I can see the “probers” now— dressed in protective wear, long sticks in hand, poking floating faeces! I wonder what is their goal and how they intend to achieve it? While this issue of filth in our sea has suddenly been placed front and centre, it hardly is something new. Does anyone believe that our beaches and waters were clean and healthy but suddenly became filthy and toxic? I do not believe that this is the first acknowledgement from the Institute of Marine Affairs or the Environmental Management Authority that our marine environment is filthy, toxic and a danger to marine and human life. What I do believe is that this is the first time that the matter has been publicly exposed.

This sort of hazard is usually kept hidden from the public and denied by those in charge— whoever happens to be in charge when reports are handed in, filed and hidden.

But now the reality has been officially acknowledged, maybe to divert attention and concern over the recent large oil spill from a tank at the Petrotrin refinery, so officialdom must at least announce “a probe”. Is sewerage in our seawater more dangerous to us than oil or chemicals? Or do we even care? To me it does not really matter, mostly because we endure both hazards in far greater quantities and for much longer than we know or even really care.

The filth in our sea and rivers and along our beaches did not just arrive there. Like child abuse, spousal abuse and all the endemic forms of petty and grand corruption, in which we all participate and endure, the sins of environmental poisoning and degradation have been with us as long as any of us can remember.

But like other forms of personal cruelty and abuse, the poisoning of our environment was something quietly “hushed up”—in the family, the workplace and the nation.

As we slowly and reluctantly try to evolve into a caring society— caring for our elderly, infirm, poor and for our nation, its natural attributes and the infrastructure we have built—we are beginning to expose the slackness, the wrongs and the dangers we have allowed to develop on our shores.

We need to accept that most, if not all of the pollution of our beaches and sea is not dumped on spot by beachgoers.

Much of the litter is, and maybe some of the faecal matter, is left on beaches to wash into the sea. Some faecal poisoning comes from defective—read unmaintained— toilet facilities built and abandoned by the government.

I am confident that most of the pollutants are introduced way upstream, in our rivers and canals.

Litter, filth, industrial and chemical poisons are introduced to our environment in our neighbourhoods and industrial estates.

Everything that is dumped on our roadsides and ditches eventually washes out to our beaches and our seas. The recent oil spill, caused by the rupture of a Petrotrin refinery storage tank, flowed down the Guaracara River, into the Gulf of Paria and out into the Gulf Stream. And of course, the oil spill disaster did not suddenly occur. It was known for several years that the tank was leaking, and nothing was ever done to repair it.

This to my mind was not accidental or unfortunate. This was simply criminal neglect on the part of Petrotrin. But no doubt their own report will find some way to excuse it.

Cleaning our beaches of garbage and poisons will be an everlasting Sisyphean task if we continue to concentrate on the beaches and the sea itself. I know that there is a huge “feel good” effect among people who organise massive beach cleaning efforts by volunteers. But we need to realise that when we collect more garbage this year than last year, we are really losing the battle.

More and more visible garbage is being dumped everywhere, to wash down to the beaches to feed the “clean-up” volunteers’ zeal.

So while we must commend those who go to clean our beaches, we really should be teaching our people not to dump garbage, chemicals and sewerage on our roads and in our drains. We are attempting to solve problems which we should simply have prevented in the first instance.

I do not pretend to have the answers on how to prevent all of the dumping of pollutants everywhere.

But until we find the answers we are doomed to bathe and wallow in filth and toxins in our rivers and along our beaches.

We await the report of the task force assigned to assess the faecal content of our popular bathing beaches, assuming of course that it will be made public.

“For this fiscal period, we have distributed about 1,600 homes and we are not done yet. We have only just started. In the upcoming weeks, we hope to break ground for another development, this time at Corinth Hills, San Fernando,” Mitchell said. Addressing a small gathering, the minister noted there were several housing projects left incomplete by the previous administration, but promised Government will complete them in the “same way” it had completed the Brian Lara Stadium.

Among the developments to be done are: Vieux Fort, St James; Bon Air North, Arouca; Lake View, Point Fortin; Hubertstown, La Brea; Real Springs,Valsayn.

Moruga /Tableland MP Dr Lovell Francis said housing in Moruga is a big demand as many people cannot afford to build their own houses or purchase land on the open market.

