As a citizen, I will be proud to pay this tax so that I can in turn be proud of what it will do for my country.

I am very much aware that I may be a minority of one in this quest for justice, but I remain undaunted in my desire to pay property tax on my home. And yes, it is a quest for justice because I want what is due to me, which is drivable roads and passable bridges, regular water and reliable electricity.

After that I want what is due to me by virtue of this tax which are green spaces scattered throughout the country, properly maintained as they should be; the grass verges of my highways and byways maintained; oh and garbage collection; the cleaning and dredging of the waterways so that my farmers lands are not flooded out and crops destroyed because it will be them that will feed me when the energy revenue declines and we cannot import our tomatoes, cauliflower, carrots, avocados from Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

So I urge all citizens to embrace this tax. Go down to the Internal Revenue Department and pay your taxes. Free paper must burn and for far too long we property owners have gotten away with paying what can only be described as a pittance because $245 a year can’t pay for one truck load of manure.

I am however mindful of those who cannot pay this tax — senior citizens who live on fixed reduced incomes, the unemployed and the underemployed and even those who have been unfairly assessed.

The right to appeal and redress of these situations must be upheld and I would rely on the myriad lawyers careening through the halls of justice to fight for the rights of these people.

My husband and myself have built a beautiful home and intend to pay to keep improving its value and our quality of life. Anything else would make me a lesser citizen, not prepared to pay to play.

SATU-ANN I RAMCHARAN Maraval

The property tax, compounded by all the other indirect taxes, will put further pressure and hardship on the poorer citizens.

With retrenchment the order of the day, where would homeowners get money to pay property tax? Now is not the time to impose this tax.

Failure to pay it could result in properties being levied on.

Please Opposition Leader, do something to save us.

A RAMKISSOON Port-of-Spain

Recently at the Chaguanas branch of the nation’s second largest bank, an elderly woman standing in line for an excessive length of time collapsed heavily to the ground. Other customers assisted her and, with the help of one of the security officers, she was put on a seat. There was no one trained in first aid and one can only guess what would have happened had the problem been more serious.

There were the usual expressions of concern and anger at the woman’s predicament but our powerless citizens simply continued with their affairs, with no consideration given to the possibility of taking action against the bank.

It brings to mind the recent occurrence on the United Airlines flight where a passenger was dragged bodily from the plane. Naturally, that matter is going to end up in court and the passenger is certain to be able to give up his practice, if he is so minded, with the payout he is guaranteed to get.

Pity such practices are not a part of our culture.

KARAN MAHABIRSINGH Carapichaima

Costelloe, who is also an avid mountain biker and road cyclist, won the Olympic distance triathlon race which comprised a 1,500-metre swim, 40km ride and 10km run. Costelloe finished with an overall time of two hours, 10:34 seconds (2:10:34), after completing the swim in 23:17, the ride in 1:03:15 and the run in 41:41. The second place finisher was a distant 12 minutes behind.

The Caribbean Triathlon Championship featured athletes from Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Curacao, Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, and Puerto Rico among others.

Talking about his success, Costelloe said, “When I won it I was literally speechless. It is really an unbelievable feeling to win the Caribbean Championships especially since this is my first time entering the event. It was definitely one of my most memorable wins to date.” Despite his victory, Costelloe said the conditions on Sunday were difficult. “The conditions were a little tricky because they had winds up to 35 kilometres an hour which made the swim a little difficult.

The breeze was hitting you from the side so you had a little current to play with. The main challenge came on the bike where you were getting hit with the 35km breeze, either from your front, from your back or your side, which made the cycling part of it a lot more challenging,” he explained.

What gave Costelloe the edge though was that cycling is his strength and he unsurprisingly extended his lead on the chasing pack during the bike leg.

Costelloe, who won the National Duathlon Championships recently, is not getting swell-headed by his triumphant Caribbean debut and still feels he can get better.

“Hard work by many have gone into these results and I am very pleased with my performance. I still see room for improvement and I will only keep on striving to better myself,” he said.

