On Wednesday, both ministers were part of a meeting with stakeholders at the St Mary’s Government Primary School where Minister Gopee-Scoon rolled out an ambitious Government plant to construct an agro processing plant and light industrial park in Moruga as a means of diversifying away from the oil and gas sector and also providing meaning and long-lasting employment to people living in Moruga and environs who in turn can give back to society by way of goods and service coming out of the plant and light industrial park.

The agro processing plant and light industrial park will be constructed on 18.83 acres if land at Saunders Trace. For his part, Minister Rambharat said, “Moruga is a very important place as it relates to agriculture and fisheries. What we are about to do here is very critical to national development.” Outlining his ministry’s projects, Rambharat shared that, “we have earmarked on the nursery projects that will continue to support the development of planting material for both food production and forestry. And so far, we have available for planting in this upcoming wet season over 1.2 million plants, which is a combination of forestry plants and food producing plants.

“Based on what we have done so far, we are confident that over the next few years, we can sustain the production of planting material above 1 million plants per year. And that will make a substantial contribution to regenerated forestry, forest reserves across the country, replanting parts of the Northern Range, reintroducing some fruit and plant that have disappeared and also reintroducing forest in some of the recreation areas across the country.” The Port, he added, remains a priority project. One of the main reasons is to attract the long liners. In the surrounding areas, such as Tableland, we continue to improve the road infrastructure.

This year, we move into Phase II of a project which aims to develop the road as we seek to continue supporting the pineapple farmers,” Rambharat said at the meeting.

Rambharat said there is a lot of hope and expectation placed on farmers, food producers and his Ministry.

“And at the heart of what we have to do for farmers is resolving the issue of land tenure as it relates to them.

For far too long, the administration of land has relied on paper files.

“This year, we are investing $11.9 million on one hand to improve the IT infrastructure in the Ministry to build the backbone to allow for reliable access at the necessary offices and to have connectivity; and (on the other hand) to move away from a paper based way of doing business to a modern document electronic management system.

The IT investment ranks as amongst the most important investment we will make in this fiscal year.” The agro processing and light industrial park will initially house five factory shells and represents an investment of approximately $69.3 million towards the further development of Moruga.

Gopee-Scoon noted that these initiatives are expected to facilitate economic growth and the development of environmentally sustainable local, regional and international businesses, engaged in downstream activities in the agricultural sector; (while facilitating) the further development of the community and the creation of world class entrepreneurs.

Addressing the audience were Rural Develpment and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein, Frank Barnes, CEO of Udecott and Imtiaz Ahamad, Chairman of eTecK who all outlined their various plans for the area. In the audience were Winston Rudder, Chairman of the Cocoa Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago; Maureen Singh, Ag eTecK president; Alderman Natalia Mendez of the Princes Town Regional Corporation; Mitchell Fitzroy, Chairman of the Moruga/Tableland Constituency; Feroze Khan, Principal of the St Mary’s Government Primary School and Dhano Sookoo, Presiden of the Agriculture Society of Trinidad and Tobago.

The match was keenly anticipated with the champions of 2015 and 2016 fighting for 2017 honours.

In the final last year, Mohammed, 27 years old, defeated former top junior player Emma Davis after returning home from studies abroad.

Stampfli was not present to defend her crown.

Third ranked Stampfli, 21, who attends Florida Gulf Coast University, prevailed in just two sets yesterday in a dominating display.

Stamplfi took the first set 6-2 and dropped just three games in the second to clinch the victory.

Both Mohammed and Stampfli were top junior players, representing Trinidad and Tobago in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit. Mohammed and Stampfli both recorded convincing victories in their respective semi-finals. Mohammed outlasted seventh seed Abigail Jones 6-3, 6-1 while Stampfli ousted top seed Shenelle Mohammed 6-2, 6-1. In the men’s singles final, the unseeded Joe Cadogan continued his dream run in the tournament with an impressive 6-0, 6-2 win over third seed Richard Chung.

Cadogan, who is a university student in the US, defeated top seed Akiel Duke of Tobago easily 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinals on Wednesday while Chung got past Tobago’s Vaughn Wilson 6-2, 1-6, 6-2.

In the mixed doubles final, the second ranked team of Collin Auguste and national junior player Yin Lee Assang combined to defeat top seeds Dexter Mahase and Lindy Ann Farrier in a close final in two sets. Auguste and Lee Assang edged the first set 7-5 and secured the victory with a 6-4 result in the second set.

Honour Roll:
Men’s Singles – Joe Cadogan
Women’s Singles – Breana Stampfli
Men’s Doubles – Luke De Caires, Vaughn Wilson
Women’s Doubles – Shenelle Mohammed, Trevine Sellier
Mixed Doubles – Collin Auguste, Yin Lee Assang
Veterans Singles – Kendall Cuffy

No play was possible on day one because of rain last Saturday between Queen’s Park and Tableland at the Sancho/St Julien Road Recreation Ground in Princes Town. Alescon Comets and Jailal Enterprise Victoria will also hope for clear skies, as not a ball was bowled on day one at the Pierre Road Recreation Ground in Charlieville.

