TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO wants to become not only the gateway to South America but the gateway to the African continent as well and Works Minister Franklyn Khan is optimistic that the latter will be achieved through the signing of a Bilateral Air Services (BAS) agreement between TT and Nigeria. Addressing a ceremony at his Ministry’s Richmond Street headquarters prior to the start of BAS negotiations, Khan said: “In July 2000, the inaugural session of the TT-Nigeria joint commission was held in TT and explored a broad range of issues including the establishment of bilateral relations in the area of energy, agriculture, trade and industry and technical cooperation in the spheres of education, culture and science and technology.
We recognise the need to give concrete expression to these efforts by the establishment of adequate mechanisms for transportation linkages.
It is for this reason the Government of TT believes that it is imperative for our nation to devise mechanisms to establish a viable, convenient and economically prudent air corridor between TT and Nigeria.” The Minister stated that while “geography has kept us apart” today, “history, culture, technology and commerce will bring us together.” Khan said plans by the Nigerian Government to develop Mutala Mohammed International Airport as a transport hub for their region were very similar to TT’s plans to develop Piarco International Airport as the gateway “between states in the Northern Hemisphere and South America” and there were areas for “close cooperation” between both governments on these projects. He said BWIA will have a crucial role to play in developing TT-Nigeria transportation links and there were areas for cooperation at the technical level between BWIA and Nigeria Airways since the latter “is likely to have a fleet of the same aircraft.”
“We are waiting at the ministerial level of both governments to sign on the dotted line,” Khan added. Last month, Trade Minister Ken Valley reiterated BWIA’s importance to strengthening TT’s international trade links and announced that plans were afoot for BWIA to fly to the Dominican Republic from November 18. Valley was optimistic that BWIA was “past the worst” as far as its economic woes were concerned. Ag Nigerian High Commissioner Buba Tekune shared Khan’s optimism. He recalled that BAS talks between TT and Nigeria started in 1988 and he was pleased that after a 15-year hiatus, progress was finally being made. Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary and former TT Ambassador to Nigeria, Patrick Edwards, said TT prospects for trade with Nigeria and the rest of West Africa were very bright but the only drawback to date has been the establishment of viable air and sea links.
THE People’s National Movement (PNM) Government has lost “all moral authority” to pass laws in Trinidad and Tobago and former Attorney-General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj intends to bring this to the attention of several international bodies. Commenting on the apparent failure of AG Glenda Morean to bring new legislation when Parliament resumed sittings last Friday, Maharaj declared that the PNM had no right to pass laws in Parliament when it was guilty of breaking the laws of the land. “There is a complete breakdown of governance by laws,” he claimed. Maharaj further alleged that Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s Cabinet has taken upon itself to amend laws as it sees fit. The former AG said that he intends to raise the matter with the International Committee of Jurists, the United Nations and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Maharaj said the six-week break provided sufficient time for Morean to ensure that the legislative package she promised to bring to Parliament was ready. That package includes legislation to implement the Caribbean Court of Justice and approve declaration of assets forms that will be used by the Integrity Commission. Maharaj also disclosed that he has a “major shocker” in store for both the PNM and the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) and the internal elections of both parties will not prepare them for it. The UNC is due to hold its elections towards year’s end while the PNM holds its annual convention in October. While it appears that no one will challenge Manning for the post of PNM Political Leader, his UNC counterpart Basdeo Panday has expressed uncertainty about standing for re-election. Panday has publicly expressed his desire to retire from active politics at age 70. St Augustine MP Winston Dookeran has been touted as Panday’s successor but has publicly denied that he is interested in becoming UNC leader.
A MARACAS BAY woman is accusing an officer of the Maracas Bay Police Station of police brutality. Marlene Craig told Newsday that on Monday she received information that her son Carl, who is visiting from the United States, was arrested and was being held in police custody. She claimed that she hustled to the Maracas Bay Police Station and found out that her son was arrested on a warrant issued since 1993. The warrant only had the name Carl.
According to Marlene, she protested the arrest of her son claiming that the warrant could have been for any “Carl” in Maracas Bay. She claimed that a police officer, who identified himself as a senior officer, pushed her out of the station and later struck her about the body. She claimed that during the struggle with the officer, her daughter intervened and pleaded with him to stop what he was doing. She claimed that the police officer continued to assault her. Yesterday, Craig made a report to the Police Complaints Authority and officers of Internal Investigations. She claimed that she is not letting the matter rest there because she is upset and hurt over the incident. A partially torn white jersey which Craig was wearing at the time was presented to Newsday as evidence of the struggle.
