Keith Rowley to discuss the details as it pertains to the continuation of work on the highway.

At a press conference yesterday, held at the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) headquarters at Paramount Building in San Fernando, Kublalsingh said major setbacks would occur if government fails to adhere to his advice and proceeds with the continuation of that segment of the highway.

“We are talking about the destruction of the historical food system,” Kublalsingh said. “The segment from Debe to Mon Desir is running through 13 communities and will have a significant impact on our ecology. We have nine miles cutting through 150 homes, 119 farms, mosques, temples and churches. They have not studied the ecological impact and the social impact.” Kublalsingh said he does not want to believe that all hope is lost. “All I am asking for is a meeting with the prime minister.

We have been fighting this struggle for 15 years. We will sit together even if it takes four or five months and work this out.” He said if Rowley fails to respond, the HRM would conclude that Parliament no longer responds to the advocacy of science.

He said that it seems that Parliament is an affliction to the people and “we will have to deconstruct it”. Kublalsingh’s sister, attorney Judy Kublalsingh said that for over two years, the group has made over 70 attempts to meet with Rowley but all attempts have been unsuccessful.

She said letters were hand delivered to Rowley’s office and contact made via phone calls and emails.

“On three occasions Dr Rowley agreed to meet. Dr Rowley agreed to a meeting with two members of the HRM’s support group which he cancelled,” she said.

“Dr Rowley agreed to another meeting, but while HRM members were on our way to meet him an official called to re-schedule the meeting.” She said that on another occasion, the HRM wrote requesting a meeting in August 2016 and in September the Prime Minister assured them of a meeting.

Commenting on the issue in the Senate on Wednesday, Robinson- Regis explained that the former People’s Partnership (PP) regime agreed by Cabinet minute of August 4, 2015,” to the payment of the sum of $57,965,675 to cane farmers as the final settlement to the 2007 transitional payment out of the sugar industry.” She explained this sum is the equivalent of eight million euros received from the European Union (EU) for payment to cane farmers.

Robinson-Regis said the Direct Cane Farmers Delivery Group and the Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers Association agreed last September to the compensation package that was offered.

She stated that under this package, 2,324 cane farmers are eligible to receive,”an amount equal to 53 percent of the sum of tranches two and three.” According to Robinson- Regis, “In this compensation to former cane farmers, the highest money value is a little over $500,000 and the minimum or lowest payment is $12,000.” She added, “It is in keeping with the previous agreement that depends on the value of the cane farmer production.” The minister said payments of $12,000; between $12,000 and $100,000; between $100,001 and $200,000; $200,001 and $300,000; $400,001 and $500,000 and $500,001 and $600,001 were made to 644; 1,638; 34, six; one and one farmers, respectively.

She explained this, “makes it a total of $84,965,675 in addition to the already paid sum of $82,111,774 paid to cane farmers in 2007.” Robinson-Regis said to date cheques have been prepared for 97 cane farmers which amounts to $2, 413,306. Indicating that payment to cane farmers continues daily, Robinson-Regis said although the Cane Farmers Association of TT (CFATT) and Cane Farmers Co-operative Society (CFCS) have taken legal action, this does not debar individual farmers from coming into the ministry and accepting the payments.

While the eight million EU grant was not intended to be a cash payment to cane farmers, Robinson-Regis said the PP agreed in January 2015, that further cash payment be made from the grant.

Having determined that cane farmers had already received a substantial amount of money and many had already transitioned out of the sugar industry, Robinson- Regis said Government decided that the eight million euros be the, “the only amount given in cash to the cane farmers.”

To transition to e-filing, new electronic court management software was installed at the Trinidad- based appellate court.

Practice directions took effect on January 10, when the court term opened for 2017.

“Technological solutions will enable the CCJ, and courts in the region, to be more efficient and responsive. At the CCJ this process started some time ago when it introduced filing by email in 2013. The transition to e-Filing, which the new court management software facilitates, is a logical progression that allows litigants to file documents online and therefore enhances access to the Court and ultimately enables greater access to justice,” resident of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Sir Dennis Byron, was quoted in a news release from the CCJ’s public information and communication unit.

Sir Dennis noted that, since inception, technology has been successfully integrated into the operations of the CCJ.

Registered participants can access the software using the court’s website, www.ccj.org. The system also offers a performance management tool kit for judges and administrators of the court, the statement said, as it provides access to data and reports.

The new court management software suite was designed by Courtechs, a technology company with offices in the United States and the Caribbean, that specialises in services for the legal services sector and the judiciary.

Patricia Sorzan told. Newsday yesterday that. several complaints were. made to the authority. and to date they still remain. without water supply.

