“A large number of children will be on their own for the first time,” Rodriguez said.

“These children are vulnerable and can be easily influenced.

Predators use this period to target our children.” She encouraged parents to know their children’s friends and to check their school bags regularly to ensure there are no prohibited items there. She emphasised role of parents and guardians teaching their children safety practices and said children should be taught to distance themselves from strangers who attempt to make contact with them. If such an incident occurs, they should report the matter immediately to an authority figure such as a parent or teacher.

Rodriguez said children should be discouraged from entering vehicles, even if familiar, without their parents’ permission and urged that when travelling, the make, colour, number plate and driver’s description be noted before entry.

Internet security was also a key topic at the briefing. Rodriguez expressed the need for parental supervision of children’s internet activity and the need for time limits on their children’s internet use. “Computers, cellular phones, tablets and such, should always be placed in a common area of the house. They should never be placed in a child’s bedroom.

The placement in a living room or dining room will allow you to monitor them and their activity occasionally.” Rodriguez said children should be educated on the dangers of the internet and the predators that use it to gain access to their victims and thus should be discouraged from revealing personal information online. She said predators often pose as minors with the intent of befriending children.

And we have to rely on truckborne water.

The excuses are “the pump broke down” and “silt in the ducts.” What I want to know is does WASA do any planning or does it, like most, wait until something breaks down completely then throw its hands in the air and expect the suffering public to understand At present no one seems to know when or if we will ever have a pipe-borne water supply.

To make matters worse, the rate of construction going on further up Maraval is a matter for concern.

D HUTCHINSON via email

The date commemorates the events of August 22-23, 1791, in Santo Domingo (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) which saw the beginning of the uprising that would play the most crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The leader of the revolution was Toussaint L’Ouverture.

UNESCO has been inviting the Ministers of Culture of all UN member States to organise events every year on that date, involving their entire populations and in particular young people, educators, artists and intellectuals.

I have witnessed no efforts to do so in TT .

According to the UNESCO web page, “the day is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples.

In accordance with the goals of the intercultural project, The Slave Route, it should offer an opportunity for collective consideration of the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of this tragedy, and for an analysis of the interactions to which it has given rise between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.” My contribution to the day has been twofold.

First I want to urge TT to do its part in the commemoration of this event, which was the only successful slave uprising in human history. Secondly, I wish to recall a part of my tribute to L’Ouverture which I narrated on radio during African History Month, 2015. I wrote: “When Toussaint L’Ouverture joined the Haitian revolution, he was already in his mid-forties. This was an advanced age for an enslaved person because slavery aged the Africans prematurely.

“Toussaint’s early life had prepared him very well for the task which he had to undertake.

He soon recognised the military and political deficiency among the enslaved. In the early months of the revolution, L’Ouverture built an army strong enough to safeguard the freedom of the Africans in Haiti.

“He also had to govern a land, which was caught up in three-way fighting between Africans, whites and persons of mixed heritage.

“In quick time, Toussaint was able to drive the Spanish out of the French-speaking part of the island. And later, he forced the British to leave Haiti. In fact, the expulsion of the British by the Haitians was the worst defeat of a British expeditionary force between the reign of Elizabeth the First (1533–1603) and the First World War (1914- 1919).

“After Toussaint L’Ouverture had defeated the English, who wanted to restore slavery in Haiti, the great emancipator began to develop the liberated island for a new era.

Once the army of liberation had achieved its early objectives, Toussaint believed that the economy of Haiti should be returned to its former strength.

“Toussaint issued regulations that the free Haitians should go back to work, 24 hours after they had assumed control of any district.

He also ordered his commanders to take all measures to ensure that the plantations were kept running.

“Toussaint told the formerly enslaved Africans: ‘Work is necessary.

It is a virtue. It is for the general good of the State.’ Toussaint began a massive road-building programme. He built schools and improved the agricultural output of Haiti.

“In less than two years, he put Haiti on a better financial foundation than it had ever been. But, most importantly of all, Toussaint strengthened the defences of the island against any further attempts to enslave the population.

