N Touch

Consequences of increase in public debt

THE EDITOR: The Auditor General has issued a severe warning that our public debt in Trinidad and Tobago is rising rapidly. It has increased by 20 percent in the first year of the People’s National Movement (PNM) administration from 20 billion to 24 billion TT dollars. What are the reasons for the increase in public debt? Essentially they are three-fold:

Firstly, it is that there is a lack of internal control in the administration of the public finance. This implies that public officials are not obeying the controls that are imposed by The Exchequer and Audit Act, Chapter 69:01 of the Laws of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Secondly, adherence to the mechanism to ensure that funds are dedicated and employed for the purpose for which they were approved. Thirdly, at the Ministerial level inferentially, there are directions to use funds other than the purpose for which they were approved, and yet to find funds on the basis of original approval.

The consequences for engaging in such mis-management can be devastating to the economy. These are as follows:
1) It causes the economy to become inflationary. This is because the additional funds as stated by the Auditor General are to finance Current Expenditure, derived from the General Revenue of the country. This means that the scope and level of services within the economy do not change. Hence, there is no increase in productivity but an increasing claim on the same goods and services within the economy.
2) It impacts upon the term structure of interest rates. This is the rate charged by banks to borrow funds from the public, and for the public to lend the banks funds in the form of deposits. It results in a “Catch-22” paradigm. The banks will only obtain funds from the public for a short time, because they need it to finance their consumption expenditure; in like manner, the public will give the banks these funds for a short time since they require it to finance their household expenditure.

The combination of these activities creates increased prices in property values and household sector, since there is a money illusion within the domestic economy. The cumulative effect of 1 to 2 above, is that there is depreciation in the value of the currency, with the result of an increase in price levels for food, clothing and consumer durables. This results in an increase in the standard of living. This increase in public debt impacts adversely on the effectiveness of monetary policy. The Central Bank can through open market operations, “mop up” the excess liquidity created by the lack of controls in public expenditure. However, when this public expenditure is used to finance current consumption, open market operations are not an effective instrument, since the depositors are there with their deposits on demand.

The commercial banks cannot take this form of demand deposit and respond to the call by the Central Bank through open market operations. Similarly, the commercial banks will pressure the Central Bank not to increase the Reserve Requirement ratio. This is because the funds that are in the commercial banks that originate from an increase in public debt are short term funds needed to finance current expenditure of households. All of the above begs one fundamental question. Why is this happening? It points in the direction that the Minister of Finance does not realise the importance of controlling the public debt, as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the expenditure from the revenue derived in the economy.

He should realise that the policy that ought to be pursued is the repurchase to facilitate the decrease of expenditure for household items in the economy; however he is engaged in over-spending. Mr Minister of Finance, in the event that this is not ceased immediately very soon you will be told by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) you have to devalue the Trinidad and Tobago Dollar. This is not far fetched. The Republic of Ghana was engaged in these acts and it had to devalue its currency by 100 percent. Alternatively, Mr Minister of Finance, have you outlived your usefulness (if any) in the Ministry of Finance?  I submit, that your point of departure is not four Ministers in that Ministry.  The Parliament of the Republic should take heed!

DR SHASTRI MOONAN
Attorney-at-Law
Laventille

Seukeran should be in the Cabinet

THE EDITOR: The addition of a fourth Minister of Finance and newest member of the Cabinet may have managed to escape fire and brimstone from an uncoordinated and floundering Parliamentary Opposition, but while many have constantly been chipping away at the weaknesses of the UNC, not a single journalist or political commentator has questioned why Trade Minister, Diane Seukeran was passed over for a second time.

Early in the term of the PNM after the last general election, Mr Manning justified his refusal to appoint Fitzgerald Hinds as a Cabinet Minister on account of the latter not being ready to handle such responsibility, he lacked the needed experience. Yet, we saw the appointment of far less experienced politicians like Rennie Dumas, Howard Chin Lee and Christine Kangaloo. Now, with the appointment of Sahadeo to a highly strategic posting at the Finance Ministry, not a single person has questioned why Seukeran has not yet been appointed to the Cabinet and assume a real leadership role in her Ministry.

