A FORMER officer of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad was charged with  40 counts of fraud on Thursday.

PC Bobby Ramrattansigh, who had been attached to the AKS since 1996 and was transferred to Traffic Branch two weeks ago, was arrested at his Orchard Gardens home by Sgt Daniel of the Fraud Squad and other officers early Thursday. Ramrattansingh appeared before Port-of-Spain Justice of the Peace late Thursday and was granted $50,000 bail. The matter was adjourned to October 10. The constable was allegedly given money by other AKS officers to pay their cell phone bills, but the money was never paid to TSTT. Last month, the AKS officers’ cell phones were disconnected and it was discovered that the bills had not been paid since last October. The Fraud Squad was called in and it was then discovered that the officers were owing TSTT over $80,000.

THE Roman Catholic Church said charges of marijuana possession against a member of the clergy was unprecedented in the Church’s history and it is still trying to determine how it should deal with the priest in question.

Public Relations Officer Monsignor Cuthbert Alexander yesterday told Newsday the Church had never encountered a situation where a priest was charged for drug possession and does not have a position on the matter as yet. On Wednesday night, Fr Jimmy Peters was arrested in St Augustine and charged with possession of marijuana. He pleaded guilty when he appeared before a Tunapuna magistrate on Thursday and was ordered to pay a fine of $1,000 or face three months in jail.

Alexander added that the Church will make a statement on the matter in due course. Asked if he knew where Peters was residing, Alexander said he believed Peters is staying at the RC Chaplaincy in St Augustine. He said as far as he was aware, Peters is currently on study leave and was formerly parish priest at Couva RC. When Newsday called the Chaplaincy, a staffer indicated a number where Peters could be found. However a person at that residence said no one by that name lived there.

CHANROUTIE RAMPERSAD, mother of Philadelphia murder victim Pramatee Celestine, said yesterday she is no longer interested in seeking custody of her two grandchildren.

Chanroutie said she told her son Taran, who is in Philadelphia, to give support to the Celestine family in the custody case. The Celestines have indicated that they are willing to take care of Michael, 14, and Randi,10. At her Lopinot home yesterday, Chanroutie who has been bedridden since Tuesday, the day her daughter and son-in-law were buried in New York, said at first she was interested in bringing the boys home but now she is certain they will be better off in the United States. She said based on information passed on to her by the Philadelphia police, Michael and Randi were forced to look on when the killer shot their mother at her West Philadelphia apartment on June 17.

“I am now interested in the welfare of my grandchildren and I feel that the best place for them is with the Celestine family,” said Chanroutie. She said as far as she is concerned the children are in dire need of treatment which can only be obtained in the United States and they will be better taken care off by the Celestine family. She claimed that her son Taran told her Randi and Michael were inconsolable at the funeral of their mother and step-father. They broke down and had to be treated by doctors following the funeral. The children, who are now under the care of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, have been receiving counseling.

Cabinet yesterday agreed to give BWIA $30 million to help it maintain its operating expenses. This would be the second drawdown on the $116 million loan.

If BWIA needs more money, it would have to get the approval of the Minister of Finance. But over the next three months, Cabinet sources said Government will be concentrating on the restructuring of the airline.

Auditor General Jocelyn Thomas has slammed the Licensing Office of the Ministry of Works and Transport in a report on a “Special Audit of the Transport Division” dated June 10, laid in the House of Representatives yesterday.

She was particularly stinging about the presence of “touts” at both the Registration Office and Inspection Area of the Transport Division. Remarking on the system of motor vehicle registration, she said: “It was observed during the audit that some individuals regularly took registration forms to and from the Registration offices. Upon enquiry, it was found that these people were not employed by the Transport Division and were commonly refered to as ‘touts’. This practice was observed at both the Port-of-Spain and San Fernando offices. This practice leaves the Transport Division open to the risk of fraud and manipulation of information on documents. “The Transport Commissioner, with the approval of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works and Transport, made an attempt to address the security of information and the removal of ‘touts’ from the compound by issuing a circular dated July 23….At the time of the audit there was no evidence to indicate that this decision was ever implemented or enforced.”