“The Haitian leader reinforced the forts and reorganised the army. Although his iron discipline did not find favour with many Haitians, he persevered until he was able to build a military force without equal in the New World.

“Toussaint was justified in maintaining a strong hand in governing Haiti, because the greatest threat to Haiti’s freedom was Napoleon Bonaparte, the French dictator. Bonaparte had conquered large parts of Europe and he was furious with Toussaint, whom he called ‘a rebellious slave.’ He said that a mere servant had stained the honour of France.

“In certain quarters, Toussaint was placed on the same pedestal as the European general.

Some persons were calling Toussaint L’Ouverture the black Bonaparte and others went so far as to say that ‘of the two Bonapartes, the black one is greater.’”

AIYEGORO OME Mt Lambert

In an interview with Newsday yesterday, Alexandrov said two tests which were seemingly important to prove the baby was born alive were a floating test of the lungs, and a gastrointestinal floating test.

“A floating test was conducted and showed air went into the baby’s lungs,” he said.

“If the baby just made one breath being alive, the air goes into the lungs. When the lungs are placed into a container with water they float. In stillborn babies, when the lungs are put into the container with water and the lungs do not have any air, they sink.” He said a similar exercise was done with the baby’s stomach.

“The lungs, the stomach and the gastrointestinal tract were floating which means the baby was born alive. The baby was perfectly well developed weighing three kilogrammes and was 51 centimetres in length. The umbilical cord was cut and a small one-centimetre stomp was left.” Alexandrov said he faced a challenge in determining what to put on the death certificate.

“I put ‘abandonment in hostile environment of a newborn viable full term infant’.” He said according to national standards, in his profession, there are rules and regulations to follow and the case should be treated as an infanticide to investigate until proven otherwise.

“Leaving the innocent child all alone, absolutely helpless newborn in a hostile environment is a homicide.

If the baby was put into a box and then a garbage bag, the baby had a lack of oxygen. And if the baby was put in the box and then in a plastic bag, probably this little baby was going through hyperthermia (extreme increase in body temperature). For a baby of this age, I think all it takes is a matter of minutes to die. Maybe ten minutes or so.” He said for the sake of possible identification, if the police find the mother of the baby, samples of the baby’s bone marrow and bones from the thigh were kept for future analysis to prove the baby belongs to that woman.

Meanwhile, head of the Police Service’s Corporate Communications Unit, Ellen Lewis, yesterday told Newsday investigations are continuing and anyone with information on the whereabouts of the mother of the baby should come forward.

There have been conflicting reports on what may have transpired last Saturday. But the fact remains that every hike poses specific risks, all of which must be catered for. People contemplating going on hikes should be aware of these risks and should be cautioned about them.

In the first place, a hike is potentially a strenuous physical activity.

People with various medical conditions should be mindful. If you have asthma, diabetes, a heart condition, knee or back problems, or any other health or medical issue, you must limit both your exertion and your exposure. Stay within your training, physical limitations, and abilities.

Hikers must also be aware of their environment. This means keeping track of one another and not getting left behind. Questions have been raised about how Baird fell behind the group.

One relative has even gone so far as to suggest all hikes should adopt a simple system to ensure none is left behind. This system would see key personnel man the group at the start, middle and end. Such a system, if executed by people with experience and competence, can be useful. But the environment also poses certain risks. Hikers have to be aware of the weather conditions, the terrain, the nature of the surrounding flora and fauna. Knowledge of the biota present should also be a basic requirement for operators.

During a hike, fellow hikers should also look out for each other. Always remain in a group and communicate any difficulties or deviations. It is also important for there to be adequate breaks built into the hike and for hikers to remember the need to conserve energy and supplies for the return segment of the expedition.

Hiking is a popular activity. In addition to being a good form of exercise, it is also part of our tourism package.

If we are serious about developing the eco-tourism niche market, then we must ensure that best practices prevail across the board when it comes to hike operators. We do not comment on any particular party or entity but note there have long been concerns about the degree of organisation of local hiking companies.

Some have questioned the professionalism of these entities, which are normally family-owned, informal or small businesses.

