OPPOSITION Chief Whip Ganga Singh hinted that a no-confidence motion against Speaker of the House of Representatives Barry Sinanan would soon be laid in Parliament. The matter was expected to be discussed at yesterday’s UNC parliamentary caucus at Rienzi Complex, Couva. Speaking with reporters at Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday’s Charles Street office yesterday, Singh said: “I think that is just a matter of time. Referring to Couva South MP Kelvin Ramnath’s latest dare for Sinanan to suspend him, the Chief Whip described MPs’ freedom of speech in Parliament as a privilege and “they ought not to be hindered in any way.” Asked if he felt Ramnath was justified for publicly telling Sinanan “to go to hell,” Singh replied: “Justification is not a matter for me. If Mr Ramnath feels if he is being hindered in making his contribution, as a parliamentarian I cannot encumber his right to freedom of speech.” However he differed from Ramnath, saying: “I feel that the Speaker should go to Heaven.” Singh criticised the Government for saying Opposition parliamentarians should behave themselves.
“I think that Parliament must serve its purpose. It must be a forum where the parliamentarians must be able to speak their mind because it is a fundamental right. Singh insisted that the UNC was not trying to sabotage the operations of Parliament. “The role of the Opposition is to raise relevant issues. We have been asking the relevant questions. It is the role and function of the Opposition to put the Government under scrutiny and we are doing that,” he declared. In a statement yesterday, the UNC accused both Sinanan and Senate President Dr Linda Baboolal of bias against the Opposition. The party warned that if Sinanan and Baboolal do not change their attitude, “they should not expect the cooperation of the opposition members in keeping order in the House.” The UNC also sent a copy of its statement to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in London.
THE DATTATREYA YOGA CENTRE at Orange Field Road, Carapichaima, will be a bee hive of actvity over the next fortnight with the consecration of the 85-foot Lord Hanuman murti on June 9. Perforning the ceremony will be Swami Sri Ganapati Sachchida-nanda from Mysore, India, who is already in the country to also celebrate his birthday on June 11. The murti was designed and constructed by skilful craftsmen from India who have also been transforming the Ashram itself; with finishing touches of architecture from temples and Ashrams across India. On Sunday, June 1 a welcome function will be held for the Swami at which Prime Minister Patrick Manning is due to speak at 5.30 p.m. For the remainder of the period there will be daily prayers culminating with the consecration of the Lord Hanuman murti on June 9. The Swami is also booked to visit other Yoga Centres in the country.
THE Opposition United National Congress (UNC) yesterday took its “fight” with House Speaker Barry Sinanan to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) based in London. The party has also indicated its intention to file a motion of no confidence in the Speaker. The party yesterday renewed its condemnation of Sinanan as a biased Speaker in the House of Representatives. The UNC Parliamentary Arm held its caucus meeting yesterday and high on the agenda was Opposition MPs’ current stand-off, particularly Couva South MP Kelvin Ramnath, with Speaker Sinanan. But Newsday learned that the meeting held at the Rienzi Complex, Couva, steered clear of discussing Ramnath’s outburst Monday night at the Princes Town Junior Secondary School. Ramnath repeatedly shouted: “Barry Sinanan could go to hell!”
However, in a statement yesterday, the UNC accused Speaker Sinanan and Senate President Dr Linda Baboolal of “open and blatant display of bias in the conduct of the business of both Houses.” The statement pointed out two instances, the first in which Sinanan ignored Ramnath and Nariva MP Harry Partap during Friday’s debate in the House of Representatives. “On both occasions the MPs stood up and waited for the Speaker to recognise them,” the statement said. The Opposition members, as a result, were denied the opportunity to speak. The statement went on to state that Speaker Sinanan offered the explanation that the members did not “catch his eyes.” The UNC further stated that Sinanan called Local Government Minister Jarette Narine into his chambers during the tea break. “But when the House resumed, the Speaker called upon Narine to wind up the debate,” the UNC statement said. Charging that the Opposition will not allow the Speaker to fustrate the will of their elected representatives, the UNC stated that the time was approaching for Opposition to move a motion of no confidence in Speaker Sinanan. “We are copying this statement to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Associa-tion based in London,” the statement ended.
OPPOSITION Chief Whip Ganga Singh yesterday provided information about alleged corruption at the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to Canadian forensic investigator Bob Lindquist and Snr Supt Maurice Piggott of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Speaking to reporters afterwards at Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday’s Port-of-Spain office, Singh said the two-hour long meeting went very well. While evasive on the details, the Chief Whip claimed there were WASA transactions in which significant sums of money were expended and he directed the investigators towards the alleged transactions. He said Lindquist shared his view that it was important to follow the flow of money. Singh believed that certain revelations would come to light from Lindquist’s investigations but, asked if this translated to charges being laid against individuals, the Chief Whip replied: “That is a matter within the realm of the police. I do not want to play policeman.”
