N Touch

Canadian diplomat visits Guanapo landfill

Canadian High Commissioner to TT Carla Hogan Rufelds, paid a visit recently to SWMCOL’s Guanapo Landfill site to examine the application of Canadian Clean Technology to the treatment of pollutants in landfill leachate. Leachate refers to the liquids percolating through the landfill site that has extracted the soluble and suspended components of the waste.

In his welcome address to the delegation, SWMCOL chairman Shamshad Mohamed advised that the company’s Engineered Wetlands Leachate Treatment Pilot Project was in keeping with Government’s Vision 2030 National Development Strategy for the environment – “placing the environment at the centre of social and economic development.”

The project is a collaborative effort between SWMCOL, Enman Services Limited and Canadian firm Oceans-EWS Treatment Ltd. Glenn Sharp, President of OceansEWS, explained that the engineered wetlands system utilized the natural aerobic biological activity of the plants to break down contaminants and thereafter filter the leachate, resulting in a treated effluent that is safe for discharge into the watercourses.

The system provides a lower cost, more environmentally friendly treatment option when compared with other mechanical treatment systems.

SWMCOL’s Chief Executive Officer Ronald Roach, said this is the first time such a system is being used for the treatment of landfill leachate in the Caribbean and indicated that the process could be replicated at other landfill sites in the country and across the region.

Canada has become a world leader in environmental and waste management technologies and within recent times several Canadian companies have been instrumental in various projects in the waste management sector in Trinidad including the development of a waste management strategy and action plan for Trinidad and Tobago; and the development of preliminary designs for an engineered sanitary landfill.

Bakr loses malicious prosecution lawsuit

Jamaat al Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr has lost his claim for compensation in his malicious prosecution lawsuit against a magistrate who, as coroner, ordered that he be charged for a 1998 murder.

Bakr had alleged that coroner Nalini Singh acted maliciously when she charged him and his former follower Brent “Big Brent” Miller with murder after the conclusion of a coroner’s inquest into the death of 22-year-old mechanic Israel Sammy in September 2010.

Sammy, also a former member of Bakr’s organisation, was shot dead behind his Valot Street, Boissiere Village, Maraval, home on May 20, 1998. Singh’s decision was eventually overturned one month later when Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard said there was insufficient evidence to sustain the charge.

In his ruling at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain yesterday, Justice Frank Seepersad held the evidence in Bakr’s claim established the rules of natural justice were adhered to and, observed during the inquest, there was nothing to suggest Singh’s procedure was flawed or that Bakr’s rights were compromised.

He also said there was no evidence Singh acted with malice or improper motive, adding that in arriving at her decision she properly discharged her statutory obligations under the Coroner’s Act.

In dismissing Bakr’s lawsuit, Seepersad found the malicious prosecution claim could not be sustained against the coroner since she did not prosecute Bakr.

Noting that Bakr’s lawsuit was “not properly structured,” Seepersad said the lawsuit against the Attorney General could not be sustained since there was no allegation that the DPP went on to prosecute Bakr.

Bakr, having lost his lawsuit, was ordered to pay costs.

Hassanali: Our children need help

Zalayhar Hassanali, widow of late President Noor Hassanali, says helping a child is often not enough when it means an entire family is in need of assistance.

“It is very important that we get together and help these children and their families,” Hassanali said after the launch of Kids In Need of Direction’s (KIND’s) new website and National Kindness Campaign yesterday, at KIND’s headquarters, Eastern Main Road, Laventille.

She has been a supporter of KIND since its inception 20 years ago. Hassanali, who supports several NGOs, said most were not getting government subventions.

“Some used to get, but not any more, but these organisations are doing the good work.”

KIND works to help children, mainly in the Laventille area, with education and social programmes. At present, KIND is assisting 18 families.

Hassanali said, “Our children need help, their families need help and unless we do something, they are all going to go into gangs and run into problems. A lot of them can’t read and Government can’t do it, let’s face it, and a lot of people are volunteering. We are doing the work. Once you can help one child you can make a difference.”

Marketing and social media officer Mattieu Ramsawak said 2016 was a difficult period for the organisation, as some of its sources of funding had dried up.

“We were forced to stop some of our programmes and re-evaluate and try to figure out how to restart some of the programmes. This year has been one of planning and making connections, fund-raising, initiatives and drives. Our planning is taking a more holistic approach,” he said.

