Government will start preparing the public for the 2018 Budget from today with a pre-Budget forum by the Planning Ministry.

And Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley might well field some queries about his Government's third Budget when he goes one-on-one with the public at tonight's "Conversations with the Prime Minister" forum in St Augustine. (See page A11)

Government recently hinted that the 2018 package may be delivered just before month-end. Parliamentary debate is expected in early October. Last Friday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said he'd announce the date "maybe" by this week. He said the Budget would reveal Government's action on issues facing T&T. Sources hinted it may not exceed the 2017 Budget of $53 billion.

Signs the 2018 package isn't far off increased yesterday as the Planning Ministry announced a pre-Budget forum today at UWI, St Augustine.

The ministry stated: "In addition to aspects of the 2018 National Budget, details on the National Development Strategy Vision 2030 and its role in the National Budget will be discussed."

Also, as part of the 2018 National Budget, the Ministry added, UWI's Institute of Gender and Development Studies developed a tool to integrate a gender perspective into deliberations on the Budget. This will show how the Budget is translated into the public's realities at household level.

Among business leaders, T&T Chamber CEO Gabriel Faria said Budget priorities include corrective anti-crime action, more active management of the exchange rate, widening of the tax net via Revenue Authority implementation, incentivised investment in export-oriented and small business activities.

American Chamber of Commerce president Mitchell De Silva, also supporting a Revenue Authority, expects a significant—perhaps wider—fiscal gap as revenues may not improve.

The T&T Manufacturers' Association, seeking sector expansion, wants export incentives for creation of additional Forex streams.

Women who live in the Assaraff Road, Charlieville, Chaguanas area plan to arm themselves in order to ensure their safety. The women made the claim yesterday after a Dominican Republic woman was found stabbed to death near a walkover in the community on Monday night.

Police said a resident was crossing the walkover around 10.30 pm when he saw Esther Rodriguez's body on the southern side. The man stopped a nearby Highway Patrol vehicle and the officers cordoned off the scene. Rodriguez was stabbed repeatedly.

Speaking with Guardian Media yesterday, women from the area said the area near the walkover is poorly lit and women have been raped and robbed there in the past as the area is frequented by drug dealers. They said the killing is just a culmination of other criminal activities that have been taking place in the area.

One woman said she will now have to start walking with a knife in her bag while another said she will no longer be travelling home from school. A neighbour said her husband heard the screams but when she looked out she could see nothing. Some 30 minutes later Rodriguez’s body was found.

One man called on Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley to visit the area and address the escalating crime. Stephen Ramkumar said he used the walkover daily and with the killing there is need for “drastic measures.” He added that in his 57 years living in the area he had never heard of a murder and called on the PM and National Security Minister to intervene.

“I might have to move like the wild wild west and walk with a firearm because it is inhumane for someone to lose their life like that. It is out of control,” Ramkumar said.

An intense search by police and relatives of an elderly La Romaine couple who had been missing since last Thursday, ended in relief yesterday when it was found that they were on vacation in England.

Visually-impaired Harold Howard, 82 and his wife Gloria, 70, were at a hotel in Manchester last night. They are expected to return to T&T tomorrow.

Harold’s son, Victor Howard, who lives in Philadelphia, USA, had told police yesterday that he was spending his vacation in an apartment on the ground level of his parents’ home.

He said was supposed to leave the country on Monday night but when he went upstairs to say goodbye, he found the doors locked and no one answered his calls. Howard said he last saw his parents on Friday, but a neighbour reported seeing the couple leaving home around 1 pm Saturday.

When San Fernando CID detectives, Insp Don Gajadhar and Cpl Nanan, went to the home they broke the locks and entered. Everything was intact and nothing appeared unusual.

The Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Region III and the Anti-Kidnapping Squad joined the search and checks were made at the back of the house, relatives’ homes and medical institutions with no success. But as news of the couple’s disappearance reached the media, a travel agent contacted the San Fernando CID saying they had booked the couple’s vacation.

When officers went to the agency, the agent showed documents proving the couple left on a Liat flight to Barbados en route to Gatwick Airport last Thursday. Police said the couple did not tell any of their relatives they were leaving the country, which caused concern when they could not be found. Gloria, who was born in Jamaica, has dual citizenship for T&T and England.

​

The owner of A&V Drilling Workover Limited, Nazim Haniff Baksh, is yet to make any public statement on a Petrotrin internal audit report that his company is linked to close to TT$100 million in overpayments from the state-owned company for "fake oil."

Several attempts to contact Baksh were unsuccessful yesterday. An employee of his Penal-based company said he was out the country and she was not sure when he would be back.

