For the second time in a little over a year, a former national scholarship winner, accused of failing to return to T&T after completing his studies in medicine to perform mandatory national service, has been ordered to repay the $3 million expended by the State on his education.

Delivering a judgment in the Port-of-Spain High Court on Monday, Justice Nadia Kangaloo ruled against Dr Ryan Wellington.

Kangaloo had granted a similar order against Wellington in March last year after he failed to file a defence against the claim filed by the Ministry of Education. However, the Court of Appeal overruled her and reverted the case to her for a trial.

In its lawsuit, the ministry claimed that he owed $1,734,994.30 which represented the total money expended by the Government for his tuition and living expenses and $1,328,764.64 in interest calculated at the rate of 7.75 per cent from the date of his graduation.

During the trial of the case in January, Wellington claimed that after writing his final exams at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in May 2009, he wrote the Ministry of Public Administration, which then managed the Government scholarship programme.

He said that he received no response and after several months he decided to contact the ministry via telephone. Wellington claimed that he was informed that he could not be offered a job as he had not immediately returned to T&T upon the completion of his degree.

Wellington said after graduating, he married a classmate and accepted a position at the same hospital in Ireland that she was working at. In 2012, Wellington and his wife migrated to Australia, where he is currently specialising in paediatrics.

Questioned by the ministry's lawyers Wellington admitted that he was informed by the ministry's representatives that they had not received his earlier letter and failed to resend the document.

Pressed on whether the undelivered letter stated that he was ready and willing to return to T&T to complete his contractual obligation of mandatory Government service, Wellington admitted it did not.

Wellington was represented by Ravi Heffes-Doon and Andre Rudder, while Lesley-Ann Lucky-Samaroo represented the ministry.

The chairman of the T&T Transparency Institute (TTTI) Dion Abdool on Monday declined an invitation from the National Infrastructure Development Company Limited (NIDCO) to review the tender documents for the Churchill Roosevelt Highway Extension to Manzanilla Project (CRHEM).

Contacted for comment, Abdool said the inspection of NIDCO tender documents was not the role of the TTTI.

"What we had asked for was disclosure of the process. A review of the tender documents is not our role. That is the role of an expert.

"We didn't cast blame on anyone. It was a cordial conversation with NIDCO," Abdool said.

Nidco recently awarded a $400 million contract to Kallco for phase one of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway Extension to Manzanilla.

NIDCO had said it was wrong for the TTTI to claim there was no procurement legislation in place and noted its tender and procurement policies were strictly followed in the award of the contract.

"It is most unfortunate the TTTI would have put out a statement commenting on a tender and evaluation process that it had no factual knowledge of, save, it appears, what may have been carried in the media," NIDCO had said.

NIDCO then invited the TTTI’s chairman to a meeting at 10 am on Monday to review the procurement process used for the tendering, evaluation and awarding of that contract.

In a statement issued on Monday, NIDCO said: "It is most unfortunate the TTTI has missed this opportunity to see for itself the defined procurement process used for all of NIDCO’s projects, particularly the CRHEM project. NIDCO refutes any speculation and defamatory opinions that may have been caused by the statement released without due diligence by TTTI, for the CRHEM project, as well as future NIDCO projects," the statement said.

It added that employees, management and board of directors of NIDCO have" all been working assiduously" to create a high performance organisation, where integrity and ethics matter.

"However irresponsible comments made by the TTTI may have damaging effects on the morale and reputation of NIDCO’s staff.

"NIDCO stands committed to its mandate from the Government of T&T and continues to work towards the increase of the infrastructural value of our nation," the statement said.

A Carrera Island prison escapee who spent 25 months on the run was killed by police during a shootout on Monday.

According to police reports, Leroy “Redo” Mohammed was spotted in the Chaguanas area and identified as an escapee.

Police said they went to a house at Chase Village, Chaguanas around 7 pm after they were tipped off.

Officers said when they arrived Mohammed opened fire and tried to run away into some bushes.

The lawmen returned fire fatally wounding Mohammed who was pronounced dead moments after arriving at the Chaguanas Health Facility.

Police said they received reports that Mohammed, 36, had been hiding out in Diego Martin but recently moved into the Chaguanas area.

Mohammed was shot once in the neck by police prior to Monday's incident.

He escaped from prison in 2003 but was re-arrested sometime later and convicted in 2009 for robbing a police inspector and patrons at a bar in 2001.

Mohammed, originally from Gasparillo, escaped in 2015 with cellmate Steve Mc Gilvery on August 31.

Mc Gilvery was serving a 30-year sentence for kidnapping and manslaughter in the abduction and death of Samdaye Rampersad. He was recaptured on July 21, after being shot by police in his hometown of Sea Lots.

The escape of the men took place less than two months after the daring escape from the Frederick Street prison of Allan “Scanny” Martin, Hassan Atwell and Christopher “Monster” Selby.

Martin was shot dead after being cornered at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital while Atwell was murdered as he sought refuge in East Port-of-Spain. Police officer Sherman Maynard was shot dead during the jailbreak.

Selby later surrendered to police. There are ongoing prison probes into both escapes.

A priest and two police officers have been called to repudiate the evidence of a former murder accused who admitted to framing 10 men for the murder of the brother of drug kingpin Dole Chadee, almost a decade after they were convicted.

Appellate Judges Alice Yorke-Soo Hon, Rajendra Narine and Prakash Moosai gave State prosecutors permission to call the witness yesterday at the close of the appeal of the men serving life sentences for murdering Thackoor Boodram in 1997.

Addressing the fact that Junior Grandison failed to attend the appeal to testify over his statutory declaration given in 2011, Travers Sinanan said the State should be granted permission to bring the witnesses to challenge Grandison's claim that he lied during the group's first trial.

