Chief Executive Officer of the Arima Discount Mart (ADM) Import/Export Distributors Ltd, Balliram Maharaj, has accused meat farmers of embarking on a deliberate strategy to cut back on production as a means of controlling the price of meat in order to make a profit. Outlining his views on the present state of the poultry and pork industry in TT, Maharaj stated that the cut in production was too “drastic” thereby creating a shortage on the market and ultimately a high increase in prices. As a result, supermarket owners are being “abused” by frustrated customers. He revealed that the Supermarkets’ Assoc-iation of TT (SATT) had spoken to members of the Poultry Association concerning a large supermarket chain that is allegedly selling chicken parts for less than the wholesalers.
Upon investigation, he said, it was disclosed that there was a clause in the contract which allowed Arawak to change its prices. “Due to their failure to change these prices, supermarket owners who purchase from Nutrimix and Fine Choice are now faced with unfair competition,” Maharaj alleged. “In the meantime,” he went on, “certain distributors are now importing chicken, paying 40 percent duty and selling it for less than the local market price.” He noted that a number of importers had written to Trade Minister Ken Valley, asking to have the duty on poultry removed as a temporary measure. However, he said, they are certain that this will meet with strong objection from the local poultry farmers. Additionally, Maharaj revealed that turkey parts were now being imported and sold at less than $5 per pound, despite the fact that it carries 131 percent duty and surcharge.
Opposition leader, Basdeo Panday accused the PNM goverment of using CEPEP as a tool for the Local Government elections. “The people you see in the blue outfits, working along the roadside are part of the government’s army campaigning for the Local Government elections. The government is openly using taxpayers’ money to campaign for the elections,” he said. He was at the time addressing a huge crowd of people who turned up at the political meeting in heart of Princes Town on Thursday evening. Panday urged the people of the deep south to unite together and fight for their rights as citizens of the country. MP for Siparia, Kamla Persad-Bissessar called on the DPP, Geoffrey Henderson, to launch a forensic investigation on the WASA/Water Farm investigations where $40 million went missing. She noted that the office of the DPP is one of impartiality and she urged the DPP to be a man and get to the root of this investigation.
Bissessar, who is no stranger to the political stage in Princes Town, said the only accomplishment the Education Minister had since gaining office is the institution of CEPEP where the students are taught the subjects of bamboo bending, pebble arrangements and wheel barrow tra,nsport. Chairman of the UNC, Wade Mark also touched on the topic of the WASA investigation saying that Canadian forensic investigator, Bob Linquist, gave a documented report instead of a forensic report to the Attorney General. “He is a hired mercenary and he delivered a documented report and not a forensic report as stated by Glenda Morean,” he said. Mark lashed out against the PNM saying the government has already spent $18 billion and all they had to show for it was the establishment of CEPEP. He also accused the PNM of using rogue tactics to win the last elections. He noted also that the PNM gave lights and water to the squatters on the trainline mere hours before the last General election and this was why Sadiq Baksh lost the San Fernando seat. The candidates who will be contesting the local government elections in Princes Town include: Winston Chindra- Corinth/Cedar Hill, Clifton De Couteau — Lothians/Inverness, Lochan Dass — Ben Lo-mand/Williamsville, Nancoo Ali — Hindustan/Indian Walk, Bhim Singh — Moruga, Toolsie Maharaj — New Grant and Deonarine Raghu — Reform.
HIGH COURT Judge Rajendra Narine yesterday commended a mother and her teenaged daughter for the courage they displayed in reporting a rape and pursuing the trial to the end. The judge made this remark to the mother and daughter after sentencing Cumuto resident John Jobity, also known as “Mash-up” to ten years on a charge of having sexual intercourse with a female under the age of 14. Jobity was found guilty of the offence by a nine-member jury on Thursday in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court. However the sentencing was deferred to yesterday since his attorney, Fitzgerald Hinds, was absent from the court when the verdict was delivered. In his sentencing yesterday, Justice Narine noted that crimes like these were being committed daily on vulnerable children. The judge stated that society needed to be protected from people like him (Jobity), and as such he must be punished for what he did. He noted that the only mitigating factor in the case was the year and a half that Jobity spent awaiting trial. Hinds requested that the court get a probation officer’s report. However the judge stated that a probation officer’s report would not help in the sentencing process. Hinds told the court that he was happy with the proceedings, in spite of the few differences he had with the State prosecutor. He said these proceedings satisfied the justice of Trinidad and Tobago.
