“Bulldozing without notice is yet another example of economic apartheid.” Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) made the statement in response to the State bulldozing prime class 1 agricultural land in Ramgoulay Trace, San Juan, in a news release, yesterday.

FFOS said they supported regulated development that responds to the needs of all nationals in an equal and fair manner. The group said that this current action was contradictory to the State’s refusal to remove millionaire squatters elsewhere. FFOS made reference to the “affluent structures” being built by “millionaires” in Las Cuevas, Grande Riviere and Glencoe. “Land use and abuse must be regulated with the same yardstick… FFOS condemns the discrimination against the poor, while the rich are left to graze on the public interest and hereby call on the Hon Minister of Planning and Development, Mr Rowley, to make public his Government’s policy on economic apartheid,” said the group.

A small group of farmers from Curepe is alleging that they have been the subject of Government victimisation over the last three weeks.

They staged a mid-afternoon protest outside the Red House during Friday’s sitting of the House of Representatives. According to farmer Rajkumar Singh, several acres of good agricultural land have been cleared along the Southern Main Road in Curepe for the construction of National Housing Authority (NHA) houses. He said the livelihood of some 30 farmers have been affected and some of them have occupied the land for the last 20 years. Singh added that several farmers have suffered significant crop losses and they want to meet urgently with Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Agriculture Minister John Rahael to discuss the matter.

SANDRA GOULD was waiting in anticipation for the birth of her first grandchild in three months time. Her dream was snatched from her yesterday morning when she was killed in a fatal crash at Mc Bean, Couva. 

Still reeling from shock, Gould’s eldest daughter, Debra, who is six months pregnant, said: “She was always rubbing my belly and talking to the baby. Only this week we were talking about names. She wanted ‘Colin’  if it is a boy and ‘Celene’ if a girl.” The deceased was the mother of three — Debra, 26, Nicholas, 22 and Nisha, 14. Gould met her untimely death around 2.45 am after she was flung out of her friend’s car during a head-on collison on the Southern Main Road, Mc Bean. According to police reports, Gould was seated in the front passenger seat of a white Nissan Almera, PBO 6159, driven by her schoolmate, Trevor Wildman, 44, who was taking her to her home at Main Road, California.

Police said Wildman was headed south along Southern Main Road when he collided with another vehicle, a Nissan B-15 Sentra PBP 594, driven by Rudolph Hernandez.  Still wincing in pain at his home yesterday, Wildman told Sunday Newsday: “The other car overtook another vehicle but stayed on my lane and was headed towards us.  I tried to pull away to the right side, but he pulled back on me and we crashed.” Wildman remembered crawling out from the wreck and seeing Gould on the road. “She was still breathing and I felt for her pulse. Next thing the ambulance came and took us to the hospital.” The three crash victims were rushed to the Couva District Medical Facility. Gould was pronounced dead on arrival, while Wildman and Hernandez were treated and discharged with minor injuries.  Wildman, in a sombre mood, said only hours before the accident he and Gould and another female friend had enjoyed a lime at Couva. “We dropped off her friend at St Mary’s in Freeport and I was taking her home. She was in a jolly mood, laughing and enjoying herself.”

By afternoon yesterday at Gould’s home, as relatives were erecting a tent to hold a nightly wake, friends flocked to the house expressing their disbelief in the news that the mother of three was killed. Gould’s sister, Persia, 34, said: “She was a real mother-figure in this house. Our mother migrated to the United States when we were young and Sandra took care of her four brothers and sisters.” Gould, according to Persia, was fixing her travel documents to join her husband of seven years, Peter Gould, in Canada in a few months time and make a new life for herself with her family. “She never wanted to leave us, but we have no choice but to do without her now.” Freeport police are continuing investigations.

GASPARILLO police went scampering for their own safety on Friday night after a part of the station collapsed to the ground.

Police officers in the district were not surprised however, since they have been complaining that the wooden structure is severely dilapidated and barely fit for occupation. Around 9 pm the wooden post holding up the galvanised garage area, which had visibly rotted, crashed without warning. Luckily no one was in the area at the time and there were no injuries. The officers said they do not park their vehicles in the garage because they knew it was not safe. Within recent years, policemen in the district have repeatedly voiced their concerns over their safety in the public building, which is plagued by stray animals, rodents and insects, that often slip through the holes in the shaky wooden flooring. 