On Monday, Energy Minister Franklin Khan distanced the People's National Movement from A&V Drilling in the wake of the "fake oil" scandal. But Baksh is reported to be a good friend of Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley. In fact, checks yesterday revealed Baksh invited Rowley as his guest to a prize-giving function for Indian entertainment programme Mastana Bahar in December 2012. Baksh’s company was at the time sponsoring the first prize for the preliminary and semi-finals of the show. Rowley, who was in Debe on a tour at the time, attended the show at the Rampersad Brothers Ranch in Penal.

For several months now, A&V Drilling has also been broadcasting a television advertisement which is aired on a crime show broadcast on the internet, praising the Prime Minister and his cabinet.

The male voice on the ad says: “We salute and congratulate the leader of the PNM the Honourable Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his Cabinet for the vision and leadership they have demonstrated in managing the affairs of Trinidad and Tobago. From Nazim Baksh of AV Drilling.”

The ad ends with a footnote “this was a paid political announcement.” In the background of the ad are images of supporters waving PNM flags and of Rowley shaking the hands of supporters.

On May 15, 2017, Khan singled out A&V Drilling for special praise during the Senate debate on the Finance Variation of Appropriation Bill.

He said then: “I want to go on record and today praise one company that has done tremendously well on a programme called the Incremental Petroleum Service Contracts. It is a company called A&V Drilling based in Penal. They took the Catsil field about three years ago. It was farmed out to them by Petrotrin, making a 130 barrels of oil per day. You know what is A&V Drilling production in Catsil now?—4,000 barrels per day. And you know why it is 4,000 barrels a day? Because they have drilled 32 wells since they took over the field. “

Khan made no apologies for this at a press conference on the Petrotrin issue on Monday, saying at the time the company was reporting increases in their production and the system was working. But Khan could not say whether the PM and Baksh were friends, referring the question to Rowley. For his part, Khan said he was acquainted with Baksh, having himself worked in the energy sector, but said he would not call Baksh and himself (Khan) friends.

DAMNING REPORT

The Petrotrin internal audit pointed to discrepancies in the production for the period January to June 2017, when it said a review of production data for 18 fields in the Eastern district showed that "for the period January to June 2017, all of the fields except one had relatively constant production. This field showed a "huge" increase in production during this period from 60,034 barrels in January to 149,741 barrels in June, an increase of almost 150 per cent in six months."

The audit found there had been "fraudulent activity in the field, in that the operator in collusion with a Petrotrin employee has been over stating the field's production for at least six months." The audit spoke to "wilful misconduct" on the part of the employee.

Details of the report were revealed by UNC Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar at a party congress in Couva on Monday. She alleged that the operator was a PNM financier and had close ties with senior Cabinet officials.

But Khan denied A&V Drilling was a financier of the PNM, saying: I don’t know what is a financier of the PNM. The PNM raises funds when it has to fight an election and several people come into that.”

He said it would be impossible for the party to have received money and he not know of it. However, he revealed that Baksh’s daughter Allyson is a PNM senator. He also admitted that the employee in question was the PNM's candidate for Siparia in the 2015 general election.

Rumours were rife yesterday that the employee fingered in the report had tendered his resignation.

But Petrotrin officials denied this. They also said they want to ensure proper process is followed “because it is always about fairness even while conducting a proper investigation.”

An Arima community last night paid their respects to a well loved resident who lost her life trying to save her grandson from a massive wave during the passage of Hurricane Irma in St Maarten last week.

Melan “June” Salvary, 54, and her grandson, Oliver Gedio both died when they were swept away by a massive wave as they fled from their home which had been torn apart by Irma's heavy rain and powerful winds.

Gedio’s tiny body was found last Wednesday along the coastline while Salvary’s body was found on Friday. Both bodies were said to be in a badly decomposed state.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Salvary’s youngest sister, Emily Pasqual, said Salvary, Gedio and other relatives were at their home at French Quarter when the house began to fall apart.

“A wall of the house they were in crashed down and the entire structure began ripping apart. I heard that they attempted to go to another relative’s house that was close by and just before my sister reached a massive wave came up from the sea and swept she and her grandson away,” Pasqual said.

Pasqual said the news had sent them into a “state of shock” and although preparations were under way at her home for last evening's vigil, she wished deep down in her heart that they could have been still found alive.

“My sister was a happy, go-lucky person who lived today for today and who did not have any kind of worry in this world,” Pasqual said.