The Auditor-General was dismayed at the security and control of registration documents at the Licensing Office. She said: “The Card Room appeared to be in a state of disarray despite the highly confidential, delicate and sensitive nature of the documents. The storage capacity of the room appeared to be inadequate, with insufficient space to accommodate the continuous flow of documents.” She added that numerous changes were made to the registration cards, and on some cards the changes were untidy and illegible. There was no set time period for the Registration Office to return the completed cards to the Card Room, some cards being kept in the Card Room up to six months after the vehicle had been registered.”

The report criticised the system of motor vehicle inspection for taxis. The Auditor-General said: “Transport Officers did not always personally verify the chassis and engine numbers recorded on the vehicle. Owners were sometimes allowed to read the numbers off the vehicle while the Inspector verified the information against the certified copy.” She added that Inspectors did not always comply with all the checks specified in the checklist under the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic (Amendment) Regulations. She revealed that equipment had gone missing from the Transport Division, saying: “Two out of three mobile emission-testing units assigned to the Port-of-Spain office were missing. It was explained by staff that one could not be located and the other was at the dealer’s office for maintenance. At the time of the audit, the emission-testing equipment was not recorded in the inventory register.”

THE Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago has ruled that Caroni (1975) Limited failed to negotiate in good faith with the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union (ATSGWTU) on the controversial Caroni VSEP.

However questions remain as to who actually won yesterday’s ruling. In delivering the court’s judgment, Industrial Court Vice-President Gladys Gafoor said four of the court’s five-member panel found Caroni to be in breach of Section 40 (1) of the Industrial Relations Act for failing to negotiate in good faith with the ATSGWTU and ordered both parties to meet within five days of the ruling and report their progress to the court on July 10. She said on that date, the court will rule whether the maximum fine of $4,000 should be imposed on Caroni and the May 28 injunction filed by the union to stop the VSEP remains in effect until July 10. The lone dissenting judge Lloyd Elcock agreed with the July 10 hearing but said both sides should meet “with the stipulation that in any event the injunction shall not continue beyond July 10, 2003 so that if they are not able to reach and agreement on any or all of these matters by that date, the company shall be at liberty to proceed with the implementation of its VSEP.” In giving the court’s ruling, Gafoor also indicated that the Caroni VSEP was not flawed in any way.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, ATSGWTU President-General Rudranath Indarsingh described the ruling as “a landmark victory” for trade unions and working class people in the country. He declared that Government would now be forced to conduct the restructuring of the local sugar industry in a transparent and accountable manner. Indarsingh reiterated that his union was not opposed to Caroni’s restructuring and maintained that Government was wrong to leave the ATSGWTU out of the process. He declined to say whether he was disappointed that the court did not impose the $4,000 fine on Caroni. However Agriculture Minister John Rahael said Governnment had no position on the ruling since it was waiting on advice from its attorneys. The Minister told reporters after yesterday’s Parliamentary sitting, that if the VSEP route could not be travelled, the alternative would be to implement the collective agreement and retrench Caroni’s daily-paid workers. He said with no work currenly going on at Caroni, the daily-paid workers’ jobs were now redundant. Hinting that some action could take place next week, Rahael lamented: “I think this is very unfortunate because I don’t think all of this is in the benefit of the workers.” The Minister added that Caroni’s monthly-paid workers have already accepted their VSEP packages and would receive their monies later this month.

A POLICEMAN yesterday won a lawsuit in the San Fernando High Court against the Police Service Commission (PSC) for non-promotion.  Justice Carlton Best ordered the Commission to promote Curtis Paul, 44, to the rank of Corporal effective May 2, 2002 after ruling that  the PSC had acted illegally and unfairly by failing to consider the policeman’s capability for promotion.

Paul, of Laventille Road, Febeau Village, San Juan, was granted leave by Justice Joseph Tam last year to seek judicial review of the PSC’s decision not to promote him.  In an affidavit, Paul highlighted his achievements during his 23 years of service as a constable, listing his awards and commendations. Paul, who had been an acting Corporal for the past five years, said the Police Commissioner informed him in a letter that he was not promoted because the ratings on his annual staff report were merely “satisfactory”. The policeman contended that such a rating covered a period when he was on a year’s vacation leave and all his other ratings had been “exceptional”. He further stated that junior policemen were promoted ahead of him. The State responded to the contention with affidavits filed by Snr Supt Mathew Shallowe from Police Administration and Gloria Edwards-Joseph, deputy Director of Personnel Administration on behalf of the PSC.

