CLIVE LEWIS alias Adil Ghani, 36, one of two men shot several times in a drive-by shooting at Movie Towne last Wednesday, discharged himself from the Port-of-Spain General Hospital Sunday and is now at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. Surrounded by armed police officers, Ghani attended the funeral service of his common-law wife Jilla Bowen, who was shot dead outside Movie Towne in the same incident. Sitting in a wheelchair, Ghani was wheeled into the small chapel of the Armstrong Funeral Home on Observatory Street. There was a strong police presence as scores of people including employees of Island Club Casino where Bowen worked, turned out for the funeral service of the 31-year-old supervisor. Bowen’s seven-year-old son Stephen and her seven-month-old baby (with Ghani) were there, oblivious to the fact that their mother was dead. Also present was Bilaal Abdullah, the leader of the Muslimeen insurgents at the Red House during the 1990 attempted coup. Pastor Glen Awong, speaking at the graveside at the Western Cemetery, called for something to be done about the crime situation. He said violence in society would continue if nobody raises a voice. “Where are the worries?” he asked.

Senior officers said Ghani has been placed under police guard. Bowen was shot dead in the drive-by shooting, while Salim Rasheed, who was shot more than five times in the same incident, remains in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Police officers told Newsday they intend to interview Ghani today from his hospital bed. They added that Ghani was now in a position to give them a true account of what happened last Wednesday night. Investigators said several persons who were in the vicinity of the shooting were interviewed and gave descriptions of the killers. Sgt Nandram Moonilal is investigating.

TEMPERS flared at the Commission of Inquiry into the Piarco Airport Development Project yesterday, resulting in former Security Manager at the Airports Authority (AA) Dennis John being reminded that failure to answer questions satisfactorily could draw a $2,000 fine. The warning from Commission Chairman Clinton Bernard followed John’s questioning of why Bernard was pointing his finger and threatening him. Bernard told John he could do anything he wanted. The exchange came after the Commission’s lead attorney, Theodore Guerra, SC, asked John to read a memo. John was looking at the last page of the memo and when told by Guerra he had to read from the front, he angrily replied: “You can’t tell me how to read.” On hearing the comment Bernard pointed his finger at John and warned him about the response, saying it was “out of place.” After John questioned why he was being “threatened.”Bernard forcefully reminded him that under Section 12 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, any witness who failed or refused without sufficient cause to satisfactory answer questions put to him was liable to a $2,000 fine on summary conviction. John apologised for his comment but insisted that Bernard not point his fingers at him. “I can do anything I want, if you have an objection you can take it elsewhere,” Bernard told him.
 
Bernard later said it was his habit to point his finger at people when speaking.John was recalled yesterday to give further evidence on the contract awarded by the AA to the Firearms Training Institute to service the firearms. He said the contract was “mysterious.” John confirmed that then Transition Manager at the AA, Brendan Carmody, sent him a memo dated March 13, 2000, about the contract to the Institute. That memo was also sent to AA Finance Manager Joshey Mahabir. In his letter, Carmody expressed concern about the contract. Carmody said that he had learnt that the Defence Force had initially serviced the firearms at no cost to the AA and they were willing to resume. Carmody told John the contract would not be extended unless he was otherwise convinced by John or Mahabir.  John insisted that he did not authorise the award of the contract, or approve payment to the Institute. He said he passed on the memo to his successor, Leo Reyes, to follow up. John said although he felt he had an obligation to respond to the memo, he could not. He said there was not enough time to research the matter  respond, because he was removed from the position two weeks later. Shown another memo in which a purchase order of $9,200 dated August 26, 1999, and signed by “D John” was made out to the Institute, John agreed he was the only person with that name but insisted he could not approve payments. When Bernard asked him if the order was a misrepresentation, John said he couldn’t say. Later he told his attorney Sean Cazabon that it was indeed incorrect. When shown another memo which he signed, in which the AA agreed to hire the Institute, John said he only signed the memo based on directives from his boss, Rampersad Hadaway. He said he found the memo unsatisfactory but still signed it. The inquiry ended early yesterday because of a break down in the air conditioning system. It will resume this morning at 9.30 am.

