If one were to judge by the turnout of electors, this is of little if any importance to them — the population seems unconcerned with the devolution of power to the councils/boroughs, nor with the fact that they will directly collect certain taxes for their own use.

The population seems more concerned with the failure of local government bodies to deliver the services which is the raison d’etre for their existence.

The politicians on the other hand are more concerned with who won what seats or the council/borough itself — see the brouhaha on the Sangre Grande Corporation, totally ignoring the fundamental message that was sent by the historic low turnout of electors.

So much so that the Prime Minister, when this was brought to his attention by a reporter, stridently indicated that this was of no importance — he was concerned only with those who voted and not those who for whatever reason did not vote — this was about politics.

Personally, I agree with the PNM that local government is in dire need of reform, a reconstruction.

I also agree with the majority of voters who stayed away — local government in its present form is an absolute mismatch to the demands/ requirements of the population.

However, I do not support the changes being recommended by the PNM.

But, to fully explain we need to address the fundamentals of democracy and the place in it for party politics vis-a-vis that for professional and reliable delivery of services.

Democracy demands that the population select their representatives to sit in the various houses of Parliament — though our Senate includes Independents selected by the President.

The fundamental tasks of our Parliament are to pass legislation, make laws, monitor the performance of the Executive, allocate resources to the Executive based on its recommendations etc.

The major problem with our governance system is that the parliamentarians of the party that won the majority of seats also form the Executive that is also in charge of policy direction to the Public Service.

Indeed, there has been talk over the years of an executive president with an Executive not made up of parliamentarians, which draws the line more distinctly between the practice of politics in the Parliament and the business of running the country.

Local government is about providing certain services to the population at the regional level. These services are spelt out in the Parliament’s regulations and include garbage collection, repair and maintenance of roads/bridges, drains etc. Hence the activities of local government are generally about specific service provision, some construction and maintenance of infrastructure.

There is absolutely no need for overt party politics as we see in our current system or for the political autonomy that the Tobago House of Assembly holds so dear — a system in which for whatever reason the parties compete for control of the processes to provide these services.

So much so that local government bodies that are controlled by the Opposition ritually complain of not being given the resources to carry on their business.

Local government should not be about political competition.

It should be about putting in place non-political, professional and well qualified bodies charged with certain responsibilities and accountable to the Executive for their performance.

For example, T&TEC provides an energy service to the whole population. But there is no formal election to select board members, though the politicians have managed to convince themselves and the population that they have the right to demand the resignations of sitting board members and appoint others on, say, a change of government, so potentially damaging the professionalism/ expertise of an organisation.

My recommendation is that local government as a set of political institutions should be disbanded and be replaced by fewer non-partisan professional bodies charged with the delivery of agreed services.

Surely, these bodies have to provide channels such that its clients can complain or give suggestions as to quantity and quality of service.

Another approach is to establish regional sub-offices of relevant ministries where regional corporations now exist, but they must have the qualified staff necessary to carry out their functions efficiently.

MARY K KING St Augustine

In the Coca-Cola National Boys Intercol Semifinal, Signal Hill will tackle Presentation College San Fernando at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella from 3.30 pm. The teams were scheduled to face off yesterday but due to unavailable flights from Tobago Signal Hill could not get to Trinidad on time.

The winners of the Presentation- Signal Hill contest will play San Juan North in the National Intercol Final on Wednesday.

San Juan North, who played with 10 men for more than 50 minutes, stormed into the final after defeating Trinity College (Moka) 4-1 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain on Wednesday in the first semi.

Prior to the Boys Intercol Semifinal, Signal Hill will lock horns with Fyzabad Secondary from 1.30 pm in the Shell/First Citizens Girls National Intercol Semifinal at the same venue. The Signal Hill-Fyzabad match was also carded to be played yesterday but flight arrangements affected the encounter.

The winners will advance to play St Augustine Secondary on Wednesday in the final. St Augustine dominated Bishop Anstey High School (Port of Spain) in the first semi with a 7-0 victory at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Arima on Sunday.

Police sources said the 26-year-old suspect of San Fernando is facing charges including sexual grooming, abduction, unlawful sex with a minor, sexual touching and others. The search is now underway for the teen’s neighbour who cannot be found. The victim is a Form III student of a school in East Trinidad.

The reverend, who leads a flock at a church in La Romaine, began communicating with the schoolgirl in January via Facebook and almost 11 months later, he managed to convince the girl to meet with him last week Friday.

She was picked up outside her home in East Trinidad at 8 am and taken to a lonely area near the Sangre Grande Hindu Primary School where the man had sex with her in his car. He later dropped her back home.

On Tuesday, he picked the child up again and took her to a secluded area in Turure Village where he again began having sex with her in the car. Residents who spotted the car parked under a tree became curious when they noticed the vehicle shaking.

