The TT Manufacturers Association (TTMA) has proposed a two-prong approach to return the Customs and Excise Division to full efficiency, with immediate effect.
In a letter to Ralph Newton, Comptroller of Customs and Excise, TTMA President Anthony Hosang, said: “We strongly urge to explore the possibility of patching the existing computer system to function until the new system is installed.” Hosang continued that “failing this, we ask that two customs officers be dedicated to process the entries of the TTMA members, and DTI export entries in the interim.”
In a release yesterday, he stated that companies of the TTMA had been adversely affected by the recent delays at Customs, which had resulted in late and cancelled export shipments. He claimed that operational costs of storage, transport and demurrage had increased, and that factories were forced to slow down by the late arrival of raw materials. Hosang expressed dismay and disappointment that the Division’s equipment was in such an outdated state, and that there were no contingency measures for such an event.
He also expressed disbelief that it would take at least six to eight weeks to fix the problem, and that TTMA members would lose both local and export market share, which was already threatened by other existing factors. Hosang concluded by extending a plea to Trade Minister Ken Valley and Junior Finance Minister Conrad Enill to correct this problem as soon as possible.
President of the Quarry Association of Trinidad and Tobago (QATT), Ramdeo “Dan” Persad, is complaining that while the Government has blocked quarry operators from access to State lands since 2000, it is planning to import half-million metric tonnes of aggregate.
He made the point to Minister of Planning and Development, Dr Keith Rowley, as the association held its installation of officers recently at Crowne Plaza. Persad said: “The National Quarries Company Limited (NQCL) is seeking permission to import 0.5 million metric tonnes of non-sparking aggregate for use on various projects, arguing that locally-produced aggregate is unable to meet specifications. We are amazed by this statement since during the boom period many high-specification projects like the Twin Towers, Riverside Plaza, the Hall of Justice and the Dr Eric Williams Medical Complex, were completed using 100 percent local aggregate”.
He warned: “The local industry employs about 15,000 persons directly and through downstream industries another 90,000, and the uncontrolled dumping of foreign aggregate in the market will have a devastating effect on the industry”. Persad urged QATT’s line-Ministry, the Ministry of Energy, to enforce its policy of only allowing the import of aggregate where it could not be supplied locally. Recalling that in 2002 QATT was advised that NQCL’s sand- and gravel-bearing land at Turure would be made available to private quarry operators, Persad asked whether these lands were still on offer and if so when would they be made available. “The association notes that no allocation of State lands for quarrying purposes has been made in the last three years. We request that serious consideration be given to the distribution of lands during 2003”.
Persad requested that QATT be included in the drafting of regulations for the Minerals Act 2000.” Persad complained: “QATT notes with great concern that within the last 15 months or so there has been a drastic escalation of illegal quarrying of State lands. Such operations are affecting proper planning and supervision of the industry by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries and are the cause of serious environmental degradation. Frequently, legal operators are blamed for these illegal activities. The association hopes the Government will take the necessary steps to terminate such illegal operations”.
The Government’s upcoming construction boom offers great opportunities to quarry owners, but such operators should maintain public respect by obeying the law.
So said Minister of Planning and Development Dr Keith Rowley, addressing the inauguration of an executive of the Quarry Association of Trinidad and Tobago (QATT) held recently at Crowne Plaza. Rowley told attendees that their services were essential for the Government to carry out its programme of construction of 100,000 hosing units over 10 years, plus the construction of numerous public buildings.
The Government, he said, would soon build a Government Office Complex on Dundonald Street including a new Ministry of Education headquarters plus an accompanying multi-storey car-park. A new Ministry of Health office is due to be built at Queen’s Park East, he added. Disclosing that the Government owns the reclaimed land at Invaders Bay, Rowley said: “We will form a company and sell equity in it and the company will develop the site for business, residences and other uses”.
He envisaged the extension of the Brian Lara Promenade to reach the waterfront, noting: “We propose to invite proposals to finance the construction of office towers to house the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and possibly the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and other projects, at where the Promenade is to be extended to.” Rowley upbraided those in the State sector who said certain local quarry materials did not meet required standards. “Why are no new buildings incorporating our blue limestone into the aesthetics?” he asked.
He added: “What is holding back the quarry industry in Trinidad and Tobago is that our quarries are not entirely well managed and that our equipment is antiquated.” Congratulating QATT as being important to national development, Rowley then warned quarry operators: “Trinidad and Tobago must be the only country in the world where people break the law and say ‘I’m just earning a living’”.
He faced some uncharitable barbs from UNC MPs Kelvin Ramnath and Subhas Panday, arising out of a confession that he had used marijuana in the past. But the deadlocked PNM MP Fitzgerald Hinds gave back as good as he received when he spoke on the Summary Offences Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives yesterday.
As Hinds was criticising statements made by Ramnath during his contribution, Ramnath retorted sharply: “You does snort cocaine. Don’t comment on my contribution”. Hinds ignored the remark, but went on to demoan the unparliamentary and undignified behaviour of the Opposition. “I refuse to be drawn into a brawl,” he said, adding: “One of the things my mother taught me is that you cannot win a spraying match with a skunk”.
