Minutes of a critical meeting at which the Board of State-owned Petrotrin took a unanimous decision to insist that Exxon/Mobil pay a US $45 million penalty for its failure to complete its contract drilling work off Trinidad’s east coast has disappeared.

In a follow-up to Newsday’s exclusive story yesterday on the resignation of board member Emile Elias, and the removal of two other members, a source told Newsday yesterday that there was another dimension to the changes in the Board membership. It involved a deal that was struck with Exxon/Mobil. According to the source, the Petrotrin Board had decided unanimously that Exxon/Mobil’s failure to complete the contracted drilling programme had resulted in the company having to pay Petrotrin a (TT)$250 million penalty.

Instead of paying the money Exxon/Mobil offered to do other work for Petrotrin, to the value of US $25 million. The Board had turned down the offer and insisted that the US $45 million penalty be paid. It is the minutes of that meeting that has disappeared, it was learned. Shortly after, however, Petrotrin’s “arm was twisted” by “somebody higher up”, and the local oil company was made to reverse its decision. The Board then agreed on a divided decision to go along with the “higher up” instructions; to accept the Exxon/Mobil offer and not insist on the $250 million penalty.  Exxon/Mobil had drilled four dry wells and had decided to ditch the programme, which resulted in them being in breach of the contract.

The source said the argument that was used to get Petrotrin’s Board to change its mind was that Exxon/Mobil was of great value to Trinidad and Tobago in oil/gas exploration, and that one had to look at the bigger picture, and not insist on the penalty with respect to the east coast failure. It was not clear whether Elias had resigned because of this matter. Newsday’s report yesterday noted that Elias’s letter of resignation addressed to Petrotrin’s Executive Chairman, Malcolm Jones, was dated April 18. 2003. Elias would only confirm that he had resigned. He declined to say why he had resigned.

Meantime, two other Board members have been removed — Helena Inniss-King and Farad Khan, who was the PNM candidate for the Pointe-a-Pierre constituency. The three have been replaced by Angela Hamel-Smith, a Human Resource specialist; Andrew Thackarie, a contractor, and a senior woman public servant. When asked yesterday Prime Minister Patrick Manning denied there was a rift between himself and Elias.

Manning said he read the Newsday article “with great interest and even greater amusement,” then said, “I am not one of those who goes out looking to quarrel. I have no quarrel with Mr Elias whatsoever.” Asked whether Elias’ resignation was somehow connected to questions to be answered tomorrow in the Senate regarding the compensation package of  Malcolm Jones, Petrotrin’s Chairman, Manning replied: “Everybody knows that there is a question in the Parliament on the salary of the executive chairman of Petrotrin, and that question will be answered. I don’t understand what the issue is, as in fct we answer all those questions when they are asked.

The argument seems to suggest and has arisen out of a comment that I have made, which is that the management resources of this country are very scarce. Proper management, and therefore they attract a certain level of remuneration, and that’s the fact of the matter. It’s a pity we don’t have access in Parliament to the salaries paid in the private sector. Then you will see that we compete for the same people. It’s the same resource that we are competing for. It is when companies are in difficulty that companies require the best management.

When contacted yesterday Farad Khan said whatever happened at the Board meeting was confidential. He said he was informed about two weeks ago of proposed changes to the Board. Three persons were to be replaced and he was one of them. No reason was given; neither did he ask for one. He said he had served on the Board for one year. He saw no problem with that because it was Government’s prerogative to make changes.

A 40-year-old jewel store owner was shot in the right thigh by bandits who held her up at her businessplace on Saturday night.

Reports revealed that around 7.30 pm, Marjorie Motilal and her brother Rollie were at Universal Jewellers located at the Naparima/Mayaro Road, Rio Claro, when  two men armed with guns entered the jewel store and robbed them of a quantity of cash and jewelry. The men then fired several shots one of which struck Marjorie Motilal in the right thigh. They escaped in a waiting car. The injured woman was rushed to a nursing home where she was treated and warded. PC Beebee is investigating.

