Minister Gopee-Scoon congratulated the T&Z team on this milestone achievement, and commended Joseph on the courage displayed and risks taken in becoming a successful entrepreneur. She said, “Most of your success is because of your religious and moral underpinnings. You have displayed traits of an excellent leader with good employee relations as expressed by the speakers here tonight. I especially commend you on your tenacity to survive the challenging times. Despite the challenges faced, you have done well. You have expanded your operations with the opening of five stores with the most recent retail outlet opened this year in Penal.”

The Trade and Industry Minister reiterated the importance of businesses to the development of the local economy. “The Government recognises that micro, small and medium enterprises MSMEs, all play a pivotal role in our country’s economic growth and the creation of sustainable employment as well as revenue and foreign exchange earnings.” She congratulated T&Z Marketing on the strides made in the past 30 years and expressed confidence that the company would continue to grow from strength to strength in the coming years.

Joseph shared the journey of his humble beginnings and the key factors that contributed to the success of T&Z Marketing Limited. He said, “We celebrate and give thanks today because of the ongoing support of family, staff members, stakeholders and most of all because of the confidence and trust in God.” He also attributed the success of his organisation to the genuine interest he has in the overall development of the T&Z Marketing staff ,which translates into a healthy work environment and excellent customer service.

The bandit was identified by police via fingerprints as David Antonio Allen, 31, of Enterprise, Chaguanas who served time behind bars for killing a man during a failed robbery. When his relatives saw photos of Allen, on social media, lying dead while still dressed as a woman, they went to the Woodbrook Police station. Yesterday, the relatives including Allen’s mother, went to the Forensic Science Centre in St James and made a positive identification of his body.

According to reports, Allen was a former employee at a bar in Portof- Spain and relatives told police the last time they saw him alive was on Monday. Later that evening, a woman entered the Stir Fry King restaurant and casino in Woodbrook and immediately attracted the attention of several male patrons, who purchased food and drinks for her. This ‘woman’ was Allen dressed in drag, face covered in make-up and a gun hidden in his waist.

At 11 pm, Allen made his move, pointing his gun at cashier Pei Daxiu and announcing a hold-up.

Allen was given a bag containing $40,000. But as he was leaving the establishment, a policeman who is on vacation leave, called out to Allen to surrender. During an exchange of gunfire, Allen was shot several times and slumped to the ground where he bled to death.

The bag of money, a gun and several rounds of ammunition were recovered.

The body was viewed by the district medical officer and ordered removed to the Forensic Science Centre. Yesterday, Allen’s mother, who asked not to be identified, said claims that he was a homosexual were absolutely wrong.

“I’m letting you all know that my son was not an angel, alright. I am not saying the police was wrong.

The police was there and he did his duty. At the end of the day, everyone is saying my son was gay and a maccomere man. NO! He put on a disguise to do his *expletive deleted*.

Please…allyuh back off! Get to know before allyuh talk. Don’t make allyuh comments if allyuh don’t know my child. He was quite a ladies man,” the woman said.

The woman said that Allen had one daughter. “He was with a Japanese girl for a while…but let we not put that on the news cause that done a while now. May his soul rest in peace. We all loved him. We will all miss him. He will remain in our hearts. But I will not say that he was perfect. Who is? That is all I have to say,” the woman said.

Another man who claimed to be Allen’s brother, said that he would not hide the fact his brother was indeed imperfect. “If I meet the officer who killed my brother now and they told me I had to shake his hand for a job well done…I would.

At the end of the day, the officer had his duty to perform and he did it. I will not lie to anyone and say my brother was an angel or a menace (mother interjects: ‘he was not a menace’) what I will say is whatever he did, he did on his own free will. The hardest part for me is that my little brother gone and dead four days before my wedding. I still taking that to heart especially after waiting all these years for him to come out (of prison) so he could be a part of my wedding,” he said.

Allen was convicted and jailed for shooting and killing a man – Darryn Baksh – in 2004 during a failed robbery outside the 51 Degrees nightclub at Cipriani Boulevard, Port-of-Spain.

Gaspard, Newsday understands, gave certain instructions to the officers who are to return to his office today where a decision is expected to be made on how the investigation should proceed.

Newsday was told photgraphs, a flash drive containing video images taken from CCTV video footage and statements formed the nucleus of the case file submitted to DPP Gaspard. The DPP has been in constant communication with investigators since Banfield’s body was discovered last week Thursday in a storeroom on the third floor of the IAM & Co. Ltd store off Charlotte Street in Port-of-Spain.

She was last seen alive shopping at Pennywise and then IAM & Co two Mondays ago.

