PNM councillor drops dead

The sudden death of Belmont East Councillor Darryl Rajpaul, has left his family, community and colleagues at the Port of Spain City Corporation in shock. Rajpaul collapsed Saturday night while playing football in Belmont and died a short while later of a suspected heart attack.

Speaking yesterday, Port of Spain Deputy Mayor Hillan Morean said Rajpaul was a mentor to the younger councillors like himself and someone who was passionate about serving his community.

“Rajpaul was one of the senior councillors having been there since 2010. He always gave us guidance and was very serious about his area. He came to work with a passion that the rest of us fed off of,” Morean said adding that Rajpaul was well-known for his love of football, which is how Morean first came to know about him.

“He was really passionate about football. He was playing football in Belmont, a regular thing for him, when he collapsed Saturday night. Councillor Rajpaul was chairman of our Sport and Youth Affairs and Physical Infrastructure committees,” Morean said.

“Back in 2012, he and the then mayor Louis Lee Sing launched the corporation’s small goal champions league to help bring peace to communities that were affected by gang activity. Today (yesterday) is supposed to be the start of the final round of the competition at Nelson Mandela Park but with his passing, the committee is to meet to decide how to proceed,” Morean said.

In a press release yesterday, Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Kazim Hosein extended condolences to the family and friends of Rajpaul. Hosein encouraged the Council headed by Mayor Joel Martinez to carry on Rajpaul’s legacy of unity through sport.

“Councillor Rajpaul served with humility and remained committed to God and his family in all aspects of his life. His legacy of always bringing people together and being a strong advocate of peace through sports is one that we must all hold dear and carry on in his memory,” Hosein said.

Rajpaul, Hosein added, was a true servant of the people who was passionate, unrelenting and focus-driven in championing the upliftment of youth through various sport-related programs geared towards community development and improving lives in his burgess.