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.

Interim Rector of the Holy Trinity Cathedral Fr Carl Williams says there are people in society who are “deaf to the dignity of all human beings when we show favouritism and make distinctions based upon appearance, wealth and status.”

 He made the comment during his homily at yesterday’s thanksgiving service in observation of the 75th Diamond Jubilee of The Trinidad and Tobago Association for the Hearing Impaired (TTAHI). It was held at the offices of Dretchi, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

Williams said, “Hearing and deafness are not determined by our ears, but by what’s in our heart; the way we love and relate to one another. The old Verizon commercial—‘Can you hear me now?’—reminds us that it is all about the connection. So it is for the man in today’s gospel. So it is for us as well.”

He said he could not help but wonder if spiritual deafness isn’t one of the primary causes of conflict in marriages and families, in  relationships with one another, in the  nation, and in the world.” 
He said deafness destroys relationships.

He added, “We are deaf when we become self-occupied and self-enclosed because of pride, anger, jealousy, or the refusal to forgive another. We are deaf to our spouse and children when we are too busy or too self-important.”

He said regardless of how it comes about, the tragedy of spiritual deafness is that the connection is broken. 

‘We can no longer hear the voice of God or another person. The only voices we hear are the ones in our heads. The only conversation we have is with ourselves. Spiritual deafness is ego-centered. When we are spiritually deaf we assume that ours is the only or the most important voice to hear. We are cut off from God and other people. We are closed to new ideas, understandings, and experiences.” 

He urged the nation to reflect on the role TTAHI has played by “providing a space for so many whom society had, and continues to close their hearts and minds to because they appeared different.”

The association was established on July 29, 1943, over which the Honourable A. B. Wright, the then Deputy Governor of Trinidad and Tobago presided.  An article to that fact was published by the T&T Guardian on  July 30, 1943. 

There will be a two-way fight for the leadership of the Congress of the People (COP) between Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan and Sharon Ann Gopaul-McNicol.

The two filed their nomination papers before the stipulated deadline on Monday, to run for political leader of the party which will be held on November 19.

It means that Nicole Dyer-Griffith who had indicated her intention to contest the post of political leader is no longer in the running.

Dyer-Griffith’s candidacy had been challenged by members of the COP on the grounds that she was no longer a member of the party by virtue of being a member and interim leader of the Alliance of Independents.

The election was originally scheduled for July and the date was pushed back to August but was again delayed by legal action.

On August 18, Justice Ricky Rahim sitting in the San Fernando High Court ordered that the election be postponed and that the National Executive of the party considers the membership of people who applied.

Based on the court order the National Executive of the party met on October 8 to address issues of membership applications and to set new dates for the election of a political leader. A committee was set up to interview three members who had either taken up key positions or formed their own political party after leaving the COP and were required therefore to attend the special screening by this committee.

The Congress said the three were asked to submit a letter of resignation from the party they either joined or formed, after leaving the COP and letter of acceptance from the said organisation.

However, it said, “all three applicants refused to attend this screening and therefore, could not be granted membership within the Congress of the People.”

The court, according to the COP, recognised Jamieson Bahadur as chairman, and other members of the past executive who are willing to serve until such time, as elections are held for the political leader and the National Executive.

Interim appointments were made to the National Executive in the persons of Indra Narayansingh, Deputy Chairman (interim), Zenel Hassan, Secretary – Finance (interim) and Sharon Fraser, Secretary – Communications (interim).

Both Seepersad-Bachan and Gopaul-McNicols have expressed confidence that they will win the leadership.

Late politician and educator Clive Pantin has been hailed as a great son of the soil and a man for all seasons.

Senators yesterday paid high tribute to Pantin prior to debate on the 2018 Budget.

Pantin died at age 84 on September 30.

Senators observed a minute’s silence on his passing.

Independent Senator Paul Richards said Pantin’s name and his word were well respected.

“They stood for something - qualities leaders today can stand to emulate,” Richards said.

PNM Senate leader Franklin Khan said Pantin came from a distinguished family including the later former Archbishop of T&T Anthony Pantin and late Fr Gerry Pantin of Servol. Noting Pantin’s entry into politics, Khan said he was convinced Pantin entered the field with the noblest of intentions. He said he also served in education with distinction.

Khan noted that a book Pantin had written “Vamos Amigos” was one which he had studied. “You served your country and God well,” Khan said.

UNC Senator Wade Mark said Pantin was an exemplary citizen whose “monumental contribution to T&T’s development and growth was synonymous with the Pantin family.”

“He was extraordinarily talented, multi-faceted: an educator par excellence, philanthropist, humanist, politician, government minister and sportsman. He was unquestionably a man for all seasons — he was always of the people, with the people and for the people.”