Ramsawak said in 2018 the NGO plans to start a circuit of community caravans and make connections with community groups, community leaders, social workers and organisations that worked in different communities.

Since its inception, over 15,000 people had been touched and felt a glimmer of hope from KIND.

The implementation of the KIND MIND initiative is slated to start in January 2018 and is intended to be a five-year programme, geared toward effecting holistic development in children, and will consist of literacy competency, including creative writing, martial arts and social-education sessions.

Exploratory learning sessions will be incorporated into the programme to encourage participants to find an outlet for creative expression.

Judge: Trial to proceed with or without ‘Sparrow’

Justice Frank Seepersad says a land dispute trial between Calypso icon Slinger “The Mighty Sparrow” Francisco and a Diego Martin woman will proceed whether the “birdie” attends court nor not. Hearing of the lawsuit came up before the judge at the Hall of Justice, Port of Spain, yesterday, when Seepersad was informed by Francisco’s lawyer that he was ill and could not make it to court. Seepersad has set December 12 for a status hearing, after which new trial dates will be confirmed.

In the lawsuit, Francisco took Sharon Toussaint to court over, what he claims is, an unlawful erection of a galvanised metal fence by her along the perimeter of a parcel of land belonging to him at Lot 12, Bird Street, Union Road in Four Roads, Diego Martin. Toussaint claims in the lawsuit that the property is not Francisco’s since he gave it to her father Vivian Herbert, by deed of gift in March 1989.

She is also claiming, in her defence, that the deed inadvertently described the gifted property as Lot 4, which is occupied by another resident, instead of Lot 12.

Carmona disturbed by child abuse stats

President Anthony Carmona has admitted to being “disturbed” by statistics provided by Children’s Authority chairman Hanif Benjamin, who said the authority had received 45,000 complaints from children about domestic abuse over the past two years.

Benjamin, a clinical therapist and clinical traumatologist, gave the statistics during Mass at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help RC Church, Harris Promenade in San Fernando on Sunday.

He said out of the 45,000 calls, the authority knew of 13,000 cases of children being abused. And it was a sombre Carmona who, during a visit to the San Fernando Boys’ RC Primary School, Harris Promenade on the occasion of Universal Children’s Day, said children were not only being bullied at the schools but in the home as well.

“Today is Universal Children’s Day, a day that is very significant – its theme – no violence against children, because we live in a society where there is great abuse,” Carmona said, adding, “in fact it is very disturbing when I read the statistics this morning from chairman Hanif Benjamin, so I feel it is very important as adults in our society, we must always demonstrate and show love to our young children. “And that is why sometimes we have concerns about people being bullied, but the bottom line is our children are being bullied in our homes. And rather than put these things on social media, we need to arrest the problem.”

He recalled the most horrible crimes he ever prosecuted as an attorney involved the murder of young children. And his advice to the students was that they should set the example to the adults by being nice to each other.

Support for meeting with CJ

At least two High Court judges are supporting a call by their colleague Justice Carol Gobin for an urgent meeting with Chief Justice Ivor Archie to explain himself over recent allegations in a newspaper report. Sources said one of the judges is assigned to the Family Court while the other is in the Civil Court.

An email was sent by Gobin last Friday to all judges, including the Chief Justice, calling for an urgent meeting. Sources indicated that up to yesterday there was no response from Archie.

Meanwhile, the man named in the newspaper articles as being the recipient of a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) house on Archie’s recommendation has distanced himself from the issue. Dillian Johnson, in a television interview on Sunday, said he wanted no part of the “witch hunt” against Archie.

He said the newspaper reports were malicious and clearly orchestrated to attack the CJ. He also said he was being used as “bait”. Last week, Senior Counsel Martin Daly and former head of the Public Service Reginald Dumas also called on Archie to account while the Law Association said, while it was of the view that the charge levelled at the CJ was, as yet, unsubstantiated, there was concern that Archie, after meeting with the judges on the the issue of security, communicated with a friend connected with a private security firm, indicating that he had spoken with judges about their security.

The association’s secretary Elena Araujo said in the statement last week: “No further information is given in the article about the content or context of this communication. But the fact that it may have occurred and that it concerned a presumptively confidential meeting among members of the Judiciary about an obviously sensitive matter, call out for an explanation.”

