CHARLES KONG SOO

The atmosphere was charged at the Main Salon of the Office of the Campus Principal, UWI St Augustine a week ago, where a debate on changing the name of Milner Hall was held.

Alfred Milner, who the hall was named after, has been accused of committing crimes against humanity. UWI Vice Chancellor Prof Sir Hilary Beckles asked members of the audience if they were willing to celebrate peoples such as Milner, a war criminal.

Beckles said “Lord Milner is known for his violent military assault upon the South African people, the Zulus especially.

He is also known for his assault on people of Asia, which he organised to go to South Africa to replace South Africans and put them in the mines where their mortality rate didn't matter as they were just 'coolies'.”

Near the end of the meeting, the majority of Milner Hall students who wanted to keep the Milner name but discard his legacy shouted out their hall name like a war chant.

Cross Rhodes Freedom Project (CRFP) Director Shabaka Kambon had to use a ruse to get the microphone from Yarley Mendez who was the last person allowed to speak.

Kambon said he saw African and Indian students put their hands over their hearts and chant the name of a man who was the equivalent of Hitler to the Jews.

He said the South Africans were now working on bringing charges against Milner posthumously because of the crimes he committed there.

A brief history of the call to rename Milner Hall

Addressing an orientation ceremony for new students at the Cave Hill Campus in Barbados in September, Beckles said that it was unconscionable for the name of Alfred Milner to remain in a place of honour, on a UWI campus as the university enters its 70th year as an independent Caribbean institution. He insisted his name must go.

Over the last year, CRFP held several consultations with university students, including one with Milner Hall residents, to come up with an acceptable name change by all parties. The Father of Pan Africanism Trinidadian lawyer Henry Sylvester Williams (1869-1911) has been put forward by CRFP.

The group has two other local campaigns currently running in tandem with the renaming of Milner Hall at UWI, St Augustine—the removal of a sign in Lopinot, at the historical site of a former slave plantation and the removal of the Columbus statue in Moruga.

The appointed British High Commissioner to Cape Colony (South Africa) in the late 1890s, Lord Viscount Alfred Milner, close collaborator of Cecil John Rhodes, one of the people who helped prepare the way for apartheid by working to alter laws on voting and land ownership, quickly provoked the Second Boer War (1899-1902) to seize control of the richest colony in Africa for Britain.

Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat says he is moved on a personal level by the efforts of NGO Sustain T&T to bring matters of conservation and sustainable development to the fore.

He praised Green Screen’s proactivity and private sector investment in the festival, which runs until November 10, that allowed the event to take place, without “begging” or waiting on government investment.

The festival launch took place at Digicel IMAX in Woodbrook before a huge turnout of activists, film-makers and film fans, with the screening of Death by a Thousand Cuts, an eye-opening documentary thriller about the 2012 murder of a forest ranger, in the battle between protecting forests in the Dominican Republic and Haitian citizens who cross the border for wood to make charcoal, the main source of fuel in the impoverished neighbouring country.

Director Jake Kheel was present and took several questions from the audience after the screening. He said the film had had a major impact in the Dominican Republic, where the minister for the environment had resigned and the new appointee had started working toward binational solutions to the ongoing issue.

Green Screen/Sustain T&T director Carver Bacchus reflected on the festival’s seven-year journey in his remarks, lamenting a significant fall in sponsorship but reaffirming the organisation’s commitment to continue to educate the public through the medium of film and to bring people together to find solutions for a more sustainable future in T&T and the region.

“Stories (in films) open our minds, and often our hearts,” which he said was key to encouraging action and activism.

CHARLES KONG SOO

Former Scotiabank managing director Richard Young says T&T has an opportunity to earn Chinese yuan renminbi (RMB) by tapping into the lucrative Chinese tourism industry with over 100 million Chinese tourists travelling abroad a year.

The China Tourism Academy (CTA) reported that in 2016 the number of outbound tourism in China reached 122 million people, and Chinese visitors spent US $109.8 billion (about 760 billion RMB) in overseas destinations.

Young said "I saw Chinese tourists in European countries using UnionPay, the Chinese version of Visa and MasterCard.

The ATMs in Russia operated by UnionPay were clearly designed for Chinese tourists to use their UnionPay cards to access Russian rubles.

"If we could capture a fraction of those Chinese tourists to T&T, it would certainly help our earning of forex."

He said there were daily flights from different parts of China to New York, Miami, Toronto, London with Chinese tourists heading to Cuba, and T&T must find ways to entice them to come and spend at least a week to experience the culture and diversity of the country.

Young, who is also the chairman of T&T International Financial Centre (TTIFC), said 200 Chinese tourists a week was good enough for T&T to start.

Young said said if Chinese tourists already possessed US, UK or Canadian visas, getting a T&T visa should be automatic.

