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Numerous patriotic citizens left the comfort of their living rooms with eagerness and passion to view the Independence Day Parade. The patient individuals who stood in line bore the hot sun with the hope of getting to the Grand Stand. Picong and humour came from the crowd, easing the tension.

On reaching the gate, many were disappointed and fuming mad that security had not communicated before that not everyone would be able to enter.

Soon, the Grand Stand was said to be filled and security said no one else could enter.

However, some officers continued to allow certain people to enter. Some citizens who felt cheated waiting in line for two hours left to view the parade on the streets. Others vouched to remain in their homes to view it next year.

Placing additional stands in the Savannah would be welcomed.

GREGORY J NEPTUNE Port of Spain

The votes the UNC lost were votes to adjourn debate on a motion to approve Senate amendments to the Bail (Access to Bail) Amendment Bill; begin debate on a motion to approve Senate amendments to the Criminal( Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement Bill) 2017 and a motion to adjourn the House to September 15.

The votes were tied on all three occasions as Government and the Opposition each had 17 MPs in the House. On each occasion, Speaker Bridgid Annisette- George used the casting vote available to her under the House’s Standing Orders and voted with the Government. Missing on the Government’s side were Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Public Administration and Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie, Social Development Minister Cherrie Ann Crichlow-Cockburn, Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene McDonald and La Brea MP Nicole Olivierre.

Rowley is in California having a medical check-up. Cuffie was hospitalised on Tuesday after experiencing a “medical episode.” Annisette-George granted leave from the sitting to Cuffie, McDonald, Olivierre and Crichlow- Cockburn. She also granted leave to Princes Town MP Barry Padarath, the only UNC MP who was absent. Padarath is in Florida and is stranded there as the state braced for Hurriance Irma.

Prior to the vote to adjourn debate on the motion to approve Senate amendments to the Bail Bill, Opposition Chief Whip David Lee complained the Opposition had come prepared to debate this motion and the motion on the Plea Bargaining Bill.

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal questioned Annisette- George on whether the status quo was maintained when she voted with Government to adjourn this debate. Annisette- George warned him his comments could be considered contemptuous.

Moonilal questioned the Speaker a second time when she supported Government on debating the motion for the Plea Bargaining Bill.

When the Opposition objected to the House’s adjournment and called for a third vote, Acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert remarked, “Mad people.” Speaking with reporters after the sitting, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson- Regis expressed concern about the Opposition’s behaviour.

Recalling the amendments to both bills were supported by all senators, Al-Rawi said, “ It is striking that the Opposition would come here today and completely abuse the system of agreement.” He said when the notice of the sitting was sent out, Cuffie was “healthy and well.” With Parliament due to prorogue on September 21, Al-Rawi said the Opposition’s actions was designed to, “defeat the Government’s passage of law.” Robinson-Regis said neither bill required a special majority for passage and it was normal for the House to be asked to approve Senate amendments to any bill.

“Under normal circumstances, these go without incident,” she stated. Robinson-Regis said she received a letter from Lee only on Thursday evening and it did not articulate the concerns which Persad-Bissessar raised during the sitting.

Persad-Bissessar insisted the Opposition did not take advantage of the equal numbers in the House to frustrate the passage of both bills. She said it was “shameful” for Government to use Cuffie’s illness as an excuse for its unpreparedness to debate the motions. She said this gives “further credence” to polls issued on Thursday which criticise the performance of Rowley and the Government.

Reiterating the Opposition has serious concerns about both bills, Persad-Bissessar said if the Government convinces the Opposition next Friday that the amendments will assist in dealing with crime in TT, the Opposition would vote for them.

She said Annisette-George, “saved the Government today.” While saying she could not criticise the Speaker without being sanctioned, Persad-Bissessar said the protocol is that a presiding officer uses a casting vote to break a tie and maintain the status quo.

Persad-Bissessar reiterated, “They (Government) were brought back from the brink of defeat by the actions of the Speaker.

I first thought there was really no need to illustrate the dictionary meaning of a word so common. But on second thought, driven by the increasing complaints about bad manners in this society, I felt it better to throw out a reminder that “manners still maketh man,” and that saying “thanks” for kindness – big or small – is a special way of keeping ourselves civilised, even mutually respected. (I will come to who Mr Roberts is in a short while.) Expressing “thanks” one way or another is a core value in every society .

