A single murder was sensational news. Villages and communities alike interacted. Now you don’t dare cross that invisible line.

So we gained some wealth and lost our humanity. I will always recall the advice of my father, Enzo Fortune: “We love things and use people, when we should love people and use things.” Today a man is measured by his material worth, regardless of how it is acquired. There has been a shift from when a man’s worth was his character and word. This development only indicated a loss of values.

Our personal values exist in relation to cultural values, either in agreement with or divergence from prevailing norms.

Social values form an important part of the culture of a society. Values account for the stability of social order. They provide the general guidelines for social conduct.

Any attempt at progress will be doomed if we do not address societal tendencies towards criminality and criminal clientelism as being the norm.

COLIN FORTUNE Arima

A relative said that to date, no birth certificate has been issued and this document is needed in order to get a death certificate which is also needed before a body can be lawfully disposed.

The relative said that the protracted wait for burial has been traumatic for the baby’s parents Cindy Gail Sooknanan, 22, and Kimraj Jorai.

“The mother wants to bury her baby but the body has to remain at the funeral home until procedures are completed. It is taking too long I find. A decision has to be made by the authorities because you can’t just leave the body at the funeral home forever,” the relative said.

Sooknanan who is unemployed, lives with her father Rajesh Sooknanan, 42, and twoyear- old daughter at Sewlal Trace in Fyzabad. On July 1, Sooknanan gave birth inside a car which was parked in the driveway of her relatives’ home at Chatoor Avenue, Fyzabad. She was seven months pregnant.

After the birth, it was assumed that the baby was taken to the Siparia health centre but the family later learnt that the baby was given to a doctor who they assumed had taken the child to hospital. On July 11, police acting on information, executed a search warrant at the doctor’s office and found the baby’s corpse in a fridge.

An autopsy confirmed death was due to complications arising out of a premature birth and lack of immediate medical care. The doctor, was detained, has since been released without charge.

Duke in turn denounced the document as “fictitious” and boasted of his achievements for PSA workers.

At Port-of-Spain City Hall Saunders held a news briefing as head of the United Public Officers team he will lead into the upcoming PSA election where he will aim to unseat Duke. Also present were candidates for first vice president Robert Dean and second vice president Harold Murray.

Saunders asked PSA members if they could vote for a leader who has allegedly lost the respect and trust of the union membership. He promised his group would not practice the “one mannism” that he accused Duke of practising, but would instead practice transparency, accountability, honesty, justice, integrity and democracy.

Saunders cited an alleged 2010 MOA allegedly acknowledged by the signatures of Duke and the then ministry permanent secretary Vishnu Dhanpaul.

Saunders was condemnatory of a phrase in the MOA that allegedly said the TT Revenue Authority Company Limited will supply Government and the PSA with the employment strategy to staff the TTRA. The alleged letter said both parties will discuss the voluntary separation of employment plan while negotiations will be held between the PSA and the chief personnel officer (CPO).

However Duke, in a message posted on Facebook yesterday, denied anything was amiss.

“I want to denounce the fictitious document that is now circulating on social media,” he said.

“It will take more than those fictitious documents to unseat Watson Duke and the Game Changers. We have been serving the public officers for eight years straight. During that time we have received 40 per cent. Ten thousand persons have been made permanent.

We have defended over 5,000 jobs at WASA, Board of Inland Revenue, Customs, the list is long.”

He was the father of a four-year-old boy.

Roodal was driving his car along Brothers Road when at about 5 pm, as he was passing Brothers Road Presbyterian School, lost control of the car.

The car flipped several times before coming to a stop at a nearby drain. Relatives described Roodal as a loving, jovial, helpful and hard-working person. “He would do anything to make an honest dollar,” said his mother who did not want to be named. “I will miss calling out his name in the morning. Every morning as I wake up I would call him, and he would answer back, ‘yes mommy’.” The woman said the last time she spoke with Roodal was a few hours earlier when he dropped her and his son off at Don Moore Junction so they could go to church.

An autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre in St James confirmed Roodal died from internal injuries consistent with a car accident.

While some may challenge the activity as being unnecessary, there is a point to note that it served us quite well as children; if not just to slow us down and give us cause for reflection. Back then it didn’t matter how much you protested, our mothers knew best.

Today, I am of the view that our nation is in need of a purge. As we enter this period of our national history, we are pained by the constrictions to our progress, the serious financial constipation, moral decadence and stomach-churning murders.

We have tried so many diets from the experts and naysayers, but there is some merit in applying the tried and tested occasional purge of our system, burdened as it is with a history of largesse and overindulgence.

I speak not of the routine call for a change in diet as administered by our political nutritionists, but a good doze of senna for the country, accompanied by a time for rest and reflection. This will definitely force us to sit down and contemplate our state.

We must challenge ourselves as a nation to do what is necessary, to reduce the harmful concoction of crime and moral decay, which are harmful to our consumption. Indeed, we must go deeper, beyond the dialogue and conversations to address the source of our malady and expel those elements that restrict us from operating efficiently.

We need to come clean with the reality of our situation before God and country and set ourselves the task, though painful, to cleanse ourselves in body, soul and spirit.

Although some among us have performed our religious duty of fasting and prayer, there is the urgent need for a national coordinated effort as a people to address the present state of our country.

I appeal to the Christian community not to be content with a few days of prayer and fast, but to improve their regimen in addressing the spirits of crime, violence and corruption, among others.

So my call is for the “Christian collective” to join the rest of the nation in a special 40-day holy fast that would culminate with the expected freedoms on Independence Day and beyond.

At the beginning of this Government’s term of office, I had called for a day of prayer and thanksgiving.

Now I am calling for a 40-day fast for the nation, a time of cleansing and a time when we can administer a “spiritual purge” to get rid of the undesirable elements that plague us. We have tried everything else, why not try the biblical method of securing guidance for a nation… “that the people would fast and pray, turn from their wicked ways and seek God” …so that “a remnant will be blessed and a nation will be purged of its sins.” Time for our nation to take a “spiritual purge,” Mr PM.

APOSTLE TERRENCE HONORE via email

The band then numbered around 275 youngsters which included sponsored sections from The St Mary’s Children’s Home.

So very emotional about this unplanned retirement was Gabriel, that it took nearly six months for her to sit for this interview.

She admits: “Giving up was hard but couldn’t be helped.

Speaking about it was also traumatic.” The often asked question has been why did Gabriel retire? After all, the 2017 presentation was already designed and production had started. “I was feeling unwell after a bout of Zika which affected my knees coming to the end of 2016, and walking was very difficult,” says the tireless producer of children’s mas.

From 2005 to 2009 she was on the board of the National Carnival Bands Association, and for the past two years has been a member of the Junior Committee of the National Carnival Commission (NCC), and also president of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Bands’ Association.

However, fate intervened and this very placid woman was invited by the Ministry of Culture to be a mentor in its fifth annual three-month Mentoring By The Masters programme on the topic of children’s mas.

“This was heaven-sent,” says Gabriel. Twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5pm – 7.30pm, this very successful mas producer who has won Band of the Year about 17 times, conducts a programme for 15 students at the St James Youth Facility. She tutors on everything that is needed to become a successful bandleader.

One or two of her students already have bands and others are schoolteachers wanting to improve the schools’ programmes.

A pensive Gabriel spoke of some of the pluses the band added to her life. “One of the great things are the people I have met over the years with this band. I might have never met them otherwise and have become very close to a great deal of these people and will remain close to them whether I have another band or not. They have become like family. I have also had to learn to deal with all different personalities walking up your steps, to manage the staff of about ten in the camp and a large network outside of the camp.

