TRINIDADIAN attorney Stanley Marcus SC successfully defended the Antiguan Govern-ment in a judicial review case brought by a former Government Minister and two others who were accused by a Commission of Inquiry of serious misconduct and other grave improprieties in connection with the Medical Benefits Scheme on that island. Justice Don Mitchell, in a 25-page judgment dated June 24, ruled against the three plaintiffs who were seeking to have the findings of the Commission of Inquiry quashed. The unsuccessful plaintiffs were Dave George, of George and George Construction Limited; Hilroy Hum-phreys, former Minister of Health who was in charge of the Medical Benefits Scheme; and Wilbur Harrigan, senior partner in the firm of Pannel Kerr Foster. The defendants in the matter were members of the Commission of Inquiry — Sir Allister McIntyre, Dr John Anthony Roberts QC and Oscar Frederick. Marcus headed the legal team which included Carla Brooks-Harris. Dr Henry Browne spearheaded the legal team which represented the three plaintiffs. At the end of the hearing, Justice Mitchell dismissed the application and ordered the three plaintiffs to pay costs to the defendants. Over an extended period of time, public disquiet in Antigua and Barbuda began to be expressed concerning the conduct of certain officials in relation to the management of the funds of the Medical Benefits Scheme.

Radio talk shows on the subject became heated. Articles in newspapers and letters to the editor became more and more extreme in the accusations. As a result of the public criticisms of the management of the Scheme, the Governor General appointed a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the allegations. The Commission was assisted by Richard Cheltenham QC who was flown to Antigua from Barbados. The Commission submitted its report on July 25, 2002 which was subsequently published and widely circulated in the community. The Commission described the entire affair as ‘scandalous’. They found that the Scheme was run on contributions from the private sector only and that Government had never paid any of the deductions made from the salaries of public servants, far less its own contributory share. The Government debt as of December 1999 amounted to more than TT $300 million. The Commission also found that contracts had been awarded from the proceeds of the Scheme. The Commission, in their report, found that the three plaintiffs were guilty of serious misconduct, including criminal misconduct and other grave improprieties. As a result, the three plaintiffs sought an order to set aside the findings, recommendations and conclusions of the Commission. Justice Mitchell, in his judgment, said he was satisfied that the three Commissioners were specific and met all the requirements. “I am satisfied that the Commissioners were entitled in the course of the inquiry to enquire into the conduct of the three claimants as that conduct related to their terms of reference and to express their own opinion on whether they considered that breaches of the criminal law or of professional duties and responsibilities had occurred, if that is what their investigation revealed.”

ANGELA RAMDEEN, the 40-year-old Chaguanas woman on death row for beating to death two children and burying them behind her farm has filed a constitutional motion to save her from being hanged. The case is set for hearing on September 13. Ramdeen will be represented at that hearing by attorney Anand Ramlogan who is acting in conjunction with British Queens Counsel Peter Carter and the solicitors from the London based firm of Simmons and Simmons. In her motion, Ramdeen is asking the court to find unfair and illegal, the refusal by the President on the advice of then National Security Minister Basdeo Panday, to refer her appeal back to the Court of Appeal. The killer has petitioned the court to find that her death sentence cannot be executed, that her sentence be commuted to life imprisonment, and that her continuing confinement on death row, awaiting execution, was illegal. Ramdeen has been on death row for more than six years. She was convicted and sentenced in January 1997, for the murders of eight-year-old Tulsie Varun and his seven-year-old sister, Sabrina Henwatee Dass. The murders took place on October 25, 1993, at Carlsen Field. In her application Ramdeen is contending that she has been kept in a cell as a condemned person sentenced to death beyond the period during which the sentence of death can lawfully be carried out.

The applicant has spent upwards of six years on death row since her conviction and sentence on January 14, 1997. In an affidavit filed by Samantha Abeysekera, a barrister of the London firm Simmons and Simmons, which is handling the case of the applicant, states Ramdeen has been on death row for more than five years and no decision had been made on her application under section (64) (2)(a) of the Supreme Court of judicature Act. According to Abeysekera, Simmons and Simmons wrote to the President of Trinidad and Tobago referring to the principle established in the case of Pratt and Morgan V Attornery-General for Jamaica, informing the President that according to the principles set out in paragraph 11 of the affidavit, the continuation of the death sentence imposed on the applicant was unconstitutional and contrary to two sections of the constitution. Simmons and Simmons therefore requested that the sentence of death passed on the applicant be commuted and an alternative sentence be substituted in its place. The case involving Ramdeen will raise the issue of the constitutional right of convicted prisoners.