Of course, there are other civilising values such as “respect” and “helpfulness” that, when properly practised, help to make the burdens of daily life easier to bear. No doubt that is what all these “thank you” cards in our stores signal. In fact, there is a Thanksgiving Day national holiday in the US (fourth Thursday in November) and Canada (second Monday in October) .

Our irony is that we celebrate so many religious holidays, only to find ourselves remaining at square one when it comes to everyday manners. Only last Wednesday, a public servant complained how for the third time she said “good morning” to the clerk sitting next to her, but the clerk merely stared back at her. Even a hand signal would have been good, she said .

Some months ago, a Maraval friend, Mr X, explained how a man living just a few houses from him, passes in front of his house every morning, just stares back or keeps looking straight ahead every time when he (Mr X) says “good morning.” And don’t talk about public officers not replying to citizens’ letters and inquiries .

Maybe a lot of people and institutions are suffering from response paralysis. I have a few examples too, but another time. Of course, nothing can be perfect, but certainly, it seems that we can, we should try a little harder. Things are already bad as they are .

Okay, some people may well say all I have said above is simple stuff .

No big ‘ting. And maybe, that is true .

Why spend time and space saying what we all already know? But then why are there so many complaints around us about discourtesy, disrespect and thanklessness at all levels? My newspaper files on consumer hardships have become so fattened .

And now, for Mr Roberts. For several months now, just where Hilltop Drive meets East West Drive (a T-junction) in Champ Fleurs, there are about ten pot holes on Hilltop Drive. Five have grown to oversize with the rain, etc. The younger ones were also heading that way. Traffic heavily flowing down south from Hilltop Drive – dangerously bobbing and swerving around this litter of pot holes, with traffic from East West Drive doing the same thing to enter Hilltop Drive .

Worse yet, there is a resident hibiscus fence so tall at this corner, it blinds drivers. To escape head-on crashes or side-door scrapes, drivers are forced to sink into these gaping pot holes. And it looks as if the authorities do not know about this long-standing danger. So I sat down and wrote a letter on August 17 to Mr Anthony Roberts, chairman, San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation, chief executive officer Mr Kofi Chapman, and the councillor for the area. I wrote a “seeking help” letter “on behalf of the residents and myself.” I said: “These pot holes not only cause damage to vehicles, but continue to pose traffic dangers,” etc. Fellow citizens, within two weeks all the pot holes were neatly fixed – so far. Great ease for residents and all other drivers .

Yes, this may appear a “lil ting,” it’s the “corporation’s job” etc, but in these times, it makes a big statement about how we should all really live .

This is how ground-level democracy should work. I know there are other problems facing this corporation .

But as a start, little things mean a lot .

Good manners still maketh man, starting from homes and schools. So I say thank you, Mr Roberts, your CEO Mr Chapman and the local councillor .

At least 20 people are known to have died so far across the Caribbean, while it is claimed an estimated 1.2 million have been affected.

Despite being downgraded to a Category Four storm as it moved between Cuba and the Bahamas, Irma was still described as “extremely dangerous” with winds reaching 150 miles per hour.

Irma is now expected to hit the American state of Florida and 5.6 million people have been told to evacuate as the storm approaches.

In a message to members, Lewis claimed it was too early to gauge the overall damage Irma has caused but did pay tribute to Dag Samuels, a British Virgin Islands athletics coach that tragically died.

“Although we were warned very early that this year we would witness one of the most active hurricane seasons, nothing could have prepared us for the onslaught we have received thus far and what looms ahead,” Lewis wrote. “We have heard of the shattered state of several of our member nations consequent upon the passage of Hurricane Irma, which continues on its destructive path even as we circulate this message.

“We have not yet gotten the full extent of damage and loss of lives but we are aware of some, including one of the athletics coaches of the British Virgin Islands, Dag Samuels, who has been a friend of all of us for some time.” Another storm, Jose, appears to be following directly behind Irma and is now classified as a Category Four hurricane.

It appears to be following a similar course to Irma and is already slowing down relief efforts in some areas.

“Our following of the hurricane season suggests the CANOC members are not yet out of the woods regarding the wrath of Irma and yet some are expecting further damage with the coming through of Hurricane Jose,” Lewis added.

