He is wanted in connection with the July 30 chopping and wounding of Kareem Ellis and Keane Marcano. The men were patrons at Punishers Bar at Craignish Village, Princes Town when, it is alleged, the suspect became enraged after one of the men was seen talking to a mutual female friend. The suspect, it was reported, left and returned with a cutlass and rained chops on Ellis and Marcano, one of whom had intervened to try and help his friend.

They were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where they underwent surgery and were discharged from hospital last Thursday.

The victims and their attacker are known to each other. Police said the man has been on the run since the incident and has been changing locations.

On Sunday, police recorded statements from the victims.

The chopping incident was captured on camera and last weekend went viral on social media. Sgt Richardson of the Princes Town Police Station is investigating.

Rambharat said the first step in dealing with the issue will be granting that licence to the EMBD. He said the land has to be formally leased to the EMBD by the State, and the EMBD and the State are dealing with the matter which will have to be submitted to Cabinet.

Rambharat said he is very hopeful that the matter would be resolved soon. The minister added that he is looking for other mining sites as the five already in use are showing signs of depletion. He said it was particularly important to locate new sites because the construction sector is in high gear because of the work on the highway to Point Fortin and work expected to begin soon on the Cumuto to Manzanilla Highway.

Ifill, of Marabella, reappeared before Fifth Court magistrate Kerianne Byer yesterday.

Prosecutor Sgt Ian Sylvan told the magistrate Ifill is not a member of any police youth club.

Sylvan said after Ifill’s first appearance and the subsequent media coverage caused problems, as it relates to sponsorship, for the Marabella Police Youth Club she claimed to be affiliated with.

Her attorney Frank Gittens apologised on her behalf saying sometimes the fear of being in court makes people say things they should not be saying.

Gittens said Ifill’s mother visited his office yesterday morning, prior to the start of court, and informed him that her daughter was not associated with the club. He said he intended to inform the court but the prosecutor managed to do so first.

The Police Service, in a statement issued yesterday, said the club’s secretary and leader, since its inception in 2011, is PC Vanessa Noel.

Ifill was charged together with her boyfriend Jason Williams, 25, and Lynte Prime, 25, by PC Mohammed.

Police arrested the trio on August 2 after intercepting and searching a car they were in at Lady Hailes Avenue in San Fernando.

It is alleged police found a Beretta pistol and 16 rounds of ammunition.

Ifill and Williams pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sums of $150,000 and $100,000 respectively.

The magistrate adjourned the matter to September 6 and transferred it to the Second Court.

However, Prime had asked for a maximum sentence indication before he entered a plea. Yesterday Prime pleaded guilty and Gittens submitted that his client had no previous convictions and had the weapon to protect himself. Gittens said Prime was remorseful.

Byer sentenced him to 12 months in prison with hard labour on the gun charge and nine months in prison with hard labour for the ammunition charge. The sentences are to run concurrently.

The Anglican Church, with its British roots, has had a centuries-long presence in TT and its adherents have been some of our most influential sons and daughters of the soil. Among them are Audrey Jeffers, who established the Coterie of Social Workers and the late former prime minister Patrick Manning.

The residence of the Anglican Bishop at Hayes Court remains one of the illustrious members of the Magnificent Seven, while the Bishop Anstey Association Schools, among them, Bishop Anstey High School, St Stephen’s and Bishops High School in Scarborough remain some of the country’s most respected educational institutions.

“Planted for the spiritual development and nurturing of the nation,” says Reverend Marsha Joseph, Rector of the parish for the past four years. She says the church, as a force of good, “not only in prayers but in works and deeds,” promotes the “social aspect of looking after the people (which) comes with the Christian faith.” St Mary’s Children’s Home in Tacarigua, initially founded to care for the orphaned children of indentured labourers, as well as St Michael’s Home for Boys in Diego Martin also began as initiatives of the Anglican Church in Trinidad and Tobago.

But for all their good efforts, many of these churches, whose followers remain faithful, have fallen prey to the passage of time, with a number of their structures falling into disrepair, or their treasuries finding themselves insufficient to fulfil the needs of the church and of the communities that they serve. The Parish of St Agnes in St James is one such church.

Having occupied its current spot on Clarence Street since 1929, with a previous location higher up along the Western Main Road only a few years prior, the parish is extremely well-known, and has become a monument of sorts in the ever- bustling St James. And as society changes, the church, even with all its required constancy, must continue to strive in its never-ending efforts to adapt to the needs of a changing people.

