President of the C ommun i c a t i o n Workers’ Union (CWU) John Julien says the advice follows an emergency injunction, granted late last Friday by the Industrial Court, which restrains the TDC from “terminating the services of any of the workers or doing any such action until and unless the entire matter is heard before the Court.” The union filed two previous complaints, relative to a decision to shut down the TDC without consulting the CWU and the development of VSE P packages to be considered by the Cabinet. A decision to dissolve the TDC was announced at a post-Cabinet media briefing on March 9.

Speaking with Newsday on Sunday, Julien said the union feels “vindicated”, describing the ruling as “a major victory” for the CWU. “The TDC was the first company that (Government) attempted to get rid of in March (2017). Remember they did that with Caroni Green Limited, with Government Human Resources Services (GHRS).

They said they’re going to do that to GISL (Government Information Services Limited), they did it with the OJT (On the Job Training) staff.” Julien argued that “all of them were sent home and the only reason that they did not send home the TDC workers in March was because they are part of a recognised majority union.” “We are saying, quite clearly, the only reason that they (Government) want to shut down the company and start it back (as two separate entities) is that if they do that, by law, the union will no longer be able to represent anybody in the new entity and they wanted to get rid of the union.” Hence the union’s feeling of vindication that its decision to have its lead counsel, Douglas Mendes, SC, file a request last Friday morning.

Julien said the decision was taken after the union learned that last Thursday afternoon, TDC staff were called into a meeting where they were presented with letters informing them of the company’s closure the next day; June 30.

The letters; addressed to individual workers, included calculations of that persons’ severance package based on their years of service but in order to get the money, TDC workers were told they must first sign a “Release and Discharge Agreement”. Julien explained that if a worker signed this agreement, they would effectively be waiving their right or that of the union “to take any action whatsoever against the TDC” in the future related to their termination of employment.

Newsday obtained a copy of the letter given to TDC workers on June 29. In it, the company said, “We regret to inform you that the Tourism Development Company Limited (TDC) will cease operation on June 30, 2017 and that you will be paid the following: (a) accrued vacation leave and gratuity, where applicable; (b) an ex-gratia payment equivalent to 45 calendar days’ pay, plus where applicable, half month’s pay for each year of service for years one to four and three quarter month’s pay for each year thereafter.” The letter continued, “Prior to release of the monies due to you, the Release and Discharge Agreement attached must be signed and returned to Cliff Hamilton, Interim Chief Executive Officer. You are advised that you ex-gratia payment will be paid on or before Friday, July 7, 2017, bearing in mind the four-day requirement for bank clearing arrangements.

We wish to acknowledge your loyalty, dedication and contribution over the period of your employment and to wish you the best in your future endeavours.”

FOR A FULL 230 years now, since 1787, a deep encrustation has built up in the heart of Washington, US; this encrustation, a coterie of senators, military industrialists, bankers, media and spies (CIA, NSA, FBI and 14 other agencies), is now taking the American people, and perhaps the people of the planet, to hell in a coconut shell. Pat Buchanan, former US presidential candidate, has called this encrustation a “deep state, a permanent regime.” While most nations vie for multilateral power, the US and her cohorts in Europe, notably Britain, insist on empire. The US has become a law unto itself; it backslides on critical progressive agreements: treaties with the native Indians, Lincoln’s emancipation charter; agreements on nuclear disarmament, anti-ballistic missiles, global warming.

Why has the US citizenry — with its great tradition of resistance, John Brown, Muhammad Ali, Flower Power, Occupy Wall Street, Edward Snowden — become fodder for terror and extreme action, seemingly unable to save themselves? With their institutions and political parties feuding like dogs? Why, declaring themselves to be the freest of the free, the boldest of the bold, the most democratic of the democratic, and owing the right to bear arms and a host of utopian charters, the Constitution Bill, amendments, do we have a people so unfree? So oppressed? Here are seven footsteps to the bondage of the people of the United States: 1. As soon as the famous Constitution (1787), the Bill of Rights (1791), were signed in the US, no sooner had the ink dried than the American Government re-energised themselves to liquidate millions of native peoples in wars, betrayals and segregation, lasting until the beginning of the 20th century.