The witnesses are — Father Allan Ventour, who spoke with Grandison before he recanted his evidence, retired ACP David Nedd and retired Senior Supt Fitzroy Frederick, who both interacted with Grandison during the police investigation.

The application was opposed by both the appeal panel and the group's attorneys.

"They have done absolutely nothing over the past three years," British Queen's Counsel Edward Fitzgerald said as he questioned why the witnesses were not brought to court when evidence was being heard over the past two weeks.

The appeal panel appeared to agree. Yorke-Soo Hon said: "Why is it at the last minute that you have now come to ask us about rebuttal evidence. We all knew he (Grandison) was not here but we have to work with what we have."

Sinanan said the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had obtained statements from the witnesses between 2013 and last year but had decided not to use them in the appeal in the hope that Grandison would have attended court and be cross-examined.

Sinanan also called upon the court to listen to the witnesses as the only evidence in the case was Grandison's statement and recorded telephone conversations between Grandison and accused man Michael "Rat" Maharaj, which he claimed was hearsay.

In granting Sinanan permission, judges said it was in the interest of justice to get all the assistance they could before making their decision.

The witnesses are expected to testify between November 6 and 9.

About the case

Boodram, a pig farmer, was kidnapped from his home at Spring Village on December 20, 1997.

A ransom was demanded by his abductors, but 10 days later his head was found in a whiskey box at the Caroni Cremation Site.

Michael “Rat” Maharaj, Samuel Maharaj, Damian Ramiah, Bobby Ramiah, Seenath Ramiah, Daniel Gopaul, Richard Huggins, Leslie Huggins, Mark Jaikaran and Junior Phillip were convicted in August 2001.

Their appeals to the Court of Appeal and Privy Council were rejected, but the latter commuted their death sentences to life imprisonment as there had been delays in hearing their cases.

Six small casino owners have decided to immediately close down their businesses and send home their workers due to the announcement of an increase in gaming taxes by Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

This was just one of the major fallouts yesterday in the wake of Imbert’s announcement during Monday’s budget.

Some international casino operators are also threatening to pull out of T&T if there is no change in the tax, while some large local casino operators are also weighing downsizing operations.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian yesterday, T&T Members Club Association (TTMCA) president Sherry Persad said some of the decisions were made during a two-hour emergency meeting casino owners held yesterday.

“Based on our meeting at least six small clubs expressed closure. Termination of workers can reach in the thousands by year’s end in light of the implementation of the increase of taxes from January 2018,” Persad said.

Noting the gaming industry hired over 9,000 people directly and 30,000 indirectly, Persad said members felt the punitive taxes unilaterally imposed on the industry were unfair.

“Discussions will begin with the Union of Members’ Clubs and Lottery Workers (UMCLW) about the staffing implications of the taxes and provide counselling support where possible,” Persad said.

She disclosed they will also seek legal advice on how to challenge the taxes.

UMCLW vice president Sean Clarke said the majority of the 9,000 employees in the industry were single mothers who also have limited education and live in poor communities. He also noted the industry had created indirect jobs for over 30,000 people, including taxi drivers, caterers, decorators, florists, air condition and refrigeration personnel, security guards and local entertainers and musicians year round.

Clarke said the union strongly disagrees with and rejects the imposing of a tax of over 100 per cent.

“It is because of our expertise in this industry we strongly disagree. The last time the industry was taxed without fit and proper consultations, it resulted in the contraction of the industry and the loss of jobs,” Clarke said.

“The Government must understand that the problems of the present economic crisis cannot be solved by unreasonably taxing the gaming industry, which will led to its death. Its workers cannot be singled out and targeted by the Government to solve the national finances.”

Maxine Gonzales, the sole breadwinner of her household, has been working in the industry for the past 11 years and has been taking home a minimum of $3800 a month. She now fears her job may be on the line.

“I stand on my own two feet and make an honest dollar. Now what might happen is that I may have to lie on my back to make that dollar… is that what the Minister is telling us to do by this tax?” she asked.

“The owners of these clubs will not be the ones to suffer, but they will now look at cutting costs by getting rid of workers. Minimum wage not going up but taxes going up and we are the ones being affected in all aspects of our lives.”

She added: “I am already stressed. How am I going to survive on a salary like this and with a falling economy? What I used to make in a day I am not even making it in a week. Now jobs are at stake.”

The TTMCA yesterday also sent letters to Imbert and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley seeking a meeting to discuss the taxes and their implications on the industry.

They will also send letters to the Joint Select Committee of Parliament requesting to be reheard on the issues of the proposed legislation and taxation measures for the industry, given the new taxes in the Budget. The TTMCA also sent a letter to Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar requesting they withhold their support for the Gambling Bill (2016) pending a comprehensive review of the taxes announced in the 2017/18 Budget. See Editorial on Page A18.

As Finance Minister Colm Imbert presented the 2017/2018 $50.5 billion budget on Monday, a single parent sat in her Debe home cringing at every tax and increase announced.

The reality of what impact the budget will have on her quality of life has not yet taken effect, but Donna Ramcharan admits she is scared.

“I am scared because things so hard already. What am I going to do because things will go up? Once fuel prices go up, groceries, transport all those things will go up,” Ramcharan, 45, said at her Pundit Trace home yesterday.

She is a mother of five, three adults and two minors aged 15 and six. Four of her children, her son in law and four-year-old granddaughter live with her.

Due to an injury to her back, a curved spin coupled with arthritis, she only works on a Sunday frying doubles, aloe pies and other delicacies at a Debe food hut for $150. With only one other person employed in the house, she feels the brunt of having to provide for her family, pay the utility bills and send her children to school.

Unable to buy monthly or weekly groceries with her small wages, Ramcharan only buys basic necessities when they run out.