She added that over the past five years, Salvary has been frequenting St Maarten for vacations to spend time with one of her daughters, Daphne, and grandchildren who live there.

“She would have usually spent weeks, sometimes two months there and come back home. This time she left Trinidad just over two weeks ago for another vacation.”

Pasqual said because communication services were disrupted on the island during Irma's passage they had not been able to make proper contact with Salvary’s daughter.

Another relative said they are now hoping they will get assistance to repatriate Salvary’s body to Trinidad for burial.

“We don’t know how to go about it but we are trying to find out and it is our last wish for her (Salvary),” the relative said.

Meanwhile, the 12 Trinidadian nationals who were evacuated by the Government from St Maarten on Monday are expected to return home tomorrow.

IRMA RELIEF DRIVE

If you wish to help Hurricane Irma victims please donated to the joint drive by Guardian Media, the American Chamber of Commerce Trinidad and Tobago (AMCHAM) and Pan American Development Foundation (PADF). (See editorial on Page A18)

Join us and make a difference by going to: http://www.padf.org/irmaamchamtt to make a donation.

Fifty families and several government and commercial operations will soon be relocated as Government moves to start the San Fernando Waterfront Redevelopment Project later this year.

Earlier this year, Cabinet approved Phase 1 of the project, which includes dredging and reclamation of 3.8 hectares of land, development of a harbour at King's Wharf, relocation of squatters along the Old Train Line, relocation of the Public Transport Service Corporation's (PTSC) maintenance facility and the upgrade of Plaza San Carlos, where the PTSC hub is located.

San Fernando East MP Faris Al-Rawi and Housing and Urban Development Minister Randall Mitchell toured the marked areas for development to assess the work to be done yesterday and revealed Government had sourced $500 million to start the project.

Al-Rawi said: "The Cabinet has already earmarked financing which the Minister of Finance has put into place for certain starts. We're also looking for some loans and developmental facilities as well."

He said social surveys and positioning have been completed and tenders will be advertised soon.

Besides PTSC, the Customs and Excise Division, Immigration Division and fishing facilities will be relocated.

Mitchell said social surveys were already carried out on the occupants of 50 structures. As work moves ahead, he said those families will be relocated to a nearby area until a permanent arrangement can be found.

According to a Cabinet note, the Land Settlement Agency (LSA) estimates there are 144 squatters to be relocated. Areas considered for relocation include San Fernando, Corinth, Pranz Gardens, Claxton Bay and sites under the Estate Management and Business Development Company. An estimated $26 million has been provided to the LSA for the construction of 200 residential lots for the relocation. There was also a recommendation for the PTSC maintenance operation to be relocated to Tarouba.

The San Fernando City Corporation was charged with the redevelopment of the historic Plaza San Carlos buildings and there is already a proposal to house a museum there. Work was expected to start in 2015 after numerous public consultations, but it never did.

From rejection by the Children’s Life Fund Authority to being rescued by kind-hearted citizens, five-year-old Haleema Mohammed was on her way to India yesterday with the hope of securing a healthier life.

Along with her hero brother Haleem, aged seven, the bone marrow donor for her life-saving surgery, their mother Kristal and father Hamil, they left the Piarco International Airport around 1 pm on a flight to London, England.

Haleema suffers from Beta Thalassemia Major, a blood disorder which reduces the production of haemoglobin.

Patients with the disorder usually suffer fatigue, shortness of breath, jaundice, deformities of the facial bones, slow growth and a swollen abdomen.

Kristal told the T&T Guardian that they were expected to reach India tomorrow where Haleema and Haleem will undergo surgery at the Fortis Memorial Institute for Allogeneic Transplant in Gurgaon.

Kristal was grateful for the support she received from the public after having to find $400,000 for the surgeries.

In a telephone interview, she said they held prayer sessions for a safe and successful travel and operations.

Even before they left yesterday, relatives were at their Penal home to bring comfort and best wishes.

However, Kristal said Haleema did not know that she will undergo surgery and she will wait for the doctors to explain the situation.

“I want the doctors to explain it to her and maybe she might feel different to how I may put it. I didn’t want to tell her to bring her spirits down. She just thinks we are going to Tobago, so she asked me if I brought her bath suit.

“I’m just frightened because this is the first time we are going through anything like this.

I’m thinking about everything and hoping that it all goes well. It is the first time we’ll be travelling so far and I’m worried about the stress and then it is my two children that will be going through surgery,” Kristal said.

On August 15, Kristal filed a lawsuit challenging the delay by the Authority to consider her application as urgent.

The authority had previously stated that it would take between one and three months to consider.

