He is appealing to those persons to reflect on alternatives which could provide more acceptable outcomes to their valuable lives.

The Prime Minister’s appeal came in a statement on recent violent crimes and as the murder toll for the year reached 50 on the week-end.

“While crime has been, for some time, one of the most, if not the most critical issues facing Trinidad and Tobago,” Dr Rowley’s statement said, “The particularly heinous murders over the recent weeks have been nothing short of traumatising for the entire nation.
The loss of life through violent and unlawful means is wholly unacceptable.”

Rowley observed that in recent weeks we have seen teenaged school girls being abducted and their young lives brutally snuffed out. Women continue to die through violent means, he added, pointing out also that we are witnessing scenes where bodies are being dismembered and humiliated for display. “Every murder is considered objectionable by the government, the Prime Minister said, “But the especially abhorrent types of murders occurring in recent weeks have brought an acute sense of terror and trauma to citizens.”

He said, “It is the unwavering commitment of Government to provide national law enforcement with what is required to do all that is humanly possible, under the ambit of the law, to find the perpetrators and swiftly bring them to justice.”

The Prime Minister said, “Government sincerely sympathises with all who have lost loved ones to murder and while we share the pain inflicted on the national community by those who engage in violent conduct we continue in our sustained efforts to bring the perpetrators justice.”

Rowley concluded, “I want to appeal to all those young persons who might be influenced by or attracted to violent criminal activity to consider the frequency with which such activities end in grief not only for their families but for the wider national community, to reflect on alternatives which would provide more acceptable outcomes to their valuable lives.”

Nor was there biting satire and the over the top Carnival atmosphere that has defined the show over the years.

Instead, patrons at the 53rd instalment of the opening of the Kalypso Revue at the Arima Velodrome on Friday night were served a brand of conspicuously tempered offerings, which, though topical and entertaining, did not work them into a frenzy.

In fact, allusions to the political ‘misdeeds,’ of past governments, particularly the former People’s Partnership, were masked by veiled references to these scenarios or, in some cases, none at all.

For instance, Skatie (Carlos James), one of the tent’s political standard bearers, dispensed with his usual stinging style in favour of an almost demure piece titled, “Let Us Turn The Tide”, which called on all citizens – children, parents and leaders – to each do their part in ridding Trinidad and Tobago of its many ills.

He referred to the country’s attributes – its status as “a melting pot for everybody” and one where the “world marvels to see how we live together as one,” saying the time had come to “put on a positive agenda” amidst all of the negativity.

It earned the reigning political commentary monarch an encore.

Even national calypso monarch Devon Seale seemed to tone down a bit with “Cyah Buy Class”, a reprimand to people with money but no decency. “Money is temporary but class is permanent,” a dapper-looking Seale sang in the tune, which also earned him an encore.

Another political hard-hitter, Alana Sinette, who now goes by the sobriquet Lady Watchman, opted for “No White Collar Crimes”, a socio-political commentary about the consistent failure of the Government and security agencies to address the problem of white collar crime. Sinette, whose piece featured a brief theatrical presentation, complained there was no need for the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Fraud Squad because both agencies appeared powerless in dealing with white collar crime.

As if in direct response to the effects of the economic downturn, escalating crime and the other social ills plaguing the country, calypsonians focussed heavily on social commentaries and nation-building offerings.

There also was a sprinkling of smutty selections, a tribute to the late Makandal Daaga and a song which celebrated womanhood.

Some patrons, commenting on the paucity of hard-hitting political commentary, suggested the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government, which assumed power in September 2015, was perhaps being given an extended grace period by the calypsonians.

Maze (Terrence Rivas) got the ball rolling with “Cyah Mash Up T&T”, which dealt with crime and race relations. He was followed by Teneille Cooper, who performed an upbeat song, “Moving On”, in tribute to her late father.

