While Barrackpore and Moruga residents were busy cleaning and some businesses reopened, canoes and pirogues had to be used to access the stranded residents of Woodland and San Francique.

Yesterday marked five days since the Oropouche Lagoon and its rivers overflowed into residents’ home, due to prolonged rainfall from the passage of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone.

Businessman Ashmead Mohammed, through his AshNad Foundation, used 10-tonne dump trucks, flatbed trucks and off-road vehicles to travel through the deep areas along Pluck Road. But to reach into the traces where elderly citizens had been marooned, they had to load meals and supplies onto canoes and boats. Mohammed, who sent out a challenge to contractors to adopt a river, said after praising God, it was everyman’s duty to help his brothers and sisters.

“What we did today was to distribute 2,200 lunches for the people of Mafeking, Penal, Debe, Woodland and Barrackpore. I had people in all those areas but I oversaw the Woodland community because it was the worst. The water is still three to four feet in some areas. Everybody knows the main road but there were some areas leading into San Francique, like Birbal Trace where the residents are totally cut off,” Mohammed said.

Siparia Regional Corporation chairman Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh said he has not seen the active presence of the Regiment and the work of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management. Saying that the Woodland area felt like another country, he called for intervention from the various State agencies to kick in.

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal called on Government to deploy CEPEP crews to help clean flood-affected properties.

It was a horrible Saturday night for commuters living along the South West peninsula as the Mosquito Creek was closed. Many paid as much as $50 for a trip to Point Fortin as the alternative Pluck Road, Woodland route was also flooded. Drivers had to use the SS Erin Road which took up to one and two hours longer than usual.

By 11 am yesterday, the Ministry of Works and Transport contractors had pumped most of the water off the creek by bringing in additional pumps and the roadway was reopened. They were aided by the low tide; however, the drainage along the creek was blocked due to construction work on the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension to Point Fortin. Meanwhile, the Manzanilla/Mayaro Road remained flooded and was closed off to traffic.

Expect heads to roll at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) for its poor performance in alerting citizens of the flooding disaster which affected communities across eastern, central and southern Trinidad.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday the Government will be taking “firm action” to review the operations of the ODPM because of its repeated failure to respond to flooding disasters.

Rowley, accompanied by several government ministers, went to Sangre Grande and Mayaro yesterday to get a first-hand account of the plight of residents whose homes have been flooded for five days.

Citizens have been expressing outrage following statements by ODPM deputy CEO Dave Williams. Williams hosted a press conference on Friday where he dismissed the widespread flooding which began to affect areas of the country on Divali night as not “a big thing” and said there were communication issues which prevented the organisation from verifying reports.

In an apparent response to Williams’ statement, Rowley said, “I am convinced that we do not have the correct personnel in there and that we are not prepared to respond. We had adequate notice for this development and we ought not to be blaming it on communication. This is the age of cellphones. Every two-year-old has a cellphone. We really need to do better than that.”

Rowley said the Government was “not happy with the response mechanism especially after what happened with (Tropical Storm) Bret where we were slow on the draw in getting to people.”

The ODPM faced similar criticism in June after the passage of the storm where citizens were not informed in a timely manner of flooded areas.

“I think by now we should have within the public system, a kickstarting that is smooth, where we get notice of incoming weather systems,” he said.

Rowley said the Government will ensure the ODPM has the necessary personnel “who have the attitude and the aptitude to respond to this kind of disaster.”

“I would expect that this would be the last situation where we are responding so poorly,” he said, during an interview in Mafeking, Mayaro.

Before heading to Mayaro, Rowley visited Vega de Oropouche, in Sangre Grande to see what preparations there were and how it worked for people who needed shelter.

“I discovered that the designated shelter is the first place that will be flooded as it was close to the river,” he said. To make matters worse, he said, the community’s Civic Centre, which was located on higher grounds was not available to flood victims.

“The ODPM needs to ensure shelters are designated by common sense and that there will be no security guard to say that he or she cannot enter,” he said.

He said while there is a lot of blame and finger-pointing taking place, that was part of the course for some people for political survival.

Responding to a complaint in Mafeking that incomplete box drains were responsible for the flooding, Rowley said: “It is not the box drains but the Ortoire River which surrounds the village and for every 15 years this type of flooding will occur.”

He said in the coming days a lot of work will be taking place in the area washing, spraying and sanitizing so as to prevent the dust coming from the mud that might have health problems.

This will be followed by officers coming from the Social Development office to have assessments done for compensation, he said.

Accompanying the Prime Minister were Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan, Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Kazim Hosein, Minister of Agriculture Clarence Rambharat, Permanent Secretaries and technical staff.

Contacted for comment yesterday following the Prime Minister’s criticism levelled against the ODPM, Williams said: “I don’t want to comment on that.”