THE SURVIVAL of national airline BWIA is critical to Government’s plan to establish Piarco as the alternative hub into Latin America, and this factors greatly in the decision to save the cash-strapped carrier. This was revealed yesterday by Trade Minister Ken Valley when he addressed a Sensitisation Breakfast Meeting at the Hilton Hotel. He was responding to a question from Lisa Chamley, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce, about establishment of air links between Trinidad and Tobago and Latin America. Valley said establishment of air links was a critical issue in the face of globalisation, and emphasised the importance of the airline: “BWIA is not important simply because of its bottom-line. It is important because of the linkages which can be formed.”

In his address on the status of ongoing external negotiations and trade policy initiatives, Valley said to date Trinidad and Tobago was participating in several trade negotiations at the sub-regional  and global level, including the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the Cotonou Agreement between the European Union and  ACP States. “In all of these agreements, the attempt is to protect our interests while seeking to lock in favourable access to markets larger than ours.” He revealed that a key concept underlying the  present negotiation stance was special and differential treatment for smaller economies such as Trinidad and Tobago. Valley said at the WTO level, Trinidad and Tobago, as a member of Caricom would join like-minded states to make the WTO agreement more sympathetic towards developing countries. Valley emphasised government’s commitment to facilitating the private sector in its upgrading to face the ongoing globalisation process. He said they recognised the need to “fast track” their programme of diversification. This required enterprises of all sizes to embrace quality standards coupled with positive environmental primary practices, he noted.

The Inter-ministerial committee on BWIA met with BWIA’s Board yesterday and handed over a letter setting out the directives of  Cabinet. This states that the airline must bring down its costs, particularly its labour costs, before it can receive any more financial assistance from Government. Cabinet has mandated BWIA to negotiate with the unions to cut salaries and reduce staff. Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ken Valley said the letter also gave the Board a June 16 deadline to report back to the Committee on what “the plan is with respect to the unions.” “We told the Board that we (the Government) have the money (to bail out the airline) but you all have to meet the pre-conditions,” he said. Valley said while there were several conditionalities, “the critical one” was the reduction in labour costs. “If the airline is to become viable, we have got to reduce expenses from 10 cents per mile, to a maximum of 8 cents per mile,” the Minister stated.

He said the Board told the Committee that it had met the unions over the weekend and “had made some progress.” He added that on June 16 the Board would be reporting to the Committee whether it had achieved full success in its negotiations with the unions. Valley said the Committee met with Zwaig Consultants on Sunday, but he declined to state what the consultants said. There was no Cabinet meeting on the airline yesterday and no word was forthcoming from BWIA management on the matter.

A LEADING trade unionist predicted yesterday that the United National Congress (UNC) would lose the local government election because of mistakes made while in Government. OWTU president-general Errol McLeod, made the prediction during a news briefing at the union’s Paramount Building headquarters in San Fernando yesterday. He said the the population would not forget the UNC’s legacy of “corruption and malfeasance, which had run rampant throughout the country during the party’s term in office.” Its losing those elections will relate directly to its term in Government, which also saw the UNC attacking almost everyone in society,” McLeod said. He said the combined efforts of the UNC and the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) would not affect the outcome of the polls. McLeod said the experience of the 1995 electoral accomodation by the two parties was still fresh in the “nation’s collective memory.” He reiterated the union’s independence from political interference saying he was not a supporter of any party.

WATER FROM the River Ganges mixed with multi-coloured flowers was poured on the 85-foot Lord Hanuman Murti as part of a consecration ceremony at 12.10 pm yesterday. It was the final devotional exercise conducted by His Holiness Swami Ganapati Sachchidananda, head of the Dattatreya Yoga Centre, Orange Field Road, Carapichaima, attended by a gathering of thousands of devotees, including acting President Dr. Linda Baboolal and Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday. A helicopter was used for the final act in the four hour Puja. The murti, the only one of its kind in the Western hemisphere,  took two and a half years to build. It was designed by 18 sculptors from India headed by Sabramanian Sthapaty, at the request of the Swami, who hails from Mysore, India. He now regards Trinidad and Tobago as his second home.