Senate President Christine Kangaloo said Pantin’s entire life was based on devotion to service at every level from family and church to students. “He was a generous man whose life exemplified excellence.” 

A man who suffered third degree burns to 97 per cent of his body died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital on Monday night.

According to fire officials, they received a call just after 1 am on Monday about a house on fire in East Port-of-Spain. Fire officials said they were able to contain the blaze and were assisted by residents who began dousing the flames before they arrived.

Two people were injured, Akeil Phipps and his uncle Leo Phipps. Both men were taken to hospital and warded in the Intensive Care Unit. Akeil succumbed to his injuries while his uncle, who suffered burns to his hands, was later transferred out of the ICU but remains warded in hospital.

The dead man’s stepmother, Janelle Harper told the T&T Guardian that her son managed to drag Akiel out of the house. She said she was awoken by shrieks coming from her home and saw the house on fire. By the time she got her family out she realised Akiel was still inside.

“My son went back in and he say when he reach inside he say Akeil was on his knees in the kitchen screaming “Help Me!”

“My son say he didn’t know what to do so he pull him out and put him on the ground outside,” Harper said.

She pointed to a stove lighter found outside her home which she believed was used to deliberately set her home on fire. Residents claimed the fire was set by a teenaged pyromaniac who they believe is responsible for setting two other houses in the district on fire recently. The residents said the suspect had been arrested.

However, police said they have no information about anyone being held in connection with Phipps’ death.

Speaking with the media at the Forensic Science Centre, Akiel’s parents, Warren Phipps and Carla Mc Pherson, said their son was an avid online gamer who went by the sobriquet “Ace”.

“God knows best. We don’t know the state of child who did this. But God will deal with whatever he needs to do. I only hope that he could rectify his life and turn it around and make this a stepping stone to rectify his life,” Mc Pherson said.

The father described his son as “a quiet person who would spend most time on his Playstation4 playing games when he was home. Other than that his uncle, who is my brother, would come home and play football for hours. This is not how it supposed to be, he supposed to be burying me.”

No cause for the blaze had been given up to yesterday.

A mental outpatient became the first casualty of the recent nationwide flooding when he drowned in the swollen Lengua River in Barrackpore.

Relatives said as flood waters rose on Monday afternoon during a thunderstorm, the river swell was so much that water reached over a bridge along Cunjal Road, where 53-year-old Kashib Ali would usually cross daily to get food and medicine.

A report stated that Ali, who lived alone on Cummoto Road, Barrackpore, was last seen walking near the river around 2 pm. Later on when relatives went to his home he was nowhere to be found. A missing person’s report was made to Barrackpore police. As the search went into yesterday morning, a Cunjal Road resident reported seeing a body on the river bank.

Police and relatives arrived and confirmed Ali’s identity. An initial examination suggested he drowned as there was no sign of violence. But investigators said they were not sure if he slipped into the river.

Ali’s brother, Ackbar, told the T&T Guardian yesterday that he used to take care of Ali’s medication and mail, but he lived a half mile away at Realise Road. Along the road was small bridge across over the Lengua River, which was being threatened by flash floods

“He went missing around 3 o’clock and we did not know where to look for him. Normally, he came for his medication between 2 and 3. When we missed him, I sent my son to look for him because he was supposed to come for food and medication," Ackbar said.

“When we made some inquiries people said they saw him going to the river, but he didn’t reach across by me. Then I realised something was wrong. We started to look but we could not do much because the river was really high so we had to wait until we got a search party and we found him about 500 feet from where we expected him to cross the bridge. I feel because of the height of the water, he got swept away.”

The Public Service Commission must explain why it appointed a junior officer on contract—and who’s the first cousin of the Public Administration Minister—to be the Election and Boundaries Commission’s new Chief Election Officer, says UNC Senator Wade Mark.

Mark called for clarification on the situation during yesterday’s Senate debate on the 2018 Budget.

“There’s a clear and present danger of Government undermining independent institutions—an attempt to hijack democracy,” he said.

“Our information is the Public Service Commission (PSC) recently took this unprecedented astonishing decision to appoint this person as EBC’s chief election officer. We want clarification. Why is PSC breaking well-established regulations?” he asked.

EBC officials said Chief Elections Officer was one Fern Narcis who was appointed about a month ago. They couldn’t comment on the matter including if she was the first cousin of the Public Administration Minister Maxie Cuffie. Narcis and other senior EBC officers within the CEO’s division weren’t available yesterday.

Officials of the Public Service Commission’s Woodford Street office, Port-of-Spain were unable to immediately answer on Mark’s claims. Communication officials said the matter would be sent to a senior officer for a response.

