Confirming that the Commission was anxious to have the declaration forms brought to Parliament as required by the Integrity in Public Life Act, new Chairman of the Integrity Commission Gordon Deane said the Integrity Commission  would continue to pursue every avenue to get the declaration forms brought to Parliament. Speaking shortly after he was sworn in at the President’s House yesterday, Deane told reporters that the previous Commission had used every effort available to it in this respect. It spoke to the Attorney General, the Prime Minister, and more recently had sought the intervention of the President in getting the Government to take the declaration forms to the Parliament.“We looked at all who needed to be asked and we asked,” he said. The members of the new Commission,chartered accountant, John Martin; Justice Monica Barnes; Justice Jean Permanand; retired RBTT CEO Terrence Martins, and insurance executive Deane, received their instruments of appointment yesterday.

But even as members swore to act conscientiously and impartially, the new Chairman conceded that the failure of Government to bring the declaration forms to Parliament would affect the capacity of the Commission to do its job properly. Dealing with its efforts, Deane said the Commission had designed the forms after researching the Integrity Legislation. Then there was a hung Parliament when nothing could have been done. “But there came a time when something could have been done [after the October 2002 election] and since then, we have been asking that these forms be taken to Parliament. There is nothing preventing them from being submitted now,” he said. Deane said the Commission even sought legal advice on whether it could have used another mechanism — other than the forms — for getting people in public life to provide information on their assets, income and liabilities. But the Commission was advised that it could not pursue any other course. Told that many politicians had a problem with the kind of financial details being sought on the form about their spouses and dependent children, Deane said the legislation “by its very nature is invasive” and he expected persons to have concerns. “But,” he said, “my own view is that… if you have decided that you want to be a person in public life and you know that you have these declarations to make, you know that ahead of time. So there should be no issue with completing the forms,” he stated, adding that this was why the issues of secrecy, confidentiality and security of information were important to the functioning of the Commission.

On the AG’s plan to strengthen the Commission or to set up a completely new Anti-Corruption body, Deane said he did not have the research information that led the AG to believe that this was an important thing to do. “I believe that the Commission that we have now is one that must set off and must do its work. In order to do that work well, we need the regulations, which include the forms. And it is not just the declaration forms, there are other forms…which have to be made public by people in public life and those forms are not available either.” Deane did not agree with the view that the last Commission was lethargic in pursuing persons who were in breach of the legislation. “The Commission is not afraid to do its work.  That has certainly not been my experience with the Commission to date,” he said.  He later stressed that the Commission was not “a selective lynch mob. That is not what we are. We are a serious group of people who are intent on doing the work that is established by the legislation,” he stated. Asked whether the Commission intended to put pressure on the Government to take the forms to Parliament, Deane stated: “The Commission is made up of very responsible people and I don’t think responsible people would just sit around a table and not continue to ask that the forms be taken to Parliament.”

Dismissing claims that the delay (in bringing the forms to Parliament) would enable public officers to escape the filing of declarations for 2001 and 2002 and possibly 2003, Deane said that whenever the forms are ready, the affected persons in public life would have to file their declarations retroactively.  Since 2001, no declarations were filed by Government ministers, Members of Parliament or other public officials. Earlier President George Maxwell Richards deviated from custom and made a statement after the presentation of the instruments. “As you know these appointments were made in consultation with or after consultation with the Honourable Prime Minister and the Honourable Leader of the Opposition,” the President, who has been criticised for the delay in the appointments, said. He said he wanted to express his own pleasure to all the members of the Commission for having so graciously accepted his invitation to serve on this most important body, which is entrenched in the constitution. President Richards expressed his best wishes to the members in what “is going to be a challenging effort”. The term of office of the last Commission expired on July 19. The new appointments are for three years.

CONVICTED MURDERER Chuck Attin has been granted leave to file for a constitutional motion after High Court Judge Joseph Tam yesterday ruled that the matter was urgent enough to be heard during the court’s vacation period. After informing the attorneys of his decision, Justice Tam advised State attorney Neil Byam to file and serve affidavits in opposition by 4 pm on August 27. In addition, he advised Attin’s attorney Dana Seetahal that if she intended to file affidavits in response, it must be done by 4 pm on August 29. He then adjourned the motion to September 8 for hearing.