Too much ventilation is also problematic, as the majority of the louvre panes are either missing or broken. Thus, the lawmen not only barely have privacy in the dormitory and toilet facilities, but are also open to the elements of the weather on a daily basis. Many of them are bracing themselves for the approaching rainy season of harsh rainfall. Senior Superintendent of the South District Farook Ghany could not be reached yesterday to comment on the issue. However, Sunday Newsday was told that only hours before the collapse, Gasparillo police were given the keys for temporary housing in an annex at the neighbouring Gasparillo Government Primary School. In the meantime, however, the Gasparillo policemen believe that they are in the “forgotten district” as so many other police stations were re-built recently, but theirs was not.

DRIVEN by an intense faith in his Lord, Ashmead Ali single-handedly built a mosque for himself and his family.

Ali, no doubt, is convinced of Prophet Muhammed’s teaching that if one builds a mosque, God will construct a house for him in heaven. But the mosque Ali built, he made known to guests attending its formal opening last Friday night, is for himself and family. Others can attend, he added, but by invitation. It is a small, neatly-built diamond-shaped structure. This mosque is located in Ali’s yard in the sugar-cane rural village of St John’s — a few miles from San Fernando. What greeted the selected list of guests on arrival to Ali’s residence, was an illuminated replica of the glorious, though troubled Masjid-ul-Asqa in Jerusalem — muslim’s second holiest mosque. In fact, Ali’s mosque is a miniature Masjid-ul-Aqsa. A feature, famous of that mosque, is its suspending dome. Ali had the dome constructed like the dome of Masjid-ul-Aqsa — sheathed with brass plates.

The glow of coloured lights between an array of plants which neatly line the front of the mosque, lights up the face of the mosque’s wall. The lights are solar-powered and at nights, this mosque stands out as a beacon against a backdrop of undulating sugar cane fields. Ali did not reveal the financial cost of this noble project. The night of the formal opening saw invited guests rendering Qaseedas (Islamic songs), among them, Hajji Ralph Khan, public relations officer of ASJA. Ali dedicated the mosque to his parents — Hajji Tahir and Hajjin Amiran Ali. MP for Naparima Nizam Baksh unveiled a plague to commemorate the opening.

Housing Minister Martin Joseph on Friday gave stern warning to all contractors on housing projects that government would not allow them to come up with shoddy work. “They would not be allowed to frustrate the efforts of this government housing programme,” he said, as he addressed a ceremony to mark the handing over of the keys of “The Oasis” project, at River Estate, Diego Martin. The project was begun by Colonial Homes and had to be taken over by government, after bad workmanship, safety concerns and other negative factors were raised.

Joseph said the project, was oversold by Colonial Homes, “causing great anguish and despair to applicants who had made down payments on their properties.” He said the quality of the workmanship was extremely poor, resulting in the NHA having to do costly remedial works to bring the houses up to an acceptable standard. He added that there were also great concerns over safety factors which were compromised by the developer to the detriment of potential homeowners. The NHA also had to refund over $700,000 to dissatisfied persons who lost confidence in the project, Joseph said. He added that the correction of poor construction practices and poor workmanship was completed at a cost of $4.5 million and a project over run of some 18 months. “This Government will not sit idly back and not satisfy the needs of our citizens and nobody will frustrate the efforts of this government in providing affordable housing to thousands of our needy citizens,” he stated.

Joseph said Government’s target was the delivery of 4,388 units by year’s end, with NHA providing 2,435 of these and UdeCott 1,793. MP for Diego Martin East, Colm Imbert stated that this number of housing units — 4,388 — in one year was a far cry from what obtained under the previous administration. He stressed that Government’s housing programme was national in scope. It was not about politics but about satisfying people’s needs, he stated. He said as PNM explodes the housing market and the spin-off benefits to industry and community become clear, the Opposition would do its best to undermine the housing thrust. “We know that we are getting all sorts of attacks and complaints from people who would prefer our programme not to proceed as quickly, and as smoothly and efficently as it will,” Imbert said. OASIS will comprise 122 units. On Frday 40 units were handed over. Each cost $110,000. Phases two and three are expected to be completed by December, NHA Chairman Andre Monteil said.

A 22 year-old Guyanese soldier was accidentally killed last weekend in Iraq. According to a US Defense Department spokesman, Specia-list (Army Private) Rasheed Saheb, was shot to death by another American soldier “in a tragic mishap”. He was shot in the chest during a routine rifle cleaning session by the other soldier.

