millions of lost manufacturing jobs.

Economists and trade analysts do see opportunities to improve NAFTA, which eliminated most barriers on trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico. If nothing else, the pact could be updated to reflect the growth of the digital economy.

But a technocratic rewrite is unlikely to satisfy Trump supporters and NAFTA critics who want a revamped agreement to shrink America’s trade deficit and return jobs to the United States.

A more aggressive approach—demanding more made-in-America content for products that qualify for NAFTA’s duty-free status, for example—risks imperiling some benefits that Americans think the trade deal provided to them.

American farmers, for example, fear losing easy access to the Mexican market. Manufacturing companies have built supply chains that crisscross NAFTA borders; they worry about having investments jeopardised. And Canada and Mexico are sure to respond to any harsh American demands with their own.

Plus, the clock is ticking. Next year brings a presidential election in Mexico and congressional elections in the United States. Forging a complex agreement will be even tougher if the political temperature is running hot.

Last month, the Trump administration listed its objectives for the renegotiation. Some of them will meet fierce resistance from Canadian and Mexican negotiators.

The administration has riled Canada, for example, by saying it wants to eliminate a dispute-resolution process established under NAFTA. That process lets Mexico and Canada appeal unfavorable rulings by US courts and agencies in trade cases. They can appeal to five-person NAFTA panels, composed of two members from each county in the dispute and a fifth that usually alternates between them. The panels’ rulings are binding.

But the panels have a reputation for overturning US trade decisions. That is especially so in cases involving Canadian softwood timber imports to the United States; a long-standing source of conflict. America complains that Canada subsidises its loggers, allowing them to dump cheap timber in the United States.

“We lose lots of sales,” says Jason Brochu, co-president of Pleasant River Lumber in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. “It’s not fair to have subsidized lumber come in unchecked.” The ruling panels, he says, lack “a proper dispute-resolution process.” He’d like to see them eliminated.

That idea causes heartburn in Ottawa. Before they could rely on the panels, Canadians “felt they were not getting a fair shake” in US courts and administrative proceedings, says Daniel Ujczo, a trade lawyer with Dickson Wright in Columbus, Ohio. “They see (the panels) as something they earned.”

The United States also wants more leeway to slap tariffs on imports that are found to hurt American industry. For now, NAFTA limits America’s ability to use that power in cases involving Canada and Mexico. If America imposes taxes on their exports, would Canada and Mexico retaliate with their own tariffs?

In another attempt to ensure that any revamped pact promotes US manufacturing, the Trump administration wants tougher rules requiring that goods that qualify for NAFTA benefits are actually made mostly inside the three-country free-trade bloc — and don’t include too many components from, say, China. Manufacturers, which have built supply chains that straddle NAFTA borders, worry that a NAFTA redo will disrupt their operations.

Magna International, an auto supplier based in Aurora, Ontario, for instance, has 55 manufacturing plants in the United States, 50 in Canada and 30 in Mexico. Its products, such as car-seat components, can cross NAFTA borders five or six times. If it had to pay tariffs at each border crossing or produce more paperwork to prove where parts originated, Magna’s costs would rise.

If a NAFTA overhaul raises costs, “eventually that cost is going to get to you—you, the end consumer,” says Scott Paradise, a Magna senior executive.

American consumers have benefited, after all, from low-cost small cars built south of border.

Renegotiating NAFTA is part of the administration’s plan to restore a chunk of the seven million factory jobs America has lost since US manufacturing employment peaked in 1979. NAFTA lured many manufacturers to Mexico to capitalise on cheaper labour.

But Matthew Gold, a former US trade official who teaches at Fordham University’s School of Law, says robots and competition from China have played a bigger role in wiping out American factory jobs.

“Nothing in the NAFTA renegotiation will bring back that tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs that America lost to automation and to trade with China in the years since we entered into NAFTA,” he says. “While this renegotiation will improve NAFTA, it will be a great disappointment to those who expect the see its impact on their lives.” AP

A single-father who left his two-year-old son alone at home to get something for the child to eat was scolded by a magistrate when he appeared in court charged with child neglect.

Micheal Harewood claimed he left the child asleep at his Pemberton Street, La Romaine home without supervision but police found the child wandering along the street by himself.

Harewood, 36, a taxi driver, was charged with negligence by PC Quinton Cupid of the Southern Division Task Force.

The charge stated that on Sunday at Pemberton Street, La Romaine, being the parent of the child, he neglected the child in a manner likely to cause the child suffering or injury to his physical, mental or emotional health.

Relating what happened, prosecutor Cleyon Seedan said around 6.10 pm Cupid and other police officers were on mobile patrol duty along Pemberton Street when he saw the child walking along the road without anyone accompanying him.