“I don’t buy one place. I go different groceries where there are different prices. I buy where I get the cheapest prices. I just buy the basics because things so expensive and how I not really working. Anything I see on special I will buy that and I will use it out depending on the expiry date.”

She said she has not yet bought all the school books for her teenage son and it costs $10 a day in travelling to send him to school.

“The other day a driver took $7 from my son. I told him don’t pay that because it is $5, but now the taxis already say they going to raise the fare because fuel gone up and the taxes they will now have to pay.”

Luckily, her daughter’s school is nearby so she walks there.

Recalling that she did not receive a WASA bill in a few months, Ramcharan said when they did send a bill it was for $1,150.

“I went to them and ask if I could pay on terms. I still owing them though. They will cut me if I don’t pay it,” she said.

“I really feeling frustrated. I feel the Finance Minister could have done better than that. He should have study the people as things already raise so much.”

Ramcharan said most days she is left with barely any extra money.

“My son in law and son not working right now because things slow in the construction. My big boy got eight subjects and did electrical engineering but he can’t get a job. Right now he is working at a club on Saturdays and Sundays,” she lamented.

The single mother said for more than five years, “little by little” she has been trying to refurbish her home.

“Recently, when Hurricane Bret pass we get flooded out. We lost a lot of things, beds, fan, TV, microwave and clothes stuff. We got no compensation,” said Ramcharan.

She applied for social welfare but was rejected because she works on a Sunday.

“I don’t think that is fair, but someone told me to reapply. I will try because it is not that I am not willing to work I just can’t because of my back,” she said.

Monday’s cut in the fuel subsidy will see Government saving $550 million.

This was revealed by Finance Minister Colm Imbert yesterday following the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s annual Post-Budget Analysis Meeting with the business community at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain.

With the price of super gasoline moving from $3.58 to $3.97 per litre and diesel increasing from $2.30 to $3.40 per litre at the pumps with immediate effect, Imbert was asked how much money Government expected to save having steadily removed the subsidy over continuous budgets.

“That is going to give us about $550 million with the changes in fuel prices. This is a significant amount,” Imbert said.

He said the $550 million which Government will save in its coffers will be for fiscal 2018. He said in 2017 Government had spent about $800 million in fuel subsidy, but when they came into office in 2015 the fuel subsidy was approximately “$1.5 billion.”

With the two decreases in the fuel subsidy in the last few months, Imbert said the figure had dropped to a staggering $800 million.

“Now it will go to zero. So the total savings over the last two years is about $1.5 billion.”

In delivering the feature address at the meeting, Imbert admitted that the removal of the subsidy will no doubt affect the ordinary man.

“It will increase the cost of transportation and that will find its way into the cost of goods and services. But we felt that we could not continue with two subsidised motor fuels to the extent that we had in the past.”

Noting that in 2014 the fuel subsidy had reached $7 billion, Imbert said, “If you look at that very carefully, what is a better use for that $7 billion?”

Answering his own question, he said $7 billion could be better used to stimulate the economy through incentivised programmes or provide help for the poor and vulnerable.

“We felt that over time we had to remove the fuel subsidy.”

An increase in fuel is almost guaranteed to lead to a hike in food prices and several families, including single parents, have said the road ahead will be difficult. Some said yesterday there is already very little they could cut back on as only the basics could be afforded.

During the 2017/2018 Budget on Monday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert raised the price of super gasoline to $3.97 per litre and diesel to $3.41 per litre. This came following price hikes on super and premium fuel the previous year.

These increases, supermarket owners predicted, will lead to an increase in transportation prices, including on the delivery of goods, yet again.

Gail Grant, floor manager at Back to Basics supermarket at Independence Square, Port-of-Spain, said prices of grocery items would therefore have to be adjusted.

“With the last increase in fuel the cost of delivery went up and with yet another price increase in fuel we expect delivery to increase again... no two ways about it, because everything is a cost and delivery is no exception. The last time we had to adjust our prices and this time we expect to do the same,” Grant said.

She said Back to Basics caters to mostly lower income families and does not carry premium brands, but said for some families buying such items is still a challenge.

“We carry mostly local brands... nothing high end and the people who shop here buy basic items...rice, milk, flour, cheese, flour,” Grant said.

Kendell Joseph, 38, from Sea Lots, survives on $480 a month from his food card. Joseph was injured five years ago on the job and to date suffers from a pinched nerve, resulting in him walking with a cane. To add to his woes, the company’s owner sold his business and he got no compensation. The groceries Joseph is able to buy with his food card also have to feed his 65-year-old mother.

“I buy what I need. If I have to buy anything for myself and can afford it is cheese balls for $16.50...it is not one of brand name ones,” Joseph said.

“When I pick up a block of cheese I have to look at the price first and see how that could stretch for the month. Sometimes I leave out the cheese. If price increase again I don’t know how I will make out because there is nothing I could cut down on....I buy two small Trinidad Fresh can juice, mix that with water and stretch that for the month.”

Pensioner Edna Salvary, from Morvant, who was buying minced beef worth $14, complained about the “little bit” she received.

“My God...things real hard...look at the little bit of mince meat. I have to pay for rent, water, lights, Flow and try to eat properly with my $3,500 pension,” Salvary said.

One Belmont single mother of an eight month-old baby and 11-year-old in primary school said she spends close to $2,200 at the grocery each month, adding that the cost of pampers and baby formula are expensive.

“Sometimes I try to go by the wholesalers and buy a cheaper brand of pampers because if there is another price hike I cannot afford to buy the good brand at all. I try my best to make sure my son eat properly because just now he writing SEA, but I try to make the food last too,” the CEPEP worker said.

