Trinidad and Tobago will compete in Pool B alongside Russia, Japan and Switzerland, while Pool A consists of Barbados, Chile, Malaysia and USA.

TT will aim to attain one of the top three qualifying spots that would see the country advance to the Hockey World League Semifinals (Hockey World Cup 2018 qualifiers), which will be held in June and July this year.

After facing Russia on March 25, TT will play Switzerland on March 26 and then close the preliminary stage against Japan on March 28.

Malaysia will be favourites to move on from the qualifying stage held in Trinidad with their number-14 FIH Hero world ranking, while Japan (#16) and Russia (#22) are certainly strong contenders for a top-three finish.

Chile (#25), USA (#27), Switzerland (#30), TT (#33) and Barbados (#48) will look to create upsets and unsettle the top three seeds.

Lawrence, who was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that competed at the 2006 World Cup, was announced as the head coach on Saturday.

John, a former national striker, told TTFA media, “It’s a fantastic opportunity for Dennis. He has been coaching at a high level for some time, and is good to see the Association has seen it fit to give him this opportunity now. I know he will give it 100 percent, and it is important that he also receives the fullest support of the FA which I am sure they will do, the players and everyone involved in the game locally as well as the country on a whole. It’s the only way we can move forward as a nation in football.

“Dennis is one of the younger coaches on the scene now.

He will bring new ideas and philosophies and I am looking forward to see him in charge of our national team,” John added.

Theobald also wished Lawrence the best in his new endeavour. “I am really happy for him. We always spoke about his desires to coach, and more so coach a national team and he always told me when the time is right.

“I always asked him that question after his playing days and then while he was working with Roberto Martinez.

TT football is in a difficult stage after getting to a decent level over the past couple years, with the performances at the Gold Cup and reaching the Hex (final round of World Cup qualifying in the Concacaf region), and what we need is someone good to continue the process and I think he will be able to contribute towards this.” Theobald added that Lawrence will need help.

“What will be important is him getting the support from the FA, the players, his staff and the fans, in realising the dream of qualification for Russia 2018 which I believe is still alive. I am happy for our brother and wishing him all the best.”

Lawrence was officially announced by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TT FA) as the head coach on Saturday.

Beenhakker responded to a request for a statement by indicating that he was pleased that the man who scored the winning goal for TT against Bahrain to qualify this country to the 2006 World Cup, was given the job, also wishing him the best in his new role.

“Dennis and I had a conversation by phone about two weeks ago about the item and I am very happy that he accepted the job,” Beenhakker told TT FA media yesterday.

“He has the authority, the personality and even more than that, the knowledge of the game to do a successful job and he deserves the support of the board, the media and the fans.

“Dennis was the guy who brought TT in November 2005, as one of the players, for the first and only time to the World Cup in 2006,” Beenhakker continued.

Also expressing his support for Lawrence was Wim Rijsbergen, the assistant to Beenhakker during the 2006 campaign and a former head coach of TT in 2007.

“I spoke the last couple of days with some people in Trinidad about the new coach. I thought that Dennis would be the best man for the job,’ Rijsbergen told TT FA media.

“I have been following him the last couple of years working with Roberto Martinez. I have been following TT since I left, and I still feel positive about the time we had with a great bunch of players and staff to reach the World Cup 2006. I hope that Dennis and everybody involved will work together to turn around the results,” added Rijsbergen who is a former Netherlands player, appearing in the final of the 1974 and 1978 World Cups.

Beenhakker led TT to World Cup qualification after joining as head coach after three matches in the final round of qualifying in 2005. Lawrence scored for TT in Beenhakker’s first World Cup qualifying match in charge of TT in a 2-0 win over Panama at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. Beenhakker’s first two qualifying matches after taking the top post were against Panama and Mexico. Lawrence’s opening two qualifiers will be against Panama on March 24 and Mexico on March 28 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.

Giving his last public address, to the PNM party faithful in Roxborough, Tobago East— one of the party’s leading rally venues on the island—London, known for his upright, stoic bearing, was visibly moved—a state he had no problem acknowledging.

“During my time in public life, I have not been noted for public displays of emotion, but this, to me, is a different time, because this is the last time. It is the last time that I will have the opportunity to speak to you, the people of Roxborough, the people of Tobago East, the people of Tobago and, by extension, the national community,” he said, to cheers from the sizeable crowd.