Seukeran not only managed to win a very hard marginal seat for the PNM, but she has also worked for many years in the corporate sector and ran three uninterrupted terms as President of the influential and powerful South Trinidad Chamber of Industry and Commerce. More than that, Seukeran has proven herself as a true activist in city development and social progress. Her commitment and integrity are unquestionable and her ability to make a meaningful contribution to the Government, one that is seeing a drastic fall in popularity, is being ignored by a Prime Minister intent on placing himself in a position where the public is growing in distrust for his judgment.

It is not that I am questioning Sahadeo’s integrity, competence or commitment. I do not know the woman, though from all indications she seems up to the task. What I am doing rather, is questioning why the Prime Minister would look beyond existing expertise yet again. I am no supporter of the PNM. In fact, I am no supporter of any party. But one must be able to ‘give Jack his jacket’. And in my own view, Diane Seukeran’s expertise is being wasted by the Prime Minister’s unwillingness to make her a part of the highest policy and decision making body in the country.

Roger D Ramcharitar
Port-of-Spain

TT must be on SARS alert

THE EDITOR: I feel certain that SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) will reach Trinidad sooner than later because of the fact that it is in Canada and we have very regular travel between the people of here and there.

The question arises of how prepared are we. There have been a few seminars for workers in the health sector at the Eric Williams Medical Complex in Mount Hope, concerning the SARS virus, and yet many workers in this sector have been saying that nothing has been put in place. As a citizen of this country, I too am very much concerned as there is no cure against the virus at present and there seems to be none coming shortly. You must remember that scientists around the world are still searching for a cure for the common cold over a hundred years now and the SARS virus sounds very much like that. It is very important that we look at the word quarantine and what the word implies. We all know that quarantine is basically a period of detention of 40 days or isolation for a person or persons entering a country infected or suspected of carrying a particular disease.

Assuming that the SARS virus starts popping up in our country, how exactly does the Ministry of Health plan to deal with it? The public should know! We’ve seen footage in Hong Kong, where persons suspected of having the SARS virus, were attempting to jump through windows of quarantined buildings. Trinbagonians are the type of people who do not act until things happen. A good example of this is in Laventille, where police are now trying to control murders. I know it is not wise to panic the population about SARS but there should be regular bulletins about SARS from the Ministry of Health as to possible actions that would be taken when the virus hits Trinidad. Isn’t it funny that at a time when the world needs our scientists and technologists in the medical field more than ever our doctors are fighting over salary and vacation.


MICKELL  GUNNESSLAL
Siparia

Water Farm mystery

NOW that Public Utilities Minister Rennie Dumas has explained what WASA’s $51 million payout to Water Farm Ltd was all about, we find this whole matter even more mystifying. Our basic question is, if the contract given to Water Farm was illegal, and therefore null and void, why was any money paid to this company at all? If what Minister Dumas told the Senate on Tuesday is true, then this transaction smacks of gross incompetence on the part of WASA and its then Executive Director (ED) and, on the basis of that, we can see no need whatever for the Attorney General to refer this issue to forensic investigator Bob Lindquist. 

This is not the case of a massive construction project scandal such as InnCogen or the Piarco Airport Development, in which a variety of persons are involved and the circumstances are complex. This is the case of WASA’s Executive Director issuing contracts to firms to operate certain water well fields even though, according to Minister Dumas, he did not have the authority to make such arrangements. This unauthorised action by the head of WASA is clearly the crux of the matter, the source of the problem, which requires no forensic investigation. It is mystifying that an officer in his position did not know the extent of his executive power. In any case, he did not apparently see the need to consult with the Authority’s lawyers to determine whether or not he had the capacity to issue such contracts. As it turned out, the ED did not have the power to bind the Authority to these arrangements and, it seems to us, if anybody should have been held responsible for the faux pas it should have been him, not the Authority.

