Williams is expected to travel to Australia to be the recipient of an award from members of the International Women’s Police Association.

He will then travel to China to attend an INTERPOL conference for commissioners of police then proceed on a short vacation with loved ones.

Sources revealed that Phillip was also due to proceed on a three-month course in Washington which would have started in a few days’ time and Acting Deputy Commissioner Deodath Dulalchan would have acted as commissioner in the absence of Williams.

However, sources also revealed that Phillip and Acting Deputy Commissioner Earla Christopher, who was supposed to travel to Australia to attend a conference, were called to a meeting on Saturday and informed that they were not granted permission to leave the country.

It remained unclear why leave for the two officers was not granted.

As a result of the new development, Assistant Commissioner of Police Surujdean Persad will act as deputy commissioner of Police in charge of crime.

Efforts to contact both Williams and Phillip proved futile.

Phillip was reported to be in meetings with the Director or Public Prosecutions yesterday seeking direction in an investigation against former attorney general Anand Ramlogan.

Sources also revealed yesterday that, prior to proceeding on leave, Williams sent messages to several senior officers that they were transferred to various sections and branches.

“Why the change of heart?” she asked in a statement yesterday, noting his previous warning that the port construction could see a government doing a compulsory acquisition of lands at Toco, only for them to be given to their political financiers.

The MP hit Rowley for his Government’s incompetence on the sea bridge issues, as voiced by the Tobago Chamber of Commerce, the Tobago Hoteliers and Tourism Association, the Tobago Truckers Association and the Tobago Unique Bed and Breakfast and Self-Catering Association.

She said Rowley had recently reaffirmed the need to construct a ferry port at Toco, to create economic activity and link the people of Tobago and Toco, but she said this was a sharp departure from his previous condemnation of such a proposal when he was in the Opposition.

“He clearly cannot be trusted to lead this country if he cannot stay true to his own convictions.” She related Rowley’s stance in a parliamentary debate on crime July 28, 2000 when as an Opposition member, Rowley was very critical of any activity in Toco.

The MP quoted Rowley. “The basis for this port, is some Tobago to Toco ferry. Nobody in Tobago wants it; nobody in Tobago or Toco appreciates it; but that is the grease to have the product created.” “By saying that it is a Tobago to Toco ferry, the (past) Government is giving the impression that it is a public purpose and, under that category, the Government is now going to proceed to take away people’s homes to create this port. So, here we have a situation where those who are living on the land enjoying it now, protected by the law, the Government is seeking to find a mechanism to acquire their land, then give that land to other private citizens to make money. This Toco ferry port has nothing to do with the people of Tobago and Toco.” “Dr Rowley needs to come clean and let us know what has brought about his change in position,” she said. “When in Opposition he was critical of this project and declared that it was a money-making initiative by the then government.

“Does this change of heart allude to him or PNM financiers benefitting from this project?” She said National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) head Herbert George had said the Sangre Grande to Toco proposed highway to facilitate the ferry port, could cost $5 billion.

“The Prime Minister needs to tell us where this funding is coming from and how much will it cost to build the ferry port as well,” Gayadeen-Gopeesingh said. “This level of inconsistency and incompetence has trickled down to his Government ministers where we are now seeing esteemed ministerial positions being treated like CEPEP and URP ten days projects

However, as a retired pan jumbie, I take great pleasure in calling some names of pan women who have impressed me with their dedication and pan wizardry.

Here goes: Daisy James Mc Clean, pan’s oldest living female pioneer. Mc Clean played with the defunct Syncopators from age six, and is now fighting the good fight with the Harlem Syncopators Steel Orchestra.

Keep your chin up, Mc Clean.

Ursular Tudor, tenor player extraordinaire of Desperadoes.

Over the years, I have watched this woman play with ease and accuracy. I often wonder why she never moved up to the ranks of soloist, arranger and composer.

I understand that Tudor was recently injured in an accident. I am depending on pan lovers to show her some love by attending the benefit concert for her, put on by Desperadoes. Get well soon, Tudor This brings me to Massy Trinidad All Stars’ Nalo Sampson. For those who came in late, Sampson is the frontline tenor player who dances in high heels at Panorama competitions. I understand she is out with a “problem knee.” Take it easy, Sampson.