The exparte injunction against the Public Services Association (PSA) and its members has been discharged by the Industrial Court effective May 22. It was granted to the Minister of Labour, Lawrence Achong, on April 26 last year to prevent doctors in the Regional Health Authori-ties and Public Service from continuing industrial action which caused service at the nation’s public health institutions to be reduced to emergencies only. President of the PSA Jennifer Baptiste-Primus yesterday said the union felt free and vindicated by the Court to pursue current negotiations with public officers and other members for the period 2002-2004, now unencumbered by the unnecessary injunction. She said the injunction was unfair, unjust and incorrectly granted against the PSA as a result of illegal activities of the doctors and specifically the Medical Professionals Association of TT “against the good and sound advice of the PSA.”

MANY of those in attendance deemed it appropriate that a heavy rain shower accompanied the unveiling of a headstone on the grave of the late Lord Kitchener (Aldwin Roberts) in a ceremony at the Santa Rosa RC Cemetery in Arima last Saturday afternoon. They referred to the heavy downpour as “Rainorama,” one of Kitchener’s more popular compositions, and attributed the torrent’s seemingly well-timed arrival as a sign that the Grandmaster was signalling approval of the effort. The ceremony was organised by the Lord  Kitchener Memorial Committee, led by Errol Peru and comprising Valerie Green (Kitch’s wife), Dr Iva Gloudon, Rawle Gibbon and Kernal and Quweina Roberts (Kitch’s children). In attendance were Minister of Culture and Tourism Penelope Beckles, Mayor of Arima Elvin Edwards and Honorary Consul to Guyana Angela Gouveia. Other notable personalities present included Carl “Jazzy” Pantin, manager of Kitchener’s Calypso Revue Tent; Frank Martineau of Spektakula Promotions International; popular impresario Holly Betaudier; Val Lewis, Curator of the National Museum and Art Gallery; Port-of-Spain City Councillor Mickey Greaves; calypsonians Luta (Morel Peters) and Striker (Percy Oblington); Fareed Emamali, Jit Samaroo, Alvin Daniell and National Flag carrier Peter Diaz. In delivering the feature address, Peru based his remarks on a passage of scripture from the Book of Ecclesiastes that states: “Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers such as begat us, such as found out musical tunes and recited verses in writing. All these were honoured in their generation and were the glory of their times.”

He said Kitchener’s fame came through the decades that he wrote and sang the songs of Carnival —songs that made his name into a household one, well beyond our own boundaries. “When we gather, as we have, to praise this famous man, we are acknowledging formally, and in a public way, that we recognise and appreciate what he has done and we want the country and the world at large to know, “ he said. Green announced that the Kitchener Memorial Committee was busy working on the Kitchener Museum to be housed in Rainorama Palace, Kitch’s home on the Diego Martin Main Road. She made an appeal to corporate TT to assist in the venture and invited contributions from persons who may have any artifacts relative to the undertaking and would wish to donate them to the museum. Curator Val Lewis will be assisting the committee. The monument was constructed and will be maintained by the Cemetery Management Company Ltd (Belgrove’s) of Coffee Street in San Fernando. Also contributing to the gravesite memorial was Shaun Jodhan of Clark and Battoo Ltd. His effort consisted of a plaque mounted on the wall at the entrance to the cemetery that reads: “The final resting place of Aldwin Roberts, Grandmaster of Calypso 1922-2000.” Providing musical interludes at the event were Lalchan Samaroo and the Caribbean Paradise Steel Orchestra.

THE TRINIDAD and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) has retained attorney Anand Ramlogan to take legal action against the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) for their handling of the situation at the Arima Senior Comprehensive School. TTUTA President Trevor Oliver said the union had provided Ramlogan with information “detailing what is perceived to be flagrant bias in the handling of the issue”. He listed the areas of contention as faulty evaluation practices, and perceived victimisation on the part of the principal which the Commission chose to ignore while relentlessly pursuing disciplinary action against teachers at the school. TTUTA intends to have Permanent Secretary Angella Jack and other officials of the Ministry testify in the matter and wants critical reports prepared by Ministry officials presented as evidence.

The nine suspended teachers have begun to appear before the TSC tribunal, represented by a number of lawyers. Oliver said TTUTA’s General Council met two weeks ago and mandated the Executive to find alternatives to solving the situation, as other measures had failed. He said a lot of information had been unearthed which pointed to the principal victimising the teachers and accused the TSC of relentlessly pursuing the teachers. Ramlogan said he could not comment on the matter but legal action would hopefully be taken by early next week. He described the situation as a “crisis which is crying out for intervention” and said he hoped the resolution could be resolved without resorting to litigation.

