This as the TT Football Association (TTFA) head yesterday revealed it could not acquire the services of its first choice coach to replace Stephen Hart and instead had to settle for the cheaper choice of Tom Saintfeit as head coach for the TT men’s national football team. Belgian Saintfeit’s last coaching assignment was with the Bangladesh national team which is ranked 183rd out of 200 footballing nations, by world football governing body FIFA.

Saintfeit was officially unveiled as new head coach during a press conference at the Marriott Hotel in Port-of-Spain to replace Hart who was fired on November 24, after almost three and a half years on the job due to a string of disappointing results. The TTFA received applications from around the world but narrowed the list down to four before Saintfeit was chosen. TTFA first choice, Frenchman Philippe Troussier demanded too much money.

TTFA president David John-Williams stated, “He (Tom) was not our first choice for sure, but then he was also affordable as our second choice. Our first choice was way out of what we could afford and I make no apologies for saying that.” Saintfeit and Troussier have experience coaching at national level with both coaching many African countries.

Saintfiet, 43, became the youngest coach in Belgian club football at age 24. He moved on to numerous short stints at national senior level especially in Africa, coaching the likes of Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Yemen, Malawi, Togo and most recently Bangladesh.

Troussier, 61, who has been coaching consistently since 1983, has led Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Japan, Morocco and Qatar during his coaching career. John-Williams made it clear that if Saintfiet does not get at least four points (a win and a draw) from TT’s next two World Cup qualifiers, he will be fired. “The reality is that if we don’t get four points come March…our campaign is virtually over (and) we have to start all over again,” John-Williams said. “He (Saintfeit) came highly recommended. He worked in difficult situations in Africa and we feel he can do the job for us. I will also tell you this that if he does not get the job done on the 24 and 28 of March he will be looking for a new job.” TT face Panama on March 24 and CONCACAF powerhouse Mexico on March 28, both at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Portof- Spain.

TT are currently fifth on the sixteam standings in the final round of World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF region after losing their opening two matches. TT lost 2-0 at home to Costa Rica before travelling to Honduras where it fell 3-1.

Saintfeit said he was honoured to be named TT head coach as this country has a rich football history.

“I am pleased to be here. There were several candidates and TT is a football nation with huge reputation and history. I think a lot of coaches will be jealous that I am standing here.” Saintfeit expressed confidence that he will bring positive results. “I worked already with eight national teams sometimes in difficult situations. It is important to know that I never got fired by any federation where I worked. I worked many times in short term deals in difficult missions and most of the time, I brought good results.” Saintfeit believes TT can still qualify for the World Cup. He jokingly stated that March 29 is his birthday and with two pivotal World Cup qualifiers taking place shortly before, he is hoping to have a pleasant birthday. The Belgian coach plans to seek assistance from local coaches to get their opinions and ideas as Saintfeit believes qualifying for the World Cup will be a collective effort.

Members of the national team have been punished for a lack of discipline in recent months. The former coaching staff led by Hart punished three national players for breaking team camp to attend a party. Saintfeit said he will bring a professional attitude to the job.

“When you (the players) are selected you have to come here not on a holiday when you come from abroad.”

It is understood the agreement will see gas from Venezuela’s Dragon Field piped to the Hibiscus Platform, owned by Shell, on to land at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, Trinidad, where the gas would be processed and sold.

The visit of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to Caracas was one filled with much fanfare. We were treated to the spectacle of the Prime Minister and Venezuela’s embattled President Nicolas Maduro in a congo line with dancers clad in colourful costumes. Yet, the nitty-gritty details of the government- to-government agreement signed between the two countries remained carefully out of sight.

Despite the seemingly festive air of the proceedings, the agreement is likely to be critical to both Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.

This is due to the economic downturn which has come about due to depressed international energy market prices.

The agreement comes at a time when Venezuela is struggling with hyperinflation and is enduring a shortage of goods and foods. This year, Trinidad and Tobago offered assistance in relation to this problem by getting local companies to sell stocks to the Venezuelan market.

