By Sandra Chouthi

Special to Indo Caribbean World
Port-of-Spain – The one year anniversary on May 24 of the People's Partnership saw the administration praising its achievements, while PNM was trouncing it for its failures.
While Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led PP was in central Trinidad at Mid-Centre Mall, Chaguanas espousing its accomplishments in its first year in office, the PNM was in west Trinidad, Diego Martin highlighting the government's missteps and mistakes.
It was an anniversary event that saw thousands of PP supporters, both Indians and Africans, turning up. Many of them were wearing the trademark sunrise yellow of the United National Congress, regarded by many as the key party leading the PP. They made their way to the mall car park to wave flags, toot horns, and hold up placards with the face of their Prime Minister and other Members of Parliament.
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar wore a yellow dress. While she was telling party faithful about the (Can) $15.3 million which were given out in student loans, and promised that a new children's hospital would be built, Opposition leader Keith Rowley was demanding before their party faithful that the Prime Minister declare which minister changed the terms of a controversial (TT) $40 million National Petroleum contract.
This is the latest controversy facing the PP. It is an allegation made by the PNM that the $40 million contract for the supply and maintenance of trucks for gasoline haulage had been awarded to Gopaul and Company. The owners of this company are friends of the Bissessar family.
So close are both families that the newly-elected Prime Minister stayed at the Gopaul's Tunapuna home for three months following the May 24, 2010, general elections. This arrangement gave former Prime Minister Patrick Manning the time needed to move out of the official Prime Minister's Residence at St Ann's.
Responding last month to a question from PNM MP Fitzgerald Hinds in Parliament, Housing Minister Roodal Moonilal said Persad-Bissessar's stay at a house in Tunapuna following her victory in the 2010 general election was at no cost to taxpayers.
He said her decision to stay at the east residence owned by the Gopauls was in the context of an offer to President Maxwell Richards to use the Prime Minister's Residence following the collapse of the President's House prior to the general election. It was also a gracious allowance to former Prime Minister Patrick Manning to use the residence until he was able to move out.
Hinds had asked: "(a) Whether the services of the Trinidad and Tobago Police were used for the protection of any residence occupied by the Honourable Prime Minister (other than the official residence), at any time after May 24, 2010; and, if the answer to (a) is in the affirmative, what is the address of this residence?"
In response, Moonilal explained that the Prime Minister had a hectic schedule to maintain and in the context of the offer to the President and the former Prime Minister for their use of the Prime Minister's official residence at St Ann's, Persad-Bissessar "chose to stay at times, generally during the week, to stay at a house in Tunapuna."
He said the Prime Minister's choice to stay in Tunapuna as opposed to "an executive suite at the Hyatt or the Hilton" - which would have cost great expenditure, was because she "rejected a hotel or any other accommodation that would incur taxpayers' money."
Gopaul and Company, in a May 20 full-page newspaper advertisement, said it is qualified to work for NP, and questioned whether the company should be debarred from tendering for State contracts because the Gopaul and Bissessar families are friends.
"Apparently, some people would have the public believe that disqualification for this or any State contract arises out of the fact that the Gopaul family has known the Prime Minister for decades," the advertisement read.
"Does this mean that anyone who happens to enjoy a cordial relationship with any political figure will be denied the opportunity to tender for a contract from the State?"
Gopaul and Company said the criticisms levelled against it were "unwarranted" and "unreasonable".
The ad stated: "If our critics would have their way, Gopaul and Company Ltd should close its doors on any opportunity to bid for any State contract simply because we happen to have known the Prime Minister for a period that predates her assumption to office."
"This is not just discriminatory; it is defamatory since it implies improper motives simply because our families happen to know each other."
Gopaul and Company said it had before been awarded work by NP under the PNM. "Gopaul and Company Ltd had previously won several State contracts under the former administration based on our merit," the company stated.
"Does it mean now that when a new government is in office Gopaul and Company Ltd is no longer permitted to tender for any State contract because our family and the Bissessars have known each other and shared each other's hospitality?"
Hinds has described Persad-Bissessar's stay at the Gopaul home as a "gift," which she should have declared to the Integrity Commission.
