Homeless are Robin Seecharan, 59, his wife Racquel Babwah, 38 and his seven children- Brandon 16, Antonio 14, Janelle 12, Christy 11, Crystal 3; Celina 7, and Anna 5.

Seecharan, a truck driver, said the family lost all of their possessions, including furniture, appliances and the children’s school books and other materials.

He said just after 9 am, the family was on their way to a grocery to shop for Christmas when his sister, who lives nearby, called to say that she was seeing smoke rising from the house. “When I reach back home, the house had already burned down flat,” a dazed Seecharan said.

“We lost everything,’ he said, and pointing to his clothes which he was wearing, added, “This is all we remain with.” “Every single thing just perish,” he said. Seecharan said he recently bought a new television and other appliances which were all destroyed in the fire.

“I don’t know what cause the fire because everything was off when we left to go to the grocery,” he said.

His wife, Racquel, seemed unable to speak and simply stared at the burnt out ruins of their home.

Brechin Castle/ Esperanza councillor Gangaram Gopaul pleaded for assistance for the family saying they were in need of building materials to begin the reconstruction of their home. “These people have nothing. They lost everything and it is times like these when we need to pull together as a community and a nation to assist people in their times of need,” Gopaul said.

Persons wishing to assist the family can contact Seecharan at 316 6632 or 659 2148.

The man’s death left close knit community of Paramin in mourning.

According to reports, Andre Lopez, 59, was last seen alive at the party having a good time, however, police believe that he left the party in an intoxicated state during the early morning hours when it is believed he slipped and fell 75 feet down a precipice. Yesterday, gardeners saw Lopez’ body lying face down at the bottom of the precipice.

Officers of the Maraval Police Station were alerted and villagers, along with fire officers, assisted in bringing the man’s body to the roadway where it was viewed by the District Medical Officer.

Villagers expressed sadness over his death, claiming that he loved music and Christmas. They said he would be missed.

According to president of the CPG Peter Permell, the recent appointment defies logic and good business sense, According to Permell, Lisa Gomes took effect December 1 but no public announcement has been made.

Gomes was most recently Director Finance & Planning of Sandals Resorts International from January 2011 until March 2016 and her responsibilities included Acquisitions, Investment Banking, Government Negotiations and Property Management.

Permell said there were concerns now being raised as to the timing of the appointment and whether there could be a conflict of interest either real or perceived.

He said the appointment was ‘curious’ given that Sandals’ chairman Butch Stewart has signalled a preference for No Man’s Land in Buccoo, Tobago, which is part of the Golden Grove Estate, part of which is owned by Clico subsidiaries, Occidental Investments Ltd (OIL) and Oceanic Properties Ltd (OPL).

He also said Imbert has been reported to have said if an when an agreement is reached with Sandals for the construction of a resort at that location, the land will simply be acquired by the Government.

Permell also said that it was the group’s understanding that NML was one of the assets being held in the Clico statutory fund to back policyholders’ liabilities and can be sold without the knowledge of the company’s shareholders.

He said Clico already had highly paid executives and was in the process of winding down its operation, having already sent home more than 95 percent of its sales force and stopped writing new insurance business.

Speaking at the company’s 50th anniversary awards ceremony in Centre Point Mall in Chguanas on Saturday, PLIPDECO chairman Ian Atherly said “while expansion of the port will remain one of the cornerstones for future development, establishment of warehouses services will be a major part of the 2017 plans.” Atherly said the local and global economic downturn has resulted in a 25 percent decrease in the volume of cargo passing through the Point Lisas Port, but the company has still managed to maintain profitability through “through a programme of prudent fiscal management and cost control.” In August, PLIPDECO recorded a $16.1 million decrease in profits, but Atherly displayed confidence in the company’s strength.

After being established on September 16, 1966 by a group of southern businessmen eager to industrialise the country, PLIPDECO, as owner and landlord of the Point Lisas Estate, has grown to house over 100 companies.

“This has culminated in our current position whereby the industrial estate is the largest of its type in the region with the largest methanol plant in the world, that is the M 5000,” said Atherly.

“And the overall estate methanol production, placing Trinidad and Tobago as the largest global producer.” Amonia exports out of the estate has also positioned the country as the largest exporter of ammonia in the world.

