Kamla mourns Gafoor, Anthony

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar mourned the deaths of former Industrial Court judge Gladys Gafoor and historian Michael Anthony.

Gafoor, 90, died on August 25. Anthony, 91, died on August 24.

Newsday understands that Gafoor's funeral will take place at the St Charles Borromeo RC Church in Tunapuna on Friday at 3.30 pm.

In a statement on Sunday, Persad-Bissessar said Gafoor served with honour and integrity and should be remembered as such.

"One of her most important public contributions was her monumental, three-volume 2007 Report of the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into the Operations and Delivery of Public Health Care Services."

That CoE was appointed in 2004. Persad-Bissessar said the enquiry took over two years to complete and its final report consisted of around 1,500 pages.

"That report contained evidence of corruption or other malfeasance in the health sector and then-Prime Minister Patrick Manning proposed to send a copy to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Commissioner of Police and the Integrity Commission."

Persad-Bissessar also said when Gafoor was the commission's deputy chairman, she stood up against alleged political interference.

"She was clearly not afraid to go against the political grain, in order to uphold our independent institutions. Qualities like hers are badly needed in the public realm today, when so many voices in these institutions remain silent, for fear of victimisation."

In a separate statement, Persad-Bissessar praised Anthony as a literary icon and historian.

She said his death was a profound loss to TT.

"Michael Anthony’s writing lives on, and we must continue to read and learn from them. Let us honour his memory, keep his work alive, and do all we can as a country to continue his legacy."

In a Facebook post on August 26, the Prime Minister said, "The nation has lost one of our best timekeepers."

Dr Rowley said Anthony, "encouraged us and made it possible to visit and revisit our ancestry and our progress. He recorded the apparent inconsequential only to enlighten us about who we are and how we made it."

In mourning Anthony's death, Rowley said the population can be comforted by "the literary legacy he bequeathed to us for now and for future generations."