N Touch

Man on trial for robbery at Debe bar

A 32-YEAR-OLD La Romaine man went on trial on Friday for robbing and shooting a man and stealing another person’s car at a Debe bar four years ago. Renwick Gaskin, of Church Street, is before Justice Malcolm Holdip and a nine-member jury in the San Fernando Third Criminal Court.

Gaskin, charged with robbery with aggravation and robbery with violence, is defended by attorney Subhas Panday. Attorney in the office of the DPP, Dinanath Ramkissoon, is leading evidence that on March 27, 1999, Gaskin and a person unknown, went to Dip’s Restaurant and Bar at Siparia Erin Road, Debe. The first prosecution witness Ishwar Bholai testified that around 10.30 pm that night, he and his uncles were liming at the bar. Bholai, 38, of St John’s Road, Avocat, said he went to the counter to pay the bill when he noticed the barman had run to the back of the premises. Moments later, the witness told the court, the lights in the bar went out and two men, one on either side, were standing next to him. Bholai told the jury that one of them, “…was of slimmish to medium build, between five feet five inches to five feet eight inches tall.”  He testified that he felt a round object “like a piece of iron” pressed against his ribs then heard one of the men demand, “Where is the money? Where is the money?”

Bholai recalled feeling a hand in his left back pocket where he had $1,700 in hundred dollar bills. He said someone told him, “Take that in yuh (expletive)” then he heard a loud explosion and felt a burning sensation in his right leg. “I saw blood spraying out and running down my pants,” Bholai testified. The witness told the jury that as he and his uncles were trying to leave the bar, he fell to the ground. He recalled regaining consciousness in the Casualty Department of the San Fernando General Hospital. He remained warded for one week.
The case continues today

No to US demands

Former President ANR Robinson yesterday declined to comment on reports that Guyana was about to break with the rest of Caricom on the issue of the International Criminal Court.

Robinson, who was a major player in the campaign to establish the ICC, said he thought that he had said enough on the matter already. He did not wish to comment on the reports that the Caricom solidarity which he had called for was now being severely fractured. Guyana’s President Bharat Jagdeo had stated that that country could not afford to do without the military aid from the United States. Jagdeo was reported as saying that unless the Manning initiative — to go to Washington and meet US President George W Bush to seek a waiver on the US decision — was implemented, Guyana would sign a bilateral agreement exempting US citizens from the jurisdiction of the court by the end of next week.

Robinson said he had not yet read the newspapers which reported on the issue. But he stressed that “of course” he stood by his original position — that Caricom held fast on the issue and will not give in to the United States’ demands. Up to yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago authorities had no official contact with the authorities in Guyana. Foreign Affairs Minister Knowlson Gift maintained his position that he didn’t want to be speculative in view of this fact. Asked to explain what the “Manning initiative” was all about, Gift said that at Montego Bay, the leaders discussed the fact that there was an invitation extended to Manning to  meet with the US President. “This was purely on a bilateral basis.  But naturally a lot of bilateral issues are also Caricom issues. It was felt therefore that if the Prime Minister were in fact going to Washington that he would not limit his dialogue to only bilateral issues,” Gift stated.

A legal spokesman at Foreign Affairs stated yesterday that the decision taken by Caricom leaders on the ICC in Montego Bay recognised that some members may wish  to conclude Article 98 agreements with the United States once they were advised by those legal authorities that the proposed agreement was consistent with their obligations under the Rome Statute (which establishes the ICC). The official noted that Jagdeo did not indicate whether Guyana’s legal authorities had given advice on whether there was some compatability between signing the agreement and meeting the ICC obligations.  However, the source stated that Trinidad and Tobago was maintaining its position that the two agreements were not compatible.

Two Toco residents guilty of ganja possession

TWO TOCO residents on Thursday appeared before Sangre Grande Magistrate Cheryl-Ann Blake to answer separate charges of possession of marijuana, following routine road patrols held by officers attached to the Toco Police Station along the Toco Main Road on Wednesday and Thursday.

Cumana resident, Rodney Thomas was fined $1,200 or three months in jail, while Monte Video resident, Noel Thom was remanded in custody for tracing and sentence. In the first incident, a group of officers attached to the Toco Police Station, including Det Cpl Sankar, Detectives Lutchman and Waldrop and PCs Joseph and Jones were on mobile patrol along the Paria Main Road in Monte Video when they observed Noel Thom. Thom, on seeing the police vehicle started to act in a suspicious manner, causing the officers to stop alongside him. PC Joseph searched Thom and found a black plastic bag containing 47 grammes of marijuana in his left rear pocket. Thom, 37, of Monte Video was taken to the Toco Police Station where he was charged for the offence.