Even though BWIA plans to pay out $3 million of the owed severance benefits to its former workers, the union heads and their members are not satisfied. Head of the ACAWU, Christopher Abraham said the sum is inadequate and unacceptable in the eyes of the union. He said members are complaining that they have only received a very small amount of the money that is owed to them. According to Abraham, the amount of money that each employee is being given is not even a third of what is actually owed and the members are not pleased. “People who are owed sums like $100,000 are getting figures like $2000. This is unacceptable to them and to the union,” said Abraham.
He added that workers feel the payout is just a con to keep them quiet for the time being. “We have yet to receive any statements as to what is owed, the actual figure and also how they came up with the figures distributed in the severance, said Abraham. He said there was no correspondence between the union and the airline concerning the payment. The union has no clue when the next payments will be made or what amount will be paid out. BWIA yesterday announced success during its summer travel period. All 618 former employees were given part of their severance as a result. According to a newspaper report, the airline is hoping that this success will fuel the release of $118 million from the Government to pay out the rest of the severance owed to past employees. Clint Williams, Head of Communications for the airline could not be reached for comment.
NEWSPAPER vendors have been spared by the Port-of-Spain City Corporation’s decision to remove all vendors from the streets. However, Mayor Murchison Brown has appealed to vendors to improve their infrastructure to complement the city’s aesthetics. In an interview yesterday, Brown noted that while these vendors were highly important, they still needed to take a serious look at how they sold newspapers since very often the various trappings they used did not sit well with the ambience of the city. He also called on the various media houses to monitor vendors as part of their contribution to the city’s aesthetics.
Brown asserted that only newspaper vendors were to be allowed on the streets, and action would be taken against those who sold newspapers in addition to other items like drinks and foodstuff. “These are supposed to be either at the Central Market or at any of the other four locations set aside for vending.” These locations are the New City Mall on Independence Square, the People’s Mall on the corners of Frederick and Queen Streets, East Side Plaza and the Drag Brothers Mall on Piccadilly Street. He noted that the vendors preferred to use these locations as store rooms for their goods, which were usually transported by “barrow men” into the city on mornings.
Brown further stated that this exercise would be heavily maintained, which was made clear to members of the Vendors Association when he met with them recently. “This decision is final,” he said. “They have to find a place to vend their goods. After so many years they need to come up to the ball and find a fifth location, instead of waiting for people to find something for them.” Brown said that there were a number of vendors who have been out on the streets for as many as ten years. “Why would they want to stay on the streets?” he asked. “Don’t they have any plans to improve their status?”
Sariyah Lachman learnt that she was the recipient of a Further Additional Scholarship on Saturday morning when her father made his daily trek to get the newspapers. “He came back and told me that I had won a scholarship and my mother just started crying,” she recalled in an interview. “We are all really happy about it,” Sariyah went on. “I now feel more confident in myself than ever. “If I hadn’t gotten this scholarship my parents would have had to get a loan to pay for my tuition.”
The 19-year-old student of Carapichaima Senior Compre-hensive, who attained three Grade As in Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics and a Grade D in General Paper, will be starting her BSC Programme in Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of the West Indies (UWI) on Monday. She credits her success to hours of study and very little socialising. “I didn’t really make myself available for anything, except maybe for my family,” she said. “I spent most of my time studying, and I am not much of a limer. “I used to study between five to nine hours a day.”
Sariyah noted that her Physics teacher, Samlal Manny, was extremely happy to learn of her achievement, since Physics was her weakest subject. “We did a lot of additional work during lunch and I took extra lessons in Chemistry and Physics. Maths was my best subject.” Sariyah expressed her gratitude to God and to her parents, especially her mother, whom she describes as her “rock.” “My life growing up was very hard, and she was always there for me,” she stated. “She is the one who held my hand through the difficult times.”
Chaguanas Mayor Dr Suruj Rambachan called for more co-operation between India and TT in this age of global technological advancement. He was addressing the formal opening of the ten-day Indian Trade Festival at the Divali Nagar site, Endeavour Road, Chaguanas, on Sunday night. The audience included Diane Seukeran, Junior Trade Minister; Satish Ramroop, Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Culture and members of the Diplomatic Corps. Dr Rambachan made a call for the removal of tax on all musical instruments imported from India “so that they would be used in helping to promote culture and an allocation from Government of $5 million that would assist in completing the facilities at the Divali Nagar, owned and operated by the National Council for Indian Culture.”