“Peleau would last two days and whatever I cook like rice and stew chicken I try to make it last two days...so how much more I go cut down again? Things like KFC I don’t but it so often... is only when I could afford it. Sometimes I eat Crix and drink a cup of tea and I have to be contented.”

But pensioner Erma Ruth Peters said she supported the increase in fuel, saying Government had to earn income to keep the country afloat.

“Is all right if fuel goes up. They putting all kinds of things in their bodies like rum that is not good for them,” Peters said.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert says he’ll soon be explaining his hint in the 2018 Budget about self-employed professionals needing to pay their “fair share” of taxes.

In Imbert’s Budget delivery on Monday, he said Government’s tax reform strategy involves major improvements in tax administration.

“We must ensure everyone pays his/her rightful share , not only the easily identified wage earner. The self- employed professionals need to pay their fair share and businesses need to ensure they collect and hand over Value -Added taxes,” Imbert said.

“In this context Government plans to review the tax incentive regime to ensure there are no companies still receiving incentives which should have expired or are no longer required.”

Since the Budget speech didn’t give measures to have the self-employed pay up, TTG asked Imbert yesterday if measures concerning that group are ahead or by the April mid-year review.

Imbert said, “ I’ll explain in due course.”

He was similarly cryptic in reply when asked if Government had plans to prevent banks and businesses from passing on to the public, the taxes those sectors are to pay listed in the Budget (35 percent tax bracket for banks, 30 percent for companies).

Imbert in the Budget had warned that decline in T&T’s reserves cannot continue unabated, “As a country, we’re currently spending far more on imports than we earn from exports - untenable.”

“Until and unless we change our taste for foreign goods, our exchange rate will continue to be under severe pressure and additional steps will have to be taken to dampen our appetites for imports.”

Imbert made it clear he wasn’t heeding Big Business’ advice to let the TT dollar drop so TT goods become cheaper than other regional states’, “ As a Government we cannot be driven only by requests of big business. We must consider all social and economic impacts of a devaluation and not make hasty decisions,...We must consider the needs of the poor and vulnerable and the effect on inflation of an exchange rate change.”

Meanwhile among Ministries where decreases in 2018 recurrent expenditure occurred was National Security which obtained second highest allocation this year compared to 2017 when it had the highest.

The Ministry received $3.6b in 2017 and $3.3b for 2018.

Allocation for NS for payments to estates of servicepeople killed in duty was cut from $4m to $3m. Development plans for NS included $80m for construction of a National Operations Centre.

Other recurrent expenditure decreases were listed for nine other Ministries.

Recurrent expenditure was also decreased ($195,000) for the Opposition Leader’s Office.

There was an increase for the Prime Minister’s Office for expenditure - for the National Security Council, commissions, committees - from $28m in 2017 to $43,250m in 2018.

The Integrity Commission will also have less money to contract services in 2018 - its 2017 level of $500,000 was cut to $313,400. Decreases are also listed for the Elections and Boundaries Commission.

However Local Government corporations all received the same allocations as 2017.

75M CUT TO LOCAL GOVT CEPEP EXPEND

Recurrent expenditure for the CEPEP programme in the Rural Development/Local Government Ministry was cut by $75m for 2018 according to Budget documents.

It was cut from $423m in 2017 to $350m 2018.

• 24 hour Chaguaramas Development Authority police headquarters post at retrofitted Base building to respond to incidents; emergency medical centre , welcome centre, mini museum also planned

• $223m in Development plans for redevelopment of POS General Hospital; second operating theatre for POSGH; upgrade of San F’do Hospital labour ward.

• $70m for Finance for special audits and state enterprise divestment.

• $16m startup for new “Tourism Trinidad” - destination management company

• $900,000 startup to establish Quarries Authority.

• $93,300,000 increase in recurrent expenditure in Works - for the Port ‘s deficit on coastal steamers - over 2017 figure of $265,500,000

• $1.5m for new plan to address illegal unreported/unregulated fishing around TT ports/waters.

• Golden Grove (Buccoo) company concerning the Sandals plan shifted from Finance to the Prime Minister’s office .

• Automatic system for approval of construction permits.

• $24m refurbishment of Hernandez Place, Arima for socially displaced over age 55 years.

Government ministers have taken a five per cent pay cut.

The measure was instituted by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley last year, which Finance Minister revealed to the media yesterday, following a T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce annual post-budget analysis meeting with the business sector at the Hyatt Regency Port-of-Spain.

In fielding questions from the media, Imbert was asked what sacrifices Government ministers were making, one day after he called on the national community in his 2018 budget presentation to share in the burden of adjustments.

“There is something that we have not publicised. The Cabinet took a five per cent pay cut last year because we were mandated by the Prime Minister to take five per cent of our salaries and give it to charity. We have all been doing that but we did not publicised it. Perhaps we should have.”

Every month, Imbert said he gives $2,000 from his salary.

“And that is on gross. That is not after tax….that is before tax. I give $2,000 a month in various charities to my constituency and all of us were mandated to do that. So we have been sacrificing for quite a while.”

Imbert also warned that 2018 will be a “make or break year” for T&T.

He said even though Government has brought down expenditure from $63 billion to $50 billion, “it is far more than our revenue because we earn between $35 to $37 billion in revenue,” which has resulted in a huge gap between revenue and expenditure.

Imbert stated that T&T has to get out of the deficit budget syndrome by allowing the economy to grow.

“We are living in a false bubble thinking that this pattern of expenditure could continue. It just can’t.”

Some private medical institutions are yet to decide whether the increase in licence fees for the institutions announced in the 2017-2018 Budget by Finance Minister Colm Imbert will be passed on to patients.

Owners of two facilities who spoke with the T&T Guardian had different views. One was sure “there will be no fee increase for patients,” while another said, “we will have no choice.”