“Therefore, you will excuse me if there is a touch of nostalgia and even a little bit of reflection.” The 71-year-old London had already relinquished the leadership of the People’s National Movement’s Tobago Council, last July. That was when Kelvin Charles—who had served as the THA’s presiding officer for the better part of London’s term, but is a novice in the political arena—won the leadership race after a run-off election with outgoing Secretary for Tourism and Transportation Tracey Davidson- Celestine.

London was born in Parlatuvier, but is the outgoing representative for Scarborough/ Calder Hall. He led the party through an unprecedented four terms as Chief Secretary over a 16-year-period, but said months before this election that he intended to quit active politics now.

London said he was humbled by the gains the party had made in Tobago over the years, and told the gathering that as he journeyed to the Cyd Gray Stadium for the rally, he could not help but reminisce.

“I reflected on the 16 years, not of London delivery, but16 years of PNM delivery and service to Tobago,” he said, giving a breakdown of the party’s achievements in different communities leading to Roxborough.“ I passed through John Dial and I saw the road being paved and the amount of construction work and quality work that was going on there.

“I went up to Hope and I remembered what the Hope Anglican School used to look like—it was a shack—and [saw] what it is now. And I am able to tell you that what it is now will not be comparable to what it is in April.” London also said the old community centre in Mt St George was recently refurbished and that six others were completed last month and delivered to the people.

Goodwood, he said, had made remarkable progress.

“When I looked across I get dizzy, because on one hand I the secondary school. I looked across, I see the community centre that was just refurbished.

I looked across, I see the recreation ground. I looked across, I see the hard court. I say, ‘Let we leave Goodwood,’” he joked.

Then he came to Roxborough, a community, he said, was constantly evolving.

“I remember the first time I came to Roxborough and I made the point that Roxborough reminded me of a beautiful lady that had fallen on hard times, and we (the THA) made a commitment not only to restore Roxborough to her former glory, but to enhance and improve that. The job has started and that job will continue.” He said by the end of the next THA term, Roxborough would have “the kind of glory and have the kind of face of which the people of Roxborough and Tobago will be proud.” London also spoke of the controversial Sandals resort proposal, saying it would benefit not just Tobago West but all the people of Tobago.

“So when you hear us talking on the platform about Sandals, don’t believe that that is a Lowside thing,” he said.

“Sandals is, in fact, an investment that is going to bring improvement in the quality of life of any Tobagonian who wants to take advantage of the opportunity, including the people.

Because you need tour guides, artistes are going to have the opportunity, entrepreneurs are going to have the opportunity— and the point I am making to you is that the development in Tobago West, even if it is located in Tobago West, will also benefit Tobago East. “ London said the PNM’s achievements on the island extended beyond the physical environment.

Between 2001 and 2005, he said, many women had come to him to complain that they had to depend on the generosity of some males, “and sometimes not the best-behaving males,” for their existence and the survival of their children.

“I am proud to say that because of the PNM and its policies, thousands of Tobago women can stand strong and independent and don’t care what no man say or do, they could take care of themselves. That is what the PNM has done,” he said. Once-idle boys, he claimed, have also been able to turn around their lives.

“All those boys who used to be on the block with nothing to do, those who want to work, can in fact, find employment.

“That is the kind of environment that you now have, and that is the kind of environment that you want to maintain and enhance.

But he warned, “That is the kind of environment that could be endangered if you make the wrong decision,” alluding to tomorrow’s election in which the PNM is seeking to retain all of its 12 seats in the assembly.

There are differing views among Tobagonians about his performance as Chief Secretary.

His seemingly spotless stewardship has been overshadowed at times, by allegations of corruption, nepotism and poor accountability and transparency, evidenced by huge cost overruns on several major infrastructural projects among them the Scarborough Hospital and the Shaw Park Cultural Complex.

However, he has avoided scandal.

London, the father of five, was principal of the Signal Hill Secondary School when he was approached to enter politics to reverse the flagging fortunes of the PNM on the island in the mid-1990s. He revealed during the Roxborough meeting that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, then a high-ranking member of the PNM, was enlisted to bring him into the party’s fold.