It was done under the flag, the banner of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” (US Declaration of Independence, 1776).

2. The Government continued the fascistic, sadistic, genocidal habit of slavery, corralling, punishing, hanging and sodomising African slaves. Even though Lincoln carved out promises to “freed” slaves in the 1860s, 100 years after, when most of these promises were withdrawn, the descendants of slaves were still fighting for basic civil rights on the streets in this segregation-rife nation.

3. The Monroe Doctrine (1823) gave the US Government the right to cherry-pick the economy of the Americas, without hustle from the grubby thieving paws of Europe.

The Louisiana Purchase (1803) had extended their conquest westwards; Mexican wars extended their domains and theft of land southwards; and wars into the Pacific, attendant to a burgeoning economy, an industrial revolution and an enhanced navy, in the second half of the 19th century, gave the US gunboat diplomatic terror over Japanese and Chinese ports and territory.

4. In the first 80 years of the 20th century the Americas, from Cuba to Chile, became the US’s corporate suzerain; large mines, fruit corporations, banks, backed by installed friendly governments, satrap classes, the CIA and brute insurgencies and assassinations of sovereign states and their leaders. Millions of peasants, workers, journalists, ordinary citizens of conscience, disappeared in this war orchestrated by the US Government.

5. Cold War was never cold. It was hot. After the end of World War II, the US romped in earnest onto the global stage; with wars in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and North East and South East Asia. Not daring to confront the USSR empire directly, their proxy wars left a score of millions dead.

6. More rampant was the US Government, the so-called neo-Conservatives, after the fall of the Soviet Union. They decided to literally take out all the perceived opposition in the Middle East: in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Lebanon.

They practised direct warfare, and upon the fall of the Bushes, strategic disengagement (war by friendly terrorists): demonisation of leaders in their mainstream media; political and ideological infiltration; military support for “opposition” groups and terrorists; assassinations; remote and discrete drone, high-altitude, laser-guided, electronic warfare; arms support for friendly governments. Slaughter upon slaughter upon slaughter.

7. The US is the largest supplier of weapons to governments and insurgents of terror. In classic divideand- rule imperialism, they are now arming the Saudis and the Qataris to the tune of US$200 billion. Their blockades, military bases, CIA cells, global hacking and surveillance, nuclearised ships and submarines have the planet in a military chokehold.

From the western Atlantic to the east China Sea in the Pacific, they have invested themselves with a self-defeating, paranoid, neurotic, sadistic militarism.

The US is managed by a dictatorship of the Senate, on behalf of global military, media, and banking corporate despots. Against this, one celebrity feels she wants to “burn” down the White House; another “beheads” the President; seven stab “tyrant Caesar,” another shoots a congressman. What do these actions and symbolic acts mean? It was piteous to see, in 1935, Germany, at the height of its power, with astounding achievements in the social, economic and military arts, its citizenry, rushing so cavalierly, as happy as pappy, to its own destruction, vaunting the very thing, Hitler, the Nazi party, that would u lt imately devastate it, send it to hell in a coconut shell

His first words to a group, he said, were always that he could teach them nothing. What he could do was allow them the space to write. Having said that, he then noted that the first lesson that any writer needs to learn is to appreciate the music of language. This includes an understanding of how words sound and how rhythm is shaped. For him, reading aloud is a vital part of acquiring the skill of writing .

That is an interesting idea in our culture where we speak in a way that most people find quite lyrical .

There is certainly something called a Trinidadian and even perhaps a Caribbean lilt and cadence and a writer such as Earl Lovelace has gone to some lengths to capture that rhythm in all of his works. It means that he has listened to the sounds around him .

I often lament the fact that we no longer teach children to recite poetry .