Last but by no means least is Natasha “Tasha” Joseph, who has been holding her own among the leading men who play the double seconds. This pannist, composer and arranger is not afraid to take on the baddest. Way to go, Joseph.

KEITH ANDERSON via email

Speaking with reporters during a tour of projects in the Diego Martin West constituency, Rowley said he had already given an undertaking for Tobago to have “greater input” in talks regarding a new vessel to service the seabridge.

The prime minister said when he met stakeholders on the island last week, “I offered to Tobago that when the next goaround which is happening now, of evaluating and selecting a vessel for Tobago, an evaluation team will be put in place to support the Port and that evaluation team will have a large Tobago input.

“One does not have to swim across the channel for that.” Rowley said he also had spoken about the expansion of the board of the Port to give Tobagonians a larger say, “to ensure that whatever the Port does because Tobagonians are so vulnerable to Port management issues, Tobagonians will have a bigger say.” He said this issue was already on the table.

“Those are all things that government put on the table . So that did not require a swim, a dive or whatever else,” Rowley added.

Early on Monday, Duke, accompanied by fellow minority assemblyman Farley Augustine and other supporters, swam for about an hour in the waters off Scarborough before being taken on board a jet ski and pirogue to get to Toco, to highlight the need for Tobagonians to have a greater say in managing their affairs, including the beleaguered sea bridge.

Rowley told reporters Duke did a very good job of pointing out that Tobago is not far from Trinidad.

“He has made a good case for the Toco port and the road to Toco and if there is a ferry service from Tobago, one would not have to struggle, to drown, to get a pirogue or to get a jet ski.

“All we need is to have that project of the development completed and have a good ferry service running back and forth over a 20-mile stretch of water which would be done on a 45-minute trip as against a fourhour trip.

“That is part of the development project that’s ongoing and nobody is swimming for that.” Rowley anticipates the report on businessman Christian Mouttet’s investigation into the procurement of the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower 11 vessels will be completed by the time he returns from his overseas trip within the next two weeks.

And, on Saturday, the Kendo Federation of Trinidad and Tobago will be staging a tournament at the St Paul Street Sports Complex, East Dry River, Port of Spain.

This contest will run from 1-4 pm and will include the Open and Women’s categories, while there will be awards for Kantosho and the Best Ippon, as well as the Japanese Embassy Cup for the overall winner. The Embassy Cup will be presented by a member of the Japanese Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago which has endorsed Saturday’s tournament.

Eddy Devisse, president of the Kendo Federation of Trinidad and Tobago, said, “We are really excited about this year’s championship and are expecting some great matches. Kendo is starting to grow in popularity here in Trinidad and Tobago and the National Championships and the awarding of the Japanese Embassy Cup is the highlight of our calendar.

“We hope that people will take the opportunity to come and see this dynamic and unique Japanese martial art and will be tempted to try it out for themselves.” The Kendo Federation of Trinidad and Tobago is the governing body for the sport locally and is recognised by both the International Kendo Federation and the Confederation of Latin American Kendo.

The sport of kendo began formally in the twin-island republic in 2004 and members practise on a weekly basis in Port of Spain.

Members have competed in a number of tournaments worldwide, including events in Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, Aruba, Cuba, Ecuador and Colombia.

In addition to local Kendo members, the National Championship will be attended by foreign guests from the United Kingdom, Mexico and Japan. Photo and video coverage of the event will be found on the KFTT’s Facebook page: www.fb.com/kendo4tt.

While the focus of the business is on car and home audio systems, they also specialize in camera systems installations as well as enclosure designs (DJ specific).

The siblings, who graduated from The University of the West Indies last October, both with a BSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Hons), have established themselves in the audio business hub, completing jobs both locally and regionally.

How did they do it? Passion and time management. “That is probably the two most important things that if anybody has they’ll be able to achieve anything. You need the passion and the drive… to achieve something. This is something we struggled with in running our business, trying to balance being a student, running the business, and being a young adult,” said Kavan.

He shared a big part of being able to continuously balance everything is the taste of success. Once you start to feel and understand what you can achieve, that taste of success can drive you so hard because it feels good that as you get that consistently, you realize that nothing can get in the way of your dreams.