He also said that if T&T were to borrow money from the Chinese, they offered a cheaper rate if the Chinese RMB was used instead of US greenbacks. Young said if the country borrowed directly from the Chinese Government for an infrastructure project, it can borrow what was called a concessionary loan. According to Young, this was a very generous loan which was fixed at two per cent for 20 years and 100 per cent financed, but the catch was it must be borrowed in Chinese RMBs.

Young said another form of concession loan was buyer's credit which required the Government to have at least 15 per cent equity in a project, then the Export-Import Bank of China will lend 85 per cent in whatever currency desired—in T&T's case was most likely US currency, but the rate was anywhere between 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 per cent.

Former finance minister Vasant Bharath recently sent a letter to Finance Minister Colm Imbert to consider using the Chinese yuan to conserve US dollars in foreign exchange and ease T&T's forex woes.

CHARLES KONG SOO

Society is at a boiling point! It's economic hardship, corruption at almost every touch point and escalating crime. It would seem that the peace and prosperity of citizens are on the back burner and the pressure keeps rising. To keep the pressure at bay, Million Laffs in collaboration with Silhouettes Lounge introduces Stir Crazy Comedy Thursday Nights, a comedic concoction where comedy mixes with cocktails.

It's a platform where comedians and patrons come together to express that while we “jamming still”, we could laugh at all we are jamming about.

Allan “D' Entertainer” Augustine said the Thursday night comedies were not only for legends and veterans of comedy but also for new and upcoming talent to express themselves.

He said the club will provide opportunities for comedians to explore and practice their comedic routines on stage and get the chance to hone their craft.

Augustine said T&T comedians could stand up against anyone in the world, they just don't have the comedic “gym” to work out their laugh muscles.

The first comedy nights at Silhouettes in Valsayn on November 16 will feature veteran comedian Learie Joseph and hosted by Augustine and would encompass various genres of comedic expressions that give both the artiste and patrons an opportunity to share laughter in categories such as stand-up/open mic, sketch, games, talk-a-lypso/kaiso and lip-sync.

Udesh Maharaj, managing director of Silhouettes said stand-up comedians in T&T had no home and had to resort to performing abroad—after Carnival they had a three-month stint in T&T and that was the end of it.

He said the club provided a space for artistes to come and perform and give Trinidadians that natural break in life via “fatigue” and comedy

Maharaj said it was an opportunity for Allan and friends to find a niche market that the East does not have and Silhouettes would be the pioneers and trendsetters.

Silhouettes GM Gerard Lee said the club was looking forward to hosting comedy shows. He said there was a lot of young undiscovered talent and hoped that the shows would help them make a breakthrough in comedy.

kalifa.clyne@guardian.co.tt

Former tertiary education minister Fazal Karim has made a public call to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to bring back the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training so that adequate focus will be placed on higher education and vocational training.

According to Karim, Education Minister Anthony Garcia, who is responsible for tertiary education, focuses 99 per cent of his time on one part of his mandate and it is not tertiary education.

Karim's call follows reports of a memo sent to the university's staff on Wednesday night by UTT chairman of the Board of Governors, Prof Kenneth Julien.

The memo said there will be significant job cuts at both managerial and academics levels effective November 10 due to severe financial constraints over the past year, which worsened with the further 11 per cent decrease in UTT’s 2017/2018 recurrent allocation to $200 million.

He said if any campus of the University of T&T (UTT) is closed down, it will not only lead to job cuts but reduced opportunities for our students.

Karim said such a move did not support any plan for growth and sustainable development.

Karim said during the period 2010 to 2015, UTT had "a healthy balance sheet with significant reserves, having saved millions of dollars annually year after year".

"The then government would have invested in both recurrent expenditure to ensure smooth running of the organization as well as supported capital investment to improve the existing campuses and build new infrastructure," Karim said.

He said the board also started to look at new sources of revenue through business development efforts and this would have led to the creation of new business units.

He added that while there was need to realign some resources to bring more efficiency and productivity in the organization, such drastic actions being taken by the Government and the board needs to be questioned.

"As any well established institution the organization had to look for revenue and reduce its dependence on state funds."

Karim said it was his view that the PNM was turning it's back not only on UTT but on tertiary education.

"They have cut MIC. Cut Costaatt. Cut NESC. Cut Ytepp. And now UTT. I also remind you that they first cut the Ministry that was probably the most active and leading future development in the last Government."

Significant funding needed for

Karim said significant funding was required for the completion of the Tamana Campus but given that UTT was the only national university with a key strength of having decentralized campuses, the then government took a decision to not close any existing campuses that served communities across the country.

"The Tamana facility would have been best put to use by the private sector as it was the most significant infrastructure on an industrial estate. In any case, there was no plans for use of that building as a campus. It was not designed for any particular programmes. Nor was there a significant enough pool of students in the surrounding communities to warrant such a campus being built in that location."