Williams was on tour with the Prime Minister when Rowley raised his own concerns about the organisation.

Asked whether he got a sense from the criticism that the Prime Minister wanted him to resign, he said, “I cannot speak for the Prime Minister. I don’t want to say anything about that anymore.”

Williams has been steadfast that he will not resign as the Deputy CEO of the ODPM. He told the Guardian on Saturday, “personally there is no need for me to resign.”

RALPH BANWARIE
 

For the second time in less than six months, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) will undertake a review of its response to citizens affected by bad weather conditions.

In a repeat of what happened in June after the passage of Tropical Storm Bret, the ODPM has been blasted for its slow response in the latest flooding disaster which affected several areas of the country.

The organisation, charged with leading the way in the event a disaster affects the country, has taken a beating for the lapse in response time from the unfolding of events on the Divali holiday to its reaction to those events which many affected say was slow and late.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian yesterday, Relief Officer at the ODPM, Captain Neville Wint said: “After every incident, there is an after-action review where all agencies involved come together to review the incident, the action taken and how we can improve going forward.”

A similar exercise was undertaken in the wake of Bret in June. So did the ODPM learn anything from that exercise?

Wint defended the organisation saying the difference this time was “the unique occurrence of the ITCZ merging with the spring tide or new moon, so there was excessive rain and rising tides hindered the run-off.”

There were flood bulletins, he said, being issued with riverine bulletins, “that usually come like two days later but in this case, it came with the flooding event, this was the unique circumstance we faced.”

In addition, Wint echoed the words of Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan who said since June the ground had not really dried up because of constant rains.

That, according to Wint, “contributed to the sudden rise in water and the floods which we saw in the last few days. So that a challenge was the slow run-off, the effect of the riverine flooding and continuous rainfall which we are experiencing in some parts of the country right now.”

Clearly, though there is a need for the ODPM to look at what happened between June and the latest episode and factor in the issues in the review of the response to the recent floods, which even evoked some criticism from the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley who felt that the response time needed to be improved.

Wint said all of it will be looked at when the agencies come together.

As Relief Officer, Wint is charged with co-ordinating with the first responders. From his end, he said, he has had “no problems,” communicating with various regional corporations and supporting their requests.

He said “the ODPM has been co-ordinating with first responder agencies since (last) Wednesday afternoon when we got notification of the incidents. We communicated with the various regional corporations and they activated their response mechanisms. Agencies such as the Defence Force, CEPEP and the Red Cross and volunteers have been deployed to assist the corporations in damage assessments, relief, aid operations and other duties.”

The ODPM, he said, continues to monitor weather conditions in light of the forecast for more rain “and we are working with first responder agencies to ensure that relief can be dispatched to the affected areas.”

In some areas, he said, “we need to wait for the water to subside, but we have been utilising inflatable zodiac boats to rescue persons marooned. Some persons, however, do not want to leave their homes.”

Wint said one of the most critical requests from regional corporations at this point is for “assistance with detailed damage assessment and a needs analysis. That is being done at this point in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government and the Ministry of Social Development.”

Those assessments, he said, are critical “so that they can determine what persons lost and what is required and will trigger the social response from the Ministry of Social Development.”

Farmers whose crops have been affected by recent floods are being urged not carry their produce to markets.

This from Nirmala Debysingh-Persad, Acting Chief Executive Officer, National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO) yesterday.

“It is highly recommended that flood-affected crops do not enter the market place for sale and consumption. Produce affected by flood waters are at high risk of safety and quality,” she said by phone yesterday.

Based on preliminary data obtained over the weekend, some of the areas affected by flooding in the country include Felicity and Caroni in Central, Bonne Aventure and Rio Claro in South, Aranguez and Taparo in the North and Valencia in East Trinidad.

Some of the crops damaged include cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, cassava fields, sweet potato fields and dasheen fields.

“We have unconfirmed reports that water reached as high as banana and plantain trees. We are recommending that consumers do not collect fruits and vegetables that have been damaged.”

“We are about to go in the fields to do the proper assessment of the damage in terms of assessing the areas and looking at the cost of the damage,” she said.

Meanwhile, Dr Yunus Ibrahim, President of Supermarkets’ Association of T&T does not believe that food in the market places and supermarkets will be at any risk because of possible contamination of crops from recent floods.

“If crops get covered by water then they do not survive to be able to carry them anywhere. Even if the crops survive where will they get the mechanisms to carry them out of the area? I do not think that will reach to market anyway,” he said yesterday.

He also said that there are other issues of contamination that is not normally talked about.

“Contamination goes both ways. The reality is that we do not farm in the correct areas in T&T and we do not use the appropriate lands for farming. The land use is not spread in the way it is supposed to be.

