A company in which Ken Julien has a key role has received a $1.5 million dollar contract from state-owned NGC.
Energy Minister Eric Williams revealed in the Senate yesterday that a joint venture company, comprising a company in which Dr Ken Julien was Executive Chairman had been awarded a $1.584 million contract. Williams said a contract was awarded by National Gas Company to a joint venture between KENESJAY Systems Limited and Trin-toplan Consultants Limited to provide consultancy services for the conduct of a study to identify and evaluate potential industrial sites in the south west region of Trinidad.
The principals of KENESJAY are Julien, who is Executive Chairman, Trevor Boopsingh (director and principal associate), Michael Toney and Patricia Julien (both directors). The contract was the subject of a letter which was written to the Director of Public Prosecutions. And the Fraud Squad visited NGC in this regard. Williams stated NGC’s tendering process were neither compromised or breached. He said NGC’s procedures allowed it to invite companies to tender. He said based on the level of technical competence NGC identifed three firms which were capable of doing the job. He said the joint venture of KENESJAY and Trintoplan was selected by an open and public process and by an independent tendering procedure.
A Canadian resident who is suing the State for negligence yesterday gave evidence that she lost over (Can.) $9,000 when she was unable to return to her job in Canada after she was injured in Trinidad in 1995.
Diane Guide-Bird, of Ontario, Canada, a teacher, is claiming that she was injured when a wrecker tried to remove her sister’s vehicle from a no-parking zone on High Street, San Fernando. She gave evidence under the directions of attorney Shastri Parsad before Justice Amrika Tiwary-Reddy in the Port-of-Spain Second Civil Court. Bird said that on June 13, 1995, she went shopping with her sister and her niece in San Fernando. She said her sister was driving and parked the car on High Street. Her sister gave her the keys to the car, stating that they would meet there after 3 pm. Around 2.45 pm, Bird returned to the car and saw a wrecker and trolley which was attached to the car. She said she spoke to a police officer who was at the left side of the car. Three other men were also present. She said one was driving the wrecker, another climbing into the back of the wrecker and the other was standing on the road. Bird said she was shouting and pleading to get her things out of the car. The police officer responded, “Hurry up, hurry up.” She said she went for the car keys in her pocket and that she was nervous. She then unlocked the car door and placed her hand on the handle. She said there was a jolt and the car was moving. She claimed the officer came to her and said, “This lady is taking too long”. She said she was trying to open the door when there was another jolt and a rough motion of the vehicle.
Bird said, “I was going up High Street and I fell down.” She added she fell on the road between the car and the pavement. She stated that her long skirt was hooked up under the car and she could not free herself. She said she was dragged five or eight steps and her left knee was rubbing on the road. She said, “I was terrified. I could not do anything to save myself.” She added that the wheel of the trolley ran over her left foot. She said the wrecker stopped after a crowd which had gathered, yelled for the driver to stop. She was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where she received painkillers. Bird said she was to return to work on June 16, 1995, but arrived in Canada on June 20. She said she returned to work on August 3. Under cross-examination by State counsel Adrian Darmanie, Bird said she did not see the no-parking signs that day. She said the wrecker was in front of the car. She said she was facing the wrecker when she approached the car.
BIRK Hillman Consultants (BHC) yesterday failed to show at the Commission of Inquiry into the Piarco airport development project, although lawyers for the company sent a fax to the Commission acknowledging receipt of its summons.
It is believed that BHC will not take part in the Inquiry, which is expected to end this month. When BHC was called yesterday no one appeared on its behalf. Lead attorney for the Commission Theodore Guerra, SC informed the Commission that the company was served a summons which BHC’s attorney had acknowledged receipt through a fax letter to the Commission. Guerra was stopped from disclosing the contents of the fax by Chairman Clinton Bernard. At the start of the inquiry last year attorney Bruce Procope QC appeared for BHC. Witnesses who implicated BHC during their evidence were told to be on “stand by” for today, in case BHC has a change of heart. The police officer who served the summons to BHC will also testify that he did serve the summons.
Also at yesterday’s sitting Dennis John, the former Airports Authority Security Manager returned to the witness stand to be questioned by Guerra in a session which caused tempers to flare and John to again be warned about the $2,000 fine under the Commission of Inquiry Act for not fully answering questions. John also complained that the Commissioners had frowned on his way of speaking. But Bernard explained that was because he had been rude to Guerra, and impertinent to the Chair. John maintained that he never saw the contract awarded to the Firearms Training Institute and the only reason he signed claims approving money to the Institute was because he was acting on the instructions of his boss, Rampersad Hadaway. Guerra was not satisfied with John’s answers because they appeared to be contradictory to his previous evidence, loudly asked John “do you take us for idiots here?”