“Some other life lessons the band has taught me are organisation skills, which could be one of the best lessons, because you have to produce 12 sections and individuals in a specified period of time, and juggle this with family life which consists of a husband, three children and ten grandchildren (ages 22 to ten). In the early years the band was produced from my home, until my adult children started to court and when the time came for engagements I had to clean up the mas camp so decided sometime in 1994 I was going to give up.” That would have been Gabriel’s first attempt to retire but she explained: “A good friend Pascal Ramkissoon of the Minshall camp found the present location at 26 O’Connor Street in Woodbrook and together with my husband, Norman, of nearly 50 years, they rented it and handed me the key because they both didn’t want to see me give up what they knew I loved so much.

“I didn’t give up willingly this time, it’s just that my knees wouldn’t carry me where I wanted to go. My mind never gave it up because I love it so much.

It was never about fame for me, Rosalind Gabriel, I was doing it for love of the country. Also trying in some small way to keep that title we owned as The Greatest Show on Earth, in the days of the icons, and have tried to keep that costuming trend in my Carnival productions. It was never about business, it was just a passion for junior Carnival, best described as “Like a fire burning in my chest really.” Who knows what the future will bring as the mas camp remains in tact at this moment, nothing has been dismantled or gotten rid of.

“In the beginning every time I went I cried, but it’s a little better now….

While ill this year, I still produced a school band for Tobago as had been done for the two years prior to that and plan to do it again in 2018,” says this very humble woman who is insistent that “there is no way I can claim all the praise which is lavished on me. No one person can produce this band – there are all the artisans, decorators, dressmakers, designers, every single person who helps.

“Then there are people who work in the camp and would cut out hundreds of decorations over and over that adorn the costumes because we try to make as much as we can so instead of going to buy an appliqué, we cut out to keep the craft in Carnival. Everybody who pitches in deserves the praise that is associated with the success of the band over the years.

Another important lesson I learned was never to burn my bridges.

Sometimes you are dissatisfied with what is produced by a supplier, I would pay for the work and remain friends with the people I have worked with for 40 years. So that there is no enemy that I have in Carnival.” Gabriel freely and willingly gives advice and encouragement to younger bandleaders because she says: “Carnival does not belong to any one person and all of us involved love its culture and creativity so we have to invest in it for the good of the country. We have to be the caretakers who will keep the original costuming in Carnival so as to maintain what the icons like George Bailey, Edmund Hart, Peter Minshall and Wayne Berkley created, thereby ensuring that the tradition and spectacle are carried on into the future.” Some years ago, Gabriel added an adult band in an effort to create a family atmosphere by parents and children enjoying quality time together, but rules were introduced which didn’t allow this to materialise.

This pioneering woman took children’s and adult bands up the islands as far as Miami Carnival. “We would box and ship costumes, some requested a theme others would send what they were looking for and we would produce.

This extra work was in an effort to keep the mas camp afloat outside of our Carnival, as I really couldn’t add a rental charge to the children’s costumes, this also gave my staff work throughout the year.” On the subject of beads, bikinis and feathers, with a great deal of objectivity, she says: “I do appreciate that Carnival has evolved into something rather than portrayal mas as we knew it in the early days, but we must still see a need to keep the traditional intermingled with today’s mas for those who want that kind of portrayal.

This is so necessary because if you look in all the stands there are no spectators. Why? People don’t want to come out to see naked bodies all day long. I truly hope for a day in the near future when there will be a mixture of original and modern designs to bring balance back into the two days of Carnival.”

According to Charles, the health facility has been closed since last Friday and patients are being asked to utilize the Lengua Health Centre.

Charles said no work has started on the closed facility.

He claimed, “This is just another page in the saga that is the on-going health care crisis in this country.”

The robbery occurred at about 11.40 am when the bandits held up the owners of Jemtel Jewellers located inside RRM Plaza off High Street. Matthew Pierre, 40, of Safe and Secure Security Services Ltd, was on patrol inside the plaza when he was alerted by a commotion and on checking, saw the bandits fleeing from the jewelry store. As he tried to grab a bag from one of the bandits, a shot rang out.