Founder of the Southern Medical Centre, Dr Rupert Indar said as far as he understood “it is a one-off fee per year and we have to do what we have to do to run our business. We will pay the tax but there will be no increase at my facility.”

Given the number of beds at the Southern Medical Centre, he said, “we will end up paying $100,000 a year, which is something we have to do.”

He estimates that with about 10 private medical institutions in the country the minister “may collect about $1.5 to $2 million a year from the measure.”

Indar said the Minister should “go further and not just target private medical institutions.”

He said, “there are a number of little clinics and places that run ultrasound and CT Scans, there are also a number of private MRI centres in Port-of-Spain, if they taxing private institutions they should tax all private places because they also operate under a licence.”

Dr Mahesh Kumar a director at the Barrackpore Medical Centre and Private Hospital said the “almost two thousand per cent increase in the licence fee was unreasonable.”

He said the facility which he runs is “in a rural area and we are not centralised like those in the heart of San Fernando or Port-of-Spain, so we will definitely be negatively affected.”

The facility has a total of 25 beds and the fee moves from $150 a year to $25,000. He is still hoping that “Government will find a way to reduce it, if that can happen we will appreciate it.”

Kumar said running a medical facility “comes with high overheads. We have to pay medical staff, nurses, doctors, pharmacists, cleaners wardsmaids, maintenance all of these things, so there may be no choice but to pass on the cost to the clientele.”

This, he said, would be “discretionary,” depending on the patients.

Proposed increase

Less than 30 beds $25,00 per year

30 beds but less than 60 beds $50,000 per year

60 beds and over $100,000 per year.

Hospitals for the convalescent or chronically ill, homes for the elderly or a hospital for any designated disease or specified disease or disorder or illness are exempt from the increased fees. These institutions will continue to pay $150 a year.

Members of the travelling public will soon feel the effects of the shutdown of operations at the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) San Fernando garage by workers over the past five days over health and safety concerns.

Workers at the multi-service facility downed tools last Friday after their colleague Adeel Mohammed, 24, suffered a broken leg after he was struck by a bus which was being repaired on the compound. Mohammed is still warded at the San Fernando General Hospital.

On Tuesday, PTSC’s general manager Ronald Forde met with workers at the facility promising that their issues will be addressed. However, Transport and Industrial Workers’ Trade Union San Fernando-branch secretary Ryan Ramdath said the consensus among the workers is that they do not feel comfortable working in an unsafe environment.

He said for the past two years the union has been clambering for safety precautions and measures to be implemented at the garage at which roughly 100 workers are employed.

Recalling that recently a worker was gunned down in front of the garage at Kings Wharf, Ramdath said they have been asking for a proper lighting system, that the compound is pressure-washed because it is contaminated with oil and grease and a health and safety officer. He said they also need a proper fence as thieves would sneak into the compound and steal batteries and other things. He said if they had sufficient checks for the buses Friday’s incident may not have happened. Ramdath complained that there are over 200 buses on the road and all are defective because they belong to an ageing fleet.

“We are pleading with the government to also provide proper parts. One of the reasons the bus rolled forward (on Friday) is that the braking system was compromised. Drivers take these buses with these defects to work on the road and if the brakes fail on us, we have at least 35 lives in the smaller bus and more than 150 lives in the bigger bus, in our hands,” said Ramdath. He said the last time a fleet was purchased was in 2009.

Speaking with T&T Guardian following the meeting, Forde said, “Any accident is one too much, we try our best not to have these accidents in the workplace. We hear the concerns of the union and the employees. I spent a half day with them to ensure that we get it right, we put new systems in place and put checks and balances in place to ensure that these things don’t occur.”

Forde said currently there were some 50 buses in need of repairs and not working in San Fernando which will have an impact on the travelling public “in terms of shortages and scheduling.”

Forde said 35 new buses were expected in March 2018 and he was hopeful money will be allocated from the Budget towards purchasing additional buses.

“We expect to have two sets of new buses coming in 2018 as long as we get the funding they promised in the Budget,” said Forde. Assuring that the issues raised by the workers will be addressed as soon as possible, Forde said a joint committee of the union and management will also be set up to establish a standard operating procedure in San Fernando.

Shortly after school was dismissed at a primary school in Siparia on Monday, a fire gutted the Standard Five classrooms.

No one was injured. However, the school, Siparia Union Presbyterian Primary has been closed until further notice. The incident has triggered concerns by the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) and parents on whether the school is safe for occupation.

Parent Teachers Association's president (PTA) Reard Niamath said around 3.10 pm fire broke out on the upper floor of a building which houses three Standard Five classrooms. The principal's office is on the lower floor.

"Fortunately, no children were in the building at that point in time as school was dismissed at 3 pm."

The fire service was able to prevent the blaze from engulfing the entire building. Niamath said the cause of the fire is still to be ascertained, but only last year parents protested over the electrical and infrastructural integrity of the building. He said parents decided to send their children back to school after the ministry did some repairs and electrical upgrade.

"School also resumed on the promise that phase one of the new school building will be resumed, but that has not happened. At the annex building on the first week of school, we had electrical problems. T&TEC came and did repairs to the main line coming into the building. But, we are now questioning the credibility of the electricity at the school, although we don't know if the fire was caused by an electrical problem."

TTUTA's president Lynsley Doodhai said the top floor was gutted while the lower floor sustained water damage.

Doodhai said, "This school has a history of electrical problems, just one year ago the school was closed. Before the blaze, the lights were flickering."

He said construction of a new school building on that same site began in May 2014 and was supposed to have been done in three phases. He said the first phase was 95 per cent completed when worked stopped in September because the contractor was not paid.