John’s attorney Sean Cazabon objected to the tone and language, but was told by Bernard that Guerra was merely making an observation which usually occurs in court. Cazabon pointed out that it was not a court, but an inquiry, and was told by Bernard that attorneys for the Commission had a free hand. He later told Guerra to use a softer tone to accommodate Cazabon. But it was not to be. Shortly after Guerra told John that he was an “unrepentant liar”. Cazabon again objected and Guerra was asked to rephrase the question. Instead Guerra accused John of not only being an “unrepentant liar but also a pathological liar”. Cazabon again objected, but it was overruled by Bernard. John’s reply to the accusation was that his evidence had been consistent at all times. The inquiry will continue today at 9.30 am.
TWENTY-FOUR hours ahead of a National Security Council (NSC) meeting to discuss implementing a limited State of Emergency to deal with gang warfare in the Laventille area, National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee was tight-lipped about whether would give the green light to that recommendation.
Speaking with Newsday during a break in the Senate yesterday, Chin Lee said while a limited State of Emergency was one of the recommendations advanced by the Ken Gordon-led Crime Reduction and Prevention Committee, it was just that and he preferred not to comment on the matter at this time. Gordon, who is also chairman of First Citizens Bank, publicly called for a limited State of Emergency in Laventille to deal with crime problem and it was Newsday which first revealed that this was one of the things under study by the NSC when the security forces launched Operation Lockdown in the area. During Lockdown and the subsequent “Operation Baghdad”, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said Government would not hesitate to implement a State of Emergency if the situation warranted it. At the time, Manning said there were no grounds for a limited State of Emergency in Laventille and environs. The Minister said plans to create a special police-army unit to deal with gang warfare were proceeding apace and he had been meeting regularly with Police Commissioner Hilton Guy and Defence Force Chief of Staff Brigadier Ancil Antoine to work out the details. Chin Lee criticised Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday’s claim that the PNM had destroyed all of the Coast Guard’s vessels and aircraft since coming into power.
Chin Lee disclosed that he spoke yesterday with British engineers working on engines for two vessels that were inoperable since the UNC was in office, and they indicated that progress was finally being made after months of red tape from the Panday regime. The Minister also revealed that the TT Cascadura (the Coast Guard’s flagship vessel) which was also neglected by the UNC, will be operational within two months. He also recalled that upon entering office, only two of the Coast Guard’s five aircraft were operational and now all five were operational. Chin Lee said UNC assertions about having a top-notch coastal radar system were false and the one which the PNM met was “primordial” to say the least. “It is probably better there was no system at all,” he stated. While the Minister declined to give specific details of the proposed coastal radar network, he said it would mirror a system currently employed by the Israeli military to monitor arms smuggling activities into and out of the Palestinian-occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He said he had received correspondence from the United States Embassy on the issue and hinted that further details would be given at last night’s PNM meeting in San Fernando.
PLANNING MINISTER Dr Keith Rowley yesterday announced that after Govern-ment restructures Caroni (1975) Limited, it will be dealing with yet another of its predecessor’s (UNC) disasters, the Desalination Plant at Point Lisas. Addressing a luncheon hosted by the Port-of-Spain Rotary Club at the Queens Park Oval, Dr Rowley revealed that the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) had a $2 billion debt which was linked directly to the UNC’s “madness” for WASA to enter into a long-term contract to purchase water from Desalcott.
Speaking afterwards with reporters, Rowley declared: “The problem is that WASA is the best producer in the country. Up until the desalination plant came into being, WASA was producing 180 million gallons of water for which they were collecting about roughly $35 million. The UNC added 20 million (gallons) more..200 million gallons but 20 million is costing WASA $15 million per month …180 million is bringing in 25 million or thereabouts..20 million is costing us $15M per month in a long term contract.That’s every year for the next 30 years. In the meantime, to keep WASA going the Government has to be borrowing money or authorising WASA to borrow money to keep the services going. When the desalination plant was being built, I moved a motion in the Parliament asking the Government not to enter into that contract because it is madness to be earning $45 million and paying 15 of that for 10 percent of the water.” The Minister said because of the UNC’s bungling, Government could not break the contract without incurring a liability and Cabinet was now examining how to address this problem.
