Her position on the Prime Minister’s obviously politically motivated reshuffle falls flat when viewed through the prism of her own collapsed Cabinets over the term of her administration, as the public is fully aware that for every mal-appointment of this PNM administration there were many a square peg rammed into round holes on her watch, including some spectacular misfires not limited to Therese Baptiste- Cornelis, Anil Roberts, Jack Warner and Herbert Volney, to name a few.

The public was doing a fine enough job calling Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to task over his “reshuffle of distraction” and should have been left to it. Her intervention had the effect of reminding the public of some of the more trying times under the UNC that forced “realignments” and had the net effect of letting Rowley off the hook.

As Kenny Rogers said in The Gambler, you have to know when to hold them, and when to fold them.

When it comes to political responsibility and governmental integrity, sadly neither of those two parties have the moral authority to be calling the other out, much to the electorate’s chagrin and dismay.

Again it comes down to communication, again it comes down to knowing when to speak up and when to shut up. In this case a still tongue would have been a wiser move.

Six years later I cannot believe I am still saying this, but someone needs to be advising Persad-Bissessar better.

PHILLIP ALEXANDER via email

Firstly, what is the philosophy of community policing that guides the actions of our law enforcement agencies? The TT PS has approached community policing as a transactional relationship with citizens, simply requiring the citizen to be the eyes and ears of the police to assist in the fight against crime.

It is a flawed strategy that limits the most potent resource in crime prevention and reduction — residents in the community.

One therefore wonders if this is the same strategy that will be employed by the municipal police.

If yes, then can we realistically expect different results? As I said previously, “The TT PS’ present approach to police- community relations is very worrying.

The deficit in its understanding of what community-oriented policing is can be gauged by the utterances and behaviour of its representative on the Beyond the Tape public service programme where he derides the population for 99 percent of the show then asks for assistance and support for the TT PS in its ‘fight against crime’. Insp Alexander is the poster boy for what is wrong with the TT PS approach to community policing…” Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is advised to set aside any notion of imperiousness and self-righteousness if he is to successfully analyse and reorient community policing. It is not for our leaders to judge us based on their understanding of what is right but to understand who we are and partner with us to design a new order that is acceptable to all.

Our community policing efforts must combine law enforcement with social engagement. It must adopt a problem-solving model.

It is imperative that we sit as partners and analyse our situation with mutual respect for the role that we each play as police and civilian.

Consequently, we will all understand that the guns and the men with guns have to be removed from our community; pacifying them is insufficient.

We would support and celebrate the peace-making work being done by community leaders, particularly women, and provide resources and oversight.

The most important element of the community policing model or any model has to be its philosophy, one which respects the rights of all people to live a life free from fear and upholds the responsibility of the State to protect citizens, prevent crime and violence, promote peace and ensure that community oriented policing consults, cooperates, and accounts to the community.

Prime Minister, you will not be judged on whether you had a successful education campaign but on whether you were able to demonstrate that rights matter.

In order to do so, you must be able to institutionalise democratic policing in our law enforcement agencies.

FOLADE MUTOTA
executive director
Women’s Institute for
Alternative Development

Firstly, I think we need more local doctors working in our hospitals.

Too many foreign doctors and nurses are employed here, some of who are performing well but others are not.

Sometime earlier this year, I went to the Mount Hope Health Centre and there were two foreign doctors on duty. There were not many people ahead of me, yet it was a long wait before I was called to another waiting room with four other patients.

The two foreign doctors were inside the office joking and laughing so loud we were able to hear It was if they did not care about the patients.

I left the health centre four hours later. Maybe if there were local doctors on duty it would have been just one hour of waiting.

ROSETTA RANSOME via email

The draft policy is being prepared by a Cabinet- appointed committee.

It proposes a system of licensing for the abstraction of all water including rainwater. In other words, a licence will be required for rainwater harvesting or, as we say in local parlance, “ketching rain”.

The idea is that abstraction fees will be collected to cover the cost of operating an integrated water resources management programme.

This proposal to license the collection and use of rainwater is a backward step in any attempt to properly manage our water resources.

There are several benefits to rainwater harvesting.

These include: 1. The only treatment required for human consumption is filtering.

(No costly treatment by WASA required.) 2. Reduction in water loss through runoff, especially in built-up areas.

3. Flood mitigation.

Why seek to license rainwater harvesting when other jurisdictions are moving in the opposite direction of repealing existing rainwater harvesting laws (US) or making rainwater harvesting compulsory (India)? There are other proposals in the draft policy that are cause for concern including the linking of abstraction fees to administrative costs.

However, the proposal for one to get a licence to “ketch rain” requires immediate attention.