Now I happen to think that how we write has much to do with what we hear and what we see and perhaps even what we touch. After all, our sense of touch creates the very fabric of our memories. As someone who makes films I also know that there is something called visual music. Rhythm is then very much about how images are put together to create sensations and how sounds are orchestrated to create effect and meaning .

In Trinidad, we have an audiovisual aesthetic, in the first instance in terms of the movement and vibrancy of Carnival. We build towards this for much of the year .

Even those who are deaf feel the rhythm and the sensation of the steel pan in the air. The sounds that vibrate at different times in terms of the variety of our music have a particular impact on how we understand and appreciate the world around us and how we perceive that world .

That sense of a richly varied cadence feeds into the writings of many of our most successful writers .

Academics have sought to identify the source of its specificity .

They tell us that our African and Asian origins have left their traces in our language, both in terms of words and of structure and, of course, in the ways in which we reference belief systems and mythologies .

Forcing children to learn poems by heart and recite them did lead in the past to the idea that European and British literature were the only kinds of literature to which we should aspire. We have now recognised that we have our own literary canon. Reciting poetry, nonetheless, had a purpose. It taught many of us to appreciate the music of words and the rhythms of poetry. Reciting, or reading aloud, therefore remains for me one of the best methods of teaching anyone to be a writer. But this needs to be attached to a belief in our own traditions of the spoken word .

The idea of writing as an art that derives from listening and from seeing how an individual or a group structures experience is very important. When we listen to nursery rhymes, for example, and recognise how even the simplest of these have deep historic implications, we begin to appreciate the power of rhythmic structures .

Nursery rhymes shape our developing consciousness. We retain an appreciation and a memory even into adulthood. Think for example of the nursery rhymes we have all chanted as children. “Ring-a-ring o’ Roses,” which urban legend maintains chronicles the Great Plague or the Black Death of Europe, is a classic example. Rhymes such as these, despite their foreign affiliations, help us to appreciate that creating rhythmically with a deep understanding of sounds and the historic importance of images, opens the door to layers of meaning. Historic events become forever memorable through a rhythm that enters one’s consciousness. If a writer is to give the freedom to the reader to see into the multiple levels of her words and arrangements of words, then of necessity she must choose each word carefully. Every word and its positioning in a line has to have a reason .

It is the way that sounds are structured that bring them into the evocative present. Images begin to resonate and to take on a life of their v e r y o w n .

T h e i r arrangementt each – es us the real p o w e r of the art of words .

World Health Organization (WHO) data places suicide as the second leading cause of death of young people between the ages of 15 – 29, and the number one cause in young men under the age of 45. Even more worrying, is that for every person who dies from suicide there are 20 more, like Juliette who attempted.

Clearly it is a serious problem, and instead of apportioning guilt, blame and shame that energy would be better spent focussing on decreasing the loss of life by campaigning for a public health evidence-based approach to its prevention.

Juliette had been living and thriving with depression for many years, but a recent work-related incident impacted on her ability to cope – she could not shake off the lack of energy, diminished self-esteem, and feelings of despair and because she no longer felt able to socialise she became unintentionally isolated from friends, colleagues and family.

Turning instead to food, snacks and her faith for comfort.

Most of her time was spent in bed ruminating that she was letting down her children because she was no longer the happy, bubbly mother they used to enjoy. It became evident that her dark feelings were beginning to affect those around her which exacerbated her sense of helplessness, hopelessness, and desperation.

She said: “I was desperate for the mental and emotional turmoil to stop. I just wanted the pain to go away because it is the worse pain I ever felt. Mental pain is the worse thing anybody could have in life.” Juliette wants people to know that “when I attempted suicide it’s not that I wanted to die. I was not being selfish, it’s just that I was desperate for that mental pain to stop and I would have done anything to make it stop. It was torment and I didn’t know if it would ever go away.” Prior to attempting suicide, Juliette was struggling day to day with the debilitating effects of depression and suicidal ideation, but she kept it a secret because of the stigma of mental illness and the taboo around suicide. For the most part, it was the stigma – the fear of rejection and of being judged which prevented her from opening up, telling others and seeking additional treatment for what she was experiencing.