People have farms at the side of the highway and they are taking in exhaust all day and we buy those vegetables. We should be more concerned about that.”

Omardath Maharaj, agriculture consultant and economist told the T&T Guardian yesterday that the public should be aware of the damage to crops.

“No flood soaked foods would be safe to eat considering the level of contamination in the waters.”

As financial institutions continue to grapple with the downturn in the economy, experts believe the only way to progress is through innovative and bold moves to stimulate the market and attract clients.

Heeding government’s call for new and emerging entrepreneurs to lead the diversification thrust, Republic Bank’s Marketing Manager, Damian Cooper revealed that the Bank had started consulting entrepreneurs to find out where they needed assistance.

Speaking at the launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) which will run from November 13 to 19, Cooper yesterday said, “We have recognised and started conversations with some of the entrepreneurs to find out more about what are some of the things they would need to help them to achieve their goals.”

He said the Bank needed to ascertain exactly what entrepreneurs needed in order to better serve them.

GEW is the world’s largest celebration of innovators and job creators who launch start-ups and bring ideas to life and drive economic growth.

As one of five sponsors this year, Cooper said Republic was committed to having, “Conversations with these entrepreneurs because we may have to tweak our model a bit in terms of how we go about assessing entrepreneurs and how we got about supporting them.”

He said exciting and interesting times were ahead as they had engaged a particular NGO to guide them through the process to understand entrepreneurs better.

Cooper added, “The fields are wide and diverse and our traditional model of looking at cash flows on a monthly basis and expecting income at every juncture, is possibly not the best model to use in this time.”

He said, “Income to a lot of entrepreneurs is inconsistent and they come at different times and it flows differently so the Bank has made a concerted effort to understand entrepreneurs more and we will be partnering with a lot more entrepreneurs and NGO’s to see how we can change the landscape and really make entrepreneurs game changers.”

GEW is celebrated in more than 170 countries.

Hosted by Youth Business T&T (YBTT) for the past seven years, the GEW provides training, mentorship and funding for entrepreneurs.

Officials said the current state of the economy indicated a large percentage of persons both under and over the age of 35, were either unemployed or under-employed.

The GEW 2017 sponsors include Shell, TSTT/Blink B-Mobile, T&T Unit Trust Corporation, Republic Bank Ltd and Massy Foundation.

A divided Caribbean vote is generating a keener than anticipated contest for the post of Director-General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) as the hemispheric body prepares to meet this week in Costa Rica.

Sources close to the process say the fractured Caribbean vote is “unprecedented” in the history of the 75-year-old organisation established to promote agricultural development in the Americas.

Barbadian Chelston Braithwaite served as Director General between 2002 and 2010.

One interested party described the contest as “too close to call”, unlike previous encounters when the 14 Caricom member states of IICA voted as a bloc at the meeting of the 34-member Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), comprising agriculture ministers.

Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries, Clarence Rambharat confirmed that T&T would support Chile’s minister of agriculture, Carlos Furche for the post.

There had been early speculation that this country would have backed the other candidate, 65-year-old Argentinian veterinarian and consultant to his country’s Council on Foreign Affairs, Manuel Otero. The meeting is being held on Wednesday and Thursday.

Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Suriname are all expected to support Otero.

The Bahamas has, however, already confirmed its support for Furche. Barbados, Jamaica and Saint Lucia are also expected to lend their support to the Chilean.

Ortero had taken his campaign to Saint Lucia in August where he addressed Caribbean agriculture ministers on the margins of a meeting of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

An October 15 article in Chile’s El Mercurio newspaper says the contest has the potential to cause friction between the two South American neighbours.

Chile is an associate member of Mercosur and has a longstanding relationship with Caricom. It is currently negotiating a partial scope trade agreement with T&T.

Close to 90 per cent of the country’s natural gas supplies comes from T&T together with ammonia and methanol imports.

Argentina has close working relations with Caricom countries on technical assistance related to health, in particular.

Otero, however, made a strong pitch for his candidacy when he addressed the Caucus of Caricom Ministers of Agriculture in Guyana on October 5 during a meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (Coted).

The two South American candidates are facing off to serve a four-year term from 2018 to 2022.

The incumbent, Victor M. Villalobos of Mexico, has served two consecutive terms. He enjoyed bloc support from Caricom in the elections of 2010 and ran unopposed for the 2014-2018 term.

Otero is also virtually assured of support from representatives of the Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay which, together with Argentina, comprise the full members of Mercosur. The split Caricom vote has, however, opened the contest wide.

The Office of the Attorney General has been granted an expedited hearing of its appeal challenging a judge’s decision to grant former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar permission to sue the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) and the Office of the President.

Attorneys representing the AG’s office made the application to deem the case urgent, before Appellate Judge Andre Des Vignes at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain yesterday. The procedural appeal is now set to be heard on February 13, next year.