Equally mystifying is the reaction of WASA to this error. Instead of taking some disciplinary action against the ED for overstepping his bounds, the Authority decided in 2002 to pay a total of $51 million to Water Farm for his mistake! This, in our view, is unbelievable. Taxpayers’ money, to the tune of $51 million, was paid out on the basis of an unauthorised, illegal, null and void contract! Now, we can understand WASA commissioners deciding, as a result of pure goodwill, to compensate Water Farm for the work it did before the contract was terminated. We have no idea what was involved here, but an assessment done by the accounting firm of Ernst and Young placed the compensation figure between $11 and $13 million. How then did WASA arrive at the figure of $51 million? This is another great mystery. But, again, if what Minister Dumas told the Senate is true, then this decision is also unbelievable. He said that the new WASA Board sought a new legal team which advised that the contractor would be able to claim for the loss of earnings. But how can this be? Who was on this legal team?

How can the contractor claim for loss of earnings on an illegal contract? Was it not also Water Farm’s responsibility to ensure that the contract they obtained from the Authority’s Executive Director had followed the necessary process and was legally binding? Are not these contracts vetted first by lawyers before they are signed? It seems to us that Water Farm, in their own interest, also lapsed on this responsibility. So that both parties appear to be delinquent. In these circumstances, and having regard to the fact that the unauthorised contracts did not bind the Authority, how then could the Board pay the firm for loss of earnings? In our view, this matter has resolved itself into a legal dispute and does not require any forensic investigation. Do we have more money to waste? Can WASA now retrieve all or part of the money it has paid to Water Farm on the basis of an illegal and, therefore, non-existent contract? That is the question the AG should be concerned about.

Teaching to save TT


At last, at long, long last on Tuesday, May 13, it is raining — but not, tragically, soon enough to save Tucker Valley, the hillsides of Maraval, St Ann’s, Cascade — and who knows how many other fire-ravaged valleys in the south-facing slopes of the Northern Range.

After one short, sharp shower caused minor flooding on the Eastern Main Road last week, it wouldn’t have surprised me to see photos and read stories of more floods in yesterday’s Newsday (May 14). And in the days and weeks to come when the rains set in in earnest — well, I don’t have to draw you a picture, do I, after all the pages of print I’ve filled with dire warnings of floods following the wholesale burning of bush and forest by the mischievous, the slash-and-burn gardeners and criminally stupid hunters and dotish burners of garden rubbish? But did anyone take me on when I wrote this on May 27, 1981 . . .? “The first few words of a newspaper article headlined ‘New Dawn for the PNM’ would have Dr Eric Williams turning in his grave — if he had one. As it is, his ashes must have stirred in the currents of the Gulf of Paria as the columnist wrote ‘The giant oak of the forest has been felled’ — and then compounded the insult to the shade of the late Prime Minister by more references to that potent symbol of Empire, the true, blue British oak. However, that insult is easily explained and forgiven in TT where children learn more about trees of temperate climates in the developed world than the native and imported tropical trees growing all around them. Almost every book, be they children’s fairy tales in primary school or set texts for English Literature in the GCE examinations, has been written by authors living in and writing about cold countries.