KAMAU AKILI Mason Hall

In August of 2003, the PNM government with John Rahael as Agricultural Minister stopped the cultivation of sugar cane on over 27,000 acres of land.

This also affected another 11,000 acres that was tenanted to cane farmers.

Caroni at that time was responsible for over 77,000 acres of land. That is more land than the entire area of Tobago. What followed the closure of Caroni Ltd to this day can be viewed by many as a level of irresponsibility and ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic.

Shortly after the decision to stop the cultivation and processing of sugar cane, the lands were abandoned. Sugar cane fields to this day are uncultivated with nothing but wild grass.

Governments of both political parties have been in office and neither saw it fit to plant corn, peppers, ground provision or even place animals on the grass for pasture. They simply left the land at the mercy of squatters.

There are no reports on what is the status of the 4,000 acres of teak and citrus. Nothing about the over 3,000 acres of pasture and the animals that once occupied those lands. The factories and houses were looted.

The train lines were uprooted and the tracks occupied by squatters.

Today one drives though the open fields along the Solomon Hochoy Highway or through the main road between San Fernando and Princes Town or in the Barrackpore area and see acres of lands abandoned except for the squatters who daily increase their acreage of State land.

The state of Caroni lands is one that demonstrates clearly our inability to govern ourselves. It is almost insane for a nation to simply not plant anything on acres of agricultural lands. The two major political parties both had opportunities to at the very least invite private farmers to utilise the lands and did very little.

As our nation struggles to find foreign exchange to pay for food to feed our people, we daily drive past the abandoned Caroni lands without a vision for feeding ourselves.

One can’t help but quote Bob Marley: “In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty.”

STEVE ALVAREZ via email

Addressing the 19th Inter-sessional Preparatory Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) on November 11 in Port-of-Spain, Moses suggested that all ACS members should “share a commonality of purpose and a sense of urgency with regard to the need to address threats to the sustainability of the Caribbean Sea.

Such threats include the emergence of the sargassum seaweed, the overpopulation of the lionfish, and deleterious impact of coastal erosion.

He acknowledged the contribution of the ACS has made in highlighting the situation pertaining to the Caribbean Sea. Reiterating Trinidad and Tobago’s solidarity with the Government and people Haiti following the devastation left by by Hurricane Matthew in early October, Moses called on ACS members to “render support to Haiti, thereby, sharing what we have with our brothers and sisters in that sister republic.” He welcomed Dr June Soomer, the new Secretary General of the ACS, who assumed duty on July 28, and wished her a fruitful and enjoyable stay in TT.

The Ministerial Council comprises Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the 25 Member States as well as Associate Members. It is the principal organ for policy-making and direction of the association, and oversees the work of the directorates in the areas of trade and external economic relations, sustainable tourism, natural disaster risk reduction, budget and administration, and the Caribbean Sea Commission.

A press release from BP Trinidad and Tobago yesterday advised of this.

This is the second Food Expo organised by BP in conjunction with The Rose Foundation and the Ministry of National Security, and it will feature thirty vendors.

According to the release, “The Beyond Borders Food Expo will feature innovative ways in which communities of Covigne, St. Barb’s and Kernahan are using sweet potato, pigeon peas and watermelon to create agro-processing opportunities. The expo will feature samples including watermelon bread, sweet potato cheese and pigeon peas pholourie.

“The Beyond Borders programme was developed in 2010 through a partnership between BP Trinidad and Tobago, The Rose Foundation and the Ministry of National Security through its Citizen Security Programme. The programme provides organisational development skills in Beetham Gardens, Farm Road (St. Joseph), Mt. D’or, Covigne and Embacadere. Since the start of the training initiative in 2010, 35 organisations have been formed across the five communities, resulting in community-based business initiatives in the areas of bottled water, construction, graphic arts, transportation and catering.” The last event saw approximately 12 vendors.

This one will feature thirty vendors.

The release also noted that this will be the first public event to be held at the Government Campus Plaza, located at the corner of Richmond and Queen Streets, Port of Spain.

It will commence at 9.30am and end at 3pm.

Port-of-Spain, Moses suggested that all ACS members should “share a commonality of purpose and a sense of urgency with regard to the need to address threats to the sustainability of the Caribbean Sea.

Such threats include the emergence of the sargassum seaweed, the overpopulation of the lionfish, and deleterious impact of coastal erosion.

He acknowledged the contribution of the ACS has made in highlighting the situation pertaining to the Caribbean Sea. Reiterating Trinidad and Tobago’s solidarity with the Government and people Haiti following the devastation left by by Hurricane Matthew in early October, Moses called on ACS members to “render support to Haiti, thereby, sharing what we have with our brothers and sisters in that sister republic.” He welcomed Dr June Soomer, the new Secretary General of the ACS, who assumed duty on July 28, and wished her a fruitful and enjoyable stay in TT.