The gunmen retrieved the bag containing an undisclosed amount of jewelry, which fell to the floor before running out of the plaza.

They crossed the street and ran through the Carlton Centre towards St James Street where they were last seen.

Closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footage, captured by cameras mounted at the entrance to RRM plaza has since been handed over to police.

It showed security guard Pierre chasing after one bandit while the other two were running behind the guard. The bandit behind Pierre was seen pointing a gun at the guard’s back. Moments later, Pierre was seen hopping back into the plaza.

The robbery drama attracted a large crowd of people who stood and watched as Pierre, grimacing in pain, was taken on a stretcher to an ambulance which took him to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was treated and is warded in stable condition.

Police sources later confirmed getting fingerprints from the crime scene which they hope can lead to the identities of the bandits and arrests.

Detective Inspector Don Gajadhar is leading investigations.

“Continued support is not sustainable or in the interest of taxpayers particularly now that shareholders of CLF have signalled that they wish to take control of the company,” said Finance Ministry’s permanent secretary Vishnu Dhanpaul in his affidavit in support of the winding up petition, which is expected to be heard today before Justice Kevin Ramcharan in the Hall of Justice, Port of Spain.

According to Dhanpaul, the proposed plan by shareholders, which has been given the moniker Project Rebirth, is highly optimistic and speculative and carries with it execution risks. Dhanpaul said Project Rebirth does not provide any protection or controls should elements of the proposed plan fail.

According to the plan to regain control of the company and repay its creditors, CLF proposes to fully repay the outstanding claim of $19.3 billion, with the proposed settlement comprising of 92 percent cash and eight percent real estate. To generate the cash to repay government, Project Rebirth proposes to restructure CLICO, carry out a phased liquidation of Clico Investment Bank and effect the transfer of CLF cash and HCL land assets.

As part of the proposed settlement, which has been rejected by Government, CLF agreed to not pursue claims for alleged value loss arising out of the sale of Methanol Holdings Trinidad Ltd (MTHL).

BATTLE FOR THE BOARD

Government’s decision to file the winding up petition was based on (A): Moves by shareholders to regain control of the company and (B): To recoup a $15 billion debt still owed by the conglomerate to the State. As the principal creditor – by virtue of the $23 billion bailouts of CLF and its subsidiaries in 2009 – Government has the majority of directors on the board.

CLF shareholders want to change this and have requisitioned a meeting of the board to appoint two additional directors. This meeting takes place at 3.30 pm today at the Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair. In its letter to Government, CLF shareholders have said ‘no’ to any new shareholders’ agreement and are adamant Government has no right to be part of the conglomerate’s board and management or exercise any management control of CLF or its subsidiaries.

Dhanpaul said should shareholders seek to remove, replace or appoint additional directors unilaterally, Government will treat this as an act of hostility. Government fears a repeat of pre-2009, which saw the collapse of one of the country’s largest insurance firms, CLF’s subsidiary Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO). That collapse caused ripples across the region and Caribbean governments have been knocking on Government’s door in recent times.

WHO IS CORRECT?

While shareholders maintain that the company is solvent and worth billions in assets, Dhanpaul’s affidavit suggests otherwise. In his affidavit, Dhanpaul pointed to significant and continuing intra group exposures in CLF, which he said, reflects a mismatch of assets and liabilities with implications for liquidity, earning capacity and overall solvency of the company.

He also noted that excessive related- party transactions and high inter-company balances also carry significant contagion risks. The presence of this factor was one of the key reasons for the collapse of the CLF group in 2009, he noted.

He said an evaluation by auditing firm Ernst and Young pointed to CLF’s insolvency and inability to repay debts. Dhanpaul said the company’s level of insolvency still pose a systemic risk to the country’s financial system and is unlikely to recover to satisfactory levels.