While every person going on a hike has a duty to be adequately prepared for any eventuality, because of the nature of the risks involved, and the fact that hiking can be a vital part of our tourism package, there may need to be greater involvement by the State in the regulation of hikes. Hike operators – whether incorporated companies or groups and private clubs – should be made to seek permits to conduct hikes along specified routes.

The conditions for granting these permits should be tied to the resources and competencies of the operators as well as any other relevant factor, such as the nature of the terrain or likelihood of bad weather.

Operators should be made to conform to a requisite level of sophistication in operations and should pass all health and safety requirements.

The Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of National Security and the ODPM should collaborate on devising robust systems. Hiking should not be deadly. It should be a fun and income- earning part of our tourism package. Let’s make it so.

Duke told the media during a press conference yesterday at Scarborough Fishing Depot, that his plans were not for fame but for equality for Tobago. “By whatever means is necessary, we will take that means and commence by swimming,” Duke said. “We will be doing that understanding the perils out at sea, understanding that the water is mixed and the currents are heavy.

“Understanding there are dangerous fish out there but we are doing it with all the safety precautions like we would have the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, rescue team, a doctor and a nurse on a vessel alongside the swimmers.

We are doing this for Tobago.” When asked his about those who called his idea absurd, Duke responded, “Silence. Actions speak louder than words.

“There is a time to talk and there is a time for action, our actions will speak. The time for talking is long gone.

“If nothing else matters we are going to the ultimate. Like Christ going to the cross, we will put our life and take the strain and every stroke we make and water we swallow out there it is done with Tobagonians in mind.” Duke will start the 246 km swimming protest with assistance from other members of the THA Opposition and fishermen from the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association (ATFA). Duke said the event would be historic and would give Tobagonians the courage to speak up. He added it would also become a catalyst for affected stakeholders to demand fair treatment from Central Government.

Duke slammed Prime Minister Keith Rowley’s recent efforts to address the current air and sea bridge issue. He said, “We want him to have a real meeting to have a conversation with Tobagonians.

He has been having conversations with people in North, South Trinidad but he hasn’t had any in Tobago.

The only meetings he held in Tobago was closed door.” Last month, Duke along with members of the public and minority opposition marched 25 kilometres from Argyle to Scarborough for seven hours demanding an end to nepotism and equity in the Tobago House of Assembly.

He then recalled times where the Opposition attempted to warn the THA and the Government about issues with the recently procured Cabo Star and Ocean flower 2.

“We have tried every single thing to raise this issue with the sea bridge on the national agenda,” Duke said. “We have tried but unsuccessfully.

We have gotten a lot of talk and no action.

“What we need is for this issue to be placed on the national agenda and keep it there until something happens. What affects Tobago should affect Trinidad and Tobago.” Opposition member and representative for Parlatuvier/Lanse Fourmi/ Speyside constituency Farley Augustine said the effort would show that Tobagonians wanted to play a significant role in the decision making for the next procurement process.

While reducing costs can be considered a reasonable motive for awarding government contracts to foreign parties, a growing body of research suggests that the overall savings are minimal, on average. The simple reason for this is the inclusion of the fiscal multiplier, which is the amount that government spending affects income levels in the country, or in other words, the extent to which government spending generates new consumption. Usually, governments are more likely to award contracts to domestic firms in a recession to stimulate Keynesian multiplier effects in the economy. While procurement expenditures may rise in response to awarding to local contractors, governments believe the additional costs are outweighed by the support for the development, enrichment, growth, expansion and the retention of the local business community, thereby keeping any tax dollars spent on contracts, within the economy. Other advantages may include achieving local social policy goals to assist the local economy, and improving and protecting the local economy.

We in no way suggest that governments should only award contracts to locals. It merely asks that when conducting a costbenefit analysis, as is assumed was done, the potential savings to tax-payers must be pegged against loss of potential jobs, loss of potential income, repatriation of profits, and foreign currency flight.

The function of the cost-benefit analysis was to equip the government with the necessary information to fully evaluate the costs and benefits of awarding contracts and to ensure that taxpayers’ money is used in the most efficient manner. While simple cost measure comparisons are important for any type of decision, they do not reveal all the true costs and benefits associated with the decision to ultimately “outsource”.

