President of the La Brea Fisherfolk Association Alvin La Borde said yesterday there was no oil at the beaches in La Brea.

“It have no oil in La Brea. God is good to the people who look up to Him, there is no oil in La Brea,” he said.

Coffee Beach fisherman Gopaul Balkissoon and Oropouche fishermen Eversley Sookram and Avinash Battoo also confirmed there was no oil in the waters where they fished.

President of the Claxton Bay Fishing Association Kishore Boodram said there were no signs of oil where they were located but said given the wind pattern, he expects there would be oil further out to sea.

He said he was awaiting reports from trawlers but noted that there was a decline in the number of pelicans seen on the shoreline in the Claxton Bay area.

In a release yesterday, Petrotrin said there was significant progress in its recovery and clean-up activities both on land at the port area at Pointe-a-Pierre. The statement said the company was working with the Energy Ministry and the regulatory authorities.

“Whenever aerial and marine surveys revealed patches of spilled material, vessels have been quickly dispatched to treat with them using materials approved by the Ministry.

Aerial surveys conducted both on Friday and yet again today (Sunday) reveal that there are no new sightings of oil outside of that contained by the booms,” Petrotrin said.

“However, one such patch of hydrocarbon material that was close to the border has since entered into Venezuelan waters,” the release noted.

Minister of Labour and Small and Micro-Enterprise Development, Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, who visiting several of the booths and bought a few items in the bargain, underscored her ministry’s support of the JA youth enterprise development initiative.

“We re-affirm the major role that co-operatives play in the economic and social life of the people of Trinidad and Tobago. It is heartening to see young people engaging in different forms of business activity.

They represent the future of our country’s business and enterprise.

This is a positive reflection on what our youths can achieve,” said Baptiste-Primus.

The Labour Minister disclosed that discussions were being held with the Minister of Education, Anthony Garcia, with the purpose of “creation of a space” within every school to advance the concept of the co-operative enterprise module.

Joel Primus, Community Sustainability and Stakeholder Relation Advisor, representing platinum sponsor, BP Trinidad and Tobago, said the energy company was honoured to continue its enduring partnership with Junior Achievement, dating back to the 1970’s. “We at bpTT believe that initiatives such as the JA Trade Fair are aligned with our aspiration that calls on us to be involved in the development of everyone in Trinidad and Tobago. The work that our partners such as Junior Achievement and others do helps us to achieve this goal. It is imperative to highlight the achievements of young people and the work of organisations like JA at a time when there are so many negative stories,” Primus declared.

JA Trinidad and Tobago celebrated its 47th Annual Trade Fair as Woodford Square was turned into a virtual bazaar as the student entrepreneurs peddled a wide variety of handcrafted products such as printed tee-shirts, wrist and hand-bands, earrings, bracelets, souvenir buttons, designer mugs, and bakery items.

Karyl Williams, Commissioner for Co-operative Development, Ministry of Labour, said the ministry would initiate measures to get more credit unions throughout the country to get involved in the JA youth entrepreneurial programme.

“This trade fair is a clear expression of the creativity and innovativeness of our young men and women and we will take steps to get more credit unions involved with schools in their community,” Williams announced. Some 14 companies were supported by the Division of Co-operative Development through various credit unions.

Ashley Davies, President of Ellipsiis, one of 10 bpTT-sponsored companies, said the programme, while challenging at times, was a wonderful experience as her colleagues received valuable insights into planning and forming the company.

“To do all this from scratch and to come to Port-of-Spain to sell our products is extremely satisfying.

We intend to sell all our items today,” said a confident Davies, a student of St Joseph’s Convent, San Fernando. Ellipsiis sold items such as mason jars and personal trinkets such as handbands, hair pieces, necklaces and caps.

Earlier, JA Executive Director, J.

Errol Lewis, declared at the formal opening of the trade fair: “When you look at the news, you would think that young people are only involved in negative things.

Yet you have hundreds of young men and women coming together in Woodford Square today to bring value to Trinidad and Tobago.” Lewis heaped praise on BP Trinidad and Tobago and the Ministry of Labour’s Division of Co-operative Development, for their significant support of the youth enterprise programme.