The port handles the majority of the country’s import and export cargo, said Atherly, and recorded its best years in 2014 and 2015. “In 2015, the port handled over 221Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUS), representing the highest throughput in the port’s history and the second time in the corp’s history that the 200TEU mark was achieved, the previous year 2014 being the other occasion.” “Overall, we are quite proud of what we have accomplished and it is indeed an honor to be able to pay tribute to the 300 plus employees who are to receive awards today.” Also attending was Works and Transport Minister, Rohan Sinanan, who congratulated PLIPDECO on its 50 years of success. “I am always happy when time is taken to honour persons who have worked hard and shared their knowledge and experience in whatever position they hold in the company to ensure the prosperity of the company…I cannot close without congratulating PLIPDECO and its management for doing a wonderful job in running one of the flagship ports in the Caribbean.”

In a statement, the Energy Chamber said Petrotrin has an important role to play in the availability of US dollars since the company imports “significant volumes of crude oil from various international markets, including Gabon, Norway and Russia, to process through the refinery, with the products being sold on both the domestic and export markets.” “Crude oil is the country’s biggest dollar value import item. If, through increased domestic production, Petrotrin is able to reduce the volumes of oil it imports while maintaining its exports of products, it will be able to significantly increase the amount of US dollars available in Trinidad and Tobago,” the Chamber stated. And noting that Petrotrin remained a “key player” in the economy of Trinidad and Tobago with the sustainability of the company possessing “direct implications for our macroeconomic situation.” “Concerns about the financial viability of Petrotrin – and its heavy debt burden – directly affect the overall confidence of international investors in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as our international ratings,” the Chamber stated.

The Chamber also noted that Petrotrin is a very “important source of tax revenue for the government, and could be more so if it manages to increase oil production.” “Increasing domestic crude production will not only increase the amount of tax revenue paid directly to the government from the upstream, it will also help with the profitability of the refinery. The more domestic crude that Petrotrin puts into the refinery, the better the refining margins and the better the chance of the refinery being profitable (and hence paying more taxes to the government,” the Chamber stated. The Chamber stated that the key to any short-term effort to reverse falling national oil production was likely to come from the “mature acreage under the control of Petrotrin – both onshore and in the Gulf of Paria.” “While deep-water exploration has the potential for significant new oil production in the longer term, the reality is that any more immediate increase in oil production is likely to Increasing crude oil production should be a major objective for both the country and the company. This means that what happens in the company, and how it is able to secure capital to invest in new production, is everybody’s business,” the Chamber stated.

In recognition of Human Rights Day on Saturday, attorney-at-law Tempu Nefertari-Moheni made a call for systems to be put in place to educate teachers about the faith, as they have contributed to the discrimination of child members of the faith in their schools.

Nefertari-Moheni cited several incidences of discrimination against Ifa/Orisa children in schools dating as far back as the 1970s all the way up to October, 2015. Last year, 13 year old Form Three student’s Geography teacher forcibly removed his “eleke” and his “ide” in front of his classmates.

The eleke is a string of beads worn around the neck, the ide is worn around the wrist and both carry immense spiritual significance for members of the faith. The ide is supposed to be worn for life.

“She called him to the front of the class and told him to take it off in front of the other students,” said the boy’s father. “He explained to her that it is for religious reasons, but she said she didn’t care.” he said after his son refused to take it off, the teacher ripped it off of him herself.

He found the encounter curious, because a boy wearing a rosary around his neck was allowed to continue doing so after it was pointed out by other students in the classroom.

The father said he later visited his son’s school to speak with the principal and to retrieve the eleke and ide. The principal, he said, made it clear that the teacher’s behaviour was not a school policy and reprimanded the teacher for her actions.

However, a conversation between the father, his wife, and the teacher in the hallway showed that she had no intentions of changing her attitude.

“We met with the teacher in the hall after the meeting with the Principal. I asked her, ‘Do you respect our traditions?’ She said, ‘yes.’ ‘Well if so, why do you disrespect it in this way?’ She said, ‘Allyuh need the blood of Jesus on allyuh.’” He said that for a while after the incident, teachers often referred to his son as “the boy with the spiritual thing” and this behaviour was transferred to his peers who would mock him and by extension his faith.