PSC chairman Maureen Manchouk, contacted by T&T Guardian said: “The position was advertised. We had a process and the person who was appointed (at EBC) was the person who topped the list.”

She said she didn’t know if that person was a contract officer or not. Nor did Manchouck have any idea if the person was related to the Public Administration Minister. Cuffie is on leave following a recent stroke.

Independent Senator Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir yesterday called on the Government to impose a new tax on the sale fireworks.

The money generated from the fireworks, Mahabir said can be used for the purchase of much-needed drugs for the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP).

Delivering his contribution on the budget in the Senate Mahabir said the country had seen its tenth deficit budget.

“Deficits have some problems associated with them…and the problems are that the deficits give rise to debts.”

He said every debt that exists the country must service it, stating that no matter how hard Finance Minister Colm Imbert tries, he would not get expenditure down below $50 billion.

“Cutting expenditure is politically almost impossible. Not that it should not be attempted.”

He said Government will have to find ways to slash expenditure in the public service and eliminate waste.

In the current environment, Mahabir offered solutions that would not cost the Government much.

Estimating that 20 per cent of country’s population was deemed poor, Mahabir said we could find funds to finance the CDAP.

“The poor people get their pharmaceuticals from that CDAP programme. There is a suggestion. You see all the fireworks on Divali night that created mayhem in Trinidad and Tobago. Tax the fireworks,” he said.

He suggested the money earned from that tax be put it into a fund to finance the CDAP programme.

“It will make a lot of poor people happy,” he said.

Another proposal Mahabir put forward for the needy to use credit unions as the poor people bank, where they can save and lift themselves.

“But in order to do that, we need to have the credit union organisations regulated.”

Mahabir said it was no secret that the majority of people who patronise Play Whe are poor.

“We have to think outside the box now. Could we marry savings and gambling?”

Mahabir came up with the plan where the poor can put in $100 in a Unit Trust account.

“At the end of the month he (account holder) agrees that $1 out of my (his) interest will be put into a fund and Unit Trust has 100,000 accounts. At the end of the month, there is $100,000 there and random draw of 100 persons in that UTC will give each person an extra $1,000 in winnings.”

Mahabir looked at it as gambling their savings.

He said this idea had been used in North America to encourage the vulnerable to save their earnings, while at the same time participate in a gambling scheme.

The United National Congress (UNC) will hold a meeting of the party’s Congress next Tuesday to discuss a letter of complaint from Caroni Central Member of Parliament Ganga Singh who says the National Executive (Natex) is acting ultra vires of party’s constitution to hold early elections for the post of political leader.

Singh said the letter was emailed to UNC general secretary Dave Tancoo and all opposition MPs at 4.30 pm on Monday. While he has received no official response, Singh believes the calling of the Congress for 5 pm on October 31 is a direct response.

“They may have gotten the sequence wrong but governance is about building by the rules and constitution of the party,” he said.

Singh said it was never his intention to create bickering in the party, but “to ensure that due process and procedure were followed.”

He is concerned, he said, that there was no consultation on the decision taken at a Natex meeting on Friday night.

“It left no room for consultation, no room for discussion, but provided the membership with a fait accompli,” he said.

The Caroni Central MP said the UNC’s constitution has clear timelines for the terms of office of the political leader and Natex.

“Unless you change the constitution you have to do your duty for the extent of your term. Any attempt to limit that must be in accordance with the constitution,” he said.

On Monday, Tancoo told the T&T Guardian there was nothing to debar the political leader from calling leadership elections at an earlier date. He compares it to a prime minister calling an early election.

However, Singh dismissed that argument saying: “His fundamentals are wrong. The Prime Minister is guided by the Constitution and there is no power inherent in the political leader similar to that of a prime minister.”

Singh said the framers of the UNC constitution separated the election of political leader because “the history of the party has demonstrated whenever you have a fight with two aspirants for political leadership, together with the party membership, you have a rift in the party. As a result, the framers of the party separated the competition for political leadership from the party membership.”

He said when the party’s Congress meets next Tuesday once it takes a position to change the constitution, “whatever is the wish of the party we will abide by it.”

“Currently it is not the wish of the party for the political leader to determine the extent of her tenure. That power does not lie with the political leader. It is fixed for a three-year period barring resignation, death or any other cause,” he said.

HISTORY OF UNC ELECTIONSGanga

In 2001 when the UNC held elections for a National Executive, UNC founder and then political leader Basdeo Panday announced he was not supporting any slate in the election. However, word on the ground was that he was supporting then Works and Transport Minister Carlos John for the position of deputy political leader.

Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj’s Team Unity won 21 out of the 24 positions on the executive, with Maharaj himself elected as deputy political leader, beating John, for the position. Panday scuttled the executive and took control.