Singh added that Lindquist and Piggott were provided with a set of documentation with guidance. Asked if there was a timetable for the investigations to be completed, Singh responded that there were several other persons to be interviewed by Lindquist and the ACB. As he left the meeting, Lindquist declined to speak to reporters about the status of the WASA investigations. Singh also revealed that he has since increased security at his home following former PNM MP Dr Joe Laquis’ threat to ban him from speaking publicly in the East-West Corridor.
WHILE an official ballistic testing report was not available up to late yesterday evening, senior police officers have indicated that preliminary investigations show that the bullet which killed Petit Valley resident Kerry “Jiggers” Joseph did not come from a police gun as his relatives alleged. A .380 slug was removed from 27-year-old Joseph, who died Monday after being shot in the head in Pioneer Drive, Petit Valley, May 22. Senior police officers told Newsday yesterday that a .380 slug can’t be used in a .38 revolver because the revolver is not designed to hold a .380 slug. The uniformed officer who was on the scene at the time of the shooting carried a .38 Smith and Wesson revolver, senior police officers said. The officer is now on injury leave since he was grazed in the head in the Petit Valley incident which started at Pioneer Drive and ended at Cassia Drive Extension.
Asked if the .380 slug is an issue of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), senior police officers replied in the affirmative. However, senior officers said that the .380 slug is not issued to stations, but only to officers from the rank of Inspector upwards. Nevertheless, senior police officers said that the officer’s gun, one spent .38 shell and five live rounds of .38 ammunition, have been sent to Forensic for ballistic testing. Yesterday, acting Commissioner of Police Everald Snaggs told Newsday he has given instructions to speed up the investigation. Snaggs said he met with the head of the Western Division, Sr Supt Selwyn Glasgow and members of the Homicide Department on Tuesday to discuss the matter. He said the investigation is the subject of a criminal one as well as a disciplinary one. The Petit Valley incident is said to have occurred after an off-duty officer went to a scrapyard in Diego Martin based on information he received.
Does an out of uniform policeman have the power to charge a driver for a traffic offence such as breaking a “No Entry” sign? The answer to this question attorney Gillian Lucky will have to research and then submit her findings to the Court of Appeal and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Depending on her findings, the DPP will then decide whether maxi taxi driver Peter Samuel will have to face a new trial for allegedly breaking a “No Entry” sign or drop the charge against him. Samuel was charged by PC David Caracciolo for allegedly breaking a no entry sign at Mucurapo Link Road, Port-of-Spain, on October 26, 1994. When the matter came up before Magistrate Ronald Perry in 1995, the Court heard how Caracciolo, dressed in plain clothes, was in a private car driven by uniformed PC Roberts, when he observed Samuel committing the offence. Roberts and Caraciciolo followed the maxi and when it came to a stop, Caracciolo told the driver of his observation and ordered him to the police station where he was subsequently arrested and charged.
On January 24, 1995 magistrate Perry found Samuel not guilty. The State appealed but the magistrate did not give his reasons for his findings. However, it was raised in the Court of Appeal yesterday before Justice Lionel Jones and Rolston Nelson that former Magistrate Perry, in dismissing the matter, could have held the view that a policeman out of uniform did not have the authority in the circumstances to arrest and charge Samuel. Although the Court ordered a new trial, it expressed its concern about the law and the powers of a policeman out of uniform. Lucky, representing the DPP as a special prosecutor, undertook to research the matter. It was agreed that if an out of uniform Caracciolo had no power to arrest and charge Samuel, the DPP will drop the charge. Otherwise, Samuel faces a new trial.
Education Minister Hazel Manning yesterday dispelled rumours that History and Geography will be dropped from the CXC subject list for secondary schools, and instead advised schools to continue “doing whatever they have been doing before.” Manning was speaking to reporters at the launching of the Public Consultations on Draft Standards for Regulation and Early Childhood Services in TT, at the Cascadia Hotel yesterday. Stating that these subjects were “core subjects,” Manning gave her assurance that they “were not going to be dropped, but that as a matter of fact, we are going to put history in visual arts, in social studies and other subjects so that it will be expanded.” “We can’t drop History; that is where we come from,” claimed Manning.
However, the Minister urged persons not to spread rumours, but to wait until the ministry had published correspondence pertaining to this matter. She remains hopeful that Cabinet will approve a list by the end of the week. Questioned as to controversial Biology textbook containing an explicit picture detailing sex education, Manning said “We have asked the publisher to change that one page.” Adding her voice to those acclaiming the book a “good book,” Manning acknowledged that the book was being used in various countries throughout the world.