The Ministerial Council comprises Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the 25 Member States as well as Associate Members. It is the principal organ for policy-making and direction of the association, and oversees the work of the directorates in the areas of trade and external economic relations, sustainable tourism, natural disaster risk reduction, budget and administration, and the Caribbean Sea Commission.

After scoring 70 to lead TT to a 100-run lead on first innings, Mohammed left Trinidad halfway through the match against the Windwards Islands to head to Zimbabwe.

Mohammed was called up to the West Indies 50-over team for the Tri-Nation series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka as a replacement for Darren Bravo.

TT wrapped up a convincing nine-wicket win over the Windwards on Sunday night in round one at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Ottley said, “we have good depth in our squad this year so that’s really good; a good balanced squad so whoever replaces Mohammed would be a good replacement for us.” Logie admitted that Mohammed will be a huge loss but he believes in the young players. Logie said, “It is a big blow. I think Jason is coming back to the kind of form we know he can produce, he is experienced so obviously he leaves a hole but I back the young players in the setup.” Former West Indies Under-19 player Jyd Goolie replaced Mohammed in the Windwards match and Logie is hopeful Goolie will get another chance in the next match. “Young Jyd Goolie got the opportunity although it was sort of an indifferent debut but hopefully he gets an opportunity in the next match against the Barbadians and he shows what he is worth. He did perform well in our trials, he is fit and he is a young player for the future.” Logie also has high hopes for Red Force opener Jeremy Solozano, who is also a former West Indies U-19 player. Solozano scored only nine and 19 against the Windwards but occupied the crease for a long time, combining in two solid partnerships with fellow opener Kyle Hope. Solozano and Hope’s opening partnership was 48 in the first innings followed by 61 in the second innings.

“We know he (Solozano) is capable and we want him to relax and play his own game. He has been giving us the kind of starts together with Kyle (Hope). He just needs to be himself, not put himself under any kind of pressure because he is a young player for the future.

I think he himself has been very disciplined throughout this whole season. The kind of work that these youngsters have been putting in they deserve some kind of success and we are going to back him.” The Red Force will face Barbados Pride at the Queen’s Park Oval in round two starting on Friday at 10 am.

In the men’s decider, Malvern pipped Paragon by a 4-3 margin while Ventures registered a 3-2 victory over Paragon in the women’s final.

In the respective third-place playoffs, Queen’s Park crushed Petrotrin 5-0 in the men’s category and, in the women’s section, Harvard Checkers edged Magnolia 4-3.

Malvern took gold in the Under-19 men’s division, after a 3-1 victory over Paragon, while Magnolia brushed aside Harvard Checkers 5-1 to triumph in the Under- 19 women’s section.

Queen’s Park had mixed results in the other two finals – Trinity Men and Mixed Veterans.

The Parkites eased past Carib 4-1 in the Trinity Men final but they suffered a 6-4 defeat to Fatima in the Mixed Veterans decider.

TTCB Chief Executive Officer Suruj Ragoonath confirmed that the board plans to meet with Bravo as soon as it is convenient for both parties.

Bravo was part of the West Indies 50- over team in Zimbabwe to compete in a Tri-Nation series involving West Indies, Sri Lanka and hosts Zimbabwe.

However, following a controversial statement about Cameron on Twitter, Bravo was sent back to the Caribbean.

Bravo was offered a C contract by the WICB – the lowest grade available – but declined the offer.

Cameron, speaking on Sportsmax TV, said the board can’t continue giving Bravo an A contract because he would not have any motivation to improve.

The WICB boss added that Bravo’s performance has been in decline but failed to explain how despite that, he was named WICB Player of the Year for 2015/2016.

Bravo openly expressed his displeasure on Twitter, saying that Cameron has not been performing well as president of the board for the past four years and said he should resign.

Bravo also said he was never given an A contract. Bravo tweeted “you have been failing 4 d last 4yrs. Y don’t u resign and FYI I’ve neva been given an A contract.

Big Idiot.” The TTCB release stated, “The TTCB notes the recent incidents involving our players and the WICB and wishes to assure the public that we are addressing these and other issues as a matter of urgency.

We have written the WICB requesting dialogue between all parties concerned in these matters with a goal of resolving the conflicts and getting the focus back unto the field of play. In the meantime we are seeking to meet with Bravo on his return to Trinidad.” Bravo was scheduled to return to Trinidad on Sunday night. Young wicketkeeper/ batsman Nicholas Pooran has recently been banned by the WICB from regional cricket for a year while Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin have all had their issues too.