Panday, however, did not contest the 2005 election for the post of political leader because of pressures within and outside the party. It was also a time when he had a matter before the court. Winston Dookeran assumed the leadership.

In 2010 Kamla Persad-Bissessar beat Basdeo Panday for the leadership of the UNC by a vote of 13,493 to 1,359.

In 2012 Panday threatened legal action against the leadership of the UNC if his slate of candidates was not allowed to file nomination papers in the internal election. He accused the leadership of trying to steal the election.

In that election, Jack Warner was elected chairman of the party.

In 2015 Persad-Bissessar was challenged by Vasant Bharath and Roodal Moonilal for the post of political leader.

Persad-Bissessar tallied 17,502 votes, Moonilal secured 1,821 votes and Bharath 1,305 votes.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the national executive is acting lawfully regarding the decision to hold the election for the post of political leader a year before it is due.

Speaking to the media while visiting flood-hit victims in El Socorro, Persad-Bissessar responded to Singh’s letter of complaint to the UNC in which he accused the National Executive (NATEX) of acting “ultra vires” Article 18 of the Constitution.

Persad-Bissessar laughed at the complaint suggesting “I think Ganga Singh may want to get himself a good lawyer. We are acting within the provisions of the constitution. The election will be a valid one when held. Ganga needs a better lawyer than he is.”

She said, “it is ludicrous, it is a totally ludicrous kind of argument that is being put forward.”

Persad-Bissessar said under the country’s Constitution “a Prime Minister has an election constitutionally due every five years but, a prime minister can call a national election, a snap election, anytime. Are you then telling me an Opposition Leader cannot call a sooner election for an Opposition political party? That is ludicrous.”

She said there are some who may not want her to win but confidently forecast “I have no doubt that I will win the party’s election and perhaps there are some who are trying to stop that.”

Asked why she felt the need to have the election a year earlier, she said that the decision was taken because of what she expected would be a busy election period ahead both at the local government and national level.

She said in El Socorro there could be a by-election where a councillor passed away.

Having the leadership election early, she said, “gives the party a chance to put in place a new executive that will take the party forward without the kind of division and bitterness that arises every time there is an internal election because you have conflicting factions who all want to try.”

The Opposition Leader said with the internal and leadership election out of the way the party could then “concentrate on what is the most important thing, which is to win whichever election is called, whenever it is called and remove this incompetent, wicked government out of office. That is my goal.”

She said she did not care about “this position or that position, what I care about is the country and serving the country and that is my goal and that is my aim I will continue to serve the country in the best way that I can.”

She blasted Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley who left the country yesterday to attend a Caricom/Mexico Summit on Disaster Preparedness saying “this is the worst flooding I have seen in this country since I was small growing up and there is the PM? He has abandoned the country as the state agencies have abandoned the country.”

She thanked citizens across the country whom she said: “have really come forward to do charity work that is a great thing, even greater at a time when the government and state agencies have abandoned the people.”

She said in the last two years the government had done little to deal with issues of clearing drains and flood prevention. “I believe all communities are being neglected,” she said.

Former calypsonian Wayne “Watchman” Hayde, one of the men currently in contention for the position of police commissioner, says T&T needs a strong and fearless leader.

Hayde made the statement to reporters after visiting the Police Administration Building in Port-of-Spain yesterday, hours after returning to Trinidad from the United States.

Hayde, who is scheduled for an interview with the Police Service Commission later this week, spent the duration of the visit reconnecting with former colleagues he had not seen since taking up a post with the United Nations in 1998.

“I have been abroad working with the United Nations in a number of countries for a long time and I have been paying attention to what is happening at home,” Hayde said, adding he felt he was qualified for the post from his years of experience in law enforcement and because of his strong work ethic.

“What I can say about myself and my motivation is that I am what I have always been - hard working, reliable and honest. If I am going to get a job, I ‘m going to do it 100 per cent all the time. I am going to do it in a fair manner but I will do it fearlessly.”

Asked what motivated him to apply for the post, Hayde said he felt it was time for him to give back his country.

“If we have resources and abilities to offer I think we should offer it and this is what I am doing. I am a police officer, this is the only job I had in this country,” Hayde said.

However, he declined to comment on issues within the T&T Police Service and his plans to improve the organisation’s crime fighting and prevention initiatives should he be given the job.

Since the commission issued advertisements for the posts of commissioner and deputy commissioners in September, it has received over 20 applications. Hayde is one of 15 candidate’s short-listed by the commission for the posts.

The T&T Guardian understands acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams and several serving senior officers have also applied for the top post, as well as former national security minister Gary Griffith.