“While we continue to pray for our members, their families and indeed their entire countries, we are ever mindful of the importance of solidarity among our membership.

“We ask for constant communication and sharing of situations at this time.

“Let us commit to assisting where we can and also looking out for possible assistance from the sports fraternity globally.

“I have faith in the value of sport to uplift our people and our eagerness to rise above all adversities that confront us.”

Those mothers who punish children by keeping them away from their fathers and those fathers who bring children into this world and wilfully neglect and/ or abdicate their parental duties and responsibilities for tenuous reasons should be deemed criminals, and treated as such.

Over the years, I have heard several stories–and even received hundreds of messages and e-mails through my blog–regarding vindictive and deadbeat mothers and fathers and they irk me to no end.

But recently, a mother who I have known for some time reached out to me with her story of her ex-husband, a police officer, who is now re-married and refuses to visit his son or contribute a cent towards his education.

Despite the fact that this man’s son recently passed for one of the most prestigious colleges in Port of Spain–thanks to the hard-working, struggling single mother of this man’s two sons– the man has refused to assist with the purchase of school books, uniforms or transportation from Chaguanas every day. Crying her eyes out as hopelessness and desperation set in with the first week of school looming, she reached out to me for help.

The court system, she says, is slow and she has since stopped calling him because “officer father” puts his new wife on the phone to verbally abuse the mother of his only two children.

What kind of man would punish a son of whom he should be damn proud? Now, whilst I want deadbeat parents to be punished for their delinquency, the type of punishment should not be imprisonment and nowhere as harsh as the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act that former US president, Bill Clinton, signed into law in 1998.

Of course, when court-ordered maintenance is not paid, the parent subjects themselves to the possibility of imprisonment for contempt, but even in that situation, imprisonment benefits none of the parties involved because when one party goes to jail, and possibly loses their job as a result, the child/children will definitely get nothing. And if the other parent is vindictive enough, the only uselessly possible benefit will be satisfaction.

And speaking of vindictiveness, there are a lot of parents, especially mothers, who see the need to weaponise their children in order to punish the other parent for ending a relationship. The only thing that illustrates a greater lack of care and consideration for the well-being of children than a vindictive mother keeping a child away from a caring father is a vindictive father refusing to assist a reasonable mother with the maintenance of a child. I say “reasonable” because in my view, any mother who goes out of her way to alienate children from their fathers solely because of spite does not deserve any type of assistance from the father or the state.

There are some deadbeat fathers who claim that they were “trapped.” And there are some deadbeat fathers who would say that they did not want to have a child with that particular person–or at that specific point in time of their lives–but the reality remains that there is a child and that child needs to be taken care of at least until the age of 18.

Now I’m not saying that “accidents” don’t happen in this realm, but many of these parents insist on taking chances and risks and then complain when the end result is a life that they are now jointly responsible for.

On the other side of the coin is the fact that some mothers do attempt to “trap” fathers and I do have a problem with a mother who forces a child upon an unwilling father and then complains that he plays no part in the child’s life. Especially, if the child is the result of an affair.

As controversial as my views are on this topic, if raising a child is a joint venture, so too should the decision to bring the child into existence.

I have always been, and will always be in support of abortion within the first trimester of a pregnancy because, quite frankly, some parents do not deserve to be parents.

Vindictive mothers and deadbeat fathers are destroying the fabric of our society with their poor parenting skills that leave sons fatherless and daughters bitter.

These parents are the same ones who are surprised when the fatherless sons turn to a father figure on the block and the bitter daughter ends up being an irresponsible mother.

Until we start seeing this moral decay from BOTH parents as a major reason for the unravelling of the moral fabric of our country, we in real trouble.

A Petrotrin source revealed to Sunday Newsday that this investigation could begin in a matter of days. This comes after the recent Petrotrin audit which hapo s inted fingers to a number of the company’s employees for alleged involvement in action which saw crude oil supplies from a private lease operator to the Pointe-a- Pierre refinery shot up from 28,628 barrels, to 111,006 barrels in ten months, resulting in the company having to pay close to $100 million for crude it never received.

A senior Petrotrin employee confirmed to Sunday Newsday that reference was made in the company’s Internal Audit Department Memorandum to the refusal by a number of employees to cooperate in the company’s investigations. In fact, the report stated those particular employees were more intent on seeking the interests of the private lease operator, rather than the interest of Petrotrin.