The board conceded and committed to reviewing the case. The following day, the authority rejected the application, saying that the disorder was not considered a life-threatening illness as required by Section 19(e) of the Act and once managed properly, life expectancy can extend into adulthood.

But with the contributions of both private and corporate citizens, enough money was raised. The family is expected back in Trinidad in three months time.

As the mentally disturbed continues to roam freely in San Fernando, a street dweller had customers and employees scampering for cover when he ran amok at Plaza Montano, smashing glass panels in the process.

Business owners now fear for their safety as it was not the first time that the street dweller acted out violently and has been known to terrorise employees in the stores.

Previously, he caused a commotion along High Street when he beat another homeless man with the metal cover of a trash bin.

Last week Thursday, he walked through the streets naked, causing parents to cover their children’s eyes.

Responding to the outcry by the business community for the homeless crisis to be addressed, San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello said it was a sensitive situation that the San Fernando City Corporation was dealing with.

He said when drastic action is taken, human rights advocate protests, although some of the street dwellers’ actions pose a threat to people and themselves. He said new legislation was needed to remedy homelessness and when this is done, they would need qualified workers to tend to mentally ill street dwellers.

“We will have to do some investigations and seek guidance on how to deal with it because it is definitely getting out of hand now,” Regrello said.

Police reported that around 8.30 am on Monday, the man went to the plaza along High Street with a piece or iron in his hand.

He smashed a glass showcase at Tora’s Cafe before walking to the front of the building and breaking the glass pane at Subway Restaurant.

Plaza security Louis Albarado said the enraged man came around 7.30 am, irritated that someone had stolen his pair of slippers.

Albarado said a vendor selling CDs told the man to go to a nearby booth where he would get a free pair.

However, the man was adamant that he must have his slippers back and began hurling expletives at everyone who passed.

More furious than before, the man smashed the glass at the café, causing the workers to run and then went to Subway. When he was done, he went outside a nearby bank and banged on the glass, but was quickly chased away by another security officer.

Prime Minister Keith Rowley, back from his US medical check-up yesterday, will be answering queries from the public in St Augustine tonight.

Rowley, who had medical checks in the US over the last week, returned at 5.30 am yesterday, the T&T Guardian confirmed.

He’ll host the third segment in Government’s public feedback forum—Conversations with the Prime Minister. Venue is St Augustine Secondary School.

Rowley’s medical involved follow-up to prostate checks he did in Los Angeles last August. Then, he’d returned with a clean bill of health, and advice to check up again within a year.

Rowley left September 1, returning yesterday after a one-day delay, detouring around his initial Miami route due to Hurricane Irma.

Tonight’s forum will likely shed light on Rowley’s US check-up, PNM sources said.

Meanwhile, Communication Minister Maxie Cuffie is progressing daily following his medical episode last week, says his wife Hermia Tyson-Cuffie.

Cuffie, who remains warded at St Clair Medical Centre’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), had surgery last Friday.

His wife added yesterday, “I’m convinced it’s all the prayers he’s receiving that have helped him progress so nicely. Once the doctors and nurses are happy, I’m happy also.”

Also in the ruling party, former chairman and Senate President Dr Linda Baboolal was released from Mt Hope Medical Complex on Monday after undergoing triple by-pass heart surgery last week Wednesday.

Speaking in her usual strong voice, Baboolal said she didn’t have a heart attack but had surgery to prevent possibility, “I’m feeling alright, thank God, everything went well. I’m taking it easy, my daughter’s due home, my son’s doing the cooking and my husband’s at my side.”

The Ministry of Education is being urged to pay almost 500 nursing students who have not been receiving their monthly stipend of $800, for more than a year.

Clad in their uniforms and armed with placards, dozens of students of the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) yesterday staged a mid-morning protest in front the Ministry of Education’s office in Port-of-Spain as they demanded the settlement of outstanding monies.

Advocating on behalf of the students, Stacy Mahabal explained that they embarked on the action after receiving no communication on the issue from the ministry.

Mahabal said, “We want some redress in the matter because it has been over a year. It has been a long time and no one is coming to us to say if we are going to get it, if it would be in portions or anything.”

She said the stipend was important as it enabled students to access the requisite training conducted at the various health centres and hospitals across T&T.

Mahabal added, “It is a necessity because as a full time nursing student, you can not hold down a job.”

President of the T&T Registered Nurses Association (TTRNA), Idi Stuart, who accompanied the student nurses, endorsed their concerns as he said, “I want to reiterate that the students play an important part in nursing, due to the fact that there is a shortage of nurses in all regional health authorities. It is the students that take up the slack, so they actually work alongside the nurses.”