When the case came up for hearing last week, Best told attorneys for the State that Paul’s case, despite its affidavits in response, was not challenged. The judge advised the PSC, represented by State Counsel Ann-Marie Rambaran to settle. Attorney Anand Ramlogan represented Paul. Yesterday, the State consented and the judge ordered that the PSC consider Paul’s promotion retroactively from May 2, 2002. The judge also agreed to a declaration that the PSC acted illegally and unfairly in contravention of the Police Service Regulations by failing to consider Paul’s application for promotion. As he left court yesterday, Paul told Newsday his victory was for the entire Police Service.

In an attempt to foster and maintain strong investment ties with Cuba, TIDCO signed a trade and investment agreement with its Cuban counterpart, the Centre for Investment Promotions (CPI), at the Cuban Ministry of Trade and Investment  yesterday.

The agreement was signed by Vishnu Dhanpaul, Vice President, Trade and Investment at TIDCO and Aneiza Rodriguez, Director for CPI, at the trade mission exhibition, Melia Cohiba, Cuba. “This agreement will last in the first instance for two years and both parties have to be careful to ensure that confidentiality is honoured,” said Hayden Straker, Manager, Certified Division of Trade and Industry for TIDCO. Straker said the agreement will allow each side to get a first-hand view on how each conducts business.

The agreement will facilitate exchange of technical, economic and legal information along with the exchange of experiences in the field of investment.  It will also ensure the smooth running of trade and investment between the two countries, with input from both sides. Brian Charles, VP of Marketing for TIDCO, said in order for both countries to have fruitful business opportunities, this measure was needed. “Once the trade starts kicking in for the manufacturers, it will make the process easier because they will have more information available to them. The Centre has its own network of manufacturers, so a steady flow of information between them and our Trinidadian counterparts will take place,” said Charles. Yesterday was the third day of appointments for the manufacturers taking part on the trade mission. Many spent the day tying up their business connections and packing up their exhibition material to leave tomorrow night.

Members of the banking sector yesterday expressed concerns about the “fairness and objectivity” of the mediation process to be undertaken by the recently established Office of the Banking Services Ombudsman (BSO).

One representative of RBTT Bank expressed his belief that the award stage of the mediation process placed immense power and authority in the hands of the BSO. This stage, the final in the three-stage process, allows for the office to recommend monetary compensation in an amount not greater than $500,000 for customers as a result of any direct loss or damage suffered as a result of acts or omissions of the commercial bank. Responding to this sentiment, newly appointed Banking Services Ombudsman, Judy Chang, noted that the participating banks had all agreed to impose this power on the BSO. Participating banks are Citibank, First Citizens Bank Limited (FCB), Intercommercial Bank, RBTT Bank, Republic Bank and Scotiabank. However, she stated that the best avenue to prevent the mediation process from reaching this final stage would be to ensure that there are no unsatisfied customers and thus no complaints.

Chang was speaking at a seminar organised by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) to educate the public on the role of the Office of the Banking Services Ombudsman. The seminar was held at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Westmoorings. CEO of First Citizens Bank and Vice President of the IBF, Larry Howai, further explained that the Institute had every confidence that the BSO would be an “impartial arbiter.”  This, he said, factored greatly in the decision to place such authority in the hands of the Ombudsman. “Once the BSO has made a decision,” he stated, “the banks will comply.” “There will be some cost to the banks, yes, but this will be more than justified by the greater level of service which will come from the banks as a result,” he added. Chang expressed her belief that the BSO would lend credibility to the financial services sector by providing greater transparency, greater consumer confidence and satisfaction, as well as prompt and independent resolution of problems.

While the BSO can consider complaints about a wide range of products and services offered by commercial banks and their subsidiary licensed financial institutions, including deposit accounts, loan accounts and card services among others, there are limitations. Chang explained that complaints must be about an act or omission that occurred after January 1, 2003 and they must not presently be before the courts. Additionally, complaints must not be related to the bank’s general interest rate policies, risk policies, credit decisions or its pricing of products and services. “The Office of the BSO,” she asserted, “is not a public watchdog, a consumer rights advocate, a standards setting body or a regulatory body.” Instead, Chang elaborated, it provided another avenue for aggrieved persons to seek redress to their complaints and to resolve them through a mediation process rather than to resort to a court of law where the process can be lengthy and costly.