“The statement is a damning one against our employees in which they facilitated the overstating of crude production from the Catshill Field, which resulted in Petrotrin having to overpay the operator to the tune of US$11.5 million. I’m sure it would be investigated,” the Petrotrin source said.

The source also disclosed that a senior Petrotrin employee who was responsible for managing an inventory and keeping the record of crude oil from a particular land field, and who was featured prominently in the report as the mastermind in the “fake oil” deals, remained in the company’s employ up to yesterday.

“You have to remember that this is a preliminary report (audit).

We will now have an investigation,” said the Petrotrin source.

Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj has since issued a pre-action protocol letter to Petrotrin seeking damages for defamation and approximately $45 million from the State-owned company, for monies owing to the private lease operator for crude oil supplied to the refinery for June and July.

Regarding the senior employee’s alleged involvement in a conspiracy allegedly facilitating the hiking of the volume of crude supplied from the private lease operator to the refinery, the report stated that GPS records showed there were times when the senior Petrotrin (name stated) employee was not present at the Catshill location when the “fiscalisation” was being done.

(Fiscalisation is the process of configuring the appropriate devices to enable them to record sales and other tax information).

A sales ticket or receipt was then issued to the lease operator for the crude oil supplied. But the Petrotrin audit report went on to state th at the employee was absent and did not witness the taking of the level of the oil brought to the refinery. The employee signed the ticket. It meant therefore, that the employee accepted the figures representing the volume of oil presented to the refinery that was specified by the lease operator.

The report stated, “There were also cases where (named stated) was present for very short periods of time when high gauges were being taken and therefore could not have been present for the entire fiscalisation process which, if done properly, can take at least 30 minutes.” The report made the damning assertion of collusion with the lease operator stating the employee was a regular visitor to the former’s head office, “although his job did not require him to do so”. The report concluded that there was wilful misconduct on the part of the employee while executing his duties during the period January to June. The employee was eventually removed from fiscally measuring the production of crude from the Catshill’s field in July.

However, the audit report declared that upon the employee’s removal, the crude production of the lease operator in question, “seemed to have a debilitating and paralysing effect on the operator’s production”. The report itemised the production levels and stated in part in the context of the employee’s removal, “that the reported fiscal production at Catshill decreased significantly as shown”.

The report then went on to describe the action of overstating the oil supplies as a fraud in which the State-owned oil company, already indebted to the tune of billions of dollars to the Treasury, had to pay the private lease operator for oil not produced.

In one instance when production was overstated by about 90,000 barrels, Petrotrin overpaid the lease operator US$2.97 million, the audit report stated.

The consequence was that Petrotrin paid the government US$1.86 million in royalties on crude that was not received at Pointe-a-Pierre. According to the report, Petrotrin has now earned the reputation of overstating its crude oil production and the company stands guilty of sending inaccurate well test and production information to the Ministry of Energy.

The report went on to state that Petrotrin was at loggerheads to pinpoint a general problem in managing its lease-out fields, describing an aspect of the management of that particular sector as having a laissez-faire attitude in trying to determine the reasons for persistent shortages of crude from its’ fields.

And in the Catshill field in particular, the report stated there was poor management “and lack of due diligence.” It allowed, what the report described as a fraud, to continue unabated.

Further, Sahadeo told Sunday Newsday the accusations levelled against her by former board member Ferdie Ferreira and current acting CEO Charmaine Lewis appeared to be in breach of the tenets of the Parliament’s Joint Select Committee (JSC), which began its enquiry into the operations of the inter-island seabridge, last week, at the International Waterfront Complex, Port-of-Spain.

She made it clear that the views expressed by Ferreira and Lewis about the conduct of stewardship were not the opinions of the entire board. Sahadeo also said the “principled” stances she adopted during her tenure were in keeping with her knowledge of the shipping industry and in the best interest of Trinidad and Tobago.

So concerned is Sahadeo about the accusations made about her conduct, she said she intends to re-appear before the JSC when it resumes on or after September 18, to set the record straight on several issues. The former PATT chairman said she did not wish to smear anyone’s character but felt she needed to clear their air on several matters raised by Ferreira and Lewis.