The association said it, therefore, considered it would be prudent for the Chief Justice to publicly address the allegations. Archie returned to the country on the weekend.

Siblings beaten with shovel

A Petit Valley woman walked into the Four Roads Police station on Saturday night to report that her two teenage children were beaten with a shovel, flash light, pot spoon and other objects by their father and his girlfriend.

The victims, a girl who is 14 and her 15-year-old brother, were taken to a doctor who following a medical examination, confirmed that they were both victims of physical abuse. The woman wept while her children spoke to police about the abuse they suffered. The children said their father’s girlfriend often accused them of not listening to her and would beat them with whatever object is close at hand.

The beatings have been going on for sometime but on Saturday, they could take it no longer and contacted their mother who brought them to the police station. The teens are now staying with their mother and both the father and his girlfriend have been warned not to communicate with the children, while investigations are ongoing.

Also on Saturday, an employee of the Children’s Authority went to the St James Police Station at 11 am, to report that her ten-year-old neighbour was being beaten by his 37-year-old father and on Friday last, was kicked down a flight of stairs. The child has since been removed from the house and is being kept at an undisclosed location under the care of social workers from the Children’s Authority.

Police sources said the ten-year-old reported being beaten by his father and neighbours corroborated his claims saying they witnessed the man hitting his son with pieces of wood, a belt and also kicking him.

A release from the Children’s Authority, on the beating of the boy by his father, stated: “The Children’s Authority is reminding parents and guardians to seek alternative forms of correction when disciplining children. The authority notes that physical abuse continues to be one of the leading categories of abuse. Therefore parents and guardians are reminded to seek support when dealing with stressful situations involving their children.”

The authority said it is also awaiting information on the beatings of the teenage siblings by their father and his girlfriend. On Sunday, Chairman of the authority, Hanif Benjamin, revealed there had been 13,000 cases of abuse against children in this country in a two-year period.

The authority is appealing to the public to report all incidences of child abuse via its hotlines, 996 or 800-2014.

Summons for former EFCL chairman

The JSC intends to issue a summons, based on an order of the Parliament, compelling former chairman of the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL) Arnold Piggott to attend the next hearing of the committee on the company. Piggott was invited to yesterday’s hearing but did not attend based on legal advice, he claimed in a letter sent to JSC secretary Brian Caesar on Saturday.

JSC chairman David Small yesterday told the hearing at the Parliament in Port of Spain, that the former chairman and another person were invited but did not attend. Piggott’s refusal to attend, Small said, was published in a daily newspaper yesterday, even before the committee was informed and even before the meeting convened.

In a letter quoted in the newspaper report, Piggott said, “In the event that I may have been ordinarily favourably disposed to accept an invitation, circumstances, including certain statements in varying quarters, subsequent post-departure developments from EFCL and associated publications would also have caused me to decline.”

Small said the committee was, “disappointed in the way the communication that Piggott was not going to attend ended up in the press before we saw it. The committee is concerned that what we saw is not something we would like to see again.” The committee, Small said, tries to be courteous and respectful and does not communicate its intentions in public. “That is not how we do business.”

The committee discussed the matter, he said, and intends to give another opportunity to those who could not attend yesterday, to do so at another meeting to give their version of events that were presented to the JSC.

The summons for Piggott to attend the next hearing, Small said, is based on Standing Order 102, Section 13, which, “may require by order that a summons be issued to any person to attend before that committee, to be examined and give evidence, and to produce papers and records in that person’s possession.”

The summons, he said, will be signed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives on behalf of the Parliament and be served by the Marshal of the Parliament under the President’s direction, at least seven days before evidence is required. The committee would have to resort to this measure, he said, to enable people who may not want to attend for various reasons.

In Piggott’s case, Small said, there is a document before the committee on which it would like to hear his oral evidence before coming to its conclusion.

Ag CoP among top 3

Acting Commissioner of Police (CoP) Stephen Williams is among three people shortlisted for the post of Commissioner of Police.

Sources revealed yesterday that Williams, former National Security Minister Gary Griffith and president of the Police Social Welfare Association acting ASP Michael Seales gained top scores in phases 1 and 2 of the recruitment process.

