THE prescribed declaration forms under the Integrity in Public Life Act Regulations 2001 are expected to be laid in Parliament “soon.” However that will only happen if no modifications are made when the new Commissioners of the Integrity Commission (IC) peruse the form. That was the view of Attorney General Glenda Morean when questioned about the delay in the laying of the forms. The new Commission was sworn in last Wednesday by President George Maxwell Richards. Its Chairman is Gordon Deane, a former member of the Commission. Agreeing there was a delay in laying the forms, Morean said it was incorrect to say that the forms were ready since 2001. “That is not correct. The forms are done by the Commission and they were done somewhere in December 2002. “They were sent to the CPC (Chief Parliamentary Counsel) then to Cabinet and referred to the Legislative Review Committee. In the interim, an exercise had been ongoing with respect to overhauling the whole system we had in place to deal with corruption, and as I said before, we had a consultant who did some work, submitted a report and made certain recommendations which are presently before Cabinet for consideration.”
Morean reiterated that the recommendations of UK consultant Bertrand de Spelville was to set up a new Anti-Corruption Commis-sion or “re-engineer and refashion” the IC. Asked whether the option meant that the current IC will be scrapped, Morean said “not necessarily, not at all.” She maintained that the position was not contrary to anything she had said before, stressing, “we are looking at the alternatives.” Asked whether the IC will remain despite whatever option chosen, Morean said, “yes I would think so, whatever we decide we may still have an IC, I am not saying ‘will’ I am saying ‘may’.”
The five member panel appointed by Health Minister Colm Imbert will conduct “one on one” interviews with Cuban doctors prior to issuing them with temporary licences to practise medicine in TT. The licence will be of two years duration. Amendments to the Medical Board Bill established the panel, which has been vested with the power to consider applications for temporary licences. A health official said the Cubans will be asked about the local health sector. Their licences “should be finalised by next week,” he said. The doctors, along with Cuban nurses, will be visiting their new work places next week in what is expected to be the final phase of their orientation before taking up duty. Since they arrived in TT on July 24, the 30 nurses and six doctors have been exposed to two weeks of orientation in English including TT colloquialisms. In the past week they met with heads of departments of health institutions and were yesterday informed about the legal framework which governs the health sector — the Medical Professions Act, the Nurses and Midwives Act, etc.
Another batch of medical professionals was due to arrive at 5 am yesterday aboard a BWIA flight from Havana. At least 27 of them will be doctors, a health official said yesterday. He said half of the group are specialists, among them a Professor of Ophthalmology and a clinician. The official expected local doctors to benefit from the Cubans’ work ethic, but he also said TT has “good doctors and nurses who can teach them something.” The new group will have three to four weeks of orientation like their colleagues.
FORMER weight lifting medallist, Lennox Kilgour, is in need of funds to pay medical bills. Kilgour is currently recovering from a skin graft operation at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, Cocorite. Newsday learnt that Kilgour, 75, fell some weeks ago and injured his left instep. He sought treatment at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital but the injury got worse. He is a diabetic. It is reported that he was ‘treated badly’ at the hospital. He subsequently sought treatment at the Cocorite private institution, where a skin graft was done to the injured instep. He is still recovering at the hospital, since he is unable to walk. Close friends say they hope Kilgour will be able to move around soon.
In the meantime, with each passing day he continues to recuperate at the institution, his medical bills are growing and he is finding it difficult to pay the money. Friends told Newsday the WITCO Sports Foundation has come forward in response to a plea for help for the ailing hero, and has contributed funds toward the medical expenses. However, those funds are not enough and Kilgour’s friends are making a plea to members of the public to assist. They say a national hero should be treated with dignity and be recognised. Kilgour lives alone at Powder Magazine. His house at St James was gutted by fire several years ago. Kilgour in 1952 at the Helsinki Olympics won a bronze medal for weight lifting.
The TT Cancer Society’s mobile screening coach will be visiting several areas this week. Tomorrow the coach is scheduled to visit the Moruga Health Centre from 9.30 am to 3 pm. The following day it will be at the TT Post Delivery Centre, Cunupia from 8.30 am to 2.30 pm. On Friday the coach visits Siparia Community Centre 9.30 am to 3.30 pm and Saturday at St Mary’s Hindu Temple also from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm. The cost of screenings is $20. Pap smears and breast examinations will be done at each venue and anyone requiring further information can contact the Society at 622-6827 or 800-8827. It reminded the public that “early detection is the best protection.”
THE Beetham Improvement Com-mittee Ltd has congratulated the Ad-Hoc Committee for the Eradication of Crime in Laventille (ACECL), on its recently hold conference on crime. In a letter, Arthur Jordan, president of the committee stated the conference was rewarding and a wonderful experience. He said his doubts about the conference were unfounded. “To my surprise, the 50 leaders/delegates were treated to a display of organisation and professionalism never before experienced as far as Laventille is concern.” Arthur said the four day conference held at four different venues, was filled with lively discussions on various issues affecting Laventille. He also was high in praise for Lennox Smith, one of the organisers, describing him as “amazing.” Arthur urged the Ad-Hoc Committee to continue doing “its good work for the sake of an improved Laventille.” He said his group was looking forward to the programmes proposed and “to play an active role in addressing the many social and economic disparities, which only we, collectively, can truly solve.”