Then Hinds moved to a defence of CEPEP noting that the UNC was attacking the social programme. He couldn’t understand why because it was Basdeo Panday who had spoken about social justice. He criticised Panday for saying that when the CEPEP workers finish painting stones white, they would go back to a life of crime. The implication, from Panday, was clearly that all persons employed in CEPEP were criminals, Hinds lamented. But the PNM backbencher said he knew many decent people in CEPEP who never were involved in crime, and who used the programme. “And I know some persons who never worked in CEPEP, and who are before the court. I saw one just this week, in the magistrate’s court, walking with a big entourage and a barrage of five attorneys, including two senior counsels”, Hinds said in an obvious reference to Basdeo Panday. The Speaker cautioned Hinds about going in that direction.
Later as Subhas Panday joined the debate, he said Hinds was boasting about being a good lawyer but his brain was calcified. Panday stated why he believed it was calcified, but the Speaker intervened. “He confessed, Mr Speaker, “ Panday argued. But the Speaker was adamant that an apology should be made and that the statements had to be struck off the record. The UNC MP apologised and said Hinds’ brain was calcified by a virus.
Fifteen drug dens were searched and 15 persons including two women were arrested, during an exercise carried out by officers of the Central Division Task Force. The exercise started at 3 am and ended at 4 pm yesterday.
It was led by Head of the Task Force Cpl Ajith Persad and coordinated by Snr Supt Philip Carmona, Supt Felix Nimrod and ASP Anthony Bernanrd. During the exercise, officers also searched several homes in Couva, Las Lomas, Chandernagore, Freeport, Tabaquite, and Enterprise. At Chin Chin Road, Cunupia, a 33-year-old woman was arrested after a warrant was executed at her home. A quantity of alcoholic beverages were seized and the woman was charged with selling alcohol without a licence. At Mahaica Village, Cunupia, another man was charged with the same offence.
Another man was held on an outstanding warrant at Tabaquite for malicious damage while at Perseverance Village, Couva, four persons were arrested for possesion of cocaine and marijuana. An 18-year-old woman who allegedly began cursing officers after her brother was arrested on drug charges was searched and she was also charged with possession of cocaine, resisting arrest and obscene language. Officers later went to Ragoonanan Trace, Chandernagore, where they saw a man walking with a crocus bag. On seeing the officers he dropped the bag and ran away. He was held a short distance away and the bag was found to contain a stereo which was stolen from the home of a Freeport pastor. The man was also searched and a quantity of cocaine discovered in his pants.
The exercise yesterday forms part of the anti-crime initiative launched by Police Commissioner Hilton Guy. 260 persons have been arrested in exercises carried out by the Central Division Task Force since January. Special emphasis is being placed on raiding drug dens and the seizure of illegal firearms. Police Commissioner Hilton Guy noted that more than 50 percent of the murders are being committed with the use of illegal guns. Other officers taking part in the exercise included PCs Ramsook, James, Pierre, Dhanai, Narcis, Rawlins, Sinanan, and Joseph.
THE EDITOR: I wish to commend the Minister of Education for her excellent vision for Secondary School Education. It seems great on paper but one wonders if the Minister ever visited a Junior Secondary or Senior Comprehensive School and asked the students, especially the males, to read.
What is the use of having the secondary school teachers highly qualified in their respective subject areas and the students entering the secondary schools after seven (7) years at the primary schools cannot read or spell properly. Most of the male students are not up to Standard Two level at the primary school. The Minister of Education should concentrate more on the primary school students especially from the Government schools. At each standard, there should be a class for the extra slow learners, from Standard One to Standard Five, whereby extra attention can be placed on these students. At the end of Standard Five, I am sure better students will be produced than in the system that exists now.
At the secondary schools, the reason for the students being indisciplined is because they cannot read and spell properly. If the students cannot do the work at the primary level, then how can they cope at the secondary level, they must be noisy and disruptive in class. Some do not bother to attend classes and indulge themselves in gambling and smoking on the school compound. These same students are often disrespectful to their teachers. So please Minister, let the students get a good foundation from the primary schools, so that your vision for secondary school education will bear fruit. At the moment, the students are not ready.
ANTHONY GITTENS
La Romaine
San Fernando
THE EDITOR: Is the UNC a Caroni-based organisation or a national one with an interest in all aspects of the nation’s activities?
I ask the question, as it would seem from their current stance that they are not prepared to do anything unless the government debates Caroni. However, having been invited to do so by the government they promptly withdraw. Is it that they prefer the impasse to continue so they could stir up hatred and strife? Typical union tactics! It is very disappointing indeed as indeed there are other very serious issues taking place that require the opposition’s interjection. I need not remind Mr Panday that there is a serious role for the Opposition. Granted one cannot defeat the ruling party in votes but you can educate the population on issues that will force government’s hand.
The UNC represents a substantial percentage of votes in this country, never mind PM Manning’s statements, at least 30 percent of them in the East West corridor along with two seats. The UNC has lost marginally in Tunapuna, Mayaro, Toco. Are you now saying that these constituencies do not matter? Come, come Mr Panday. Crime, kidnapping, energy issues also require attention. It is time to stop the posturing and get down to the nation’s business, the election done. After all you are all being paid to do so.