Kalifa Clyne

kalifa.clyne@guardian.co.tt

Dozens of volunteers spent hours at the Divali Nagar site yesterday, packing food items into re-usable market bags to send to 2,000 families affected by recent flooding in October.

The volunteers formed part of SEWA International T&T's drive to assist nationals affected by flooding.

The food packs will be distributed next week by SEWA volunteers.

In an interview yesterday, SEWA chairman Revan Teelucksingh said all of the food items, which included rice, flour, sugar, peas and oil, were purchased by members of the public who were encouraged to purchase SEWA packs at groceries to assist in bringing relief to flood victims.

"We have been in the affected areas since the first day of the floods and we have been working with councillors on the ground and the disaster management units of the regional corporations in an effort to assess needs and help meet the needs we can," Teelucksingh said.

He said while the group could not afford to replace fridges or stoves, they hoped that the money flood victims saved from buying food could be directed to those needs.

SEWA is a not-for-profit service organization of like-minded individuals, dedicated to the task of building a national network of volunteers dedicated to the cause of working for the unity of the society and the removal of social disparities in T&T.

Yesterday, St Augustine MP Prakash Ramadhar and his staff volunteered to assist with food packs.

Speaking to the media, Ramadhar said there was a silver lining from the floods—seeing that generosity and kindness was alive and well in T&T with the majority of citizens.

A fresh controversy is brewing following the Miss Universe debacle regarding the selection of a delegate. The National Emblem Committee will be investigating the use of the country's Coat of Arms on a Miss Universe media release. The committee said it received no request from Miss Universe TT for permission to use the emblem on its media release. The franchise holder Jenny Douglas refused to comment on the matter when reached by CNC3.

Meanwhile, Soca artise Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez has pulled out from assisting Miss Universe T&T delegate Yvonne Clarke.

Lyons-Alvarez wished Clarke success in the upcoming pageant, however the CEO of MIME Ltd said she will not be working with the delegate going forward.

She said when Clarke came to her she had nothing in place. Lyons-Alvarez said after putting a team together, Clarke decided to do her own thing and formed her own parallel team, a CNC3 report stated.

A murder suspect yesterday jumped from the 11th floor of the homicide detective's office at Riverside Plaza in Port-of-Spain in an attempt to escape police custody.

According to reports, around 4.15 pm while being interviewed by homicide detectives, murder suspect Roger Holder jumped out of the window. Holder landed on the roof of a Chevrolet Aveo which was parked outside Riverside Plaza.

Miraculously, he survived.

Holder was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he is currently warded in a critical condition.

An investigation is ongoing into the incident.

Santa Cruz man gunned down

Homicide detectives are also investigating the shooting death of a 31-year-old man in Santa Cruz on Friday night. Dead is Arnold Dickson.

According to reports, residents of Moraldo Trace, Santa Cruz, heard several loud explosions around 11 pm on Friday.

Dickson was found lying in a pool of blood along the roadway.

The police were contacted and Dickson was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.

Cops probe two shootings in Diego Martin

Police are investigating two separate shooting incidents in Diego Martin on Friday night.

The two victims survived the shootings.

In the first incident, Salim Ramirez, 25, was shot on Richplain Road, Diego Martin, around 9 pm.

According to reports, Ramirez was liming at a home along Richplain Road, when he was approached by a masked man.

The man shot him in the chest. The gunman then fled the scene on foot.

Ramirez was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was treated.

Around 10 pm, the second shooting incident occurred.

Josh Toussaint, 29, was liming with friends along the Blue Basin Road when gunshots were heard.

Toussaint felt a burning sensation and realised he had been shot in his knee.

He was rushed to the hospital where he was treated.

He was said to be in a stable condition up to late yesterday.

Ralph Banwarie

A Prison officer narrowly escape being shot and killed at his Foster Road, Sangre Grande home on Friday night. The prison officer’s vehicle was sprayed with bullets as the gunman believed he was still in it.

Fearful that the gunman will return to finish the job, the 25-year-old prison officer, who remains traumatized, has moved out of his home. He was not available for comment.

Police reported that around 8 pm on Friday, the prison officer who is attached to the Eastern Correction Centre, Santa Rosa, drove his white Tiida vehicle into his unfenced house at Foster Road and as he alighted from his vehicle to get into his house, a man who he saw jogging came behind his car, whipped out a gun and fired several shots.

The prison officer ran into a neighbour’s house where he sought refuge and called the police.

Cpl Randy Castillo and WPC Seenath of the Sangre Grande CID responded and were backed up by officers of the Eastern Task Force.

On arrival at the scene of the shooting, police found the car with several holes on the exterior. Crime Scene officers also found several spent shells.

The gunman was described as five feet tall with brown complexion. He escape on foot and boarded a parked vehicle which drove away with him.