In 1997 Attin was convicted together with Noel Seepersad for the brutal murders of Westmoor-ings residents Candace Scott and Karen Sa Gomes, on July 11, 1994. Seepersad was sentenced to death by hanging. At the Civil Court hearing held yesterday, to decide on the urgency of the motion, Attin’s attorney Dana Seetahal explained that her client has been illegally detained since his conviction in 1997. She noted that delaying the matter would only mean further illegal detention of her client.

CLOSE to 400 police officers from the various police divisions caught motorists by surprise yesterday after they staged roadblocks at different locations in the country. During yesterday’s exercise, three men were arrested, two of whom were held with one kilogramme of marijuana in the Santa Cruz area while the other man was held at the Aripo Intersection after he was caught driving a vehicle for which he had no documents. The car was also seized. Several traffic offences were also detected, with six in the Northern Division, nine in the Western Division, 14 in the North Eastern Division and 16 each in the Port-of-Spain and Central Divisions. While the Eastern Division had three  arrests, one for simple possession of marijuana and another for driving without driver’s permit , while another man was held for driving without insurance. Several traffic offences were also detected in the Eastern Division.  A number of people were also ordered to remove tints from their vehicles in all the divisions, police said.

Unknown to the 400 officers, their boss, Acting Commissioner of Police Everald Snaggs, along with Minister of National Security Howard Chin Lee and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Oswyn Allard, were airborne looking on. “I am very much encouraged by the officers’ response in the performance of their duties. They were very diligent and the public was very responsive,” Snaggs told Newsday on his return from the aerial view.  The top cop also said he intends to make use of the helicopter service as part of the national crime-fighting strategies. The aerial tour started from the Queen’s Park Savannah and went on to the north, west, central and southern areas.  Tobago was not part of yesterday’s islandwide roadblock exercises, but Snaggs said they intend to visit the area. Snaggs and the party touched down at Rio Claro Junction, the Tarouba Link Road, the South Trunk Road and the Dunlop Roundabout. “It (roadblock exercise) was very successful,” Snaggs said, adding that a lot of criminal and traffic offences were detected.  He said he is aware that the roadblocks may be an inconvenience for members of the public, but pleaded with them to be patient with the police officers. Most successful in the roadblocks were officers of the North Eastern Division, who, apart from issuing 14 traffic tickets, seized one kilogramme of marijuana and arrested two men in the process.

The North Eastern Division officers were led by acting Sr Supt Waldron Bishop and including ASP Gregory Correira, Insp Ancil Coa, Sgt Ramjohn, Cpls Francis Vidale and Patrick Thomas, PC Danielle Antoine and several others. They positioned themselves at the Santa Cruz Old Road and Saddle Road, also called the “Y”.  There, the officers stopped and searched several vehicles at random to avoid a bottleneck on the road. Senior police officers said that particular area was chosen because most motorists use the area to get to different parts of the country. The other divisions were supervised by Sr Supts Randolph Protain, Philip Carmona, Farouk Ghany, Shahid Ali and Alfonso, Acting Supt Maraj and Acting ASP Julius. Routine checks of vehicles were done, several people were ordered to remove tints from their cars and police were also on the lookout for people for whom they have warrants.

Acting Police Commissioner Everald Snaggs will soon be flying to crime scenes and roadblocks by helicopter. The helipad built on the top of the Police Administration building at Sackville Street, Port-of-Spain, will soon be used for the very first time. This was revealed by National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee following an aerial tour of islandwide road blocks carried out throughout the country. The helicopter will be sourced by the Ministry of National Security through the assistance of the National Helicopter Services and the Civil Aviation Authority. Even though the Police Administra-tion building was handed over to the Police in 1991, the helipad was never used by the police. Newsday learned that discussions have already been held with General Manager of the National Helicopter Services Nick Nothnagel to have the helicopter sourced and made available to the Ag Commissioner in the quickest possible time. Minister Chin Lee confirmed that negotiations for the helicopter have started. The Civil Aviation Authority will be consulted next week as part of the preparations to make the helicopter available to the police.