 

NO SINGLE group in Trinidad and Tobago has the right to determine what the nation’s future should be. This was the declaration made by Junior Finance Minister Christine Sahadeo when she addressed a dinner hosted by the St Augustine West Rotary Club at the Hugh Wooding Law School on Saturday night. The Minister stated that as TT strives towards developed nation status by 2020, Gover-nment is cognizant  of the need to build partnerships with all of the country’s stakeholders to achieve this goal. “We take these partnerships seriously for in a country as small as ours, no one stakeholder group has the critical mass to drive positive change alone. Partnerships are required and Government, NGOs, communities and businesses must stand together if we are to make a difference. TT is at the cusp of a new and exciting phase in its history and its journey towards developed nation status. Like never before the resources of our nation are bent towards building not just a better economy but a better society in which all our people can live in peace and harmony. We are setting the stage for the nation we want to become,” Sahadeo declared.

She said the achievement of  Vision 2020 will see “TT become a safe and secure place to live, to work, to send our children to school” and “a society in which not only basic needs are satisfied but opportunities are provided for personal growth, self-expression and enjoyment of life.”  Highlight-ing poverty as a major obstacle to Vision 2020, Sahadeo said mechanisms are being put in place to deal with this problem and improve the nation’s social infrastructure. The Minister identified Government’s provision of medicine to the elderly and receipt of a US$20 million World Bank loan to support the national five-year plan to deal with HIV/AIDS as examples of such mechanisms. Sahadeo reminded her audience that the hallmark of good governance is “service to humanity.” In his brief address, new Rotary Club president Ivol O’Brien lamented that villages and communities in TT had been replaced by housing developments, homes were occupied by “lecherous friends” and absentee parents caused large numbers of young people to turn to a life of crime. “The harvest has been infected with neglect,” he stated grimly. O’Brien said it was high time for all stakeholders to “lend a strong hand” to address society’s longstanding ills.

OPPOSITION Senator Sadiq Baksh will attempt to show the United National Congress’ (UNC) performance on crime when the Senate sits from 1.30 pm tomorrow. In his lone question to National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee, Baksh wants to know the number of new police officers recruited into the Police Service on an annual basis from 1991 to 2001 ( the periods of the first Patrick Manning administration and its UNC successor). Senate Minority Leader Wade Mark will ask Labour Minister Larry Achong whether Government has plans to further increase the national minimum wage and steps to improve the conditions of work of specialised groups of workers. However, Mark’s question to Prime Minister Patrick Manning about the benefits to consumers of the recent reduction in the international price of wheat will have to wait until Manning returns from the Caricom Heads of Government summit which began on Saturday in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The UNC chairman may also be unable to ask Public Administration Minister Dr Lenny Saith about public sector reform as Saith is still recovering from surgery. UNC Senator Arnim Smith will ask Local Government Minister Jarrette Narine about monies for URP from October 2002 to April 2003. Smith will also ask Public Utilities Minister Rennie Dumas about monies for CEPEP during that same period. Opposition Senator Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan will ask Energy Minister Eric Williams to say whether any ex-National Petroleum employees have been hired as consultants with NP from January 2002 to the present.

Debate will continue on Independent Senator Professor Ramesh Deosaran’s motion for live, televised parliamentary debates and his colleague Professor Ken Ramchand’s motion for a Technical University of Trinidad and Tobago. Opposition motions for equality opportunity legislation, anti-terrorism measures, regulation of the banking sector and corruption in public office will also be debated. At last week’s sitting, the UNC claimed Private Members Day was “kidnapped” when the Government moved to debate the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals Amendment) Bill 2003. The Opposition’s no-confidence motion against Senate President Dr Linda Baboolal remains missing from the Senate Order Paper for yet another week. The motion was removed in April after the UNC said it was not prepared to debate it.

THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS Services of Trinidad and Tobago advises that its international fibre optic cable system, Americas 11, is back in operations following an outage on the system, early yesterday morning. The Americas 11 is one of three submarine cable systems that provide international access to and from Trinidad and Tobago. In a press release yesterday, TSTT explained that in order to minimise the disruption of service to its customers, all international voice traffic was switched to the Americas 1 and  ECFS cables. However Internet services and e-mail services were affected. The Americas 11 submarine fibre optic cable stretches from the USA in the North to South America, with Trinidad being one of its landing points. In order to resolve the problem, TSTT and Americas 11 engineers and technicians worked together on the project and were able to identify an equipment failure to another landing point at Camary as the problem. This disruption affected not only Trinidad and Tobago but Venezuela, Curacao, Martinique and other islands in the West Indies where Cable and Wireless operates. TSTT apologised for the inconvenience and thanked the public for their patience during the outage. The company also expressed its appreciation to its personnel who worked towards a speedy resolution of the situation.