As such, they look to the HDC “maybe” as the only hope of getting to own their own home.

Also, on the proposed $200 million fishing and port facility at Gran Chemin, Moruga, Mitchell and Francis assured it will be built.

“This port will offer superior facilities to the fishermen in Moruga and add to their productivity and efficiency.

We also recently launched the $70 million Agro-processing and Light Industrial Park,” Mitchell said.

Earlier this month, Trade and Industry Minister Gopee-Scoon announced the park will be built on 18.83 acres at Saunders Trace, St Mary’s Village. The park will be sub-divided into 18 plots of varying sizes.

Francis said Moruga has the highest number of fishing boats with more than 100 at two beaches.

“The port project will not only provide a jetty but also storage rooms to fix their nets and a whole suite of facilities that they do not have right now. Work was poised to start at the end of the year. Preliminary studies are being done so the work is underway,” Francis said.

Construction is due to begin by the end of this year or early next year, he said.

The 25-year-old, who faced the starter in lane four, crossed the finish line in a season’s-best time of 10.97 seconds, trailing America’s Morolake Akinosun, who was timed in 10.94, wile Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure was second in 10.96.

The Jamaican pair of Veronica Campbell-Brown (11.00) and Simone Facey (11.13) were fourth and fifth respectively.

Completing the field were the American trio of Tianna Bartoletta (11.15), Dezerea Bryant (11.20) and Barbara Pierre (11.23).

Double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson tasted defeated for the first time this season in the 200 metres but fellow Jamaican Omar McLeod kept up his excellent form as he won the men’s sprint hurdles.

In the third stop of the IAAF Diamond League series, the 24-year-old Thompson never looked the part and crossed the line struggling in a time of 21.98 seconds, behind Bowie who was dominant in a world-leading 21.77.

Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo, the reigning Olympic 400m champion, also shocked Thompson to finish second in 21.91 running out of lane eight.

In a star-studded event that also included Dutch sensation Daphne Schipper and American Allyson Felix, Bowie once again showed her love for Haywood Field by repeating her victory from last year.

Running out of lane eight, she produced a blistering curve to leave the field in her wake and the result was never in doubt once she entered the stretch.

Thompson, who was also third in the event here last year, was away slowly, proved sluggish on the bend and was left with too much to do in the last 100m.

Only last week, Thompson easily won the half-lap at the Jamaica International Invitational in Kingston.

McLeod, meanwhile, who also won gold in Rio last year, extended his great start to the new season when he clocked 13.01 seconds to take top honours.

He led a Jamaican one-two as Richard Levy powered home second in 13.10, with American Devon Allen third in 13.11

He added, “The Criminal Proceedings Rules coming in 2017 is very much like the Civil Proceedings Rules.” Government MPs thumped their desks as Al-Rawi said these new rules constitute “a landmark decision of operational improvement” by the Government, the Judiciary and other key stakeholders. Noting the rules were signed off by the criminal justice committee which had representation from his ministry, Al-Rawi said the new rules were, “subject to the scrutiny of criminal attorneys for almost one year.” He said the Law Association continued to play a vital role in this exercise by offering training to attorneys with respect to the rules over the next two months.

Earlier in the sitting, Community Development, Culture and the Arts Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby- Dolly said Government was willing to consider assistance with security for the Temple in the Sea in Waterloo. However she said because the temple is listed as a place of worship under the National Trust, this is where the request should be made.

Acting Planning Minister Colm Imbert said he was advised that the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) is doing all it can to treat with reports of pollution off the north and north west coastline of Trinidad. He said he would ensure the EMA does what is required to inform the public about this matter. Public Utilities Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said water restrictions in Tobago “remain firmly in force” because of below average rainfall in Tobago. He added the TT Meteorological Service is projecting there will be below average rainfall in May, June and July.

Hinds said amendments will be made, “once the situation has improved.” He reminded citizens to exercise water conservation practices

As a show of support, Kelvin Mahabir, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Flour Mills Limited presented a $10,000 contribution to the TTHB president Douglas Camacho, to assist the junior hockey squad in meeting its travel expenses for the tournament.