She said: “I know what I had was a mental condition but I didn’t want my family or the people in my church or the ladies at work to think I was a ‘mental case, a nutter’. I just want people to know that I didn’t do it because I was selfish, I just didn’t know how to get the help that I needed.” That is Juliette’s reality, and in permitting me to share it publicly her desire is that it will raise awareness and hopefully make a small difference in reducing the societal stigmatisation and discrimination that people with mental illness, suicide survivors, and the families of those who have suicided endure. Think about it, how often have you heard a smoker who has died of lung cancer, or a diabetic who succumbed because they did not monitor their sugar intake being described as selfish? Yet the word is used repeatedly for people who suicide even though its complexity is enmeshed with social, psychological, cultural, environmental, economic and other factors.

Suicide is a serious public health issue but it is preventable.

However, it is the taboo, stigma, misconceptions, judgments, and adverse comments which hamper people from seeking help, and that is what kills people – not selfishness. With the implementation of an effective, evidence-based suicide prevention strategy many lives would be saved. So, the next time you hear of someone who has suicided or attempted suicide don’t be judgmental, instead express empathy and spare a thought for the grieving family who endures the hurtful negative comments and snide remarks about their loved ones.

Dr Yansie Rolston FRSA is a UK-based disability and mental health specialist advisor. She is a social strategist and trainer who works internationally at various levels of government, business and civil society. Contact her at yr@efficacyeva.com

The minister said the average response time in Mayaro was 25 minutes. He said that for this year up until June 13, that constituency has had 140 ambulance patient transport cases by the GMR Ambulance service, made up of 35 cases in Mayaro and 105 in Rio Claro. He said this equated to one case per day for that constituency.

“It should be noted that the ambulance deployment plan is adjusted on an hourly basis to cater for demand and to improve the patient experience.” Paray asked how many ambulances are deployed in the constituency? Deyalsingh replied, “The ambulance fleet for the whole of Trinidad and Tobago currently stands at 43, of which 34 are on the road at any particular time.

“Plans are underway to boost that by 25 and bring the compliment up to 68. Ambulances are not deployed ‘by constituency’.

They are deployed based on historical data, historical load, but also the algorithm changes every hour to cater for any shift in demand. So resources can either be sent to one area if there’s increased demand, or taken away,” he said on Friday.

A converted penalty by Jamaican defender Adrian Reid three minutes from the end of regular time and a stoppage-time strike from substitute attacker Aaquil Campbell earned the Keith Jeffrey- coached “San Juan Kings” full points against a side that had rattled their crossbar twice in the second half.

The win propelled Jabloteh (10 points) three spots up to occupy the summit — one point ahead of W Connection and North East Stars, who had mixed results on Friday night, and three points ahead of three-time holders Central FC, who have a game in hand against North East Stars.

Jabloteh had enjoyed the better share of first-half chances, but had themselves to blame after Rangers’ goalkeeper Cleon John put behind a Vurlon Mills effort and Keithy Simpson and Damian Williams missed close-ranged opportunities.

Rangers too, were at their own fault. Substitute winger Josh Toussaint and forward Xae Pierre De Fou both saw their efforts crash off the bar moments after teenaged midfielder Che Benny had forced Jabloteh goalkeeper Javon Sample into a low save from distance.

Toussaint was the first to rattle the Jabloteh crossbar after meeting a low Rennie Britto feed from the left, in a move that was created by a neat through-ball from Benny in the 66th minute.