The short-listed candidates have already undergone psychometric tests, which include tests of cognitive ability and personality tests. They will now be interviewed by a panel and undergo other evaluations before a merit list is compiled. The commission is hoping to complete the process by the end of the year.

The last time the commission appointed a police commissioner was in 2010 when Canadians Dwayne Gibbs and Jack Ewatski were given the posts. They resigned in July 2012 with one year left on their contracts. Gibbs was replaced by Williams, who has since received seven six month extensions.

ABOUT HAYDE

Hayde, also known by his calypso sobriquet Watchman, entered the Police Service on May 1975.

Between 1998 and 2007 he was given approved leave to work with the UN and has severed on several of its peacekeeping missions in Africa and Asia. He resigned as a corporal in 2007 to continue his work with the UN.

Hayde, who never attended secondary school, is a lawyer with two bachelor degrees (BA and LLB), two Masters (MSC and MCL) and a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA).

Four days after saying he felt no need for him to resign, Office of Disaster Preparedness Management (ODPM) deputy CEO Dave Williams yesterday tendered his resignation with immediate effect.

The T&T Guardian understands that Williams tendered his resignation yesterday following a closed door meeting with Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon.

Williams had come under fire after a press conference last Friday when, in admitting to the ODPM’s poor response to the severe flooding which hit parts of Trinidad, nonetheless described it as a “small thing.”

On Sunday, during a tour of flood affected Mayaro and environs, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley seemed to give a hint at Williams’ future when he said he was convinced that the ministry did not have the correct personnel in the ODPM. Rowley expressed his dissatisfaction with the flood response mechanism, especially after what happened with Tropical Storm Bret where the relevant response agencies were also slow on the draw in getting to the affected people. The PM also added that he would ensure the ODPM has the necessary personnel “who have the attitude and the aptitude to respond to this kind of disaster.”

Yesterday, hours before Williams tendered his resignation, Dillon said he agreed with the PM that firm action needed to be taken against the ODPM for its poor response to recent flooding in east, central and south Trinidad.

However, when asked whether Williams was asked to step down, Dillon replied: “There are issues to be treated with in the ODPM and we are reviewing the procedures in terms of personnel, processes and systems.”

Pressed further, Dillon, who was at the time fielding questions from the media following a workshop of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem at Police Training Academy, reiterated that Rowley had already spoken on the issue.

In a release issued last evening, the ministry confirmed Williams’ resignation. It said in the interim, current ODPM relief officer Captain Neville Wint will take over.

Up to press time last night, Wint did not respond to questions sent to him by the T&T Guardian regarding his thoughts on Williams’ resignation. However, sources close to Wint said he (Wint) was unaware of Williams’ resignation.

“I am quite sure that Captain Wint will remain focused on our current operations with this disaster response on the flooding situation and I am sure that the Captain will do the best that he can in steering the ODPM ship,” said an ODPM officer, who wished not to be identified.

Calls to Williams’ phone went unanswered last evening.

There are many economic actors in the society who are earning a good living and are clearly avoiding their fair share of taxes while benefiting from services provided by the State, says Minister in the Ministry of Finance Allyson West.

West made the statement while piloting the 2018 Budget in the Senate yesterday — her maiden Budget delivery.

She said there is serious concern regarding the equity in the administration of the taxes.

“We have wage earners who are relentlessly taxed by the week or the month; who may be living from pay cheque to pay cheque while a wide range of persons making quite a good living aren’t bearing their share of tax.”

“This is regressive and repressive. It’s in this context, that Government has looked at good practice options to address tax administration,” West added.

She said the T&T Revenue Authority is expected to begin operations in 2018.

West said the difference between the taxes that should be collected and the taxes that are collected in T&T is between $12 billion and $15 billion, according to a recent study by University of the West Indies economists.

The study also showed a Corporation Tax gap estimated to be between TT$5.1 and TT$6.6 billion and the VAT gap between TT$1.9 and TT$2.4 billion.

She said the total revenue collected by Government in 2017 was $10 billion less than budgeted.

“It’s for this reason that a significant component of our fiscal policy will be to address tax administration.”

Case studies by reputable international institutions indicate a well–structured Revenue Authority not only facilitates coordination and collaboration between main tax collection offices, “but also allows for the recruitment, assessment and proper reward of specialised staff which is not always possible in the traditional public service,” she said.

On property tax, West added, “The time has come when property owners must begin to contribute a share of these benefits to assist in financing T&T’s development and providing funds for the servicing of the communities in which their properties are located.|

“It isn’t Government’s intention to introduce taxes which place too heavy a burden on the population, which is why the Property Tax Act introduces rates of tax lower than those under the Land and Building Taxes Act and the Municipal Corporations Act.”