Cpl Castillo is continuing investigations.

Fear crippling officers

A senior prison officer, the victim of a similar incident, said fear was crippling prison officers and nothing is being done to safeguard them. The call for firearms for off-duty prison officers is yet to be addressed in spite of the Prison Officers Association’s cry for security and safety of officers.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) on Friday reported that they were tracking down all their members living in west Trinidad following the murder of one of their colleagues and attempted murder of another, who recently retired.

But the senior officer, who also resides in the East, said they will have to do the same for those in the East as this was the second incident where prison officers were shot at in Sangre Grande.

POA Secretary Gerard Gordon told the Guardian an average of 300 inmates are left in the care of police officers to be taken to court and some inmates have returned with fast food and other things they could not get on their own. He said it was not only rogue prison officers who facilitated the influx of contraband, which is a flourishing business in the prison.

“This thing bigger than the jail. We do not have society’s help. So today is us and who is next? Who will the criminal be offended by, so they will come to kill? I am fed up ! It is too much too soon.”

Following the murder of two prison officers last month, the association secured a meeting with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon. The association will meet will Dillon at 3:30 pm on Tuesday to further address their concerns.

RADHICA DE SILVA

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat says Government will move swiftly to give financial compensation to farmers affected by the last flooding. Last Friday, $12 million in aid was given to 711 farmers affected by Tropical Storm Bret. Speaking to reporters in Moruga yesterday, Rambharat said he was hoping that claims could be processed quicker than those claims made by victims of Bret.

"There is a process to follow and it involves receiving the claims and doing the inspections. We have more than 1,000 plots to review," he added.

Asked about the steep increase in the price of produce, Rambharat said the Ministry was closely monitoring the issue. Tomatoes jumped from $12 to $15 per pound, while pumpkin increased from $1 to $5 per pound. Saying price will be affected by supply and demand, Rambharat said consumers will have to make informed decisions when buying market goods.

RADHICA DE SILVA

Surviving only on bread and cheese since devastating floods inundated the Woodland community two weeks ago, Simon Baldeosingh and some of his neighbours are still a long way from rebuilding their lives.

Although the Secondary Entrance Assessment is just six months away, Baldeosingh's youngest daughter, 11-year-old Amelia, has not returned to school.

Amelia is a pupil of the Woodland Hindu School and by right, she should be spending her days in a classroom getting an education that could help lift her from poverty. Instead, she is forced to stay at home and clean the crumbling house which is often invaded by rats, snakes, cockroaches and other vermin.

The family is unable to cook inside the house and they have been living on bread and cheese donated during flood relief efforts. Amelia's elder sister, Simone, who works at a fast food restaurant and mother, Ann Bhagwandeen, have resumed work but the task of cleaning their ravaged home remains undone.

The family lives close to the Oropouche River, which is one of the major watercourses that passes through the former rice lands of the Oropouche Lagoon. When the Guardian visited their home, 52-year-old Baldeosingh sat on a plastic chair surrounded by mounds of mildewed clothing, water-soaked furniture and bags of unpacked groceries left by Good Samaritans. His left leg had swollen to the size of a club and tears ran down his face.

Unsure of their future, he said "Look at this. How are we ever going to clean up? There are cockroaches and snakes. The place smells bad."

Parts of the ceiling hung loose and the force of the floods had ripped off parts of the front door. On the day of the floods, Baldeosingh said he suffered a heart attack and had to be taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he spent five days. When he came home, the floods still had not subsided and he and Ann were forced to sleep on a cold and water-logged mattress. The children were evacuated and returned when the floods finally went down a week later. Now that the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation has started picking up bulk waste, Baldeosingh said he started the arduous task of clearing his wrecked home.

"Cepep said they would help. Every day I am in pain and being in this mess is not good for my heart. My wife, poor girl, does her best to help out and the children help to clean too. I have many people to thank who came and dropped off goods for us. Without their help we would have starved," Baldeosingh said.

Admitting that he faced many trials in life, Baldeosingh said nothing was as daunting as the last set of floods.

Water which gushed down from the upper regions of Moruga, Barrackpore and Debe poured out of the Oropouche River and flooded the Woodland swamps, causing more than five feet of water to enter the Baldeosinghs’ home. The force of the floods caused cracks in the house which they rent from a nearby landlord.

"I've been living here for 12 years and I pay $800 in rent. I cannot move. This is where we call home and I cannot afford to pay more," Baldeosingh said. He added that some people have also offered to fix the roof and he was thankful. I am waiting for a lady to drop off school uniforms which she promised to give to my daughter and afterwards she will start back school," Baldeosingh said. The distraught man said he was unable to work because of his heart condition.

STRESS FOR OTHER FAMILIES

Meanwhile, several other families said they too were hoping to have assistance with housing.