The JSC’s enquiry, headed by Independent Senator Stephen Creese, is one of four probes currently taking place into the sea bridge after concerns were raised, weeks ago, about the procurement of the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower 2 vessels, both of which were supplied by the Canada-based Bridgemans Services Group.

Enquiries are being carried out also by the PATT, Integrity Commission and businessman Christian Mouttet, who was retained by the Government to conduct an independent investigation into the acquisition of the ferries.

Mouttet is expected to present his report to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley in about one week.

At the start of the Land and Physical Infrastructure JSC on Monday, Sahadeo faced stiff criticism from Ferreira, a People’s National Movement founding member who served as a commissioner during her term as PATT chairman.

He accused her of questionable conduct and creating “serious internal conflicts” within the former board. Ferreira said he even went so far as to write to the PNM about Sahadeo’s conduct.

Lewis said subsequently there had been “a lot of interference” under Sahadeo’s watch, particularly in relation to her decision to use Kallco for maintenance dredging at the port, even though management had disagreed. She had also accused Sahadeo of changing minutes and acting as an executive chairman.

But in a Sunday Newsday interview at the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies where she works as a senior lecturer in the Department of Management Studies, Sahadeo said apart from being unfair, the statements made against her at the JSC’s sittings appeared to contravene its terms of reference.

In fact, she singled out JSC member Nigel De Freitas, whom she said, felt it was not fair to allow comments to be made against her in her absence. “I thought that is really how it should have been managed, firstly, not to allow it because much of the banter that went on is not part of what the terms of reference of the committee is because I was asked, ‘Why I resigned?’ I don’t think that was a remit of the committee.” She said given the nature of such public hearings “we need to be more careful in how we tread waters, because we were not summoned.

We were invited to attend and therefore, I imagine you should treat your guests appropriately.” A former minister in the Ministry of Finance during the Patrick Manning administration, where she served for five years, Sahadeo also had extensive experience in the corporate sector.

She was on various boards within the Neal & Massy group, and is a chartered accountant and practising attorney. Sahadeo also has worked as an external auditor and as an assistant to the Inspector of Banks.

She was appointed PATT chairman in September 2015 but resigned some 17 months later, in February 2017.

It was reported she had left because of the huge workload at the port and could not dedicate the time required to perform the job efficiently.

But Sahadeo told Sunday Newsday it had become too “tiring” dealing with certain members of the board.

She again took issue with the tone of the JSC, saying: “I don’t think it’s fair because you have parliamentary privilege. People have taken advantage of it and I believe it is the Chair’s responsibility to make sure that questions asked are relevant to the issues at hand.” The former PATT chairman added: “I believe that some of the issues and matters that have been raised, I am not quite sure of the relevance to the issues before us. Respectfully so, because I am saying it is an abuse in some in stances. People have used it as a forum for really it being a soap box.” On the investigations into the procurement of the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower 2, Sahadeo said she did not wish to pre-empt the outcome of such probes by offering an opinion.

“I think each one gets a life of its own.” However, she said she hoped some consensus would be arrived at in moving the process to acquire vessels forward in the best interest of country. Sahadeo said acquiring proper vessels to service the inter-island route should not be a difficult process.

“But you must get the right configuration of the vessels,” she said.

Time to make port profitable Sahadeo said in mulling over the operations of the sea bridge to make it more commercially viable, the board had recommended the implementation of a penal system for customers who cancel their tickets outside of a certain time period.

“Because what you had happening is that they would say the vessel is full and then you have a no show of 20 per cent (customers) if not more sometimes. So that was one of a small area but sizeable, and to me it would make it more efficient.” Saying there was need to generate revenue to enable the Port Authority to be more self-sustaining “to a point,” Sahadeo said catering should not be a cost, but a revenue, “because you could outsource it.

People pay for it and therefore, it should be a revenue item.” She added: “Costs need to be looked at critically because I don’t think we looked at costs clinically enough. We also did not take time to differentiate the cost of moving cargo in terms of private, personal and commercial.

“We know we want to maintain the cost of living in Tobago but still feel the private entrepreneurs were getting away with a lot of very low subsidised costs.

“We subsidise a lot of other areas at the port. I don’t know if everybody is aware of some of these areas which the Government should not be subsidising.” Alluding to the economic downturn, Sahadeo said the time has come for Government to quickly re-evaluate the operations of the port with a view to making it more profitable.