And literature plays a huge part in reflecting social reality, fostering understanding and shaping our conception of how the world can and should be. Do not underestimate the power of the pen.

Therefore, events like the recently- concluded NGC Bocas Lit Fest are essential if we aspire to drive development as a country.

Over the course of five days, participants __ including those gathered at multiple venues such as the Old Fire Station and NALIS, Port of Spain, and beyond and thousands of others tuning-in online __ were treated to a range of panel discussions, one-on-one interviews, workshops and open-mic events that featured writers, poets, essayists, artists, politicians, trade unionists and more.

The festival’s claim to being the Caribbean’s largest literary festival has long been justified. This year, however, it expanded its reach even further with CineLit: its Latin American and Caribbean film screening program.

All of this has been organised in such a way as to remain free to the public.

The increasing sprawl of festival events is one indicator of the success of the festival. Another is the fact of renewed global recognition of Caribbean writers who have long placed the region on the literary map.

The festival was held this year in the wake of the death of Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, but poets came out in droves as if to prove that poetry is not dead. The overall winner of the OCM 2017 Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature was on Saturday night announced as Kei Miller for his beautifully-wrought novel Augustown.

For Miller, this achievement as a novelist comes just three years after his winning of the Forward Prize for his poetry collection The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion. He continues a long tradition of poets being story-tellers, bringing to life news that always stays news. He is not alone as the full line-up of this year’s festival demonstrated.

While there was some debate at the festival this year over whether literature and ideology should mix, we note that the question is a non-starter.

For, as Yusef Komunyakaa once said, language is inherently political.

There is little else that could be more radical than being a writer or an artist, especially in this society.

The issue then becomes a question of not whether artists should say anything political but whether they should produce good art. And good art will never be art that is morally compromised, that perpetuates tropes of misogyny, prejudice, homophobia and hate. While activism and art are separate, neither hurt one another. And it is wrong to dismiss art that is socially-engaged.

Art that responds to life and its challenges is art that has a moral conscience.

This has nothing to do with the quality of the art, which is a matter of subjective taste. Rather it has everything to do with our condition of being. A socially-engaged artist is simply the fulfillment of the social contract.

This year’s festival featured important panel discussions on issues such as human rights, press freedom and LGBTQI rights. Of note was a call from Colin Robinson, the poet and lobbyist who leads CAISO, for politicians to fulfill their responsibility when it comes to the rights of the LGBTQI. Robinson once more pointed out that legislators need not enact ambitious reforms but can make simple, small changes that are not strategically risky in order to start the ball rolling.

We congratulate all who played a hand in bringing about this year’s festival __ the seventh __ and those who contributed to its wealth of ideas and to its beauty. We also commend the decision of the State __ specifically the Ministry of Community Development and the Arts __ to become a main sponsor, ensuring more editions of this vital festival.

Deyalsingh made this disclosure in response to a question in the House of Representatives.

He said this figure can be broken down into diabetes ($3.5 billion), hypertension ($3.2 billion) and cancer ($2 billion).

Deyalsingh said the Government will launch its new national NCD strategy on Wednesday.

Responding to a question from Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh, Deyalsingh said the strategy will focus on the early detection and treatment of lung, cervical, colo-rectal and prostate cancer. The minister said more needs to be done to catch cancer in its early stages for the benefit of both the patient and the health sector in general.

Deyalsingh also outlined steps being taken to improve service at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex at Mt Hope.

THE AGRICULTURAL sector provides employment for about 3.3 per cent of the labour force and the involvement of many others though not as direct employees. However, the sector contributes only 0.4 per cent of the GDP, giving a clear indication that income levels are generally low while, under present methods, the labour required is intensive.

Since anticipated income is a major consideration in attracting people into an occupation, it would be exceedingly difficult to convince any substantial number of those seeking to engage in economic activity to take up agricultural pursuits.

In order to substantially increase local production in current crops to make market prices competitive and thus fend off imports or to diversify into the cultivation of new ones, either for export or local consumption, requires a huge investment of public sector resources.

There is the physical infrastructure requirement of drainage, flood control and irrigation, agricultural access roads, availability of land and provision of utilities.

More importantly, there is the need to provide the infrastructure for experimentation and innovation, for technology creation, acquisition and dissemination, training and skills upgrade, information and communication support, markets, processing and storage facilities, and access to funding and other support mechanisms.