Over the next few years, the parish aims to construct a multi-purpose centre to replace the current rectory and parish office on its relatively small compound. As one of its fundraising initiatives the church will host Ah St James Ting, a cultural celebration of the lively district’s food, music and history, on August 12 at the church’s compound, 20 Clarence Street, St James. Newsday spoke with the Reverand Joseph on the developing venture.

These days, many of the older churches receive little to no assistance from larger entities and thus, are charged with the responsibility of raising their own funds to be able to maintain their domestic and community efforts. Joseph speaks of this self-sufficiency to the end of “not only maintaining our plant, but to continue the work of evangelism and outreach, the organisation of seminars and programmes for the parents of the school.” St Agnes Anglican Primary School has educated some of the country’s cultural icons, among them, Pelham Goddard and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe.

In the spirit of St James as the “city that never sleeps”, Ah St James Ting will include an open air concert and walk-in museum, showcasing the history of St James from the 1950s through to the 1970s.

Soulful crooner, Jason “Fridge” Seecharan; soca parang queen, Marcia Miranda; 2016 Calypso Monarch, Devon Seales; Lydians soloist, tenor Kory Mendez, accompanied by composer and pianist, Astra Noel; and Scrunters Pan Groove are among the diverse lineup of acts, which will include music representing all facets of St James’ eclectic culture and then some.

The walk-in museum will feature displays that include artifacts from the period – utensils, furniture, etc. An hourlong documentary featuring first-hand accounts of some of St James’ longest residents, filmed especially for the event, will also be screened. Local delicacies will also be on sale.

For more information, contact 628-2885, 716-0839 or 779-0089.

Dan declined to state the cost of the procedure. While such surgery is usually done for weight-loss, he said stomach-reduction surgery may offer the benefit of curbing diabetes in patients, and is thus recommended by many diabetes associations worldwide. However, he also said this surgery also can cause a lot of sudden metabolic changes to the body.

For example, the surgery increases the sensitivity of the pancreas, whereby a person can be exposed to a precipitous drop in their blood sugar level.

Dan said TT has the most deaths from non communicable diseases in the Caribbean. Further, TT’s rising tide of obesity makes it the world’s third most obese nation, with a quarter of deaths due to heart disease.

Earlier Dan spoke of robotic surgery, which he said can be carried out over the internet by a surgeon who is separated by miles from the surgical blade, each even possibly being separated by the Atlantic Ocean. He listed the advantages of robotic surgery as being the greater precision and great flexibility of the wrist motions, plus the 3-d, high definition images. “It can work in really difficult spaces,” he said.

However Gill said the disadvantages were the equipment’s initial high cost of $1 million, and the $1 million annual cost of maintenance.

He traced how surgery had evolved over years from procedures that left large scars, to those using multiple small points of entry called ports), to single port surgery, to natural orifice surgery (using mouth, anus, vagina or stomach), and to robotic surgery.

Today, we highlight the gorgeous purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus).

What makes this bird so beautiful? Imagine a blue chicken. The waterman, as it is known in rural areas, is primarily purplish-blue and green in its appearance with boldly contrasting yellow legs and white tail feathers. Equally contrasting is the light blue area (known as the frontal shield) just above its red beak. The overall combination of colours makes for a stunningly attractive bird. Of course, the younger birds need to remain camouflaged from predators and so are drab brown.

But despite its beauty, not many people know about the purple gallinule. This might have a lot to do with its choice of habitat.

Gallinules favour densely vegetated freshwater areas where they can quickly hide if they perceive a threat. If you take an early morning drive through suitable habitat, such as the former rice-producing areas of the South Oropouche Lagoon, you are likely to see several gallinules perched atop the marsh plants (only to stealthily retreat into cover on your approach).

Sometime they fly awkwardly, low to the ground, from bush to bush. If the bush happens to be on the other side of a road, this sometimes puts gallinules in the path of oncoming traffic and it is not uncommon to see the occasional roadside corpse as a result.

But don’t let these weak, short flights fool you – when gallinules set out to fly longer distances they are quite capable. This has helped the purple gallinule to establish a presence from Florida right down to Argentina. If you cannot see them, you are likely to tell there are gallinule about by their curious calls which could be described as a nasal clucking (sound is a useful way for animals that live in dense vegetation to keep in contact with one another). The gallinule’s diet of seeds and water plants means it is usually never far from vegetation.

The waterman’s vegetarian diet, unfortunately, sometimes results in it going after the farmer’s garden for more exotic fare such as ochro, bodi or plantains.