The AG’s office, which is representing the Office of the President, is challenging Justice David Harris’ decision to grant leave for Ayers-Caesar’s judicial review lawsuit on October 6.

In her lawsuit, Ayers-Caesar is claiming the JLSC acted unlawfully in seeking her resignation as a judge, that it unlawfully procured her resignation and it acted unlawfully in treating as effective her consequent purported resignation.

Ayers-Caesar is also contending that the President’s continued refusal to set aside her resignation and reinstate her as a judge is unlawful. Ayers-Caesar is claiming she was pressured by the JLSC to resign, in that she was told to either sign an already prepared resignation letter or her appointment would be revoked by the President. She is seeking reinstatement as well as compensation from the JLSC and the State for breaches of her constitutional rights and loss of earnings.

The controversy stemmed from Ayers-Caesar’s resignation from the magistracy in April to take up an appointment as a judge.

Her appointment, however, caused an uproar in the legal profession and by prisoners as she left 53 matters incomplete. She resigned two weeks later.

Some of these cases have since been restarted before Ayers-Caesar’s successor, acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle-Caddle with the consent of the accused. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is still considering how to proceed with the others.

In addition to Ayers-Caesar’s judicial review, the AG’s office has also filed an interpretation lawsuit in which it is asking the court to determine how the unfinished cases should be concluded and whether they could have been continued by Ayers-Caesar or another magistrate or if they had to be restarted afresh before Busby-Earle-Caddle.

The State’s case has been assigned to Justice Carol Gobin, who has ordered that advertisements be placed to invite persons, whose cases were affected, to join.

Ayers-Caesar was listed as a party to the lawsuit but has since applied for a stay of the case as her lawyers claim that it is an abuse of process because it clashes with the other matter, which was filed first.

The case comes up for hearing before Gobin on December 6 when the application for the stay will be heard.

Ayers-Caesar is being represented by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, and Ronnie Bissessar. The JLSC is represented by Senior Counsel Russell Martineau and Deborah Peake and attorneys Ian Roach and Ian Benjamin, while the AG is being represented by Reginald Armour, SC, Ravi Nanga and Ravi Heffes-Doon.

Despite 2018 budget cuts for School Feeding Programme funding, all students in T&T will still get breakfasts and lunches, says Education Minister Anthony Garcia.

“We’re not cutting the quantum of meals served,” Garcia stressed as he was questioned about the matter during yesterday’s final day of Parliament’s Standing Finance Committee scrutiny of 2018 Budget documents.

Garcia confirmed the 2018 School Feeding Programme will be $43m as a result of funding reduction. He, however, assured students would not be disadvantaged.

“Discussions have been held with the Schools Dietary Services to ensure no student is affected and we’re also talking to our caterers to ensure all students receive,” he said.

Garcia also confirmed funding cuts to privately-operated Early Childhood Centres since he said information shows some operators are not interested in this any longer and others are charging high fees despite receiving Government subvention.

Garcia said the Education and Health Ministries will be taking information to Cabinet soon to treat with students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This is a mental disorder characterised by problems of paying attention, excessive activity, or difficulty controlling behaviour. Children with ADHD may find it more difficult to focus and complete schoolwork.

In 2016, UNC MP Dr Suruj Rambachan piloted a motion — supported by Government — on the need to treat with children with ADHD and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), which both affect him. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Ayanna Webster-Roy said the motion resonated with her because of suggestions her son may also be afflicted with this.

Garcia confirmed funding cuts for several programmes as well as the University of T&T — whose board will soon work out which programmes would be affected by this and the National Training Agency among others.

When UNC’s Dr Tim Gopeesingh expressed concern about the cuts, Finance Minister Colm Imbert asked what Government should cut to be able to provide for all the programmes.

Following yesterday’s scheduled SFC conclusion, the debate of the 2018 Budget begins at 10 am today in the Senate. This concludes Friday.

$5m to relocate squatters

for Sando waterfront project

The Planning Ministry has allocated $5m for 2018 to for temporary relocation of squatters as a result of the San Fernando Waterfront project ahead, Planning Minister Camille -Robinson-Regis said yesterday.

At yesterday’s Standing Finance Committee, she said sites haven’t been located yet, but the $5m will deal with site planning and building structures for the squatters.

She also said Government has paid a total of $14.4m so far to sugarcane farmers in settlements owed. She said 1,153 accepted payments under $12,000 and 2,328 fall into the category for payments over $12,000. A third phase involves 2,300 other farmers. No court action is pending. “We told them there’s a certain amount to be accepted and some of them accepted it,” she added.

Robinson-Regis said the Ministry is up to the level of “a six” (out of ten) where Central Statistical Office efficiency is concerned. Recommendations on climate change programmes in synch with the Paris accord will soon be taken to Cabinet, she added.