The Police Service Commission (PSC), along with a recruitment firm hired to select the commissioner and two deputies, has now started phase three of the selection process, which involves security vetting and medicals. Sources said ACP Irwin Hackshaw, Police Social Welfare Association secretary Anand Ramesar, and ACPs Harikrishen Baldeo and Harold Phillip are among those scoring the highest marks for the deputy commissioner posts. After the third phase, the PSC will send the name of the person who scored the highest in the three phases to President Anthony Carmona. The names of two deputy commissioners will also be sent to Carmona. All the names will then be sent to the House of Representatives for vetting, when the Government can then either accept or reject those proposed. This process is expected to be completed by year’s end. In 2008, Williams was selected by Penn State University as the choice for Commissioner of Police but was rejected by the PNM Government.

Maharaj calls on Govt to reopen Angostura investigation

Saying government has a duty to ensure women are not sexually exploited at the workplace, former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj has called on the ruling PNM administration to reopen a sexual harassment investigation at Angostura Ltd.

In a brief media statement on October 29, Angostura said allegations of sexual harassment made against its chairman Dr Rolph Balgobin by a senior female executive had been dismissed after an internal investigation.

“As a result, the investigation is now closed. The allegations were contained in a whistle-blower complaint submitted to the board on November 3, 2016,” Angostura stated.

However, at a media briefing at his Irving Street, San Fernando law office yesterday, Maharaj, who with attorney Ronnie Bissessar are representing the senior female executive, said there were several inaccuracies within Angostura’s media statement and that its decision to dismiss the complaint was “wholly improper and constitutes a breach of the contract of employment between the senior employee and Angostura.”

He said the company had not given a “proper reason” for the termination of the Diana Mahabir-Wyatt investigating committee and replacing it with sole investigator attorney Rolston Nelson SC.

“Mr Nelson in reality did not, in our view, conduct an investigation into the senior employee’s complaint,” he said adding, “the senior employee is entitled to have her complaint properly and fairly investigated. A grave injustice has been done to her and this injustice ought not to be allowed to continue.

“Angostura has the power to say they have reconsidered this matter and that they have decided in the public interest, in the interest of the company, in the interest of the whistle-blower policy that it has, otherwise it is a mockery of the whistle-blower policy. In the interest of that, it can reinstate the committee, reinstate the complaint, and direct that the committee complete its report,” Maharaj said.

He said Angostura, which is listed on the TT Stock Exchange, is under the control of the government and called on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to “take the appropriate steps to ensure that the investigation” be restarted.

“We believe Angostura should act within the next two weeks, and the government should act within the next week or two also and, therefore, we believe that within the next 21 days we should see the committee back in action. If that does not happen, we will have to consider our legal options but that has to be our last resort.” he said.

Efforts to contact Angostura’s communications department were unsuccessful due to a function.

DPP to receive children’s home abuse report

The police team probing reports of sexual abuse at St Mary’s Children Home, have completed their investigation and is expected to submit a report to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, next week.

Yesterday, ASP Matthew Andrews of the Child Protection Unit said that 18 children between the age of 4 to 15, interviewed and he along with his team of investigators are in the process of tying up loose ends before submitting their report and recommendations to DPP Gaspard. Andrews admitted some of the information coming from the children was, “startling.”

He said all 18 children are under the care and supervision of case workers from the Children’s Authority. Andrews refused to divulge any information relating to the investigation. The Children’s Authority moved in at the St Mary’s Children’s Home three weeks ago after information was made available to the Authority that children at the Home were being sexually abused by their peers. The children were taken to the Teaching Hospital in San Fernando for medical examination and officers of the Child Protection Unit were called in to investigate.

Dyer-Griffith: COP is the ‘one per cent party’

YVONNE WEBB

Questions have been raised about whether Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan got a convincing mandate in the Congress of the People (COP) leadership election, which saw approximately one per cent of its membership voting on Sunday.

Former PP minister Nicole Dyer-Griffith, who had also wanted to run for the party leadership, said it is an embarrassment that the result has moved the party from being identified as the “Congress of the Person” to “the one per cent political party.”

Official results presented by chairman of the elections committee Ricardo Rambally showed only 589 of the 40,000-strong membership showed up to vote at the 14 polling stations across the country. The leadership race was contested by Seepersad-Bachan and Dr Sharon Gopaul-McNicol.