Stuart also claimed that the stipend was small compared to other costs associated with health care.

“A consultant’s salary can pay all these students here.

That is to tell you how minuscule the amount is and yet, they are still unwilling to pay,” he continued.

He if the matter is not addressed by Education Minister Anthony Garcia by today, the students will be joined by nurses for another protest.

Contacted yesterday, Garcia said he was unable to meet with the students as they had already left the ministry prior to his arrival.

He explained that the stipend was originally paid by the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (Costaatt), when it ran the programme in conjunction with the USC.

Garcia said a decision was taken during the latter half of 2016 for his ministry to pick up the slack as Costaatt could no longer afford to shoulder the financial responsibility. He was unable to say if this was because Costaatt had also introduced its own nursing programme.

Another Chinese restaurant being robbed has been caught on tape again and circulated on social media.

This comes in wake of several robberies and other attacks against Chinese nationals over the past few months.

This time the Chinese restaurant in question is located on the Eastern Main Road between Petit Bourg and Mt Hope.

In the video, a gunman is seen entering the restaurant and shortly after he demanded money from one of the restaurant employees seen behind a burglar proofing counter.

The employee then moves his hand around as if he does not know how to open the cash register.

The video does not show the employee taking out money to give the bandit or how the situation ended.

When contacted, a member of the Chinese Association said Chinese restaurant owners were in need of protection.

He did not want to be named for fear of any reprisal attack.

“Yes, I think they need to do something. They (bandits) focus on the Chinese now and they need to find a way to give the Chinese protection. All the criminals focus on the Chinese. They think the Chinese are weak,” he said.

He said that many of the business owners do not report the crimes because they will be targeted.

In an interview, one of the employees said several businesses closed down due to the robberies.

He said seven restaurants along the main road in the Chaguanas area were closed for business over a period of time.

“Seven Chinese closed. It is trouble. Trinidad no good for Chinese. I want them (my family) go back (China),” he said.

Michael Pierre police public information officer said the Chinese nationals were not being targeted.

“I wont say they are targeted, when you look at comparative statistics from year-to-year it does not show an increase of Chinese businessman being robbed. We have to take into consideration we have a wide ethnic groups and they are a small amount and are a minority,” he said.

In an interview, one of the employees said several businesses closed down due to the robberies.

He said seven restaurants along the main road in the Chaguanas area were closed for business over a period of time.

Former leader of the Congress of the People (COP) Prakash Ramadhar yesterday sent a letter to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley asking him to “investigate” the alleged transfer of Assistant Commissioner of Police Ainsley Garrick for failing to take instructions from a “politician” to arrest and charge a police constable with terror-related offences.

The St Augustine MP raised the issue yesterday at a press conference at his Tunapuna office as he called on Rowley to probe what triggered Garrick’s transfer.

Last Sunday, Ramadhar said he became concerned after reading a daily newspaper, which stated that Garrick, who once headed the elite Special Branch unit, had been transferred after he failed to take instructions from a politician to lay charges against a PC who had been absolved of having any link to a terrorist organisation.

The transfer led to Garrick applying for leave with immediate effect.

If the content of the article was true, Ramadhar said, the politician stood accused of misbehaviour in public office and perverting the course of justice.

The letter sent to Rowley was also copied to President Anthony Carmona, Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, chairman of the Integrity Commission Zainool Hosein and head of the Police Complaints Authority David West.

Ramadhar said the country’s rule of law ensuredthat preservation of the independence of its institutions and the separation of powers were important to its democracy.

He said: “No politician in this country should have the authority or belief that they could instruct any officer of the Police Service to lay charges against anyone.”

Calls and text messages were sent to both Williams and Dillon on the matter. However, there was no response up to late yesterday.

Claiming that millions of taxpayers dollars are being used up with no accountabity, Penal Debe Chamber of Commerce president Rampersad Sieuraj yesterday called for corrupt politicians to be jailed.

In his controbution to a pe-budget breakfast forum at Powergen in Penal, Sieuraj said: “No longer are we to say heads must roll. No longer shouldwe accept firing someone as good. It is time that we demand that anyone found guilty of abuse of office, nepotism, corruption . . . lack of transparency and accountability be jailed.

“Yes, start jailing for white colour crimes. Jail the corrupt politicans, police officers . . . “

He asked: “Are you satisfied with the spending of your billions of dollars, for example with the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Education?

“Governments work for no money. They spend my and your money and it is time that we recognise and acknowlege that these people must be held accountable for the state of this country.”