NFM’s patronage comes at an opportune time as the squad intends to use this invitation from the Canadian Men’s National Hockey Programme to increase their competitive skills in preparation for the 2018 Pan American Youth Championships.

The match will feature Lawyers versus EnSure, the two teams Justice Hannays played for before his death on May 25 2014.

Justice Hannays collapsed on the field while playing for the Trinidad and Tobago Lawyers’ cricket team in a game against the EnSure cricket team at Riversdale Ground, St Joseph. He later died at hospital.

Justice Hannays was also a member of the West Indies Lawyers’ Cricket team which participated in several Lawyers’ World Cup tournaments since 2007.

He was also a member of En- Sure, a weekend fete-match team.

Today, the Lawyers’ team will be captained by Justice Joseph Tam and will feature members preparing for the Queen’s Park Oval tournament beginning June 1, and the Sixth Lawyers’ World Cup tournament in Sri Lanka during the period August 10-21.

The assurance was given to shareholders last Friday during TCL’s 2017 annual general meeting (AGM) at Hilton Trinidad, St Ann’s.

The re-branding question came from shareholder, Peter Permell, who said he recalled reading about it “somewhere”.

While he gave no specifics, there was a March article, published in another local newspaper, which reported on TCL’s alleged intent to change its name to Cemex.

“Is (re-branding) a possibility? If so, I suppose there may be some advantages, in terms of brand equity, going that particular route as opposed to staying with TCL.

What is the likelihood of that happening, in terms of a time frame?” Permell asked.

TCL chairman Wilfred Espinet, speaking from the head table, was the first to respond.

Declaring that, “in today’s news cycle I don’t know what is real news and what isn’t,” Espinet made it clear however that, “from my perspective, certainly there’s no intent to change the brand, anywhere on the table, as we speak today (May 26).” “More importantly,” Espinet added, “we’ve been spending on fullpage ads in all of the newspapers.

Not only here (Trinidad and Tobago) but also in Barbados, the Lesser Antilles and the Windward Islands, where we have been attacked with (imported) Turkish cement.” Espinet reminded that in all of these ads, which warned against using cement more than 120 days old and which encouraged consumers to “keep it fresh” and to “keep it local”, TCL highlighted its brand of products.

“So it would be, to me, not a very sensible thing to spend that kind of money (on ads). So if we were doing that (re-branding), it would be very unlikely.” TCL’s managing director Jos? Luis Seijo Gonz?lez also shared his thoughts on re-branding the company.

“It would be wrong. It would be a big mistake, if we change our commercial brands. We have a very high brand equity.” However Seijo did say that “there are other instances where we could use our new partners (when dealing with) some suppliers in Germany and so on.” CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V. (Cemex) is a multinational building materials company head-quartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey, Mexico.

As stated in Espinet’s group chairman’s review in TCL’s Annual Report 2016, “Cemex now owns 69.83 percent of TCL.” He noted that this is subject to final approval by the TT Stock Exchange.

Espinet stated that on January 9, through its wholly-owned direct subsidiary, Sierra Trading, “Cemex revised its offer price” from TT$4.50 per ordinary share to TT$5.07 per share “with the option for shareholders to be paid in US dollars at US$0.76 per share.” “Despite another recommendation to reject the offer by a special committee of the TCL board, again based on an Ernst & Young Fairness Opinion, the revised offer received overwhelming response, taking the Cemex shareholding in TCL from 39.5 percent to 69.83 percent, just short of its initial target of 74.9 percent,” Espinet stated in the report.

Speaking with Sunday Newsday following the AGM, Espinet said, “I know, as a director of the company, we are unaware of any attempt to change (re-brand).” “As I explained, the amount of money we’re spending on our existing brand, it is just nonsense for us to spend that and then after rebrand.” Sunday Newsday also spoke with Seijo, who reiterated, “We don’t have any intention to change commercial brands.” “We do have a very high brand equity, so we don’t want to lose that. So we intend to keep all our commercial brands.” Regarding the use of Cemex’s name with overseas suppliers, he said, “When we speak with some suppliers, for example on the purchasing side, it’s useful to use the Cemex name.” “So we try to leverage that into a bigger purchasing power. That’s why we’re trying to combine both things (TCL and Cemex brand usage).” He explained that “where Cemex has a global agreement, we take advantage of that now.” “Cement equipment is mainly produced in the US and Europe, so that’s where we take advantage of it (Cemex name),” Seijo said.