“The leak hole in the. road is right in front of. my house and it is huge,”. Sorzan said. “Most of the. residents kept calling on. WASA and some went. into the office. After. persistent calls from the. residents, WASA came. within the first week and. did some repairs. But. three days after where. the hole was, the water. started shooting out of. the hole again.”. She added, “We tried. calling the office to inform. them about the. situation but all calls to. their phone lines went. unanswered.”. Sorzan explained that. the water leak is affecting. their daily water supply.

“When water comes in. the pipe, due to the leak,. the pressure is really low. and not strong enough. to reach my tanks. Residents. who live further up. on the hill do not get any. water at all,” she said.

Sorzan explained that. last week she spoke with. a WASA employee to. enquire about the leak. and was told that they. are aware of the problem. and they (WASA) did. not have the equipment. to deal with the problem. at the moment.

When Newsday contacted. WASA’s Senior. Manager of Corporate. Communications, Daniel. Plenty, said he acknowledged. the report. and promised to look. into the matter to render. some relief to the residents. as soon as possible.

.

The Ombudsman is an independent office under the Constitution (Section 91) that investigates people’s complaints against any public agency for their act or omission to act.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2001 gives the public a general right of access to official information held by public bodies, and said a person denied such may after 21 days complain to the Ombudsman.

Despite a marked fall in requests for her to review State agencies’ handling of FOI requests, Stephenson said public officers need training in how to deal with such requests analytically and dispassionately.

“I have also observed that the responses given to applicants tend to be vague and do not provide any justification for the decision(s) taken by the public authority,” Stephenson said. “Additionally, I have noted that designated officers who may be seeking to restrict access to the information requested will refer to a section in the Act which is not applicable or relevant to the request(s) made by the applicant.” She wondered at such occurrences, as the FOI Act has existed since 2001.

“Individuals charged with the responsibility for treating with the Freedom of Information (FOI) requests should be more knowledgeable and be able to interpret in a meaningful way the provisions of the Act,” Stephenson urged.

“Secondly, public authorities are not diligent in keeping to the time-lines specified under the Act. Designated officers and, by extension public authorities, do not treat FOI requests received with the sense of urgency and priority which they ought to be given.” She said public bodies must recognise their statutory duty to address requests for information within 30 days.

Saying public servants are paid by the taxpayer, she urged them to practice the “golden rule” and to treat persons how they themselves would like to be treated.

“The public has a right to be treated fairly,” urged Stephenson.

“It is not right that someone who has travelled from Moruga to Port-of-Spain to enquire about his matter, which is being dealt with by a Government department, to be told to return the following day since the officer dealing with his matter did not turn up for work on that day.

“The officer’s absence ought not to be used by the department concerned to renege from its responsibility to provide the requested service to the individual.” While some bodies do not treat her letters as urgent, she said officers she have summoned under the Ombudsman Act have not challenged her authority but have produced satisfactory results.

Saying public officials should not fear her, Stephenson quoted a British author on public law urging public officials to view the Ombudsman as a friend who serves as a lightening rod for true grievances and spares public bodies from political storms in the long run.

She said her office builds trust between government and the public.

Her report said the Ombudsman’s five main issues are poor communication, poor service (including inability to reach a public servant, unfair treatment and unfair policies), unpredictable enforcement, faulty decision and unreasonable delay. The report gave details in several tables of data.

Her office had before it 2,767 complaints in 2015, made up of 1,293 new complaints and 1,474 old complaints brought forward from past years.

The 1,293 new complaints comprised of 763 queries against public bodies, seven matters under the FOI Act, 407 enquiries/referrals and 116 private/ invalid matters.

Of the 763 figure, the five top offenders were the National Insurance Board (175 complaints), Ministry of National Security (80 complaints), Ministry of Local Government (73 complaints) and Ministry of Social Development (64 complaints).

According to the ESCTT Chairman Kafra Kambon, Wilson, who was at “the centre of the public education programme of the Emancipation Support Committee for the last 20 years, has had a distinguished career as a regional planner with a number of international agencies, state organisations and private sector firms in North America, Africa – where he lived and worked for a number of years – and the Caribbean.

Wilson was also a partner in a private consultancy planning firm.

“As a committed member of civil society,” Kambon said, “ Brother Tracy, gave his service to African organisations in Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean and the diaspora. His was a stellar contribution to the upliftment, transformation and development of African people wherever he resided.” Wilson was trained in North America and held a Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from New York’s Pratt Institute.

