Port-of-Spain – It appears the work of the Port Authority to procure an inter-island new passenger ferry has been deliberately stymied, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young said last week, and its procurement would now be done by a Cabinet sub-committee that is headed by Finance Minister Colm Imbert.
Young said with six failed attempts by the Port Authority to acquire a ferry, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had stepped in to take charge. He has delegated the job to a subcommittee of Imbert, Young, Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe, and Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte.
Young said the subcommittee was “working apace” to hopefully report back within a couple of weeks, and had contacted ten international shipping brokers plus Trinidad and Tobago-based diplomats from Canada, Australia, Japan, and Italy for help.
“We are disappointed, obviously, that once again the tender process failed to provide a ferry,” Young said. He added the acquisition had been hamstrung by “certain untoward behaviour at the management level, and, I daresay, corruption”,
A forensic report had been received and sent it to the Port Authority, Young said.
“We are not hamstrung by those who may want to influence a decision by corrupt means or otherwise. What we found coming out of those previous attempts is that there may have been persons influencing the outcomes, persons doing certain things that did not throw up for the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. It is no matter of coincidence that six attempts at a tender failed,” Young said. The world of corruption is linked to monetary gains, he noted.
“They [Port Authority] invited 13 international brokers to provide services. None of them responded. We don’t believe that is possible. The sub-Cabinet committee has already been able to get past those hurdles of getting responses,” Young said.
Young added it was the hope to get a new ferry in “the shortest possible time-frame”, and aimed for no disruption to service for Christmas and Carnival. He promised interim measures for the sea-bridge, such as the use of the water taxis at weekends.
Meanwhile, the latest delay in selecting a company to provide passenger and cargo transportation services on the sea-bridge has been taken as a sign that "Tobago is being taken for a joke" by the powers that be in Trinidad.
This assessment came from President of the Inter-Island Truckers Association, Horace Meade, following the announcement that the PATT tender process had failed.
"They taking Tobago and Tobagonians for a joke. A fast ferry making the trip in five hours when it's supposed to take two and a half hours plus the air conditioning on the Cabo Star cargo boat doesn't work and it's (Cabo Star) cafeteria has no food. You can't be treating people like this," he said.
Meade said he was fed up at the ongoing delays and controversy in finding new ferries following the departure of the MV Superfast Galicia earlier this year.
He was also critical of the Tobagonians in Cabinet – Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Tobago East MP Ayanna Webster-Roy and Tobago West MP Shamfa Cudjoe.
"The PM is supposed to be a Tobagonian, but he's silent on this. So too, the Tobago East and West MPs. I have no faith that Cabinet will do a better job than the PATT because everything is jobs for the boys. They really don't care for us. Tobago is an afterthought," Meade declared.

Port-of-Spain – A fund to assist victims of road accidents exists but has not been operationalised, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said last week.
The minister said he was in talks with Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi on this matter, which will ensure victims such as young brothers Brandon and Darion Roopnarine receive help. The parents of the boys were killed in a road accident.
"I am speaking to the Attorney General where there is a fund to be operationalised for the victims of road accidents, which has been in place for quite a while but has not been operationalised, and I am speaking to the Attorney General so that some of the victims that you spoke about, especially the two orphans, that we can find a way for victims like that to access the fund," said Sinanan.
Sinanan noted statistics from the police show since the introduction of the speed guns, many motorists have been prosecuted for breaking the speed limit. He said the government is on course to achieving a 50 percent reduction in road accidents as he noted there has been an eight percent decrease compared to last year.
He noted Arrive Alive has given a lot of ideas on certain areas they want to see corrected before the new speed limit is put into place, and these will be addressed.
Sinanan said there are four pilot projects taking place where spot speed cameras are implemented. There will be almost 30 spot speed cameras and red light cameras throughout Trinidad and Tobago, in addition to the 15 hand-held speed guns.
He said he does not see why the police cannot also utilise the speed equipment in rural areas, adding work will be done to ensure cable barriers on the highways are repaired.
"The contractors who supplied them also have the contract for the repairs; it is a very expensive piece of equipment, it is not as simple as pulling the cables," he said.

