In his contribution on the debate in the Senate to raise the age of marriage from 12 to 18, Mahabir declared, “I am a pro choice advocate and I would like for us to step up with women’s rights as we talk about the marriage age.” He said that in raising the age of marriage to 18, girls should be given the option, should they become pregnant while underage, to have legal access to abortions.

“My position is that when you are going to service your car and you need to change the oil, you cannot change the oil only. You have to change the filter as well,” he said. “We cannot say we want to raise the marriage age so that we are going to confirm with greater gender equity and rights of women (and) girls without speaking and opening up the issue of abortion,” he said.

As the issue of gender equality, and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals were being looked at, he said, “We want to ensure that Trinidad and Tobago has stepped up its position with respect for equality to women.” He said that while there have been opposition to raising the age of marriage by the Muslim and Hindu communities, he said, he has not heard from the Orishas, and the Roman Catholics which is governed by canon laws and allow marriage at age 12 or even below in ceratin circumstance.

Yet he noted, that the Catholics, Hindus and Muslims were pioneers in the education of girls in TT.

Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Italy, he said “are all countries with huge Roman Catholic populations and they were mature enough not to allow religion to enter into the rights of the woman.” To that list he added, South Africa, India and Barbados that have legalised abortions.

For the record, he said, “I Senator Dhaneshwar Mahabir, am of the view that Act 11.08 Section 56 ought to be struck off our books,” he said.

And still the rights of women, Mahabir said that TT needs to look not only at the archaic abortion laws but laws governing homosexuality.

In the law books, he said, was “the most oppressive of laws” on homosexuality in this day and age that will incur a penalty of 25 years in jail.

It was wonderful, he said, that there was an Independent bench in the Parliament because partisan politicians were afraid to address the issue but he will.

Welcoming the resurgence of the debate on child marriage, UNTT in a release issued yesterday, reaffirmed its support for all efforts to end this practice.

Ending child marriage, UNTT said, will enhance the well-being of its citizens and advance achievement of its sustainable development vision.

Child marriage as defined by the United Nations Children’s Fund is “a formal or informal marital union engaged in by a person under age 18 (years).” UNTT said that child marriage “violates human rights and threatens the health and prospects of, in particular, young girls. In this way, it slows progress towards gender equality, and towards ending poverty __ in all circumstances and at all levels __ and it undermines all dimensions of sustainable development.” In addition, UNTT said, “It has been shown that child marriage undermines the rights of freedom of expression, protection from all forms of abuse, and protection from harmful traditional practices identified in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“Where are the women of these organisations? Is it that these organisations do not have women. It is only the men who are the talking point? That must be of concern to all of us,” she said during the debate yesterday to amend the country’s marriage laws.

Nevertheless, she thanked the many religious leaders “who are out there trying to end child marriage” noting that changing stubborn behaviour was immensely challenging. Referring to contributions made by two United National Congress temporary senators at the start of the debate last week, Baptiste- Primus said the Senate was subjected to “some of the most unthinkable, unbelievable, mind-boggling and deceptive submissions from the Opposition.” Speaking not only as a Government minister, but as a mother and grandmother, she said, “Me belly boiling over some of what I have heard.” What baffled her, she claimed, was that the Temporary Senators and “some not so temporary” have been deliberately planted in the Senate to oppose the amendments being sought by Government.

“It is the most disingenuous grandstand of insincerity that I have witnessed in years,” she said asking when will the Opposition “cease playing with the minds of people.” On the statement made by Temporary UNC Senator Pundit Bhadase Seetahal that marriage was “a strategy”, she opposed it and quoted instead from a document coming from President of the the Hindu Women’s Organisation Brenda Gopeesingh, which said marriage was a sacrament, a contract for personal protection and comfort, and a lawful custom to bring stability to the home.

Baptiste-Primus acknowledged the presence of Gopeesingh and other women’s leaders, who were in the visitors’ gallery listening to debate, for their years of yeoman service for the protection of women and girls.