In the other incident, the same officers were on mobile patrol along Toco Main Road, Cumana in the vicinity of Cheyneyne Trace, Cumana, when they observed Rodney Thomas liming on a bench along the main road. Thomas, 20, of Thompson Trace, Cumana dropped a hand-rolled cigarette and ran when he observed the police jeep. The officers retrieved the marijuana, which weighed 8 grammes and gave chase. Thomas was arrested a short distance away and taken to the Toco Police Station where he was charged for the offence by Det Lutchman. In the Sangre Grande Magistrate Court on Thursday, both men pleaded guilty to their offences. A $1,200 fine was ordered to be paid forthwith by Thomas or he would be sentenced to three months in jail but Thom, however, was remanded in custody.

Crimestoppers: $25,000 reward for kidnap info

In light of the continuing spate of kidnappings, Crimestoppers has increased the reward it will pay to anyone with information about kidnapping incidents.

For information leading to the rescue of kidnap victims and to the arrest of the kidnappers, Crimestop-pers will pay $25,000. This is an increase from the previous amount of $10,000. Crimestoppers can be reached at 800-TIPS.

Barrackpore villagers still deep in flood

Hundreds of villagers of low-lying areas of Barrackpore, such as Papourie Road, Cemetery Road, Monkey Town, GP Road and Valley Line, continue to face the problem of floods whenever there are heavy rainfalls. 

A resident of Cemetery Road, John Sookram told Newsday that whenever the floods come up in the Barrackpore areas, everyone is affected. “First of all the taxis cannot work therefore there isn’t any transport to and from work. There is also an increase in sandflies and mosquitoes that invade the homes,” he said. He continued to say that the waters stay on the road for weeks after continuous rains. Despite the fact that the villagers have been supporting the councillors for the areas, the flooding problems have gone unnoticed for more than 40 years, he lamented. 

Sookram who has been a resident of the area for more than 50 years, said that the river that passes through Monkey Town needs to be widened to accommodate the waters that flow from Congo Hill and School Hill. He noted that the Government must widen the banks of the river in order for the waters to find its way out of the area at a faster speed. The Barrackpore areas are divided into the constituencies of Siparia and Naparima. While there was a lot of work undertaken by the previous administration in this area, where the police station and the multi-million dollar complex were built, there was not much done for the infrastructure in this area.

Another villager, Kisoondath Prabhu said that while the majority of people in Barrackpore supported the UNC government, while they were in power they did nothing with regards to the flooding situation. Prabhu cried political victimisation lashing out against the PNM saying that they are trying to alleviate the flooding in the areas of Mayaro and Rio Claro. “That is a marginal seat. And every district in these areas is enjoying all the services from the government. The PNM government will not look at the Barrackpore areas because the people here support the opposition,” he said. Following the heavy rainfalls last Saturday, villagers were forced to stay indoors for five days.

First things, Mr CJ

AN EFFICIENT judiciary is vital to the operation of any democratic society based on the rule of law. That fact is well established and needs no emphasis from us. So when Chief Justice Sat Sharma calls for a sizeable increase in the complement of judges it is a matter, we feel, that should be taken seriously. One can only assume from such a request that the workload of the judiciary has reached a level where cases are piling up to the point where the delay in delivering justice can become a denial of it. Mr Sharma, however, does not make out such a case and, as far as we know, if there is a backlog it may not be critical and, in fact, may well be resolved by improvements in the procedural and operational infrastructure of our courts.

Over recent years, in fact, this newspaper has repeatedly called for an end to the outmoded and time-wasting procedure of judges and magistates recording notes of evidence in their own handwriting. The system of CAT reporting has been working well in murder trials where judges have been relieved of this burden. Why can’t this technology be extended to the rest of the Assizes where other criminal cases are tried, in the civil courts and also in the magistrates’ courts? It is our view that the first priority in seeking to enhance the productivity of our courts should be to provide the system with adequate infrastructure and our judges with better facilities. The serious problem of delay in appeals from the lower courts reaching the Court of Appeal is due largely to this obsolete practice of magistrates having to write down notes of evidence themselves. Also relieving judges of this chore must surely assist in expediting the operation of our courts.