(2003 note: Today, thanks to new syllabuses and textbooks for primary and secondary schoolchildren, most now know a little about local trees, fruits and flowers). And so the child learns, without being taught, the distinctive shape of an oak leaf, the silhouette of a Douglas fir and the silken, papery smooth bark of the silver birch tree. Outside the classroom the child is exposed in supermarkets and stores to songs urging them to tie yellow ribbons round old oak trees . . . Not even our local songwriters, the calypsonians, praise the glory of the poui, the petrea, the silk-cotton and the canonball trees. Inside the Ministry of Education and Culture itself an official didn’t know that when you slash a bloodwood tree it “bleeds” thick, blood-red sap — until a foreign Field Naturalists’ Club member told him it was so. Nature programmes on TTT find no favour in the almighty advertisers’  eyes and so are never ever screened on prime time. The result is that only children of eccentric, nature-loving parents learn anything at home of the plants and animals of Trinidad and Tobago. Primary schools concentrate on getting children through Common Entrance;  in secondary schools there is little demand for the natural sciences. Young people leave school with heads crammed full of mathematics, social “science”, foreign languages — including English and its temperate country textbooks — and the arts.

The majority of adults young and old know little and care less about the causes of soil erosion, the value of both commercial timber and the ‘useless’ bush that protects water supplies, prevents erosion and controls flooding. Most can recognise a poui (when it is blooming), petrea, canonball and silk cotton tree and the native bois canot. But bloodwood, the naked Indian, the crappo, even the famous bois bande (to name but a few of the 138 trees species listed in the Forestry Division’s Manual of Dendrology Volume IV) are only known by name to some, and (with the exception of bois bande, which is the only local tree that appeals to calypsonians) not at all to others. Most of us know little of the forces of nature that affect all our lives. Yet knowledge of Nature is the key to protecting our homes, our lives, our environment. How can we expect a hillside gardener to understand the damage he’s doing to farmers, homes, business, factories, warehouses on the plains after he clears land by ‘slash-and-burn’ — when he’s never been taught in school the immense power of water pouring down the hills, and that leaves on tall trees are a protective umbrella preventing erosion and controlling flooding? How can we expect those who never had lessons on nature and environmental protection in school to realise that dumping causes floods and that health depends on keeping a clean scene? The parents are a lost cause, they’re too old to change. To save the TT environment, we must begin in primary school. This is why the Ministry is adding science to the Common Entrance syllabus.

Parents may hold their heads and bawl, but as long as education via Common Entrance is the gateway to success, there is no other effective means of saving Trinidad from the ignorance of Trinidadians. Provided that syllabus is well planned and those who teach it inspire our children with a loving concern for their country, there is hope that sometime in the future, when a next powerful citizen breathes his last, a columnist will write these words “The giant silk-cotton tree of the forest has been felled . . .” Although it seems the Ministry of Education took me on back in ‘81, it appears most of the nation’s teachers didn’t. Or weren’t given enough time in class to make sure their charges understood the importance of tree cover on hillsides. If they had, government ministers and those in opposition today would make the connection between bush fires and flooding — perhaps even understand that the only answer to forest fires is water bombers. We can only hope they’ll come to their sense in time, while we still have forests to save . . .

Aussies can’t take own medicine

From a distance it must seem that this has been a glorious occasion. Unfortun-ately it has been nothing of the sort and even a rousing finale will not save it from the acrimony that has been its main feature. Regardless of the result, the Australians have done nothing to enhance their reputations as sportsmen.

If victory cannot be achieved without recourse to the sort of antagonism seen in Antigua then it is not worth bothering about. Cricket searched for a champion team and found only an unscrupulous aggressor. This match has been spoiled by numerous ugly confrontations, setting a mood to which the crowd responded by jeering and throwing bottles when a poor decision was given against the local man. Throughout, the Australians have appeared in a poor light. Admittedly the visitors were not solely responsible for the incidents seen upon the field, but they cannot keep provoking opponents and then recoil whenever someone reacts as Brian Lara did in the first innings and Ramnaresh Sarwan in the second. Opponents are allowed to have their say.

Sarwan clashed with Glenn McGrath, whose mood was not helped by the punishment he was taking. Words were exchanged as the batsman completed a run, the young Guyanese reacting to some perceived insult issued as the bowler turned away from the direction of the ball and the following cameras. Inevitably the situation swiftly deteriorated, with McGrath pointing fingers, calling names and marching across to the batsman, who was not himself behaving like Little Lord Fauntleroy.  However, the rumours about Sarwan’s remarks — that they referred to McGrath’s ill wife — were incorrect. As usual the Australians hunted as a pack with others joining the fray. Not for the first time Steve Waugh comprehensively failed to pour cold water on these tempers, a reluctance that must put his position in doubt.  He let matters run along and left it to the umpires to settle things down.