“He is the man that have me in this thing,” London joked.

“I remember him coming to Tobago, into my office …. and them days people didn’t like me. And then I got into politics and I understood what it is not to be liked,” he said—but he publicly thanked Rowley and late prime minister Patrick Manning for the opportunity to serve.

Starting his political career as a senator in the national Parliament in 1995, London went on to serve as an assemblyman from 2001, when he also became Chief Secretary. He has been widely acknowledged for his role in building the PNM’s base in Tobago.

As he prepares to pass the baton to Charles, whom he regards as the Chief Secretary-in-waiting, London urged supporters to make the right choice on election day.

“Remember, this is handover time, and any one of you who has to move on will recognise that you can either move on with trepidation or you move on with confidence. I want to move on with confidence,” he said.

“When I move on, I don’t want to have to look back. I want to move on with the confidence that the people that I leave are individuals who not only going to carry on the job but will do the job even better. “I want to tell the people of Tobago I know what the job entails. I know the kind of qualities necessary for an individual to function in the capacity of Chief Secretary, I know what the qualities are for persons to function as secretaries, assistant secretaries and representatives in the THA.

“It is in that context that as far as I am concerned, this is a no-contest, because the only person among those vying for that position with the qualities, temperament, capacity, commitment and loyalty to treat with Tobago as Chief Secretary— the only person to carry on the Orville London tradition—is Kelvin Charles.” Referring to the economic challenges confronting the country, London said he regarded tomorrow’s election as a test for Tobagonians.

“In challenging years, one of the most important ingredients is the quality of leadership,” he said.

“We are aware that where Trinidad and Tobago is concerned, the country has the quality of leadership which will give us the assurance that regardless of how challenging the times are, we are going to be guided out of them.

“Do not gamble with your future by putting in power individuals who have neither the capacity, the intent, the commitment, the loyalty to treat with Tobago people…Let us not suffer from voters’ remorse on January 24.”

Nicole Lezama’s parents told Newsday yesterday that they fear their daughter, a form three student of the San Fernando East Secondary School, may have been abducted.

Reports are that Lezama left her Picton Street home shortly after 11am to go to a cyber caf? a short distance away from where she lives. She had gone there to complete a school project she had been working on. When some hours had passed and she did not return home, her parents, Lydia Hinds and Neil Lezama, became worried and reported the matter to officers of the San Fernando Police Station.

Calls to the teenager’s cellular phone have since been directed to a voicemail.

Her disappearance comes two weeks after the body of 16 year-old schoolgirl Rachael Ramkissoon was discovered in a track along Balata Trace, San Raphael. She was still dressed in her North Eastern College school uniform. An autopsy revealed that she was strangled.

Police are also searching for 17-year-old Kimberly Ferdinand of Demerara, Wallerfield who was last seen on January 11 leaving her mother’s workplace at Agape Training Centre, Pro Queen Street, Arima.

Speaking to Newsday at the family’s home yesterday, Lezama’s mother was hoping that her daughter did not fall victim to some kind of crime.

“I know how things are happening in this country and people are just disappearing,” Hinds said. “Little girls leave their homes and never return.” A mother of four other children, Hinds wiped away tears as she spoke about Nicole, saying, “It really hurts as a mother to know your little girl is out there all alone and you are not there to protect her. My daughter is not the type of person to run away from home.” Hinds said that she and her husband are very protective of all their children and her husband makes it a habit to drop off and pick them up from school.

Nicole, the mother said, was working on a school project and she needed to print some pictures from the internet. Wiping tears, Hinds said when Nicole did not return home, she went to the cyber caf?.

“I immediately called her cell phone but it went to voice mail. I called her friends and close relatives and no one has seen her. It is really hard. I am not doing good at all. These are incidents you read about on the newspapers. I did not know it would happen to us.” Describing Nicole as an obedient girl, Hinds said that it was customary for she and her husband to lecture to their children about the need to be careful, especially going into strange cars. “If Nicole enters a car, it has to be someone she knows. She would not just enter a strange car.” Saying that she would continue to pray for her daughter’s safe return home, Hinds pleaded, “I am begging whoever has my little girl, please let her come home to us. Her twin brothers need her. They are inseparable. Please don’t harm her.” Nicole was last seen wearing a pink and white sleeveless top, black jeans and grey sandals. Anyone with information about her whereabouts, can contact the San Fernando Police Station on 652-2564.