Seepersad-Bachan was declared the winner with a “landslide” of 416 votes. Her opponent garnered 168. There were two spoiled ballots and three others were rejected.

Dyer-Griffith, who was denied the opportunity three times to contest the election, said this made Seepersad-Bachan a minority leader. She blamed the internal wrangling of a small faction for the outcome and questioned whether being given this brand was worth it.

Admitting it was a hollow victory, Seepersad-Bachan said there was a lot of disenchantment in the party, but felt the numerous legal challenges created a lot of uncertainty for members and this contributed to the low voter turnout. She said many people thought the election had been cancelled, and up until Saturday night the party had to keep convincing people that it was on.

Dyer-Griffith said, via telephone, 3,000-plus members had indicated support for her candidacy, and yesterday expressed disappointment that they were not afforded the opportunity to vote for her. However, she was not in support of scrapping the process and getting a fresh mandate, saying once the players remained the same, the outcome would be no different.

Also expressing disappointment at the low turnout was former COP leader Dr Anirudh Mahabir. He attributed it to a lack of confidence in a third party in the country, which primarily has a two-party system, except for the coalitions which brought into power the United National Congress (UNC) under Basdeo Panday and subsequently the People’s Partnership under Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

He also offered this explanation, “The COP may be suffering from the fact there has been so much in-fighting for such a long time that many people are fed up and do not want to continue, because they do not see a clear path where they are going to. So, it seems that the party’s original pathway has been clouded because so many people have been fighting over small things and the population is therefore losing confidence in the party.”

He said he was not certain Seepersad-Bachan had the ability to bring unity and stability to the party, as it considers contesting the next general election, to bring the party back to its glory days.

“An individual alone would not be able to bring that party back to where it was. She would need to have a group of people who are consistent in their thought, who are honest, who are good politicians. They must all work very hard. A leader must consider the leadership as a full time job. Those of us who do it part time would never succeed.”

Mahabir said he was willing to assist if called upon to do so.

But the woman who placed second, Gopaul-Mc Nicol, said it did not matter if she received one per cent or more, the system under which the COP operates is “winner takes all” and therefore, Seepersad-Bachan has the mandate to govern the party for the next three years.

“That’s our policy. We don’t have a system that says if you win by one or you win by a million, you win.

That’s our system, and unless we change it and we come up with another system, that’s it. She had a mandate and she has won.”

Jail for guard who stole Bhagwansingh’s money

STACY MOORE

A security officer employed by S.W.A.T. Estate Police Company, who stole $31,500 in cash and cheques from Bhagwansingh’s Hardware, has been sent to prison for nine months with hard labour.

Crystal Mc Mayo, 31, of Malick Road, Barataria went on a spending spree purchasing two Samsung S7 Edge cell phones costing $8,000, paid some bills and bought groceries.

She appeared before senior magistrate Jo-Anne Connor in the Chaguanas Magistrates Court yesterday.

In passing sentence, Connor said Mc Mayo betrayed the trust of the company to use their money to “buy cell phones and to pay for her luxuries.”

The charge, as laid by PC Andile Mohammed of the Chaguanas CID, alleged that between November 3 to November 10 at De Verteuil Street, Chaguanas Mc Mayo stole one RBC deposit bag containing $16,522, cheques valued at $15,048 and an assortment of LINX and VISA. She pleaded guilty.

Prosecutor Sgt Pooran Bisnath told the court that at about 1.30pm on November 3, Mc Mayo collected a bag of money from Bhagwansingh’s Hardware to be delivered to the RBC, Trincity branch. The company’s sales supervisor discovered the deposit was not made.

A report was made to the Chaguanas CID on November 15 and Mohammed investigated. Mc Mayo was arrested and admitted to stealing the money. She also told the police she gave $10,000 to a friend.

Bisnath told the court the cell phones and $1,500 were found at Mc Mayo’s home when it was searched. The cheques were not found.

Attorney Taradath Singh who represented Mc Mayo said she was remorseful for her actions. Pleading for leniency, Singh said Mc Mayo has two children, ages four and ten, and has been working at the security company for the past seven years. He said although her actions were not justified, she had found herself in financial difficulties. He said she got into an accident while on the job and was placed on 14 days sick leave but was not paid during that time.