“It is an opportune time to reduce taxes on musical instruments to allow people to develop cultural practices in a country where cultural pursuits play a significant role in the development process,” Mayor Rambachan said. He described the Divali Nagar as “the cultural cradle of Central Trinidad and one worthy of development and if it comes into being, it would help in cementing a cultural relationship between India and Trinidad and Tobago.” He felt that India could be of greater help to Trinidad and Tobago in the area of agriculture, education, religion, pharmaceuticals and information technology. He welcomed the trade delegation to Trinidad and Tobago and said, “While you are here, I am sure that you would have a productive time.” Diane Seukeran replied to Mayor Rambachan on the point of the $5 million donation to improve the Divali Nagar site and said that the request should have been made earlier to get into the Budget in October.
Other speakers included Virendra Gupta, Indian High Commissioner and Ajai Singh, President of the Mother India Club and Chief Co-ordinator of the Trade Festival of India. Thousands of people attended the opening day’s programme on Sunday which started at 12 noon and ended at 9 pm with business activity buzzing at fever pitch. There were over 50 stalls displaying saris, brass ware, pottery, wooden chairs, purses, handbags, jewelry, Indian ornaments, toilet sets, wash basins and stands for reading religious books. The items were all reasonably priced and the public jostled for positions to make purchases. Singh said, “We should hold hands tighter and closer in an effort to develop further trade between the two countries.”
The State yesterday conceded that the sentencing of convicted killer Chuck Attin was unconstitutional. But only so far as the Children Act, under which he was sentenced, had wrongly put the sentencing power in the hands of the Executive instead of the Judiciary. The State also conceded that two sections of the Children Act, sections 79 and 81, which related to the sentencing of minors convicted of murder were inconsistent with the underlying principles of the Constitution, namely the separation of powers. As a result of the constitutional issues raised by Attin’s attorneys Dana Seetahal and Keith Scotland, he may have his sentence reviewed by the Court.
Attin was 16 years old when he and his partner in crime, Noel Seepersad, had raped and murdered Candace Scott and Karen Sa Gomes at Westmoorings on July 11, 1994. Because of his age, he could not have been sentenced to death by hanging like his accomplice Seepersad. Instead, he was sentenced under the Children Act at the “State’s pleasure.” A recent Privy Council ruling in a Jamaican case noted the unconstitutionality of legislation which does not follow the doctrine of separation of power and allows sentencing powers in the hands of the Executive instead of the Judiciary. Attorneys Andre de Vignes and Krishendath Narinesingh who represented the State conceded before Justice Alan Mendonca that some of the reliefs sought by Seetahal in her motion offend the constitution. De Vignes also agreed that the court has the power to modify these sections of the Children Act and substitute the offending words: “State’s power” to “Court’s power.”
Seetahal had also asked the court for an order that Attin be brought before the court for a periodic review of his detention at least every three years. Both parties also agreed that before going any further, they should await the ruling of the Court of Appeal which will be dealing with some of the issues raised in the motion when the court hears the appeal of Keston Adams on September 25. As a result, the matter was listed for mention on October 6.
FIRE officials were called out to the Petrotrin facility in Barrackpore after a ruptured pipeline exploded on Monday causing a fire threat to two nearby houses. Fortunately, the flames were doused before spreading to the rest of the facility or the nearby houses. There were no injuries reported. The drama unfloded around 8.15 am at the Barrackpore Compressor Unit #1, at Wilson Road, Barrackpore. According to Petrotrin Corporate Communications Manager, Arnold Corneal, a six-inch gas pipeline, which pumps gas from the compressor unit to a resorvoir field broke. Corneal said the fire was isolated to the facility and within a half-an-hour they were able to extinquish the flames.
“There were two homes across the street, close to the area, and they witnessed the small explosion. They (families) were scared because of what they saw since the flames were 10 to 12 feet high. Their electricity went but it was restored within an hour,” he stated. Corneal stated that it was “techincally a small fire,” which was brought under control as soon as the gas was turned off. He said both Petrotrin and fire officials have launched a full scale investigation to determine what had caused the pipeline to rupture. The area had been cordorned off and Petrotrin officials were in the process of having the line repaired.
THA’s Chief Secretary Orville London has expressed “a level of disappointment” that the proposed celebration of Assembly Day did not receive the support of the entire House. The celebration had been described as “just another Borough Day-type celebration” by Minority Leader in the THA, Hochoy Charles, and as a celebration of “half freedom” by Assemblyman Ashworth Jack. London said that he found it a little bit disheartening that the contributions of stalwarts such as ex-President Arthur NR Robinson, Dr Winston Murray, William Mc Kenzie and Pamela Nicholson, to “what we now consider to be the THA, even if it is not a perfect institution, would have been cheapened in that way when one listens to some of the contributions.” He acknowledged that there were certain principles that transcended politics and that he had no problem discussing what form the celebration should take since it was not only an Executive Council decision. He appealed to Tobagonians to put aside their political differences to ensure the success of the annual event.