Eric St Cyr, chairman of the Integrity Commission, soon found himself in hot water for stating to the media that the present controversy could have been averted if Persad-Bissessar had stayed at a hotel instead.
Folowing this, Jack Warner, Works and Transport Minister and chairman of the United National Congress, said St Cyr had a PNM bias and should resign. St Cyr response was he would not do so.
Rowley has since called on the Integrity Commission to investigate the matter. It is his belief that the Prime Minister breached Section 27 (1) of the Integrity in Public Life Act, which states that persons in public life "shall not accept a fee, gift or personal benefit, except compensation authorised by law that is connected directly or indirectly with the performance of his or her duties of office".
Reginald Dumas, former head of the Trinidad and Tobago Public Service said the only thing the Prime Minister is guilty of is a lapse in judgement.
Referring to Section 27 (1), Dumas said the Prime Minister does not appear to be in breach of the Integrity in Public Life Act. "I think that it means that a person should not accept any benefit for performing his or her functions. Now she has not, as far as I know, performed any functions for which the Gopauls gave her any benefit, so I think it might not be correct to say that she falls under Section 27 (1)."
The PP's first anniversary celebration also took place against the backdrop of an ongoing opinion survey by the North American Teachers Association, conducted in the week before May 24, which showed that the government and the Prime Minister's approval ratings slipped from a year ago. Interviews were conducted with 682 respondents, (45 per cent Indians, 36 per cent Africans, 18 per cent Mixed, and one per cent Others).
Asked if they were satisfied with the performance of the government, 34 per cent said yes (down from 70 percent from a year ago) with 51 percent saying no (up from 28 percent) and 15 percent offering no response.
Asked if they approved of Kamla's performance as Prime Minister, 57 percent said yes (down from 82 percent from a year ago), with 35 percent disapproving and eight percent offering no opinion. Asked if they approved of Rowley's performance as Opposition Leader, 48 per cent (up by 12 percent from a year ago) said yes, with 40 percent disapproving and 12 percent saying they were unsure.

Port-of-Spain - Political leader of the Congress of the People Winston Dookeran on Saturday announced that he was stepping down from the position. The announcement came after an emergency meeting at COP's Flagship headquarters at Broome Street, Port-of-Spain. Dookeran will remain as Minister of Finance in the People's Partnership government and Member of Parliament for Tunapuna.
His announcement makes way for a new leader of the party that was founded in 2006. Dookeran took over the leadership in September, 2006 when he resigned as political leader of the UNC.
Following a meeting involving COP executive members and parliamentary representatives, Dookeran said: "I will not offer myself as a candidate for the leadership of the COP in the July 3 election."
He added that he had not officially informed Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of his plans, "But I had indicated that this decision was made during the course of this week," he said.
COP is set to elect a new leader on July 3 and the deadline for nominations for that post is June 12.
To date, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs and MP for D'Abadie/O'Meara Anil Roberts and COP vice-chairman Vernon De Lima have confirmed that they will be contesting the political leader's post. Sources within the party have said that MP for St Augustine and Minister of Legal Affairs Prakash Ramadhar was also expected to throw his hat in the ring for the post of political leader job.
Dookeran said he will not be endorsing any candidate in the upcoming election. "It is not my intention to endorse any candidate and it is my hope that we can provide scrutiny to those who wish to offer themselves for candidacy," he said.
At the media conference, Dookeran said he felt his decision would not change the relationship between the COP and the People's Partnership government, adding, "It ought not to change that relationship. In fact it might help."
For those who criticised how he exercised his leadership, he said: "Many have been dissatisfied with my style of leadership. I acknowledge that each individual has his own style. But what I do know is that it is not style that matters, it is content that matters, content measured in the end by results."
Roberts has been Dookeran's most constant critic.
At a May 15 National Council meeting at the party's Operations Centre in Charlieville, a meeting described as "passionate" by COP chairman Joseph Toney, Roberts called on supporters to give him a chance to breathe new life into a dying COP that he said he believed had lost its way. Roberts also claimed there was a huge separation between the COP leadership and the people who supported the party from its inception.