In the laws of cricket, it states that captains are responsible for ensuring that their players maintain the spirit of the game. Patently the Australians had decided to turn up the heat after the tea interval, directing their attentions at Sarwan in an attempt to rattle an opponent inclined to let his emotions run away with him. Waugh has done many fine things but he does not protect the game that has been his living. Nor did these nasty moments improve Australia’s performance. The Australians lost their focus on the first day and did not recover it. Normally the battle between the ears belongs to them. Instead Waugh’s players became carried away in a manner not seen for years. On the fourth day they lacked the control expected from professionals performing in public. After bowling with commendable control in the morning they allowed themselves to be distracted from their plan. Controlled aggression has been their strong point.  A wilder variety of the same genus was their undoing. These outbursts spoilt some compelling cricket. 

We didn’t expect to lose says Waugh

ST JOHN’S: Australia captain Steve Waugh dismissed a suggestion that his team have made cricket boring by winning all the time after the Fourth Test match against West Indies on Tuesday.

“Rubbish, really,” said Waugh when asked what he thought about the suggestion his side were boring. “I don’t remember anyone saying that the West Indies ruined the game in the 1970s and 1980s. What happens is that it makes everyone else raise their standards.” Waugh said West Indies, who beat Australia by three wickets in the fourth and final Test on Tuesday to avoid what would have been their first-ever home whitewash, were an example of teams stepping up to the challenge. “West Indies are an emerging side, they showed that in the last two tests. They’ve gone a bit further, raised the bar and it’s up to other sides to try and do the same.”

Waugh also stood by his decision to bring on leg-spinner Stuart MacGill in the 10th over of the day after MacGill ended the innings with just one wicket for 149 off 35.5 overs. “You’ve got to back your gut feeling. I thought Stuart would take care of the rest, it was a turning track and tailenders find it difficult to play against.”  If any one of those LBWs had been given, I think we would have won the match. I stand by the decision.” Waugh said that his team’s performance in the Fourth Test had been affected by the gap of only three days since the end of the Third Test in Barbados. “We raised the bar in the Barbados Test and we lowered it in this Test match.  “It’s a big ask when you have back to back Test matches. Two or three days between Test matches in not really enough (and) we knew it would be a tough fight but we didn’t expect to lose.”

Sugar Mike comes out of hiding

Sugar Mike, who declined his Union Park Turf Club Champagne Stakes engagement last month because of hard ground conditions, is back in contention. He is among a small but selected line-up for the Handicap Two and Lower feature on the Arima Race Club Day 14 card at Santa Rosa Park on Saturday.

The Bertwin Samlalsingh-owned four-year-old colt, which finished third in last year’s Stewards Cup, stood his ground for the Saturday’s 1200 highlight for which five will face the starter. The sprint for which seven runners took entry on Monday saw Sugar Mike’s stable companion Song Of Freedom and trainer Glen Mendez’s sprinting sensation Movietowne Magic ducking out of the $26,000 contest at yesterday’s declaration stage. Mendez was upset with the weight alloted his three-year-old, which scored a convincing win in his second start but left in the older Champagne Wager in the contest. Champagne Wager, who competed at Penn International over two seasons will be making his local bow.

Completing the cast will be Gold Master, who reversed placing with Song Of Freedom last raceday, and creoles Man Of Class and Punto a Punto. Set to make an appearance on the nine-race card is Royal Flush. The Easter Guineas runner-up will face off against seven runners over 1750 metres on the main course. The West Indian bred three-year-old maiden event was best filled will 18 entries. Among the field from which a maximum 16 will start are runners aspiring to acquire sufficient points to make the grade in the second and last legs of the triple crown.