At present, the Appeal Court has eight sitting judges including the CJ with vacancies for two. But we understand that, inspite of the vacancies, this Court is well abreast of the task and there is no list of appeal matters waiting to be heard. In such pleasant circumstances we cannot see the need for adding two more judges to the Appeal Court. Should not filling the vacancies be more than enough? As far as the High Court is concerned, Mr Sharma wants to augment the complement of judges from 20 to 30 but we are not convinced that he has made out a justifiable case for such an increase. The CJ says: “You must remember, there are now additional cases on the scene. With the kind of workload, the complexity and length of cases, the number of defendants in more than one case, the increase in criminal activity, there is definite need for more judges.”

Mr Sharma, however, produces no statistics to support his argument about a bigger workload. We agree that there has been an increase in criminal activity, but to what extent has that translated into such pressure on our courts as to require the employment of ten more judges? And is there really an increase in the complexity and length of cases? What can be causing this? But even if we concede there is need for more judges, where will they be accomodated in a Hall of Justice that is virtually bursting at its seams. Mr Sharma himself has publicly complained about the inadequacy of space and amenities in this building which, he said, does not even have a shower for judges. The expanding operations of the Court Executive Administrator are gobbling up more and more space, encroaching even into the judges’ conference room; there are not enough court rooms; the judges’ chambers are almost as small as the prison cells they sentence offenders into, parking space is inadequate and the Hall of Justice itself is losing the atmosphere and ambience of hallowed sanctity it should have as the last bastion of our democracy. These are far more critical matters, in our view, than simply increasing the number of judges.

It comes down to reality


I agree with Chandresh Sharma – the breaking-into and trashing of his constituency office could have been politically motivated. But, unlike Sharma, I would not chalk the vandalism up to the work of people seeking files on local election discrepancies. Not, me. Were I the representative for Fyzabad, I would look to my backyard for the source of my troubles, to the growing number of disenchanted constituents within it. I would be very worried that UNC supporters were growing completely weary of my daily prostration before a dictatorial leader with no political future. I’d wonder if the destruction of my office were not a wake up call from these.

Me, if I were named Chandresh Sharma, I would take a good long look at those torn down posters of my once revered chief, now on my office ground, and read the angry writing on the wall. The message of the furious act was as loud as it was lucid: “Panday has to go and you have to make him go.” If I were Sharma, I would heed the cry for new leadership emanating from the belly of the UNC, from places such as Fyzabad, Princes Town, Oropouche, Siparia, and Couva. Rising Sun supporters were tugging their hair more than PNM members had during Patrick Manning’s worst late nineties days, and they were asking: “Why won’t Basdeo Panday go? And why won’t that bunch of cowards around him stand up to him?” Were I the southern member of the Lower House, I would answer the people’s questions, explain the reasons why I and 14 members just like me did not have the guts to stop Panday from completely sinking the UNC. I would say why men such as Roodal Moonilal and I and women such as Gillian Lucky and Kamla Persad-Bissessar still feared Panday so. Why they were allowing a misguided missile to take aim at non-issues and talk nonsense about rebellion and struggles when such discourse had no resonance in the new Trinidad and Tobago landscape. I would share my rationale for permitting the UNC boss to run rampant over my own political career. I would tell my constituents what hold Panday had over me.

If Sharma and his 14 brothers and sisters in the Lower House did not answer these questions and respond to them soon, they could expect many more Panday images to be torn down. Then, after there were no more pictures of the UNC leader to be dragged to the ground, those bearing the faces of Sharma and his colleagues might be next. The people bringing them down to earth would be UNC supporters, fed up of listening to Panday say he was willing to leave, but that he was not leaving; and tired of seeing Sharma and others hang onto Panday’s useless political coattails, doing his senseless bidding. UNC members believed that Panday would not move aside and on because he would never make room for his nemesis, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj. He would rather see the party die. They also believed that people such as Sharma, were too preoccupied with helping Panday keep Maharaj out, instead of getting busy throwing Panday out. If any of the MPs had a chance at the leadership, their own ambition, expressed always in the form of cowardice and sycophancy, was making them lose that opportunity. UNC supporters were no longer blaming Maharaj, but the men and women around Panday, for the party’s defeats, even as Panday continued his attacks on his fired Attorney General. “Anybody who thinks he could come forward and form another political party, is only fooling himself,” Panday shouted last Monday night at Rienzi. “Take that and put it in your back pocket and go home and smoke it.” To who were these words directed if not to Maharaj, who was probably watching the scene on television, wondering how he and National Team Unity had got into the act when they had not contested the local poll?