EMBD files lawsuit vs Moonilal

Former Housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal is one of four people and three companies accused in a lawsuit filed by the Estate Management and Business Development Company (EMBD) of engaging in an elaborate scheme of bid-rigging, bribery and collusion which led to hundreds of millions of dollars being disbursed to five contractors just prior to the 2015 general elections.

The lawsuit against Moonilal; former EMBD chief executive Gary Parmassar; former divisional manager at EMBD Madhoo Balroop; Andrew Walker; and companies Fides Limited; Namalco Construction; and LCB Contractors was filed in the Port of Spain High Court yesterday and announced by the Office of the Attorney General in a media release.

According to the statement, the lawsuit concerns ten contracts awarded in August 2015 to five contractors for the upgrade and rehabilitation of certain Caroni access roads and two contracts for rehabilitation works.

The five contractors were identified by the ministry as: TN Ramnauth and Company Limited (TN Ramnauth); Mootilal Ramhit and Sons Contracting Limited (Ramhit); Kall Company Limited (Kallco); Namalco Construction Services Limited (Namalco); and Fides Limited (Fides).

The release said the EMBD lawsuit alleged breach of fiduciary duty, cartel behaviour, bribery, collusion, knowing receipt, dishonest assistance and unlawful means conspiracy.

The EMBD is also seeking compensation and repayment of sums paid. The ministry said those named as defendants in the lawsuit are expected to be served with the court action in the coming days.

Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young, in October, announced the State’s intention to pursue legal action against Moonilal and the others.

EFCL’S $900M MAN

The Parliament’s Joint Select Committee (JSC) on State enterprises heard details yesterday of one man being given 58 contracts by the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL), worth a mind-boggling $900 million.

The contractor is currently in litigation with the EFCL for payment of this sum while an auditing firm which was hired by the company is now itself being investigated. At present, the EFCL has been sued for $1.2 billion by 20 contractors including the lone benefactor of $900 million worth in contracts.

These startling revelations were given by EFCL chairman Ricardo Vasquez before the JSC, which held its third hearing into the operations of the company, at the Office of the Parliament. Claims by contractors against the EFCL include those for work that was suspended, while others are for work that was incomplete but full payment was demanded.

Some jobs never got started, Vasquez said, and in some cases contractors are on the site without working but are still billing the company. Asked how it is one person could be granted 58 contracts, both Vasquez and EFCL Ag General Manager Denis Cox could not provide an answer. Asked to provide this contractor’s name, the sums for each of the 58 contracts and the period in which these contracts were awarded, the EFCL officials were not forthcoming. They were then asked by the JSC to provide details in writing.

Vasquez said most of the contracts were inherited by the new board which he now heads. He does know what the procurement policy was then and how contracts were awarded. It was not the practice to award one person so many contracts, Vasquez said, hence the reason there were so much controversies and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) had to step in to do a validation.

“That practice no longer exists,” Vasquez said. Before a contract is awarded, the EFCL has to get approval from the Ministry of Education. JSC member Wade Mark noted that PWC seems to be the preferred auditor of choice, having been given six contracts between September 1, 2016 to March 13, 2017, at a cost of over $3.1 million.

Cox said when he took office at the EFCL, several audits were ongoing. Cox said he saw a lot of documents, but there was no evidence that advertisements were placed for open bidding and concluded that PWC was selected through the sole selective process. The EFCL is to provide to the JSC in writing, the criteria used to select PWC.

The JSC also heard yesterday that a previous EFCL board under the then chairmanship of Arnold Piggott – a former PNM Government Minister – overstepped their boundaries and interfered with the day to day operations of the company. This allegation was contained in a letter written in October 2016, by Cox, to one the Education Ministry’s four permanent secretaries. The letter was not meant for public consumption.

The letter addressed situations, Permanent Secretary Suzette Lee Sing testified yesterday, in which the Piggott-led board encroached on the responsibilities of staff at the EFCL. That board, the JSC heard, approved unqualified personnel for appointment, conducted improprieties in the procurement process and, “there were situations where board members were abusing resources of the EFCL and using resources for personal purposes.”

The matters raised, she said, were sent in a letter to the Minister of Finance Colm Imbert, the afternoon she (Lee Sing) received it. The issues were raised with the minister.