It was also a quid pro quo as local businesses were able to get US earnings where locally the foreign currency is limited.

Also, Trinidad and Tobago’s maintenance work on its facilities is continuing, meaning we are experiencing challenges with gas supplies.

According to Rowley, Trinidad and Tobago is expected to be given priority when it comes to taking in gas supplies from Venezuela. We will have to wait and see.

Rowley’s trip saw yet another pledge by Maduro to deal with the Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) issue.

An agreement to pay CAL the over $300 million owed the airline was reached in Caracas, in another gesture of goodwill. It appears to be a case of helping each other to maintain stability, and a means of boosting the economies again.

But goodwill notwithstanding, full details of the agreement signed on Monday should be disclosed.

Why is there a need for confidentiality clauses in a government- to-government arrangement? Who is being protected by this? The respective State companies, NGC and PdVSA, or Shell? What about the public, the taxpayer? The Prime Minister has said hundreds of millions of US dollars will be spent. Who is raising this money? The governments? The companies involved? What are the benefits and, importantly, the consequences should problems arise even before the first length of pipe is laid? What about construction? Employment? Environmental issues? Offshore and onshore security issues? Where is the oversight? Some will call attention to the involvement of a multinational, Royal Dutch Shell, which has interests in both countries. Maduro has told the company to monetise the gas in the shortest possible time.

It is unfortunate the longstanding practice of government-to-government arrangements remaining confidential remains in place. Advocates for these kinds of arrangements argue that private companies should not have sensitive details made public simply because they are doing business with State entities.

It is hard to argue with such an assertion when the agreements remain secret. In theory there should be scope for partial release of agreements.

A greater role could be played by Parliament’s committee system.

Possible procurement problems as well as the lack of transparency seem to pose greater risks to society than nebulous claims of possible damage should supposedly sensitive commercial data be made public.

Let us see government-to-government deals.

Semper, a member of the national Under-17 team, slotted a left-footed shot beyond the reach of Presentation goalkeeper Jabari Gray to ensure victory for the Jerry Moe-coached squad.

To add drama to the proceedings, moments after referee Keillon Bacchus ended the game – sparking a pitch invasion by the San Juan supporters, an earthquake was felt at the venue.

The victorious players did not mind, but it would have surely been doubly worrisome for the Presentation squad, who dominated ball possession but were stymied by a rock-solid San Juan defence.

The game began at a frenetic pace, as both teams went tooth and nail for the opening goal. Semper and his opposing number 6, Matthew Joseph, received early bookings, ironically in the sixth minute, after a heated confrontation on the touchline.

Shortly afterwards, Semper got out of a crowd on the left byline and sent in a deep cross which was met by right-back Tyrell Cameron, but the defender’s header was saved by Gray.

A Presentation move had their boisterious fans on their feet, as striker James Lee Yaw met a ball from Darnel Hospedales and teed up Kareem Riley, who shot overbar with only the goalie Shawndell Byer to beat.

Stand-in captain and sturdy centre-back Kyle Thomas needed lengthy treatment for a head injury, but alarmingly the Presentation team showed little desire to attack the short-handed San Juan defence.

And Semper almost made Presentation pay for their complacent approach when he forced Gray to push a freekick overbar.

Semper made amends in the 45th, in a move started by Renaldo Boyce in the middle and continued by Tigana O’Brien on the left, who played in Semper in the penalty box. Semper evaded his marker and placed his left-footer beyond Gray’s left.

With Thomas doing yeoman service in the back, Presentation were forced to rely on half chances in the second half, while Gray was a virtual spectator in his area.

Omri Baird got a ball from fellow substitute Jarod Gordon but his header was saved by Byer, in the 76th minute.

And 10 minutes later, Riley pounced on a loose ball from deep but his shot went high and wide.

The SSFL Big Four tournament will now hold centre stage, with semi-final action on Friday and the final carded for Monday.

San Juan North coach Jerry Moe last evening lauded the support his team got during their successful campaign.