The Princes Town/Barrackpore Taxi Drivers Association has announced a $1 increase in fares which will go into effect on October 30.

Association president Chandranath Rampersad said that will not fully cover the increased cost of operating and maintaining their taxis but they understand the plight of passengers who also have higher bills to pay. He said all factors were considered during a meeting at his residence on Sunday.

“We have to now dip more into our pockets for tyres and to repair the wear and tear on our vehicles. I used to full my tank with $70 in the evening, now I have to pay way more and I use diesel,” he said.

“The prices have been increased by $1 and while it is not enough we will have to make it do. We cannot kill the public with too much of an increase. I don’t know how they will respond to this increase but we have no choice, we have to do it. It’s not fair to anybody but we have to go up with the price.”

Rampersad said the issue of higher taxi fares hit a snag last week when the now-defunct St Croix/Barrackpore Taxi Drivers Association were discussing increases which would have led to taxis along the route charging different prices. Ramesh Deena, attorney for the Princes Town/Barrackpore Taxi Drivers Association, sent a letter calling on the defunct association to cease lobbying for the drivers along the route or face legal action.

Two fishermen jointly charged for possession of $40 million in cocaine for the purpose of trafficking were denied bail when they appeared before Siparia Magistrate Margaret Alert yesterday.

Junior Boyce, 34, of South Oropouche, and Emmanuel Gordon, 21, of Fyzabad, were advised to apply to a judge in chambers for bail and remanded in custody.

Alert said they were denied bail because of the seriousness of the offence and the quantity of drugs involved.

The men were arrested on Saturday after officers of the Southern Division Task Force executed a search warrant at Boyce’s home at Red Brick Trace, South Oropouche.

It is alleged that the police found a yellow compressor in a bedroom in which 25 packets were hidden, each containing a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine.

The compressor and cocaine packets were produced in court and tendered as evidence.

Court prosecutor Sgt Salazar said the drugs weighed 28.86 kilogrammes and the street value had been estimated by police service’s Transnational Organised Crime and Narcotic Unit.

Their attorney, Sade Lee Duprey, who asked the court to grant them bail, said Gordon, who was working at Boyce’s home, had one pending matter for marijuana possession, while Boyce had a previous conviction from several years ago for robbery.

Both men are expected to return to court on November 20.

Concerns raised by Estonian engineer Edurak Lasuk about safety issues on the Cabo Star are real and are being addressed by the ship’s owners, said Caribbean and Latin American representative for the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), Michael Annisette.

He said Lasuk submitted a report to the union two weeks ago detailing several concerns and as ITF representative and president of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union (SWWTU) he had to determine the veracity of the complaint.

“We took it seriously, as the representative for the ITF we were duty bound to go and investigate, and it was in those circumstances that a contingent headed by maritime attorney Nyree Alfonso boarded the vessel last Saturday,” he said.

Annisette said he visited the vessel last Monday and surveyed the engine room, galley and other areas where he identified several areas of concern.

“The company gave timelines in which they will address the issues. We are dealing with a vessel where safety is of the utmost in terms of international best practice,” the union leader added.

Lasuk had been described as “a disgruntled employee” by vice president of Bridgemans Services Group Andrew Purdey who said: “We had the union and our ship managers attend the vessel and understand his concerns. The concerns are baseless and he has been removed from the ship.”

However, Annisette responded: “Those statements are calculated to mislead the public and compromise the union. We see the statement as unfortunate, regrettable and disingenuous.”

Lusak was employed on a three-month contract on September 25, but asked to be “removed” prematurely on the basis of safety concerns.

He left last weekend saying he could not work on the vessel.Another Estonian engineer left the country yesterday citing similar concerns about safety on the vessel.

“We were satisfied that some of the safety issues were genuine and required the intervention of the ITF,” Annisette said.

Annisette did not give details of the concerns raised by Lasuk, saying he first has to submit a report to the ITF. However, well placed sources told the T&T Guardian that among them was the leakage of oil from compressors.

On October 14, the sailing of the Cabo Star was delayed. Purdey said it was because the starboard engine had failed but Annisette said the delay was because of Lasuk’s departure.

“There was no replacement for him and they did not have the necessary personnel for the safe manning of the vessel,” he said

“We were able to source an engineer, a UTT graduate. I personally, along with union representative Tony Alexis, took the guy to the airport. He got on the 8.50 pm flight with some assistance from a senior Port official who contacted CAL and as a result the vessel was able to sail.”

Is the political leader of the United National Congress acting ultra vires of the party’s constitution by calling elections for the post of political leader a year earlier than scheduled?

Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the National Executive (NATEX), may not think so, but UNC MP for Chaguanas West Ganga Singh thinks the election for the post of political leader at this time is a breach of section 18 of the party’s constitution.