Thirteen minutes later De Fou, who lifted an attempt inches overbar in the first half, followed suit when he scooped his effort onto the bar off a right side cross from tenacious Rangers midfielder Omari Lezama. But coach Anthony Streete’s men broke down at the death. Reid, Jabloteh’s penalty specialist, wrong-sided John in the 87th minute to break the deadlock after defender Shane Sandy brought down Kennedy Hinkson – released by a Nathan Lewis feed – inside the box.

Campbell then completed the late victory two minutes into stoppage- time with a shot from the middle of the area that had too much sting for John’s outstretched arms. Lewis again involved after he was picked out by a long Jesus Perez cross to then provide the pass for Campbell, who did what his teammates struggled to do in the first half. Jabloteh will meet W Connection in a top-of-the-table clash on Friday at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva. Rangers, meanwhile, must regroup quickly as they face Club Sando in a rescheduled fixture tomorrow from 6pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium before hosting North East Stars on Saturday at the St. Augustine Secondary School Ground.

(ttproleague.com)

Even if you don’t plan to attend US universities, the books on this list will help you to hone the skills you need to complete your secondary education and go to any university.

Reading is the foundation for all of your learning.

Below is a list of some of my favourite books to build students’ skills. Also, note that the examination timetable has changed in Trinidad and Tobago.

There are now four exams for the SAT I. They are held in October, December March and May. You can check the Collegeboard.org site for more information.

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard – This biography of President James Garfield, assassinated after a mere four months in office is both a biography and a history of medicine of the era.

Millard’s crisp, vivid writing makes this a riveting piece of non-fiction writing. Students who enjoy history, science or just an excellent, action-packed read will enjoy this book.

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything About the World by Tim Marshall – This book is fun, fact-filled read that explains how geography impacts on political divisions in the world. It is a surprisingly light read that will help students to hone their analytical skills while learning more about politics and history.

How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein – Another combination of history and geography to hone analytical skills and map-reading skills. After reading about a few states, students should be able to look at maps and figure out some of the reasons why states are shaped the way they are. There are many esoteric facts that make this book interesting as well.

The American Presidents Series edited by Arthur M Schlesinger Jr – are compact biographies by various journalists or historians, and edited by Schlesinger, a famous historian. Many of these short biographies are the best books I have read about some of the presidents. Reading histories and biographies can build many analytical skills. Most of the books in this series are about a four-hour read.

Washington Square by Henry James – Students need to become more familiar with classics for the SAT exam, and reading this novel will help in that quest. Washington Square, published in 1881, tells the story of Catherine Sloper, a young woman who has inherited enough money from her mother’s estates to make her own decisions in life. But Catharine wants her father’s blessings to marry a young man of questionable character. Reading this relatively short classic is like reading 15 books because the arguments for and against Catharine’s choices change every few pages.

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill – This non-fiction book does much more than show the importance of the Greeks.

It provides students with a framework for understanding the relevance of ancient Greek culture today. It also demonstrates how to develop a compelling argument for a thesis statement.

Next week: Books that will grab young readers’ attention and build analytical and comprehension skills for students ten to 14 years.

“Whether we like it or not, there are people in this country who chose criminal conduct as the way of life and there are people who end up committing crime. There are those who plan to commit crime and execute their plan. One of the crime’s that is disturbing to the national public is violent crime.

“Those who would have committed those crimes would be held accountable for their actions.

I am a firm believer in the interpretation that one of the things that would encourage criminal conduct in Trinidad and Tobago is the view in the minds of citizens that if they commit crime, there is a very good chance that the crime would not be detected. That has to be a catalyst for committing crime,” he said.

Speaking Friday at the opening ceremony for the Maracas, St Joseph Police Station, Rowley said if someone believed they could commit a crime and have a very good chance of not being detected, they would make that decision to commit the crime.

Pointing out the tragic murders of Hafeeza Mohammed and 13-yearold Lennon Subar, Rowley asked what was the role of the police in preventing that to happen.

“We in the Government, we in the Police Service, we want to say to those persons, if you think about committing that crime think twice because we are going to detect you and prosecute you to the highest of the law.