COMMUNITIES who share a symbiotic relationship with the local sugar industry must not be destroyed as Government undertakes the inevitable restructuring of Caroni (1975) Limited. This was the appeal yesterday from University of the West Indies (St Augustine) Principal, Dr Bhoe Tewarie who also warned that failure to do this “would create conditions for sitting on a powder keg”. 

Addressing a seminar entitled “Caroni Lands: Sustainable Solutions” at UWI’s Learning Resource Centre in St Augustine, Dr Tewarie said Caroni’s restructuring was happening at a time when revolutionary changes were occurring in the global sugar industry and referred to a recent decision by sugar-producers Australia and Brazil to challenge the preferential price system currently afforded to their European Union rivals.

Noting that Caroni was a complex equation with political, social and economic elements, Tewarie said it was UWI’s responsibility to ensure that the issue was addressed rationally. The UWI principal added that the foundations of many communities in Trinidad and Tobago rested upon the sugar industry and “these communities must not be discarded on to the rubbish heap of history” as Caroni is restructured. That restructuring process, Tewarie continued, must be fully transparent in order to have the best chance of success. “The lives and traditions of entire communities are at stake. The plight of those connected to sugar must not be ignored,” the UWI Principal declared. Tewarie stated that a host of restructuring Caroni plans had been advanced over the years with the one now being proposed by the Government as being the most revolutionary and it was difficult to say whether its effects would be “benign or malignant”.

Noting that Caroni affected the lives of approximately 64,000 people directly or indirectly, Tewarie told his audience that the solution to the sugar industry’s perennial problems required imagination, generosity of spirit, equal treatment of all citizens and careful management of the restructuring process. Highlighting Caroni’s current land acreages and possible scenarios for their future use, Tewarie’s fellow presenter Wayne Kublalsingh warned that if due care was not exercised, it could lead to an unpredecented rush to grab Caroni lands.

Five of the top chutney stars who were prepared to participate in the National Chutney Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago’s (NCFTT) competition were served with an injunction which prevented them from performing last Saturday evening at the Triangle in Rio Claro. The documents were sent by the Copyright Organisation of TT (COTT).

Singers Devanand Gatoo, Drupatie Ramgoonai, Krishendath Singh, Vedesh Sookoo and Nigel Salikram were served court orders which were obtained by COTT from High Court Jugde Gregory Smith prohibiting the singers who are registered with COTT from entering the competition. The court order stated that singers were not allowed to perform in any venue that was not registered under COTT. The document stated that The Triangle Amphitheatre was not registered with COTT. Therefore, COTT members were not allowed to sing any of their registered songs there.

Meanwhile, chief coordinator of NCFTT, Dr Vijay Ramlal said that COTT is doing everything in its power to prevent the semi-final round of competition. Ramlal produced a document which stated that the High Court Action No. 1164 of 2003 which was brought by COTT before Justice G Smith preventing the staging of the competition was not granted by a court, and was therefore irrelevant.     Ramlal said that there is another copyright organisation called Trinidad and Tobago Copy Collections Organisations (TTCO), which is registered under the Ministry of Culture, and which is looking after the artistes’ productions. He noted that many of the artistes have registered with both organisations and are now encountering many problems. Ramlal noted that this action by COTT has caused great financial loss to its own artiste. He also assured the singers that the Triangle Amphitheatre is a legal copyright venue with a licence, and he saw no reason for the injunction.

Gatoo and Drupatie both agreed that they will be contacting their lawyers on the matter. Apart from this, the semi-final competition continued with the other singers including, Boodram Holass, Sarekha Yankaran, Cecil Fonrose, Mohip Poonwassie, Kaminee Maharaj, Adesh Samaroo Shaffiroon Mohammed and others. The first prize in the competition is $100,000 with more than 20 special prizes to be won. The final is carded to take place at Guaracara Park, Point-a-Pierre on May 31.