"What happened is very frightening, but is a stark reality of what is happening at our nation schools. I hope the ministry does not wait for serious injury or for a life to be lost due to its negligence before safe and proper environment for students and teachers."

He said the school has a student population of 375 and about 15 teachers. Given that education received the largest budgetary allocation, Doodhai was hopeful that they use some of that funding to recommence construction and repair works at all schools.

Ministry officials visited the site and are awaiting a report from the Fire Services before any decision could be taken.

Dominica is in urgent need of heavy equipment to clear “thousands of tonnes of debris,” roadways and landslips that continue to hamper relief efforts.

That’s the word from Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt who told the media yesterday that “progress is being made one day at a time,” but he said it will be a “long journey back.”

Despite the devastation of the hurricane, he said, the government had met its commitment to pay salaries for the month of September, “it was an extraordinary effort and I also met with the Minister of Finance to ensure that we meet legal obligations on loans.”

He said he intends to meet with creditors “on where we are and how we treat with those matters going forward.”

The government, he said, had been in discussions with the World Bank “a major partner and we have received US$65 million for reconstruction so far,” he is hoping that figure will increase to US$100 m or more and plans to hold discussions with World Bank officials next week.

Skerritt said while some roads had been cleared “there are lots of landslides and thousands of tonnes of debris to clear.”

The challenge facing the government, he said, is the insufficiency of heavy equipment, but he said: “the government has been in negotiations with operators from the region and we are hoping that by next week we will have a massive fleet of heavy equipment to assist with the clean-up.”

Local organisations which have been providing relief in Dominica admit that there has been a challenge getting supplies to some communities.

ITNAC: We are in it for the long haul

Avonelle Hector from the group Is There Not a Cause (ITNAC) told the T&T Guardian “a number of roads are still blocked and impassable.”

The group, she said, had been sending constant supplies to the island “via the Coast Guard, by air, we are sending on almost every available vessel leaving Trinidad and Tobago.”

In addition to supplies, she said, the group had sent in medical teams and “we also have trauma people going in.”

ITNAC had been working alongside the Dominican authorities and she said: “the authorities are pleased with our work.”

She said when members of the team went to “Salsbury we were told by people there we were the first to bring food and water supplies to them and that was two weeks after the hurricane.”

The group will send another barge this weekend loaded with more supplies.

But Joseph said they are in it for the long haul, “this is not just about sending food and water to meet immediate needs we are seeing this as holistic and we in this for the long haul, we will be there to help people rebuild their lives and return to a semblance of normalcy.”

She said they had compiled a registry with a list of people locally who are willing to take Dominicans who want to come here into their homes.

A similar registry has been compiled by the Living Waters Community whose founder Rhonda Maingot told the T&T Guardian that several people have come forward and are willing to take in Dominicans. She said Trinidadians has been “fantastic and the response overwhelming to the situation in Dominica, we have just completed packing another three 40-foot containers to leave to Dominica today.”

Many on the island, she said, still have no water, and no electricity “there are few cars on the road and when the containers get there off-loading is a problem. You have to offload boxes and put them into vehicles to send to the communities.”

Unlike ITNAC, Living Waters is not working with the government but with the Roman Catholic Church on the island. She said they had already sent “five people who are on the ground in Dominica to assist and more will go next week to assist.”

Maingot said people whose homes are still structurally sound “are trying to secure areas they can stay in so if it rains they will not get wet, they are trying to secure wherever they can and the next part is rebuilding.”

Urgent supplies needed

Food

Water

Tarpaulins

Building material

Roofing

Heavy equipment

Oil and gas producers are looking at the 12.5 per cent royalty rate across the board on the extraction of all gas, condensate and oil but admit they need more details.

The tax announced on Monday by Finance Minister Colm Imbert will take effect from December 1.

Contacted by the T&T Guardian bpTT said it had been in discussions with the Ministry of Finance over the past few weeks regarding proposals for tax reform.

But bpTT said, “before we can comment on the measures announced in the budget we will first need much more clarity on the details of these measures and their impact.”

The company said, “we look forward to continuing our discussions with the Ministry of Finance and we will continue to work with the Government with the expectation that the changes to the fiscal regime will preserve the competitiveness of the local energy sector and provide the stability and predictability required to underpin long-term investments.”

In announcing the measure Imbert lamented that energy companies were not paying any corporation tax, also known as the Petroleum Profits Tax, “only some royalties and Supplementary Petroleum Tax (SPT) whenever the price of oil exceeds US$50, which is not often.”

This situation, he said, had been occurring because of the high level of investment in exploration and production. “With the present arrangements we are unlikely to get corporation tax from the oil and gas companies for the next seven years,” he said. But not so says former energy minister Kevin Ramnarine.

“I found that to be mind-boggling because those incentives expire in 3 months,” Ramnarine said.

Ramnarine said “there is a sunset clause, the Minister knows that because he voted for it in 2014. The incentives expire in three months on December 31, so how then could it be impacting the tax revenue for seven years.”

He said what could impact revenue is the “carry forward losses,” for which provision is made in Section 16 of the Income Tax Act, which allows companies to carry forward losses into the next year.

Accounting firm KPMG in its analysis of the budget said the royalty would be predicated on fair market value for oil and gas fixed by the Petroleum Pricing Committee.

The accounting firm noted that the proposed amendments to the fiscal regime, had been proposed and discussed in prior years and in the 2016 mid-year review, Imbert indicated that discussions were in advanced stages with the energy companies, on a suitable fiscal regime that would work for all parties by continuing to provide sufficient incentives for investment and exploration while recognising the Government’s need for revenue.

President of the Energy Chamber Dax Driver said it was “difficult “to say too much about the 12.5% royalty for oil and gas production. He said, “we have to look at it in the context of the overall proposed changes to the entire oil and gas regime.”