“Island Tabanca”, a well-crafted ditty about Young Poser’s (Vivian Lockhart’s) yearning for all things TT, including Carnival, crab and dumplings and fireworks on Independence night, went down well with the crowd, as did Original Tempo’s (Lewis Rowans) “Proud Trinbagonian” and Wendell Goodridge’s “Who To Blame”, a song about moral decay and the fact that many citizens were losing confidence in the system.

Sexy Suzie (Natasha Nurse), dressed in African wear, kept social issues on the front burner with “Negative Progress” while Ninja (Keston Neptune) called on people of African descent to “Take Yuh Place” in the society through positive endeavours as opposed to crime. Neptune, who forgot some of his lines, still received an encore.

Other calypsonians performing in the first segment of the show included Marlon Edwards with “Energy For So”, Malaika Ballantyne with “Calypso and Country” and “It Eh Right”, by Saint Nick (Shashi Gosine).

Former national calypso monarch Eric “Pink Panther” Taylor, too, deviated from his standard political fare. He chose to sing a tune called “Remember”, urging those in the calypso, pan and soca artforms to reflect on the contribution of their predecessors, whom, he said, paved the way for the success they enjoy today.

Mimicking the stage presentation of late calypsonian, Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts), Taylor then sang one off the Grandmaster’s favourites, “12 Bar Joan”, to the delight of the audience.

Chalkdust (Dr Hollis Liverpool) had the crowd in stitches with “Arithmatic”, an hilarious, yet telling song about child marriage, and “Speaking Frankly”, his take on the crime situation.

Making up the cast were Revue manager Sugar Aloes (Michael Osuna); Baron (Timothy Watkins); Bally (Errol Ballantyne) and Antiguan calypsonian Swallow (Rupert Philo), who ended the show.

As a result, annually millions of taxpayers monies are used to sanitise the symptoms of this disease and not the root cause. If this cycle continues, then we are no different from an addict satisfying his or her craving for a high fix rather than admitting that he or she has a problem and requires rehabilitation.

The short term solution is always easier, but it never truly alleviates the underlying problem that exists.

It is time for us to admit that Trinidad and Tobago has evolved into a lawless society and we are all somewhat responsible for this occurrence. However, there is still hope. The rehabilitation process must start. An excellent place to start is with the effective socialization of our children. This is the responsibility of not only parents but all agents involved in the development of our nation’s children.

As an educator, it alarms me to see the monsters we have and are continuing to create as a result of poor policy formation and rules created by individuals who have never taught in a classroom environment.

The school is an environment where a child learns not only academic information, but is taught to obey rules and regulations that governs that institution.

The skills acquired from school lays the foundation for good citizenship beyond the parameters of the classroom. However, in recent times this is not the case. Slowly the school is unconsciously evolving into a place that encourages lawlessness among students.

Incidents of male students sexually assaulting female teachers is an example of this, with no retribution for the teacher. In addition to this, the teacher will be blamed for her attire and should not make any attempt to defend herself. If she does, this would be seen as inflicting violence towards a child and would be disciplined according to the law. Thus an environment that encourages disrespect for women is created.

The irony is that we are surprised when we hear of heinous crimes committed against women ignorant to the fact that we have been supporting this behaviour from the get go.

We live in a contemporary society, where children are exposed to a variety of uncensored data via social media. This, merged with a host of social and economic issues, makes the task of socialization quite problematic.

Consequently, the school must be seen as a back-bone for instilling values that are synonymous with integrity and diligence, and must therefore act as a catalyst for invoking positive change. At no time must a laissez-faire attitude towards wrongdoing be perceived or entertained.

This technique would not only zoom in on the irate children but would provide an avenue for effective rehabilitation and restoration.

The benefits of this approach can be far-reaching however it requires all stakeholders to be united, from the policy-makers to the man on the streets, each one of us must do our part in saving our country.

(Editor’s Note: Prof Ramesh Deosaran is off this week.)

Young made the comments yesterday at the post-People’s National Movement (PNM) general council media conference at Balisier House, Port-of-Spain.