Why are they so cautious? Such a plump bird makes for an attractive target and gallinules are regularly hunted during the open season (and occasionally poached during the closed season). In times gone by gallinules were even considered an agricultural pest and large numbers were killed. Thankfully, this mass culling has since ended.

Besides the waterman, Trinidad and Tobago is home to two other species of gallinule. The common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is very similar in shape and size but is dark slate grey. Unlike the waterman, it is often seen swimming like a duck and can be found in similar habitats throughout the country. The other gallinule is the ultra-secretive azure gallinule (Porphyrio flavirostris), which is a bit smaller than the purple gallinule and is light blue in colour.

This species is rarely detected and only reliably seen in the eastern rice growing districts such as Kernahan and Plum Mitan (occasional sightings have been made elsewhere on both islands).

While the gallinules populations are robust at the moment, they are vulnerable to one major threat – habitat loss. Old rice lagoons, swampland and other marshlands across our country are slowly being backfilled in the name of “development”. These birds depend entirely upon these areas to survive and the continual loss of freshwater wetlands will place significant pressure on the populations of waterman and other wildlife that utilise this ecosystem.

As a nation we need to ensure that these habitats are preserved so that future generations may continue to experience this true beauty of the marshes.

For more information on our natural environment, contact the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club at admin@ttfnc.org or visit our website at www.ttfnc.org and our Facebook or YouTube pages. The club’s next monthly meeting will be held today at St Mary’s College, Port-of-Spain.

Lecture: The Stick Insects of TT by Avion Phillips.

For the same period last year, the bank recorded PBT of $115 million. Earnings per share improved by 41 per cent to $1.51 ($1.07 in 2016).

Chairman of the bank, A. Norman Sabga, yesterday said, “All balance sheet financial metrics are solid with net assets increasing by nine percent to $2.2 billion.” He said shareholders would recall that in 2016, the bank announced several growth initiatives including the acquisition of Consolidated Finance Company Limited in Barbados (Consolidated Finance); the creation of a private wealth management business; expansion of its residential mortgage book and further building upon its investment capability.

“I am pleased to report that we are progressing well against our targets.” Sabga said Consolidated Finance; acquired in October 2016, is now fully integrated into AMB while in the second quarter of 2017, “We launched our private wealth management business which is expected to be another source of future growth and value creation for our loyal clients.” For the period under review, AMB’s subsidiary, TATIL, gained market share in its Motor and Property books over the prior year.

Another subsidiary, TATIL Life, also recorded an improved performance with profit before tax of $61 million ($2.8 million in 2016) and also gained market share in its mortgage and life products.

Sabga said the bank group’s investment portfolios “continue to deliver superior performance against its objectives of both investment income and capital growth within an active risk management framework.” AMB’s board of directors has approved an interim dividend of $0.20 per share ($0.20 in 2016), which will be paid on October 6.

In accordance with Section 110 (1)(a)(i) of the Companies Act 1995, the directors have fixed September 28 as the record date for payment of this interim dividend. The register of members will be closed on September 29.

At yesterday’s weekly police press briefing at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain, Acting Sen Supt Inraj Balram said the division has also seen a nine per cent reduction in reported serious crimes, when compared to the same period last year, from 554 to 506.

The attributed the successes to the dedication and commitment of the members of the division and the residents of the various communities who continue to work with the police to ensure safety and security.

“The detection rate of 64 per cent is the highest in all the nine divisions in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service,” Balram said.

“With regard to reports of robberies, we have had a 21 per cent reduction from 131 in 2016 to 103 for 2017.

We have also realised a 42 per cent reduction in break-in offences from 149 in 2016 to 86 in 2017.” Balram also said the division found and seized 50 firearms of various types, which was the same amount for 2016, and they had achieved a 17 per cent reduction in murders from 18 in 2016 to 15 for this year.

He said while the division had achieved a commendable record of performance for 2017 so far, he was very concerned about gun-related violence and the murders.

Balram said the number of guns removed from the streets spoke to the volume of illegal firearms circulating in the country.

“The officers of the South Western Division have conducted in excess of 16,651 patrols for the year thus far, both mobile and foot, placing great emphasis on hot-spot patrolling which has indeed proven to be very effective.

Several exercises were conducted for the year relative to DUI where, for the period under review, a total of 6,122 persons were administered DUI tests and 407 were arrested and charged.” Balram said the division has nine coastal divisions and 24-hour coastal patrols have been implemented.

When asked if there was an increase in the arrival of illegal Venezuelan immigrants, he said, “No, we have not noticed any significant difference as compared to last year.”