Driver said the tax was “still a work in progress,” as the Government was still working on the details. The tax takes effect from December 1.

Commenting on proposed new tax, the American Chamber of Commerce said “most worrying is the potential negative impact on investment of the additional taxes on the upstream energy sector, most significant of which will be the proposed Supplemental Petroleum Tax on gas. We hope that this will only be done after consultation with the industry.”

National Solidarity Assembly (NSA) political leader Nirvan Maharaj is calling on Finance Minister Colm Imbert to apologise to the nation for unleashing further hardship on citizens.

In the NSA's budget response, Maharaj said a budget was simply a fiscal proposal and was not cast in stone. Therefore, he called for several aspects of the budget to be changed if further analysis showed an increase in the suffering of the ordinary man.

"The 2017 budget seems to have resurrected the days of the aristocracy, turning the masses of people in Trinidad and Tobago into peasants and this serves the interest of the selected few corporations and individuals who controlled the economy before 1838 and still do so today.

"There is doubt with regard to agriculture, the Finance Minister has spoken with a forked tongue, claiming to be giving incentives to the agricultural sector, while allocating the sector the least amount of money in the budget and in fact, less than last year," Maharaj said.

In their budget wish list, the NSA had called for the allocation of proper subsidies for the continued development of residential and agricultural sites owed to ex-Caroni (1975) Ltd workers among other items. However, he said Imbert failed to even address the lack of access road, crossings, water supply, irrigation and other issues.

He said the increased price of fuel, tyres, and motor vehicle inspections will lead to further suffering for the man on the street as the cost of goods and services will be passed on.

"Truly a disappointing budget, weighed heavily against the ordinary man, designed to fool the citizens of T&T with superficial platitudes, while the burden of adjustment and austerity fall squarely on the shoulders of the working class.

He described the Finance Minister's proposals as "a domino budget with the pieces quickly falling apart one after the other and the working class man being the last piece, bearing the full weight of all others, suffocating under the weight of harsh economic times."

Education Minister Anthony Garcia yesterday confirmed that several school children from hurricane-ravaged Dominica are already in the T&T system receiving their education. Over the next few weeks several more are also expected, as principals and teachers have agreed to open up their classrooms.

“The numbers may be small still. Some of them (Dominica students) we have already placed in the school system and we expect many more through the Catholic church. Those who are here already, from the information I have received, the arrangement is working out well,” Garcia said.

In the latest move, through the Catholic Church, Holy Faith Convent in Couva have agreed to accommodate about 60 Dominican students (30 boys and 30 girls), although the logistics are still being worked out.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian yesterday, principal Sister Theresa Vialva said a teacher had agreed to make available her three-bedroom home, whilst a parent agreed to open up her six-bedroom home to the students.

“This arrangement is being made along with the Couva cluster – the Couva, Chaguanas and St Mary’s Parishes. Even a parishioner has extended a four-bedroom house. We are all in agreement along with Fatima College and the Holy Ghost Brothers to have these children,” Vialva said.

“One teacher said she is willing to accommodate as much as 15 of them in her subject class, while another, who rents a property for extra lessons on evenings, is willing to have it available for day classes (8 am to 2.30 am). The logistics are still being planned out though.”

The T&T Guardian understands Garcia held a meeting with principals from the Caroni district where most of them gave a favourable response to the initiative, which was sparked by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s recent call for Trinidadians to open their doors to Dominicans left homeless after the passage of Hurricane Maria.

Garcia yesterday said he has received tremendous support from principals and teachers and thanked them for opening up their classrooms.

Earlier this month, the Director of the Ensafe (Institution for Health, Safety and Counselling Training) and New Vision Learning Centre on Coffee Street, San Fernando, Hassim Ali, announced the school would offer scholarships to 10 Dominica students valued at $56,000.

There was a health scare for some Mount Hope Secondary School students during the launch of an initiative on promoting behavioural change in children and adolescents yesterday, resulting in two of them being sent to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, for treatment.

The initiative on the school’s Maingot Street, Champs Fleurs compound included screen testing and an afternoon of physical activity with the students and their teachers.

But during the screening exercise conducted by North Central Regional Health Authority around 10 am, medical staff determined that six students were suffering from high blood pressure. They were taken to the EWMSC where two of them were found to be “dangerously hypertensive” and kept at the facility.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, who arrived at the school around 12.30 to launch the initiative, said he was taken aback at what “the accidental screening had picked up” and has promised that when debate on the 2017-2018 Budget is completed he will visit other schools to do similar exercises.

He said there was a “time bomb waiting to explode in schools” as he expressed concern that “our children are overweight, suffering from diabetes, it is so scary.” He said this is why his ministry launched the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) initiative and took a decision to eliminate sugary drinks and snacks from the school feeding programme.

There was no indication that the two students who were kept at the hospital were either overweight or diabetic, he said, adding he expects. to get a full report on the matter today.

Deyalsingh said he did not visit the children yesterday, however, adding: “When a minister goes to Accident and Emergency it slows things down, medical staff stop what they are doing because of protocol and it detracts from the urgency of the situation.”

Among those who attended yesterday’s initiative were 1976 Olympic gold medallist Hasely Crawford, who spoke to the more than 100 students and teachers about his own battle with diabetes and hypertension and current sports personalities Jehue Gordon, Richard Lewis, Machel Cedeno and former table tennis champion Lionel Darceau. Teachers and students participated in a range of sporting activities, including table tennis and aerobics.

Despite a forecast of tough times as it justified new tax measures for citizens and the business community in Monday’s Budget, a $3 million upgrade to the Chaguaramas Golf Course is one of the new projects Government has decided to undertake in this fiscal year.

But Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, under whose purview the project falls, has defended the decision to upgrade the nine-hole public golf course, saying the facility has been “languishing” for some time. She said Government’s plan is to refurbish the course and bring it back up to standard, begin a programme there to train youth to play golf and hopefully in the long run utilise the facility for sport tourism. A consultant is also currently looking at the possibility of expanding the course to a 18 holes, she said.

While the golf course is a members’ club facility it is open to the public and currently costs as much as $290 to play a full round of golf, including rental of clubs, balls and a pull cart.

The Chaguaramas Golf Course is the only public golf course in the country, Robinson-Regis said.

“I wish to indicate that the golf course is not free but there is a minimal charge and it is open to the general public,” she said.

Also defending the move was Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) chairman Gupte Lutchmedial, who said the golf course is one of the main assets in the region and can be a foreign exchange earner for the country. He said in its peak the CDA earned close to a million dollars a year from the golf course, but in 2015 that figure dropped to $292,000. For the fiscal year which ended on Saturday, the CDA earned $598,000 from the course after sprucing it up a bit, Lutchmedial said. He said ant upgrade of the course can help tackle the CDA’s financial woes.

“What we did over the last two years was we hired a golf course consultant because the golf course is one of the main assets of Chaguaramas apart from being historical, because of the length of time it is there it is a revenue earner for us,” Lutchmedial said.

He said the CDA saw a 105 per cent increase in revenue from the golf course between 2015 and 2017 after pumping some funds into improving it.

“There has been a stark increase, people are coming back to the golf course, it is a public golf course and we figure that it if is properly managed, and we spruce it up and make it available it can be a foreign exchange earner too,” Lutchmedial said.

“It is a beautiful golf course situated between the valley and people are coming back to it so we asked for some money to invest in it and we know we are going to make it back with the golf course. It is one of the big revenue earners for the CDA.” It currently costs the public $190 to play a full round of golf at the course which is nine holes, $45 to rent clubs, $30 to rent balls and $25 to rent pull carts.

According to the CDA’s website, “future plans are to create an 18-hole golf course on the peninsula guided by international standards, a renovated lounge area, bar and changing rooms”. Lutchmedial said the CDA is hoping that from the revenue earned from the golf course it can be expanded. In 2016, $52,325 was spent toward the expansion of the golf course, according to budget documents.

SLAP IN JOHN PUBLIC’S FACE—UNC

However, United National Congress chairman Dr David Lee has slammed Government for wasting money while at the same time calling on citizens to make cutbacks.

Lee said on Monday Finance Minister Colm Imbert made an impassioned plea saying “we must all adjust,” “curb wasteful expenditure” and “make the required sacrifices,” adding this planned expenditure on a gold course was a slap in the face of all of that.

“This is a classic example of not properly prioritising the scarce resources of the country,” Lee said.

“I want to ask why is it necessary to upgrade the Chaguaramas Golf Course in this scarce time and is there a phase 2 and a phase 3 planned, and why that money could not be spent even in the Chaguaramas area in maintaining the Boardwalk and continuing the development of the Boardwalk, where hundreds of normal citizens would benefit as opposed to the the Chaguaramas Golf Course which is considered an elitist sport.”

According to page 156 of the Draft Estimates of Development Programme Expenditure 2018, there are two new projects valued at $7 million to be undertaken by the Planning and Development Ministry for development of the Chaguaramas area this fiscal year.

Project 36 is listed as an “Upgrade of Chaguaramas Golf Course - Phase 1” and project 35 is listed as “Development of five car parks in Chaguaramas.” The two projects have been allocated $3 million and $4 million respectively.

During a Parliament Joint Select Committee (JSC) meeting in June CDA officials complained of being unable to properly maintain tourist attractions on the peninsula due to financial challenges.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh says Government will collect half a million dollars from the increase in licence fees to private hospitals.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian about the licence fee hike yesterday, Deyalsingh said this was the first increase for privately run hospitals since legislation was enacted in 1960. Since then the private institutions had been paying $150 based on bed count. A recommendation to increase the fees made in 2003 was never approved, but he said “that was at a lower level, we are now bringing to a more realistic level.”

The increase in the fees based on bed count, as contained in the Private Hospitals Act, will affect 16 private hospitals, 12 of which have under 30 beds and will pay the new rate of $25,000. Only four private hospitals have between 30 to 60 beds and will pay $50,000. There are no private hospitals with over 60 beds to attract the highest fee of $100,000.

“So between those 16 institutions they will be paying only $500,000 annually,” Deyalsingh said, adding the fee changes do not apply to private old age homes, convalescent homes or palliative care homes.

Asked whether there was a plan to impose similar fees on other facilities offering health care such as CT scans, ultra sounds and MRIs, Deyalsingh said, “we taking things one stage at a time.”

He said monitoring of the private hospitals had been “sketchy” in the past, but there had been increased monitoring in the recent past.

Those private institutions included private dialysis centres, seven of which were closed down under his watch, “and we gave the owners a list of recommendations for improvement of services. Dialysis Centres are now up to scratch.”

He said the ministry’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Principal Medical Officer of Health (PMOH) had been working alongside these facilities and they were pleased with the response they got. Throughout the inspections, he said the ministry “never shut down any hospital but has advised on areas for improvement” and follow up visits were done to ensure compliance.

Deyalsingh said under the law the ministry also monitors “radiation centres at Southern Medical and Brian Lara Centre because those are the centres we send people to.”

A total of 75 medical institutions have paid the current licence fee to operate of $150. Apart from 16 private hospitals, a maternity hospital and 58 medical treatment centres which do not provide overnight medical care are listed on the ministry’s database. This is inclusive of homes for the aged, dialysis centres and doctors’ offices that perform same day surgery.

The ministry is, however, still compiling data on the 16 hospitals which will be subject to the increased licence fees.