On closer inspection, they saw the reverend with the schoolgirl and quickly alerted the police.

Officers from the Sangre Grande police station arrived, interrupted the Reverend and arrested him.

The girl was taken to the Sangre Grande Hospital where medical checks revealed her pregnant state. She was unaware of being with child. Officers from the TT Police Service’s Child Protection Unit (CPU) and officials of the Children’s Authority were contacted by police. The girl’s parents were also called in. Constable Mahabir of the CPU is continuing investigations along with detectives from the Sangre Grande CID.

Police sources said that the child showed police and CPU officers the content of her Facebook account which revealed a sequence of messages, posts and photos – some very suggestive – which the reverend shared with the child. The girl is receiving counselling from officers of the Police Service’s Victims Support Unit. Police said that when the neighbour is apprehended, he too could face criminal charges. Investigations are continuing.

Turnout for the past five local government elections was respectively: 38.7 percent (1999); 37.9 percent (2003); 39.1 percent (2010); 43.6 percent (2013); and 34.3 percent (2016). Last Monday, 362,254 persons cast valid votes, out of a registered electorate in Trinidad of 1,054,817 voters. Each party could claim victory on Election Day. The People’s National Movement (PNM) won seven and a half corporations (the latter being the tied Sangre Grande Regional Corporation), ahead of the United National Congress (UNC) winning six and a half, but the UNC won half of Sangre Grande, previously a PNM corporation.

Likewise, Rowley boasted that the PNM won the most seats – 82 ahead of the 55 seats won by the UNC – although facing a net loss of one seat to the UNC, compared to 2013. However, the EBC results yesterday showed that the UNC won the popular vote. Across all seats in Trinidad, the UNC won 180,758 votes, just ahead of the PNM’s 174,754 votes.

Of the smaller parties the Congress of the People (COP) nationwide won 1,803 votes, ahead of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) on 790 votes, Independent Liberal Party (ILP) on 343 votes, National Solidarity Assembly (NSA) on 804 votes, NDP on 244 votes and IDP on 602 votes. The total tally for persons standing independent of any party was 1,071 votes.

While the UNC tied for seats four-four with the PNM in Sangre Grande, speculation is that the UNC could have won the corporation outright but for possible vote-splitting by a new, smaller party, the NSA, whose base like the UNC is thought to be ex-sugar workers. In the seat of Sangre Grande North West, the PNM won by a margin of just 40 votes (PNM 1,351 and UNC 1,311), less than the NSA’s tally of 78 votes.

Geographically, the highest turnout occurred at Mayaro/Rio Claro (49.8 percent) and Siparia (41.8 percent). The lowest turnout was Diego Martin (21.8 percent) and Port-of-Spain (22.78 percent).

PNM PRO Stuart Young told Newsday that the 34 percent turnout was nowhere near the 17 to 20 percent turnout being proffered by some observers on Election Night. Saying that local election turnouts are usually less than those of general elections, he said, “This 34 percent is within expected parameters”.

Afteba Huggins, 36, of South Oropouche appeared before Senior Magistrate Armina Deonarinesingh.

Charges alleged that on Monday November 28, Huggins raped the SRP constable at Berridge Trace, South Oropouche; falsely imprisoned her. Another charge alleged he shot at the officer with intent to murder her. Another charge was that he also robbed her of a quantity of gold jewellery and a Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) jacket together valued $9,750, and used personal violence against her. The last two charges alleged that on the same date and place, Huggins had in his possession a firearm and ammunition.

Sgt Gokool of the South Oropouche Police Station laid the charges.

The SRP, the charges stated, was on her way to conduct guard duties at a polling station on the morning of the local government election when she was attacked.

Huggins’ attorney Ramnarine Soorgansingh told the court his client is a caretaker at Arawak Limited in Mausica, is married and father of five children aged 14, 13, nine, seven and four. Huggins’s wife who was in the courtroom, for the in-camera proceedings, is expecting their sixth child.

The attorney complained that even before his client was arrested, there was “wide publicity” about the alleged incident. During his bail application, Soorgansingh requested that the matter be “treated with respect” adding that the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, must be applied.

Looking at the criminal records of Huggins, the attorney noted that the accused has pending matters including rape and wounding with intent.

Soorgansingh also asked that the matter be expedited. Court prosecutor Sgt Anthony Baptiste objected to bail on the grounds that the accused had been charged for criminal acts allegedly committed while he was on bail for a similar type offence (rape).

Magistrate Deonarinesingh denied Huggins bail and informed him of his right to apply to a Judge in Chambers for bail, if he so desires.

The case was adjourned to December 30. As officers were escorting the accused out of the courtroom, his wife threw a yellow towel over his head so as to prevent media photographers from taking photos.