According to reports, Essenese Sambury, had alighted from her car and was about to enter her yard when a gunman pulled up in front of her gate and fired several shots in her direction. Sambury was struck on the right side of her face and neck.

As she slumped to the ground, the gunman fled the scene while neighbours, who heard the gunshots, rushed to Sambury’s assistance and alerted the Arouca police.

The residents rendered assistance while they awaited the arrival of police. The wounded woman was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where she was underwent emergency surgery.

While this was taking place, several persons posted on Facebook about the shooting, claiming that Sambury had been killed. However checks by Newsday revealed that she was alive as at 5.30 pm yesterday.

Investigators are seeking persons who live on Palm Drive who may have CCTV cameras on their homes to provide footage which may assist in identifying Sambury’s shooter.

When the crime scene was processed yesterday, police secured spent shells from a high-calibre weapon.

This, after a procedural blunder, said to have been made by the Office of President and the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), almost caused the election to be postponed, at least by one day.

The matter was resolved in the Parliament during emergency sittings of the House of Representatives and Senate on Friday and Saturday, respectively, to debate on the THA Election Validation Bill.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi had explained that an error was made because the required 21 days from Nomination Day on January 3 to polling day, January 23, could not be met.

The bill was subsequently passed in both houses of Parliament.

Former Chief Secretary and Platform of Truth political leader Hochoy Charles had raised the issue of the blunder, days ago, during a meeting in Golden Lane, noting that it was in violation of Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act.

Four political parties are in the running in today’s THA election: the People’s National Movement (PNM); Tobago Forwards; Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) and the Movement For Transformation (MFT).

The PNM, led by new leader of the party’s Tobago Council Kelvin Charles, is seeking to return to power after the party’s 16-year reign in the THA.

The PNM, Tobago Forwards and PDP are contesting all 12 seats in the THA while the MFT, led by former Tobago East MP Eudine Job-Davis, is fielding just three candidates in the electoral districts of Moriah/ Mason Hall/Providence; Black Rock/ Whim/Spring Garden and Belle Garden East/Roxborough/ Delaford.

The Opposition quickly pounced on the joint press conference held by Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon and Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi as an example of public relations.

That may well have been so, but it cannot be denied that the measures discussed at the press conference have the potential to effect meaningful changes in the criminal justice system. The burning question, however, is whether they will be enough to make a true dent in crime.

We welcome the announcement that a DNA custodian has been appointed to man the long-delayed DNA databank. DNA legislation was passed in Parliament long ago, but key aspects of the overall system were never put in place before the assent of the law.

This has been a startling example of cosmetic law-making. If we want to talk public relations, we need to grapple with Parliament’s insistence on passing laws without all the necessary supporting benchmarks being in place. What use is our DNA law if the system of searches envisioned by the drafters does not work? Without this system, our law enforcement officers continue to face a needless hurdle in their inquiries, a hurdle easily surmountable through the use of long-available technology.

It was also announced that the Government hopes to move forward with the long-promised electronic monitoring system which will reduce pressure on prisons and the court.

Legislation for the elimination of preliminary inquiries is also planned, a measure which will result in a profound change in the length of time required for the court system to handle indictable or serious offences. Trial without jury also poses the potential to reduce backlog. However, the system will face the significant hurdle of mistrust in the police.

Other measures announced included: legal aid reform; the coming on stream of new criminal procedure rules in April; and a new Public Defenders Department.

These are all well and good, but their impact is far from certain.

For example, the Public Defenders Department sounds good on paper. In theory it will mean that prisoners brought to the courts will not be sent back without matters being heard in any meaningful way. Instead, there will sanctions applied by the Judiciary for failure by counsel to represent their clients.

But in practice how will this system differ from what currently exists? Lawyers frequently hold for colleagues when matters are called. Also, some lawyers will be reluctant to take on too much without adequate preparation.

The stage of the case will be relevant.

While the justice system is one side of the equation, it also remains true that we need to modernize the police service. The modes of surveillance and the usage of surveillance information can be improved, according to some.

Do law enforcement officers have the tools to pursue targets? It’s makes no sense being lofty and announcing reforms when basic equipment stands in disrepair.