Private entities usually base many decisions on obtaining the lowest cost and this would make sense since private entities seek to minimise their expenditure to achieve a given goal. In contrast, a government’s decisions when awarding contracts should be made with significantly different criteria. The government’s role in the economy is to pursue the public good ie the economic and other interests of its citizens. This objective of government should underline all government actions and processes, including government procurement. The government cannot act as a private entity in its approach to procurement as it must recognise the benefit that its procurement spend represents for the broader local economy and therefore it cannot ignore its broader economic objectives in its procurement policies and processes.

Government infrastructure spending has one of the highest fiscal multipliers among all types of fiscal stimulus measures – that is, an extra dollar of infrastructure spending translates into higher increase in the overall valueadded for the economy compared with most other fiscal measures. The high multiplier reflects both direct and indirect effects of infrastructure provision.

Directly, construction projects tend to be labour intensive, meaning that much of the expenditure goes directly back into the economy through wages.

Indirectly, construction activity has a very significant expenditure and employment multiplier effect which boosts activity and employment in related industries, not least in those industries supplying construction. In comparison, foreignsourced construction goods and services can safely be assumed to result in little or no flow-on expenditure or employment impacts, as materials are sourced from overseas and usually use foreign labour.

As with other areas of policy, transparency in process and outcome can go a long way to ensuring policies are working as intended and promised benefits to communities are being realised. While the economic and social benefits of an infrastructure project should be included in any cost-benefit analyses framework that assess project design and viability, there also should be an examination of the economic and social outcomes of infrastructure spending on both a macro and a community level once a project is complete. Citizens should be able to transparently see how that spend translates into social outcomes in their communities, and not simply the infrastructure project at the end.

Government expenditure involves much more than just size of expenditure. The implications of actions are complex and have ripple effects. We must not be parochial or fooled by other people’s agenda, whoever is the spokesman.

Sadly, race and ethnicity are nearly always on the political agenda here in the UK, where I find myself at present, and this was quickened by the gloomily impending Brexit guillotine that will sever integration links with Europe that were developed over the last 30 plus years.

It was the perceived threat of streams of Eastern European and other nationalities coming into Britain that helped win the vote to leave the European Union.

Ideas of racial purity, as absurd as it is almost everywhere, remain potent.

Britain has been home to waves of peoples from Europe and elsewhere, including Africa, going back centuries and the mixing has been a huge success, so much so that the history has been forgotten.

Next year will mark the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury in England that brought the first big wave of West Indians to Britain.

There will be a lot of celebration as the ship’s arrival is considered one of the defining moments of British history, as was seen in the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.

A mock-up of the ship’s metal frame appeared alongside representations of the Industrial Revolution, WWI, the suffragettes movement, the 1936 Jarrow March, and the creation of the National Health Service.

The cultural impact of Caribbean and, later on, sub-continental Indian peoples has been greater than their actual number. Few of the approximately two million “black” people in the UK now identify themselves as Caribbean. Most of them, around three percent of the national population, are Africans arriving in the last 20 years.

The paradox of the Windrush celebrations, as historian Olusago underlines, is that it misleads the uninformed to believe that black people have only been in British life since 1948.

It came into relief when a Twitter war began three weeks ago when someone, eager to weed out political correctness, criticised a BBC cartoon featuring a dark-skinned father to a normal English family.

When a world-renowned Cambridge academic, expert on the Roman Empire, waded into the Twitter fracas to add that Africans were at all levels of even Roman life in Britain and Europe, she and scholarship were vilified by the ignorant.

There have been other cases of films and television programmes where historical research that correctly allowed for the casting of black and brown characters have been accused of wilfully distorting British history. And the doubters will not be convinced.

The truth is that with new isotope and DNA testing techniques, more irrefutable evidence is constantly appearing. In Olusago’s book he mentions the mixed race Roman Britons, including the famed Ivory Bangle Lady and many others through the centuries.