The term ransomware is not a new one but the word was on everybody’s lips just a few weeks ago when organisations around the world tried to recover their information after being hit by a ransomware attack known as WannaCry.

According to a CNN news article, hospitals, major companies and government offices were among those that were badly affected.

The majority of the attacks targeted Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan.

In addition, hospitals in the United Kingdom, Chinese universities and global firms like Fedex (FDX) were affected.

Last week, Public Administration and Communication Minister Maxi Cuffie, in a press release, said he received an assurance from the managers of the government’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure that there are systems in place to treat with ransomware attacks.

The minister said Government’s ICT infrastructure, GovNeTT, is managed by the National Information and Communication Technology Company Limited (iGovTT) which is supported by contractual agreements with a contractor’s alliance of Fujitsu and a team of ICT companies.

In an interview with Sunday Newsday at iGovTT’s office in Chaguanas last Thursday, Head of Operations, Sherwin Ragoonanan explained that ransomware was one of the newer methods of attack.

“What the attackers try to do is hold your machine to ransom. It typically manifests itself via email when you open an attachment and at that point it starts to encrypt and lock all the files on your machines and you get a notice telling you that if you want a decryption key, you have to pay a certain amount of money to this account and they will send you the key.” He said sometimes paying them works but sometimes it does not.

“The key they send may unlock certain files but you may need to pay more to unlock the rest. So where it really hits is where you don’t have backups in place and you don’t have the ability to really restore and it’s going to take you down hard.” When the attack occurred, iGovTT was notified immediately by Symantec, a company that provides end-to-end protection.

Ragoonanan said the company was well-known for zero day protection.

“That means that on the day of an attack they have been known to come up with methods of prevention in no time.” He said two machines within an organisation in Port-of-Spain were affected by the ransomware but he said it was isolated and did not spread.

Ragoonanan said ransomware does not have any prejudice against who it is attacking.

“It can attack you at home, it can attack you in the office, it can attack the Prime Minister, it can attack a clerk, it does not matter.” People need to do everything they can to protect themselves from these types of attacks. Making sure your virus and malware signatures are up to date is one aspect, Ragoonanan advises adding that the other side of it is changing your behaviour while online.

“Don’t go to websites you don’t know about, you go to a website that gives you funny pop ups, get out of there. You see an email, this is where the email attacks are becoming more successful. They are spoofing from your address book.

You may see an email from someone that you know, and you open it up like normal, you open up the attachments like normal because the attachments may be seemingly innocent, it may be invoices or monthly report, and that is how we get infected.” Asked how vulnerable was this country to these type of attacks, Ragoonanan said very, from the perspective that a lot of people take security for granted.

My friend with whom we are to stay has sent an Uber for us. She had decided she should equip the driver with the names Seeta Aur Geeta inscribed on cardboard but then changed her mind at the last minute.

“Would you have guessed it was you?” she asked, laughing, when we finally landed at her gate half an hour later.

“After I got over the momentary disorientation, yeah I might have. You should have done it!” I replied, laughing.

The joke wouldn’t have been completely lost on an Indo- Trinidadian who had grown up on films and the music that had been popular in the 60s and 70s. Even in this modern era, the Indian radio stations in Trinidad still air melodies from the film Seeta aur Geeta like O Saathi Chal.

The sign would have been a fitting welcome to Bombay.

Bombay or Mumbai, as it is now known, is securely ingrained in the imagination of many Indo-Trinidadians.

The city lives in songs like Bombay ke Dulahin; in names like Bombay Store and the Bombay Dream Fashion shows; in expressions like “fair like them Bombay Indian” and in the way that Indo-Trinidadians like, some other cultures, compare local singers and musicians by naming them after popular Indian counterparts. We have had the “local Lata Mangeshkar” and the “local Rafi”, so dubbed after famous playback singers, names that suggest that the local voices are similar to those Indian counterparts, no doubt also a marketing strategy to attract local audiences to concerts.