Moe, in a brief interview, commented, “I think it was a tremendous win, not just for the school but the supporters also. They supported us well, even when we weren’t doing too well in the (Premiership).

The guys stick with us – the Market Crew and the San Juan San Juan Crew. They stick with us through thick and thin. I think this win was as important for them as it was for us.” San Juan played most of the second half in a defensive mood, limiting Presentation to a handful of chances at goal.

Moe stated, “80 percent of the sessions were how well we wanted to defend and we worked on defensive work. It’s something we do on the training park.”

Telling the new councillors that he served as an elected councillor for eight years and at several other levels in the San Fernando City Corporation over the last 14 years, Hosein said as a councillor, “the secret in my serving was that I used to visit every household in a district which I represented, Les Efforts East/La Romaine, every three months.” The audience laughed when Hosein told them that he became so well-known in his district that when he visited one day, a child told his parents, “Look the PNM man come back again.” Hosein told the new councillors that while they would like to deliver to their constituents, sometimes they cannot deliver what they would like to deliver.

“I want to assure you, that being part of this present government, that we will make sure that you have this Local Government reform take place to ensure that we don’t have this obstacle in our way,” the minister said.

Saying his quietness was his strength and it is better to listen more and speak less, Hosein stated, “One of my goals was to be humble.

It pays to be humble at all times. You cannot get vex with anybody.” He also said it was time that politicians in this country do what the people, who elected them, want them to do and not do what they want to do. Hosein urged the councillors to have, “consultations at all levels.” Indicating that he literally has an open door policy at his ministry, Hosein said, “I want to encourage you to go to your offices, meet the people.” Port-of-Spain North/ St Ann’s West MP Stuart Young told the councillors, “This is the start of another chapter in the journey.” He advised them that compared to elected parliamentarians, they have the ability to have a greater effect of the lives of people on the ground. As he congratulated them on the “awesome responsibility” they are taking on, Young advised them that Local Government reform legislation, which was spoken about during the recently ended Local Government election campaign, will be coming to Parliament by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

The councillors sworn in yesterday were Clint Baptiste (East Dry River); Jameel Bisnath (St James East); Charlene De Peza (Southern Port-of- Spain); Akil Durham (Woodbrook); June Durham (Belmont South); Stephen Harper (Northern Port-of- Spain); Abena Hartley (Northern Port-of- Spain); Hillan Morean (St Ann’s River North); Darryl Rajpaul (Belmont East); Roland Ramkissoon ( St James West); Keno Romeo (St Ann’s River Central) and Allan Samuel (St Ann’s River South).

Her range of tone and subject matter was wide. Sadly, with her death on Sunday at the age of 87, we must now mark the end of an era.

Few journalists ever become a household name. Hilton, a woman, did. She was read by many.

She wrote about the arts, books, music, food. Long before environmental issues became sexy thanks to Barack Obama and Al Gore, she was a pioneering columnist on the impact of man on his natural habitat. But if she commanded a devoted following, she also drew complaints from artists.

Hilton was definitely not into public relations (PR). Her reviews were often surprising and entertaining.

As a result, many serious artists complained. Her reviews, according to them, did not carry critical discourse — whatever that is — forward.

Yet, in one memorable response to a writer who objected to one of her reviews, Hilton laid bare what was at stake for her. “Everyone is entitled to express an opinion,” she said. “One must remember that whenever one puts one’s work in the public domain one has to expect criticism — be it for good or for bad.” When viewed from this prism, Hilton played an important role in furthering the idea of democracy in a young post-colonial society.

If one cannot freely air one’s views on art, regardless of one’s background or art-school pedigree, then how could that art really be part of a democratic tradition? If only academics and scholars can comment on art, where would that leave art? Whether you agreed with her or not, Anne Hilton said something. She was studious without being boring. And that alone was an achievement. Long before Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, she was social media. Literally. In her own way, she brought us closer to Habermas’ ideal of “communicative rationality”. Perhaps she knew that the more voices speaking about something, the richer a society becomes.

