The exercise, spearheaded by Sgt Sterlyn Taylor and Cpl Shiraz Ali, with the help of PC Holder, was carried out near Maracas between the hours of 4 am and 9 am. Of the five arrested, one man was found with half a pound of marijuana, which police believe was in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The man is in police custody and is expected to be charged soon. The other four people were arrested for traffic offences and outstanding warrants.

Speaking with the media after yesterday’s launch of the HIV/ Aids Coordinating First National Health Accounts Launch held at the Multi-purpose Hall at the Works and Transport Ministry, Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain, the minister said 80 per cent of the people who were infected knew about their status, but hoped to improve this figure to 90 per cent.

“The 90 per cent who know their status should be on drugs, and those who are on drugs should have their viral load decrease to less than 50 and that is how the world is going to move to being HIV free by 2030, by knowing the population that have it,” he said.

Deyalsingh said TT had been able to save TT$55 million for the year using the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Strategic Fund which made antiretroviral drugs more affordable and accesible.

The minister said it took him an entire year to save the PEPFAR Small Grants Program (PSGP) which was part of the Caribbean Regional Partnership framework against HIV/AIDS and focused on community based prevention activities to reduce the spread of HIV, reduce AIDS related stigma and discrimination and encouraged communities to cooperate in fighting the epidemic. With regard to the availability of the anti-retroviral drugs, Deyalsingh said they had reviewed the protocol for many of the drugs that took up a lot of the budget.

“We have reviewed the protocol for oncology where we would guarantee a supply of a basket of drugs and also HIV/Aids,” Deyalsingh said. “We are also relying on the PAHO Strategic Fund to purchase those drugs.

“This is something that was ignored for years. We have saved the country TT$55 million so far on HIV/Aids drugs.” Deyalsingh added, “We have ordered more drugs because of this and because we are no longer importing them through the local distributors, but bringing it through the PAHO Strategic Fund, we cut off a lot of the profit.

“PAHO is not in this to make money, they are here to provide a service.” The minister also highlighted the fact that there was need to have a data base on people infected with HIV/Aids. He said the status of people with HIV/Aids no longer had to be a death sentence but a life sentence.

According to. reports, the 41-year-old. victim was asleep when. three men, one armed,. entered the house by. breaking open a door on. the eastern side.

The woman was awakened. by the intruders. who demanded cash and. jewelry. She was then. gang raped by two of the. three men. A microwave. oven, cellular phone, a. case of orange juice and. other small household. electronic items were. stolen. A report was. made to the Morvant. police and investigations. are ongoing. No arrest. has been made.

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According to reports, at 1.15 pm, Matthew Birch, 25, also known as “Jockey” of Hillview Drive, La Puerta, went to a shop in the area when he was accosted by a gunman.

A scuffle ensued and Birch was shot in the abdomen and left leg.

He was taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital where he was warded in serious condition.

Police are working on information that Birch was accused by the gunman of being linked to a recent serious crime.

Five minutes later, two men who were searching for scrap iron were robbed and shot.

According to reports, Junior Joefield and Leston David who are both from Claxton Bay were at Simeon Road in Petit Valley when they were approached by a group of men who promised to give them some scrap iron. While the victims were awaiting the scrap iron they were approached by a man from the group who robbed them of cash.

The gunman then shot Leston David on both hands, while Joefield was shot in the abdomen. Both were taken to the General Hospital where they were warded. Assistant Commissioner of Police Irwin Hackshaw along with Acting ACP Radcliffe Boxhill and Acting Inspector Godfrey visited both scenes and investigations are continuing.

According to reports, at about 9.15 pm, Akino Thomas was at Pentecostal Road in El Dorado when he approached by two gunmen who shot him. Thomas ran off but fell into a drain at the side of the road.

The video image shows a gunmen standing over Thomas and pulling the trigger, but the weapon appeared to either have jammed or was out of bullets. The second gunman attacked Thomas, kicking him several times in the head.

As Thomas appeared to fall unconscious in the drain, the man jumped onto his chest. He then jumped up and down several times on Thomas’ chest. Both gunmen then ran off.