Port-of-Spain – President Anthony Carmona last week challenged parents to play a greater role in children’s life and upbringing by assuming roles as mentors, adding that core values of compassion and respect must be taught at home.
Carmona made the remarks during his feature address at the National Scholarships and Awards ceremony for primary and secondary school students at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, in which he praised winners for their excellence and reminded parents of their duties as caregivers and moral teachers.
Recalling his own childhood, Carmona said his parents took on the responsibility as mentors, but claimed that nowadays parents have fallen down on their duties.
“My greatest mentors were my parents, and they never went to secondary school, yet they were intelligent, well-read, considerate, kind and respectful to everyone they encountered. As mentors we must demand that parents take up the mantle of primary mentorship. We live in a land where far too often, parents are allowed to do whatever they want and blame others, including teachers, principals and schools, for the poor stewardship of their children – the poor stewardship that is being inculcated at home,” he said.
Unlike previous award ceremonies celebrating academic excellence, Carmona revealed that in addition to the award of the President’s Medal, each recipient was also given a presidential scroll, which commends the student for their achievements, and said he would also prepare scrolls for students awarded medals over the past four years.
“These scrolls will proclaim the remarkable achievements of our presidential scholars. You will now have a presidential instrument that will be my reminder of your inspirational success that you have achieved in the year 2017 and all for those who have achieved similar successes from 2013 to 2016.”
Quoting reggae artiste Chronixx, Carmona also urged students to put, “substance over hype”, in their daily lives by letting good sense prevail over sensationalism.

Port-of-Spain – Expressing anguish over the murder of one of their religious leaders, a pundit last week called for guns to protect themselves from criminal elements.
“Give us licenced guns,” said Pundit Amar Seepersad. “Now is time for us to stand up and defend ourselves and we have to do it now.”
Seepersad was one of 20 pundits who spoke at the funeral for Pundit Sunil Ragbirsingh shot and killed at his Arouca home late last month. Many of the pundits told mourners they felt angry and hurt.
“If the State cannot get rid of the guns from the criminals, then give a licensed gun to each one of us to protect ourselves,” Seepersad said. He told pundits they were not sheep, but lions among men.
“Look at what is happening to us, we have forgotten our nation and we are very docile and calm. Yes, continue to do your pujas and chant your bhajans, but now is the time to stand up and defend yourselves,” he said.
He predicted in the process of defending themselves and family members, someone may be hurt.
“If there are bandits in your homes, don’t allow your sisters and daughters to be raped or taken advantage of or murdered. If it means that sometimes you have to sacrifice your lives, this is what we have to do,” he declared.
Ragbirsingh returned to his First Street, Five Rivers, Arouca home at about 11pm on November 25 after a prayer service at an Endeavour, Chaguanas temple. He was confronted by three men, with bandanas over their faces, who were leaving the house after removing a safe containing a large sum of cash and jewelry. He was shot by one of the bandits as they fled.
Pundit Bissram Seeudath described Ragbirsingh’s death as an assassination. Many of the pundits who spoke struggled to hold back their tears.
“This is such a tragedy, said Pundit Robby Roopnarine. “I am sad and devastated. I remember his (Ragbirsingh’s) smile. He was a hero to many.”
He said he and other religious leaders can take solace that Ragbirsingh accomplished what he set out to do, through his community and other communities, bringing families closer to God.
MP for Couva South Rudranath Indarsingh asked the question: “Who is next to be killed?” He said Ragbirsingh is the third member of his constituency to be killed over a two-month period and it is clear that the government has lost the battle against crime. Ragbirsingh was cremated at the Waterloo Cremation Site. No arrests have been made in his killing.

Port-of-Spain – Members of the Organised Crime Intelligence Unit are keeping close tabs on approximately 2,459 suspected gang members nationwide whose names, whereabouts and alleged activities are known to authorities.
So said Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi when he addressed concerns of intelligence-gathering from the Opposition last week.
Al-Rawi said members of the OCIU have been hard at work gathering intelligence across the nine police divisions. He said the information would be used to root out criminal elements if the government’s amended anti-gang legislation was passed. He said the original legislation, which expired August last year, had been updated in some areas to treat with increasing gang activity. He said the presentation of such statistics on gang activity should be enough to gain Opposition’s support of the new law saying that enough consultation on the reintroduction of legislation had been held.
Al-Rawi said: “What we added to the expired anti-gang law was a provision which allowed for the following of money or property where we suggested that gang members be subjected to the court and if they could not explain their wealth, let the court decide whether they should keep it or not.”
He said the two bills that had been proposed by the government included the special zones law which allowed for limited states of emergency in specific areas, where police and other emergency authorities would be allowed to enter certain areas to carry out anti-crime exercises. He said the amended legislation was currently in circulation and had not received any feedback from the Law Association.
Citing the recent trend of gang members taking to social media and brandishing weapons and issuing threats in videos, Al-Rawi said the State could no longer allow such acts to go unsupervised and the reintroduction of laws to specifically treat with gangs was needed to quell rising violence.
“We cannot allow our country to be held hostage by criminals who routinely take to social media and advertise their gangs. What is Rasta City? What is Unruly ISIS? Each time they take to social media to express their gang affiliation is a confession of gang activity,” he said.