Rowley slammed the UNC for its continued opposition to the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in Trinidad and Tobago and said if Britain decided at a future date to deny Commonwealth nations access to the Privy Council, Government would have to amend the laws to create an alternative final court of appeal. He added that the Court of Appeal would be that alternative if there was no CCJ. The Minister said contrary to UNC claims, Government was not on a wild-spending spree but carefully devising “a roadmap” that would take the country to developed nation status. He chronicled Government’s progress in the education, health, energy and the financial sectors to emphasise his point. Rowley predicted that TT could become the “Brussels of the Americas” if it is successful in gaining the required votes to become the headquarters of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Over 10,000 families are expected to benefit from an aggressive programme of government assistance for low income earners to build and improve their homes as well as to regularise squatter settlements.
As Government and the IDB signed a loan agreement for the first tranche of an IDB loan aimed at supporting a US $100 million housing programme, Housing Minister Martin Joseph detailed some of the features of the Second National Settement programme, which would marry private sector capital with state subsidies to fund the programme. Speaking at a news conference the Minis-ter of Planning and Development Dr Keith Rowley appealed to the banking community to come on board and provide loans to small contractors who would be part of the programme.
Noting that it was the private sector which would be carrying out this programme, Rowley said that much of the building would be done in small contracts of perhaps less than $5 million. He said: “We would like these small contractors (involved in the programme) when they approach the bank, to be treated as other borrowers. “We are simply saying to the banking community, ‘We have a major billion dollar programme here which might manifest itself all the way down to the same man. “Gear up and get on board’.”
WHAT can we and the concerned citizens of our country say in response to the new anti-crime initiative announced by Prime Minister Patrick Manning on Saturday? Our hope, of course, is that the creation of a Special Response Unit in the police service will have some effect in curbing the increasingly brazen activity of criminals, but it is a spontaneous and instinctive hope, rather than a realistic one, born out of the worrying lack of success so far of a series of similar initiatives and operations. The latest effort, according to Mr Manning, is “a formidable action plan” which has been devised to deal with gang-related murders, involving, among other things, the formation of a “Special Response Unit” comprising 400 persons carefully selected from the Police Service and Defence Force. The careful screening of personnel for this Unit, the PM intimated, may include polygraph testing. In addition, Mr Manning announced a $3 million expansion of the Crime Stoppers Programme “into every corner of the country,” the installation of surveillance cameras at strategic locations and the upgrading of the existing coastal radar surveillance system. Also, the specialist Community Policing Unit is also to be re-established.
To citizens growing ever more anxious over the crime crisis, including the murderous warfare among rival gangs, the reaction to this new “action plan” may well be one of deja vu since it seems to be basically more of the same, the creation of another “special squad” and following on such hopeful but unsuccessful operations as Anaconda and Baghdad. Indeed, in spite of the night-and-day patrols being carried out by joint Police-Army teams in Laventille and other crime-prone areas, the armed robberies and killings continue unchecked. As far as we could remember, and particularly under the late Commissioner Randolph Burroughs, the stock official reaction to the crime problem was the formation of some special squad and the launching of some drag-net operation. The new plan, it seems, amounts to the considerable expansion of an old idea, this time with 400 men operating in a Special Response Unit which, because of its size, may have some impact on the crime problem. We will just have to wait and see. Our view is that if such manpower is now to be deployed to deal with this violent menace, then the Unit must be well organised with adequate mobility and communication covering the entire country. On the other hand, creation of the SRU must result in a depletion of the regular ranks of the Police Service and Defence Force, a situation which the Government should move simultaneously to remedy, particularly since the Police Service is seriously understaffed as it is.
Our advice to the Government is to abandon the idea of resurrecting the Community Policing Unit as this has proved to be a total failure. Apart from reports of malingering, we understand that the Unit was disbanded because of the widespread misuse of its vehicles which were employed in the conduct of family business, transporting groceries and taking children to and from school. Fighting the crime wave with greater law-enforcement numbers may be a useful effort but, as we have said before, one of the core problems in this battle is the lack of intelligence penetration by the police. Although we have heard officers say that they know who the criminal bosses are behind the gangs, they seem impotent to get at these “kingpins,” even by the use of testimony obtained from assassination targets. Clearly, the strategy of “Baghdad-like” raids and an increased number of policemen and soldiers patrolling different places have failed to stem the bloody bullet-ridden tide.
