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President Richards: Tobago’s challenges of more than 100 years ago still persist

President Professor Maxwell Richards noted on Thursday during his first official visit to the island that while much progress has been made in Tobago’s development, many of the challenges and issues that arose prior to, and since the union of Trinidad and Tobago more than 100 years ago, still persist. “It is almost as if we have come full circle,” he declared.



The newly-appointed President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago made the observation in his maiden address to the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) during a special sitting of the House at the Assembly Chamber in Scarborough.



President Richards said that any objective student of the history of Tobago will conclude that “there was not much value added to Tobago as a result of annexation (to Trinidad). Sensitivity to the sharp differences in patterns of development and other factors were not taken into account then, and nonchalance, at least on the part of the administrators of the colony, was everywhere evident,” he added.
To the present, President Richards recalled that in his inaugural address upon assuming office he made clear his resolve to serve the whole nation without fear and/or favour. “It is easy to put a certain interpretation on that statement in the context of issues that are being played out in Trinidad,” he noted.



 “But let me here and now eschew the narrow view and make it clear that it is my intent to take account of matters that affect the nation as a whole. With that in mind,” the President told the House, “I must note here that over the years, we, as a people, have allowed ourselves to be drawn into an attitude that suggests that Trinidad, not Trinidad and Tobago, is our country. We do not generally display a passion for correctness in nomenclature as many other countries insist upon.” He lamented: “Imperceptibly, for the most part, this has led to unfortunate lapses on the part of the population at large in recognising the place of Tobago in the archipelagic state of Trinidad and Tobago, and we behave accordingly! It is a condition that needs to be taken account of and turned around for the benefit of all of us who bear allegiance to this country,” President Richards emphasised.



He stressed it was therefore imperative that all of us, and especially the younger people, should be more informed about the history of Tobago. He said the written history was just as important as the oral history, and noted that while there was not as much of the former as was desirable, he was well aware of the efforts of those who were attempting to fill that void.



“The great pity is that by and large, we do not read for ourselves as we ought to in order to guide our opinions, but seem to prefer to accept what we hear others say,” the President asserted.

Cops intercept stolen car

ST JOSEPH police have recovered a stolen car and arrested a suspect less than half an hour after the vehicle was reported stolen by the owner.



According to reports, around 12.30 pm Thursday, Allison Dolland, 41, of Cane Farm Gardens, Trincity parked her white Nissan B14 car worth $90,000 at the corner of Sweet Briar Road and Gray Street, St Clair and went into the Canadian Embassy to conduct business. When she left the Embassy at 1.15 pm, she discovered her car missing and telephoned Car Search, who activated a search and discovered that the vehicle was moving in the Mt Hope area.



A wireless flash was issued and St Joseph CID officers’ Insp Michael Modeste, Sgt Don Lezama, Cpl Aldwin Collins and PC Selwyn Hobbs responded and intercepted Dolland’s stolen car at the corner of Eastern Main Road and the Uriah Butler Highway intersection.



A 27-year-old San Juan man was arrested and the stolen car was returned to its  owner. Police said the man will be handed over to St Clair police who will be continuing investigations.



Sources at St Clair said that the man will be placed on a number of Identification Parades and will subsequently be charged with stealing Dolland’s vehicle.

TTCO instructs members to resign from COTT

At a meeting held by the National Chutney Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago (NCFTT) with its members last Wednesday, the following decisions were taken concerning the 2003 National Chutney Monarch Competition.



1. All competitors who are members of the Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT) have been given 14 days to withdraw their membership from COTT.



2. The five affected artistes are to perform before a panel of three judges to decide their qualification into the finals of the Chutney Monarch Competition.



3. A new date would be set for the Grand finals which was originally scheduled for May 31.



Following the meeting at D’Triangle Entertainment Centre in Aranjuez, Krishendat Singh and Vedesh Sookoo have since submitted their resignations, while a check at COTT revealed that nothing has so far come in from the other affected artistes, Drupatee Ramgoonai, Devenand Gattoo and Nigel Salickram.



When contacted yesterday, COTT’s Chief Executive Officer, Allison Demas was critical of the President of the Trinidad & Tobago Copyright Organisation (TTCO), Dr Vijay Ramlal.



She said: “He is oppressing chutney artistes. People have a right to belong to any organisation they choose.”



COTT had filed an injunction stopping the above named artistes from performing their material at the semi-finals of the Chutney competition, because the promoters had refused to pay the necessary license fees, at a show where COTT members were to perform.



That preliminary injunction had expired on April 26 when the matter came before the court. However COTT’s substantive claim for infringement is still proceeding.

Universal passengers stranded

Scores of passengers on Universal airline were due to leave for New York last night, days later than planned.