The matter was investigated by the ministry’s Central Audit Committee which is in the process of finalising its report, Lee Sing said.

Noting that the allegations were serious, JSC chairman Small said the committee received many documentation showing, “some unusual occurrences”, such as the speed with which the board approved tenders in a day while others took months. “These are some of the things committee are trying to get to the bottom of,” Small said.

Coast Guard boat sinks in Tobago

ELIZABETH GONSALVES

A Coast Guard boat moored at the Scarborough Jetty near the fishing depot in Tobago was discovered underwater on Monday morning.

Newsday understands that reports were made by Coast Guard officials to the Tobago Emergency Management Agency at 8.45 am and assistance was rendered to bring the vessel afloat. The sunken boat is, reportedly, the only vessel allocated to the island.

The white boat, with one red and black stripe on each side, was found completely sunk but was, fortunately, still visible because it was tied to the pier. According to sources, Coast Guard officers cleared the area and requested that the incident remain secret. Newsday was also told that several drums filled with water and air bags were used to bring the boat to the surface.

Public Relations Officer of the TT Coast Guard Lieutenant Sherron Manswell told Newsday on Monday evening, that the circumstances surrounding the incident were being investigated.

When contacted, vice president of the All Tobago Fisher Folk Curtis Douglas described the case as shameful. “For it to sink in the ambit of the Coast Guard presence when it was moored off; that is negligence and somebody from the Ministry of National Security needs to give the public a statement to explain that.”

Man who set wife on fire found guilty of manslaughter

A 37-year-old man who set his wife on fire in 2008 would know his fate on December 6.

Levi Dolloway also called “Roger” was, yesterday, found not guilty on the charge of murder of his wife, but was found guilty of manslaughter. Dolloway was charged with killing his wife on June 7, 2008. The case is before Justice Hayden St Clair-Douglas and a 12-member jury in the San Fernando High Court.

In a previous hearing, State Attorney Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal said Dolloway’s wife, Arlene, 26, had two children who were four years and two months old respectively.

On that fateful day, she was cooking roti and patchoi for her husband in the kitchen of their home. Sometime during the night, the State prosecutor said, an argument erupted between them and Dolloway fetched a bottle of gasoline. Dougdeen-Jaglal said Dolloway allegedly threw the gasoline on Arlene. She was burnt all over and was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where she died ten days later.

The prosecutor said when police interviewed Dolloway, he said he was holding a gas container and his wife put out her hand. The container with the gas was three-quarter filled and, when she pulled her hand away, some of the gas fell and all he heard was “Voom!”

Yesterday, the foreman of the jury announced that Dolloway was found guilty of manslaughter on the ground of lack of intent. The judge also ordered a bio-social report from the prison and a probations officers report. Dolloway is represented by attorneys Cedric Neptune and Marissa Bobb. The case was adjourned to December 6.

18 days after giving birth, SWRHA investigates death of mom

A day after a young mother died at the maternity ward of the San Fernando General Hospital( SFGH), the South-West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) announced it is investigating the death.

A statement from the SWRHA issued yesterday stated Leela Mahase died 18 days after delivering a baby. The statement added that she was admitted to the SFGH with an acute medical emergency on Sunday,but died later that day. The Authority stated that the circumstances of her passing are now the subject of an investigation and offered its condolences to the family of Mahase.

The SWRHA said it has been in contact with the family to discuss their concerns and has offered all necessary counselling in the situation. It further stated “the death of Ms Mahase is being reviewed with the necessary urgency and in accordance with the relevant protocols and procedures and the findings would be made available to the family.”

Lewis: “We have to get our act together”

Chief Executive Office of the Tobago Tourism Agency (TTA), Louis Lewis wants stakeholders to come together to develop a robust tourism strategy for the island.

Lewis, speaking at a stakeholders’ workshop at the Victor E Bruce Financial Complex, Scarborough last Thursday, referred to data for the years 2011-2017, which showed a declining tourism industry for Tobago, and said during this same time, the reverse was happening in other Caribbean islands.

“It says something is happening that we have not focused on. What is causing our numbers to decline overall… If we look at some of the countries around us, the reverse is happening, it means that people are eating our pie… we need to figure out what we were doing back than that we are not doing now,” Lewis said.