“What we offer is unlike what other companies provide in the audio industry,” said Kavan. “We ensure that if a banjo is playing at the left and a guitar is playing at the right, the client can hear both instruments clearly.” Ravan, the more technical of the two, shared the factors considered to achieve a comprehensive quality sound system. “Driver positioning, digital/ analog processing, vehicle dynamics, resonance as well as speakers positioning in the vehicle which can lead to the delaying of sounds.” Aside from these factors the brothers’ main concerns are safety and environmental disturbance, “We also deal with the vibrations of the systems to keep the environment quiet,” said Ravan. “For security reasons, we ensure that everything is properly fused, connected and bolted.” With years of experience in audio, the brothers use a standardized disk to listen to the sounds to ensure the best quality is provided to their clients.

This is known as the signal processing phase. This phase deals with time alignment, “to align all the speakers to get the sound to your ear at the same time,” said Kavan. that this process aims to create a ‘phantom image’.

Ravan explained the interior of a car or house presents some serious issues for sound quality. Glass and plastic surfaces reflect sound poorly, while carpet, seat covers, and other absorbent materials soak it up. With poorly-placed speakers, he said, there would be significant frequency response peaks in most car interiors or households. These peaks make the music sound “boomy” in the bass or shrill in the upper frequencies, causing ‘ear fatigue’. “To prevent this, we use an equalizer to iron out the peaks for a smooth flow,” Ravan said.

“We try to capture every aspect of how the music is recorded in the studio or in a concert. If you don’t feel like you are sitting in front of stage with people performing, you have the wrong sound system.” Ravan was adamant, however, that they are responsible businessmen.

“We had to turn down clients because what they wanted wasn’t part of our moral system,” he said. “We create safe but quality systems, and if a customer wants a system that can be of danger to the environment or unsafe, we decline the job.”

We must begin to take crime more seriously as the attitude of many seems to be “we jammin’ still” as the murder rate continues to escalate with no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Conventional wisdom says that many murders cannot be prevented, that the police and community at large are relatively powerless and helpless to drastically reduce the incidents of violent and heinous crimes.

In order to be effective the Government must display strong moral leadership. It’s time to assert our independence from crime. By changing the traditional approach, the number of homicides can be reduced more successfully.

Murder has always been regarded as the most serious of all criminal offences. The fluctuating murder rate over the last few years has riveted the population and remains a top priority for the Ministry of National Security.

Crime and violence are robbing us of our human capital which is our most precious and valuable resource.

High crime and violence rates present a huge challenge to the development of a country as they have an adverse effect on human welfare in the short term and economic growth in the long term.

Sadly, the rise in violent crime has been among the top issues facing our nation today. And crime remains the most important issue on the minds of Trinidadians.

According to the Untied Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, murder rates in the Caribbean, averaging 30 per 100,000 people, are higher than any other region of the world.

The Caribbean is especially vulnerable to crime as it suffers from the disadvantage of being situated between the world’s source of cocaine (South America) and the primary consumer market (US). However, sound policy making at the national and regional levels can make a difference in changing the regional culture of violence.

Murder figures are considered to be the most reliable indicator of the violent crime situation in a country as most murders come to the attention of the police.

Murder should not be seen as a solitary incident but as a fundamental indicator of social and economic issues including race, poverty, religion and social isolation.

The incidence of murder is merely a symptom of deep-rooted social problems that have manifested themselves through the trafficking of guns, the drug trade and the backlog of criminal cases due to a dysfunctional justice system.

Any crime plan implemented by the Government aimed at reducing violence must take these factors into serious consideration in order to be successful and to gain control of the spiralling crime rate.

SIMON WRIGHT Chaguanas

A ministry release said the reminder is in keeping with the Civil Aviation Act and the Civil Aviation Authority Regulations.

The public is reminded drones should not be operated in any open air function or over any mass public gathering.

They should not be flown at a height greater than 121 metres or 400 feet above the ground. They should not be operated in a manner that may endanger people or property.

They should also not be operated within five kilometres from any manned aircraft operations including the boundaries of the Piarco and the ANR Robinson international airports.