Tewarie had raised questions during a statement by Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Stuart Young, on the Renegotiation of the Caribbean Gas Chemical Limited Project, better known as the Mitsubishi/ Massy Natural Gas to Petrochemicals Complex.

The Minister said that on taking office in 2015 the Government found itself in a situation of a serious gas curtailment since 2010 that exposed them to billions of dollars in claims from downstream users not getting their contractual supply from the National Gas Company (NGC). Further, contracts had expired between the NGC and the downstreamers, no new talks were initiated, and no plan existed to alleviate gas supplies.

Saying that five days into office, the Government was asked by Massy to provide a legal opinion by the Office of the Attorney General on the project, Young hailed public servants at the Ministries of Energy and Attorney General for resisting pressure to do so when approached on September 4, 2015 and September 7, 2015. Young said the former regime had agreed to several items that potentially exposed this country to billions of dollars worth of claims.

“Legal officers in the Solicitor General’s Office did not agree to the Attorney General issuing the requested opinion. The legal officers objected in red ink to what ad been agreed to previous to September 7, 2015.” These warnings were also made to former Ministers of Energy and Finance, that the proposed deal could expose NGC to damages and losses. Young said TT’s first ever “Debt Tail Buy Down” deal had bound the NGC to pay the whole CGCL loan in the event of a gas shortage, without the NGC getting any benefit.

The former government’s Green Field Gas Priority Policy of 2013 said that in case of a gas shortage, supply priority would be for new industries, rather than old industries, but breaching existing contracts, Young related. The former government ignored warnings, but adopted the policy that exposed the NGC to billions of dollars in claims by most existing downstreamers at Point Lisas, a situation that could have wrecked TT’s gas industry.

He said the Government held talks with Massy, Mitsubishi, JBIC and the Japan Government, and by August executed an amended deal that protects the NGC and the people of TT. The Government rescinded the Green Field Policy.

The NGC is now protected by mechanisms such as a CGCL fund to cover loan installments.

“NGC is no longer exposed to the potential billions of dollars of claims for damages.” He added that the Government wants solutions to the curtailments in the industry. Replying to a query by Tewarie, Young said any shortfall in its gas-supply to clients could leave NGC paying from its own pocket, that is, a taxpayer bailout.

WHEN WE first started to do cultural interventions with vulnerable youth, suicide was not one of the major areas that we addressed. We treated with issues like sexuality, peer pressure, violence or anger management.

It is concerning to see that today, another area of crisis has become prominent, needing our urgent attention.

Alarmingly, Dr Varma Deyalsingh, secretary of the Association of Psychiatrists of TT, is quoted as saying that the third highest cause of death amongst teenagers in TT is suicide. Globally, it is the second leading cause of death amongst 15-29-year-olds.

Shockingly, “over 800,000 people die due to suicide every year and there are many more who attempt suicide.” From a medical perspective, suicide is included under the mental health field of study.

When looked at in this way, it is easier to understand that it is not something that just happens, but is rather a complicated phenomenon that develops over time and has many triggers.

Research shows that in TT “an important contributor to our suicide rate is ‘social distress’.” Social distress is a concept that we can all relate to and understand. For adults, it can range from unemployment to crime and family; for young people their stresses stem from the traditional factors of peer pressure, acceptability, identity, fear of failure and so on.

Sadly, the 21st century youth faces another enormous hurdle, that of social media, with the desire to fit in being reflected in the almost obsessive posts, “likes”, selfies, “friending”, “unfriending” and even online predators and cyber-bullying.

This is not to deny the positive aspects of the online world such as access to information, being able to stay connected with friends and family and even enhancing political awareness.

However, a 2015 study on teens in the US revealed that constant engagement with technology limits the ability of the brain to develop empathy or caring about other people, because this capacity is triggered when we daydream.

It suggests that if we are spending less time reflecting on our values and on other people, we are effectively creating a generation of people whose overriding commitment is not to community or family but to “self ”.

Further, if you listen to teenagers here, in addition to online pressures, they are struggling with alcohol and drug use, managing their workload and wanting to fit in. Our multi-ethnic landscape adds another dimension — that of identity.

As I have written before, we have yet to manage our issues of race, colour and class. Our inability to treat with these as a nation manifests itself in negative behaviours like skin bleaching, self-mutilation and yes, eventually, suicide. Discussions with social workers and others in the field reveal that parents and educators are often not well equipped to provide solutions.

From our own experience, young people speak to young people, mainly because their experience is that adults cannot relate to them in the ways they require.

As performers, we are able to break through those barriers because we are not seen as traditional authority figures. It explains why young people respond to rap artists, soca stars and popular personas, because the artists create and sing the music, wear the clothes and speak the language to which they respond.

Now that we know the statistics, it is time to act. We need to reach into our cultural souls to counter negative influences, encourage more dreaming and stop the scourge of suicide amongst our precious youth.