We often talk about radar systems. Are the current systems operational? Are they used in detection? It also must not be forgotten that all new measures will require substantial training and it is important for the State to keep this in mind. Just as DNA legislation effectively floundered awaiting staff to man records, so to can many of the new measures be railroaded by poor human resource planning. So announcements and press conferences are good. But will any of it make a difference in one year’s time? B

One cannot help but cringe at the increasingly brutal and horrific nature of most of the crimes committed with apparent impunity. It also seems obvious that the authorities, both at the level of the security agencies and the political directorate, are clueless as to how to stem the tide of such boundless lawlessness.

Recurring statements of concern by business organisations and the periodic localised marches by some members of the public may be psychologically comforting as protest activity but are, in fact, expressions of impotence.

So too is the action of the embattled Ag Commissioner of Police in terminating the appointment of two senior police officers in seeking to signal to a population weary of antics that he is serious and proactive.

Other jurisdictions have taken purposeful action to curb crime and have succeeded. What then are the reasons for our glaring failure? The other issue I want to emphasise is the total lack of urgency in engaging in resolute and effective action to confront any critical problem, whether in the political, social or economic spheres. It may be reflective of the general apathy which pervades the society and the accompanying laissez-faire political environment where there is neither acceptance of responsibility nor observance of accountability.

I have argued many times previously that a multipronged and multidiscipline policy is required to deal effectively with crime both in the short term and in the longer term.

In the short term, the first line of defence for a society under siege is the responsiveness, effectiveness and reliability of the Police Service. Given the crime situation over the years, the Police Service has signally failed to display the required competence, determination and professionalism to contain criminal activity and to provide a sense of comfort to the population.

Eleven years ago, I wrote a column titled “Urgency of police reform” in which I argued that one of the pressing national priorities was the devising and implementation of a programme of police reform in order to convert the Police Service into an effective crime prevention, crime detection and crime prosecution unit.

Eleven years have gone by and yet there appears to be little urgency in this regard. Many of the issues I raised then are still relevant today.

I will quote extensively from that column of 22/01/06. I said: “There are few matters, if any, of greater urgency than making the operation of the Police Service effective and efficient. Most of the previous recommendations have been quietly ignored.

“At present we have an American professor unobtrusively engaged in a lucrative consultation. It would be interesting to know what his recommendations are and how different are they from those previously submitted to the Government. The problem seems to be the will to act decisively.

“We all know that, despite the lackadaisical performance of many of its members, there is great resistance, even hostility, to any proposal for change in the Police Service including sabotage of efforts previously undertaken.

“Even now, senior members of the service are opposing the requirement to write an examination to test their suitability for promotion. We will recall that just recently police officers were vehemently antagonistic to the suggestion that they should submit to a lie detector test.

“It is now left to the general public to demand that police reform be placed at the top of the political agenda and in the absence of a Police Management Authority.” I myself am no expert in these ma t t e r s but have my views on desired changes to the status quo.

To be continued

Dead is Jerome “Pum” Calliste, 36, of Phase Two, Golconda.

Calliste died on the spot after he was shot in the head outside Lai King Chinese Restaurant and Bar on the corner of Coffee and Drayton Streets at about 10.15 am. According to a police report, Calliste was seated in his silver B-15 motorcar when a man armed with a gun stood on the road close to the vehicle and began shooting. The gunman escaped on foot.

The report stated that Calliste was shot several times in the head. Police said Calliste managed to step out of the vehicle but he eventually collapsed a short distance away. He was rushed to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The shooting occurred a short distance from the Homicide Southern Bureau office on Coffee Street.

When Newsday visited Calliste’s home in Golconda, a neighbour said the deceased man and a close female relative were having domestic problems.

The neighbour said the news of Calliste’s death came as a shock to him. Calliste’s killing occurred even as homicide dectectives were working feverishly to solve Saturday’s shooting death of ‘PH’ driver Angus James in Gasparillo.

James, 46, of Bayshore, Marabella was found slumped across the steering wheel of his B-15 Sentra motor car, bleeding from a bullet wound to the head.

Autopsies on both bodies are to be conducted today at the Forensic Science Centre, St James.

Detectives yesterday said that they have not yet ascertained any motive in both murders.