Dhanwantiya Sugrimsingh, 58, and her 82-year-old mother, Latchia Sookram, of La Fortune, Woodland, lost their home after the floods. They both moved to a relative's house nearby.

"We have not cooked a meal since the flooding. We are also living on bread and cheese and we get home-cooked food if my son drops some for us," Sugrimsingh said.

She added that it was not safe for them as the main wall in their living room was in danger of collapsing.

"We have moved everything from inside the house and put it outside because we don't know when the wall will fall," Sugrimsingh said.

Sookram, who is bedridden after breaking her leg in a fall two weeks before the floods, said she was frustrated.

"I never experienced this before. We need to clean up but we have no water to power wash. I can't walk and people have to see about me. It real hard," Sookram wept.

Councillor for Woodland Doodnath Mayrhoo said entire communities in the Oropouche Basin suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. He said many families have been forced to evacuate their damaged homes while many pupils still have been unable to return to school.

CLEAN-UP GOES ON

Meanwhile, dozens of Cepep workers continue to help residents from the flood-ravaged community. Spraying of the stagnating drains and low lying lagoons have also been ongoing on a fortnightly basis but residents said this was not sufficient. Chief sanitation officer at the Penal-Debe Regional Corporation Ayoub Mohammed said more than 20 truckloads of household debris have already been removed from the community.

The decomposing body of an unidentified male was found at Rincon Bay, Matura, by a crab catcher on Friday night.

Police reported that around 8 pm the 40-year-old man was at Rincon Bay checking on his crab traps when he stumbled on the dead body.

A report was made at the Matura Police Station and officers led by ASP Revanales and others from Matura, Sangre Grande CID and Homicide Region 11, Arouca, visited the scene.

Police found the body lying on its back in a bad state of decomposition. All that was recognizable was the man's black sneakers.

The unidentified body was viewed by a District Medical Officer and taken to the Sangre Grande mortuary. The body will be taken to the Forensic Science Centre in St James tomorrow for an autopsy.

Police are calling on the public to contact them if any of their relatives are missing.

They can contact the Sangre Grande Police at 668-2444 or 691-0133.

Investigations are continuing.

Cops arrest three, seize gun

Another gun has been taken off the streets of San Fernando by detectives of the Southern Division Task Force.

Around 5:30 pm on Friday, officers led by Insp Don Gajadhar and including Sgt Parasram, Cpl Bisnath, Cpl Pulchand and PC Boodram were on exercise along the Tarouba Link Road, when they stopped a Nissan Almera occupied by three men.

After searching the car, the officers found an unlicenced revolver and five rounds of .38 ammunition. The occupants aged 19, 26 and 29 of Diego Martin were arrested and charged with possession of arms and ammunition. They will appear before a San Fernando Magistrate tomorrow.

For this year, the Task Force has taken 147 unlicenced guns off the streets. Senior officers said they will continue to work with citizens to ensure that illegal firearms are recovered by the police.

RADHICA DE SILVA

Having been booted out of politics by former UNC loyalists seven years ago, political war monger and former prime minister Basdeo Panday says he no longer has a spiteful bone in his body because he has finally found a way to love his political enemies.

Panday was addressing students of his Alma Mater, Presentation College, during their prize giving function in San Fernando on Friday.

Saying he was starting to lose his voice having shouted at people for 35 years during his political career, Panday said when he left politics in 2010 he began searching for the key to happiness. After seven years of studying the writings of the great philosophers, Panday said he has finally succeeded in finding true happiness by removing bitterness, envy, anger, jealousy and hatred from his heart.

“I am quite a different person now. When I left politics or should I say when politics left me I began to think about the purpose of life and I turned to the writings of great philosophers. I found out the cause of unhappiness was unfulfilled desires. Happiness was not dependent on external factors like having material things but the secret lay in the heart and mind.

“How could you be happy if you were plotting revenge? To be happy I had to replace negative thinking with positive thinking,” he said as the audience applauded.

He explained that after much soul searching he took out negativity from his heart and began to diligently find reasons to love those he hated.

“Today I have no enemies and I can truly say that I don’t have a spiteful bone in my body and I have never been happier in my life. If you don’t believe me, then try it,” Panday said to loud applause He also advised students —"Be the best that you can be at whatever you are doing and the future will take care of itself."

CHARLES KONG SOO

The Movement for Social Justice will contest the upcoming general election in 2020. The party's leader, David Abdulah made the announcement at the Transport Industrial Workers' Union's Hall, Laventille, yesterday.

Abdulah said “The MSJ is organizing for the 2020 elections because when we look around the country, we see that there is no alternative. There's PNM and UNC, but when you look at the leadership of these parties they simply attack one another, they offer no vision, there is no hope.

“Therefore, we're working to offer that alternative having our party congress on November 19, which is a major activity for us.”