Newsday learned that officials from the Civil Aviation Authority will soon be visiting the helipad at the Administration building to ensure that the helipad meets the required standards for the landing and taking off of a helicopter. Once the permission is granted, the helicopter will be made permanently available for the Ag CoP and future Police Commissioners. Newsday learned that the options available for the Police Service will be to train a qualified police officer who is interested in flying the helicopter. In the interim, a pilot will be made available to the Ag CoP. Yesterday, the National Security Minister told Newsday, “This is how we will be monitoring the work of police officers in all divisions, and the Ag CoP will be able to arrive at all points in quick time.” Yesterday, the National Security Minister, accompanied by Ag Commissioner Snaggs and ACP Crime Oswyn Allard, was able to view all roadblocks throughout the country with the use of a national security helicopter. As  Minister Chin Lee alighted from the helicopter in Rio Claro, children mobbed the Minister asking for autographs and expressing delight at seeing both the Minister and Ag Commissioner in the flesh.

Chin Lee later observed the roadblocks in Rio Claro and met with officers taking part in the searches. He said that he was impressed by what he saw. He thanked the police officers for their assistance in the anti-crime plan and told them that he was looking at ways and means of improving their work conditions. The Minister and his team landed at four locations during the aerial tour. The areas were Fyzabad, San Fernando, Point Fortin and Rio Claro. During a massive exercise opposite Grand Bazaar, 22 tickets were issued, 50 drivers were ordered to remove tints and one person suspected of motor car larceny was arrested. That exercise was led by Cpt Sealey of the Defence Force and included Ag Inspector Sahadeo Singh, Sgt Millette, Cpls Collins, Brown and others.

The third man charged in connection with the kidnapping of 29-year-old construction worker Darryl Chotoo failed to appear in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court for the second time yesterday after he was admitted to the prison infirmary. Lester Solomon, 22, labourer, was charged with the June 30 kidnapping by PC Snaggs following consultation with Director of Public Prosecutions Geoffrey Henderson. Chotoo, father of one, was reportedly taken from his El Socorro home by armed men who forced their way into the house and bundled Chotoo into a waiting car.

Solomon, who appeared in court on Monday and was to re-appear in court on both Tuesday and Wednesday, is nursing a gunshot wound to his leg which he sustained late last month. According to police officers attached to the court, he complained of unbearable pain in his leg while he was being loaded into the prisoners’ escort vehicle. He was then warded at the infirmary and his name was removed from the court list. Solomon is expected to re-appear today.

bptt has increased its potential output capacity to two billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcfgpd)with the introduction of the new Cassia B platform. At a ceremony marking its arrival at the Chagterms, Chaguaramus Bay on Tuesday, Robert Riley, CEO of bpTT said the facility was an engineering marvel and represents one of many firsts for bpTT, and for the energy industry in TT. He added that local participation on projects of this type has risen from one per cent to 15 percent. The components of the deck include a bridge and a flare boom which were built by local contractors, Damus. The Cassia B deck is the largest offshore gas-processing unit in the world and is part of the Kapok project, which the company started in 2000 to improve bpTT’s ability to deliver gas to its customers.

The deck is 6,250 tonnes with four leg jackets and eight external piles. Riley said the deck will act as a hub to process gas from the Kapok field and future fields. This gas will be fed directly to the company’s 48-inch Bombax pipeline. It is expected to service ALNG trains two, three and four, along with the new NGC pipelines set to come on stream by 2005. “Cassia B also allows us to compress the gas offshore and thereby increase our ability to boost gas reserves,” said Riley. The company invited members of the media and invited guests to tour the facility after a short ceremony. In protective helmets, goggles and boots, four teams were sent up to get a first hand look at the deck. Riley said Cassia B represents a major step forward in the way bpTT plans to manage future developments. The facility is unmanned making it safer than the company’s other platforms.

THE National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) said yesterday it was being frustrated in its plans to build 426 housing units, and it wants the Prime Minister to step in. NUGFW’s President-Gene-ral, Robert Giuseppi said: “We already have our land at Valsayn, but there seems to be some people who want to block us from building homes for workers.” He told a press conference that plans have already been drawn for the three- and two-bedroom houses, but for some strange reason, the National Housing Authority is “the fly in the ointment.” Giuseppi produced a Cabinet note to show that the lands were leased to the union since 1989. Clause ‘C’ of the note says: “The lands ref-erred to be leased to NUGFW Constructon Company Lim-ited for 199 years, the premium payable by the company to be the value assessed by the Commissioner of Valuations and rental on individual lots to be $10 per lot, per annum.”