“Government just does not have the money and, therefore, we have to make sure that all our activities, as best as possible, should be self-financing.

“I agree that we have always had a subsidy on the cost of the sea bridge. But the question is, “If we give private people, allow private entrepreneurs to ply the service, would that competition allow us to be more successful? It is a question that needs to be asked.” Sahadeo said there have been occasions when fewer than 20 people were on sailings. “It costs $100,000 in gasoline to go to Tobago. I believe we need to make a decision and pay the difference for them to fly.” She said efficiency also would redound to having the right size of vessel. “Because a vessel that is too small will not be able to serve the people of Trinidad and Tobago, but one which is in excess of our capacity is costly to operate and has a substantial drain on our resources.” Moving ahead and in the interest of accountability, Sahadeo said there must be a rewards system.

“I believe we should reward people for good work but similarly if you cannot do the job, that should also be dealt with.”

He began writing poetry in 1988 but did not perform until 1995 at the Islamic Resource Society (IRS).

He admitted that he did not know he was performing spoken- word poetry until he met fellow artist, Anthony “Nth Digri” Banfield, online in 2004.

_In 2005, he founded the Roots Foundation, inspired by The Power of Words, an annual emancipation lecture hosted by the IRS.

He also began writing a newsletter called Reflections of Our Oral Traditions. Solwazi said he founded the organisation “to provide a platform for unrecognised and uncelebrated poets to be heard.” _Eight years later, Solwazi created the Cascadoo Caribbean New Voices of Spoken Word Festival, a week-long project that originated out of a desire to provide a voice for the youth.

He felt spoken word was the best way to do it since it is “used as a medium of self-expression, realisation, storytelling and stress relief.” Solwazi said Cascadoo was “providing a global platform for cultural exchange,” adding that it was the main event the Roots Foundation hosted in an attempt to get spoken word recognised as a “catalyst for social change.” _Michael Logie, a Roots ambassador and spoken-word artist, explained that the Cascadoo project sought to directly engage youth, “especially those who are underprivileged or deemed delinquent by society.” Spoken-word artists from around the world were contacted and flown in to take part in the festival. These artists visited institutions such as St Jude’s Home for Girls, the Youth Training Centre (YTC) and the national library, Port of Spain, where workshops were held on the art of spoken word, storytelling and positive self-expression._ On the last day of the festival, local and international spoken word artists performed at the Santa Cruz Green Market and later at the Centre Point Mall, Chaguanas.

The variation of pieces, which were based on issues such as home, identity, racism, crime, standards of beauty and black excellence, attracted large crowds.

_Solwazi hopes that Cascadoo will continue to grow, engage more young people and expand into the Caribbean Brave New Voices, similar to the United States’ Brave New Voices festival, in which Roots members could take part.

Brave New Voices is an annual international festival that was started in 1998 by Youth Speaks Incorporated.

_Solwazi said the goal of the foundation was for more youth to have a voice, to be heard, to express themselves without violence and to be acknowledged as positive attributes to society.

American spoken-word artist and ambassador of the Roots Foundation, Lamont Carey said the foundation and Cascadoo “create a safe space for youth to dream with their eyes open as they live an experience they didn’t know how to bring to life.”

Sinanan made this comment in response to an allegation by Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal in Parliament that an “irrevocable letter of credit” was granted to BSG. Moonilal claimed the alleged letter was granted either by the ministry, Government or First Citizens Bank.

Sinanan said he was unaware of any such letter and would look into the matter. However the minister said, “like any contractual obligation, letters of credit would have been established as to the first vessel (Cabo Star).” He reminded MPs that the contract for the Ocean Flower 2 was cancelled. BSG is the owner of the Cabo Star and the Ocean Flower 2.

Sinanan also told MPs the Land and Physical Infrastructure joint select committee’s (JSC) enquiry into the domestic seabridge would provide “some answers” to solutions for the seabridge. The minister and BSG vice president Andre Purdey appeared before the JSC at Tower D on Tuesday. Separate investigations into the procurement of the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower 2 are also being conducted by Cabinet appointed investigator Christian Mouttet and the Integrity Commission.

Later in the sitting, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said Gail Miller Meade has been appointed acting CEO of the South West Regional Health Authority in the absence of current CEO Anil Gosine.