He said the party was also having elections for its national executive which occurred every three years. Abdulah said nomination day was on November 10 and elections will be on the morning of the congress on November 19.

He said when they looked around and saw the bacchanal in other parties with respect to elections, the MSJ was devoid of this.

Abdulah said all positions were open and members were free to contest.

He said it was really about building a serious alternative party to what passes for party politics in the country right now.

Abdulah announced Ozzie Warwick as the general secretary and Gregory Fernandez as the chairman of the party.

He said parties had come into government in the last 15 or 20 years with only chapter one written—how to win elections and get into office.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia is not totally surprised at reports the University of T&T (UTT) is facing financial constraints and will not be able to operate beyond January 2018. However, Garcia says he has had a discussion with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley about a way forward and expects to meet with Finance Minister Colm Imbert for further discussions.

Saying he has been speaking almost daily with UTT’s vice-chairman about the situation, Garcia said it is important for students to have access to affordable tertiary education.

“We have been discussing all these challenges for quite some time now so I wasn’t totally surprised,” Garcia said after meeting with staff at the Malick Secondary School yesterday.

In a memo to staff on Wednesday, UTT chairman Professor Kenneth Julien announced plans for restructuring of the cash-strapped university.

“This development, if left unaddressed, will see the university experiencing a huge cash shortfall of the order of $190 million at the end of the fiscal year, and an inability to meet its payroll liabilities beyond January 2018,” Julien said.

UTT is proposing to reduce staff of the academic and academic support functions of the university. But a source at UTT said yesterday it has not yet been decided whether any of the campuses will be closed.

“It was decided that management was a bit too top heavy, especially given the current economic times, but to say campuses would be closed, this is premature. We are still having discussions. Nothing is finalised as yet,” the source said.

Meanwhile, Chaguanas East MP and former Tertiary Education and Skills Training minister Fazal Karim yesterday condemned the Government for allowing UTT to get to this position.

He said the UTT cuts were coming on the heels of dismissal of staff at the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC) and MIC Institute of Technology within the last year.

He said the education system was in crisis under the People’s National Movement Government, noting in two short years the PNM has mismanaged the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme, dismantled the UTT without cabinet approval, diverted over $300 million to UTT, Tamana Park with no plan for its use, squandered millions on consultancies at UTT with no tangible results and closed down the UTT Aviation Campus, which could generate millions of dollars in revenue to the State.

“The abysmal incompetence of this administration to nurture our nation’s most critical resource – our human resource – will only spiral in future mass job losses and paralyse an already weakening economy,” Karim said.

Parliament's "watchdog" Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Integrity Commission (IC) are being asked to examine the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) where alleged fraud is being probed by police.

Former UNC minister Devant Maharaj wrote the PAC and IC last week seeking a probe of NLCB's operations.

Maharaj said he confirmed current Fraud Squad investigation concerning fraudulent cheques allegedly signed by two NLCB officials. The Guardian confirmed the probe.

Maharaj alleged "The cheques signed are approximately $200,000 and upwards. These were debited from NLCB’s account. The bank will usually call a signatory to verify the payee's name and the amount being paid. But in this matter, when called for verification, NLCB had no record of the cheques being paid to anyone."

He said when a cheque was under a certain figure—$10,000—the bank has an arrangement with NLCB to change it without verification. "In this issue, cheques were under the limit and the bank had changed a lot (of them) before picking up on the situation."

Maharaj's letter to the PAC and IC was based on 100-plus NLCB documents—including board minute and field note extracts and invoices—which he said were passed to him by some NLCB staff.

"Given the attached bundle of documents supplied by scared, concerned NLCB employees, it's hoped the PAC seriously examines these grave issues," Maharaj said in his letter.

"Documentary evidence supplied establishes a pattern of wanton NLCB spending without regard for T&T's economic challenges. The PAC is taxpayers' last line of defence."

NLCB management was scheduled to be interviewed by a Joint Select Parliamentary Committee—the Statutory Authorities and Service Commissions Committee—last Friday. This was postponed since several committee members were not available.

But Maharaj said, "The areas of concern by NLCB employees and citizens, worried about the abuse of state funds in this time of austerity, fall under PAC's remit."

The PAC is responsible for examination of the appropriation accounts of monies approved to meet public expenditure and to examine audited accounts of all state owned/controlled enterprises. PAC also calls to account, Permanent Secretaries and heads of government departments.

Maharaj's letters raised concerns and queries about NLCB practice and procedures including alleged spending and procurement, overseas travel and repayment of funds, hiring of contracted employees, ex-gratia payments, sponsorships, allowances and duplication. (See Box)

Maharaj, a former NLCB deputy director, also queried a September invoice for NLCB 's payment of $77,000 to UK's Oxford Business Group for publishing an advertisement, an NLCB speech.