Attempting to clear the air on the Muslim and Hindu religious leaders making their contributions through the Opposition benches as temporary senators, UNC Senator Khadija Ameen said that the Leader of the Opposition Kamla Persad- Bissessar must be commended for allowing the voices of other interest groups to be heard.

“Their views have been criticised but they are real. They are part of our multicultural society and we must give an ear to those views,” she said.

He continued, “We therefore ask citizens to be cognisant of this fact before considering utilising the service offered by the company.” The minister indicated a letter has been sent to the agents of Uber requesting a meeting with them today. Reminding senators that the ministry issued a statement on Monday about the proposed Uber service, Sinanan said further information will be provided to the public once this meeting takes place.

Uber, the location- based “taxi” app, launched its service in Trinidad at 11 am on Monday, with soca star Machel Montano being its first local customer.

The ministry subsequently indicated it was “seeking legal advice to determine if the service can continue to operate within TT’s legislative framework” and has advised the public to “exercise caution and due diligence.” The ministry said “a major concern” regarding Uber’s operation in TT is whether private vehicles would be used for hire.

The ministry said the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act provides that “no person shall drive on any road, a taxi registered as such, unless he is the holder of a taxi driver’s licence issued to him by the Licensing Authority under these regulations.” The ministry continued, “When you travel with an authorised taxi, you are ensuring that the relevant checks and balances have taken place. Further, the use of a private vehicle for hire is contrary to its registration

The veteran cricketer and businessman, who received thunderous applause from the audience, also won a slew of other awards, including highest wicket-taker in the T20 League and Best Batting Average in the Sunday League.

Baksh also topped the list of the club’s five Cricketers of the Year.

The other players were Narad Singh, Ricardo Hernandez, Khishorn Hosein and Oje Morales, who had won the club’s 2015 Cricketer of the Year title.

At the event, young Brandon Dookhieram won the President’s Award as well as an award in the category Most Promising Player while Navin Bidaisee was declared Most Disciplined Player and Junior Cricketer of the Year.

In delivering the feature address, Baldath Mahabir, a Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) executive member, praised the club for its years of unwavering service to sport.

He said this commitment has led, in small measure, to the success of many of the community’s outstanding sportsmen.

Mahabir also noted the success of the club’s T20 League, which was introduced a few years ago.

“You already have the model for success to go forward. All you have to do is stitch the pieces together,” he said, lauding the contribution of the club’s president, Lewis Tom.

Reflecting on sport, both globally and home, Mahabir said attempts must be made to minimise the disruptive effects of errant players.

Sportswomen, he said, also should not be abused or disrespected.

Mahabir said at a time when village clubs were fast becoming a thing of the past, Biche Sports Club stood out as a shining example.

“In the early days, village clubs were voluntary organisations…..

We played and prayed together,” he said.

However, the sports administrator lamented that village clubs were now a dying breed, largely because of urban migration, technological change and the commercialisation of sport.

“They remain challenged by entities with better infrastructure,” he said, acknowledging that the club has for the most part survived these situations.

Mahabir said while there was no harm in experiencing other communities, one did not have to live in Biche to contribute to the village’s success in sport of any other endeavour.

He urged: “Draw on your goodwill and social capital. Trust is a great asset we don’t really build upon.

Encourage those who have left to come and help the village and lobby for improvement in your village.” Mahabir said persons must always seek ways and means to build their club.

“Always say what I can do for my club instead of what it can do for me,” he said.

Mahabir, a former director of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), said special attention must be paid to the young and less fortunate in the society.

Longtime Biche native Roosevelt Nicome, who had migrated to the US decades ago, but has since returned to TT, hailed the club as one of the most popular sporting organisations in the country.

The retired educator, who has maintained close ties with Biche, over the years, praised the area’s community spirit.

“That says something nice,” he said. Nicome, too, spoke highly of Tom’s involvement in sport.

“Lewis Tom has been organising sports or umpteen years, making efforts to bring the youths together in this growing agricultural area,” he said.