On the supply side, production has to be increased to levels which will make the contribution to diversification meaningful. It is well to remember that in every country in the world where agriculture is buoyant, relevant and adequate, state support has been provided in one form or another.

However, in this country over the last half century, there has been a pronounced bias against the sustainable development of the agricultural sector. No administration, whether PNM, NAR, UNC or PP, has had a committed interest in agriculture and was willing to invest the required level of public resources and effectively incentivise private interests, especially small and medium scale.

The larger ones, it must be admitted, have not been overly sanguine in their commitment to the sustainable development of the sector.

The indifference to agriculture applies as well to the administration of which I was a member. Ironically, it was overwhelmingly supported electorally by the rural agricultural community.

In the year and a half I spent as Minister of Agriculture, it was difficult to convince the wielders of power in the government of the need to invest more public resources in the sector both for the restructuring of the sugar sub-sector and enhanced attention to other sub-sectors in the context of the diversification of the sector.

To illustrate, I had put forward a proposal for the ministry to be allocated $400 million over five years (annually $80 million) for the restoration and upgrade of priority access roads.

In the 2000 Budget, the ministry was allocated the princely sum of $12 million to be spent on agricultural access roads throughout the country. The controllers of the same administration, however, could find $1.2 billion to spend on an airport which was not a priority at the time.

It gives some indication as to where power resided in the administration and the primary beneficiaries.

The lack of attention to agriculture was of course aided and abetted by the windfall revenues accruing to the government from the energy sector. The turnaround in the mindset of the powers that be is highly inconceivable.

Progress in agriculture, as in any other sphere of economic activity, depends to a large extent in harnessing science and technology to its cause. In Trinidad and Tobago, we have lapsed noticeably in embracing innovation, new products and new methods in the service of agriculture. The benefits of whatever research is done are minimally disseminated to producers in the sector to improve plant and animal stocks or to promote greater efficiency in methods of production.

This was the argument put forth by the British High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago, Tim Stew, as he made the case against this country’s death penalty law.

“The research that we’ve seen here, carried out by universities and so on, suggests that actually, juries are half as likely to find somebody guilty if they know that the only sentence the judge can deliver is the death penalty.

Whereas if there is a range of options; long-term imprisonment and so on, to obviously take that person out of society, they are more likely to convict the person in front of them.

“The obvious consequence of that is that you could well have people who should be in prison, who should’ve been convicted, who are walking free, walking the streets. Naturally, that is a concern of mine, that actually when people in this country are calling for the swift delivery of justice, that actually the mandatory nature of the death penalty may be making that worse, not better,” Stew said.

It seems logical, therefore, that in the period of governance outside of the election campaign citizens should cooperate with the Government to ensure there are more successes than failures.

There are more than enough examples of political organisations supporting one idea in office and opposing the same out of office simply for political gain.

The present opposition party will have one believe the property tax is an albatross around the neck of citizens and should be vehemently opposed.

With such strong feelings one would have thought that when it had the opportunity to rewrite the laws governing property tax it would have done so, but it did not.

Similarly, the Opposition has been advocating alternative sources of income.

The records however indicate that given the opportunity to govern, this organisation did not follow up with the initiatives of the previous government.

Initiatives like the industrial parks in Wallerfield and La Brea as well as downstream industries in the energy sector were ignored.

There is little achievement, beyond gaining political mileage, in blaming former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar or current Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for the ills of our nation. We should work together for the success of initiatives that benefit our nation regardless of which political organisation is responsible for its origin.

Is it a fact that billions of dollars were accessed from the National Gas Company for a water treatment plant that in the long term does very little to earn income for TT ? Did the last administration enter a contract for billions of dollars for a highway without first determining how it was going to finance the initiatives? What is the track record of the last administration with regard to restructuring agriculture and tourism as essential avenues to augment the income of the nation? The data will indicate that much of the initiatives advocated today by the Opposition were ignored during its term in office.

One should not be detracted by rhetoric for political gain.

We need to work with the Government and Opposition on arriving at long-term solutions for TT . We are too small and vulnerable to allow political divisiveness to destroy our fragile nation. We need to arrive at a place where taxes are not burdensome, where government services are friendly and efficient, and where communities can grow in order and peace. Such objectives can only be achieved if we aspire together.