Singh has penned a letter of complaint to the UNC’s General Secretary Dave Tancoo seeking answers as to why the election for the post of political leader has been brought forward and has indicated to Tancoo that if he does not get a response within four days he will be “forced to consider other options in order to save the party from action that may be contrary to its Constitution and damaging to the party itself and the membership in general.”

Section 18 of the UNC Constitution states: “The political leader shall hold office for three years. All other elected National Executive Officers shall hold office for two years. They shall hold office until successors to their offices have been elected unless they resign or are removed from the office prior to the expiry of their tenure or their offices otherwise become vacant for any cause.”

Singh said from his reading, “the framers of our Constitution stated and intended that officers of the party and in particular the political leader hold or shall hold office for a fixed term,” unless they resign or are removed from office prior to the end of their term.

The UNC last held an election for the post of political leader in December 2015, and Singh is arguing there is no need for an election to that position before the next due date in December 2018.

The UNC release with the notice of the election is posted on the Facebook page of Persad-Bissessar. It said she had taken the decision to seek a fresh mandate from the party members as the party prepares for a general election.

But Singh said Article 18 of the Constitution “does not give the political leader the power to take a decision to seek a fresh mandate from the party members before the end of her three-year term.”

Tancoo told the T&T Guardian, “there is nothing that debars the political leader from seeking re-election at any point.”

He likened it to a Prime Minister seeking a fresh mandate at any point in their five-year term. He said he was yet to receive any letter lodging any concern about the election.

Singh insisted that the fixing of November 26, as the date for the election of the party’s political leader is ultra vires and/or in breach of the constitution and is, therefore, null, void and of no effect.”

Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie told the T&T Guardian: “I always believe that if you have a constitution you must honour the constitution and live by it.”

He said he found the leadership election this year “is a little premature because the political leader has a continuing mandate until next year. I don’t see why she cannot continue to honour her mandate. There is no challenge to the leadership as far as I am aware.”

Tewarie said there is “no demand for an early election and the executive election should be held as it is due and the leadership election should be held when it is due.”

He admitted he was in Parliament when the decision was taken for the November election.

Party chairman: Time right for fresh mandate

UNC Chairman David Lee told the T&T Guardian that Persad-Bissessar wanted to “revalidate her position as political leader. She decided to seek a fresh mandate.”

Asked why she thought she needed to do that a year before the election for the post is due, he said: “Given the state of the nation and lack of governance by the PNM administration, we don’t want to get distracted in the next coming two to three years. We feel that because of the lack of governance general elections could be held very, very soon.”

He said the party did not want to be “consumed with internal elections,” but wanted to be able to “concentrate all our energies on preparing for the general election.”

Lee said the for the past 25 months “the political leader has done tremendous work in rebuilding the party coming out of our defeat in the last general elections. Given the tremendous amount of work she did as the political leader and Opposition Leader she feels that now is a good time to revalidate her position.”

Persad-Bissessar had two challengers—Vasant Bharath and Roodal Moonilal—in the 2015 election.

She captured 17,502 votes, Moonilal 1,821 and Bharath 1,305. Moonilal said he is not contesting the election while Bharath is still considering his position.

The last election was marred by allegations of voter-padding and corruption. Lee said they were exactly that “allegations, they were never factual. I think the political leader and her team won fair and square. The UNC ran a transparent and democratic process,” he said.

The party general secretary Dave Tancoo said UNC elections have always been “free and fair.”

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley leaves today for a Caricom-Mexico Summit on natural disasters in Belize.

A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said the main theme of the summit will be co-operation for prevention of and treatment of natural disasters, an area in which Mexico has experience and institutional capacity.

Foreign Service Officer Akilah Seale will represent the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs. An earlier statement stated that Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dennis Moses will accompany Rowley to the meeting but was later amended to exclude the minister.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow will co-chair the one-day summit which aims to consolidate the progress of the III Caricom-Mexico Summit (Merida, Yucatan, April 2014).

The talks further endorse the importance Mexico places on co-operation with the Caribbean in matters of security, migration, climate change mitigation and the prevention of natural disasters.

The Government of Mexico will provide air transport for T&T and other Caricom delegations to and from Belize, City.

Rowley returns to T&T on Thursday. In his absence, Minister of Finance Colm Imbert will act as Prime Minister.

Five men were shot in separate incidents in Moruga and San Fernando on Sunday night.

Police said Lorenzo Rostant, 22, Kevin Morgan 22, Jonathon Alphious 22 and Matthew Toussaint, 20 were near Rampersad’s Bar in Basseterre when gunshots rang out.

Patrons scampered for safety and later found the four men with gunshot injuries to their hands and legs. They were taken to the Princes Town District Health Facility where they were treated then transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) where they remained warded in stable condition yesterday.