He urged Tom to “keep on doing what you are doing.” Kelvin Mohammed, president of the south-east zone, also spoke.

OTHER AWARDEES:

EDUCATION
Antonio Walcott
Kareem Swan
Nadia Sylvester

SPECIAL AWARDS –
Kayl; or Baboolal –
Ladies Football (International)
Arianne Neaves – Ladies Hardball Cricket

ASSISTANCE TO THE CLUB
Karen Khan-Morales
Jordanelle Williams
Deann Tom-Walcott
Stacey Tom
Michael Gooding
Cyril Jagdeo
Alvin Bidaisee
Patrick Morales
Sarah Mootoor.

This event is in its 35th consecutive year, easily the longest running marathon in the Caribbean. The TT IM starts at St Mary’s Junction, Freeport and culminates at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain. Start time will be 5 am with slow runners and walkers beginning at 3.30am.

Following the very successful hosting of the Marathon Relay in 2016, over 35 teams have already signed up to complete the 2017 Relay over the same marathon course. The TT IM weekend will jump start on January 28 with the 5K at the Queen’s Park Savannah from 4pm with Mayor of Port of Spain Joel Martinez starting the race.

Chepses will face strong opposition from two other Kenyans, Stanley Sang and Erick Kiprono with the local competition being headed by the evergreen Curtis Cox, winner in 2005 and the TT Male Road Runner of the Year for 2016. Another local to watch will be the up and coming youngster Kieve “Magicman” Gibson with Joe Church of Pennsylvania, USA an intriguing entrant.

Last year’s female champion Leah Kigen and the 2015 female champion Truphena Busieni have both entered the 2017 edition.

However, they will face a challenge from TT star Tonya Nero who stormed past two Canadians in the finishing straight to win the Half Marathon in Barbados last month. Christine Regis, a leading TT female runner in the 2015 and 2016 editions will also face the starter, with Karen Samuel of Great Britain and Sidy Diallo of France two other women to watch.

Brian Lewis, the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee will once again be at St Mary’s Junction to start at 3.30am with his team #10Gold 24

After being overlooked by the selectors of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, Cooper was understandably disappointed but is looking to show the Leewards they made the right choice in selecting him.

“After I passed the bowling test in December I made myself available, participated in trial matches and still wasn’t selected.

Obviously I’m disappointed that I was not selected but I am not surprised because of the way cricket is being run here in TT ,” he said. Well when one door closes another one opens and the T20 veteran of 149 games was grateful for the opportunity to play cricket at this level again after two years.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in Leeward Islands Cricket who made this possible, from the president Enoch Lewis, Chief Operations Officer (COO ) Vernon Springer, coach Reginald Benjamin and captain Kieran Powell. I will give 100 percent for my team because this is something I love to do and I am anxious to rebound from my rough 2016. Also, I hope I can share some experiences with my new teammates,” he declared.

Reflecting on his last year, the former Rajasthan Royals IPL player, explained, “2016 was a very rough year for me in terms of my bowling action being questioned and reported. After the Bangladesh Premier League I went to the Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India and I passed the bowling test. So I’m happy to be back and hopefully I can contribute in anywhere I can.” Commenting on the emotional roller coaster of doing yet another bowling test, Cooper admitted, “I was a bit nervous for the test but God is good. I am feeling more relieved now as I got that out of the way. Hopefully I can get back into the T20 circuit especially in the Indian Premier League and continue to ply my trade and fulfil my dream.” While preparing for the cricket season this year, the 27-yearold had a busy Christmas period on and off the field but enjoyed it a lot.

“I was happy to be part of the Bravo XI vs Cooper XI (charity match), Darren (Bravo) got the idea of having the charity football match that was held on December 30 for the people of Santa Cruz after he attended mine in Arima 10 days earlier,” he said. Suiting up for Bravo XI were Sheldon Bateau, Kenwyne Jones, Derron Davis, Stephan David and resident players of Santa Cruz. The guest team Cooper XI won the match 4-1 with a star studded team comprising of Kevin Molino, Joevin Jones, Mikhail Williams, Stern John, Clayton Ince, Shane Calderone and cricketers Lendl Simmons and Rayad Emrit.