The public may not know it, but Hilton was also quietly encouraging of young reporters, especially feature writers. She would telephone them to let them know when they had done a good job covering something.

While the public saw a seemingly indefatigable byline, they rarely knew of the challenges Hilton had to face. It says something that it was only when she broke her hip about three years ago that Hilton stopped writing. She had been a non-stop presence in all of the major newspapers for decades. That says something. It indicates the writer had a stamina that is not to be dismissed.

Hilton also worked in radio and wrote important articles on diverse subject matters, including one on the threat to Aripo and another on the origins of calypso.

For her efforts, she won several awards, including from the Pan American Health Organisation, the Toco Foundation and, yes, the Hilton Trinidad. Her long career probably started due to the inspiration provided by her father who was a sports editor in one of the leading newspapers in England.

“Mommy wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps,” said daughter Penny Hilton. “So she always wanted to be a writer.” May she rest in peace.

The Christmas bird count began on Christmas Day of 1900, when Frank Chapman, an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, proposed it as an alternative to the traditional Christmas Day bird hunt.

Twenty-seven people in 25 different locations across the continent participated that first year and counted about 90 species.

In 2015, 114 years later, there was a record 2,505 bird counts in different parts of the world: 1,902 in the US, 471 in Canada, and 132 in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands.

There were 76,669 observers: 59,039 in the US, 10,669 in Canada, and 6,961 in Latin America, the Caribbean and Pacific Islands.

A total of 2,106 species and 68,753,071 individual birds were recorded.

The highest number of species recorded for any circle during the 2015 Christmas bird count was 529 in Yanayacu, Ecuador.

How is a bird count conducted? An area 15 miles in diameter is selected and the circle is then broken up into smaller sectors.

All birds seen or heard during a 24-hour period are counted and recorded. In Trinidad the centre of the circle is Arouca.

In 1969, Richard and Margaret ffrench were the only participants in the first Christmas bird count held in Trinidad, and over the years the number of participants has gradually increased to an average of 40 annually.

Richard was the compiler of statistics up to the time of his return to the UK in 1985.

For the next 16 years I, then president of the Asa Wright Nature Centre, was the organiser and compiler until 2002 when I handed the baton to Vishnu Debie.

Vishnu is a chemistry teacher and vice-principal of the Arima North Secondary School who has been performing an excellent job as organiser and compiler of the statistics to the satisfaction of everyone.

He is of the opinion that more species are recorded on a cool and overcast day than on a sunny and hot day.

During the 2015 Trinidad Christmas bird count, 183 species were recorded, which was the 20th highest of 183 counts conducted south of the US/ Mexican border.

Of the more than 2,500 bird counts conducted throughout the world, the Trinidad count is unique in being the only one which records the nocturnal oilbird.

In 2015, 186 oilbirds were recorded in the Dunston Cave at the Asa Wright Nature Centre.

On count day, 3,118 scarlet ibises were counted at Caroni Swamp.

It is my wish that in the near future, with the increasing number of birdwatchers, an annual bird count will be conducted in south Trinidad and there will also be an increase in the number of participants in the Tobago count. The Christmas bird count has been an ideal tool in identifying Trinidad and Tobago as an ideal destination for birdwatchers. Interested people are invited to participate and may contact Vishnu Debie at 640-5433; Graham White at 642- 0570; or Kimberly Chu Foon at 667- 4655(Asa W r i g h t N a t u r e Centre) for further information.

The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has officially dispelled all rumours of a low voter turnout of 17 percent and revealed that the actual turnout was 34 percent.

This turnout is normal for a local government election and the PNM has been declared a clear winner based on the EBC results.

The population has been burdened on nine consecutive occasions with the UNC’s self-declaration of wins. These declarations have been painfully described as victories for the people. I now have to agree with Kamla Persad-Bissessar; those wins are victories for the “people”, ie, the People’s National Movement.

The PNM losing eight percent of its 2013 votes is overshadowed by the UNC’s 30 percent loss. The UNC has however gained some ground in the constituency of St Joseph by winning three of the four local government districts there. This is an absolute turn-around as the PNM similarly won three of the four seats in 2013.