An airline official said the flight was due to leave at 9 pm last night. The flight was reportedly delayed because of a problem with the aircraft. The official said at first Universal planned to change the aircraft but decided to fly in a part Thursday night and fix the problem at Piarco.  One passenger had been stranded in Trinidad for two weeks, while others were supposed to leave since last week Sunday.  Some passengers were leaving a day later than planned. One passenger said some members of his family had to return home a day earlier than planned because of problems with the airline.



Passengers complained yesterday that they were not informed of what was going on. Some said they had been in the airport since 6 am yesterday morning. Some had been going back to the airport for days trying to get a flight back home.

Sir Richard is here

IF SIR RICHARD Branson’s landing in Tobago on Monday is any indication, then the island’s ailing tourism may be in for a big British boost. The unconventional English billionaire created quite a stir of excitement when he arrived with the inaugural flight of his airline, Virgin Atlantic Airways, from London. It was immediately obvious that Sir Richard does not fit the stereotype of the prim and proper British businessman, that he is a creative, energetic and aggressive entrepreneur with an exceptional zest for life, the kind of connection, hopefully, that Tobago’s stagnating tourist economy badly needs.

When “Tinkerbell”, Virgin’s Boeing 747 jet landed at Crown Point, Sir Richard emerged waving a TT flag and sporting a dhashiki fashioned after our national colours. Then he proceeded to star at the inaugural celebrations which included a Carnival-type fete at the Tobago Hilton. Later, Sir Richard changed into a Robinson Crusoe outfit and went froliking on No Man’s Land beach with some of the local lovelies. The performance by the 43-year-old Virgin chairman was a smart and spectacular selling job, in keeping with his avowed intention to have the airline flying into Tobago “for the long haul.” Anyone knowing Sir Richard’s background and his achievement in establishing a varied global business empire in just over two decades will also know that Virgin’s entry into Tobago must have implications for BWIA, the TT airline now experiencing heavy financial turbulence. From a student magazine at Stowe School which he started at age 17 and, later, a small mail order record company, Sir Richard developed Virgin into the third most recognised brand in Britain. Virgin, in fact, now boasts of becoming the first global brand name of the 21st century. Sir Richard’s empire now encompasses investments in planes, trains, finance, soft drinks, music, mobile phones, holidays, cars, wines, publishing and bridal wear. Virgin has expanded into more than 200 companies worldwide, employing over 25,000 persons, with total revenues exceeding US $5 billion in 1999.

“We look for opportunities where we can offer something better, fresher and more valuable, and we seize them,” says the Virgin objective. “We often move into areas where the customer has traditionally received a poor deal and where the competition is complacent.” In flying directly into Tobago from London, Sir Richard’s airline, in fact, seems to have stolen a march on home-based BWIA which, one expected, would have been the first international carrier to set up such a service. Now, the local outfit, whose fate seems to hang in the balance, must face competition on its trans-Atlantic route from a vigorous Virgin apparently bent on expansion. How this situation will work out, is left to be seen. Sir Richard, himself, was guarded in his observations about BWIA, saying simply that Virgin was not normally interested in on-going companies but, “if the Government ever said to us they wanted us to invest in Trinidad in the airline industry, we’ll certainly talk to them about it.” Maybe in his own way, Sir Richard was opening a door for the government or the beleaguered TT airline. What can they possibly lose in talking to Virgin with its huge assets, its world-wide experience and its lust to expand? Regardless of what happens here, the arrival of Virgin in Tobago and its plan to sustain the UK connection “for the long haul” must be seen as a significant and potentially beneficial development. We expect that the THA will now move expeditiously to expand the Crown Point terminal to comfortably accommodate the expected influx of visitors, in keeping with the island’s economic development.

A zone to embrace all


A country’s written constitution, as far as I gather, is an attempt to codify the dispersion of legal and legitimate power among the legally created institutions. The constitution also establishes the legal relationships (or nexus, if you prefer a more accurate term) among the respective institutions. Of course, I’m not that naive to assume that a constitution exists in a vacuum and does not take into account or is entirely insulated from cultural, historical, social and other relevant realities from which, ideally, it should spring or, at least, be heavily influenced.

It’s no secret that, initially, our constitution was the product of consultations among the then colonial office officials, the then leaders of government and opposition and respective teams and advisors. The constitution has since been revised and there have been two constitution commissions charged with suggesting changes that would update it, especially taking into account the heterogeneous nature of the society, with its many strands of humanity. Naturally, the very diversity that could be the society’s source of strength can also be exploited by unscrupulous politicians and sundry demagogues for their own self-serving ends with their own hidden and not-so-hidden personal and political agendas. In the current context, destabilisation leading to social chaos and possible anarchy appears to be the name of the game.