She said while the Gaming Industry is worth an estimated $15 -$20 billion, little tax is collected. Compliance rate by Members Clubs and Amusement Gaming operators is less than 10 per cent and seven per cent, respectively.

“The proposed gaming legislation is to be laid in Parliament soon and we’re hopeful that with the support of our friends on the other side, who in fact crafted the Bill, that legislation will be in place in 2018.”

“In the interim, we propose to more rigorously enforce current legislation which provides limited industry regulation,” she said.

She added, “These are unusual times which call for major changes in our thinking, policies, institutions and our approach to how we live. It calls for serious adjustment from all sectors of society and each of us.”

Residents, along with workers from the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation, were up to late last night attempting to place sand bags at the Caroni River's bank at El Socorro, San Juan, in a bid to prevent more flood waters from entering the community.

Yesterday morning, following the heavy and continuous rainfall over the last few days, the river, which runs parallel to El Socorro South, broke its banks and flooded out several homes – some of which were under two feet of water.

A resident in the area blamed the malfunctioning of the only pump among three in the area.

“It have three pumps to pump out the water but for the longest while two pumps stop working and the third one working and stopping. Imagine the Ministry of Works Drainage Division have an office right here and they can’t do anything to have all pumps working.”

Sherwin Francois, who spent all morning emptying out his apartment and mopping up, said he was forced to send away his pregnant wife and two small children to a relative’s house.

“I can’t keep them here. Since Friday I ain’t go to work because it flooding. My bed soaked, rugs everything. I have to throw those things away now.”

Another resident at Chanka Trace, Ashley Mungroo, was moving out her clothes when the T&T Guardian arrived.

“My house inside under two feet of water…all my appliances and cupboards water-soaked and damaged. It real frustrating.”

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who toured the area yesterday morning, described what she saw as “distressing and disheartening.”

“I was saddened to see so many families struggling to come to terms with their losses. My team and I visited several areas, many of which are still inundated, and I was touched by the outpouring of love from these people, who, in spite of their hardship, continue to try to help their neighbours, friends and families,” Persad-Bissessar said.

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal says he welcomes the Police Complaints Authority’s (PCA) investigation into the leak of a search warrant in his name that made its way into Parliament.

During the Budget debate in the Lower House on October 12, Arouca/Maloney MP Camille Robinson-Regis read the search warrant in the name on Moonilal in connection with an investigation into misconduct in public office and corruptly giving advantages as an inducement or reward.

Days later, Moonilal’s attorney wrote the PCA calling for an investigation into how the document reached Robinson-Regis’ hands.

In a response to Moonilal yesterday, PCA director David West said they had carefully perused all the documents he provided along with his report on October 16 and surmised that his complaint fell under the remit of the authority.

As a result, West said the complaint was receiving the PCA’s attention and Moonilal would be contacted in due course.

“I welcome PCA’s investigation into WPC Camille Robinson-Regis and “unsub” police officers who leaked the purported search warrant. The Anti-corruption Investigation Bureau is being investigated for political vendetta. This is a very serious matter, the politicisation of police inquiries,” Moonilal told the T&T Guardian yesterday.

In September, Moonilal also wrote to acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams, asking if he (Moonilal) was under police investigation following a statement by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that a warrant had been issued to Moonilal in connection with allegations of misconduct in public office.

Siparia West Secondary School principal Sookoo Sonnylal says he is resolute in his stance of confronting indiscipline in his school.

Sonnylal made the statement while speaking to reporters outside the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, moments after High Court Judge Devindra Rampersad ordered he be allowed to resume duties at the school after he was removed earlier this month following a verbal confrontation with a group of students.

Sonnylal said: “That situation occurs all the time in the school and if I have to deal with the students and discipline the student I will do it again, because it is my job to make sure that the physical safety of every child lies in my hand as the principal of that school.”

However, he admitted he may take a fresh approach to disciplining students in the future.

“The Education Act gives me the authority to be the protector of all the students in terms of safety and security so I will do it again but maybe a little different this time,” he said.

Sonnylal, a former student of the school where he has been employed for the past 25 years, said he was elated by the outcome, but flabbergasted by the action taken against him in the first place.

“I am passionate about that school and I need to go back to work and that is what the judge has ordered, that I go back to work from tomorrow morning,” he said.

Yesterday’s hearing stemmed from Sonnylal’s judicial review lawsuit which he filed against the Ministry of Education. His lawyers contended that the ministry acted outside its remit when it instructed him to report to the St Patrick District Education Office in San Fernando pending its investigation after a video of the incident was circulated on social media earlier this month. They claimed that such power was vested in the Teaching Service Commission (TSC).