At Cooper’s Family Day there was a five-team football tournament and activities for children such as face paintings, bouncy castles, refreshments and gifts.

“We as national athletes can try and motivate the youths to a better direction in life with us leading by example. As role models in the country we are trying to inspire youths to let them know that sport is a way of life, it can also be seen as doing something you like and getting paid,” he pointed out.

Bravo and Pooran have been debarred from national selection until their problems with the West Indies Cricket Board officials have been sorted out and given their clearance to resume their regional and international careers.

Cooper has been overlooked by the Red Force and will also be hoping for an outstanding allround performance ahead of the Regional Super50 where he will be competing with the Leeward Islands.

West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel will line up with Queen’s Park while youthful all-rounders Yannic Cariah and Akeal Hosein will also showcase their talent in a match that will be brimful of interest.

Former senior opener Justin Guillen will lead Queen’s Park.

The Red Force team will be led by West Indies senior player and newly-appointed captain Denesh Ramdin. Also on the Red Force team today are West Indies ODIs opener Evin Lewis, Kyle Hope, Jason Mohammed, Imran Khan, Ravi Rampaul, Rayad Emrit, Jon Russ Jaggessar, Kjorn Ottley, Sheldon Cottrell plus newcomers Khary Pierre, Nicholas Alexis, and Roshon Primus.

While national coach Gus Logie will be hoping that the TT Red Force will emerge as a clear winner in the match, Queen’s Park coach David Furlonge stressed that his team will be playing to win the encounter.

Furlonge said: “We are preparing for our 2017 season and the players will be giving of the best to win the match. They (TT Red Force) are preparing for the Super50 tournament and they would want to win too so we should witness some exciting cricket action.” Queen’s Park have short-listed fourteen players that include Justin Guillen (captain), Jeremy Solozano, Darren Bravo, Yannic Cariah, Nicholas Pooran, Darron Cruikshank, Joshua deSilva (wicketkeeper), Jervon Searles, Shannon Gabriel, Akeal Hosein, Namir Seupaul (off-spinner), Marlon Barclay and Tion Webster.

Nestled in the bosom of Maraval, Trinity Courts, Moka, people began arriving before the scheduled 4 pm start for the first major all-inclusive event of Carnival 2017. The entertainment line-up included Roy Cape All Stars featuring Blaxx and Ricardo Drue, Dil-E-Nadan, 3canal, Shal Marshall, GBM Nutron, Farmer Nappy doing an impromptu performance with Destra Garcia of their song “Technically”, Orlando Octave, Jamaican/New York artiste Jason “Linky First” Henriques, Olatunji Yearwood, 2016 Soca Monarch winner Aaron “Voice” St Louis, Rupert “Rupee” Clarke, St Lucia’s Teddyson John and Antiguan Tizzy.

Although the crowd was less than last year’s attendance, the event was well-enjoyed by patrons.

The fete saw women and men wearing an array of fashionable dresses and outfits.

Bake and shark, Indian, creole, crab and dumpling, corn soup, fajitas, doubles, ice cream and Chinese were among the menu offering with a well-stocked bar.

As feters entered they were greeted with cups with Lotto Plus blue or white rags in them and then filtered seamlessly through the semi-circular venue, with tents and chairs at the centre for those interested in sitting and dining.

DJ Alicia D Duchess ran through soca’s playbook, intermingling soca hits across the ages with 2017’s heavy hitters.

There was little doubt, by the crowd’s reaction, that Ultimate Rejects’ “Full Extreme” – of which MX Prime (formerly Maximus Dan) is a clear crowd favourite for this year’s Carnival.

Calypso Rose’s “Leave Me Alone” featuring Machel Montano and Orlando Octave’s “Single” were following closely behind.