East Indian identities have been thus legitimised in large part, since the coming of Indian films to Trinidad in 1935, through popular Hindi film actors and singers. But surprisingly it is not Mumbai that features in the imagination of many Indo-Trinidadian except as a place where they can see Amitabh Bachchan or Shah Rukh Khan.

As radio personality Hans Hanoomansingh commented in an interview, “Indian tours to India are usually religious and Hindu in content, where temples and shopping are main focal points.” So, even while Mumbai or Bombay, is a part of a tour’s itinerary, for Indo- Trinidadians places like Varanasi, Mathura and Haridwar are where the spirit of India lies.

Mumbai city is an island and was one of the main ports through which traders and touring musicians entered India. It is a syncretic mixture of regions and religions, a feature of the city that would filter into the musical life of the pre-film years and eventually into the film music of Bollywood. The Taj Hotel, an imposing structure that overlooks the sea and gives off a colonial air, was a space that had been home to prominent jazz artistes in India, many of whom later filtered into the film industry. It was recently the central subject in Naresh Fernandes’ Taj Mahal Foxtrot, an extremely interesting exploration of Bombay’s Jazz Age and the musicians who made it possible.

The city’s colonial past is still alive in architecture – churches, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, a sort of Indian Waterloo Station – the dress, and languages of the Mumbaikars as the people of Mumbai call themselves.

The city eases a first-timer into India with its relative freedom and Western outlook. It is the paradox of Mumbai – Western in outlook in many cases yet Indian in its habits, politics and the regional variety of people who live there.

On the morning of our arrival, we are taken to breakfast at the Smoke House Deli, Pali Hill, one of the more affluent areas in Bandra West and home to some well-known Bollywood actors and actresses. Crossing the road was an exercise in strategic planning.

In Mumbai, honking horns simply signal, “Move out of the way!” People have become so accustomed to it that when I asked some friends why people honked their horns for no apparent reason, they were all surprised.

“Do they? We never noticed.” The honking horns are so bad that there are signs around apartments advising “No Honking”. In one area a sign says “No Honking Please. People Live Here”. But the honking persists. The day begins and ends with it. Cycles, cars, auto rickshaws speed past, highpitched horns in session.

If by chance one is caught midstep, the vehicle passes around you and you continue along your way. One is always forced to push forward. Stopping means you either get knocked down or cursed. The boundaries of rich and poor are blurred here. No one cares who you are. They are all simply trying to get from one place to the other, even if “the other” is just three feet away.

Bandra West is our home for a few weeks. It is the location of Mehboob Studio noted for the film Mother India; the home of many major actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan and musicians.

On the second morning of our arrival, we arose early to attend the Kabir festival on the beach.

The auto rickshaw took us from Turner Road to Naushad Ali Marg (locals still call it Carter Road), the latter so named after the music director Naushad Ali, known for bringing classical music into the popular film format.

His use of Western and Indian instruments to create an early fusion of form, distinguishes his work and is also a testament of the syncretic nature of Mumbai city itself. His music still resonates among the Indo-Trinidadian community in songs like the immortal Suhani Raat and music from films like Mughal-e-Azam and Baiju Bawra.

Naushad’s home still bears his name on one of the pillars of the gateway. It looks over to the sea where we are now walking, enjoying the smoggy morning air. It always looks like an overcast day in Mumbai.

There are already some morning joggers, boys and girls in T-shirts, shorts and track pants jogging past the satsangh that is in progress. There is a circle of people around the singers and musicians seated on the floor. We stand, looking over the circle. It is an informal gathering of people who are just there to enjoy the music and contribute their voices to the experience. Kabir is all-inclusive. A girl spontaneously gets up and enters the circle to dance to the singing.

At the end of this promenade, there is a fishing community.

Bandra was once a small fishing village inhabited by the Kolis (Hindu fishermen) before being taken over by the Portuguese and British. Today, names like Fonseca, Gonzales and De Souza are as popular as Singh, Banerjee and Engineer. This is India in a nutshell.

On another evening on one of our daily walks, we visit the Mount Mary Church, one of the historic churches built in the late eighteenth century. Outside its gates there are stalls where trinkets are sold. One of the more intriguing baskets are the wishes, crafted into wax images and sold to be offered at the altar inside.