Investigators said they have not been able to get information about the incident as no one reported seeing anything.

Meanwhile, two men are in police custody following a drive-by shooting along Mount Moriah Road, San Fernando. Up to yesterday, the victim’s name was not revealed, but police said he is warded at hospital.

At around 5 pm, the victim was walking near his home when the vehicle passed and an occupant opened fire. Police on patrol spotted the suspects and held them after they crashed while attempting to escape. Three guns were recovered, including two loaded, high-powered automatic rifles, were recovered.

Man killed while holding baby

A man who ignored a feeling of “bad vibes” and went to visit the mother of his children was shot dead on Sunday at Maracas, St Joseph.

Anthony Douglas was holding his one-month-old child when he was shot. The child was not hurt, police said.

The 31-year-old farmer planted chive and thyme. Police said the killing took place around 5.55 pm and had no motive for the killing.

In a separate killing which took place in Petit Valley on Saturday, police identified the victim as Nigel Rudder. Police reported that Rudder’s body was found around 6 am by residents of Eagle Drive, Simeon Road, Petit Valley. Rudder, 31, died from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head.

kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt

Thunderstorms yesterday hindered clean-up operations in parts of South and East Trinidad, bringing with it more flood waters.

A Meteorological Service bulletin that warned of an active tropical wave east of the islands also caused more fear for citizens, especially those living in Woodland, Mayaro and Manzanilla where water levels were still between four and six-feet high.

Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government senior disaster coordinator Rishi Siew said while flood levels in most affected areas had subsided, water levels were still rising in Barrackpore and Penal, while there were flash floods in Claxton Bay and San Fernando. He said all 14 regional corporations were feverishly cleaning up but the approaching tropical wave will pose a challenge.

“As long as the corporations keep with the process we’ve put in place we will get through as quickly as possible. The tropical wave will delay us a bit in terms of cleaning as the water levels rises again,” Siew told the T&T Guardian.

Siparia Regional Corporation chairman Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh said just as Woodland residents were optimistic when water levels dropped, the reports of more rains to come was frightening. He said residents still have to depend on charity groups and the corporation to supply them with meals daily as many, especially the elderly, have been trapped in their homes since last Thursday.

Shelters have been set up in the various communities, but Siew said people prefer to stay in their homes.

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said crews have also been deployed to clear watercourses, but noted the work is dependant on the weather conditions.

At Mosquito Creek, South Oropouche, where additional pumps were sent to clear the Southern Main Road, water accumulated again. Sinanan said the massive flooding over the weekend was due to a blocked channel, which has since been cleared.

He said there were no measures that could have been implemented to mitigate the flooding over the past week, noting the amount of rainfall from Divali into the weekend was equivalent to a month’s worth of rain. He said all the ministry could do now was ensure all watercourses remain clear, which must be an ongoing process.

Going forward, he said previous studies on floods and drainage will be reviewed. However, he said it was known for decades that certain low lying areas would always flood. He explained that many of the areas where water would settle in years gone by were replaced with houses, shopping malls and businesses, resulting in the water having to find new areas to flow.

“If you look at Woodland, that area would have usually retained water in heavy downpours. Now, these areas are developed and this is the challenge we face throughout Trinidad. With the volume of water we got in the last few days, the channels just could not handle it and there were spillovers,” Sinanan said.

After seven days since adverse flooding throughout several communities in Central, North and South Trinidad, landslides and fallen power lines, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) says it has so far received just under 2,000 reports of affected people.

In a release yesterday, the ODPM said regional co-ordinators took the reports from six regional corporations’ disaster management units. The regional corporations included: Penal/Debe, Siparia, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Sangre Grande, Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo and Princes Town.

The T&T Defence Force teams have also been deployed to do Damage And Needs Assessments (DANA) in the affected communities.

According to the ODPM, the following activities have been recorded in impacted regional corporations:

Penal/Debe Regional Corporation: 265 reports received.

Siparia RC: 250 reports.

Mayaro/Rio Claro RC: 800 reports.

Sangre Grande RC: 76 reports.

Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo RC: 248 reports.

Princes Town RC: 350 reports.

As the criticism over why there was slow, poor or no response in some cases to the recent nationwide flooding continued yesterday, the Office of Disaster Preparedness Management (ODPM) attempted to distribute some of the responsibility by pointing fingers at the regional corporations.

In attempting to explain why there may have been no response to some calls for help, ODPM second in command, Capt Neville Wint, told the T&T Guardian that affected people were lodging complaints with them because phones were ringing with no answer at regional corporations. He, however, noted that at the ODPM there are no issues with their call centre lines—800 ODPM, 511 or 999.