Residents who heard the gunshots, contacted police and officers from the Tunapuna Police Station responded and found 34-year-old Thomas in the drain.

He was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope where he underwent emergency surgery and up to press time, was warded in critical condition.

Police sources said that Thomas was still in an unconscious state yesterday and they are hoping he can recover and hopefully can recall the attack and provide investigators with information that could lead to arrests.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Irwin Hackshaw told Newsday, “We are looking into the video and working closely with the Cyber Crime and other units that could help with resolving this crime. We are asking the public to assist in identifying the people captured in the video so that they could be flushed out of their hiding places and brought to justice.

“Think positive if you want to change Enterprise. When I see young people engaged in camps such as these it speaks volume…

change only begins by changing your thoughts because your thoughts determine your actions.

You have made a positive choice to join the camp,” Dillon said at the closing ceremony for Camp Phoenix 2017 at the Enterprise Government Primary School at Homeland Gardens in Chaguanas.

The camp was a joint initiative between the Enterprise Community Council and the Police Service’s Inter Agency Task Force (IATF). The Minister commended the organisers, the children as well as parents/guardians for being part of the two-week camp.

According to organisers, the goal of the camp was to foster closer ties between law enforcement and the community in order to proactively address the spike in crime within the Central Region, specifically Enterprise.

A total of 90 residents between the age of six and 17 received certificates of participation, having completed courses in the field of self-defence, conflict resolution, etiquette and physical fitness, among others. Personnel from the protective services namely Defence Force and Police and Fire Services as well as ECC members supervised at Camp Phoenix.

Yesterday, motivational speaker Don La Foucade told the youths that the area where they are from does not make them. Instead it is they who make the area. He added that in life, it matters not where a person comes from rather it is where he/she is going. He told the children that having good manners give them an advantage in life as “good manners will open any door”. La Foucade further told them that the more one gives, the more he/she receives.

The camp was first of two in the community. The second, also geared at providing a positive environment and activities for youths, begins on August 7 and ends August 18. The camp is mainly funded via the corporate support of Phoenix Park Gas Processors Ltd, TSTT, Republic Bank and the US Embassy alongside small business within Enterprise.

At the post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s on Thursday, the Prime Minister said the hotel is being built on Buccoo Estate and not No Man’s Land as alleged by CL Financial shareholders.

He said the law requires disposal of any assets held under the Central Bank to be done at fair market value and that what Government did. An Occidental Investments Ltd (OIL) and Oceanic Properties Ltd (OPL) report which Rowley referred to, valued the land at $174,806,775.

Rowley did not provide this information during the briefing but left a copy that report behind for reporters to look at.

Hours later on Thursday, Clico Policyholders Group chairman Peter Permell claimed the land which Rowley referred to was valued at $680 million.

Newsday yesterday obtained a signed valuation report by GA Farrell and Associates Ltd, dated August 6, 2016, on lands at Golden Grove and Shirvan Estates and Golden Grove and Shirvan Roads for Clico. The report supported Rowley’s statements and the OIL/OPL report’s valuation of the lands in question.

The GA Farrell report said the Market Approach was used determine the value of the property because, “it is judged to best reflect the interplay of buyers and sellers.” The firm said when all of the relevant factors are taken into consideration, particularly the prices being paid for properties in the area and unencumbered interest on the property, the market value of the lands, “was in the order of $170 million as at April 18, 2016.” GA Farrell said the report was done in keeping with terms and conditions agreed to by Clico on April 5, 2016. The firm said the opinion of value is based on all relevant approvals being granted from the relevant statutory authorities for the development of the site for hotels, villas, condominiums, golf course, clubhouse and restaurant. The outline approval was received, was valid for one year and has since lapsed.

After identifying crime and delays in upgrading the ANR Robinson International Airport amongst the factors that have negatively impacted on Tobago’s tourism, GA Farrell said foreign nationals must apply for a license to buy property in Tobago.

The women reappeared before Magistrate Indira Misir Gosein in the Fourth Court.

The magistrate heard from State attorney Daneia Myers that the court did not have an interpretator to continue with the case. The magistrate dismissed all charges against the 60 women. The women were the largest number of foreigners appearing at one time in the local courts for the offence, along with three Trinidadian men charged with managing a brothel in Vistabella near San Fernando.