Roberts was diplomatic in commenting on Dookeran's stepping down:
"Winston Dookeran has shown he is a true statesman and a man who is true to his word. From the beginning and when he founded the party based on the principles of new politics, Mr Dookeran always said he would make way for succession and new leaders to come through because in the new politics, any person, regardless of race, creed, religion etc., could vie for the top post.
"He is not going to be dragged out of office kicking and screaming like other former political leaders."
Roberts also said he welcomed more people to join in the contest (for political leader) because the COP was a democratic party and elections must be competitive and fair for the party to move forward.

Port-of-Spain - FIFA on Sunday suspended executive committee members Mohamed bin Hammam and Jack Warner over bribery allegations, while completely exonerating president Sepp Blatter in the gravest corruption crisis facing football's world governing body.
"We are satisfied there is a case to be answered," Petrus Damaseb, deputy chairman of the Ethics Committee, told a news conference at FIFA's Swiss headquarters. In an immediate response, Warner accused the FIFA Ethics Committee of an "abuse of process" and accused FIFA president Sepp Blatter of making a gift of (US) $1 million to CONCACAF to spend "as it deems fit."
Warner, FIFA executive committee member Mohamed bin Hammam and two Caribbean Football Union officials, Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester, were all issued with provisional suspensions, pending a full investigation, which is expected to start in July. Warner vowed to offer a vigorous defence of himself and Caribbean officials, Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester, who were also suspended.
The ethics panel said there was sufficient evidence to further investigate allegations that bin Hammam and Warner, the CONCACAF president, offered (US) $40,000 bribes to delegates at a Caribbean Football Union meeting, held at the Hyatt hotel in Port-of-Spain, on May 10-11.
The payments were allegedly made to secure votes for bin Hammam, a Qatari who heads Asia's football confederation, in his campaign to unseat Blatter. The evidence was compiled by American executive committee member Chuck Blazer, who serves as CONCACAF general secretary and treasurer.
Blazer's allegations against Warner appeared to find support in an e-mail sent by Puerto Rico's Football Association to FIFA general secretary, Jerome Valcke during the Ethics Committee news conference. In the e-mail, the Puerto Rican officials said they were given (US) $40,000.
"We would bring back the money to FIFA with a check, which would be part of the evidence to be presented to the Ethics Committee."
FIFA said bin Hammam and Warner, who serves as the Works and Transport Minister and has acted as Prime Minister, will now face a full FIFA inquiry. If found guilty, they could be expelled from FIFA and banned for life from all football activity. Bin Hammam said the suspension was "unfortunate but this is where we are — this is FIFA."
Bin Hammam, who denied any wrongdoing, had asked the ethics panel to investigate Blatter on grounds that he knew of alleged bribe attempts and did nothing about it.
But Damaseb said the five-man panel received "lots of confirmation from every individual conceivable" that there was no evidence to take action against Blatter, who had been in office since 1998.
Warner called his suspension an abuse of the process, in a statement issued after the decision was handed down by the FIFA Ethics Committee.
"I intend to say a lot more on this matter shortly. In the meantime, I will vigorously defend my reputation as well as the reputation of the rest of the Caribbean members," he said.
Warner expressed disappointment with the way the inquiry was carried out. He said he was given less than 24 hours to submit a statement for consideration by the five-member committee.
Additionally, he said, a member from Uruguay did not have the value of a translated version of his or bin Hammam's submission.
"This lack of translation services brings into question the issue of due process," he said. "In addition, FIFA did not have the courtesy to provide me with copies of the allegations before the hearing and only during the hearing were the allegations read to me."
Warner, a 28-year veteran at FIFA's high table, has maintained his innocence in the face of the committee ruling that there was a case to be answered. He alleged, in his statement, that the complaints made against him were politically motivated and "designed, among other things, to cause serious prejudice and damage to both Mr bin Hammam and myself at one of the most critical times for the FIFA."
The sidelined FIFA vice-president said he was also shocked and surprised that he had to learn about his suspension through the media, especially having specifically requested, after leaving the Ethics Committee hearing, that he be notified of the body's decision. Warner has warned that a "football tsunami" would be unleashed after the findings of the FIFA panel were released.