“I am one minister who really don’t put water in my mouth to say anything,” Rambharat said yesterday at the sod-turning ceremony for an $8 million 60,000 square ft. carpark at the NAMDEVCO market in Debe.

“I know about the cartels. I know about the frustration. And as I said about the land grabbers, I intend that once these works are completed and we have the appropriate zoning of activities, we have the appropriate movement of cars and people through the market, I intend to deal with the issue of the cartels to make sure that the people who sell here are not selling under conditions imposed by anybody else but the ministry and NAMDEVCO.” Asked afterwards to explain his statement, he said there were certain people who “controlled” the allocation of vending spots and parking space to vendors.

“It is well known to the vendors. It’s been a complaint and part of the reason why people behave that way is where you have areas where you have congestion, people would block and demand space and take control of the allocation. So I think by expanding and having more room available to anyone who wants to vend, we would reduce some of the pressures.” He said the new parking facility would enable the legitimate NAMDEVCO authorities to have control of the vending space and ensure all vendors were treated equitably.

Rambharat also commented on statements by All Trinidad General Workers Trade Union president general Nirvan Maharaj that some ex-sugar workers were still awaiting agricultural and residential land leases some 14 years after the closure of Caroni Limited.

“That is not true. At the last distribution, in respect of the two acre parcels, I said we had reached the end in terms of people we could find. I also said there are about 1800 people for whom leases have been prepared and these people could not be found.” He said the ministry resorted to placing the names of recipients in newspaper advertisements before an additional 600 people could be located, leaving some 1,200 people unaccounted for.

And regarding the residential leases, Rambharat recalled he had promised to deliver all those leases before he too received his lease.

“I myself am waiting on my lease (agricultural) for the last 13 or 14 years. I am also a VSE P recipient and I have said to the country that my lease for the two acre parcel will be the very last lease that is distributed. I want to make sure that every former employee who is entitled gets their lease before I do,” He also implored consumers to purchase locally grown goods saying while they could be sure about the quality of the food stuff here, there was no such guarantee regarding imported foods.

Business Day spoke with Managing Director of JSL International (Trinidad) Limited (JSL), Javid Ramcharitar, to find out more about its contract with Transocean Limited (Transocean) and about how JSL has used this ‘downtime’ to increase its operational efficiencies.

“As a country, I think we are very blessed to have those nine vessels cold stacked within the Chaguaramas basin because it generates a lot of opportunity for companies like JSL while promoting the use of local content (and) earning forex. We are the local agents for those vessels. The presence of these vessels here has generated 100-plus jobs for TT nationals. The vessels have been cold stacked in Chaguaramas since early 2015.”

Ramcharitar declined to say how much JSL earns from its Transocean contract but he did confirm that payments are made in US dollars.

“Companies like JSL should (therefore) be encouraged because we bring in forex. It’s also a significant contributor to the country’s forex supply because those vessels are also supposed to pay fees to the Government of TT. From what I understand, they are paying those fees to the Ministry of Transport but I don’t have details.”

According to an article published in another local newspaper on January 8, 2017, the ministry was reported to have lost out on at least US $35 million because it has been “slow to conclude negotiations with… Transocean”

Business Day contacted the ministry, seeking an update on this matter but up to press time, a response was still pending.

JSL is a one point of contact service company, providing support services to companies in the upstream energy sector. Established in Trinidad in 2008, JSL’s corporate headquarters are located in Houston, Texas. Apart from its support operations base presence at Caribbean Dockyard’s (CARIDOC) 26-acre yard in Chaguaramas, JSL has a presence in more then ten Caribbean and Latin American countries. They include Colombia, French Guiana, Grenada, Guyana, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Nicaragua and Suriname.

According to its website, “the JSL International Group of Companies shall establish 100 percent Market Domination in all of the regions that we operate in by offering its Unparalleled Single Point of Contact Model for Logistical and Project Support Services to the Upstream Energy Sector.”

Asked what sort of support JSL provides to Transocean’s cold stacked vessels, Ramcharitar said this included hiring “all of the personnel that they require for the vessels, all of the catering for those personnel, assist with any third-party support and services, coordinate all relevant Customs and Immigration formalities and provide ‘home to work’ round trip transport for the personnel who are based on the rig. They are on a two-weeks on, two-weeks off shift.

“Ship Gear I and Ship Gear II officers; similar to the classification of able-bodied seamen or motormen, basically act as ship security officers, they deal with the day-to-day reporting – things like adherence to all of the HSE (health, safety and environment) procedures, emergency response procedures, on-going monitoring and surveillance.”

Transocean is one of the world’s largest offshore drilling contractors, based in Vernier, Switzerland.