He called on stakeholders to come together to work for the good of the industry.

“Tobago is in a situation where we should not get worse than we are, and it requires urgent and immediate action to turn those things around. We have a very strong product, we have a very attractive product, we have marketing recognition, the issue is there is no sympathy in the marketplace. We have to get our act together. Focus, develop, maintain and market,” he said.

TTA Chairman Dr Sherma Roberts said transformation of Tobago’s tourism requires agility.

“We need stronger alignment, we need to be agile and action oriented, we need to be accountable,” she said, adding that the TTA has been working assiduously since July to address the problem.

“…up to November there was a clean strategy in terms of where the agency was going. We also asked them (stakeholders) to submit to us their five priority areas and what kind of recommendations they can present to assist us,” she said.

Roberts said the TTA has also presented an operation budget to the Tobago House of Assembly’s Executive Council, describing this as “a work in progress.”

TTA advised to read up on Tobago tourism

Tobago’s tourism stakeholders on Thursday referred the Tobago Tourism Agency (TTA) to previous reports concerning plans for the sector, suggesting that the data being sought was already available and that hosting further workshops was reflective of a disrespect for the opinions and time of the stakeholders.

Businessman David Lum Kong, representing the Tobago Division of the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce at a workshop held on Thursday at the Victor E Bruce Financial Complex, Scarborough, noted that a similar workshop was recently by the Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) Division of Tourism, under then Senior Tourism Coordinator, John Arnold

Lum Kong comments followed an overview of the workshop by the Agency’s Deputy Chairman, Dr Acolla Cameron, which she said was intended to complete the Agency’s strategic plan to define Tobago’s tourism products, identify the island’s “brand” and measures to market the destination.

Lum Kong suggested to the TTA members, which included Chairman Dr Sherma Roberts, that they review the notes arising out of that previous workshop as well familiarise themselves with various other plans, proposals and recommendations for the industry done over the last few years.

“I know the Chamber submitted a plan about five years ago. Last year around this time or just before the councillor (Tourism Secretary Nadine Stewart-Phillips) was appointed we had a programme at Magdalena with a similar work session (to the TTA workshop) and many of the persons in this room participated in roundtable workshops. “I am trying to understand where are we going. I know we want to go forward but we have a lot of information out there…,” he said.

Vice President of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (THTA) Carol-Ann Birchwood James endorsed Lum Kong’s statements.

“We spent a whole day, prepared all the documents earlier in the year, talking to Mr Arnold, that is a whole day out of our business, we don’t get paid as we sit down here. I am thinking…they will call us for another workshop and another workshop. …most of us and people from the Agency should have had a look at what was presented, accepted and agreed to, it was only a few months ago.

“Very few things have changed, don’t mind that the world is dynamic and we are changing a lot of technology but most of the things have not changed, the fundamental things. We should have all read it at least because a lot of us spent the entire day there,” she complained.

Birchwood James also called for due regard be paid to the opinions and the time given by tourism operators.

“We don’t want to sit down here and hear a set of speeches, we want to give our opinion, give what our association thinks as we move forward. We want to move forward, we want to make money, we want to have guests, we want to pay our bills, but we certainly don’t want to sit here and have our time not respected as well as our opinions,” she said.

In response, Stewart Phillips called for stakeholders to give the TTA a chance to formulate a plan for the sector.

“In all fairness to the TTA, we should give them the opportunity, along with the stakeholders, that is why we are here to formulate a plan… As much as we might have had something five years ago, we are here now and there is a reason, it must mean either we fell short on something. I cannot speak to that, the TTA cannot speak to that but of course these documents will be used in terms of decision-making and informing decision-making as we do not want to reinvent the wheel,” Stewart-Phillips said.

TTA Chairman Roberts said the workshop was a means of gathering secondary data, “that something that was spoken about five years ago might have fallen off the radar in 2017 because the environment is changing very, very quickly.”

“By March, we are hoping that whatever you say here will be still relevant to the three-year trajectory. I also want to underscore that the roadmap is flexible, the external environment is very turbulent, it is moving at a pace and therefore some of the things that we might be putting forward, we might have to tweak it or change it or even take it off the table completely because of some of the changes in the social, technological environment,” said Roberts.