DAVID MC KELL
Tacarigua
THE EDITOR: The international exposure of our island given by the hosting in recent years of the World Cup games, Miss World Pageant and the Commonwealth Parliamentary conference has demanded of us to a commitment to preserving our heritage if only to emphasise our culture, the diversity of our people added to the overwhelming publicity of our sea, sand and sun. It is time we look into the past and identity with our architecture and the environment that have given shape to our new life and character.
Architecture is the expression of our society and it is the business of society to find what ideal relation there is in building that gave order to its people. As a people, we have become too complacent in looking into the past for identity. Architecture has been making a statement in our heritage in lending support to our historical past. What we see of the noble bath tiled roofs, the Doric and Corinthian columns in our state buildings and indeed the Georgian facade we observe of walls in the traditional homes should remind us of our Spanish, French and British ancestral past. We would also be made aware of the simple statement made in the Georgian style and the Parliamentary system that came out of this experience and the influence this has on our people to identify them now as resourceful, tolerant and productive. That they have abiding faith in God could not be an underscore!
Conservation, because it is a wider field of planning must generate its own special expertise especially in an area where the direct responsibilities for conservation and upkeep of public buildings are paramount. What ever organisation is set up by Government should be endowed with a very effective framework for the development of planning of buildings that is demanding of interest. There is an increase in the awareness of conservation and the need to identify, preserve and maintain our buildings is real if they are to occupy a pride of place in our environment. The primary objective is to enhance the environment and policies related to this must be encouraged. What skills that are put into the development of public buildings must be served as a point of interest and should be preserved for the public enjoyment.
Special professional skills endowed with such understanding must not be affected by administrations and political constraints. Some of these undertakings may be politically sensitive and an effort to educate should be the purview of the architects, historians or planners. The task for evolving policies is real when faced with the sensitive balance between preservation and renewal. The architect must evaluate the merit and demerit of a structure to determine whether it is appropriate for an area of visual charm. It is here the demand for the specialist professional architect is vital. The experience gained by the architects in developing policies on conservation can be found useful as a growing demand for their service will be sought both in the public and private sectors. Architects dedicated to the task of preserving our heritage and the ways it can be related to this life of the nation would find a rewarding interest in the undertaking.
The planning process must have an architectural character that should complement the abstract aspect of strategic planning so that the end product will reflect the quality of the preserved environment. Environmental standards emanate from various sources and enforced by several agencies and so would require a collective effort to effectively achieve quality result. The quality of the environment is profoundly affected by the application of these standards which is basic to the practice and quality of our building and the architect’s involvement is implicit to its successful implementation of this task. One of the architect’s principal functions is to be a witness to history and he should be so placed that his service could be fully utilised.
WILLIAM H BENJAMIN
Reg Chartered Architect
Valsayn
THE EDITOR: You did a masterly editorial on electronic invasion of our privacy in “Question of Privacy” Tuesday 34 3. This spying has been going on for a number of years in TT — the question to ask Wade Mark should be “what did the UNC do about this spying when the UNC was in power and Mr Panday was Minister of National Security?” The $61 million expenditure is only an upgrade of a system already in place not only are cell phones spied on, even your ordinary telephone on your desk is spied on electronically.
“Big Brother is watching you” is no joke.
You, Ms Donna Yawching and others attack the US every day about the war in Iraq. Did it ever occur to you that the US and Iraq and every other country and every other person on this earth are pawns of the Gods? Some cynic once said “The Gods play games with us and when they tire of us they kill us.” God says “I raise people up and I destroy them to show man my power.” Just as earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes and the other destructive forces of nature constantly reshape the landscape of the continents, so too do wars, famines, riots etc reshape the political and cultural landscape of peoples. We have had “Pax Romana” – “Pax Britannica” and now we are having “Pax Americanus”. These gigantic upheavals are not of our making. We suffer through them and grow and change. C’est la vie.
PHILIP SAMUEL
Carenage
THE EDITOR: We deliver because we care! Singles, this is your wake up call! It was just a campaign slogan. Expect no deliveries because they don’t really care (at least for persons who are single). Insignificant is the fact that thousands of single persons went on the campaign trail. Also insignificant is the fact that thousands of single persons voted in favour of the party in governance and hundreds worked on election day. What is significant is that “none” if few will be considered when houses will be distributed.
Families will be given precedence. Fair is fair and precedence should be given in relation to when one’s application was submitted that is the democratic way and I think this is still a democracy. Some single persons applied since early last year (I am one) and were booted out by persons who applied much later. Is it that single persons don’t need housing? Do they exist in space? Maybe the refurbishment of the Brian Lara and Harris Promenades is to facilitate the single. Does life compel each individual to marriage or to have a family at any cost? As a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago married, attached or single, each has a right to a home and to be comfortable in the same. I don’t want to believe that there was no vision to the needs of the single or yet that there was deception on the part of the powers that be today. Single people will not sit quiet, we will be heard because forged from the love of liberty it is our right. For every creed (single, married or otherwise) must find an equal place.
ERICA P GEORGE
San Fernando