Panday was saying that he might have been beaten in the local government election, but he and the UNC, one and the same, would continue it/their/his existence that was not political nor one with any real power. No one, Maharaj, that is, would ever replace it/ them/ him. And, his MPs let him talk his self-serving, irrelevant talk, while the PNM came marching in. It was not a message that UNC supporters needed to hear again, or a sight they wished anymore to see, which is why most stayed away from Rienzi Complex on Monday night. Whether or not Maharaj now wanted part of the UNC was irrelevant to them, they wanted him.  They might not adore him, but many saw him as their only hope. Panday’s silly speech on Monday was not appetising to the political palate of the non-aligned, either, which is why these must have steupsed when listening to the broadcast from Rienzi. Trinidad and Tobago, in the hands of Panday, and thanks to Sharma etc., seemed to be spinning backwards in time, to the days of one party rule, to the times of the Balisier supreme. There was no worthy Opposition. Not even the PNM’s apparent inability to stem murders or kidnappings were reasons enough, to convince the electorate to vote UNC. PNM supporters just laughed on Monday night. They must have been elated to hear that for Panday, the bigger enemy was still not they, but Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj. They celebrated Panday’s alienation of his own, the empty chairs at Rienzi. However, most of all they toasted Sharma and his peers for keeping Panday on his perch, poised for the political comeback that would never come. For making, the Balisier feel more welcome in UNC land than the Rising Sun. To whom else were they supposed to express their gratitude? To Basdeo Panday? He wasn’t keeping him aloft. Sharma and his wishy-washy pals were.


Suzanne Mills is the Editor of the daily Newsday

Unjustified rise in chicken prices

THE EDITOR: I refer to a letter published on Friday July 11, 2003 in a daily newspaper (not Newsday), headlined “Chicken producers will triumph over Robinson-Regis” and shall be grateful if you would publish the following in response.

The price of live chicken has increased from a national average price of $2.48 in January to $4.00 per pound in July 2003 representing an overall increase of 61 percent between January and July 11, 2003. Consumers also have been faced with an increase of 60 percent for frozen chicken parts and 65 percent for chilled chicken parts in the period January to July 11, 2003 for reasons, which have so far been unjustified. In April 2003, chicken prices rose by 42 percent to an average cost of $3.52 per lb. At that time the players in the industry indicated that this was not an increase but, in fact, a return to the normal price, citing the depletion of excess supplies, which had existed since August 2002, and increased cost in shipping, packaging, feed and grain. At that time, interestingly, no reference was made to the new minimum wage, which was in effect for three months from January 2003. Additionally, the majority of chicken produced locally is produced by contract farmers at a standard cost of $1.50 per bird for which our inquiries have so far shown there has been no change. The Ministry of Legal Affairs had no objections to this price increase as well as the justifications for the increase, which we deemed reasonable. Our research, however, has shown that from June 1, 2003 there was an increase of a further 5.1 percent and following that, a weekly increase of 2.1 percent as at July 06, and 5.8 percent at July 11, 2003. This has resulted therefore in the national average price of chicken moving from $3.52 per pound in April to $4.00 in July.

The Ministry has been in receipt of several complaints from both consumers and supermarkets on the weekly and arbitrary increases in the price of chicken. The Consumer Affairs Division has a standing relationship with the business community, which involves regular communication to ascertain movement in prices of goods. Whenever there is a situation as obtains at the present time, the Division, confirms through suppliers that there were in fact increases at their level. This information is given to the Permanent Secretary and the Minister of Legal Affairs who will then give a directive on the course of action. It should be noted that price control is not a course of action since Trinidad and Tobago’s movement  is towards a liberalised economy. “In keeping with the aim to introduce greater efficiency in the functioning of the economy, the Government has dismantled most price controls. By the end of 1988, only essential food items, and items where a substantial amount of monopoly price fixing existed — school books, pharmaceuticals and auto tyres — were still controlled.” (World Bank Report # P-5120-TR) To date price control exists only for selected school books, sugar and certain pharmaceuticals. The Minister of Legal Affairs has the responsibility in Government for consumer affairs and it is her responsibility to speak out against any issue she deems can adversely affect consumers’ interest. The role of the Consumer Affairs Division and by extension the Minister of Legal Affairs is to protect the interests of consumers. The Division’s mandate is to monitor the implementation of the National Consumer Policy for the protection of consumers. The aim of the policy is to create an environment within which the consumer, through his/her actions could maximise his economic resources and influence the private and public sectors to function in a manner that promotes just, equitable and sustainable economic and social development.