When Cupid approached the child and asked him his name he did not answer. Further inquires led Cupid to the home of the child’s mother Vanessa Mohammed who told him the child was staying with his father for a period of time.

Cupid called the father on his cellphone and a short time after the father arrived at Pemberton Street. When told that his son was found wandering alone on the road, he said, “I leave him sleeping for less than an hour.”

Harewood’s attorney Ainsley Lucky said his client “left the infant for 20 minutes. He left the child asleep in the house and he elected to step out and pick up some food for the child.”

“So you left a two-year-old unattended?” magistrate Alicia Chankar asked.

“Do you know how many things could happen in 20 minutes?”

Harewood said there was another tenant in the yard, but not in his home. The father, who has two other children from another relationship, said his son stays with him and he sends him to a daycare. “I do everything for him,” said the father.

However, the magistrate said, “He owes a duty of care for the child, yet he leaves a two-year-old unattended and alone in the house. The child has time to get up, open the door, go outside and reach (on the road),” she said.

Harewood was placed on three-year bond in the sum of $5,000 to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

Maxi taxi drivers assigned to transport primary and secondary students are threatening to withhold their services if some $12 million owed to them for the past four months are not paid before the end of this month.

The new school term opens in September and any disruption in transport services can result in chaos for thousands of students.

Members of the Association of Maxi Taxi School Transport Concessionaires of Trinidad who protested outside the Education Ministry at St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain yesterday said they are struggling to make ends meet, so much so that financial institutions have threatened to repossess their vehicles, which for many of them are their only means of making a livelihood.

Sixty-year-old Stanley Cummings, of Point Fortin, said he recently bought a new 22-seater maxi to transport school children and has not been paid for the past three months.

He said the insurance for a year is $42,000 and the monthly instalment is close to $10,000.

The father of three children ages 13, 16 and 21 who is also the sole breadwinner said his future looked “very bleak.”

“I am very concerned because my instalments keep piling up and at any moment my maxi could be repossessed. What is my position then?” Cummings asked.

Harold Codrington, another driver, said he his application for a credit card was turned down by a commercial bank owing to the inconsistent payments from the ministry.

“I have a daughter studying law in Barbados and I have to pay her fees and I don’t know where I’m getting the money to do that. The inconsistent payments are making it very difficult to do anything,” Codrington said.

Carrying placards which read, “No $, No Fuel” and “We earned our money, Can’t get it,” members of the association complained that they were being treated with “disdain.”

The association’s president Rodney Ramlogan said some 36,000 school children from remote areas like Icacos are transported from their homes to schools and back daily.

“There are more than 350 concessionaires who are attached to the maxi taxi school transport system and when they are not paid on time at least 350 families are placed in difficult financial situations.

“Concessionaires have been providing and efficient and effective service for school children in rural and suburban communities in Trinidad from areas stretching Cedros to Guayaguayare to Matelot and the whole of Central Trinidad,” Ramlogan said.

He said the money is supposed to be paid on a fortnightly basis but in many cases, payments for the first quarter take as long as two months to be issued.

“A big maxi the fee for a fortnight would be $7,000 and a small maxi $4,000. If we don’t get our money then we would not be able to go out to work come September,” Ramlogan said.

EDUCATION MINISTER TO VERIFY CLAIMS

Contacted on the matter, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said measures were being put in place to ensure payment could be made to the maxi taxi operators.
Garcia could not verify the $12m debt, saying, “We have to do a complete review of this whole system. While we recognise that the maxi taxi drivers perform yeoman service there are some grey areas we need to clear up. “For example, we do not have an accurate account on the exact number of students who they transport on a daily basis.
We want to liaise with the schools so that they would give us a figure with respect to the number of students who they had approved to travel with the maxi taxis because approvals must come from the schools,” Garcia said.
He said the school principals would determine which students were in need of the maxi taxi service. A statement issued by the Ministry of Education stated that the Public Transport
Service Corporation was currently processing payments. Part of the outstanding debt was paid on August 3, the ministry stated. Garcia said that efforts are being made to expedite the process.

Almost a month after his three-year-old son drowned during a family outing in Chaguaramas, a 35-year-old man from East Port-of-Spain appeared in court charged with manslaughter.

Atiba Gorkin, of George Street, Port-of-Spain, was granted $75,000 bail when he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle-Caddle in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court on the charge of unlawfully killing his son Josiah “Messi” Gorkin on July 16.

Dressed in a grey T-Shirt and a pair of jeans, which he had to hold at the waist as the button had burst on his way to court, Gorkin stood silently in the prisoner’s enclosure with his head bowed for the duration of the hearing. Police prosecutor Insp Winston Dillon objected to bail as he called on Busby-Earle-Caddle to consider the seriousness of the offence and the prisoner’s criminal record, which included two convictions for marijuana possession.