Outside the door of the church a sign reads “Please Do Not Leave Your Footwear Outside The Church Door. They Might Go Missing”. It caters, I am informed, to the Hindus who also come here to worship. Yet there are some shoes outside the doorway.

Religious spaces are ubiquitous in Mumbai.

Roadside shrines, tile-work that feature Hindu gods and goddesses along with Sikh and Christian imagery are common along walls lining pavements. As we walk along Bandstand, another seafront promenade, I look at the lives scattered along the beach – the elderly, many of whom frequent these beach front areas to walk and exercise; the young; couples huddled on rocks in the distance, and labourers living in makeshift homes while they work on the construction of the beachfront for the enjoyment of everyone, their washing spread out on rocks at the back of the signs that say “No bathing, No washing of clothes, No spitting”.

One cannot help but notice the easy syncretic nature of this area. The seafront is a meeting place for everyone, a sort of equalising space.

Even while at the back of me, crowds gather across the street in front of Shah Rukh Khan’s home to catch a glimpse of him, there are those who are simply interested in an evening stroll or chai (tea) that the tea sellers are walking around selling, or the sweet potatoes grilling on coals.

It is a crowded, chaotic, colourful city where people jostle for space, where crossing the road itself is an Indian experience. Yet there is much more to this. It is the city of opportunity.

For us here in Trinidad, this is the city that has produced the music and films that form a part of the Indian heritage in Trinidad.

Yet, if one looks closely, one can easily find elements of the West and East skilfully pieced together to create yet another form of Indian identity.

The Central Bank in a release reported that the MPC at its May meeting “assessed the evolving situation in the domestic economy.” Oil production in the first quarter of 2017 was higher than over the previous three quarters, albeit 1.6 per cent lower than in the first quarter of 2016, the MPC reported.

“There was also evidence of a pick-up in energy exploration activity which is expected to bolster output in the short to medium term.

Meanwhile, natural gas production has yet to recover, with output in January to March recorded at 8.4 per cent lower than the year-earlier period.

Other available non-energy statistics suggest that construction and distribution activities were very subdued in early 2017.” The MPC reported that inflation has remained low: the 12-month headline rate in March was 2.8 per cent, up from 2.6 per cent in the previous month and close to the 3.0 per cent averaged over the past 6 months.

Core inflation was 2.6 per cent (year-on-year) in March. The weak inflationary pressures were also reflected in the indices of producer prices and building material prices (an increase of 2.8 per cent and a decline of 0.6 per cent on a 12-month basis respectively, in March).

The liquidity situation of the financial sector was relatively comfortable, the MPC stated. Commercial banks’ excess reserves at the Central Bank averaged $3,441 million in April and have hovered around this level for much of May. Credit growth, however, has continued to slow. Credit granted by the consolidated financial system to the private sector grew by 2.6 percent (year-onyear) in March compared with 3.2 per cent a month earlier, with loans to businesses actually declining by 0.7 per cent in the year to March.

In its deliberations, the MPC noted that the domestic economy continued to need support toward recovery, and that the risk of overheating did not appear imminent in light of the recent information on inflation.

At the same time, the narrowing of interest differentials between Trinidad and Tobago and the US has implications for the balance of payments.

“In light of these factors, the MPC decided to maintain the repo rate at 4.75 per cent. The bank will continue to carefully monitor and analyse international and domestic developments in its deliberations.” The MPC also examined the backdrop of recent international economic developments, notably the growing optimism on global growth alongside the prospects for rising interest rates.

The International Monetary Fund recently revised upward its forecast for global growth from 3.4 to 3.5 per cent, while cautioning that downside risks were elevated in an atmosphere of economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, the MPC noted.

Latest data show that the United States is on course for a solid economic performance in 2017, inflation was above the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) target of two per cent and labour market conditions have firmed, the MPC reported.

“As a result, the Fed is likely to continue its cycle of interest rate increases in the near-term.

In this context, the MPC noted that the upward movement international interest rates had not been matched by a commensurate movement in domestic rates – for example, the differential between the Trinidad and Tobago and US short-term (three month) treasury instruments narrowed to 29 basis points in mid-May compared with 43 basis points at end-March 2017.”