When asked why if this was so, why TT was kicking up such a fuss about the diagram, especially as our youth are engaging in increased sexual activity? Manning’s reply was “You tell me…we have such a high HIV/AIDS statistics, I mean it is so bad that we are second to the Sub-Saharan region. “We are going to take the diagram out, and maybe in the next two years we could bring it back again,” she added. “I really just have to go with what is happening and we are going to make the adjustments.” On the topic of whether persons could look forward to book grants for the new academic year, Manning said this was currently before Cabinet. She assured the media that a lot of things were happening for September 2003, and that a press conference would be held to update the media as to the status of various projects later on, which includes a revised curriculum and a new centre for teacher training.
THE SHOOTING deaths of two people by police, one in Valencia the other in Toco, are likely to be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Geoffrey Henderson, Acting Commissioner of Police Everald Snaggs said yesterday. Snaggs also said that the reports on the shooting deaths of Glenroy Elder and St Ann’s outpatient Gideon Edwards were to be submitted yesterday to the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Oswyn Allard. However, up to late evening, only the shooting death file on Elder, 42, of L’Anse Noire, had been forwarded to Allard from the investigator, Supt Stephen Quashie, formerly of the Northern Division. Quashie was due to take over from Western Division head Sr Supt Selwyn Glasgow, who was supposed to proceed on pre-retirement leave ysterday. Quashie will act as Sr Supt of the Western Division and has been replaced by acting Supt Haroun Ramkissoon, formerly of the Traffic Branch.
Investigators who are working on the police shooting death of Edwards said they were still conducting investigations, collecting statements and doing field work. ASP Errol Dillon, who is in charge of crime in the Northern Division is lead investigator. Elder was shot and killed May 14 after police said he attacked them. The shooting incident sparked protests by villagers which caused the Commissioner of Police to send an independent investigator. Edwards, meanwhile, was shot in the hip on Sunday on Kangalee Street, Valencia, where he allegedly attacked a party of officers including a female. Officers of the Eastern Division had received a report that Edwards was threatening people with a knife and cutlass on the street.
CONTRARY to the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union’s (ATSGWTU) claims, Caroni (1975) Limited discussed the VSEP packages it planned to offer sugar workers but the union caused those talks to break down. This was the argument advanced by company attorney, Allan Alexander SC, as the injunction filed by the ATSGWTU to stop the implementation of VSEP at Caroni was heard in the Industrial Court yesterday. Referring to claims by the union that it was never consulted about the VSEP, Alexander said while Caroni was under no legal obligation, “it did attempt to do so.”
The attorney however said, it was the ATSGWTU which caused those talks to collapse and that this was proven by the union’s attorney Douglas Mendes in his earlier submission. While noting that Section 5 of the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act made it permissible for an employer to enter into consultation, it was different from treating and entering into negotiations. Explaining that the Act clearly outlines procedures concerning retrenchment, rights, duties and responsibilities of both employer and union, Alexander said the majority trade union “does not have the right before giving of notice to negotiate anything with respect to the retrenchment.” The attorney also stated that Caroni made no attempt to change the provision of any collective agreement signed with the ATSGWTU. The matter will continue today at 9.30 am.
The baby delivered by police officers attached to the Maraval Police Station on Monday morning, was named Fernando yesterday by relatives of his mother. Vanessa Pierre, who underwent minor surgery on Tuesday, was awaiting the arrival of a doctor to discharge her from hospital when Newsday spoke with her yesterday. Pierre, 28, told Newsday that her baby was due on June 1 and she never expected to give birth outside a police station. She said that her next appointment at the clinic was yesterday, and she had put all things in place for the birth of her child between June 1 and 3. On Sunday night, however, Fernando decided to make his appearance and although she left for hospital, she couldn’t make it. Her husband, Lewellyn Ellis, had to call for help from the Maraval Police Station where officers helped deliver the baby.
Pierre is also the mother of a nine-year-old daughter. Both mother and baby were taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Pierre said yesterday that she does not intend to have any more children and is grateful for the assistance of the police officers who delivered her son who weighed 3.77 kilogrammes. Fernando lay peacefully in his cot at his mother’s bedside yesterday. She pointed out that her husband, who is a fisherman, was happy to have a son and has been beaming from ear to ear ever since he saw him for the first time on Monday. PC Richard Forbes, one of the three police officers who assisted in the delivery of the baby said yesterday that he was happy to assist Pierre. He added that if he is faced with another similar situation he would also assist.