By William Doyle-Marshall

Eleven nationals of Trinidad and Tobago residing in Canada were recognized at an event purported to celebrate "Our Diaspora". But as its programme unfolded it felt very much like a celebration of Indo Trinidadian Diaspora.
There are questions within the T&T community about the new selection process by which these individuals were chosen. An original list of achievers was announced for recognition late last year by an Advisory Committee headed by Ken Jeffers during the tenure of then Consul-General Michael Lashley. The Consul General's Diaspora Awards for Excellence was the established title.
While the 2011 event is being called the inaugural awards by High Commissioner Philip Buxo, many acknowledge this would have been the third year for recognition of Trinidad and Tobago nationals in the Diaspora by the Consulate General. It was launched by Lashley during the time he served brilliantly as Consul General.
This year's awardees are Bas Balkissoon, a member of Ontario Parliament; Amarnath Binda, a principal supporter of the Devi Mandir in Pickering, Ontario; Dr. Stephen Blizzard a medical practitioner, pilot, medical examiner, flying instructor and member of the Air Transport Licensing Authority; Dr. Rita Cox, award-winning storyteller, citizenship court judge and community advocate; Sandra Dean, educator, leadership mentor and national project advisor; Dr. Hedy Fry, Vancouver Center MP in the House of Commons; Glenroy Gilbert and Andrew Lau, athletes; Dr. Roland Hosein, an environmental health and safety specialist; Ian Hanomansing, television reporter with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Ramdath Jagessar, journalist and community activist.
The names discarded by the new committee included Dr. Alfred Waddle who was being recognized posthumously. He provided free health care to needy residents in Nova Scotia for many years following his migration to Canada back in the 1930s; Sonilal Pancham, retired professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Queen's University, who has been providing medical services to people on the African continent and Caricom region. His medical missions took him into rural areas of Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Zambia and India.
Others are Ian Jones, well respected pannist and community leader. He has tutored many Canadians in the art of playing steelband musical instruments. He has been a pivot in the Harriet Tubman Organization during its formative years; Ram Charitar, a businessman in Toronto's Parkdale area who has been providing food for poor people in the neighbourhood for more than 20 years, and Tringo Club, an organization with a long history of cultural development, including creating productions for the popular Caribana festival.
A pre-Christmas presentation of awards event scheduled by Mr. Lashley was hurriedly cancelled with a very brief email note from Lashley stating 'for reasons of force majeure' the Consul General's Diaspora Awards for Excellence 2010 followed by a Taste of Trinidad Style Christmas has been cancelled. It provoked much discussion. Nationals heard that Lashley was forced to resign his position December 21 as the civil service regulation stipulates.
A separate note from the Consulate General for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago informed nationals that due to unforseen circumstances the function scheduled to take place on Friday December 3, 2010 has been cancelled. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.
In the meantime, Surujrattan Rambachan, minister of foreign affairs traced the link between Canada and Tobago. He carefully noted the arrival in Princess Town by Dr. John Morton, his wife Sarah and daughter Agnes in 1868 where they spent the rest of their lives ministering especially to indentured immigrants the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ironically his references to all those T&T nationals seeking new horizons in the promised land of Canada, romped through mainly achievements of Indo Trinidadians like Dr. James Siewnarine, Kenneth Mahabir, the first known Indo Trinidadian to have graduated in medicine from Dalhousie University; Joseph Charles with his Solo brand of soft drinks to the west coast; the Dean family who introduced doubles to Winnipeg; Ram's the first roti shop at Dufferin Mall in Toronto and Reverend Roy Neehall who took his theology to Edmonton. Questions are being asked about the other nationals of Trinidad and Tobago who migrated here and are also excelling in their contributions to the growth and development of Trinidad and Tobago.
Even the cultural programme was heavily one of Indo influence that one African Trinidadian performer expressed it was the first time he felt like a token.
Consensus among nationals in the Greater Toronto Area is that was a divisive event rather one of peace and harmony.