Following are the framed races, entries, weights and jockeys for the entire card.
RACE 1: (12.50pm) 3 Y.O & OVER OPTIONAL CLAIMING ($10,000 – $8,500) – PURSE $15,000 – 1200 METRES.
1. SOCA TEMPO – 48.5 – R.JADOO, 2. INDIAN RHAPSODY – 51.5 – N.SAMAROO, 3. POETRY – 49.5 – K.BISSOON, 4. GOLDEN BOY – 55.5 – L.MUNOZ, 5. ULA – 51.5 – R.RAJKUMAR, 6. ALIBI IKI – 50.5 – W.GALVIZ, 7. BOLD FAPP – 50.5 – F.RAZACK, 8. SARATONE – 45.5 – K.JADOO.


RACE 2: (1.25pm) W.I BRED 3 Y.O WINNERS & W.I BRED 4 Y.O & OVER – PURSE $18,000 – 1750 METRES.
1. ROYAL FLUSH – 56.5 – R.PERSAD, 2. WILD LIFE – 47.5 – R.JADOO, 3. UPSET ALL – 48.5 – R.RAJKUMAR, 4. SWEET LAURA LEE – 48.5 – N.SAMAROO, 5. SUPER GREY – 52.5 – W.BHARATH, 6. ISLE BE THERE – 51.5 – W.GALVIZ, 7. ACTUAL LADY – 52.5 – N.ABREGO, 8. UNDISPUTED – 49.5 – H.EMAMALIE.


RACE 3: (2.00pm) HANDICAP 2 AND LOWER – PURSE $26,000 – 1200 METRES.
1. SUGAR MIKE – 56.5 – R.RAJKUMAR, 2. GOLD MASTER – 53 – R.JADOO, 3. MAN OF CLASS – 50 – N.SAMAROO, 4. CHAMPAGNE WAGER – 54.5 – S.RODRIGO, 5. PUNTO A PUNTO – 48.5 – W.BHARATH.


RACE 4: (2.40pm) IMPORTED 3 Y.O MAIDENS – PURSE $20,000 – 1100 METRES.
1. GAZA STRIP – 54.5 – J.ARNEAUD, 2. KALYAN – 53.5 – K.BISSOON, 3. OUTRAGEOUS VICTORY – 56.5 – R.THOMAS, 4. CYBER FIVE – 54.5 – R.FREEMAN, 5. I’M NO HINTER – 48.5 – W.GALVIZ, 6. X TO BOARD – 54.5 – N.SAMAROO, 7. PATTIE’S NO ANGEL – 44.5 – R.LATCHMAN, 8. LOVELY HONOREE – 54.5 – R.RAJKUMAR, 9. MARACAS BAY – 53.5 – D.GAFF.


RACE 5: 3.16pm) W.I BRED 4 Y.O & OVER NON-WINNERS OF TWO RACES – PURSE $15,000 – 1100 METRES (TURF).
1. HUNDRED PERCENT – 53 – D.GAFF, 2. LIVING IN HOPE – 55 – S.RODRIGO, 3. COLD RISK – 48.5 – R.RAJKUMAR, 4. LAZAR WOLF – 54.5 – L.MUNOZ, 5. KENT’S DELIGHT (T.0) – 55 – N.ABREGO, 6. V FOR VICTORY – 54.5 – J.ARNEAUD, 7. ESTILON – 51.5 – R.FREEMAN, 8. FIRST LOVE – 51.5 – R.THOMAS, 9. LANTERN LADY – 53.5 – F.RAZACK, 10. TRIBAL PLACE – 53 – K.BISSOON, 11. HILLSIDE SYMPHONY – 56.5 – R.JADOO.