He hailed the love and support from his fiance, friends, family, coaches, as well as his sponsors including The Beacon Insurance Company Limited and GNC Trinidad and Tobago.

The ultimate goal of the Caribbean Age Group Triathlon Championship, held in conjunction with the Mark Cycle International Triathlon Championships, is to bring Caribbean nations together with a common goal of developing young athletes in the region.

O’Neil also earned a silver medal at the annual event on Easter weekend that attracted athletes from Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, USA, Bermuda, St Lucia and Barbados.

Spectators enjoyed fitness competitions, wrestling, beach wrestling, martial arts forms, weapons, sparring and full contact san show (Chinese kickboxing).

Rollins Alleyne, president of the Barbados Wushu Association, hosted the event. Oscar Lightbourne of the Pan American Wushu Federation and certified instructor and coach for technical training conducted three days of technical training on IWUF (International Wushu Federation) rules and regulations.

The Barbados Wushu Association will be coming to Trinidad for the Caribbean Taste of China All Styles Open Martial Arts Championships on May 21 at 10 am at the Chaguanas Regional Indoor Sports Arena. Seminars on tai chi and kung fu will be conducted before the tournament begins.

Alleyne, Erskine Husbands and Dr Che Corbin of Barbados will attend the Taste of China event, while special guests from China are Lao Jian, Han Lipeng and Guan Dong Lion Dance group.

For further information contact Sifu Rahman Khabir, president of the Wushu Association of Trinidad and Tobago at 354-1114.

This Strategy is geared towards matching donor funding with the needs of the country to build the supply side capacity and trade related infrastructure. This means that the Government will now have a structured programme of trade related project interventions which can be used to target specific donor funding.

Donors will now be able to use Trinidad and Tobago’s Aid for Trade Strategy as a framework for mobilising resources to address the trade priorities of Trinidad and Tobago and the related projects. For our exporters the Strategy provides a unique opportunity to obtain resources to address critical constraints that hinder their capacity to trade’.

Gopee-Scoon informed the audience that the Aid for Trade Strategy is of primary importance for a country like Trinidad and Tobago, which at this time is seeking to diversify its exports in the non-energy sectors. She said, “Currently, Trinidad and Tobago faces numerous trade-related challenges in its domestic environment.

“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is therefore focused on addressing such challenges as, the lack of internationally accredited testing facilities, inadequate financing mechanisms, underdeveloped market intelligence, congestion at the ports, and absence of payment mechanisms to facilitate e-commerce.” The Strategy covers a three year period from 2016 to 2019 and presents a coherent framework of priority areas, identified by domestic business support organisations, Ministries and agencies, necessary to address the challenges faced in expanding trade in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Aid for Trade framework consists of three pillars: Export Diversification, Competitiveness and Trade Facilitation. Each Pillar contains, objectives, priority areas and projects that are aligned with Government’s Draft National Strategic Development Plan, Vision 2030.’ Senator Gopee-Scoon urged the private sector to become actively involved in the implementation of this Strategy to ensure that aid also promotes ‘investment for trade’.

The Ministry will have general oversight for the implementation of the Aid for Trade Strategy, country ownership at the highest political level and effective intra-governmental co- ordination will ensure successful implementation of the Strategy. Trinidad and Tobago’s National Aid for Trade Strategy includes a robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism.

Norris Herbert, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry stated that, “The Aid for Trade Strategy will be a key tool in diversifying the economy.” He acknowledged the dedication and commitment of those involved in the development of the National Aid for Trade Strategy and called for continued discussions and collaboration amongst stakeholders.

Candice Lackhansingh, Programme Coordinator at the Ministry, delivered a detailed presentation on the strategy. She outlined the Structure of the Aid for Trade Strategy and described the priority areas and projects to which Donors can target their assistance. She further explained how the strategy would be implemented.

Lackhansingh concluded by calling for the continued development of project proposals by the various stakeholders.

The Tobago Jazz Experience ended on Sunday with performances by Grace Jones, Lletesha Sylvester, Ronald Hinkson, Arita Edmund, Cousoumeh, Kaycyy and Elan Trotman.