When the case came up for hearing before Rampersad yesterday, State attorney Monica Smith indicated that Sonnylal was never removed or transferred by the ministry as claimed by his lawyers.

Sonnylal’s lawyer Anand Ramlogan, SC, objected as he pointed out his client was constructively suspended by the ministry as it effectively removed him from the school and relieved him of duties.

Rampersad agreed.

“You have taken away his power and left him with just a name,” Rampersad said as he pointed out the school’s vice principal was ordered to assume Sonnylal’s duties.

Ramlogan agreed to withdraw the case as Smith conceded that Sonnylal may return to the school.

“All we really wanted is for him to go to work in the morning. They could have done this and saved us the trouble of coming here,” Ramlogan said.

Smith claimed the ministry should not be made to pay Sonnylal’s legal costs as his lawsuit was premature. Rampersad disagreed and granted the order for costs.

Sonnylal was also represented by Jiyanti Lutchmedial, Douglas Bayley and Ganesh Saroop.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia has once again made the call to principals to enforce the ban on cell phones with cameras in all schools. The only cell phones which will be allowed into schools will be those without cameras.

Garcia made the call in the wake of an incident involving two Form Two students at Fatima College, Port-of-Spain, who were recorded in an act being described as a children’s prank.

The video, which was subsequently posted on social media, incensed many, with some expressing the concern one of the boys had been sexually assaulted by the other.

Yesterday, Garcia said the latest incident had driven home why the cell phone ban should be enforced. He said the videotaping of incidents in schools could have dire consequences, adding that the two students “could be labelled for life.”

“They were engaging in child’s play...a normal thing for boys that age to engage in that kind of play,” Garcia said.

He said the parents of the students had also agreed it was child’s play and were satisfied no harm was done.

Garcia said the ban on cell phones with cameras in schools had been the ministry’s policy for the past ten years but it was up to the principals to ensure this was done. He said it was also the responsibility of school supervisors to liaise with principals to ensure the policy was carried out.

Pressed on why principals had not been enforcing the policy, Garcia said it was not for him to answer but rather the various school administrators, as this was part of the operational aspect.

Principal dismisses act as child’s play

Meanwhile, the principal at the centre of the latest incident which sparked Garcia’s latest edict, Fatima College Fr Gregory Augustine, said it was unfortunate because someone in the class filmed the incident, which was against school regulations as cell phones with cameras were not permitted.

In speaking about the incident, Augustine said, “I am really amazed in the kind of interest that people have in a two-second video and that people can come to a judgment from two seconds.

“This is a boy playing the fool. He was spoken to and that’s it. He acted foolishly, imprudently and he was spoken to with his mother.”

He said it was unfortunate the “foolish play” was being termed as “rape” by some who saw it on social media.

“I really don’t understand...how people could form an opinion from two seconds...and for people to come up with a thesis. I really find it odd and we need to be much more discerning,” Augustine said.

Asked about why the student was screaming when the act was being performed on him, Augustine said one must understand the context in which the incident occurred.

“People don’t know. The screaming was part of the play and children do scream and carry on. He may not have liked it...what I’m saying is he was not assaulted, he was not hospitalised, he was not traumatised,” he said.

He added: “People are not willing to step back and think. Everybody is rushing to say...rape...abuse....not everything is that, particularly when the clip is so short. They need to ask appropriate questions and find out and you cannot hide anything today.”

He assured there were no cover-ups on the part of the school, saying, “Everything is out there.”

He also said he himself had nothing to hide.

Augustine said the families of both boys were satisfied the matter was appropriately handled, adding that boys were “back to school and normal.”

On whether the incident may have tainted the school’s image, Augustine said: “Children play the fool in every school. The issue here is a child playing the fool and in every institution when children play the fool they are corrected and guided.”

On whether he was worried that the boy who committed the act could engage in inappropriate behaviour against other students, Augustine said he was not.

“I am not worried about that at all because he understood his wrong. He has learnt his lesson. He felt badly and more so now as it went viral,” he said.

“This is a regular child who is quite well adjusted who is very much into sports. He is not a criminal.

“This is not about Fatima because it is a boy school...this has always happened since time immemorial.”

Union of Members’ Clubs and Lottery Workers vice-president Joshua Johnson, has reported to the Belmont Police that he received a death threat via a note.

The note, with letters cut out from the newspaper and pasted on a white background read: “Traitor. You talk you die.”

The note was found by Johnson’s wife on the steps of their Belmont home yesterday morning.

Contacted yesterday, Johnson told the T&T Guardian he was “very disturbed” by the note and pondered whether to report it to the police, which was done less than 48 hours before he entered the Senate to speak to issues affecting workers in the gaming industry.