A 36-year-old woman was robbed and gang-raped by four men at the Chagville Beach on Saturday night.

Reports revealed that around 8.45 pm, the woman was in company with a man at the beach when they were confronted by four men armed with guns. Reports revealed that the two victims were ordered to hand over cash and jewelry and the men forced the woman and the man into their Medalist Laurel. They were  taken to an area along the Chagville Beach close to the military museum,where the man was tied up and placed in an abandoned building. The woman was then raped by the four men.The rapists later forced the woman out of the car, and took her to the abandoned building where they also tied her up.

Executive members of the Police, Prisons and Fire Services met on Friday in San Fernando to discuss the failure by the Chief Personnel Officer to re-classify salaries for all First Division officers.

During the meeting, members reviewed all the efforts made over the last 11 years to have salaries for First Division officers re-classified, and evidence of correspendence which were sent to the CPO, the Ministers of National Security, Public Administration over the period 2002 to 2003 were produced at the meeting. President of the Police First Division, ACP Peter John said yesterday that anger was expressed by members that the CPO has not replied to letters, indicating when she will begin to hold discussions on proper salaries for the first division.

He said that one piece of correspondence which was of grave concern to the group, was a letter from the Minister of Public Administration in June of 2002, in which he informed the First Division that he was discussing the matter with the CPO and assured that the Police First Division will hear from him. “It is almost a year after, and we are not hearing anything. We have also observed in the interim, salary adjustments are being made to our counterparts like the Commissioners and the Deputy Commissioners, in all the various services, and many other principals, even the CPO herself over the period, and we are still trying to get our increases,” said ACP John.

He said that it is now clear that First Division officers are being snubbed, and it is clearly a demonstration that the CPO, and the government do not seem concerned that senior officers are are not being properly paid. It was agreed at the meeting that the collective group should write to Minister Lenny Saith impressing upon him the urgency of the matter, so that he can do something to have this matter brought to a close. It was also agreed in the interim that the CPO be written to again asking her to to make the matter a priority. “If we get no response, then we plan to go to the membership and hold a joint meeting of all First Division officers in the police, fire and prisons to see what action can be taken in about two weeks time,” said ACP John.

He pointed out that senior people employed with the State are being regularised and yet First Division officers cannot get  just salaries. ACP John reiterated that the salary of the Commissioner moved recently from $10,000 to $19,000, while the salaries of the two Deputy Commissioners moved to $16,500. Assistant Commissioners of Police receive salaries of just under $8,000. The salaries of officers from the rank of Deputy Commissioner and the Commissioner are decided by the Salaries Review Commission, while the salaries of officers from Assistant Commissioners to constables are negotiated by the CPO. There are 97 senior officers the police First Division.

TODAY,  it’s back to the grind again of rising early in the morning and to motorists, maxi-taxi drivers and pedestrians alike – it’s the start of the new school term, which signals absolute chaos on the nation’s roadways, not to mention thoroughfares.

For the last two weeks, roadusers have been breathing a sigh of relief as they no longer had to get up at the crack of dawn to get transportation, or ensure that they got to the workplace on time due to horrendous traffic pile-ups. Today, you  no longer have the luxury of waking up a half hour later, as rush hour traffic will once again resume between 6 and 8.30 am, and from 2 and 5 pm. However, following the recently concluded Easter vacation students are back in full force. This term runs for the next ten and a half weeks (only two and a half months).” Hopefully, secondary school students will be focussing their energies on studying for both the Ordinary and Advanced Level Examinations in May, June and July and will have little time for liming.

One can hope that our malls and pavements will not be over-run by uniformed soldiers seeking an appropriate spot, with law enforcement officers being forced to play double duty, by “shovelling” school children into maxi-taxis at the respective stands to get to school. Video game arcades will experience “get rich quick” schemes off your children as sales will increase, as they look for things to keep them occupied (they might want to visit the new Library on Abercromby and St Vincent Streets). School repairs should have been completed by now, with all holes in fences being mended over the vacation, and nightclubs will experience a decline in sales as teenagers return to the learning institutions for another phase of their educational enlightenment.

