Charles links Lambeau murder to “fishing activities”

Fishermen continue to vend at the beachfront in Lambeau despite a ‘No Vending’ sign erected by the Division of Infrastructure
Fishermen continue to vend at the beachfront in Lambeau despite a ‘No Vending’ sign erected by the Division of Infrastructure

Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles has linked the murder of 25-year-old Ankel Thomas on August 21 in Lambeau to “unsavoury activities” taking place at a roadside site along the Milford Road in the village where fishermen sell their daily catch.

Thomas was taken to Scarborough General Hospital in Signal Hill on August 21, around 6 pm, by persons unknown, suffering from a stab wound. He died some hours later at 12:35 am while undergoing treatment. A video circulated on social media on August 22 showed him beating another man whilst shouting, “Don’t touch mih bredrin them weed, go for it, go and get the man weed.” The man being beaten was heard responding, “Boy let go me… Dawg, me and you go get away, I don’t have no weed… and yuh hitting me for nothing, boy stop lash me boy. And you hitting me real hard too… I have no weed and yuh hitting me for nothing.”

Las Thursday, Charles, asked to respond to complaints by fishermen selling their catch at the stall along the road, that a “No Vending” erected at the site was impacting on their livelihood, noted the sign was removed by persons unknown and was replaced by the Division of Infrastructure after several complaints. He did not say who made the complaints nor what they were about.

“That sign had to be erected under police watch. So, while the impression was being given that the THA was callous, the fundamental issue that we need to deal with as a community, as an island, is how did we reach here where to put up or erect a no vending sign, it has to be done under police protection.

“Those of us who are aware would know that the last murder committed in Tobago and in Lambeau had its genesis right there and therefore it would have been a serious neglect of our duty of care to the people generally of Tobago if we allowed the unsavoury activities that take place there under the guise of selling fish,” he said.

“It is the unsavoury activities that accompany the selling of fish and we saw what that can lead to… the death of one young man and the possible incarceration of others,” he added.

He did not indicate what the unsavoury activities were but stressed the area was not a vending spot.

“Of course, over the years, it has been allowed to happen… there was this gentleman who built a small shed and covered it because his argument was that he would normally catch approximately 10 lbs of fish, a small catch and therefore he couldn’t go down there and fight up among those selling hundreds of pounds of fish, so he preferred to stay there. Over time what happened is that others moved in,” he said.

But the ‘No Vending’ sign, a short distance away from the Lambeau Fishing Depot, has infuriated the fishermen at the stall who said it was much easier to sell their daily catch along the roadway as they have no transportation to take the fish to the depot.

“For so long, we have been behind the authorities for us to get a jetty so that when the fishermen come in with their catch, they can offload it down there. We have no transport around here, is right here we does dock up… When we dock up here, how we getting the catch down there, how we getting down there?” asked fisherman Edward Grant.

“If you look at the surroundings around here, we know it is not suitable for us…” he admitted, but also contended that the fishing depot was also unsuitable, citing dilapidated conditions.

“They said that it was $8.9 million spent to build that place, $8.9 million, that is what the former chief secretary tell us. After they spent $8.9 million, look at that, the building in a terrible condition. I know that building as a little boy… since in the 60s I know that building, that building is over a hundred and something years old. Some paint they dab on it, put on a shed, put on a cover on it and say allyuh here… $8.9 million,” he said.

Grant called for proper arrangements to facilitate the move from along the roadside.

“They have to refurbish the facilities, they have to bring it up to standard, not their standard but our standard. Put the jetty for us…”

But Food Production Secretary Hayden Spencer, speaking to Newsday Tobago on Saturday, said there were no plans to build a jetty in Lambeau.

“Lambeau falls on the Atlantic Ocean so you cannot just stuff a jetty just like that, that has to do so many surveys and analysis and all of that before you can erect a jetty on that Atlantic Ocean side. I don’t have that on agenda right now, my agenda is to deal with the fishing depot to make it as comfortable and accessible as it relates to the fishing industry… I really don’t see a jetty there being an issue,” Spencer said.

He said the fishermen will benefit from the refurbishment of the depot “in the not too distant future,” that plans “would have to wait on the budget” for approval.

Spencer also admitted that the intent of the “No Vending sign, while it was intended to get the fishermen to use the depot, was also to clear the area of activity.

“There is another issue which I cannot discuss, that is why they don’t want to go down there… we all know, fishing is not the issue, that’s a block, fishing is not the issue.

“Fishing is just the cover to the block so that is why you have so many challenges down there that has no relation to the fishing industry because it is not about fishing,” he said.

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