“Our emergency numbers, the people are getting through with but there are some issues with the regional corporations’ numbers. I am being told that they are not being answered…the phones are said to be ringing but on our end (ODPM) the calls are cued and answered,” Wint said.

He added: “When we receive the information we now have to have it transmitted to the regional corporations for assessment and action.”

Meanwhile, information via the ODPM’s social media platforms picked up from Sunday, with citizens receiving frequent updates and information regarding flooding and relief efforts.

Contacted on this claim, however, Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein questioned if Wint was sure what he was talking about. Hosein countered that he was getting good reports on an hourly basis from the ministry’s disaster relief management co-ordinator Rishi Siew.

“Up to today (yesterday) I have been collecting relief items from the corporate citizens to give out to affected people and Rishi has been giving me updates from all 14 regional corporations because he is in constant contact with them,” Hosein said.

Siew, who was with Hosein at the time of the T&T Guardian’s call, also denied Wint’s statement.

“All the emergency numbers at the regional corporations are fully functional. In fact just today (yesterday) I contacted six regional corporations via their 800 numbers and all were answered and I got all the necessary information I needed for my report. In fact, furthermore, I myself use the numbers everyday to contact officers.”

Hosein expressed full confidence in Siew and the regional corporations’ relief efforts.

“Since after Tropical Storm Bret and now, I have found Siew very efficient and I have full confidence in him than anybody else…I’m sure you can read between the lines.”

Meanwhile, with an active tropical wave approaching the southern Windward Islands, T&T is expected to experience light to moderate showers with a 30 to 40 per cent chance of heavy showers or thunder showers in a few areas.

According to meteorologist Bagwandeen Ramdatt, the main area of activity is forecast to remain north and east of T&T. Street/flash flooding is also likely in areas of heavy or prolonged downpours and gusty winds may accompany thunder showers.

In preparation for this continued weather activity, Wint yesterday assured the ODPM is well prepared.

“We have been in contact with the DMUs in the regional corporations and they have been briefed in keeping with the Met Office bulletin. On taking the necessary preventative measures to warn people and activate their systems, we are asking people to be vigilant and go with the advice issued and given in responding to possible flooding,” he said.

Asked about the pending shake-up of the ODPM announced by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Wint said he had no comment.

“The PM and the Minister of National Security has expressed their position on what is to be taken and I am subject to that statement,” Wint said.

Following a tour of Sangre Grande and Mayaro on Sunday, Rowley came down on the ODPM’s deputy chief executive officer Dave Williams for the failure of the body’s disaster response mechanism last Wednesday, when floods first began affecting citizens.

Even while the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), regional corporations and other state agencies are battling to bring normalcy back to the lives of thousands of citizens affected by the flooding, there are those up to no good.

In a release yesterday, the Ministry of Health advised that there were people who were pretending to be collecting flood relief aid on ministries’ behalf. The ministry said no entity has been authorised to embark on any donation drive on its behalf or that of the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government.

It said although the individuals conducting the unscrupulous act appear to have an authentic document, which is laminated and bears the stamps of the Ministry of Health and a Regional Corporation, it is not legit.

The ministry asked anyone with information about the person(s) conducting this activity to contact the Arouca Police Station at 640-6138/7647 or your nearest police station.

Homicide officers were up to late last night at Balmain, Couva, investigating the murder of Chandroutie Harrylal.

According to a police report, at about 5 pm a male relative arrived at her Cameron Street home to find her dead. She was found lying on the floor of her bedroom.

Police said the woman said the house was ransacked and they believe robbery may have been the motive.

An autopsy is expected to be conducted on the body today at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, to determine the cause of death. — RD

Some parts of Manzanilla Road remained under flood water yesterday, making it impossible for small vehicular access. In fact, only trucks were once again able to traverse the roadway with caution.

There were dire consequences for some motorists in smaller vehicles who attempted to go through the floods, as they quickly got into difficulty, their vehicles stalled and they had to wait to be pulled to higher ground by passing trucks.

Backhoes from the Sangre Grande Regional Corporations were also busy clearing clogged drains along the road to ensure a faster run-off of water to the sea.

Many taxis operating the Mayaro/Sangre Grande route have also told passengers they will not be operating until the flood waters recede.

At Mafeking, villagers told the T&T Guardian many of them were still marooned in their homes as flood waters were still high. But come of them of them could not wait and utilised pumps to drains their properties of water so they could remove damage furniture and appliances. Residents in areas were the flood waters had receded were meanwhile seen power washing their yards.

Mafeking resident Jimmy Dhunda told T&T Guardian workers from the Mayaro/Rio Claro Corporation and CEPEP came to the village but focused on clearing debris from the roads. He said soldiers also visited the community last evening, but only took some information and left.

He said the one positive was that the water level in the Ortoire River had dropped so they were hopeful there would be no more flooding.