CAROLINE C RAVELLO
Communications Specialist
Ministry of legal Affairs

Milestone achievement for PNM

THE EDITOR: The electorate who voted in the recently concluded July 14 Local Government Elections must be applauded for a more than generous contribution to our national development as a people and as a nation. That they have voted a People’s National Movement representative in every municipal Corporation across the length and breadth of Trinidad is indeed a grand demonstration of inter-racial harmony and solidarity which has been promoted by the PNM for the past 47 years since the Party’s establishment in 1956.

As the Prime Minister pointed out — this note-worthy display of nationalism and patriotism marks an important turning point in race relations in Trinidad and Tobago, and will undoubtedly serve our Nation well as we embark on our journey to make Trinidad and Tobago a fully developed nation by the year 2020 which is just 17 years away. I must mention the PNM stands out among all political parties at home and in the English and non-English speaking Caribbean; because of its unique operating philosophy enunciated by the late Dr Eric Eustace Williams in the 1956 Peoples’ Charter. I quote — “Nor are we an ordinary party in the usually accepted narrow sense of the word. We are rather a rally. A convention of all and for all. A mobilisation of all the forces in the national community.  Cutting across race and religion, class and colour with emphasis on united action by all the people for a common cause.” This operating philosophy has enabled the PNM to withstand the test of time emerging victoriously on two occasions from Opposition to Government under the capable watch of its Political Leader the Hon Patrick Manning.

Additionally, the PNM’s Party structure as enshrined in its Constitution, promotes peoples’ participation and consensus building in every sense of the word. For example, the party-group functions primarily for the development and implementation of programmes for ensuring the credibility, acceptability and dynamic presence of the People’s National Movement in the local community. The Constituency group is responsible for the formation and implementation of programmes to give life to party policies at the level of the regional community; for example, a collection of a number of local communities in a given geographical area. The General Council is responsible for the translation of strategies and policies into operational programmes — focus is on the Nation Community… and the annual convention where general strategy and policy formulation are evaluated. Furthermore, there is the Women’s League and the Youth League which function to work with special interest groups, women and young people.

All of these features have contributed to the stability and progress of the Peoples’ National Movement over the years and were expressly designed for the government of a plural society. When Trinidad and Tobago attained its independence from Great Britain in 1962, our Nation’s founding father, the late Dr Eric Eustace Williams proclaimed — I quote, “Two races have been freed; but a society has not been formed. It takes more than national boundaries, a national anthem, however stirring to make a nation.” Today, Mr Editor because of this milestone achievement of finally crossing the ethnic barrier, thus minimising the traditional opposition propensity for dividing the Nation, the PNM can proudly send out a challenge to all of Trinidad and Tobago. Let us continue to rekindle the old flames of our ancestral pride and keep these fires burning.  Let us continue to help make the light of a true national community spirit shine brightly for all to see. Let us continue to move forward ever, backward never, in realising the national aspirations of our people as proclaimed in our National Coat of Arms, “Together we aspire, Together we achieve.”

RISHI LAKHAN
St James

Same thing over and over

THE EDITOR: A local politician, be it one of them or one of the other is one who fools himself with a passion so that he can fool his tribe thereafter. This recent Local Government Elections saw no more than a 37 percent voter turnout. Also both sides or to be exact every polling division witnessed a drop in voter turnout. So it is blatantly stupid for any politician to gruff his chest like and bump his gum telling fanatics, “We Win! We Win!”

The result of the election is a slap in the face for all politicians. People fed up of the same thing over and over again. It is the stupid talk of corruption with absolutely no proof from both PNM and UNC — for those who don’t know only PNM politicians have been proven corrupt by the courts. It is the same stupid talk about buying votes. The same stupid talk about state resources being used to service the campaign. The same stupid promises about creating jobs when the market will be open to Tantie, Unks, Grumps, nenen and bro very soon. The same stupid promises about fixing and upgrading sporting facilities. To fool who? And the same blank faces on the campaign trail even on the platforms. The population has spoken and it is against the type/quality of leadership/ representatives being imposed upon us. If it is not friend, it is either brother, cousin, financier, outside man or woman, compere, wife or husband.

Nobody has shifted from one party to another. People just did not waste their time to give anyone the impression that they are the people’s representative or are respected in society. You are only fooling yourself by thinking and saying that more of the other voted for you. The most foolish fool is an educated fool. Politicians are not changing so the people have decided to change. You can all stay and hold on to government and opposition as if it belongs to you until you die, it does not matter anymore for we know all that you all can give us is lip service. Thief as much as you want, you will hold yourself.

LYSTRA LYTHE
Sangre Grande