Saheb has been with the 4th Infantry Division for three years.  He had been attached to a supply unit out of Fort hood, Texas. Saheb was in Iraq since April 1 and family members said they did not speak with him since then. The Defence Department said Sahib and the other soldier were cleaning their guns when the gun of the other soldier discharged a round which struck Saheb.  The Defence Department has not identified the other solider whose gun discharged and said that “the incident is under further investigation”. His mother, Fizoon Ashraf, dissolved in tears and in a state of shock, told reporters: “My hero is gone. Nothing can bring him back to me”.

Saheb was looking forward to becoming an American citizen.  Reports say he promised his family becoming an American citizen “would be the first thing he would do when he got out of the army”. “That dream is now gone”, his mother told reporters. Saheb’s sister, Nafeeza said he worried about going to fight in the desert.  Nafeeza, told reporters: “He was sad when he left us.  He believed in what he was doing but he didn’t want to leave us”. The deceased was flown to the US last Thursday and handed over to the family on Friday morning for viewing. He was buried at a cemetery in New Jersey according to Muslim rites and was given full military honours with gun salute.

MORE THAN 600 thousand black people from all parts of the world, including the Caribbean are now living in Canada. Of this amount, 300 thousand reside in Toronto where 42 percent of blacks experience poverty.

These statistics were revealed on Friday night by Canadian, Rosemary Saddler who delivered the main address at the 21st annual African Day Liberation Dinner of the Caribbean Historical Society, held at the JFK Auditorium, St Augustine. She based her findings on a study carried out by McGill University a few years ago. The $200-a plate dinner was well patronised, notwithstanding some visible empty seats. Saddler who was born in Toronto, has been for the last ten years, President of  the Ontario Black History Society. She has degrees in Sociology, Social Work and Teaching and has published three major books to date, and received many awards for excellent service and  being an outstanding and positive role model. Saddler also revealed that there were more women in Toronto than men, because past immigration policies favoured women instead of men.

Seven out of ten women were born in the Caribbean and generally, most black people in Canada had a Caribbean background. “Black women are at an economical risk,” said Saddler who also spoke about the disadvantages in employment among blacks as compared with whites. Saddler told her audience which comprised that she was connected to them, “because my heritage is in Africa”. In her discourse, she referred to the many black people who have influenced blacks, and mentioned among them, Trinidadians Sylvester Williams of an earlier era and CLR James whom she noted, authored the book, “Black Jacobins”. Earlier in her address, Saddler gave an account of how black people came to be living in Canada and surmised that Canada is a multi-cultural society — almost from the inception. Earlier, the audience witnessed an exhibition of African wear by some young models. There was also entertainment, featuring the St James Tripolian Steel, singers Brian London and Kurt Rose. Among invitees to the event were the Canadian High Commissioner, Simon Wade; the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Gender Affairs, Eulalie James and Opposition Senator Wade Mark.

It’s called the $23 million hot potato! Why? No one seems capable of dealing with it. Yes, the $23 million judgment obtained by the State against the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen for the destruction of the old Police Headquarters building on St Vincent Street and the damage to the Red House during the insurrection of July 1990.

Attorney General Glenda Morean-Phillip told the Senate last week that the Muslimeen owes the State $23 million and that instructions have been given to enforce the judgment. But the burning questions on the lips of many citizens are — who is going to enforce the judgment? Who has the political will to do it? Will it be done in this life time? It seems that neither the UNC nor the PNM administration has the “belly” to enforce the judgment. The Muslimeen are so “embedded” in the political life of this country, that to enforce a judgment against the 114 insurgents will take a leader with the testicular fortitude to carry it out. Can the judgment be enforced against the Muslimeen as a group, or against the 114 individuals, some of whom have since been killed?

If the answer to the first part is yes, then the State will have to enforce the judgment at Mucurapo Road. Does the Muslimeen have a $23 million property at Mucurapo? They have just completed a two-storey wing for a new school. There is the mosque which in itself was a controversial issue which led to leader Yasin Abu Bakr going to jail for 21 days for contempt for failing to obey a court order to stop erecting the building. But the construction went ahead anyway. There is also an administration building and a hall which was used as a temporary shelter. If the State can enforce the judgment against individual members, then personal property belonging to the insurgents can be seized. To determine that, the State will have to use considerable resources to track down the property belonging to individual Muslimeen members.