Asking the public to desist from operating drones in the Port of Spain area and other designated areas, the ministry referred to the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority website: https://caa.gov.tt/ unmanned-aircraftsystems- uas-drones/ which has listed the areas where drones should not be flown

Today, Trinidad and Tobago celebrates 55 years as an Independent nation, having transitioned from being a Crown Colony of Great Britain on August 31, 1962. Unlike many other countries globally, Trinidad and Tobago enjoyed a smooth transference of power, while retaining some residual ties to its former British colonisers.

Despite our accomplishments to date, we are now marking of our 55th anniversary with the country seemingly standing at a crossroads. Currently, in the grip of an economic downturn, our nation appears to be facing conditions that sadly, could have been mitigated. Crime is at unprecedented levels, while many of our institutions appear to be in a state of inertia or at best, are functioning below acceptable standards.

There are those who would testify that what we are witnessing can be attributed to a shortfall in revenue from our main export products – oil and gas – amidst a global drop in prices. But is that really so? What, then, lies at the very core of our challenge, that we seem oblivious to the fact that we cannot continue to function in an environment where we get little to no value for money; or be satifised with infrastructure that makes our roads gridlocked and inaccessible after a brief rain shower; or sett le for less than first rate inter-island transportation; or display a sense of apathy with leaders who seem disconnected from current realities as they pertain to crime. These examples illustrate how far behind Trinidad and Tobago lags, from where we ought to be in terms of policy, infrastructure, modern facilities and mindset.

To fulfil the promise of hope that sprang forth in 1962 when our national flag was first hoisted, the word that comes readily to mind is “transformation”.

Transformation is not an overnight process and will require an attitudinal shift that must be driven primarily by our country’s leadership in all spheres. Rebuilding our institutions and reshaping them into effective mechanisms of support for much needed change, is an attainable goal for which we must reach. Perhaps the reason economic diversification has been so difficult to achieve lies chiefly in the failure to transform our society and institutions.

Pivotal to our development and critical to preserving our democracy, a transformed society embraces – among other things – a fair and viable Industrial Relations environment – one that endorses productivity; an efficient and effective Public Service that delivers with the right levels of bureaucracy to maintain checks and balances while defying sluggishness.

It is obvious that now more than ever, the ti me is right to diversify our economy. Trinidad and Tobago may be two small islands, but we have given much to the world, and presumably, we have much more to offer yet. In this global village, our youth are ready and willing to enter career paths which lie off the beaten track; they embrace innovation, are quite nimble and adaptable to change. The challenge for us, as a maturing society, is to ensure that we preserve a world worth living and thriving in for our youth and future generations to come.

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce extends warm greetings to the people of Trinidad and Tobago on this our Independence anniversary.

Yesterday, Subway and the Amateur Swimming Association of Trinidad and Tobago held a recognition ceremony at the Centre of Excellence for the successful national junior swimmers.

Morean, who was a member of the 15 to 17 girls team said all the preparation leading up to the meet paid off. Morean said, “All the athletes would have worked extremely hard in preparation for these games, and as the saying goes ‘hard work breeds success.’ The respective coaches all pushed us and I make special mention of my club coach Mark Alexis of the Tsunami Swim Club.” Morean recalled the challenges the team had to overcome such as a sudden change in the start time of the meet. “Guyana to many of us taught us what it meant to adjust with the challenges that confronted us. For instance the meet was scheduled to start at 6 pm on the opening day, but suddenly we were told that the starting time was brought forward to 3.30 pm because there were no lights. Also the water in the pool was extremley hot at times.” Despite the challenges in Guyana, the 40-member TT team were resilient and finished with 105 medals to finish on top of the medal standings, followed by Suriname and Guyana.

Morean said it was an honour for her to be selected as the captain of the team. “It was indeed a memorable, fun-filled experience for me. This was my second time representing my country, but my first as captain, an opportunity I embraced.” Coach Sharntelle Mclean was proud of her team for their positive attitude in Guyana. Mclean said, “It was very intense for matters outside our control, but the swimmers remained focused and they had one target, one goal at hand and they definitely answered to that. The swimmers amidst all that they had to take on with regards to the sun, with regards to changes in events, changes in the schedule of the meet they were still able to focus. They were motivated to bring home the fourth title and for that congratulations to you definitely.” Morean and Mclean thanked all the supporters and sponsors that helped make their trip a success.