Dillon also alleged that Gorkin should be remanded as he may attempt to intimidate witnesses at his eventual trial. The allegation sparked an outburst from Gorkin’s relatives and friends who were seated at the back of the court. “If you don’t know how to behave in this court, then you can not attend,” Busby-Earle-Caddle said as she ordered the group of angry relatives to maintain their composure. However, their protests continued outside the courtroom after Gorkin’s case was adjourned.

“What they trying to say that he will threaten us not to testify. That is madness,” one female relative said as she was restrained by another relative.

Gorkin’s lawyer Samuel Thomas objected to the prosecutor’så allegations as he claimed that there was no evidence that he (Gorkin)å would tamper with witnesses.

“My client is still in a state of bereavement. He is still grieving and is in shock over his son’s death,” Thomas said. Thomas said Gorkin, an employee of the Port-of-Spain City Corporation, was the sole breadwinner in his family and had two more children, ages 12 and seven.

“He is seeking counselling for the tragic predicament he has found himself in. He is experiencing double jeopardy of having lost his son and now having to face this charge,” Thomas said.

Josiah went missing during a family lime at Williams Bay, in Chaguaramas on July 16.

His family initially believed that he had been kidnapped but the child’s body was found floating off the coast of Williams Bay, Chaguaramas, the following day.

Gorkin was questioned by police after the incident and was arrested last week as police completed their investigation. Gorkin made headlines during the State of Emergency in 2011 when he was among a group of two dozen residents of his community who were charged with being gang members under the controversial Anti-Gang Act. Gorkin and his neighbours were eventually freed after Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard discontinued the charges against them.

Gorkin will reappear in court on September 11.

An international company, with operations in T&T, has offered employment to the Special Reserve Police ( SRP) officer who has been suspended after suggestive photos of her in her uniform surfaced on social media.

The SRP was suspended last week Tuesday pending an investigation into the photographs which showed her lying on a couch in a compromising position. The Police Social and Welfare Association also said she faces possible eviction from her home as her landlord is said to be embarrassed over the leaked photos.

The officer, who had been assigned to the Transit Unit, was suspended without pay. She has since retained attorney Christopher Rodriquez to represent her.

She is said to be in the first trimester of pregnancy and is a single mother.

Sources said yesterday, over the weekend an international company stepped in and offered her a job with matching salary.

However, the source did not want to disclose which company made the offer or what was the offer of employment.

Meanwhile, her fellow colleagues at the Transit Unit claimed there was mixed reaction over her suspension.

“Where you work in any place people will like you and some won’t like you,” one of the officers said yesterday.

After the decision to suspend the officer from duty, the association called on acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to reconsider his decision.

The association claimed there were no rules or regulations or policy for the usage of social media.

Members of the association said the commissioner is currently out of the country and that they were still waiting to meet with him this week to address the issue.

When contacted yesterday, Head of Corporate Communications of the Police Service, Ellen Lewis, said the matter was an ongoing investigation.

Communications manager of the Ministry of National Security Marcia Hope said the ministry was collaborating with the police who were conducting the investigation.

An international company, with operations in T&T, has offered employment to the Special Reserve Police ( SRP) officer who has been suspended after suggestive photos of her in her uniform surfaced on social media.

The SRP was suspended last week Tuesday pending an investigation into the photographs which showed her lying on a couch in a compromising position. The Police Social and Welfare Association also said she faces possible eviction from her home as her landlord is said to be embarrassed over the leaked photos.

The officer, who had been assigned to the Transit Unit, was suspended without pay. She has since retained attorney Christopher Rodriquez to represent her.

She is said to be in the first trimester of pregnancy and is a single mother.

Sources said yesterday, over the weekend an international company stepped in and offered her a job with matching salary.

However, the source did not want to disclose which company made the offer or what was the offer of employment.

Meanwhile, her fellow colleagues at the Transit Unit claimed there was mixed reaction over her suspension.

“Where you work in any place people will like you and some won’t like you,” one of the officers said yesterday.

After the decision to suspend the officer from duty, the association called on acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to reconsider his decision.

The association claimed there were no rules or regulations or policy for the usage of social media.

Members of the association said the commissioner is currently out of the country and that they were still waiting to meet with him this week to address the issue.

When contacted yesterday, Head of Corporate Communications of the Police Service, Ellen Lewis, said the matter was an ongoing investigation.

Communications manager of the Ministry of National Security Marcia Hope said the ministry was collaborating with the police who were conducting the investigation.