When the women first appeared they created quite a stir inside and outside the precincts of the courthouse where a large contingent of heavily armed policemen stood guard. The charges stemmed from a raid conducted by police officers at the hotel where the 75 women were arrested in 2013.

The women are between the ages of 18 and 41 years.

The women had first appeared before Magistrate Margaret Alert.

The charge to them that they solicited passers by for prostitution.

The women had all pleaded not guilty to the charges laid by PCs Jason Dailey and Akeel Clarence.

When the magistrate announced that the matters were dismissed some of the women were seen hugging each other.

Dr Burris’ appointment was announced yesterday by WASA’s board of commissioners and will take effect from August 1, 2017.

In a statement, WASA said he was chosen after an extensive local and international recruitment process guided by external consultants.

Dr Burris was previously permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tobago Development and deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Public Utilities as well as chief administrator in the Tobago House of Assembly.

He was awarded the Trinidad & Tobago Presidential Award of Merit – Gold, for outstanding performance in the Public Service and has a PhD in Civil Engineering; an MSc in Structural Engineering and a wealth of training and qualifications relevant to public administration and the water and wastewater sector, according to the WASA statement.

While congratulating Dr Burris on his appointment, WASA has extended its appreciation to Alan Poon King who acted as Chief Executive Officer during the search for the new CEO.

In 2017, we commemorate more than 170 years of the abolition of enslavement and 210 years since the trade in human beings was legally stopped in the British colonies in 1807. Today, Beckles points out there are some 200 million people of African heritage all around the world. Ideally, this should constitute a force strong enough to move away from the implications of the word “diaspora,” that of being outside of the continent of Africa; that of being creole or not “pure” African.

For people of African heritage, their collective history was recreated because of the illegal and immoral trade. It is well documented that languages, tribal customs and socio-cultural traditions were separated and demonised as part of a deliberate plan to destabilise and demoralise Africans. Transported to other countries mainly in the Caribbean, and central and southern America, the enslaved welded together their various spiritual and other customs, creating a new paradigm for survival.

Importantly, across the Caribbean, the enslaved fought tirelessly to destabilise the barbaric system that lasted for hundreds of years. Dr Eric Williams was one of the first scholars to draw attention to the fact that economics was a key element in rethinking the trade, but it occurred to me the other day, what would have happened if our ancestors did not fight? Would slavery still exist? It does not bear contemplating.

After emancipation, there were several attempts to symbolically unite the African diaspora. The Negritude movement, for instance, investigated African cultures through art, literature, and music. Pan Africanism represented by noted activists and intellectuals from TT, and Black Power in the 1970s, all sought to deal with issues of personhood.

But as Prof Beckles admitted, we are still some distance from becoming that global Africa he envisions.

The realities of migration, detribalisation, fundamental Christianity, political corruption and social inequity plague the African continent today. Continental economies continue to be dependent on foreign investment, exposing themselves to demands that have more to do with benefitting corporations, than people.

Worse, it appears that the indoctrination from enslavement and colonialism was too effective.

At one stage, the Portuguese were the largest exporters of enslaved peoples, pillaging countries along the western coast of Africa, down to Angola. Today, Beckles points out that Angola is one of the largest single investors in the economy of Portugal. In diaspora, we too face challenges of diminished selfworth and residual trauma from the untreated effects of enslavement.

Preoccupations with skin colour and western perceptions of beauty provide the backdrop to persistent inequities in predominantly African populations.

Family life needs to be repaired, along with a return to ancient values of child-rearing and community building. Our economies are floundering for reasons similar to what is experienced on the continent, but also because we persistently refuse to really work together for economic and social stability.

For me, the only way to create Beckles’ global Africa is to first emancipate ourselves from the stubborn shackles of mental slavery.

Of course, the question is how do traumatised people even begin this process. It is a conundrum that must be addressed as a matter of urgency, but at least emancipation celebrations that draw attention to the many positives and achievements are a good place to start.

Dara Healy is a performance a r t – ist and founder of the N G O , the Ind i g e – n o u s Creative A r t s Network – ICAN