He received his undergraduate training at the University of Waterloo, Canada, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and at the New York City Community College where he received an associate degree in construc tion technology. The ESCTT thanked the doctors and nurses of the St James Cancer Treatment Centre and Ward 24 of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for the care they provided to Wilson “and the dignity with which he was allowed to make his transition.” The ESCTT, Kambon said, will hold a wake on Monday at 7pm at Emancipation House, 5B Bergerac Road, Maraval. His “transition ceremony” is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 am at Emancipation House then on to the Belgrove Crematorium, Tacarigua, for cremation at 2 pm. His body will be available for viewing between 8 am and 9 am on Tuesday.

“The person who should be fired is David John-Williams.

They should fire him now. The guy has poor judgement, he doesn’t understand football…He believes football is of course like Nescafe – quick fix. He doesn’t know that in football there is no quick fix. There is instant coffee, there is instant chocolate, there is not instant in football.” Warner believes Saintfiet was asked to resign after losing three out of his first four matches with the team not gelling and squabbles with several senior players.

“I feel like he and Williams came to some agreement whereby he would resign and save Williams the embarrassment. But the fact is he was fired yesterday and they are dressing it up as if it was a resignation,” he said.

Is there anything the current TT FA boss could do to get football back on the right track? “Except to resign and to appoint a coach as Dennis Lawrence to guide the football for the next five years,” Warner replied.

Lawrence, who headed the winning goal against Bahrain 12 years ago to get TT to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, has made a name for himself in England as an assistant coach to ex-Everton manager Roberto Martinez.

Meanwhile, former manager of the national football team, Bruce Aanensen, believes a local coach may be a suitable replacement for Saintfeit. Aanensen, who managed the national team from April 2005 to August 2006, said, “I think the transition depending on who they replace Saintfeit with it could be easier or it could be more difficult. I don’t know if they intend to look at a local coach for those two games (World Cup qualifiers against Mexico/Panama in March) and look for a foreign coach in the longer term or whether they have some foreign coach in mind.” The former manager says members of the TT FA have to look at themselves. “It is a serious indictment on the football association that they would hire somebody like this guy and then get rid of him in no time. He may have resigned but basically they get rid of him.” Aanensen, who was the manager of the national team during the 2006 World Cup in Germany said it will be challenging for a foreign coach to come on board at this late stage. “Now for a new foreign coach to come in at this stage it is going to be difficult. The local coaches have a better appreciation of the players we have.” Aanensen said there is the issue of alleged indiscipline within the TT team that has to be addressed.

“We need to get everybody on the same page, we need to lay down the law of the land to the players of what they can and cannot do.

It’s a situation where we need to regroup as a country, regroup as a team, bring all the players that we need in and see who is available and who wants to play and then make some decisions going forward from there.”

A shortage of staff includes the Office being without a legal officer and the President himself, without a personal assistant.

These were some of the revelations made by Secretary to the President and chief accounting officer of the Office of the President Gregory Serrette who yesterday also told a parliamentary Public Administration and Appropriation Committee meeting chaired by Bridgid Annisette- George that, “As a result of under-staffing members of staff are regularly asked to perform excessive duties on various schedules.” The Office was operating, he said, “under inherent systems and procedures that need improving and updating.” There is also no Comptroller of House, with the Fleet Chief Petty Officer taking on the role of Comptroller responsible for making decisions with regard to purchases.

The Office is entitled to spend $1 million to $2 million and to have its own tender committee.

Asked how he was dealing with the staff shortage, Serrette said that in the past, requests were made to the Service Commissions and the Public Management Consulting Division of the Ministry of Public Administration, but to no avail. “We intend to make further requests,” Serrette said.

In response, to the Office requiring an annual budget of $693,000 for replacing minor equipment, given there is no system in place for non-perishable items, Serrette said, “minor expenditure covers air conditioning units, furniture, furnishing and not only non-perishable items.” Also questioned was the sum of $50,000, spent annually for bulbs and tubes and allocation for a personal assist to the President, when there is none.

Asked how often was the inventory register at the Office audited, Serrette said on a quarterly basis, by the internal auditor. The last internal audit of the Office, he said, was last August/September.

Told that the last Auditor General’s report referenced that items furniture and equipment costing over $129, 000 and items costing over $300,000 were not entered into the inventory register, Serrette said, “Those items were in the inventory register of the House.” He said there was an inventory register for the Office and one for the House. He said the entry was subsequently entered into the household register.

The use of the Presidential Seal also came under scrutiny as it was noted that it had been used on consumables such as chocolates and beverages. To this, Serrette said, the crest was used on non-perishable items and all the items would be covered in the inventory register. However, assistant secretary Chandra Mahadeo said it was not used on perishable items, but on a chocolate wrapper which was “an isolated situation where it was given to members of the diplomatic corps”, during a function. She said she “thinks” this was entered into the inventory register.