State attorney Nalini Singh also commended the mother and daughter for the step they took in bringing the perpetrator to justice. The evidence presented in the trial was that around 11 am on Sunday November 25, 2001, the victim was sent to a shop a short distance from her home to buy ice. On her way, she met Jobity, who told her that he had a surprise for her. On her way back from the shop, Jobity grabbed her from behind and pulled her in some bushes, where he raped her. The young lady told her mother what had happened and a search was mounted for Jobity. Two hours later Jobity was found. He was tied and beaten by some villagers, after which the police were called. When the police arrived, they took him to the Arima Hospital where he was treated and later taken to the Arima Police Station and charged for the offence. The jury found Jobity guilty by a majority verdict of seven-two following a three-hour deliberation.
IT SEEMS that in reacting emotionally to increases in the price of chicken, Legal Affairs Minister Camille Robinson-Regis has placed the cart before the horse. Without getting all the facts, the Minister has made the drastic call to consumers to boycott the purchase of chicken, certainly the most popular source of protein among TT’s population. Sections of the poultry industry responded with apparent alarm, pointing out that the Government, in fact, was to blame for the recent increase in chicken prices. However, when Newsday attempted to contact Robinson-Regis at her office on Wednesday, we were informed by her Secretary that she had requested a complete report from the Consumer Affairs Division and would make a statement shortly after receiving it.
It would seem to us that the Minister should have asked for such a report first before launching what has been described as a “vicious attack” on a major poultry producer and urging the nation to stop eating its favourite meat. If what Nutrimix Feeds Limited is saying is true, then the industry seems justified in their recent price increases. In fact, Nutrimix Vice President Ronnie Mohammed told Newsday that after the Minister’s attack, his company had decided to place newspaper advertisements pointing out that the Government, not the industry, was responsible for the rise in chicken prices. The advertisements list a range of recurrent expenditure increases which, the company claims, “the Government and its agencies have inflicted on the dependable and stable chicken industry.” These increases include Plipdeco Land Rental 12 percent; Minimum Wage 14.3 percent; National Gas Company — Natural Gas 4.2 percent; TTEC — electricity 9.95 percent. The company also claims that “because of the rampant and seemingly uncontrollable rises in murders, robberies and kidnappings in particular, the businesses have been forced to step up their security expenditure by more than 300 percent.
In addition, the advertisements say, poultry producers have had to deal with increases in Plastic and Packaging Material 5 to 8 percent; Insurance 20 to 50 percent; Lubricants 3 percent; Tyres 10.5 percent; Ocean Freight 51 percent; Grain Prices, corn 26 percent and Soybean Meal 41 percent. “All we are saying” Mr Mohammed noted, “is that diplomacy should apply and that statements with respect to boycotting an entire industry should not be made. Discussions should be held with all the concerned parties to determine the facts first.” This point, it seems to us, is quite reasonable and casts a poor light on the Minister’s outburst which is more unfortunate for having been made at a public political meeting. While rising prices of basic foodstuffs must be a cause for public concern, Minister Robinson Regis should be more cautious and studied in her reaction, not assuming without getting the facts that industry cartels are exploiting the market without justification for their own benefit. Some weeks ago, Robinson-Regis ran afoul of some of the country’s bakers when she condemned them for not dropping their prices to reflect the fall in the price of flour. A number of leading bakeries have had to correct her by pointing out that they had, in fact, reduced the price of their flour-based products. The Government, of course, must keep a weather eye open for producers of basic food items who up their prices for no good reason. But it would be wrong to instinctively view these business people as profiteering stereotypes. And it would even be worse to attempt to gain some political advantage at their expense.
WASHINGTON: American troops may still be in Iraq four years from now, Gen. Tommy Franks told Congress yesterday.
The wartime commander told the House Armed Services Committee: “I anticipate we’ll be involved in Iraq in the future. Whether that means two years or four years, I don’t know.” There are nearly 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, some of them under fire from anti-US forces. “We need to not develop an expectation that all of these difficulties will go away in one month or two months or three months,” Franks testified. The general said the troop strength would be held at the current level at least through the end of the year. Pleading for patience, President George W. Bush said the United States would “have to remain tough” in Iraq despite attacks on U.S. soldiers that killed at least two more Americans on Thursday. Bush spoke in Gaborone, Botswana, amid a debate at home about erroneous evidence that the administration cited as part of its justification for the invasion of Iraq. Sen. John Kerry, who is running for president, said the United States does not have sufficient forces to reconstruct Iraq without support from other nations. “We now know that the administration went to war without a thorough plan to win the peace,” he said. “It is time to face that truth and change course, to share the postwar burden internationally for the sake of our country, for our standing in the world and most of all for the young Americans in uniform who cannot be protected from an enemy attack by an announcement, no matter how well staged, that hostilities are over.”