The Vivah or marriage is the most important of all the Hindu Samskaras (rites of passage). It is not a social contract as it is suggested in modern western civilisation, but a religious institution — a sacrament. Apart from the two human parties, there is always a divine aspect in marriage. It is on this divine aspect that the permanent relationship between husband and wife depends. When they are joined, they owe allegiance to this divine aspect. Every Hindu marriage is another union of Lord Vishnu and his divine consort Sri Lakshmi. In another sense the Hindu marriage is regarded as a sacrifice. It is said, “he indeed is without sacrifice who has got no wife. He is himself a half man. The second half is his wife.” Also worship of ancestors and gods are dependent upon progeny. And it is only through marriage can one pay his ancestral debts. The following is an extract from the forthcoming biography that will be published by Chakra Publishing House on Sat Maharaj, tentatively entitled Sat Maharaj: Champion of Hindu Trinidad. “Pundit Krishna Maharaj, the Dharmacharya of Caroni Village, was working for Bhadase Maraj then as a book-keeper. He approached Sat in late 1952, saying “the chief,” as he called Maraj, wanted a favour. Sat queried what that might be, and the Pundit dropped the bomb. Bhadase wanted Sat to marry his daughter Shanti. Sat was stunned. He was only 20 years old. His two years away from home had stirred up a confidence in himself and a newfound wanderlust, he was dreaming of going to England or India. Possibly even Canada like Solomon Tancoo with whom he still kept in touch while Tancoo was studying in the great white north. He certainly wasn’t thinking of settling down and having children. He chased girls like any other young man his age, but he was not ‘prepared to establish any permanent relationship at this age’. Sat told Pundit Krishna as such, and he departed.
Sat of course knew Shanti as he had known Bhadase in passing as fellow villagers. Shanti was a few years younger than him and he certainly hadn’t thought of her as a possible wife or even girlfriend. He was floored by Bhadase’s request. A few months went by and Pundit Krishna was back, saying “the chief,” Bhadase, was still waiting on an answer. Sat replied “the chief” had already gotten an answer. This type of thing went on for another six months. Pundit Krishna was a very determined and persuasive man, he had been instrumental in drumming up support for Bhadase’s desire to merge the Sanatan Dharma Association and Sanatan Dharma Board of Control, going out to villages with no street lights or running water and convincing the residents to take this gigantic step into the future and away from all things familiar and known. One afternoon Sat finally acceded to his wishes and agreed. Sat cannot pinpoint what brought on the sudden change of heart but he has never regretted agreeing to it. The decision was made and the wedding date was set for early in 1953 but then tragedy struck. Finally on June 28th 1953, Sat and Shanti were married, six months behind schedule. It was one of the largest weddings Caroni had seen and was not bypassed for a long time with government ministers and businessmen in attendance on Bhadase’s invitation.
There was more food than most of the villagers had seen in one place before and only the finest materials for Shanti’s saris (wedding gowns) which were beautifully dyed yellow as saffron and as red as rubies as well as Sat’s jama jora (wedding suit). Sat said in an interview with anthropologist Dr. Kumar Mahabir, “I have experienced all the happiness and tensions of a normal marriage and my fifty year relationship with my wife Shanti has provided me with overwhelming joy and fulfillment. From the day of my marriage my wife has been very loyal and supportive of every single one of my various activities. Occasionally, when everyone in the world seemed to be against me the comforting arms and voice of my wife would renew my spirit and drive me forward. I have not always been kind enough to her nor have I ever expressed how grateful I am to her. But not a single one of my ventures in religion, culture, community, education or business has been without her input. This is the nearest I have come to saying thank you, Shanti.” According to Dr Krishna Nath Chatterjuee, author of the Hindu Marriage Past and Present: The purpose of the Hindu marriage is to have sexual relations, continuity of the Hindu race, and discharging of religious and social duties. The Path of Desire, consisting of fulfilling religious duty, attaining prosperity, worldly pleasures and salvation are the goals of marriage. The Hindu marriage is a sacred institution with the couple becoming one in spirit. A Hindu man has not attained his complete self unless he is married and has the cooperation of his wife.
Marriage between two souls is a very sacred affair that stretches beyond one life time and may continue up to at least seven lives. A husband and wife chose to come together more due to spiritual reasons than sexual, though they may not be mentally aware of the reasons for their decision to come together. According to Hinduism, the roles of a husband and wife are parallel, supposed to complement each other, instead of contradicting. In marriage two individuals of opposite sex come together to make their individual lives complete and perfect. The bride is not just a woman but a gift from the heavens. The husband therefore has a divine obligation to respect the position of his wife in his life and family. The wife on the other hand is expected to see the divine (self) in her husband and help him carry out his householder’s duties and responsibilities. These beliefs and practices still hold good in many Hindu families and keep many marriages intact and alive, unlike in many western countries, where marriage as an institution is in serious crisis.