The main suspect, a 38-year-old labourer of St Helena, remained yesterday in police custody in a cell at the Central Police Station in Port-of-Spain following his re-arrest early Tuesday morning. The man was held after officers of the Port-of-Spain CID received information that he was in possession of a bunch of keys belonging to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). The suspect, who last worked in the vicinity of the HDC housing estate in Princes Town, could not explain why he was in position of the HDC keys.

However up to late yesterday, the suspect had not been charged with any offence relating to the alleged larceny of the keys. Banfield, 20, went missing on Monday December 5 while shopping in the nation’s capital. Her body was discovered three days later stuffed on a shelf and hidden by cardboard boxes in the warehouse store. An autopsy on Sunday last revealed that Banfield had been smothered.

During her funeral at the San Juan Seventh-day Adventist Church, on Tuesday Pastor Leslie Moses announced that a foundation has been set up in Banfield’s name. “Shannon’s death will not be in vain,” Moses proclaimed. “Her impact in death is more than many of us will have in our whole lifetime.” The foundation will focus on promoting personal safety techniques, heighten awareness of violence against women and develop an educational fund battered women.

On Tuesday, as he spoke of the decrepit condition of certain areas in the nation’s capital, Dr Rowley pointed to the prevalence of street dwellers saying that no one has a right or entitlement to live on the streets. Yesterday, Newsday visited the QP Savannah to get homeless Francis’ view on Rowley’s statement.

Sitting in a chair at his makeshift home comprising a tarpaulin tent secured under a tree at the southern end of the savannah, Francis said: “I understand where the prime minister is coming from. But for most of us, while it is not our right, we have no choice in the mater. I had a business that went into receivership.

Then I decided to work PH. One day, I got robbed of my car and was unable to facilitate rent. Eventually I was put out (of my house) and I have been on the streets ever since.” He believes that society is supposed to help persons like him who have fallen on hard times. “It is difficult to start from scratch. But I am doing what I can until better can be done. Even if I want to work, I would need clothes and money just to be able to go to work. In this country, people have forgotten about that saying about being our brother’s keeper,” Francis said.

Moving from the savannah is not an issue for Francis who says he is willing to do so once he gets somewhere safe to reside. He also stated that he tried to make the Centre for Socially-Displaced People (CSDP) a place where he could comfortably rest, but that place was not suitable.

Francis said when he went to the centre, his meagre possessions were stolen and other persons living there, were prone to violence.

He said that for too long, politicians and those in authority have paid lip service to the issue of street dwellers. “Every time a new mayor is sworn in, the first thing that person talks about is removing vagrants and street vendors. Removing people against their will is not right. Provide a facility where they (street dwellers) can go voluntarily.

That’s my personal view on how to solve the issue,” Francis said. “I could manage my life. I just need a start…a little push. I don’t know about anyone else. I could only answer for me,” he said.

CSDP manager Roger Watson said that street dwelling in the capital has been a contentious issue for decades. “Trinidad and Tobago is too wealthy a nation to have so many homeless persons. We should have eliminated this problem long time.” While agreeing that people would become homeless for different reasons, it should be made law that once a person is deemed ‘homeless’, they must be sent to the CSDP. According to Watson, the problem of street dwelling in the capital has reached crisis proportions.

“If you ask me, it is a crisis! We have a shortage of medication for mentally ill homeless persons. I have a set of clinic cards for people who have not received medication since September.” CSDP currently houses 119 persons, of which 19 are female. According to research done by Watson and his team, Port-of- Spain has no less than 300 mentally ill persons, living on the street.

Homeless person Anderson Cloden said he was deported from the United States five years ago and while he did not disclose the reason for his deportation, he was very clear about what should be done to deal with street dwellers. “Trinidad and Tobago have no right to have homeless. This country has too much resources and wealth to be having so many homeless persons.

They should be able to eliminate homelessness entirely. They have to see about the poor. That’s their duty.

That is the right of those in authority…

so exercise that right and help us.”

McDonald, who is also Port-of-Spain South MP, made the observation that many people appear to prefer to purchase cooked food rather than cook meals for themselves. She said in her constituency, if she did not reach a particular eating establishment at a particular time, all the food was done. Noting it has been said that “a healthy child is a healthy adult,” Mc- Donald asked what was being done to curb obesity in children. She also said when people fail to address obesity in their younger years, it can lead to expensive and painful medical procedures later to deal with obesity.

Health Ministry Permanent Secretary Richard Madray and the Ministry’s director (health education) Yvonne Lewis indicated to JSC members that the ministry is in the process of rolling out a national programme on non-communicable diseases, which treats with issues such as obesity.