A group of arms control experts accused the administration of misrepresenting intelligence information to justify the war. Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the private Arms Control Association, was one of several experts challenging the administration. “We, along with an increasing number of others, believe that the administration made its case for going to war by misrepresenting intelligence findings as well as citing discredited intelligence information,” Kimball said Wednesday. And another lawmaker, Rep. Ike Skelton, the senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said he had a fear “we may find ourselves in the throes of guerrilla warfare for years.” “We cannot leave Iraq,” Skelton said at a committee hearing with retired Gen. Tommy Franks, the US commander in the war. “This must be a success.” Another committee member, Rep. Ellen Tauscher, said CIA Director George Tenet should be called to testify in public. She said the committee owed it to the US troops in Iraq “to evaluate whether the intelligence used to send them into harm’s way … was sound.” Bush, responding to concern about the rising casualty toll, said, “There’s no question we have a security issue in Iraq, and we’ve just got to deal with it person to person. We’re going to have to remain tough.”
More than 70 American soldiers have died since Bush declared major combat over May 1. “It’s going take more than 90 to 100 days for people to recognize the great joys of freedom and the responsibilities that come with freedom,” he said. “It’s very important for us to stay the course, and we will stay the course.” Franks testified, meanwhile, that besides the 19 countries with forces in Iraq, another 19 were preparing to send troops and 11 were discussing it. Wednesday, at a news conference in South Africa, Bush said he was “absolutely confident” about going to war despite the discovery that allegations deposed President Saddam Hussein had sought uranium in Africa for a nuclear weapons programme, was based on fabricated information.
THE EDITOR: Customers of retail outlets who do not keep their cash bills/receipts when making purchases and then later decide they do not want the item(s) purchased and return to the retailer demanding an exchange or refund surely live in a fantasy world!
None would ever return and admit they had not actually bought the item, that would be absurd, but it is equally absurd therefore that the retailer is expected to accept the assurance that the returned goods were indeed purchased, and at the correct price, and recently! What else, other than that, would he be told? (“Oh, I shoplifted these last week but by mistake I stole the wrong size/colour/style, please exchange them for what I really want,” would never be admitted, so why expect a retailer to accept a verbal statement that a legal purchase was made?)
Why don’t shoppers make sure (a) they are buying perfect, undamaged goods and are getting what they pay for and (b) receive and safeguard a proper receipt for their purchases in case of future need? (For a mere few hours, just until they are sure they are keeping the items). I wish the Consumer Affairs Division of the Ministry of Legal Affairs would have posters printed with a concise list of the rights and obligations of both the retailer and the consumer which could then be displayed in business houses for public information. There is an apparent broad misconception that the consumer has no obligations and the retailer has no rights. A pathetic assessment? Take my word for it, it’s out there!
GEOFF HUDSON
Port-of-Spain
THE EDITOR: It has been said that suicide is “the coward’s way out” of his problems. Yet it continues to be a problem, and a major one at that, for today’s society. Several reasons have been advanced as to why people kill themselves, and several theories propounded for dealing with it, but the only thing one can really do to prevent someone taking his own life is give him back a solid reason for his continuing to live. This calls for genuine, concerted effort at removing the primary cause of the loss of his desire to live.
1. Unrequited love: This means that someone has been in love, or involved in a relationship, with a person who has not returned that love. This usually follows a break-up or a falling out between lovers or even among family members. Such a person does not need to hear “There’s plenty fish in the sea,” callous, insensitive platitudes like that would only exacerbate the situation. What he really needs is to see that someone does genuinely love him and is willing and able to repair the loss. Of course, the best and most fortunate event would be if such an individual were to replace the lost lover!
2. Loneliness: A lonely person is someone who has had few or no friends or social contacts over a long period. Such an individual can feel that he is of no value to anyone, that his existence and whatever he does don’t matter at all. We can rid him of this feeling, and of the emptiness that comes with it, by genuinely reaching out to him, by really befriending him, by showing him that we value both him as a person and his company. His seeing that somebody really cares about him will do much to enhance and enrich his life.