Addressing an audience which included students from Parvati Girls Hindu College and Iere High School, Sieuraj also lashed out at corporate bodies who ignored the chamber’s requests to sponsor the forum.

He praised Scotiabank and Republic Bank for their sponsorship but added: “The other corporate citizens—and if I may say as we have heard in recent times that element of the one per cent population—had not even seen it fit to acknowlege our correspondence. I point out that to all with a level of regret simply because of the fact that I emphasised that our focus here are the students and I thought that our corporate citizens would have seen it necessary to invest in our students and make this thing a success.

Other contributors at the forum included former ministers Bhoendradatt Tewarie and Mariano Browne and economist Vaalmikki Arjoon

The Regulated Industries Commission (RIC) has commenced price reviews for the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) and the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA).

The exercises will focus on the electricity transmission and distribution sector and the water and wastewater sector.

The process will consist of three phases.

The first phase will include the publication and circulation of the RIC document titled Framework and Approach which outlines the process the RIC will follow to conduct the reviews.

This will be accompanied by the publication of the RIC document Information Requirements: Business Plan, which details the information WASA and T&TEC must submit to the RIC for these reviews.

The second phase will commence with the publication and circulation of various consultative documents which will detail the RIC’s views on key areas that inform the review process.

Stakeholders are invited to comment and provide feedback on the documents which will be carefully considered by the RIC.

Pointing out that one key area of concern was the quality of service provided by the utilities, the RIC said it was currently reviewing the existing Quality of Service Scheme (QSS) for T&TEC, and the proposed revisions will address new areas of concern such as the time taken to obtain a new connection.

The RIC is also in the process of establishing a QSS for WASA which will address the provision of a minimum water supply to customers; the time taken to resolve customer complaints; the time taken for new connections to be completed; and the time in which the supply of water is restored after an unplanned interruption.

The third phase will include the publication and circulation of the RIC document “Draft Determination (Rates and Miscellaneous Charges)” after its review of the respective Service Provider Business Plan/Pricing Proposal and the feedback solicited from stakeholders.

Following this, stakeholders will be welcomed to comment and provide their feedback on this crucial document.

This phase will also include face-to-face public consultation sessions between the RIC and various stakeholders.

The RIC will conclude the process by publishing and circulating the RIC documents . The review process for both utilities is expected to be completed by mid-2018.

The document can be accessed on the RIC's website.

Government has agreed to put a moratorium on retrenchment in the public sector until December 31.

This was agreed to yesterday by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley following a three-hour long meeting with the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), led by Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union president general Ancel Roget at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.

Among the trade unions attending the marathon talks with the PM were leaders of the Communications Workers' Union, National Union of Government and Federated Workers and the Public Services Association.

Addressing the media following the meeting, Roget said the unions had initially left the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC) because they were not satisfied with the way “mass retrenchments” were taking place in the private and public sectors within the last two years.

Coming out of the meeting, Roget said the most pressing issue that was discussed was that “we should have a moratorium on retrenchment if we should return to NTAC. The Prime Minister agreed that his Government will place a moratorium on all retrenchment until December 31 of this year.”

Roget said the moratorium applies to “everything under the Government’s control,” as he did not want anyone to have a Christmas knowing that their jobs were hanging over the heads.

He said following December 31, any "new retrenchment" that is contemplated will be brought to the level of NTAC for discussions.

“It’s not that NTAC will make the decisions, but it will be brought before NTAC to give at least the tripartite body, of which labour is a part, an opportunity to make some input and to point the way forward in the absence what they perhaps did not consider before.”

If Government should break their promise, Roget said it would be “war and all hell will break loose.”

Asked if the PM’s agreement was genuine or this was just done to appease the unions on the eve of the 2018 budget, Roget said, “We who put that on the table, we had an issue with that because we were saying that while we were discussing at the level of NTAC they were sending people home, which we have a serious problem with.”

Another issue that was brought to the fore, Roget said, was the amendment of the Retrenchment and Severance Benefit Act and the Company’s Act, which will now be brought urgently to the Parliament agenda.

Roget also wants the unions to be more accessible to the Recognition and Certification Board. This will allow workers in the country to get representation by unions, he said.

He said the unions will also now work in harmony to make NTAC more meaningful and to have a clear mandate.

Roget said another problem the unions were having was that they were unable to meet line ministers.

“And in some instances the discussions were not meaningful. Their commitment just was not there. Therefore, we got a commitment from the Prime Minister and information that those ministers were communicated to and instructed that they should meet with the labour movement,” Roget said.