RACE 6: (3.54pm) W.I BRED 3 Y. MAIDENS – PURSE $20,000 – 1100 METRES.
1. FANTASTIC LAD – 52.5 – W.BHARATH, 2. NEVER EVER WORRIE – 52.5 – R.FREEMAN, 3. COPY CAT – 52.5 – N.SAMAROO, 4. PRINCIPLE (R1) – 44.5 – K.BISSOON, 5. HONEY BELLE – 49.5 – N.MANGALEE, 6. SIR VIDIA – 52.5 – R.JADOO, 7. RUBY SCORES (R2) – 44.5 – R.CHADEE, 8. SMALL AXE – 49.5 – K.JADOO, 9. SENSATIONAL – 54.5 – R.BADAL, 10. LOUD MUSIC – 55.5 – J.ARNEAUD, 11. UNDER INFLUENCE – 56.5 – L.MUNOZ, 12. ROYAL MADRIS – 50.5 – R.THOMAS, 13. NATURELLY CLASSY – 52.5 – H.EMAMALIE, 14. SEDUCTIVE – 54.5 – N.ABREGO, 15. PEACE OF MIND – 50.5 – F.RAZACK, 16. SILK RUNNER – 56.5 – R.LUNAN, 17. TEA TIME DOC – 53.5 – R.RAJKUMAR, 18. FINEST GEM – 51.5 – S.RODRIGO.
RACE 7: (4.32pm) 3 Y.O & OVER OPTIONAL CLAIMING ($6,000 – $5,000) – PURSE $11,000 – 1100 METRES.
1. EL PRESIDENTE – 48.5 – S.RODRIGO, 2. MY FRIEND PHIL – 51.5 – R.MANGALEE, 3. BOBS TREASURE – 49.5 – K.JADOO, 4. MAXIMUS – 52.5 – R.RAJKUMAR, 5. PANAMA BELLE – 49.5 – W.GALVIZ, 6. COLOUR OF PEACE – 40.5 – R.LATCHMAN, 7. CONFIRMED – 55.5 – H.EMAMALIE, 8. ONCE IN A LIFETIME – 49.5 – L.MUNOZ, 9. JUSTICE – 53.5 – K.BISSOON, 10. JATTAHYU – 53.5 – R.PERSAD, 11.YANKEE – 50.5 – N.SAMAROO, 12. BRANDY – 47.5 – W.BHARATH, 13. UNCLE JOE – 50.5 – D.GAFF, 14. STORMING WIND – 52.5 – R.JADOO.


RACE 8: (5.05pm) STARTER ALLOWANCE – PURSE $20,000 – 1725 METRES (TURF).
1. DOTTIE’S WAY – 52.5 – R.LATCHMAN, 2. CARNIVAL MESSIAH – 55.5 – R.JADOO, 3. BAZODEE GAL – 52.5 – F.RAZACK, 4. MAID OF HONOUR – 54.5 – W.GALVIZ, 5. MANDELA – 55.5 – R.RAJKUMAR, 6. BITE DE BULLET – 53.5 – H.EMAMALIE, 7. RING DANG DO – 49.5 – W.BHARATH, 8. MILLENIUM REIGN – 56.5 – N.ABREGO.


RACE 9: (5.40pm) 3 Y.O & OVER OPTIONAL CLAIMING ($20,000 – $16,000) – PURSE $17,000 – 1350 METRES.
1. SQUEE ZINTRU – 55.5 – N.ABREGO, 2. LITTLE MANIRAM – 50.5 – J.ARNEAUD, 3. NOT TO WORRIE – 48.5 – R.JADOO, 4. BON VOYAGE – 55.5 – R.RAJKUMAR, 5. CITY OF LIGHTS – 50.5 – R.FREEMAN, 6. LIFE IN RUSSIA – 45.5 – W.BHARATH, 7. TRICKY GUY – 52.5 – R.PERSAD, 8. NEW STAR – 51.5 – L.MUNOZ, 9. EL GUERROUJ – 51.5 – F.RAZACK, 10. FOUCAULT PENDULUM – 48.5 – G.LABAN, 11. INDIAN DECISION – 51.5 – N.SAMAROO, 12. POLITICS – 46.5 – W.GALVIZ, 13. FRUITION – 48.5 – R.MANGALE, 14. RUBY RICH – 52.5 – S.RODRIGO, 15. ISLE BE TRUE – 54.5 – H.EMAMALIE.