He pointed out that the AG has been commenting about hangings and it remains the law.

“As a Government the Attorney General is looking at the implementation of the law and he is driving that charge,” Young said.

Asked whether the option of a State of Emergency had been discussed, he responded “absolutely not”.

In August 2011, the then People’s Partnership administration implemented a State of Emergency reportedly in response to a threat to national security.

Yesterday Young, the PNM PRO, said the party has recognised the state of crime is cause for concern.

“As a party we think it is unacceptable.

And we will as a party work along as a Government to do and to pursue initiatives which we think the Government may be able to influence to address the major areas of crime taking place in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.

Young also said that as Government “we have been addressing it” and noted regular meetings with divisional heads of the Police Service, Defence Force, Strategic Services Agency and members of law enforcement.

“It is a serious matter of concern.

We believe initiatives need to be taken to address it frontally and to deal with it head on,” he added

His wife, 34-year-old Carla Collins, and his children Kamari, eight months, and Kamani, two years, died on Thursday in a road traffic accident along the Priority Bus Route (PBR) at the Mausica junction.

According to reports, at about 10.30 pm, a car belonging to Deryck Elcock was parked near the PBR at the intersection as a silver-coloured Mitsubishi Lancer driven by Collins, 33, was proceeding south along Mausica Road. As Collins’ car proceeded north to south across the PBR, a speeding car driven by a 28-yearold man of D’Abadie, proceeding west to east along the PBR, slammed into the back, right side of Collins’ car.

The impact was so great that Carla and her two sons, who were seated in the back, were flung out of the vehicle. Kamani ended up in a drain at the side of the PBR while Kamari and Carla fell onto the culvert. Collins however, sustained minor injuries.

When Sunday Newsday visited the home of Collin’s parents at Darwell Gardens, Arima, a relative said he was out with another family member making funeral arrangements.

He said Collins told them he saw the car coming towards his vehicle but it was moving so quickly that there was nothing he could do, especially with two cars in front of him. “He’s doing alright. Sometimes he’s fine but at other times he’s not when he relives what happened.

Like this morning when he saw the front page of the newspaper…

he lost it. I think it’s best that he keeps busy,” said the relative.

He added that Collins and Carla were married two years ago in June soon after the birth of their first son, and moved in to their own home around the time of the birth of their second child. “They were really looking forward to celebrating their wedding anniversary,” he said sadly.

Thomas, 17, was found with her hands bound behind her back and a single bullet wound to the back of the head in bushes near her home at Calvary Trace, Arima shortly after 11 am Friday.

Her ex-boyfriend (and not boyfriend as had been previously reported) Carlyle Hamilton, 33, was hours earlier shot and critically wounded a few metres from where her body was found.

Thomas had converted to Islam just over a year ago around the same time when she met Hamilton.

Cipriani said she was coping at this time and she just wanted to lay her daughter to rest. She was still awaiting the return of her other daughter Elizabeth, 10, who lives with her father. The mother said that brothers from the mosque have been assisting her in trying to get her child to be laid to rest, hopefully on Monday after the Forensics autopsy was done.

The mother said, despite media reports, Thomas and Hamilton were never married but were romantically involved in the past.

Cipriani said she had no problem with her daughter seeing a much older man because he never showed her any disrespect.

She described her daughter as a level-headed teenager who made right decisions for herself because she wanted to reach forward in her life.

She said Hamilton was not from the area and had not been there in a while.

Investigations are continuing.

According to reports, around 4.15 pm yesterday, a Nissan X-Trail was travelling from north to south at the intersection when it collided with an ambulance heading east, which hit a redband maxi taxi which was heading west.

The Fire Service was called and the jaws of life had to be used to extract two persons from the ambulance.

In total four persons had to be taken to the Eric Williams Medical Science Complex, Mt Hope, with minor injuries.