“There are persons sitting in their offices in Port-of-Spain making decisions affecting people’s lives on matters for which they know nothing about,” Lalla charged. “If this is what passes as good governance in this country, then we are in a very bad way,” Lalla said, adding that at a time when the nation’s food import bill is well over a billion dollars, this government chooses to close down state entities that deal with growing food crops for both local use and export.

He said when Caroni Green was established in 2014, it used a $22M grant from the European Union (EU) to outfit it and since that time, has produced more than 1.25 million pounds of produce for the export market. Produce included hot peppers, pumpkins, paw paw, corn and tomatoes. Lalla said the revenue generated from exports went from $700,000 to $2.9 million, in three years.

Despite all of this, he added, government used the excuse that Caroni Green was a burden on tax payers and thus had to be shut down. Lalla said the company submitted audited reports annually showing its operating costs and earnings. He revealed that at the time this government decided to wind up Caroni Green, the company had more than $5 million in its account and this could have sustained workers until the end of the financial year.

Lalla said that ex-workers are in the process of forming an Agricultural Co-operative with the primary objective of preserving their livelihood.

“We want to ensure these workers’ livelihood and at the same time, contribute to the agricultural sector,” Lalla said, noting that while they respect government’s right as owner of the company to take whatever decision, they are equally confident of their ability to successfully manage two farms formerly under Caroni Green’s management, at Union East in Couva and one in Cunupia.

“We believe that the business strategy adopted by CGL of targeting export and import substitution, is a sound one and will provide great benefit to the local economy in terms of foreign exchange generation and conservation,” Lalla said.

Present at the press conference were former prime minister Basdeo Panday and Opposition MPs Rudy Indarsingh, Rushton Paray, Dr Tim Gopeesingh, Ramona Ramdial and Devant Maharaj, the latter being a former Agriculture Minister during the People’s Partnership

He reiterated his stance yesterday while addressing the May Day march at Harris Promenade in San Fernando.

Roget again blasted the multinational corporation saying it must respect the laws of sovereign Trinidad and Tobago. “If you do not respect our laws, take your platform and go!” he said yesterday.

Addressing trade union members from the Joint Trade Union Movement, following a march from the OWTU headquarters on Circular Road under blistering sunshine, Roget declared the union is not afraid of making bold statements meant to protect the rights of workers and the country’s patrimony.

“It is the workers who turn the wheels of the economy and who face dangers in the various workplaces in order to keep the economy going,” he said. Roget lamented that after all the struggles to become an independent nation and a republic, those in authority, still allow multinational corporations to set the rules of engagement.

Multinational companies abuse TT’s resources and government is not defending the sovereignty of the state. He warned the working class not fall for the claims of big business that, “times are hard and sacrifices must be made” when they (big business) demand more from labour.

“How the hell this country has no money when the banks and big businesses continue to declare huge profits, ” he asked. Roget accused government of failure to protect citizens from criminals and for sending home thousands of workers.

The opening ceremony, which included a parade and knockout competition, signals a vibrant start to this year’s proceedings. LLPOSNL president, Debbie Ann Francois, in welcoming the teams on parade, encouraged the players and officials to strengthen the country’s most successful team sport and longest established netball league and build on last season’s success.

Trinidad and Tobago Netball Association (TT NA) Assistant Secretary Allyson Ashby, before officially declaring the LLPOSNL open, highlighted some of the netball tournaments scheduled for 2017 and urged supporters to continue to rally around the sport.

Newcomers Tamana Young Warriors won the parade followed by Mucurapo Ex-Pupils and Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service in second and third place respectively.

The protective services teams also held down first and second spot in the flag competition with Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service placing in that order. Mucurapo Ex-Pupils won best queen on parade. The Intermediate Division Knockout Competition was won by Transcend from a field of 11 teams.

Official competition starts next Wednesday at 5pm at the Jean Pierre Complex with a Divisional Knockout Competition.

The League has three Divisions including Kiwis (developmental), Intermediate and First Division.