Head of the Dattatreya Yoga Centre, Ramesh Persad-Maharaj, said the murti represented the aspirations of the Hindu community. He said it could become a major tourist attraction. The ceremony began at 8.30 am with large numbers of devotees in attendance despite heavy showers. The ashram was crammed with overseas guests, many of whom flew in from Louisiana, Pittsburgh, and Pennsylvania in the United States, where yoga centres have been established under the leadership of Swami Sachchidananda . After the opening of the puja, a copper mystical diagram of Lord Hanuman was placed in a strategic position at the ashram followed by the Hawan Kund (the fire aspect of the ceremony). Then the Swami mounted the stairs  leading to the base of the murti to perform his final act, calling on the Creator to “bless this country and its people as they represent what is beautiful and crystal in this part of the world”. After the Ganges water was emptied on the murti, the Swami joined a dancing crowd who paraded around the base of the murti, singing “Lord Hanuman Ki Jai.” The Swami will be celebrating his 61st birthday on June 11, with prayers at the Dattatreya Ashram.

“This is the most incompetent investigation I have ever seen in my career,” declared Senior Counsel Israel Khan to a nine-member jury yesterday. Khan was addressing the jury in the motor manslaughter trial of a Ministry of Health driver in the Port-of-Spain Third Criminal Court. Nicholas Johnson, 12, was struck by a vehicle driven by Randall Blackman, 31, at Madras Road, Cunupia, on May 1, 2000. Johnson died 14 days later. Blackman is before Justice Malcolm Holdip. Khan, in his 45-minute address, reminded the jury of police failure in taking additional pictures of the point of impact of the accident. He said they also failed to conduct interviews on the same day. State prosecutor Nalini Singh however, said that she was not going to respond on that issue. Khan suggested to the  jury  that if they could not find Blackman guilty of unlawful killing then they are still entitled to return a verdict of  dangerous driving. Singh however told the jury that if they believe the  eye-witness testimony of Indra Maharaj then they ought to find the accused guilty as charged.  Maharaj testified that Johnson had crossed the road by Sharma’s parlour and a car driving fast overtook a slow moving truck and hit the boy. She also said that it was a clear, bright, smoke-free day. Khan also questioned the opinion of Dr. Hughvon DeVignes that Blackman’s car must have been travelling in excess of 30 miles per hour for a body weighing 85 pounds to be pitched 38 feet from the point of impact.

Khan’s objection was based on the grounds that  DeVignes did not give any criteria for which he came to  his evaluation. Khan said that  if Blackman was indeed speeding, his car would not have been able to stop 15 feet after impact. Khan added that Blackman was a driver for 11 years and had in the past only one minor accident. Singh, in her closing address, stated that even if there was smoke on that day, Blackman would still be grossly negligent in trying to overtake a truck when his visibility was low. Singh reminded the jury that there was no evidence of there being any smoke in the area that day. Justice Holdip is expected to sum up the case to the jury today.

One week after he succumbed to shotgun wounds sustained during an armed robbery on May 25, Glen Fitzgerald Forde was buried yesterday  at the Turure Cemetery, following a funeral service at the Worldwide Church of God in Arima. Forde was shot  just two days after he celebrated his 32nd birthday. He died June 2. An emotional Finbar Forde, father of the deceased had to be consoled before reading the eulogy which he eventually discarded. He composed himself and instead, used the opportunity to reminisce aloud about his young son. Forde spoke of Glen at the age of a year and a half, which he said was the beginning of a number of mishaps during the course of his son’s life, to the circumstances that led to his eventual death. Some of those mishaps included sandwiching himself between a slab of concrete and the ground, falling in fire, and jumping from a flight of stairs to land on broken glass. However, his father said that Glen never really caused both his wife or himself any undue pain or worry, except the fact that the deceased chose to do longer hours and a lot of night work for the past five years.