Port-of-Spain – Former senator Allyson Baksh has said she resigned from the Senate because of “family commitments,” but declined to answer any more questions on the issue.
“That is all I am prepared to say,” Baksh added.
Baksh tendered her resignation to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley last week Monday. Rowley accepted it and thanked her for her service and contribution to the Senate.
Baksh was appointed shortly after the September 2015 general election and was a member of the Joint Select Committee on State Enterprises.
Her replacement in the Senate, Ronald Huggins, is also her replacement on the JSC. Among the state enterprises which fall under the ambit of the committee is Petrotrin. She sat in during a meeting of the committee in 2016, when Petrotrin officials appeared to answer questions.
Baksh is the daughter of Haniff Nazim Baksh, the owner A&V Oil and Gas Drilling, which has the contract to supply oil to Petrotrin from the Catshill Field.
An internal audit report at the state oil company showed that for the period January to June this year Petrotrin overpaid the company to the tune of (TT) $80 million for oil which it did not receive. The findings of the internal audit have since been confirmed by Canadian Forensic Audit Consultant Kroll.
International Oil and Gas Consultant Gaffney Cline also confirmed the field in question did not have the capacity to supply the quantity of oil which it was alleged had been produced, and for which Petrotrin paid.
Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who had made the Petrotrin internal audit report into the sale of oil by A&V to Petrotrin public in August, had called on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to remove Baksh from the Senate.
UNC Senator Gerald Ramdeen said Baksh’s resignation was an attempt for the government to save face following the Petrotrin “fake oil” issue allegedly involving the company owned by Baksh’s family.
“Ms Baksh’s resignation was long in coming,” Ramdeen said.
“It’s a farce to cover up controversy around the Petrotrin matter. Government has tried to save face considering what’s been disclosed by Petrotrin’s audit team on the ‘fake oil issue’ and confirmation by Canadian auditors recently.”
Ramdeen added, “What’s delayed now for an unacceptable period is action by Petrotrin’s board following the Canadian auditors’ report. This matter involves (TT) $100 million of taxpayers’ funds and on the face of it, criminal conduct seems to be involved. One would expect the board and Energy Minister to immediately institute proceedings for recovery of monies wrongly paid by Petrotrin and termination of continuing contracts,” he said.

Port-of-Spain – Health Minister Terrance Deyalsingh has vowed to reduce the number of limb amputations due to diabetes by 20 percent by 2018. Close to 500 limb amputations are performed annually in Trinidad and Tobago.
Speaking to reporters following the launch of the health schools initiative at the Fyzabad Anglican Secondary School last week, Deyalsingh observed that research done over the past ten to 15 years showed the nation’s school children were suffering from high rates of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.
“Today we are continuing the drive to get our children to understand the need for physical activity, the need to watch what they eat, what they drink, what they take into their bodies so that the next generation doesn’t succumb to diabetes and obesity,’ he said.
Deyalsingh said the current bed to population ratio was about 2.7 beds per 1,000 patients and was expected to increase to about three beds to 1,000 patients with the coming of the new hospitals such as the one in Point Fortin.
However, he said that could be negated if people did not change their lifestyles or start to take preventative measures against non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and heart attack.
He said, “So part of the NCD plan, we are having an international conference here – December 10 and 11, two day symposium – we will have members of the Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association and other international speakers to give us a blueprint for best practice moving forward to decrease our amputation rate by 20 percent by the end of 2018 and it is doable.”
He also noted that the Point Fortin hospital was about 40 percent completed and scheduled for completion by May, 2019.

Port-of-Spain – A Canadian citizen on vacation was found murdered in Ste Madeleine, south Trinidad last Friday. Vishnu Narine, 56, was discovered dead near the Usine Ste Madeleine pond, his body bearing marks of violence, police said.
Narine traveled to Trinidad from Ontario, and had spent several weeks at Church Street, St Charles Village. He was due to return to Canada the day after he was killed.
Grieving relatives told police the night Narine left home he was carrying (TT) $10,000. He was given a lift to the Starlite Recreation Club in Palmyra.
Two employees with the Ministry of Agriculture stumbled upon Narine’s body shortly before 8 a.m. on Friday morning. The body appears to have been dumped on a gravel road leading into the pond. Narine appeared to have sustained a gunshot wound to the face.
Lodrick Headley, who made the discovery, believed the body was dumped overnight.
“My co-worker, he was the one who saw the body after he came and parked up here. He called police and remained here while I was out there. When I came across, I realised there was something on the ground... Every morning we pass here so it had to be something that happened overnight. This is a dead-end right here, so perhaps someone dropped the body here,” Headley said.