Nefertari-Moheni detailed other stories where students were asked to take off their elekes and ides, some threatened with non-graduation if they failed to comply. One parent said that the discrimination was such that children often chose to convert to other religions “just to ease the weight of isolation and to be accepted.” Nefertari-Moheni went on to highlight Section 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago which recognises the rights of the people without discrimination on many bases, including that of religion.

Newsday reached out to Eintou Pearl Springer, long time cultural activist for comment. She said that discrimination against the Ifa/Orisa faith is part of a long history of discrimination against all expressions of African spirituality.

“Government must acknowledge the right of the people to be involved in decision-making in matters that affect their very lives,” he said.

Demonstrations and other actions, Mahabir said in a release, must not merely be complaints but must demand involvement in the national dialogue about how to deal with the scourge, the social decay that is fuelling it, and how to make their right to safety and security real.

When it appeared that the nation was becoming numb and resigned to daily disappearances and brutal death, he said, “the killing of a young woman doing the most routine things, many her age do, has again awakened the emotion of our people against the fear and vulnerability that we feel as citizens enjoying no sense of security or safety, day or night.” Banfield was found dead on Friday in the third-floor store room of a popular business place in one of the busiest streets in Port-of-Spain, four days after she was shopping in the area.

Mahabir extended sympathies on behalf of the COP to Banfield’s family, friends and colleagues on their tragic loss.

Banfield was not the first woman to disappear in 2016 or in recent years and her killing comes after more than 430 for the year so far, he said, but her death like that of Japanese pan player Asami Nagakiya on Carnival Tuesday, has touched a raw nerve.

According to sources, following the seizure of the US$2 million from a container at the Pt Lisas Port, earlier this month, Customs officers, acting on information, swooped down on a boat at Queen’s Wharf and found the drugs and foreign currency on the lower deck of the vessel.

Sources said based on investigations the cocaine was bound for Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

The captain of the vessel when interviewed by Customs officers said he did not know that the bags containing the cocaine were in his boat.

After several hours of questioning, he was released.

The seized cocaine was taken to the Customs and Excise Buidling at Ajax Street, in Port-of-Spain, and six heavily armed soldiers have been mandated to guard the drugs at that location.

Sources told Newsday that following the seizure of the cocaine, Customs officers who were involved in the raid, received death threats resulting in a decision being taken to issue them with personal firearms.

According to well-placed sources, the US$2 million which was seized in at the Pt Lisas Port was to be paid to a local businessman for the 100 kilos of cocaine which is believed to have come from Venezuela.

Sources also said the US$2 million which was seized was supposed to be paid to a local businessman for the 100 kilos of cocaine which is believed to have come from Venezuela.

Customs and Excise officers have since determined that the US$2 million also came from someone in Tortola and officers believe that there is a thriving cocaine trade between Tortola, Trinidad and Venezuela.

Newsday also understands that a official from the Tortola Customs and Immigration Department has been laising with officers attached to the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) office at the American Embassy at Marli Street, Port-of-Spain.

Sources in the investigation of the seizure of both the cocaine and foreign currency at the two ports was not reported to the local Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau (OCNUFB) based on advice.

Up until yesterday the cocaine remained in the hands of Customs and Excise division.

Sources said that with the involvement of DEA they may be able to make a major breakthrough into the drug operation between the three countries.

According to reports, Louisa Edwards, of Arouca, was the front seat passenger in her son Lynselle Jacob’s car when it was hit at about 9.10 pm along Railway Road.

The driver of the SUV was detained by police and an breathalyser test administered, which he passed. Edwards’ body as viewed by the District Medical Officer and ordered removed to the nearby mortuary. On Sunday morning Gilicia Jules of Lowlands Tobago was killed in an accident. According to preliminary reports the incident occurred at Golden Grove Road, Buccoo, Tobago. Only one week ago, Jules, a Republic Bank employee, celebrated her birthday.

In August two teens were killed in another accident in Tobago along the Auchenskeoch Buccoo Bay Road, while in another incident in July, two teen boys were killed in a horrific accident along Milford Road.

The Ministry of National Security said in a release that the TTDF, which is working out of the community centre in Grande Riviere “is working assiduously to restore the communities of Matelot, Grand Riviere and environs to normalcy” within the shortest possible time.