“That must be a standard in this country, not today or next week or next month, it has to be a sustained response of the people of TT.

“We have no other option.

It is the police and the security agencies we have to depend on to protect us from those who have chosen crime as a way of life.,” the Prime Minister said.

He said the Constitution spelled out who was responsible for what.

“I have the executive, I have the Cabinet. There are some people who feels the Prime Minister can do anything and I must know everything, and I could be involved in anything. The Constitution circumscribes the role of the Cabinet in the same way the Constitution spells out who will secure the State in terms of dictating an office,” Rowley said.

He said the Commissioner of Police was not subject to take instructions from anybody in the Executive. He said even the minister had to be careful how he related to the Commissioner of Police.

“The very same people who want the minister and the Prime Minister to go out and drive this horse down the track, if we take basket… because it is the same people who will point out the executive because he has stepped out of bounds.

We have to know where our boundary is in the Constitution.

“As Prime Minister I acknowledge the role and responsibility of the Commissioner of Police and I have said from day one as Prime Minister, I will hold the police responsible in what they have to do. That is why we have to continue at every level, from the Cabinet right down to the constable, to accept the police and their work,” he said.

“This beautiful valley and all that it holds will be destroyed if the criminal element is not held in check, and the criminality and general misconduct is not restrained . It is a small number of people acting with impunity, carrying whatever they carry, drugs, firearms to destroy. You as police officers, you stand between those people and the rest of the national community and preserve Mara

She was yesterday summoned to the Prime Minister’s Residence at St Ann’s to face Rowley, but afterwards flatly refused to take questions from reporters .

At 1.08 pm yesterday media houses received notification of her firing in a statement emailed in the name of the Government’s Press Secretary (Arlene Goring-George), just 48 hours after her return to Cabinet last Friday .

“Prime Minister Dr the Honourable Keith Rowley has today advised President Anthony Carmona to revoke the appointment of Ms .

Marlene McDonald, Minister of Public Utilities with immediate effect .

“Ms McDonald was recently sworn in as Minister in the Ministry of Public Utilities after a sixteen (16) month period of absence from the Cabinet. The President has also been advised that the portfolio of Public Utilities should be assigned to the Prime Minister who will now assume these duties in addition to his other responsibilities.” The statement did not say why she was dismissed, and Newsday yesterday could not contact any Government Member to defend Rowley, not even he himself .

Last Friday Mc Donald was sworn in by President Anthony Carmona and then took her place in the House of Representatives as Minister of Public Utilities, but speculation ran rife that the very swearing-in ceremony carried the seeds of her dismissal .

The advocacy group, Fixin’ T&T in an online post raised red flags about guest, Sea Lots personality Cedric Burke, whose presence reportedly alarmed Special Branch officers at the event and reportedly incensed Rowley upon his learning of it later on .

Previously Mc Donald had served as Minister of Community Development in the Rowley Administration but was fired over a year ago. Questions had arisen over her alleged recommendation of public housing for her male companion, Michael Carew .

She was also queried over donations from her ministry when she was minister in 2010 of $375,000 and $200,000 plus another sum to the Calabar Foundation, of which Carew was said to be a director. Mc Donald had assured all was above board .

Kamla: Gov’t is inept Yesterday, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar in a statement said the episode shows the Government’s ineptness, plus Rowley’s unfitness for office. “The problems Rowley now faces within his Cabinet are because of his lack of vision, leadership and judgement when choosing these individuals .

“The Prime Minister restored Ms McDonald to ministerial office even as she was under active investigation by both the Integrity Commission and the police and whilst concerns continued to be expressed about her fitness for office .

It appears that nothing has changed since Ms McDonald was removed as a Minister and the Prime Minister should have already known his MP had questionable associations .