As I’ve said before — and I don’t claim originality on that score — a lacuna in our constitution and the phantom nature of our political parties do not preclude the emergence of congenital idiots and/or compulsive liars and incorrigible thieves and conmen at the very echelons of the political structures. To deal with the current concerns of those who claim that what we have is a concentration of political power: The person who occupies the prime ministerial chair at the time exercises an inordinate degree of power and his/her retinue of parliamentarians are, for all practical purposes, mannequins and  empty suits, if not empty heads. On the Opposition benches, it isn’t very different, and possibly worse. That, regrettably, is the nature of our political party situation. That probably led a local journalist to surmise —with some justification, I might add — that he couldn’t-t imagine any of the two current political leaders at the time being head of a government “in any real country,” though for different reasons. The journalist didn’t elaborate, and didn’t have to.

Beyond the mindless twaddle and the inane prattle that one is likely to hear in the parliament and from the political leaders, unless I’m mistaken, there is, I submit, a serious and comprehensible side or (shall we say?) approach to constitution reform. One fellow (to whom any form of constitutional party restraints are seemingly anathema) has suddenly discovered that, “…without constitution reform the people are likely to perish.” Now this fellow — who will remain unnamed — has no qualms about ranting and raving and preaching disaffection. There are the not-so-subtle calls for “civil disobedience and boycotts.” Civil disobedience can be interpreted in a heated and confrontational atmosphere as the prelude to civil strife and he has warned that it only takes a spark to cause a violent explosion. Of course, he’s only warning and not inciting and the so-called “guardian angels” are not yet another ruse to create pandemonium. He no doubt believes that it’s his bounden political duty to do all he can to keep the ethnic pot boiling and hold the country to ransom using — what it appears to me to be any excuse or no excuse at all. But bless his political soul, all that will be done “within the law.”

Of course, our best protection is the maturity and good sense of the citizenry and its apparent ability to discern “the machinations of demented minds.” Now Wade Mark one of this minions —singing for his supper — has, I gather, gone on television screaming about “ethnic cleansing.” Now, if I’ve read the general mood correctly, there is no burning desire for this country to be governed either from Balisier House or Rienzi Complex. From time to time we hear those provocative and asinine outbursts like, “Dis is PNM country” or “Is we time now!” PNM country, my foot! And I’m being biologically incorrect here. “We time now!” to do what? To come back to this patently absurd charge of “ethnic cleansing.” In the US there is that political tradition of political patronage where when a new party comes into power there is a complete changing of the administrative guard. Our country is too small and the incumbent government controls too much of the jobs and resources to subscribe to the “winner take all” policy. Anyone familiar with the facts would know that both parties are guilty of filling public positions with party supporters and hacks and hangers-on. One recalls that every time the then government replaced a PNM supporter with one of their own, the then Opposition leader Patrick Manning would shout, quite ill-advisedly (in my view) “another black man bites the dust.”

It goes without saying that the country is ill-served by a policy of putting square pegs in round holes, simply because the pegs belong to a certain political party. Now there are those who feel that our constitution is “fundamentally flawed” in that it accommodates “a winner take all” syndrome rather than “an all take win” one, to borrow Dennis Pantin’s slogan. The politicians talk about “the sharing of power,” and that becomes an obsession with them and they expect the excitable and gullible to “line up behind one party or the other” without asking ourselves where “we, the people” share in that “power.” You might think that I should have my head examined as some idle dreamer with feet firmly planted in the clouds,but my own view is that what is necessary is, “a generally shared vision of the widest possible comfort zone that embraces the different strands of humanity” deposited in this space by slavery, indenture or whatever.

Dillon recalled for Test finale

ST JOHN’S: West Indies captain Brian Lara returns to the venue of his greatest Test innings hoping he can inspire his side in the fourth and final Cable & Wireless cricket Test against Australia beginning here today.

The 34-year-old left-hander scored his Test record 375 on Antigua’s Recreation Ground nine years ago against England. “We have to make sure and play good cricket, and my contribution with the bat is of great importance,” Lara said on the eve of the match. “Of course, I’d like to have a big score.” The West Indies face a historic sweep in the four-match series after losing the third match in Barbados last Monday to go down 3-0. Only the 1955 Australians, who won that five-match rubber 3-0, have beaten the West Indies in as many Tests in a series in the Caribbean. An Australian victory would also push that team’s winning streak against the West Indies to 10.

Lara said that his team was putting a more positive spin on things. “For us, it’s the beginning of something,” Lara said. “How bad it looks doesn’t really matter.” “We’re 3-0 down and the series has gone,” he added. “Our goal is to begin something fantastic here in Antigua and carry it on for the remainder of the year.”  Experienced wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs returns to the line-up — a 12-man team announced last night — after missing the last two Tests following a groin injury in the series opener. Pacer Mervyn Dillon, the only bowler in the squad with over 100 wickets, is also likely to regain his spot at the expense of rookie Tino Best. 