3. Unemployment/loss of employment: Someone who has lost his job or is “unemployable” may suffer from low self-esteem as a result. He may feel useless, having nothing to offer to society or to the world. What such a persons needs is someone who will appreciate him and his abilities and commend him for them. This will go far towards giving him the confidence and self-worth to cultivate and hone them. It will also give him that vital quality of self-respect. He should be helped to gain employment, or given a job, by someone acquainted with him who has the power to do that.
4. Terminal illness: Untold hours of unrelenting pain and suffering can produce a frustration and a despair that are amplified ten-fold by the knowledge that they will never be relieved or ended. The Bible can help here. Careful consideration of Scriptures such as Matt 6:10 and Rev 21:4 will add to the fortitude of the terminally ill person, giving him at least some genuine solace at this critical point of his life. In this narcissistic, hedonistic, and materialistic generation of imperfect beings pursuing perfection to the point of forming unrealistic expectations and making unreasonable demands of their fellowmen, these considerations are often ignored. They will, however, go much further towards reducing the number of, if not stopping, suicides than protracted, fulsome wailing and eulogies at funerals and the hypocrisy of condemning suicides while driving people to kill themselves.
D CHARLES
Carenage
ST JOHN’S: Players who took part in the Carib Beer 2003 Cricket Series will receive an increase in the fees that were paid to them by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Additionally, players who were injured while representing the West Indies during 1999 and 2002 will be compensated. These were the major features of an agreement reached between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) yesterday. “We are happy that the issues that were outstanding have now been resolved and we look forward to a new era in relations between the WICB and the WIPA,” remarked Roger Brathwaite, chief executive officer of the WICB. WIPA pesident Dinanath Ramnarine, while expressing satisfaction with the agreement, underlined the need for greater co-operation between the Board and WIPA. “Now that we have got these issues settled retroactively, we need to finalise the collective agreement that would govern all future relations between the players and the Board, and the retainer contract that has been promised,” he said. “The negotiations were conducted in a spirit of goodwill and mutual respect which we hope will characterise all future relations between the WICB and the players.”
ST JOHN’S: A packed agenda awaits the board of directors of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Inc when they meet in Dominica this weekend.
Among the items down for consideration at the meeting on Saturday and Sunday is the appointment of a team coach for the senior West Indies cricket team. Another set of key appointments will be for the chairman and individuals to sit on the board of directors for the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies. Under the heading of Cricket Operations, the directors will be asked to consider clarifying the eligibility rule, restructuring the Red Stripe Bowl West Indies limited-overs championship, and instituting a medical management system for elite players.
During the meeting, there will also be presentations to the directors from Chris Dehring, managing director of the CWC 2007; the West Indies Players’ Association, the West Indies Cricket Umpires’ Association, and the West Indies Women’s Cricket Federation. The annual general meeting of members will be held on Sunday and high on the agenda will be the Financial Statements and Reports of the auditors for the year ending September 30, 2002, and the election of president and vice president.
Trinidad and Tobago’s senior team will do battle with Suriname, while the national junior team will clash with Barbados in the opening round of the Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO) Championships, which gets underway at the Jean Pierre Sports Complex today.
Both teams will go into action in the evening after the opening ceremony which is scheduled to start at 6 pm. Other first round team matches begin at 9 am. TT are seeking to register their first line on the prestigious regional biennial showdown. And much will depend on the form and fitness of national triple-crown champion Anil Seepaul, Cuban-based Darron Charles, Canadian-based Hayden Thomas and talented Kerwyn Pantin and Surajdeen Mohammed among the men, and eight-time singles champion Sabrina Cassie, Zeudi Mack, Nadine Julien, Stephanie Mitchell, Kimberley Lovero and Kasma Benito among the women. Suriname has always been tough opponents and the locals will have to produce their best to give themselves an excellent chance of taking the lead, especially with the uncertainty of Jamaica’s senior team members arriving in time.
National Under-19 and Under-17 triple-crown champions Rahul Rampersad and Justin Sui, as well as Girls’ champion Vicki Singh are the key players for success in the junior category. Barbados will be led by newly crowned champions Rene Reifer (Boys) and Shari Watson (Girls). However, the Championships will start under a cloud of uncertainty concerning the lighting system which were still being installed. The exclusive story carried in the Newsday yesterday about leaking Eastern bleachers with water seeping directly into the changing rooms and no toilet seats, forced Complex officials to shut down all the changing and washrooms there. The International Section of the Championships featuring over 160 players from 20 countries will begin on July 15. Admission to games is $10 per day and $40 for the series up to the semi-final stage. The final and closing ceremonies on July 19 will cost fans $25 each.