The National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) wants Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Orville London, to make workers’ issues a part of his agenda in his dealings with Cabinet. So said NUGFW president-general Robert Giuseppi during a press briefing at the union’s Tobago offices on Friday last. Giuseppi told the Tobago media that this was the rationale behind the recent protest demonstration by union members in Scarborough; to get the THA Chief Secretary to ‘pressure’ the central government and by extension the CPO (Chief Personnel Officer) into speeding up negotiations. At the same time, however, he charged that despite London’s well meaning intentions he was “hamstrung” because he could not speak out, and at the same time was not getting the necessary support from his subordinates.
Giuseppi said, having had telephone discussions with London over the past week and a half, the media briefing was called to clear up certain issues over which the country was a “little confused” at present, and which would have been discussed at a meeting between himself and the THA chief Secretary Friday afternoon. He claimed that the NUGFW has been experiencing difficulties over the past two years with its collective agreement negotiations. He said the current collective agreement was implemented in January 2002 and will expire at the end of next year. Guiseppi claimed that the union submitted proposals six months before the start of the current negotiations. “Is two years now we have been negotiating with our chief employer, which is the central and local government; after examining and analysing all the issues surrounding the collective agreement negotiations, we thought it necessary to show solidarity, we thought it necessary that the members now join the collective bargaining process”, he said. “For almost two years it was just the negotiating team — the Tobago division, the southern division, the eastern division, the sections that operate in Trinidad, these were the representatives dealing with the collective bargaining.
“We were being interrupted for all different sorts of reasons, and we thought it necessary. It’s time that we leave the table for a while and bring the collective bargaining process on the road”, he explained. This started in Port-of-Spain, then moved to Tobago, and will later move to south Trinidad. He said when the “talk and talk across the table” seem to be slowing down and going backwards, “the collective force of our membership must take part and show that this union is in solidarity with each and every one of the positions the union has proposed to the CPO and to central and local government as an employer.” He stressed: “On the pension issue, reclassification issue, the regrading issue, the training issue, and the job and income security issue; four major pillars of our negotiations have been stifled, we have been frustrated, and we decided to take collective bargaining to the streets, and hence we were in Tobago.”
ASSOCIATE degree, diploma and certificate courses being offered by the College of Science Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), are recognised only in Trinidad and Tobago. The courses are not accredited by the University of the West Indies (UWI) or any international university. However, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education, has assured that efforts are underway to have the College’s courses accredited. The College is a combination of the former Niherst Colleges, John Donaldson Technical Institute, San Fernando Technical Institute, Government Vocational Centre, Eastern Caribbean Institute of Agriculture and Forestry (ECIAF) and the Joint Services Staff College. Newsday has received several calls from students who have enrolled for the College’s 2003/2004 academic year, expressing concern about spending their money for courses which are not accredited. When Newsday contacted the College’s head office at Sackville Street, Port-of-Spain, we were advised to contact the Committee on the Recognition of Degrees (CORD) for clarification on the College’s accreditation.
A spokesperson at CORD, the only accreditation body in Trinidad and Tobago, said they were unable to make a “formal comment” but “Costaatt has never come to us for evaluation.” She explained that evaluation of courses by CORD was not mandatory and it is left to the institution to have their courses evaluated for the necessary accreditation. A spokesperson at the Ministry of Tertiary Education confirmed to Newsday that while the College’s courses were not accredited by UWI and international Universities, they are recognised by most, if not all government agencies. She pointed out that all courses offered by the College had existed under the respective institutions prior to the formation of the College and would therefore now have the same accreditation as before. CORD confirmed that they never evaluated the courses of those institutions but because it was government affiliated, they were recognised by government agencies. The CORD spokesperson said she also knew of at least one person with a John D certificate furthering their education at a foreign University. The Ministry spokesperson further explained that the Ministry was working assiduously toward establishing the Accreditation Commission in January 2004. She explained that the Commission would work closely with the UWI and other foreign universities so there would be a “seamless system” in place as it pertains to accreditation for both private and government institutions.
The “group of citizens” is urging all communities to “wear red, bring yuh placard, and take back TT” in the March and Rally against crime and “all our social ills” beginning 9 am on Saturday, August 23 from Woodford Square, Port-of-Spain. Speaking on behalf of the group who staged protest action outside Whitehall on the eve of Emancipation two weeks ago, Cherise D’Abadie and Weslynne Ashton said that the call goes out “to everyone to do something to enrich the social fabric of our society, to take back TT and to stop thinking that we can’t do anything. Our objective is to give the national public the forum to protest in the march,” Ashton told Sunday Newsday. “There are a lot of people who want to do something, who feel powerless but don’t know the avenues.” “If we want to say this is my land there is a responsibility that goes with that. We have a responsibility to each other,” said D’Abadie. “It’s a perfect time for us as a country to recognise our responsibility of freedom and independence.” Whatever your personal grouse, D’Abadie said, write it up and join the march. “The social issues in our society are endless. We are showing people a way how they can get involved.”