Dhanpaul said a number of assets, worth billions belonging to CLF, have been sold already to repay the debts of its subsidiaries and creditors and none of the proceeds were used to repay the Government. Total loans amounted to $1.1 billion.

He also pointed to the actions of a member of CLF’s management team, whom he said, contracted an international auditing firm to come up with the restructuring plan without the authorisation of the Government-controlled board and failed to report it to the board.

The senior CLF official also caused to facilitate the write off of inter-company debt without board approval and caused dividends from Angostura to be transferred to CLF without prior notification to the board, Dhanpaul said.

“Government is committed to seeking the recovery of taxpayers money by realising the Government’s claim expeditiously,” Dhanpaul emphasised.

JUDGE GIVES REASONS

Also expected to be heard today is the State’s appeal of Justice Ramcharan’s refusal to grant the application for a provisional liquidator will be heard, half an hour later in the Court of Appeal.

In providing his reasons for refusing the State’s application, Justice Ramcharan said the application was premature as the State could not prove, at the time, that if the constitution of the board was to change, it would be to the detriment of CLF’s creditors, including the Government which is demanding its $15 billion owed.

“Based on the disclosed assets of CLF, I am not of the view that not appointing joint provisional liquidators would significantly impact the availability of assets to creditors,” he said in his reasons which were provided yesterday.

According to Justice Ramcharan, a brief perusal of the operating profit and loss statement of CLF for 2017 to date shows that up to April 2017, CLF has been operating at an average loss of $900,000 per month.

“Not an excessive amount in the court’s view,” he noted. Ramcharan also pointed out that there was evidence, on paper, that the shareholders of CLF were intent on repaying the company’s creditors.

“The petitioner may hold the view that the manner in which they intend to do so may cause risk to the company’s assets, however, so sufficient evidence was not produced to the court to illustrate how this risk was so severe as to engage the drastic measure of appointing provisional liquidators,” he added.

“In any event if the board’s composition is altered and in the view of the petition the board is about the act in a way detrimental to the company’s creditors nothing preventing them from approaching the court again,” he added, noting also that ‘it was common ground among the parties that CLF has been insolvent since at least 2009.

NOT ALL EVIDENCE IN

He also made a preliminary finding that it was highly likely that the order for the winding up of the company would be made based on the evidence presented in support of the petition, but noted that ‘things may change’ when all the evidence is in. In 2009, the then Patrick Manning administration agreed to a bail out of CLF’s cashstrapped subsidiary CLICO and saw the insurance giant and many of CLF’s subsidiaries going under the control of the Central Bank.

As a condition of the bail-out, CLF’s shareholder’s agreement with the Government, the Government had the power to select four members including the chairman to CLF’s seven member board. The agreement was renewed 17 times by the shareholders until they refused to agree to a further extension in February, this year.

The shareholders then made the move to change the composition based on the Government’s refusal to consider a proposal for them to retake control of the company and renegotiate their debt repayment plan made in December last year.

If the shareholders are successful in having their directors appointed to the CLF board, they would control majority interest with five members while the Government would remain with its original four board members.

They have also indicated a willingness to pay back taxpayers.

Police sources said that Padarath held a three-night Ramayan (Hindu prayers) at which he invited Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, family and friends to attend and pray with him. Newsday understands that for the three nights of the prayers, a policeman was hired on extra duty to provide security.

However, at 11.30 pm, 15 minutes after the policeman left when his allotted extra duty time had elapsed, a gunman entered the house and announced a hold-up. At the time of the robbery, Persad-Bissessar had already left.

Padarath and about 20 others, who at the time were deep in prayer, were relieved of personal valuables including cash, cellular phones and jewelry. When the bandit ran off, a report was made to the Couva Police Station.

The robbery put an end to the prayer service. Up to press time, no arrest was made and investigations are continuing.