VETERAN children’s bandleader Roslyn Gabriel believes that the responsibility of hosting Carnival activities should lie with the bandleaders, as they “know what is needed for Carnival.” Gabriel spoke to the media at the National Carnival Commission (NCC) Sunshine Snacks Junior Carnival 2003 prize giving function which was held at the Trinidad Hilton yesterday. Gabriel was the bandleader who successfully challenged, in the courts, the judging system of this year’s senior Carnival competitions, resulting in no prizes being distributed. Revealing that she is a member of the National Carnival Bands Association (NCBA), Gabriel added that  “Doctors and lawyers  have their own associations, so that I feel that is where the responsibility for the Carnival should be.” Describing the five awards she won at yesterday’s celebration as “the icing on the cake,” Gabriel said it was always nice to be rewarded after working so hard. Picking up her seventh consecutive title in the category of Junior Band of the Year — Open Large with the theme “Melting Pot,” Gabriel admitted that she had not yet decided on a theme for next year’s competition.

However, she assured persons that she would be back next year, adding that plans were already in place. The four other awards collected by Gabriel included Best Creative Topical Band; Spirit of Carnival — Non Large School; Costume Design — Large Non School; and Junior Non School Band of the Year — Open Large. Delivering the feature address was Minister of Culture and Tourism Minister Penelope Beckles, who began by first thanking NCC’s Chairman Kenny De Silva for his astute leadership and commitment to this year’s Carnival proceedings. Not forgetting the mas leaders and band players, Beckles said these persons were responsible for maintaining the creativity and gaiety of Carnival. Acknowledging that this year’s celebrations were extremely challenging for the NCC and especially De Silva, Beckles attributed his recent illness to his dedication to ensuring that Carnival ran smoothly, as well as subsequent court battles with the NCBA. She congratulated De Silva on what she termed “the best carnival ever” and noted the smooth running of the Parade of the Bands, and the improved Dimanche Gras show. Claiming that this year’s celebrations were virtually crime free, despite some challenges, she implored band leaders to continue showcasing the artistic abilities of TT. Beckles concluded by urging other corporate entities to take advantage of the 150 percent tax incentive being offered by government, to companies willing to sponsor any kind of cultural activity.

THE Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) quest to acquire the Pigeon Point estate is proceeding on course. And the Assembly is now two steps away from moving onto the beachfront property which has been at the centre of a long-standing impasse between the property owners — Robinson Crusoe Ltd, a subsidiary of the Ansa McAl Group — and the THA over public access to the popular beachhead. This was revealed by THA Secretary of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Hilton Sandy, during his contribution to debate on the THA 2004 budget in the House on Thursday. He said: “I would like to report to this House that the (process towards) acquisition of Pigeon Point is going fine. The Director of Surveys has now sent to the Valuations Division to have valuation done at Pigeon Point and sent back so that we can move on to do (inspection) three and four and when (inspection) four is given we would move on to Pigeon Point.” Previously, Sandy had reported that the Assembly had gotten approval from the Town and Country Planning Division to ‘move forward’ with the process of acquisition and the relevant documents had been forwarded to the Director of Surveys. More recently, it was reported that Town and Country had queried the legality of certain structures allegedly erected at Club Pigeon Point within the last couple years, bringing into question the issue of compensation for the alleged illegal structures. Sandy gave the update on the move to compulsorily acquire the — acre property for public purposes, following certain claims made by Minority Leader Hochoy Charles when he opened debate on the THA’s $1.65 billion budgetary proposals. Charles claimed: “The current Assembly had turned down an opportunity to become involved in a 300-acre tourism development project at Woodlands, in Moriah, in the northern end of the island, undertaken by a Tobago family, but were now moving to spend $600 million on the Pigeon Point estate.”

“A tourism project which would have employed the land, agricultural and human resources of the area for the benefit of the area, creating jobs and so on! The developer pleaded with the THA for support; after hemming and hawing, as in their indecisive way, while looking back over their shoulders to see if Port-of-Spain would agree, they reneged on this opportunity thereby allowing ‘sharks’ from elsewhere to take over the project and 300 acres of land in a key area of Tobago.” Charles told the House. He alleged that the THA had been offered equity in the project and 120 acres of freehold land. “They refused to act!” lamented the Minority Leader. “Instead, it wants to spend $600 million to acquire land from the riches conglomerate in the country whereas it was offered both land and equity for less than $20 million — When I see this my heart bleeds and grieves for Tobago and my Tobago people,” he said. He recalled that at the launch of the Tobago NAR’s THA election campaign on November 26, 2000 he had warned that as far as they were concerned no one else would have been able to solve the Pigeon Point issue. “It would take us (the then NAR THA administration) to do it, and I said that the Tobagonian and all fisherfolk and all Tobagonians know it!” Charles reminded the House.