“The re-appointment of Ms Mc- Donald highlighted the absence of capable and skilled personnel available to the Prime Minister. It took just three days for the Prime Minister’s reshuffle to be confirmed as a misdeal. I expect that in the coming days, more questions will be raised regarding the prudence of other choices the Prime Minister made during his Cabinet reshuffle and appointments.” Persad-Bissessar hit Mc Donald for breaching protocol by having at her swearing-in someone known to the police, even as the country is besieged by violent crimes .

“It is increasingly evident that the Rowley regime has collapsed in office because of the Prime Minister’s incompetence as a leader, which is highlighted by his lack of skill, compassion and commitment to take Trinidad and Tobago out of its current critical state.” Persad-Bissessar said Rowley should now resign and seek a fresh mandate. Yesterday Opposition MP for Oropouche East Dr Roodal Moonilal told Newsday that Mc Donald’s sudden re-hiring and firing was unheard of before .

“She was sworn in on Friday, sworn at on Saturday, and sworn out on Sunday.” “Dr Rowley’s actions have brought the People’s National Movement (PNM) as a party into disrepute.” Moonilal also said it was untenable for Rowley as Prime Minister to run the Ministry of Public Utilities. “This is a mega ministry which needs a 24/7 hands-on approach. I imagine he is in a holding position, searching for another minister.” Moonilal also alleged that Mc Donald may have committed an act tantamount to an act of treason by breaching the security of President Carmona by the presence of Burke (although she has denied inviting him) .

Ghany: Saga ‘absolutely incredible’ Political analyst Dr Hamid Ghany said the saga reflected badly on Rowley, saying it was “absolutely incredible” for Mc Donald to be appointed on Friday and fired on Monday. Ghany said, “I think that when he made the appointment he knew he was taking a risk and he said that if anything further came up with the Integrity Commission he will be prepared to act. That signalled to me that he was prepared to dismiss her again, if anything adverse came up .

“I don’t think he gambled it would have happened this soon, and that it would have been something totally unrelated to the Integrity Commission. His thinking was he that would dismiss her again, and that is where my problem lies because that really is not the way to run a government. You can’t run a government on the basis that if something comes up I will act.” Ghany said Rowley may not have said why he dismissed her but he said concerns have been raised in the media that top military and intelligence officials were alarmed at Burke’s presence. “I don’t know the nature if their alarm but if it anything related to security, Dr Rowley is chair of the National Security Council and he obviously may know of certain things that the rest of us may not know anything about, and that may have caused him to take action .

“But it is hugely embarrassing to him personally, because Stuart Young (Minister in the OPM) on Saturday said that these matters are the sole domain of the Prime Minister, so there is no-one else to whom you can point a finger on this fiasco but the Prime Minister.” Ghany said while Mc Donald would have ‘earned her spurs’ by having prior ministerial and parliamentary experience, she had problems at her screening for the 2015 General Elections, arising from Fixin’ T&T’s claims, for which she was ultimately dismissed in 2016 .

“It was an old story that eventually caught up with her by March 2016 .

There are Integrity Commission issues still up in the air, which the Prime Minister knew about, which he commented on and which he said that if something came up he would act. So he baked into the cake the fact that he was prepared to dismiss her again and that is where my problem lies with it. That is a governance challenge because when a prime minister says “I will be prepared to dismiss my minister again if something embarrassing comes up’, it raises questions about judgement and about the whole governance/management issue .

That is my real concern .

“This is something that didn’t have to happen, on two fronts .

Firstly, the Prime Minister didn’t have to appoint her, so I don’t know what the pressure was or what the internal issue was that led him to appoint her.” Secondly, Ghany said the confusion over the guest-list she obviously wanted to add persons to her guest list and President’s House is saying she was going to supply the names and the names were not supplied and the gentleman was there on the day in question. A number of things were said in the media but they are mere allegations. What would have caused Dr Rowley to take this action. If it is related to the guest then he is NSC chairman and he must now why it would be so serious that he would have to dismiss her two days or 48 hours after appointing her. “This was absolutely incredible that she was sworn in on Friday and dismissed on Sunday.” Burke silent Efforts to reach Mc Donald’s controversial guest Cedric “Burkie” Burke yesterday were futile. Newsday visited his home in Sea Lots but was told he was asleep .