What are the facts of this matter?
On July 27, 1990, the Muslimeen led by Bakr invaded the Red House and TTT in an attempt to overthrow the democratically-elected NAR Government of then Prime Minister ANR Robinson. During their invasion, the Muslimeen blew up the northern entrance of Police Headquarters which led to the eventual destruction of the structure. There was also considerable damage to the Red House which was the scene of a hostage drama situation for the next six days. In that building, the Prime Minister and Government Ministers and MPs were held hostage. One MP Leo Des Vignes was shot and died at hospital. The hostages were released and the insurgents surrendered on August 1, 1990. Sometime in September, 1990, the army moved into Mucurapo and bulldozed the buildings leaving just the mosque standing.

The Muslimeen members, while in jail awaiting trial, filed a constitutional motion against the State for the destruction of their property. The State eventually filed a writ against the 114 insurgents for the destruction of Police Headquarters and damage to the Red House. By that time, Justice Clebert Brooks, presiding in the Port-of-Spain High Court, heard a constitutional motion brought by the insurgents that they could not be tried for any criminal offences because they were the recipients of a pardon by the then acting President Emmanuel Carter. Justice Brooks ruled that the amnesty was valid and ordered the release of the insurgents from jail. The State appealed and lost. The State appealed to the Privy Council which ruled that the amnesty was invalid on the ground that after receiving the Presidential Pardon, the insurgents continued to hold the hostages and make additional demands. But the Law Lords ruled that it would be an abuse of power to re-try the insurgents for offences including murder and treason.

The State really could not re-try the cases as the insurgents were released on a habeas corpus writ and there was no appeal of that order. Since then, under the UNC Government, the law was amended so an appeal of a habeas corpus writ could be filed. After years of hearing, the Muslimeen were awarded $2.1 million. The State also won its case, being awarded $15 million. The Muslimeen collected $1.5 million during the term of the UNC, and the rest of the award from the PNM government in 2002. With each passing day, the interest on the $15 million judgment increases. It now stands at $23 million and building. The issue will remain a political hot potato during the run up to the Local Government Elections.

The Opposition UNC keeps it on the front burner by asking questions in Parliament. On Friday, the issue of the insurrection and the Presidential Pardon cropped up in Parliament again, leading to exchanges between Legal Affairs Minister Camille Robinson-Regis and Couva South MP Kelvin Ramnath, one of the hostages in 1990. This went further with exchanges between House Speaker Barry Sinanan and Ramnath. Nearly 13 years have gone by and the issues remain contentious. Just as insurance companies, after all this time, are asking downtown merchants to pay $15,000 for each writ filed against them in the aftermath of the burning and looting of Port-of-Spain. How will it end, no one knows.

The Commission of Inquiry into the Piarco airport project has entered its second phase. That is the phase where persons who were implicated by the evidence of witnesses are summoned to appear to challenge the evidence by cross examination, direct evidence or by calling supporting witnesses. The commission has sat for 145 days.

Monday
Humphrey gets mad — Ask me what I know!

QUESTIONS as to whether the Canadian firm, Scott and Associates Incorporated (SAI) made a presentation to get the job as consultants for the Piarco Airport Development project — now the subject of a Commission of Inquiry — on Monday caused former Housing Minister John Humphrey to become angry and engage in a virtual shouting match with attorney Christopher Hamel-Smith, who represents Nipdec. At one point Humphrey was also engaged in cross-talk at the same time that Commission Chairman Clinton Bernard intervened to call on him to maintain his cool. Humphrey insisted that Hamel-Smith should only ask him questions about things he knows, rather than be asked to interpret information contained in documents. He even accused the Commission of allowing “witnesses to interpret things they know nothing about.” “Don’t ask me anything about what I don’t know! Ask me what I can answer and not try to implicate me about nothing I know about,” shouted Humphrey.

Humphrey also accused former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj of looking for excuses to stop the Piarco project and he dismissed Nipdec as incompetent and inexperienced with respect to the fast track method. Hamel-Smith kept repeating questions to Humphrey about whether or not Scott and Associates’ “presentation” was its bid to become consultants in the airport project, but Humphrey said Hamel-Smith’s “stubbornness” was only a fraction of his and maintained he should be cross -examined based on the evidence he gave to the  Commission. Chairman Bernard intervened on several occasions to call for tempers to cool down pointing out to Humphrey that Hamel-Smith was allowed to ask questions on any matter within the Commission’s terms of reference, and assured him that if Hamel-Smith went beyond that, he would be stopped.