The St Mary’s College (CIC) Past Students’ Union on Saturday held their Biennial Dinner for 2003 to celebrate the 140th Anniversary of the founding of the College and also inducted nine persons into their Hall of Fame.

This year’s inductees included Professors Emmanuel Amoroso and Courtney Bartholomew; William “Willie” Clerk; Charlie Davis; Former Chief Justice Michael de la Bastide; J Hamilton Holder; Dr Allastair Carmody; Fr Gerry Pantin and Andre Tanker who recently passed away. According to President of the St Mary’s College Past Students’ Union, Dr Edison Haqq, over the last two years, efforts were intensified to improve the school through various fund-raising efforts.

The most successful of which turned out to be the all-inclusive Carnival fete, claimed Haqq, as the Past Student body was able to donate approximately $100,000 towards building the new Form Six block. Stating that there was “a chronic shortage of Form Six places” in the nation’s schools, “especially at CIC,” Haqq revealed that they were hoping to donate yet another $150,000 to the school. Announcing that January 31, 2004 had been selected as the date for next year’s Carnival fete, Haqq said the calypso competition would be held sometime in November of this year. The association also recognised three past students celebrating the jubilee of their priestly ordination by presenting them with special CIC pins: Fr Phillip Ford for 50 years service; Fr Michael Makhan and Fr Sydney Chang, both for 40 years service each.

The CIC Hall of Fame, which was established in 1997, honours persons every two years who might be considered a role model or viewed as having made a significant contribution to the country.
* Professors Amoroso and Bartholomew were honoured for their work in the field of Medicine and AIDS research
* Clerk for his involvement with the St Vincent de Paul Society for over 30 years;
* Davis for his invaluable contribution to the game of cricket both to the school and the national team
* Former Chief Justice Michael de la Bastide for his contribution to the legal field
* J Hamilton Holder to the field of Education and the development of the Progressive Educational Institute
* Dr Allastair Carmody for research into Medicine
* Fr Gerry Pantin for his charity work, especially with Servol
* Andre Tanker for his invaluable contribution to the musical field.

There are now 44 persons in the CIC Hall of Fame, following Saturday night’s announcement, with the official induction ceremony to be held later on in October. In his toast to the CIC Past Students’ Union, Anthony Phillip thanked the inductees for the role they have played in assisting the school, as well as other parts of the orgsanisation, such as the Inter-Class Debates for Form Six and the development of a Parenting Programme for Form One students. Among Saturday night’s invited guests were President of the Republic of TT George Maxwell Richards; Chief Justice Sat Sharma; former President Sir Ellis Clarke; Archbishop Edward Gilbert and former Chief of Defence Joseph Theodore.

Asbestos material has forced the closure of the Chaguanas Senior Comprehensive School today, the re-opening of school  after the Easter holidays.

For the past two weeks, employees from the Ministry of Works have been removing asbestos from various parts of the school building. The material, which is believed to be hazardous to people in constant contact with it, have been used in the construction of several schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Asbestos was used particularly in the construction of those secondary schools built over the past eight years, particularly in the construction of the auditorium.

Two years ago, Government began removing the asbestos from some of the schools. At the Chaguanas Senior Comprehensive School, work began during the Easter vacation and was completed. All of the material in areas which students often come into contact with were removed. But yesterday, the Ministry of Education informed the school’s principal and management that it needed final clearance to ensure all was safe before there can be a resumption of classes. The Environmental Agency has to be satisfied that the job of removing the material was complete in accordance with certain standards. It is not known when classes will resume, but the ministry said teachers and parents will be informed of such sometime later this week. The school has a roll of over 1,800 students.