His son, he said, hinted of his annoyance at the poor remuneration of security officers but said nothing further about it. Instead he said: “Glen never uttered one thing negative about anything or anybody. He made mistakes, but he finally lived a life for Christ”. The elder Forde said while his son was nursing his wounds in the hospital, for the first time he was told by his son that he loved him and that his last words were “Thank You Jesus”. He was  happy that his son had recently turned to the church and expressed surety that God would take care of him. Also paying tribute to the deceased were his sister Jasmine who together with Crystal-Anne Hernandez sang Psalm 121, while Wendy Hernandez did ‘In the Name Of The Lord’. Earlier a small detachment of Pentagon Secu-rity officers led the pall bearers bearing the silver-grey flower patterned coffin into the church followed by Forde’s parents Lucy and Finbar, his wife Sarah, daughter Aaliyah and other members of the family.

ALTHOUGH workers are facing severe challenges from trade liberalisation and globalisation, the local trade union movement has grown even more fragmented during the past year, according to OWTU president-general Errol McLeod who made his observation yesterday during a press conference at OWTU’s Paramount Building, San Fernando. The press conference focused on week-long Labour Day activities by the OWTU, scheduled to begin with a Labour Day calypso competition this Friday and culminating with the Labour Day march and rally on June 19, at Charlie King Junction, Fyzabad. Asked to comment on the state of the labour movement, the veteran trade unionist said the level of fragmentation had not diminished with the past year. “The fragmentation this year is at the same level or higher than it was last year, even in the face of all of the issues facing workers generally that really should bring everybody together,” he said. McLeod said the OWTU would continue to be “free” from interference from political parties.
 
“Say what you want about the Oilfields Workers Trade Union, but nobody can ever put the OWTU in the back pocket of any politician, in the Opposition or in Government,” he declared. He reiterated that no Government or Opposition politician had ever been invited to address a Labour Day rally organised by the OWTU. He said the OWTU was committed to maintaining the independence of the trade union movement from “outside interference.” McLeod said an announcement regarding the future plans of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of T&T (FITUOTT) would be made after a special meeting later this week. McLeod distanced his union from conciliatory discussions between FITUOTT and NATUC.

The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is moving to construct additional wells to increase the water supply in the island. The aim is to ultimately produce some 15 million gallons of water daily, which will provide Tobago with a 24-hour supply. In the meantime, the move is to provide an additional five million gallons per day through this process in the immediate short term. Secretary of Public Utilities and Infrastructure at the THA, Hilton Sandy revealed that discussions had already been initiated with a firm in this field. “We met with a company called Earth Water and Lennox Technologies; what we were discussing is the possibility of putting in additional wells,” he said. “What we are looking for here is to put in wells to give us five million gallons of water per day – 3.5 million for the south west, which is the heaviest hit area; Charlotteville/Speyside (in the east end), 5 million gallons; and in the Moriah/Belmont Road area (north central) one million gallons per day. That is in the short term,” Sandy told reporters. “And long term we are looking to put 15 million gallons of water in Tobago; that is to afford the people of Tobago a 24-hour supply of water, taking into consideration all the development plans expected to come on stream, that we’ll have to use the commodity water,” he explained.

Sandy said they were advised that sourcing water through a well system was the way to go because it was “safe,” while on the other hand there was the problem of evaporation of water from the dams during the scorching dry season. “So we should sort of concentrate on well water, taking it within the bedrock, which is within the stone; it is cheaper to process water from the wells than from the open dam,” he noted. Meantime, Sandy said the initial move to desilt the dams at Hillsborough in Mt St George and King’s Bay, Delaford both in east Tobago, was well underway. This is estimated to cost some $20 million, he said. “Even though we are going to put in wells, we are going to desilt the dams, funding for that project is almost accomplished, so soon we would look forward to have the dams desilted,” Sandy reported.