Lewis explained that one of the strategies will be examining the amount of sugar, salt and fat contained in the foods which are served to children. In making her earlier observations, McDonald spoke about a food outlet which serves chicken, fries and a soft drink for $20. “Is this healthy?” she asked.

Madray also spoke about plans by the ministry to have a national public health laboratory operational within the next eight months. He made this comment after McDonald stressed the need to ensure that all drugs imported into the country are properly tested. She observed that this is done in other jurisdictions such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

Martinez took the oath of office on Tuesday, becoming the third person to hold the post in the space of one year. His predecessor Kevin Valentine was not selected by the PNM to contest the local government election, and the occupant before Valentine – Raymond Tim Kee – was forced to resign earlier this year for his unacceptable victim-shaming remarks in relation to the murder of a woman during Carnival.

While the city has declined dramatically since the attempted coup of 1990, the post of Port-of-Spain mayor is not a negligible one. The mayor has a key role to play in the lives of thousands who reside in the city’s precincts as well as the thousands more who work or commute through it. The city remains the centre of Carnival, it still has an active commercial business district, and retail and recreational activity takes place frequently.

The mayor is charged with approvals, regulating practices such as vending and parking, management of waste, prevention and response to floods, as well as various forms of social engagement.

Nobody is under any illusion in relation to the significant task ahead for Martinez. He faces a city in the grips of crime – as embodied by the shocking death of Shannon Banfield, 20. How can he play a role in increasing detection and in engaging the community? Though the city was this year victorious in a lawsuit brought against it by a street dweller, the challenge of large numbers of such people remains.

In fact, this is a crucial issue that must be addressed if the city to is move forward with development plans.

There are also serious infrastructure questions relating to the new Government Campus. Martinez must also address the need for adequate drainage and maintenance of underground networks as well as the upkeep of emergency protocols should they ever become needed to evacuate the city, for example after a major earthquake.

The new mayor appears to have enthusiasm for the job. On Tuesday, he said his administration will now start work on a “ten-year plan” to improve the capital, including creating strong and safe neighbourhoods; collaboration between residents, schools and businesses; and cooperation between the business sector and Government to craft a worldclass city for all.

Martinez also said he’d engage his 14 years experience in local government and 33 years practice in financial services to fulfil his priority goal of improvement in the quality of life of local citizens.

“My council and administration will focus on crime and security, sanitation, vending, the homeless, parking and traffic congestion, and for recreational purposes, create more green spaces in the city,” said the new mayor.

Of crime, he added, “I’ll have to ensure that we do something about crime very seriously in the city and bring that sense of safety back to the citizenry so we could travel the city in day or in night and feel very comfortable.” He is going to have to bring his special skills and then some if he is to have an impact.

And as the last two mayors will be able to attest, Martinez will be accountable to the party, the Government and the nation at large. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has taken a personal involvement in plans to regenerate the city and much will be expected.

In fact, this is at least one area where Martinez is likely to enjoy synergies with the Executive. Rowley is already involved in restoration projects relating to city landmarks.

While we agree there is dire need for decentralisation of governance out of Port-of-Spain, the city remains the capital. It is in everyone’s interest that Martinez succeeds.

From my one-world standpoint, the most extraordinary event since the demise of the communist bloc and the “triumph of capitalism” is the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America. Second is Brexit.

Third is the destruction of the ancient cities of Syria and the destitution and on-going suffering of the Syrian people.

Running a close fourth is the massive loss of young and promising lives in sinking shiploads of refugees and trafficked people in the Mediterranean; and the utterly unbelievable inability of Trinidad and Tobago’s Police Service to find and successfully prosecute murderers and criminals in a tiny population of 1.3 million people in a country where everything is an open secret is fifth, together with our inexorable decline into savagery and social decay. In fact, the fifth horror should be first but in the larger scheme of things it falls down the order.

Time magazine has named President-elect Trump its 90th Person of the Year. The choice is not about the most noble or greatest person but, as they put it, “the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year.” Time continues, “For reminding America that demagoguery feeds on despair and that truth is only as powerful as the trust in those who speak it, for empowering a hidden electorate by mainstreaming its furies and live-streaming its fears, and for framing tomorrow’s political culture by demolishing yesterday’s, Donald Trump is Time’s 2016 Person of the Year.” Time might have added his prominent part in “post-truth” being the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2016, recognising the arbitrariness of truth in today’s politics.