The moment of forgetting must be dated back to the Atlantic slave trade when the very humanity of African peoples was destroyed and the black presence in “island” Britain excised except where it existed in several archives and works of art that accurately record their historical period.

From them we know that black sailors were part of Sir Francis Drake’s crew and several black soldiers fought alongside Lord Nelson at Trafalgar, for instance.

It is curious that Britons know little about their part in the slave trade, which is still poorly taught in schools, yet are moved by telling of stories of slavery in the USA. The teaching of a whitewashed history is the reason Britons are ignorant of their past and why black Britons remain disadvantaged — less employed, lower paid, more criminalised.

Notwithstanding, next week’s Notting Hill Carnival will show, again, how through art, music, sport and fashion West Indians and others have become “standard bearers of a new cultural and national identity,” making indelible contributions to British life.

The PM made this point to labour representatives during a four-hour meeting with them at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in St Clair. Rowley agreed to meet with the trade unions again on September 13. During yesterday’s meeting, Rowley offered to host an open forum next month where the business community and the labour movement would be given an opportunity to present their respective cases to the country.

In a statement issued by the OPM after the meeting, Rowley said, “There have been no mass retrenchments; we have borrowed considerably to maintain the Government expenditure on human resource maintenance.” He continued, “Some contract workers have not had their contracts renewed but that number is much smaller than those who have had their contracts renewed.” Rowley was heartened by the unions’ pronouncement that their withdrawal from the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC) was temporary.

The Prime Minister said he was willing to consider some restructuring of the NTAC.

Rowley said,”We are better sitting around the table than shouting at each other. There is nothing to be gained by labour from refusing to sit around the table.” Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, Energy Minister Franklin Khan and Minister in the OPM Stuart Young also attended the meeting.

Speaking with reporters outside of the OPM after the meeting, Joint Trade Union Movement leader Ancil Roget confirmed that labour will meet with Rowley on September 13. However, Roget said labour was not ready to rejoin either NTAC or the National Productivity Council at this time. He said both entities should be restructured , with Government not chairing and being a member of the same entity in each case. Roget said Rowley did not agree with labour’s call for a moratorium on retrenchment but did listen to the movement’s concerns.

Roget said labour wanted to make a significant contribution to the upcoming 2017/2018 Budget. He expressed concerns that the Budget could contain International Monetary Fund and World Bank prescriptions which would hurt workers and the wider population as well.

Roget said labour felt disrespected that wage negotiations that were settled are not being implemented while other negotiations have not started yet. Реклама: Rent-scooter.com Scooter rental in Barcelona

He also said labour wanted Government to give particular attention to amending the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act, to make it more difficult for employers to retrench workers at will. Roget said the labour movement understood the country’s current economic challenges. However, he added, all stakeholders must be cognisant of the need for maintaining industrial peace and stability at this time. Roget said reference was made to the domestic seabridge issue during the meeting, in the context of corruption and the perception of corruption

Sources yesterday revealed that the secretary of the JSC would be sending out requests to the three ministers to appear before the committee.

The JSC will also be summoning former chairmen of the board of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago Christine Sahadeo and Nyree Alfonso, and former member Ferdie Ferreira.

Former transport minister Stephen Cadiz will be requested to attend.

Sources said that Michael Annisette, president general of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Union will also be invited to share information with the JSC.

The JSC, chaired by Independent Senator Stephen Crease, will also travel to Tobago to hold a similar inquiry.

At that meeting, former head of the Public Service Reginald Dumas will be given an opportunity to have his say on the ferry fiasco.

Sources also said that Andrew Purdey, vice chairman of Bridgeman’s Services Group, would be given a special invitation to tell his side of the story at the JSC inquiry when it is convenient to him.

Purdey has indicated publicly that he is willing to tell all to clear his company’s name.

When contacted, Sinanan, the Works and Transport minister, said he was willing to appear before the JSC if requested but would have to be guided on if he could attend and what he could divulge.

He said he would also be guided on if his appearance before the JSC could be a conflict of interest.

At the end of the JSC meetings, he said, the recommendations of the committee would have to be sent to him for action within a 60- day period.