In other matches continuing today, PowerGen will face First Citizens Clarke Road at the PowerGen Ground in Penal. Power- Gen closed day one on a healthy 358 for seven in the first innings.

At the Brian Lara Recreation Ground in Santa Cruz, Merry Boys and Central Sports will resume play. Merry Boys were in a shaky position at 144 for six at the close of day one.

In response to Al-Rawi’s statement that there are 839 people languishing in prison for minor offences, even though they have been granted access to bail, Persad-Bissessar said, “Bring them (to court) and give them all bail.” She expressed surprise that anyone could be imprisoned now for sacrilege and confirmed there is such a person in the local prison system for breaking down a church door. While Clause Four of the Bill permits cash or certified cheques to be used for bail, Persad-Bissessar said there is a global movement away from using money for bail.

According to her, this issue is currently engaging the Senate in California in the US.

Persad-Bissessar said the 1994 Bail Act is silent on the types of securities which could be used for bail. She also expressed concern that nothing was being done to deal with the lucrative industry being undertaken by “professional bailors.”

He disclosed that some of these offences include using abusive language, sacrilege, throwing missiles, maintenance and traffic violations.

Noting there are approximately 2,280 people in remand, Al-Rawi said, “Of the remanded population who are entitled and have been granted access to bail, 71 percent are still there.” In terms of cost, Al-Rawi said the cost of maintaining these inmates ranges between, “$19,000 to $25,000 per head, per remanded inmate, per month.” As he explained there are several direct and indirect costs in maintaining the prison population, Al-Rawi said people being kept ten years and over, five years and under five years, cost the State $804 million, $1.135 billion and $1.085 billion respectively to maintain them.

“The delay in justice is very, very expensive for the people of TT,” the AG stated.

Speaking to reporters during the tea break, Al-Rawi disclosed, “I have in my possession a Cabinet note from Mrs Persad-Bissessar’s tenure in 2013, which specifically approved the policy to the exact items which she described as dotishness today.” Describing this as “an absolute embarrassment,” Al-Rawi promised to speak about it when he concluded the debate. On Persad-Bissessar’s call to give bail to the 839 people, Al-Rawi said there are only seven people in prison past their maximum sentence.

Speaking with reporters during the tea break in the House of Representatives, Al-Rawi said neither Housing Minister Randall Mitchell, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat, the Chief State Solicitor nor himself had any prior knowledge that the demolition would take place.

“It has not originated from ministerial, Cabinet or AG’s office,” he said. Noting this happened on May 15, the AG said, “In light of the severity of the action taken, I can confirm that I have been calling for the Commissioner of State Lands to meet with every single day since the 15th.” However he said the Commissioner has not responded to any of his requests for a meeting to date.

Told there could be legal action taken by one squatter, Al-Rawi said he was quite concerned because he,” would like to understand the action that was taken and where the advice to take that action came from.” He reminded reporters that he was the line minister to defend the State against any claim made against it.

Al-Rawi said it would be unusual for the Commissioner to act independently on these kinds of matters and this is why he is seeking clarity.

He said the tender in question is being repaired and a new one will be sent to Mayaro. Recalling that this station was opened under the former People’s Partnership government, Dillon said the PP did not understand that it took 18 months to bring in appliances for a fire station and this was not done before the Mayaro station was opened.

As a result, he said, appliances from other fire stations had to be used to fill that gap.

The new Caribbean champions will also secure the region’s automatic spot at next year’s newly re-formatted CONCACAF Champions League which begins in February.

On Thursday, Jabloteh, who grabbed first half goals through Adrian Reid and Vurlon Mills, were held to a late 2-2 comeback draw by Jamaica powerhouse Portmore United. Meanwhile, 10-men Central, the two-time holders, were edged 1-0 by Cibao, arguably the toughest side of the finals.

Patrick Soko scored the decisive Cibao item eight minutes into the second half after Central, who were hoping to create history by becoming three-time consecutive Caribbean champions, lost midfielder Nathaniel Garcia to a second yellow card a minute from the break at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo.

The result lifted Cibao (1-1- 0; 4 points) ahead of Central (1-0-1; 3 points) to take Group A which also included Antigua and Barbuda side Grenades FC (0-1-1; 1 point); Jabloteh (1-1-0; 4 points), with the point earned, cemented their place at the top of Group B, ahead of Portmore (1- 1-0; 4 points) on a goal difference while Haiti’s Racing FC (0-0-2; 0 point) are bottom.

Central and Portmore will contest the third-place match tomorrow from 5pm at the Hasely Crawford Stadium which will be followed by the CFU Club Championship final.