Guest speakers at the Rally will speak on various topics including crime and domestic violence. The group, which hasn’t a name, was initiated by three working women, “citizens of Trinidad and Tobago with a common purpose.” The core group now numbers eight between the ages 26-55 years. Over a dozen NGOs have joined their cause and have become actively involved. The courageous three said what moved them to action was more than bravery, “but it was an easy choice to make to put on a red t-shirt and get people to do that.” “We’re tired of talking about it (crime) and just talking about it is like condoning it, saying you’re ok with it. So we said ‘fine’, we’re gonna make some placards and protest against it,” D’Abadie said. “It was three of us and we made 11 placards. One of them read something like ‘honk your horn if you’ve had it with crime’ and people passing did that. One person stopped and said they would hold the placard for just 30 minutes.”
D’Abadie maintained that keeping a crime free society started with everyone making a contribution “in their little way” in their community. “It could mean helping someone with foodstuffs, not breaking a traffic light… “We need to change the way we interact with each other in Trinidad, everybody doing something to enrich the social fabric — interacting with people across the communities so there is more networking on the basketball courts, the street corners and when we start talking we get to know what’s on each other’s mind.” She said that their first venture was very “heartening. We got emails from a company in Pt Lisas saying that the whole staff came out in red. We got calls from people saying they want to get involved. “It’s a start to building awareness. It’s not targetting the Government and saying what it needs to do, it’s a call to the nation.”
SOME United National Congress (UNC) parliamentarians have said they are ready to declare their assets and those of their spouses and children to the Integrity Commission. However they expressed bewilderment about former Attorney-General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj’s claim on Wednesday that some of them were opposed to sections of the integrity legislation drafted under the UNC, which ordered parliamentarians’ spouses and children to declare their assets. Opposition Chief Whip Ganga Singh told Newsday that Maharaj has a duty to publicly identify those MPs who took issue with that part of the legislation. Singh said when integrity legislation came before the Basdeo Panday Cabinet, he could not recall anyone raising objections of the nature now alleged by Maharaj.
However he added that the People’s National Movement (PNM) “has a history” of stalling on integrity legislation, claiming it was the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) which gave life to integrity legislation within the 1976 Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago. “Who is he speaking about? He may have specific persons. We all voted for it,” Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar stated. She explained that the Integrity in Public Life Act 2000 could not have been laid in Parliament without Cabinet consensus and that consensus was unanimous. She explained that the process of the legislation coming before Parliament involved it being drafted by the AG’s office, analysed by the Legislative Review Committee and finally brought before Cabinet for approval. Persad-Bissessar said it was possible some PNM MPs may have expressed concerns about the legislation in Parliament at that time, but she could not recall whether or not this was so. Oropouche MP Dr Roodal Moonilal said he was not a member of the Cabinet at the time and could not comment on Maharaj’s claims. However Moonilal expressed concern that the PNM “was successful in hoodwinking the population on integrity in public life.” UNC chairman Wade Mark declared that Maharaj was just “whistling in the breeze” because the declaration forms make provision for the assets of spouses and children. All said they were eagerly awaiting the release of the declaration forms. “The law must be complied with,” Moonilal said.
Many immigrants from St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) have virtually become “lost” in Trinidad and Tobago, lacking formal documentation to operate in either their birthland, or their adopted country. The point was made by at least two Vincentian members of the public at a public consultation of the SVG National Constitution held Saturday at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine. The consultation was one of several held by the SVG Constitution Reform Commis-sion in both SVG and the SVG diaspora including USA, UK, Canada, and the Virgin Islands. Vendor Martin Johnson lamented that the consultation had not drawn more “roots Vincentians” in addition to the many professionals attending. He recalled that having come to Trinidad as a child in 1966, and having been led to believe he had achieved residential status, he had later been told that he did not have this standing, and further he did not have a passport for either SVG or Trinidad and Tobago. Attorney Rudolph Martin also highlighted the plight of many Vincentians, saying: “Trinidad and Tobago has a large number of Vincentians who are lost. They have nothing bringing them together. They do not have a passport of SVG or Trinidad and Toba-go.”
He urged the Commission to call on the SVG government to set up a consultate here to assist such persons. Martin also urged that in any new Constitution, SVG drop the British Queen as its Head of State, saying the monarchy was a mockery for SVG. Martin said: “In England they don’t really care about West Indians. It’s a myth to believe England is our mother country. I would advocate we get rid of the monarchy as head of state and we have a presidency.” From the floor Dillon Bergin also supported the idea of SVG ditching the Queen as SVG Head of State. The two contributors differed however on the proposed Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the region’s highest court of appeal to replace the British Privy Council. Martin said that despite the Caribbean having high calibre jurists, we simply were not ready for the CCJ. He said: “In the Court of Appeal now it is very rare you will get dissenting judgements. It’s always unanimous verdicts. We have men of integrity but we need men who are also philosophical, instead of following some old precedent.” But Bergin, while somewhat worried about the closeness of the judicial fraternity in the Caribbean, thought the region could produce an impartial CCJ and regional judiciary. The Commission is to report its consultations to the SVG Parliament in December.