Giuseppi said the union has been ready with the $2.5 million for the last 20 months, but the NHA is blocking the project by not finalising the lease. The 22 acres of land are in the vicinity of Real Spring, Valsayn where the union has had a housing scheme for almost 20 years. Not only does NUGFW have a housing scheme in Valsayn, but there is one at Lopinot as well. Giuseppi said in the past, the union has never had the probems it is currently encountering. He made it clear that if the NHA continues to get in the way of the union, it will “do its own thing.”

Maracas vendors launched a protest outside Whitehall yesterday, led by Terrence Beddoe of the Fishermen and Friends of the Sea. The vendors claim that when it rains, their booths are flooded because of the leaking roofs. They say TIDCO’s relocation of the car park to the southern side of the beach has left them at a disadvantage as drivers (potential customers) no longer come to the northern side of the beach. “TIDCO knows nothing about tourism,” one vendor stated and went on to recount an incident when several tourists were unable to use the locked bathrooms and had to resort to nearby bushes. The vendors say that the booths are under water and sinking into the sand; there is sewage running into the booths and no security at the beach.

The vendors say they are unable to pay the $440 charged for rent because they have so few sales as a result of the conditions they are working under. “We are at a loss of earnings for the past seven years.” Although the vendors say they have been complaining to TIDCO for the past three months, there has been no action taken by the organisation. “We are going to protest until we get what we want,” said one woman who has been at Maracas for 43 years. The vendors intend to continue their demonstration on Maracas beach this Saturday and Sunday.

Five children, ages ranging from one to six, were rescued from a house by police officers minutes before the driver of a backhoe demolished the house with the grandmother of the children trapped inside. Margaret Heeralal, 52, had been living at the house at 23 Southern Main Road, Curepe all her life. She considers the move by the police and a relative yesterday, as illegal and is calling on Ag Police Commissioner Everald Snaggs to investigate the matter. Heeralal had been living in the house with 16 other family members. Her troubles began last year following the death of her cousin. Reports revealed that around 10 am yesterday, a man accompanied by a bailiff and police officers, went to the Curepe home and instructed Heeralal to vacate the house. She refused to do so until she was given time to remove her belongings. Her requests were refused and a backhoe driver, who was instructed to demolish the house, proceeded with his  instructions.

Heeralal, who was inside the house when it was demolished, escaped with no serious injuries but she told Newsday that she will continue to occupy the premises because the matter is still pending in court. She lost a quantity of household and electronic items when the house was demolished. As tears came to her eyes, the angry woman pointed out that she has also been threatened and officers of the St Joseph police station refused to take her report. Late yesterday, neighbours assisted her in constructing a makeshift house to spend the night.

MARABELLA police officers got an unexpected lesson in midwifery and the police station was temporarily converted into a delivery ward yesterday when 21-year-old Joanne Persad arrived at the station and through tears of pain, told a policewoman that she was in labour. Minutes later, Persad gave birth to a healthy baby girl, weighing just over two kilos. Speaking to Newsday at the maternity ward of the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH), a relieved Persad gave praise to the Almighty for giving her a healthy child. Persad, now a mother of two, said she was being driven from her Rio Claro home to the SFGH after she realised she was close to giving birth. She was accompanied by her husband. However the winding and slow-moving traffic along the Southern Main Road in Marabella proved too much for Persad, who was taken to the police station around 11.30 am. On hearing a woman’s screams of pain, PCs Chance and Pierre went to see what was going on and took the pregnant, crying woman into the police station. Insp Blackman, Sgt Castillo and Sgt Siew also assisted.

When the baby was born, a beaming Sgt Castillo had the honour of cutting the baby’s umbilical cord. Mother and child were quickly taken to the SFGH in an E-999 Rapid Response vehicle. “I am very relieved, glad and  happy that everything went well,” the smiling woman said as she cradled her newborn in her arms. Persad said she had not decided on the name for her daughter.. However she said she was considering naming the baby after one of the women police officers who helped during the birthing. Persad already has a two year-old daughter. “Two children are enough. I’m not  going to try for a boy,” a smiling Persad said.