THE EDITOR: It is strange that in our beloved country where interracial relationships are predominant among people of Indian and African descent more than any other ethnic group, there are some unscrupulous politicians who are determined to put a wedge between these two. Unfortunately, according to Chief Justice Sat Sharma (in relation to the pseudo-racist appeal case) “politicians appeal to the primordial senses of citizens at election time to have them vote along racial lines.” If one has to look at the history of Basdeo Panday — past and present — the political rhetoric has been the same. The only difference is that today, his racially-sounding appeals for support have become much louder and more frequent since former President Arthur NR Robinson made the obvious decision to make Patrick Manning the interim Prime Minister. It has therefore intensified after the outright defeat at the polls on October 7, 2003. The reason for this is that the reality of being out of political power has fully sunk in and, suddenly, the Indian population is being discriminated against by the PNM (although there is no concrete evidence of such). The PNM must be really barbaric to spitefully target the Indians when it has a fair number of Parliamentarians, party executives and supporters from this community. Although one former UNC Member of Parliament described them as “cosmetic Indians” when he addressed a group of foreign-based East Indian citizens in Canada. They are now describes as “disposable pampers” on radio 90.5 by the nightly host.
The message therefore is that those in the hierarchy of the PNM are not the “true Indian” or are being used and later disposed of as is being propagated on national radio, which easily prompted one caller to state that these PNM Indians should be “ostracised.” On the same radio station, on the night of September 24, 2002, the host sounded very upset to see Indians in the PNM’s walkabout in the Aranguez/St Joseph area and said that they were indeed “dotish” for being involved. Statements and comments like these make me wonder what the term “national unity” meant under the UNC, if it is uniting the races or “the race.” That call was as hollow and ungenuine as it sounded. It is therefore no coincidence that some of the most racially appealing fulminations are made by Basdeo Panday at functions such as Indian Arrival Day and Divali, where predominantly one race is united, so that they can be reminded of “our 150 years of struggle.” Certainly, he wasn’t referring to Wade Mark (poor soul), who on TV6’s “Morning Edition,” a couple weeks ago, foolishly echoed the sentiments of another UNC Member of Parliament that the PNM is on a crusade of “ethnic cleansing,” but was rightfully asked by the host (an Indian) to provide the evidence to back up such very strong statements. Of course, he promised to do so but is yet to fulfil his promise. The point is that all this nasty political rhetoric emanating from a number of those UNC members sounds too much like a “scratched record” to the ears of many, that it no longer has much effect, except for the few who call the radio programmes all the time and some of the people who host them. Not even the minds of the majority of Caroni workers were poisoned by the emotional and racial outbursts on the topic by these misleading UNC members and union representatives, who just cannot separate (try as they may) politics from race which is culturally embedded in their systems.
The people (majority) are tuned in to a more sophisticated quality sound, like that of a CD, hence the reason they are listening to the truth and not to those who are paranoid and in hallucinating states of mind. The great difference between the two is that the UNC’s sole purpose of governing was for racial dominance, “so we can have our time now.” Yet they have refused to accept that the true meaning of governance is way beyond their interpretation and so they continue to use the same old, stupid strategy by imputing racialism to almost every issue. However, the PNM is truly a professional, disciplined, powerful and stable political party, 47 years strong with many more years of longevity in store. Can you say the same of the UNC, whose fragility is sure to be exposed whenever Basdeo Panday is out of existence? The PNM is genuinely open to all of mankind who may be willing to step on board — as have been proven during its 47 years — without any of its political leaders or members using racial appeals to any particular race for its benefit.
GARVIN WALTERS
Tobago
PS Can someone please explain the real meaning of Constitutional Reform? I ask this because, according to the UNC’s interpretation (only now), it stands to be to their benefit.
THE EDITOR: When the UNC was planting jhandis all over the place at public buildings, I protested vehemently on the grounds that Church and State must be kept separate. In lieu of this I said that the Christians should similarly be allowed to erect crosses at public buildings, the Muslims the crescent moon, and all other faiths to leave their mark at all public buildings in this land where every creed and race is supposed to find an equal place. Today I renew my protest in light that the state has given three million dollars to the 85-foot Hanuman statue in Orange Field Road. I have nothing against Hindus building images of their deities of whatever height. Nor do I want to get into any banter about Patrick Manning being a so-called born again Christian getting involved in or supporting idolatry. My stance remains that the State should leave the religious bodies to raise their own funds and run their affairs without a penny from the public coffers.
MC DONALD JAMES
Couva