D a r a Healy is a perform a n c e artist and f o u n d – er of the NGO, the I n d i g e – nous Creative Arts Network – ICAN.

yesterday the price of Brent oil rose by more than nine percent, or more than US$4 per barrel. Oil had held onto gains of around seven percent for most of the European afternoon.

This news has been interpreted by some in this country as a signal that the good days will be back shortly. While we all hope for better days soon, where sentiment in the energy sector will be bullish and we can see government revenues from the energy sector returning to previous levels, we need to pause and first take a look at the deal.

We also need to examine certain relevant information sets that have material bearing on the ability of OPEC to have a sustained upward impact on prices and for us to be able to benefit from this deal.

What are the details of the deal? Saudi Arabia, which raised oil production to a record this year, will reduce output by 486,000 barrels a day to 10.058 million a day. Iraq, OPEC’s second- largest producer, agreed to cut by 210,000 barrels a day from October levels. Iran, which has negotiated for an increase and not a quota, was allowed to raise output to about 3.8 million barrels a day.

For the deal to work it is important that non-OPEC countries such as Russia participate with cuts of their own. Any cut between 300,000 and 600,000 bpd would amount to almost two percent of global production, far more than markets expected. If it works, the OPEC agreement could push oil above US$60 a barrel within weeks. However, we must note that speculators were mostly betting on an OPEC failure. But why is this? If oil prices continue to rise, its sustainability hinges on the speed at which American shale producers will ramp up output, in effect capping the oil price and on Donald Trump’s dream of oil self-reliance.

Many of these shale producers are still standing, despite OPEC’s best efforts to kill them off, and they are very eager to dish out some much-desired retaliation against OPEC.

Any continuation of an oil price rally, however, also depends on non-OPEC members such as Russia reliably committing to cut output at a meeting on December 9. But it must be remembered that it is impossible to monitor Russia’s pledge to cut any production, because much of its production moves by pipeline.

It could say one thing and do something else.

Trinidad and Tobago’s ability to get an increase in revenues from the oil sector has little to do now with price changes, but far more with changes in the fiscal regime for the energy sector, which came into effect in 2014, and, among other concessions, allowed for the write-off of 100 percent of capital expenditure on exploration in the first year.

This has seen a dramatic fall in revenues from the energy sector.

It is only when these changes in the fiscal regime expire would there be some relief for the country.

The worst case is that an OPEC agreement to limit oil production for the first time in nearly a decade does more to erase a market surplus than support higher prices. If that is the case then we in this country can expect no relief from the efforts of OPEC.

The charred remains of Miracle and Mawaki Gordon, two and four respectively, were found in an embrace among the smouldering ruins of their wooden home at Tattoo Trace in Valencia on Thursday afternoon after the flames were doused by firemen. The two were reportedly left home alone, with the house locked up by the children’s male and female relatives. Minutes later, the house became engulfed in flames and was burnt to the ground.

The male relative is said to be a taxi driver while the female relative is a hair dresser. Autopsies were expected to be done yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James. Meanwhile, Councillor for Valencia Simone Gill called for a thorough investigation from the Police and Fire services as well as the Child Protection Unit to ensure that justice is done and charges laid.

She added that the death of Miracle and Mawaki must not be in vain.

“Good people need to stand up,” said Gill. “I know that you may not want to involve yourself.

I know you may be afraid of people criticizing you or calling you ‘fast’, but if someone had taken some kind of action, these two children could have been alive today.” There have been claims that this was not the first time that both children were left home alone inside the locked house.

The children’s eldest sibling, who is 20, lives elsewhere. Up to press time yesterday, the cause of the fire had not yet been determined even as firemen from the TT Fire Service’s Fire Prevention and Investigations Unit returned to the scene to continue investigations.

“T&TEC has just informed us that by tonight (yesterday) Grande Riviere will get back their electricity and by Saturday, Matelot will be back on. So the idea now is to bring immediate relief to the villages and get in food, other essential items and water.” the release said.

Newsday also understands that the Bridges, Landslips and Traffic Management Unit of the Ministry of Works and Transport were dispatched to the area, to commence work on clearing remaining debris and to replace the collapsed bridge with a modular bridge.

Accompanying the Minister on his tour of the area were Minister of Local Govt Kazim Hosein, Sangre Grande Member of Parliament Glenda Jennings Smith and outgoing Chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation Martin ‘Terry’ Rondon.

A separate release from the TT Defence Force (TTDF) revealed that the Air Guard is continuing to assist residents by carrying out supply drops and assisting in the movement of police officers from Toco to Matelot and Grand Riviere, as many roads remain inaccessible.

The release added that supplies were being distributed through the Operation for Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) and the TTDF, as parts of continued efforts to stabilise the community following landslides.