Asked if there was a conflict of interest policy within the governing structure at the Office, Serrette said the Office follows guidelines set out by the Integrity Commission Act.

“There was no instance of conflict of interest as far as I know.” In terms of employing staff and there being no human resources department, and when asked about the hiring practices, a legal officer from the Office attempted to answer the question which would have involved naming President Anthony Carmona.

However, committee chair Annisette- George cautioned that the President was not being held accountable, but the chief accounting officer for the Office.

In terms of who he accounts to, Serrette said that the Office of the President does not form part of the public service and he was not part of any performance assessment.

His role and responsibilities were given to him by the Ministry of Finance.

RBC is also “consolidating” part of its operations in Pt Lisas to its Couva branch “to ensure that we maintain an enhanced sales presence in Pt Lisas while at the same time effectively serving our clients and key stakeholders in the Couva district.” All of this is being done, the bank told Newsday, “to better serve our clients and those communities”.

As such, RBC has offered “attractive” Voluntary Separation and Voluntary Early Retirement packages to “impacted employees”.

These offers “are designed to help employees make a personal choice about their future.” Regarding the impact on its clients, RBC said it has developed a comprehensive communications plan to inform them about these changes.

Asked when the affected branches would be merged/consolidated, RBC told Newsday an exact closing date for the Carlton Centre branch is expected by February 1, since employees there have already been informed of the merger with High Street, San Fernando.

An announcement about the exact date of the Chaguaramas and West Mall merger as well as the consolidation of Pt Lisas and Couva; the Couva branch will be “enhanced”, is expected by the end of March.

Staff were reportedly called into meetings on Wednesday and informed of plans to make RBC a digitally-enabled bank, that some branches would be closed and were offered Voluntary Separation of Employment Programme (VSE P).

While not making reference to the content of its staff meetings, RBC told Newsday, “In the future, RBC will not be defined solely by its physical presence but rather as an organisation with an accessible multi-channel distribution network that brings us closer to our clients, supported by digital innovation, self-serve channels, re-designed branches, a Client Contract Centre and a proactive mobile sales force that can meet clients anywhere and any time.” The bank, in a statement issued yesterday afternoon, noted that it has been “on a journey of improvement and transformation in the Caribbean”, leveraging technology and innovation to improve its clients’ experience “by investing in our channels, products, processes, systems and people, to become the leading bank in the region.” RBC said “this is all part of our strategy to transform the way we serve our clients – to make banking easier and more convenient for them.” “Having a physical presence in Trinidad and Tobago (TT) remains a critical part of our strategy and an important element of our brand and we will aim to make the branch network part of a larger, integrated advice and service delivery model in TT.”

Lee who is also Pointe-a-Pierre MP, made his claims as he responded to comments by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley in the latter’s address to the nation on Wednesday night.

“The tone of the Prime Minister’s address could not have been clearer, which perfectly depicts Government setting up the right scenario to privatise Petrotrin,” Lee said in a statement. Noting that Rowley’s address focused only on Petrotrin, Lee said the PM asked the population if they are “up to the task of grasping these exciting possibilities”, as it relates to future decisions on Petrotrin.

Against this background, Lee said, “The nation must now demand a clarion response to what are these ‘possibilities’ and whose best interests are served.” Lee said if Petrotrin is to be privatised, it is unfortunate that Rowley, “chose to speak in economic parables without being upfront with the population.” According to Lee, terms such as restructuring, burden on the economy and “give ourselves the best chance to succeed”, can all be interpreted as privatisation.

He claimed this interpretation was reinforced when Rowley included, “his signature stroke of scaring the population with the IMF (International Monetary Fund).”

Lee added that all of this, “strongly suggests a radical plan with respect to Petrotrin’s future.” The UNC chairman questioned whether Government breached and exploited the collective bargaining mechanism with the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU), “to create the perfect storm and justification for such moves.”

Claiming the events of the last week involving Petrotrin were perfectly stage managed, Lee stated, “The major concerns must be for those who will be directly impacted which are the employees.” He added, “So one must question will these possibilities include loss of jobs which have been a norm under this Rowley- led Government while what are the economic ramifications surrounding these future changes.” After asking what was the OWTU’s view on this, Lee concluded, “There must be transparency, accountability and proper national planning with any massive change as it can severely impacted the social and economic framework of our nation.”

For its part, Petrotrin yesterday in a statement said that following Rowley’s address, it is pursuing objectives with greater urgency.The company also restated its commitment to continue working with its line ministry, the Corporation Sole (the Ministry of Finance) as well as employee representatives towards aligning its strategic plans in accordance with the intent of the Prime Minister’s address.