Tuesday
Humphrey defends fast track method

FORMER Housing Minister John Humphrey who chaired the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Piarco airport development project, on Tuesday defended the fast track method used to construct the Piarco airport development project. Humphrey said there were no risks involved in the method and he was perfectly satisfied that it was the wise and appropriate method to adopt as was recommended by Birk Hillman Consultants (BHC) who professed to be experts in the method. He said he would recommend the fast track method be used again, even today, because there was nothing in his experience on the project which persuaded him to take a second view of the method. He said the method only had advantages if properly applied. He also said Cabinet, based on his recommendation, approved the construction of the second floor connector without knowing the actual cost of the work. He said he had advised Cabinet that if they didn’t do the additional work now, it would be too costly later on. Users of the airport had requested the additional space.

Humphrey was being questioned for the second day by by Nipdec’s attorney Christopher Hamel-Smith leading Jonathon Walker. Humphrey’s “stubbornness” also continued and Chairman Clinton Bernard in anticipation of flared tempers, brought his gavel to control the sitting, However there was no need for it. Instead Bernard quietly warned Humphrey that he had to answer the questions asked by Hamel-Smith because the attorney was entitled to ask questions. Humphrey pointed out that based on Hamel-Smith’s questioning, it was a waste of time to get the truth, which he was there to give.

Wednesday
Inquiry adjourned over quorum

IN THE absence of one of the Commissioners probing the Piarco Airport development project, can the remaining four continue the inquiry? This question prompted Commission Chairman Clinton Bernard to adjourn the inquiry on Wednesday for the issue to be clarified. Bernard announced that he intends to bring the matter to the attention of the Attorney General out of an abundance of caution, so that Cabinet could advise the President to issue a fresh warrant to cover any group of commissioners sitting.  Former Government Minister John Humphrey was due to continue his testimony on Wednesday but Bernard raised the question with attorneys following his  announcement of the absence and illness of Commissioner Peter Bynoe. He said Bynoe’s illness is temporary and he is expected back within a week.

After listening to attorneys Sean Cazabon, Justin Phelps and Christopher Hamel-Smith, Bernard decided to adjourn the inquiry out of an abundance of caution. Noting the importance of the inquiry and the distance it has already covered, Bernard said he did not want to do anything to cause unnecessary recourse. Bernard expressed the view that under Section 3 of the Act, he and the remaining commissioners could continue hearing evidence. He also noted that a similar situation existed in the inquiry into the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) when that Commission sat in the absence of one of its commissioners. Cazabon and Phelps shared Bernard’s view, but Hamel-Smith expressed concern about Section 2 of the Act.  He argued that the President has a discretion, and it has to be determined whether the President’s warrant had specified five commissioners or any group of the five — four or three. He said the matter has to be referred to the President for him to say whether he wants to exercise his discretion and introduce a quorum of four or three. Hamel-Smith said it would be practical to have the quorum of four or three, especially when the absent commissioner could read verbatim notes of  evidence taken. He said the failure to specify a quorum could have been an oversight.    

Thursday
Commission awaits advice on quorum

NO EVIDENCE was taken on Thursday because Chairman Clinton Bernard was awaiting the advise of Attorney General Glenda Morean on whether four Commissioners constitutes a quorum. Five Commissioners were appointed to the Commission. One of them, Peter Bynoe, is ill.  Friday Commission awaits AG’s advice

ATTORNEY General Glenda Morean was expected to give advice on Friday to the Commission on whether four of the five members of the Commission constitute a quorum and can hear evidence. On Friday when the Commission met for the 145th day Chairman Clinton Bernard said the Commission was still awaiting the “authorities” advice and as such did not intend to take any evidence. He added that he expected to hear from the “authorities by the end of the day”. As a result Bernard adjourned the taking of further evidence from Peter Cateau, the Ministry of Works and Transport client representative to tomorrow at 9.30 am. At that time lead counsel for the Commission Theodore Guerra, SC is expected to further question Cateau, providing the AG’s advice is given.

Cateau, in the absence of his lawyers Keith Scotland and Dawn Mohan, submitted several documents to the Commission. He was to have submitted the documents last week. The Commission’s hesitancy to hear evidence stems from the illness of one of the Commissioners, Peter Bynoe. In his absence Chairman Bernard is exercising extreme caution since there was no indication from the President when they were appointed, whether evidence could be heard by a quorum consisting less than the five members. The other members of the Commission are Keith Sirju, Marie Ange Knights and Victor Hart.