Roget said he would see how this will play out going forward. He said their discussions were not hinged on outstanding arrears but said it was “disrespectful” to owe workers money and not talk about it. The issue of Petrotrin was not discussed, Roget said.

PUBLIC SERVICE BY NUMBERS

39,000 public servants
16,000 teachers
7,000 police
2,000 fire officers
5,500 defense force
22,000 daily paid

A 38-year-old man was murdered in Laventille yesterday afternoon, while his 71-year-old neighbour is now warded in a critical condition after being hit by a stray bullet.

According to police reports, around 5 pm yesterday residents of Wharton Street Extension heard gunshots and later found the body of Corey Williams on the roadway. Williams’ neighbour Melville Rawlins was shot and was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he remains warded. Williams’ killing took the murder toll to 343 for the year.

Meanwhile, a 27-year-old man who was shot in the head three years ago died on Saturday due to complications affiliated to his injury.

According to police reports, Mikhail James died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital after he was taken thereafter suffering multiple seizures at home. James was shot in the head on May 28, 2014. He survived but remained hospitalised for months.

James, who was cared for at home by his wife Onika James, was the father of eight and six-year-old boys. His autopsy showed he died from asphyxiation related to the seizures caused by the bullet lodged in his head.

James, in a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, said her husband was left paralysed on the left side of his body following the shooting. It was late last year near her birthday that he began speaking and was recovering, she said, adding she was hopeful for her husband’s recovery.

James said she is now taking it “one day at a time” as she now has to care for her two sons, but said she was doubtful she will get justice for her husband's death.

A Morvant couple will appear in court today charged with murdering ex-National Museum curator Dr Claire Broadbridge at her Fondes Amandes, St Ann's home on September 2.

John Smith, a 34 year-old joiner and his 32 year-old common law wife Virginia Nedd, of Seales Avenue, were charged yesterday evening.

The 80-year-old Broadbridge was found bound, stabbed repeatedly and her throat slashed at her home. After killing her, her attacker/s attempted to torch her home by setting fire to furniture, which alerted neighbours who called the Fire Service. The fire officials found the woman’s lifeless body in her bedroom.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Broadbridge's son Stephen said he hopes the evidence gathered by the police is enough to successfully prosecute the case. He said he was very disappointed in some of his mother’s neighbours who failed to hand over video footage that may have assisted police with their investigations.

Broadbridge has been very critical of what he called the lack of testicular fortitude of the citizens to stand up against crime.

In an unrelated matter, a 26-year-old Charlieville man is now assisting police with their investigations into the stabbing death of Dominican Republic national Esther Rodriguez on Monday night.

The man, who claimed he loved the hotel worker, allegedly claimed he was attacked by the woman over his non-payment of a $1000 loan. Police said a resident was crossing the Assaraff Road, Charlieville walkover around 10.30 pm Monday when he saw Rodriguez's body on the southern side.

The man stopped a nearby Highway Patrol vehicle and the officers cordoned off the scene.

The August 2017 Petrotrin internal audit report on the alleged "fake oil" issue wasn't officially sent to the Energy Ministry, Permanent Secretary Selwyn Lashley has said.

Lashley yesterday also told Parliament's Public Accounts Committee that the report - now in the public domain - has more details than what was sent to the ministry on the issue.

PAC chairman Dr Bhoe Tewarie questioned Lashley on the issue when Energy officials appeared before the committee.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar recently gave details of the August 2017 report by Petrotrin, which alleged lease operator A&V Drilling Workover Ltd had inflated its oil production figures and defrauded Petrotrin of almost $100 million. The report also alleged “wilful misconduct” by a Petrotrin employee over January to June 2017. The stint coincided with the period of inflated oil production figures. Government confirmed the employee was screened by its ruling party as a 2015 general election candidate. The matter's now under probe.

Tewarie yesterday requested expediting the expected report.

Lashley said, "These are serious issues, we must recognise there are processes to follow - due process. I don't think an inordinate amount of time will elapse before submission of a report."

Tewarie said if the report "is in alignment with any future report on the matter," the Inland Revenue Board must audit the company which under-supplied Petrotrin and was overpaid.

Lashley said the report in the public domain was yet to come to the ministry officially and he hadn't seen it there.

He said, however, that Petrotrin had sent the ministry a preliminary report, indicating concern about overpaying and under-supplying aspects under probe by its Internal Audit Division. He said Petrotrin's president indicated a matter was being investigated. Expectation was that at completion something would officially come to the ministry from Petrotrin.

"On that basis, we'd have investigated it," he added.