This information was disclosed in a written response in the name of Public Utilities Minister Fitzgerald Hinds which was circulated in the House of Representatives on Friday. State-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL) was paid $228,600 from October 2015 to December 21, 2016 by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA). Kall Co Ltd received sums of $248,400, $1 million and $154,290,70 from WASA during this period for sand-fill, road restoration and retention works respectively. Attorney Larry Lalla was paid $156,400 by WASA for professional services. Le Grand Courland Spa was paid $96,230 for hotel accommodation.

In another written response, Amalgamated Security Services Ltd was the highest paid contractor by State owned Telecommunications Services of TT (TSTT) for the period October 2015 to December 21, 2016. A total of 42 contractors were paid by TSTT during this period.

For the provision of security services, Amalgamated was paid a total of $34,257,015.55, as the highest sum. The lowest was paid to Lobax and Associates Ltd for janitorial services.

In another written response circulated in the House on Friday, Massy Motors was paid $3.2 million by TTPost for the supply of eight panel vans for the period October 2015 to December 21, 2016. A total of 107 contractors were paid by TTPost during this period for various services.

Guardian Media was paid a total of $543,013.50 by TTPost for rental of property.

As he did so, he urged the country’s top 200 students in the 2016 Secondary Entrance Assessment Examination to aspire to earn such scholarships when their secondary education ends in the next five years.

“I want to see you lift yourselves as you climb higher so that in five years, many of you will be in line to receive these scholarships,” Garcia told the SE A honourees during a function at the National Energy Skills Centre, Rivulet Road, Couva.

He noted the Education Ministry will look into providing continuous training for teachers so they can deliver the best curriculum.

“We of this ministry will provide the best tools for teachers too,” Garcia said.

On the registration of children for entry into primary schools, Garcia said he recently learned of a school in Port-of-Spain where parents had to line up from 4 am to get forms. “If our aim is to ensure equal access to education for all our students that situation must come to an end,” he said. He said the ministry issued a circular asking all primary schools principals to allow access to students across the board.

On the topic of rebuilding ‘aged’ schools, Garcia said this is a slow process. He said there are teachers who encourage parents to remove their children and close down schools for the slightest reasons.

“This is preventing access of education for our children,” Garcia said, noting parents and teachers should work together to ensure children have access to quality education. Garcia assisted in distributing certificates to students and school representatives at the function.

He also said his ministry will implement new methods to help students who scored 30 percent in SE A and are placed into the secondary schools system.

Top SE A student for 2016, Caitlin Brooker, of the Trinidad Muslim League (TML) Primary School, San Fernando, thanked her parents, teachers and all those who helped her to score high marks. Brooker, who now attends Naparima Girls’ High School, said she wants to make Trinidad and Tobago a better place.

Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Francis Lovell, in his remarks, urged students to work hard since a good education will provide a solid foundation in life.

Couva MP Rudranath Indarsingh attended the function. Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan gave the vote of thanks.

Speaking against the backdrop of the launch of Arima’s Carnival on Friday, a short distance away from the Velodrome, Morris-Julien said while some of the businessmen in the borough have responded to the calls of the borough corporation, others simply were not forthcoming.

The mayor singled out president of the Arima Business Association Winston Budhu as well as Daniel Austin and the Naipaul Family, both of Xtra Foods, as businessmen “who have been extremely wonderful” to the corporation.

The operators of Su Market Place and Jadoo’s also have rallied to the cause.

Mayors in Arima have long complained about the lack of support from businessmen for activities in the borough.

Regarding the launch of Arima Carnival, Morris-Julien said this year’s celebration was very low-keyed as the corporation has been attempting to make it a family-oriented event.

“We cannot compete with Port-of-Spain.

So, what we are trying to do is have things in place for the children, the adults, something for everyone,” she said.

This year, entertainment was provided by the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Services Band, Denise Belfon, Third Base (Adrian Hackshaw), Asten Isaac and Skatie (Carlos James).