Australian skipper Steve Waugh said his side would be motivated by the prospect of a clean sweep. “This is a great opportunity to win 4-0. It may never happen again for any of the guys,” the 37-year-old said. “We may be at the peak as a side.” Waugh is also wary that his team had lost the final Test twice in the last three series once the rubber had been won. “I’ve just got a feeling it won’t happen this time. I reckon we’ll be full-on for this Test match,” he predicted. The Australians are expected to field the same eleven that won the third Test by nine wickets in Barbados.
    
Teams: West Indies (from): Brian Lara (capt), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Daren Ganga, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Vasbert Drakes, Mervyn Dillon, Jermaine Lawson, Omari Banks. 12th man – Carlton Baugh and Tino Best.
Australia (from): Steve Waugh (capt), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Darren Lehmann, Adam Gilchrist, Andy Bichel, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath, Martin Love, Brad Hogg, Ashley Noffke, Jimmy Maher, Michael Clarke.
Umpires: David Shepherd (England), Srinivas Venkataraghavan (India).
Third/TV umpire: Billy Doctrove (Dominica). Match referee: Mike Procter (South Africa).

Run-machine Ponting doubtful

ST JOHN’S, Antigua:  Ricky Ponting could miss the fourth Cable & Wireless Test between Australia and West Indies starting at the Antigua Recreation Ground because of a viral infection.

Ponting, who scored centuries in each of the first three Tests, missed most of the final day’s play in last week’s third Test at Bridgetown for the same reason. “If the match began on Thursday, he wouldn’t be able to play,” Australia’s captain Steve Waugh told reporters. Ponting scored 117 and 42 not out in the first Test, 206 and 45 in the second and 113 in the third Test. Australia are 3-0 up in the series and have a chance to become the first team to achieve a whitewash in the Caribbean if they win the final Test starting in Antigua today.

12 WI greats for Sticky Wicket

ST JOHN’S, Antigua:  The Sticky Wicket Restaurant is inducting 12 regional cricket icons into a West Indies Hall of Fame this evening.

Current West Indies captain Brian Lara forces his way into the list of inductees as the only present day player and the list includes cricketing knights Sir Garfield Sobers, widely regarded as the world’s greatest cricketer ever, Sir Everton Weekes, and Sir Vivian Richards. The function at the Sticky Wicket Restaurant, adjacent to the Stanford Cricket Grounds near the airport, will also induct Clive Lloyd, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Lance Gibbs, Andy Roberts, George Headley, and Michael Holding.

A dozen bronze sculptures of the honourees will be unveiled and bronze plaques containing the biographical and career information of each cricketer will accompany each sculpture. The honourees or a family member will also receive a plaque. Some experts have observed the omission of Sir Frank Worrell and Sir Clyde Walcott, but organisers Sticky Wicket said the first 12 were chosen by the votes of fans through a newspaper and Internet balloting. Allen Stanford, the American investor and financier who is funding the Hall of Fame through his Stanford Development Company, will preside at the ceremony. Stanford said he is looking forward to “meeting these top cricket legends” to “pay homage to their accomplishment.”

Blatter against 36-team W/Cup

FRANKFURT: FIFA chief Sepp Blatter, in an interview published yesterday, said he was against raising the number of World Cup finalists to 36 and at the same time told German organisers of the 2006 tournament to improve communications with the world governing body of soccer.

“I am against 36 World Cup teams,” Blatter said in an interview with the Kicker magazine. FIFA’s executive committee last week came out in favour of allowing four extra teams into the 2006 finals, although two important commissions of the world body had opposed the expansion on technical grounds. The final decision will be made by the executive committee in June. “We will look very deeply into this theme. Until now, there was talk about more places but not about the consequences for television, marketing, duration of the tournament, transparency of the schedule. All contracts were made for a World Cup with 32 teams. Because of that, the executive committee made a mistake with this proposal,” Blatter said. He said a World Cup with 36 teams could not be a model for the future. The South American confederation made the proposal after a reorganisation of the current 32 places effectively reduced its number of berths from five to four.

“Thirty-two is the best number to get a finalist, first you have three matches in a group and then direct elimination,” Blatter said. Franz Beckenbauer, president of the organising committee, also has spoken against raising the number of finalists, although German organisers say they could accommodate 36 teams without major problems. Beckenbauer said one of the problems could be match-fixing because some third-place teams also would qualify for the second round. “I can understand Beckenbauer’s anger over this point,” Blatter said. But the FIFA chief also criticised German organisers for what he said was a lack of proper communication. “Germany has two offices (in Munich and Frankfurt), and we have the same kind of communication problems we had at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea,” Blatter said. “FIFA and the organising committee have to solve this problem. We would like to have one partner to talk to,” he said.