He said the first report on the note was lodged with the Port-of-Spain Central Division, who advised him to report it to the Belmont police. After he reported it at Belmont, officers there promised to investigate the matter.

Johnson, who is scheduled to make his Senate presentation today, said he felt like someone was trying to “silence” him because they are afraid when he speaks in the Senate he will bring information that may change the public’s perception of the workers and the industry.

“All I am trying to do is to safeguard my job and the jobs of the over nine thousand workers in the industry. We are just speaking up for ourselves,” Johnson said.He admitted that when he first got the thought his family was concerned about him taking up the senatorial appointment under the United National Congress (UNC) banner and speaking out on the issue, but he said “I am a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. This is my job, if I don’t have this job I will have to start over.”

Johnson said he had been employed in the industry for the past 16 years and had been able to build a life for himself.

“I am from the slum and I worked hard and bought a house in Belmont. I pay taxes and my job helps me maintain my family and pay my bills. I have two kids and I am trying to build a decent life for them, I want to be somebody and I will fight for that right.”

Referring to a newspaper columnist who suggested casino workers should go and plant peas in Cumuto, he said: “I did try to get land from the Ministry of Agriculture, they told me to go to the Land Settlement Agency, two years later I have heard nothing although I made an application.”

Johnson said he also went to the Agricultural Development Bank.

“They ask for a business plan, a cash flow statement, I got nothing, I went to Las Lomas to buy animals to start a farm, I am number 331 on a list. Everyone saying get into farming, but the government does not assist.”

Also contacted about the matter, Trinidad and Tobago Members Club Association president Sherry Persad said she was “concerned” about the threat against Johnson.

“This is our struggle, this is our battle to get the Government to understand our industry,” Persad said.

She said the association has a membership of 42 clubs, all of whom “pay taxes” to the Government. In addition, she said they are part of the Financial Intelligence Unit as a requirement under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

According to Persad, “the FIU comes and makes checks to ensure we are following the compliance programme, there is no way we cannot pay taxes.”

The Government, she said, should not go after all members clubs with a broad brush, noting a report the Government is in possession of states there are 249 members clubs but of those only 83 are registered with the FIU.

Persad added that the FIU has indicated they “don’t have the resources to go after those who are not in compliance.”

United National Congress (UNC) political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar might be trying to stave off a palace coup within the party by bringing forward the election for the political leader by a year.

That is the view of political analyst Dr Bishnu Ragoonath, head of the Political Science Department at the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies.

“It is really an attempt to stifle any challenge she may have, not only as political leader but as Leader of the Opposition. Somehow I believe she might have got wind of some kind of moves afoot and she is using the opportunity to stifle whatever challenge there might be,” he told the T&T Guardian.

Had she allowed the three-year term to run its course to November 2018, he said, the growing discontent among UNC MPs would have manifested itself in a palace coup.

“There are 18 of them. She is thinking they are getting close to the halfway mark and that is why she is saying, ‘Revalidate me.’ If that revalidation comes from the membership then all those MPs who want to evict her from the seat of Opposition Leader will be silenced.”

Ragoonath said the timing of national executive’s decision on the election is curious.

“Think about it. In the middle of a flood when everybody is expending their energy on the flood and you lambasting the government, your party is going to find time to come and say let’s have an internal election?

There is something more in the mortar than the pestle,” he said.

Ragoonath recalled an attempt by Persad-Bissessar in 2015 to ensure that whoever is part of her executive remains totally loyal to her. He said ideally in an election for the national executive, the political leader is not supposed to throw her support behind one slate or another, and in that context, a mix of people could be elected.

“But if there is an election for the post of political leader, clearly the slate with the political leader would be the one preferred to a large extent, so by putting her name forward, she will give the slate to which she is aligned more credibility.

“She is giving credibility to her own slate rather than allowing the party to pick the persons they think are best suited,” he said.

Ragoonath did not want to get into the issue of whether the national executive decision was in keeping with the UNC’s constitution.

Political commentator Ralph Maraj agreed that Persad-Bissessar might be sensing a threat to her leadership and is “trying to nip the threat in the bud.”

Chaguanas West MP Ganga Singh has objected to the calling of an early election for political leader saying it is ultra vires Section 18 of the UNC constitution.

Maraj, who was a member of the party from 1995 to 2001 said: “In that period I don’t recall an election being held. The UNC is not always faithful to its constitutional time-tables. National executive elections and elections for political leader were postponed until the political leader or executive determined the time was right, so there is a precedent for flexibility for the holding of elections.”

He felt Persad-Bissessar convinced the national executive to move the election forward so as not to be close to local government and general elections because when internal elections take place the party becomes divided and factionalised.

“They need to settle the internal elections early enough to give them the opportunity to unify themselves,” he said.