Maharaj said deeper scrutiny of the NLCB was needed since the status of the audit ordered by the Prime Minister in 2016 remains unknown. "Auditors left and we haven't heard anything about their report. Another audit is needed for the current board’s watch.

Queries on NLCB's $$ matters:

• Whether receipts were submitted to account for monies spent after two cheques for NLCB's 2016 children's Christmas party were made out to a staffer to buy gifts

• NLCB children’s party allegedly costing over $250,000

• Package for friends/family to attend Caribbean Premier League cricket matches, costing $687,000.

• Procurement process used to choose Massy Stores for staff vouchers worth almost $100,000.

• Awards ceremony cost over $800,000 where ten staffers received $108,000 in awards.

• $40,000 on Johnny Walker Black as gifts for board members;

• $106,000 for decorations, $60,000 for a sound system;

• $18,000 for pens and pencils for two-day retreat.

•Board member allegedly hasn't repaid monies advanced for a trip.

• T&T Football Association being given $8 million sponsorship despite monies over $5M requiring Finance approval and approval wasn't sought; whether conflict of interest arose with any board member on this decision.

•Contracted employees lacking valid contract from Finance; some contracted paid over $20,000 monthly, one consultant, $55,000 monthly.

• Estimated $200M expatriated in foreign exchange because NLCB's obligated to pay online game provider IGT, 6.5 per cent of gross revenues.

• The authority of Finance and Chief Personnel Officer being undermined by the board's August decision to introduce a discretionary Heads of Department Allowance; monthly $750 Massy Stores vouchers for staff.

While the Government has approved a $30 million fund for assistance to flood victims, people in hard-hit areas in south Trinidad are still clamouring for assistance.

Some people who applied for grants in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Brett were still waiting on assistance when they were further flooded during excessive rains last month.

The fund is accessed by the Ministry of Social Development for direct grants, the Ministry of Works and Transport to fund work such as clearing of landslides, the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Last week, the Guardian spoke to chairmen from regional corporations in south Trinidad who raised concerns about the Central Government’s response to flooding in their region.

The chairmen, in separate interviews, said the situation was further compounded by confusion over assistance to victims from the Ministry of Social Development because of a lack of communication with regional corporations.

The process being followed involves the disaster management unit of each corporation submitting a list to the ministry, with no feedback being forwarded to the corporations.

380 homes damaged in Princes Town

Chairman of the Princes Town Regional Corporation Gowrie Roopnarine said there were more people from his region affected during the period of excessive rainfall in October than during Tropical Storm Brett.

“This time there were more people affected and more homes flooded out. We have confirmed, visited by the disaster unit, that 380 homes would have been damaged during the rainfall. In June, that number was less than 300,” Roopnarine said.

Roopnarine said he had very little information from Central Government on how citizens would be given assistance.

“Most of the assistance came from private citizens. Our disaster unit submitted a list to Social Development Ministry but we haven’t received feedback yet.

“People are still waiting to see. Every single day people come to my office looking for help. How many business people can we beg to handle the situation. I am speaking for Princes Town region. I am totally disappointed with the response.

“Not one single watercourse in the Barrackpore area was cleaned or dredged during the five-month period between Brett and the excessive flooding. If they had, maybe the flooding would have been less.

No help from any ministry —Siparia chairman

Siparia Regional Corporation Chairman Glenn Ramadharsingh said people have not received help from Social Development or any other ministry.

“They put out a press release that 76 people got cheques but none of the residents of Woodland got cheques. Up to today, there are residents living with tarpaulin in their home, over their heads.

“We asked for names, we didn’t get it. We asked for them to identify who is getting help and they have not responded. It doesn’t matter any more, the people of Woodland believe they would not get help.

“We are going to push these applications and I will, it is total unfairness, inequity and is not the kind of social assistance programme we are having. I am working the system, I have sent forms and we will take them personally to the ministry.”

No response from Social Development minister

Several attempts to contact the Minister of Social Development Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn via her mobile phone were ignored. Text messages to the minister’s phone received no responses.
Payments for Brett
Earlier this year, following Tropical Storm Brett, the National Commission for Self Help Ltd in responding to queries from the Guardian, said it had approved payments totalling $2.47 million to 20 affected constituencies, with Diego Martin Central receiving the highest number of grants given, 18 at a value of $330,000. While questions were sent to Judith Khan at the Social Development Ministry on August 2, no information was forwarded.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has rejected calls from the Prisons Officers Association (POA) for off duty officers to carry firearms. He said that is not the answer to their security concerns.

He also hit out at officials of the local gaming industry saying they make enough money to ensure no employee should be on the breadline. Al-Rawi was speaking at a constituency meeting held at the Pt Cumana Community Centre yesterday.

Last week prisons officers went to the Canadian High Commission and tried to get an audience with the High Commissioner about granted asylum in that country after claiming the Government was turning a blind eye to their concerns.