Lashley couldn't speculate why it hadn't come to the ministry. On how the matter would have been handled, he said the ministry would have production returns sent by Petrotrin and would have examined production trends. Any audit report would be sent to Energy's Measurement Division to determine "quantum issues, parties involved, who signed off on what and we'd query to see of there was lack of accuracy."

When a final report is done, Lashley - who also sits on Petrotrin's board - said there's no conflict of interest between that post and his PS job. He said the PS's role is regulatory and there are processes to prevent conflict of interest.

The employee named in a Petrotrin internal audit report alleging close to $80 million in overpayments to operator A&V Oil and Gas Limited for oil it never supplied, is also a director on a state board.

The employee, who unsuccessfully contested a seat for the ruling People's National Movement in a general election, was one of two defeated candidates to be appointed to the board.

At a news conference earlier this week, Energy Minister Franklin Khan admitted he was part of the committee which screened the man as a candidate, but made no mention of his position on the state board. Khan could not be reached for comment on the issue yesterday.

Yesterday, however, vice president of the Contractors and General Workers Union Joseph Phillip, the union which represents workers at the state company where the man is a board member, said while the union is looking at what is going on but "cannot protest or reject anyone.”

The Petrotrin employee is remaining mum on allegations in the audit, which point to fraudulent activity in the Catshill Field for at least six months. That period coincides with the employee's stint as a crude procurement specialist responsible for fiscalisation of the crude from the field. It was also noted he was a regular visitor to the operator’s head office "although his job did not require him to do so.”

The audit report, signed by Petrotrin’s chief audit executive Rajkumar Bissessar, noted “many anomalies” in the sales tickers signed off by the employee.

"There were many instances where the volumes of crude specified in the sales ticket could not be pumped in the stipulated time frame, given the available pump flow rate,” the report stated.

It said there were times when the employee was not present at the Catshill location when the fiscalisation was being done, which meant he signed the sales tickets after the fact and accepted the figures specified by the operator. It also said he was present for very short periods of time when high gauges were being taken and therefore could not have been present for the entire fiscalisation process, which if done properly can take 30 minutes.

The employee was removed as crude procurement specialist in July. There has been increased oversight on Catshill since July and production has decreased significantly.

Figures for July 1-12 showed a daily average of 3,589 barrels per day, but the amount dropped significantly from July 13-31 to 1,369 barrels—the same amount recorded for August 1-10. The shortage reported for July was 36,302 barrels, down from 111, 006 barrels in June.

The internal audit team said it expected the figure to go down even further from August, the first complete month since the employee's removal as the crude procurement specialist at Catshill.

According to the report, this resulted in Petrotrin overstating its crude oil production and sending inaccurate well test and production information to the Ministry of Energy.

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon is refuting claims that there are some 40,000 legal and illegal Venezuelans in this country.

The issue was one of many which was discussed when stakeholders met at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine on Tuesday to examine the crisis facing Venezuela.

But Dillon, who spoke to members of the media at yesterday’s public symposium held by the Joint Select Committee on National Security, said there was no empirical evidence to support this.

Saying the last estimate by the Immigration Division was done in July this year Dillon said, “Based on figures from the Immigration Department it is not the same figure I have. Over the years we have been monitoring the number of Venezuelans both coming in and out of T&T.

“From the early part of this year there has been a decrease in the number of Venezuelans coming to T&T from over the last three years or so.”

Pressed what was the figure complied by the National Security Ministry Dillon said he preferred not to say, adding it was “ not near 40,000.”

He said what remained a challenge was illegal immigrants who continuously found their way into T&T via unmanned ports of entry especially along the coastal areas.

But he said increase combined efforts by the T&T Coast Guard and Police Service in rural areas, “from Icacos to Moruga” and along the North Coast acted as a deterrent to those wanting to gain illegal entry.

“We have also re-establish bilateral cooperation with the Venezuelan authority so there is direct communication between the Commanding Officer of the T&T Coast Guard and the Commanding Officers of the Guardia Nacional.

“There is also direct communication even in terms of coordinated patrols especially in the Gulf of Paria,” Dillon said.

On whether illegal Venezuelans could be a threat to national security in terms of fuelling the illegal arms and narco trade and human trafficking Dillon said this was also difficult to prove unless presented with empirical evidence.

“We cannot suggest that the majority of people coming in illegally commit crime...I am not saying that they are not because we do have people that are both incarcerated and in the immigration centre.

“But from a security stand point we are looking at that. It is something that is on our radar,” the minister said.

He added there were illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, China, Ghana and Nigeria also entering T&T.