ACP in charge of crime Irwin Hackshaw told Newsday Burke was known to police for his affiliation with the “Rasta City” gang, as well as other criminal activities. He did not give specifics .

In 2011, Burke was among several people who were arrested in the Eastern Port of Spain area, for gang affiliation, however he was subsequently released without charge .

Burke was again arrested in Sea Lots in April 2013 along with 12 other people after police conducted a dragnet in response to a rash of gang violence a month before .

Burke has defended himself, saying he is a legitimate businessman who owns several construction and security companies. “I am a businessman and I have all the proof to prove I am a legitimate businessman .

I have never been convicted in this country or any country for anything whatsoever,” he said in 2013 .

(With additional reporting by Sasha Harrinanan and Ryan Hamilton-Davis)

Team TTO began the final day yesterday just 10 points and five medals adrift of Puerto Rico, their main rivals during the tournament, as both teams continued to rack up the majority of the medals at the Championships.

In an interview with Newsday, Lai Hing stated, “It is really an honour to be a part of this and to witness the TT athletes putting their best foot forward at the Championships and representing the nation to the best of their abilities.” He continued by expressing his gratitude to the supporters and well-wishers who filled the stands throughout the tournament.

“The crowd support at the Championships was a great motivating factor for our athletes and seeing the red of our nation filling the stands and roaring in support was important as it gave them that extra boost and home advantage which was evident by their performances in the pool.” Christian Dieffenthaller (two minutes 13.75 seconds) won gold in the Boys 13-14 200-metre individual medley as he defeated Nkosi Dunwoody, representing Barbados, who only managed to stop the clock at 2:16.69 to claim the silver medal. Panama’s Fernando Carrillo took bronze in 2:18.72.

In the Girls 13-14 50m breaststroke, TT ’s Gabriella Donahue copped gold in 34.68 seconds, ahead of Paola Guerra of Puerto Rico (35.20) and Paola Cwu representing Honduras (36.65).

Jeron Thompson’s national record of 29.26 seconds secured gold in the Boys 15-17 50m breaststroke.

He was followed by Dominican Republic’s Fausto Huerta (29.32) and Curacao’s Rainier Rafaela (29.58).

In the Boys 13-14 100m freestyle, Aqeel Joseph’s time of 54.85 seconds won gold for Trinidad and Tobago, followed by Kevon Lockhart of the Bahamas, who touched the wall in 54.97, and Jamaican Kyle Sinclair (55.04).

However, TT also missed out on the gold medal position in some races on Saturday night, securing silver and bronze in numerous categories.

In the 18-and-Over 200m individual medley, Tariq Lashley’s time of 2:09.05 was enough to claim the silver as he finished behind United States’ Adriel Sanes (2:08.81).

Puerto Rican Christian Bayo stopped the clock split seconds behind Lashley to round of the podium in third with his time of 2:09.69.

Amira Pilgrim’s 58.63 seconds copped the bronze medal in the 100m freestyle as she finished behind Curacao’s Chade Nersicio (57.67) and Cathy Cooper (58.39) representing Panama. The 2017 CCCAN Championships was expected to conclude last night.

Other swimming results: Boys 15-17 200m butterfly: 1.Brian Alvarez (Costa Rica) 2:05.51; 2.Jarod Arroyo (Puerto Rico) 2:05.58; 3.Emil Goin (Trinidad and Tobago) 2:05.91.

Boys 15-17 800M freestyle relay: 1.Puerto Rico (7:51.02); 2.Trinidad and Tobago (7:59.14); 3.Costa Rica (8:03.95).

Boys 18-and-Over 800m freestyle relay: 1.Puerto Rico (7:54.88); 2.Costa Rica (8:01.99); 3.Trinidad and Tobago (8:12.00).