It is worth noting that Adolf Hitler was Time Person of the Year in 1938, Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, and Stalin was twice, in 1939 and 1942 — all of them lords of disruption. It follows that Donald Trump should also receive that crown. They all turned the world on its head, as President-elect Trump promises to do, embracing old enemies and deliberately making new ones, tearing up important existing treaties, demeaning his own security services, questioning the veracity of climate change, believing that international relations are all about business and not about diplomacy.

I had begun to write this column, focusing on Time choosing Mr Trump and the image they used of him for the cover when a friend coincidentally directed me to a Forward magazine analysis of the “subversive” nature of the image. I considered the picture’s faded lighting, Trump sitting in his large, cushioned chair and looking backward into the short distance as symbolic of regressive policies and economy meant to revive redundant, former times, but Forward went further.

They see the chair as “a gaudy symbol of wealth and status” that, when examined closely, reveals a rip in the upholstery, “signifying Trump’s own cracked image. Behind the bluster, behind the glowing displays of wealth, behind the glittering promises, we have the debt, the tastelessness, the demagoguery, the racism, the lack of government experience or knowledge… Once we notice the rip, the splotches on the wood come into focus, the cracks in Trump’s makeup, the thinness of his hair, the stain on the bottom left corner of the seat — the entire illusion of grandeur begins to collapse.

The cover is less an image of a man in power than the freeze frame of a leader, and his country, in a state of decay.”

Speaking after a press conference to announce the implementation of a 25 percent rebate on electricity bills $300 and under at the Ministry’s office in St Clair, Hinds noted that women now feel unsafe while walking the street, which should not be the case. On December 5, Banfield left her workplace at Independence Square to shop at Pennywise and IAM & Co Ltd but never made it back to her Santa Cruz home. On December 8, her body was found on a shelf in a storeroom on the third floor of IAM & Co Ltd’s Charlotte Street outlet, covered with cardboard boxes.

“The instinct of a man is to protect women, not to abuse or to beat and disregard and disrespect and rape and kill her…I call upon the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, and in particular the young men, to watch how you walk and watch how you talk and build and create and construct rather than destroy and be a danger to us all,” Hinds said.

Meanwhile, Jaja, a WASA (Water and Sewerage Authority) attendant for the past three years, was conducting repairs on a trench in Powder Magazine, Cocorite on Tuesday around 11 am when he was shot and killed. His co-worker, Luke Rampersad, 34, was also shot and was warded at Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

Hinds asked youths to respect utility workers when they enter their community as the aim was to help, not to take anything. He said even if youths did not respect the utility employees as professionals, they should be respected because they provide services for the benefit of their family.

“I would like to call, particularly on the young citizens, the young males of Trinidad and Tobago, when you see that yellow vehicle marked TTEC (TT Electricity Commission), and the utilities personnel drive into your community, it is not that they are on a picnic or they come to drink a beer because it’s Christmas. They have come to provide a service to you and your community… I ask you please to allow these professionals to get on with their work. Unperturbed, undisturbed,” he said.

Hinds noted that police did not usually accompany utility workers to job sites but there were some circumstances where staff would request police presence if they feel uncomfortable visiting an area.

He said as MP for Laventille West he recognised that the communities in his area were perceived to be dangerous.

He said that WASA, TTEC, Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) and he himself have had no issues.

Newsday understands that the vehicle valued $250,000 was found intact at an agricultural shed in the Waterloo area which was previously owned by Caroni 1975 Limited. The key to the vehicle was still in the ignition and nothing appeared to have been stolen or removed.

According to reports officers from the Chaguanas CID, acting on information, went to the shed during the early hours of Wednesday morning where they found the car.

The Honda Accord car was removed to the Chaguanas Police Station and yesterday dusted for prints. A handyman who was detained on suspicion of being involved in the larceny of the vehicle was questioned and later released.

According to reports, Tewarie secured his home at about 9.30 pm on November 16 and retired to bed.

He awoke at about 4.30 am the following day and discovered that a Samsung S3 cell phone, an iPad, $900 and other valuables were missing. A further check revealed that his vehicle was also stolen.

Tewarie believes that the intruder gained access by climbing through a window on the western side of the house.

“It is our mandate in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service to help you our citizens be more aware, alert, prepared, and safe during the holiday season…Be vigilant about your surroundings during the daylight hours, just as much as the night time. A crime can occur at any time; be mindful that criminals are always paying attention to all signs of vulnerability to make their move on the unsuspecting victim; avoid wearing expensive jewellery as this tends to attract attention and make the wearer a potential victim; shop during daylight hours whenever possible. If you must shop at night, do not go alone.”