Performances began at 5.55 pm with hosts Nikki Crosby and Jason “JW” Williams introducing 3canal. The trio began with the “Run de Riddim”, then moved into “Las Carnival”. The swelling crowd gravitated to the stage as the group performed. Its cover of Lord Laro’s “Irie Tempo” had the crowd dancing.

“Good Morning Neighbour” was swiftly followed by “Talk Yuh Talk” which Wendell Manwarren dedicated to US President- elect Donald Trump. The group also announced that it was celebrating 20 years on the local music scene.

Dil-E-Nadan delighted with a mix of old and new. The group covered 2016 hits such as Teddyson John’s “Allez” and Devon “Lyrikal” Martin’s “Cloud 9”. The band paid special tribute to Pal “Joey” Lewis who died early last year. This moved some patrons to show of their ballroom dancing steps.

Barbadian Omar “Marz Ville” Mc Quilkin performed “Bang Bim” much to the crowd’s delight.

The feters saw a number of surprise singers hitting the stage among them Rupert “Rupee” Clarke who announced that this year’s single “Tipsy” was signed by North American Record Label, Ultra Music. The Barbadian singer who gained international notoriety with his 2004 hit “Tempted to Touch” returned to the stage at Moka running through his famous soca songbook which had many in the crowd singing along.

The event also saw notable people attending, among them Sharon Rowley, wife of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and their daughter, Tonya Rowley- Cuffy.

The band was advertised as Blaxx, Ricardo Drue and the All Stars for the Central Bank’s all-inclusive fete on its Facebook page. However, the band’s new publicist Tenille Clarke told Newsday the name stays the same for now as the band focuses on building its musicianship.

There was confirmation by the fete’s organisers that the name change was an error. In other information at Ticketfederation.com the bank’s page says: “You will be entertained by the sounds of Kes the Band, Blaxx, Ricardo Drue and the All Stars (formerly Roy Cape All Stars), and Dil-E-Nadan.” The band featuring Blaxx, Drue and Tanzania “Tizzy” Sebastian performed at Soka in Moka, Trinity Courts, Maraval last Sunday.

Clarke said: “With regards to the band, Roy Cape has been in the business for the last 31 or 32 years, he has kind of stepped away from the limelight a little bit but we also have to be able to maintain a standard of integrity and quality that he has built from the musicianship perspective.” The band made several changes with the addition of St Lucia’s Teddyson John and “Tizzy” from Antigua.

There was an attempt, Clarke added, to make the band more Caribbean- inclusive.

“We are already anchored in Trinidad but it is important for TT, the rest of the Caribbean and then the rest of the world to know what Roy Cape is about. It is about musicianship. It is about good vocals and it is about putting on a performance that everyone would be able to remember,” she said.

She said there were not many brand changes this year but that the public would be informed when it happens.

Asked about the iconic musician’s name not appearing as part of the band for Central Bank’s all-inclusive fete, Clarke said, “that was probably an error. If you look at all of the other events that are being advertised, Roy Cape is being advertised featuring Blaxx, Ricardo Drue and Tizzy.” Asked if the name will remain the same despite Cape no longer being a central feature, Clarke said, “We hope so but we are not entirely sure as yet but right now we are just focused on Roy Cape All Stars and that’s it.” She was firm that the Roy Cape was still the band’s owner and its head. “Papi still has ownership of the band.

Roy Cape is still very much the brand. He is still the head. He still very much has input and converses with the musical director. He would always be the leader of the band. His advice is integral to how the band operates,” she said.

“When people think about Carnival, people automatically have a tendency to think about TT but as a ‘Caribbeanist’ cultural institution because Roy Cape is often referred to as a university of music. It is our duty and Papi always felt that it was his duty to extend the reach and assistance where he can. He has never been someone about self. He has always tried to inculcate in the organisation that we have the opportunity to share with the rest of the world.” She said there would be some surprises which would demonstrate that it was not just about TT. The band did a video tribute to Roy Cape before the start of its performance at Soka in Moka.