JSL was hired in 2016 after Transocean parted ways with its previous, overseas-based, agent. While Ramcharitar declined to speak about what led to the change in agents, he did tell Business Day that JSL was “approached by Transocean in mid-2016.”

“There is no specific (end date) for the cold stacking contract; basically once the vessels are here, we will provide support services to them,” Ramcharitar said.

According to the website, www. monitor-systems-engineering.com, cold stacking, “is a cost reduction step taken when a rig’s contracting prospects look bleak or available contract terms do not justify an adequate return on the investment needed to make the unit work ready.

“For example, a conventional GOM jackup might see its costs reduced from US $30,000 per day when operational to as little as $2,000 per day when cold stacked. Cost savings primarily come from crew reductions to skeletal levels. Steps taken to protect the rig’s facilities include applying protective coatings, filling engines with protective fluids et cetera.

“With the costs of crewing up, inspection, deferred maintenance, and potentially refurbishment acting as deterrents to reactivation, cold-stacked rigs may be out of service for extended periods of time and may not be actively marketed. A return to service can be a costly proposition, often requiring tens of millions of dollars for refitting costs,” Monitor Systems Engineering stated.

Asked why JSL chose Chaguaramas as the base of its local service operations, Ramcharitar cited the area’s sheltered, deep water harbour, the presence of a Customs and Immigration post, the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) port facilities, ease of access to potable water, fuel for bunkering and the presence of “a lot of infrastructure in place within the Chaguaramas area to support the oil and gas sector, as compared to other port facilities in the country.”

However, the one way in, one way out, road connecting the Western peninsula to the rest of Trinidad is something which Ramcharitar said needed to be addressed.

He recommended the use of a ferry service between Chaguaramas and Port-of-Spain for people who work in the Western peninsula, thus reducing the traffic jam associated with the area during peak drive times.

Until an alternate route or mode of transport is introduced, JSL has flexible working arrangements for onshore staff, encourages them to carpool, and tries to hire qualified people who live in Chaguaramas and neighbouring communities.

Regarding its strategies to deal with “recessionary pressures”, Ramcharitar said, “over the past two years, we have been ensuring across-the-board adherence to international best practice and standards.

“We did this by initiating a drive towards obtaining ISO certification. We started working towards that in 2015 and I’m very proud to say that JSL has successfully been awarded ISO 9001 2008 certification for the provision of manpower resourcing for the upstream oil and gas sector.

“We are the only company in the Caribbean and South America that has been successful in achieving this certification. The certification has given us a strategic and competitive advantage because it allows us to be able to focus, not only on the drilling contractor market but also the operators within TT (such as bpTT and Shell),” Ramcharitar stated.

Business Day also spoke with JSL’s Finance Director and Chief Compliance Officer, Avinash Mohan.

“Operating transparently is crucial within the energy industry.

So our focus, across the company, has been on ensuring compliance with anti-bribery and anticorruption regulations.

This extends from the board of directors to management, employees and even to third-party sub-contractors, vendors and customers.” Mohan explained that JSL promotes compliance through on-going training on an online platform which it developed in partnership with TRACE International. “They are the standard setters in terms of anti-bribery, anticorruption, compliance.” Activity may be relatively slow in TT but JSL is using its Chaguaramas base to provide support services to drilling activity offshore in Guyana and Suriname.

“We’ve seen an uptick in activity over the last year and a half. There’s been a lot more frequency and dependency in terms of offshore drilling programmes that’s been happening in both countries.” In addition to this, Ramcharitar revealed that on July 4, 2017, JSL was awarded the agency services and logistical support contract to support Transocean’s drilling contract in Grenada on behalf of another operator.

“We are supporting the entire project from Chaguaramas.

The Transocean rig, Development Driller III, is currently drilling offshore Grenada in the Nutmeg-2 block. We’ve been providing support services, including some personnel.

The contract is for however long Transocean is there,” Ramcharitar stated.

According to an August 2, 2017, article on www.

upstreamonline.com, “Russian-backed player tests Grenada waters”, “Little-known Russianbacked company Global Petroleum Group (GPG) is drilling an exploration well south of the Caribbean island of Grenada, following a rich oil and gas trend that has yielded multiple discoveries off Venezuela’s Gulf of Paria and TT.

“Information on the well has been described as extremely tight.

Upstream has learned that the company spudded Nutmeg-2 in late June, using the Transoceanowned semi-submersible Development Driller III in about 400 feet of water,” the article stated.

For more information on JSL, visit its website, www.jslinternational.net/