Central, Portmore and the Caribbean’s runners-up — as the region’s second, third and fourthplaced teams — will join 13 Central American teams in the newly launched CONCACAF League which begins in August, in which the overall champions will also qualify for next season’s CONCACAF Champions League.

Jabloteh, who reached the CFU Club Championship finals as the best team of the first round group play earlier this year, had looked on their way for a fifth straight win of the campaign after leading 2-0 at the break.

Reid, one of three former Portmore players in the Jabloteh line-up, fired the San Juan Kings ahead from the penalty spot in the 34th minute after defender Kareem Manning bundled Mills to the ground in a desperate attempt to clear a dangerous Nathan Lewis cross. The Jabloteh penalty specialist left Portmore goalkeeper Shaven Sean Paul anchored to the ground as the ball entered the right bottom corner.

Mills then made it 2-0 four minutes from the half with a glancing header to beat Paul off a right-side Damian Williams’ free kick.

It was business as usual for Jabloteh though, against a very physically Portmore side that forced top Guyanese referee Sherwin Moore to reach for his yellow card seven times, including the red shown to a frustrated Manning who was handed his second booking of the game over the 90-minute mark for dissent.

The game had earlier turned sour for Jabloteh after a dreadful miss by Keithy Simpson, who struck the upright with the empty goal at his mercy just over the hour mark.

Lewis had initiated the counter- attack out of the back before releasing Kadeem Corbin into a vacant Portmore half with only goalkeeper Paul at his mercy.

Corbin, on entering the Jamaicans’ penalty area, forced Paul to commit before rolling the ball right to Simpson who, shockingly, hit the base up the upright.

Jabloteh head coach Keith Jeffrey, possibly expressing his fury, later replaced the midfielder with Kennedy Simpson, and with his team still holding the two-goal cushion, followed with a double-change.

Portmore substitute Jeremie Lynch pulled back a goal for the Jamaicans, beating Jabloteh goalie Javon Sample five minutes from time after meeting a pass from Cleon Pryce inside the box.

Then two minutes later, Portmore’s captain Ewan Grandison drilled in a low shot into Sample’s bottom corner after making contact with Javon East’s cross to level the scores at 2-2.

Jabloteh were rescued by Sample in stoppage-time when he kept out another Lynch attempt.

Cibao’s Argentine goalkeeper Juan Pablo Dominguez—one of three staring changes made by former Barcelona youth coach Albert Benaiges Sala for the clash—also made a superb one-handed save on the night, tipping over Central’s Sean De Silva’s attempt in the first half of the second game.

Cibao later threatened with Ernesto Trinidad’s glancing header off playmaker Charles Herold Jr.’s corner in the 37th-minute.

Central survived another scare two minutes from the half when American Gerard Paul Lavergne’s powerful low drive cannoned off goalkeeper Ryan “Godda” Thompson’s far upright.

But the Couva Sharks weren’t spared seconds later by Aruban referee Ricangel de Leca who issued Nathaniel Garcia — cautioned earlier for apparent time wasting — a second yellow then the automatic red card following a tackle on defender Richard Damas.

The Couva Sharks’ troubles doubled on 53 minutes when Cibao winger Soko swooped in the area to hit past Thompson for a 1-0 lead following a giveaway in the Dominican side’s half by Taryk Sampson and a gallop down the left by Domingo Peralta to provide the pass across the Central area.

The statement said providers must comply with the terms of their concession, the Telecommunications Act and all laws of TT.

“This includes a responsibility to protect their customers personal information and their right to privacy as provided for in the Data Protection Act and the concession and/or as found in the respective subscriber’s contract of service.” TATT said disclosure of a client’s information can cause him/her significant harm.

“As such the Authority seeks to protect customers of public telecommunications services from such breaches of their rights and to hold authorised providers culpable pursuant to the law.”

Joseph, 27, just returned to Trinidad from a training camp at Jacksonville in the USA where he worked alongside Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) superstars Jon Jones and Holly Holm, who gained notoriety after she ended Ronda Rousey’s unbeaten streak. Joseph, a submission specialist, is the current light heavyweight champion for Ruff N Tuff MMA League and is currently undefeated after three pro MMA bouts. Joseph is on a high after fighting in Guyana recently against Bajan Emmerson Hurley where he emerged victorious.

After an intense camp, Joseph is brimming with confidence against the 34 year old Joseph who has a record of five wins and two defeats and is also the current title holder for the International Cage Warriors in Curacao.

Jason Fraser, one of the organisers for the event, believes it will be an epic fight and said it is a fight that is long overdue and will see two well matched contenders battling for glory. Joseph is a silver medallist in combat sambo while McCarthy is a bronze medallist.

There will be seven cards on the evening card including a female bout which promises to be quite exciting. Also in the spotlight tonight will be a rematch involving two of the best local fighters with Narad Ramkilawan seeking revenge for his August 2016 TKO loss to Keron Bourne at Ruff N Tuff 4. Admission is $150 and is available at the venue.