Cricket deja vu, 27 years on

I WAS there 27 years ago almost to the day, when India, led by diminutive opening batsman Sunil “Sonny” Gavaskar and equally pint-sized Gundappa Viswanath, defied all odds to score 402 runs in the last innings to register what stood as a Test cricket record victory over West Indies.

It led to Lord Relator’s calypso in which he sang  “Gavaskar, The real master, Just like a wall, We couldn’t out Gavaskar at all.” But Tuesday’s heroes at the Antigua Recreation Ground were Omari Banks, an Anguillan in only his second Test and the battle-hardened campaigner Barbadian Vasbert Drakes. Yes, close to three decades ago I was on assignment for the Express and my good friend and colleague Rudy Ragbir was writing for the Trinidad Guardian that bright sunny day at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain when history unfolded. The previous day when West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd declared his team’s second innings on 271 for six wickets, I gave India no chance of victory, since up to that time, no team had scored 400 in a second innings to win a Test. I wrote then, West Indies would win the Test by tea time on that final day.

It was history that the Indians got the asking total, winning by six wickets. But on Tuesday I stood in the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, just outside the dispensary where ailing patients awaited the filling of their prescriptions and where a television set is located. And when Vasbert Drakes clobbered Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill to the boundary for the winning runs, for the moment, patients forgot their pains, a few doctors, nurses, ward attendants and janitors abandoned their stations and one would not believe the loud cheer which rented the air at the hospital. Yes, the beleagured young West Indies, led by Brian Lara who seems to have history in his hands, had won against all odds reaching 418 for seven wickets to beat mighty Australia who had whipped the shirt off our backs in 10 consecutive Tests.In that history-making Test innings at the Oval in April 1976, both Gavaskar (102) and Viswanath (112) scored centuries. It was deja vu as West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan (105) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (104) blasted supern hundreds on Monday to set up the successful run chase. Then the Indians withstood the tremendous pace of a youthful Michael Holding, the swing of left-hander Bernard Julien, and the guile of leg-spinner Imtiaz Ali among the seven bowlers Lloyd threw at them including himself to no avail.

On Tuesday, it was the turn of the supremely confident Aussies as they threw everything at young Omari Banks (47 not out) and veteran Drakes (27 not out) who batted West Indies into the history books with their unbeaten 46-run eighth wicket partnership. It is also interesting to note that Indian spinner Venkataraghavan also played a role in both historic occasions, as a spinner on the Indian team in 1976 and as an umpire at the ARG on Tuesday.

Baugh takes Jacobs’ gloves for one-dayers

ST JOHN’S: Jamaican wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh has been recalled to the West Indies side for the seven-match One-Day International cricket series against Australia.

Baugh will replace Ridley Jacobs as the selectors look to give the Antiguan veteran more time to recover from the groin injury that sidelined him from the two Test matches in Trinidad and Barbados. It is a sure sign the West Indies selectors are serious about giving the young Baugh an extended run as a successor, while simultaneously saving Jacobs for the more important upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. It is strange that a replacement was not named for left-handed batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who reportedly batted with a broken finger in the fourth Test match. The selectors have also opted to keep Jermaine Lawson in the squad, despite the controversy over his bowling action.

After the one change, the ODI Squad is: Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan (vice-captain), Omari Banks, David Bernard, Jr. , Ricardo Powell, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Vasbert Drakes, Chris Gayle, Ryan Hurley , Carlton Baugh Jr. , Jermaine Lawson, Marlon Samuels , Devon Smith.