In the St Joseph constituency, Aranguez has always remained with the UNC while Petit Bourg/ Mt Lambert/Champs Fleurs has not left the PNM. San Juan East and St Joseph/Valsayn were recaptured by the UNC. These are the two local government marginals within St Joseph which usually act as political indicators as to which party has the greater local and constituency support.

The PNM has won 83 seats and seven and a half corporations as opposed to the UNC’s 54 seats and six and a half corporations. This is once again a victory for the people, the People’s National Movement.

The results show that citizens still have confidence in the Dr Keith Rowley-led PNM administration.

This PNM victory is significant because although the country has experienced economic challenges in the PNM’s first year, it seems citizens have not lost the “let’s do this” mantra.

I hope that some day soon the UNC will be able to declare a victory for the UNC instead of victories for the People’s National Movement.

RONALD HUGGINS St Joseph

The key word and that which I love the most is “together” for when it is put into practice the sky is the limit and there is no telling what can be accomplished.

It was that togetherness that caused the people in biblical times to build the Tower of Babel and even God was amazed. He recognised that when the people are one, nothing is impossible for them to accomplish.

Our country is going through recessionary times and there is no real sign that this will suddenly disappear, yet our hopes and anticipation are high. I sincerely believe if we are going to see our way out of this recession it would take the working together of the Government and the Opposition.

I know many people will not agree with this statement but I turn their attention back to our motto,“Together we aspire together, we achieve”.

Yes, I am well aware that we all may in some way be affiliated to a political party and nothing is wrong with that, for it is our democratic right to choose. Yet I must say in a crisis belonging to particular party will not save us. There is one thing that will help: attacking that crisis as a united front and it begins with our leaders setting the pace.

Both the Government and the Opposition must turn their guns on the real enemies in these challenging times. Those enemies are crime, job cuts, high prices, poverty and lack of timely justice, which are daily confronting the population.

I am convinced that if the coming together of ideas were to take place some of the negative things we have to live with daily would become things of the past. Who cares where the solution comes from, whether the present Government or the Opposition.

What is important is that the problem is no more.

I know this way of thinking will take a great deal of maturity and a change of mindset but which do we prefer: to perish or come together for a common cause? I am not instigating that anyone should forsake their party of choice but we should be sensitive enough to come together in a crisis situation.

ANDRE ROBERTS via email

Oh my great leaders hear my plea — I come to you on bended knee I’ll speak real low and wouldn’t shout — potholes is what I speak about The roads are filled right to the brim — to mash up shocks, tyres and rim The parts stores charge a hefty price — another day in paradise So small a problem I won’t lie — but sometimes cause people to die The leaders are both really dread — no matter if yellow or red They’ve served us long right through the years — through strife and pain and many tears We took it all with silent voice — almost as if we had no choice Potholes alone are a simple thing — so many things that need fixing But people learn when old and ripe — you know that pressure does buss pipe Old people right as they will say — one day, one day congotay.

W DOPSON Woodbrook, PoS

There is the cry of many for justice for their loved ones who have been victims of crime. People are disenchanted, many have given up, and some can’t see a way out of the dilemma that we face as a country.

We as a people must never lose hope in spite of the current situation. There is hope, our future is bright, and all’s not lost. Martin Luther King Jr had hope in spite of the prevailing circumstances around him. He said, “I have a dream,” he believed that things could turn around.

We must believe that one day we will live in a country where poverty, violence and corruption will be minimised. We must believe that there will come a day when there would be justice for all.

This must be our hope.

Hope doesn’t look at the present circumstances, hope looks at what could be.

We have the potential for greatness as a people. It starts with fixing the home. Our politicians, police officers, tradesmen, doctors etc all come from a home. The home must be one that is conducive to the grooming and mentoring of the future of our nation.

With the family intact and with the help of God, there can be a turnround. There is hope.

ANDRE ROBERTS