However, the AG said the association is well aware of plans between this country and Canada.

“The Prisons Officers Association has an obligation to tell this country that the Attorney General and Minister of National Security went to work with the Canadian Government.

“They went and they came back and the Government of Canada has assisted this country. The Prisons Officers Association knows this and we told them that as soon as we got the Canadian overview with the T&T overview we would perfect the work we are doing,” he said.

Al-Rawi said there were many hardworking prison officers and he challenged the POA to lead the charge in saying how illegal weapons and other illicit items like phones enter the prisons.

“Passing more laws to say everybody take a gun and go home may not be the only solution. Passing more laws to say everybody take a house and go home may not be necessarily be the best solution. Ensuring that the criminal empires do not continue to work inside the prisons is the solution ...and let’s be honest as a society.

“But it is not to say that prisons officers are not pulling their weight and I can tell you the most responsive arm in requesting information comes from the prisons. But I implore the association, have faith that there is a strategy in place,” he said.

Al-Rawi also shot back at claims that workers in the gaming industry are suffering, noting that the industry is not poor.

“I cannot tell you ...declaring my interest as an attorney, I worked in the gaming sector for 15 years,” he said.

“There is more than enough money in the gaming sector for all of those employees to be employed and they are being abused in the process. I make no apologies for saying that.”

Opposition activist Devant Maharaj yesterday expressed concern over the fact that almost a year later the T&T Defence Force is yet to determine what action will be taken in the matter involving children photographed with high-powered military guns at the Cumuto army facility on October 31, 2015.

In a statement yesterday, the former government minister commended the T&T Police Service “for the alacrity which they displayed in apprehending one of the two teenagers that were caught brandishing guns in a car that went viral on the internet.”

He said: “It was truly remarkable that within hours of the video going viral the police had tracked downed one of misguided youths and the arrest of other was imminent.”

Maharaj said it was amazing that almost a year has passed since the incident at Camp Cumuto.

“On March 25, 2017, the TTDF Military Board of enquiry concluded that procedures were not followed to allow the children to handle the high powered military guns.

“On June 3, 2017 the TTDF said the children were not allowed to handle high-powered military guns belonging to it. Yet despite these conclusions by the TTDF no further action has been announced,” he said.

He said in the recent case of the young men video taped with the guns, they were obviously from challenged communities and the faced the full brunt of law, compared to the children in the other incident who he said “have received no sanction for what appears a similar crime.”

“Is it that poor people children are punished for laws they break but the rich politician’s children are not similarly punished?” he asked.

Maharaj added: “The TTDF has to act now on this issue, it can delay it no longer given the arrest of the Chaguanas youth.”

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says has administration is recovering acres of prime state lands in Chaguaramas which had been given away by the previous government on the eve of the 2015 general election. He said negotiations were recently conducted to ensure the lands remain for the use of citizens.

Noting that former Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams fought for the lands in Chaguaramas and it must be ensured they are not carelessly given away, Rowley said when the PNM came into office it met a number of arrangements involving Chaguaramas.

“All the way from Pier One, all the away past the convention centre to the museum . . . was made available to this investor who was going to do a project in the form of a water park,” he said.

Speaking at a Diego Martin West Constituency Conference yesterday, he said Government had to appealed to investors’ sense of patriotism as they were on the right side of the law regarding contractual agreement. He said the investor was told that he must have know that acquiring the land was not necessarily based on what was right amd that Government was “unhappy about this.”

“We said to them you are citizens of Trinidad and Tobago and you must know this is not right and if it is we will have to fight for it we will fight for it,” Rowley said.

In the deal arrangements were made for a million dollar carpark to be built using taxpayers’ money. However, this will no longer be the case as that investor would have to seek his own finances for the carpark.

“We got them to withdraw the boundary away from the beach so the public could have access to the beach,” he said.

Rowley further revealed that some 100 acres of the “best land in Tucker Valley” was given as a reward to a UNC activist who had campaigned against Finance Minister Colm Imbert. Out of that 100 acres, Government was able to recover half, he said.

“Those lands are now being prepared to give to farmers from the district,” he added.

Rowley said the Government had ensured that there is now unimpeded access from Tucker Valley to the Chaguaramas peninsula. He said there are other matters current;u engaging the attention of a legal team.

Dr Rowley also announced a series of initiatives for the Diego Martin area, including a home work centre, a sporting complex which is expected to be completed next year Easter, the Carenage fishing complex to be completed in early 2018 and an open savannah, West Park, for Four Roads.

Work on the Carenage Police Stationis expected to begin soon as it had gone out for re-tendering. Rowely said this was because contractors gave an estimated cost of $71 million for the project which was not approved.

“We built the Maracas/St Joseph station for much less and contractors must understand we don’t have money to give away,” he said.