STEVE ALVAREZ via email

Human beings are inherently social animals and connections are an integral part of our nature, so an absence of meaningful social contacts has the potential to create mental and physical deterioration. Most people will from time to time feel pangs of loneliness whether that is due to social, environmental, psychological, physiological factors. However, for some, such as the acquaintance, the loneliness is compounded by feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, pessimism and considerable pain that runs deep.

Because he has people around him – an ailing mother, wife, and children he had been struggling to consciously understand and articulate what he was feeling, and identify that his loneliness was causing emotional pain. But, it is more than just sharing a physical space with others, it is about companionship – that those around show they value your company, that you are supported, and loved, and most of all that you matter.

Technology has enabled people to be more connected than ever before, yet society is in the throngs of a loneliness epidemic which is having a multiplier effect on depression rates because loneliness and depression are co-related. To quote Dr Hawkley from the University of Chicago, “Although depression doesn’t always lead to loneliness, feeling lonely is often a predictor of depression one year or even two years later”.

Depression craves solitude and isolation, and some may also struggle with relational anxiety and display guarded weariness towards others fearing rejection or intimacy. This can often be a valid reaction because the mind has a way of protecting itself and if someone has been let down or hurt or experienced a broken relationship or friendship, the natural default is to protect against further disappointment, which can mean isolating from people, places and situations.

But chronic isolation and loneliness has the potential to be harmful. Researcher Julianne Holt-Lunstad, says it is akin to the harm caused by smoking, obesity or alcohol misuse.

Brigham Young University undertook a study of 3.4 million participants and found that mortality increased by 26 percent in people who feel or are socially isolated or lived alone.

So, what can be done? It is not about just going out and socialising, or engaging in unhealthy survival strategies such as drug and alcohol misuse, eating junk or sugary foods, overspending on impulse purchases, engaging in random sex, or seeking out destructive relationships.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that people should not seek pleasures, after all there are proven psychological rewards to be gained from ‘retail therapy’.

I know too well that warm feeling you get when you buy a beautiful perfectly fitting pair of shoes, or indulge in a delicious chocolate cake with two scoops of coconut ice-cream. It is developing safe coping mechanisms, and monitoring and moderating behaviours so that they do not compromise one’s health and well-being.

There are some who are grappling with loneliness and all they require is for someone to be there; someone who shows that they care and who will listen without judgement or offer unsolicited advice; someone in whose company they feel loved and needed; someone who helps to validate that they matter, and that they have a significant role in their life.

For others, it is much more complex, however, if someone you know is struggling with loneliness and depression reach out, call, make the time and show them that you care. You don’t need to have all or any of the answers to what they are currently experiencing, just let them know that you are actively thinking of them.

Dr Yansie Rolston FRSA is a UK based disability and mental health specialist advisor. She is a social strategist and trainer who works internationally at various levels of government, business and civil society. Contact her at yr@efficacyeva.com

They are claiming that those persons in the hierarchy in the elite agency are offering top positions to friends and have been overlooking existing staff who are being forced to be re-assessed in their current positions.

The SSA officers said that while they have to undergo several tests and are being asked for certain qualifications several outsiders have now begun to be employed as intelligence officers while they are being bypassed and in some instances they have been asked to take pay cuts.

Officers said that the SSA led by Retired Colonel George Robinson are not giving existing employees any chance of moving up in the Organisation.

Newsday understands that a Human Resources Agency named PROFILES was contracted to manage the entire re-evaluation of staff.

Firstly, a psychometric evaluation, a written examination, a polygraph, then an interview before a panel and finally a medical examination were required.

According to SSA sources staff of PROFILES were always late, did not have the necessary stationery or manpower to properly conduct assessments.

Staff questioned whether there was a tendering process for the selection of PROFILES and “if any other companies were bypassed because of alleged favours”.

According to sources, not all staff have gone through the full re-evaluation process. “People from outside of these organisations have already completed all the phases and have been employed with contract in hand to lucrative positions”.

Yesterday some of the SSA employees said that there is a situation where some of their colleagues who have international training have been told that they are not qualified to do the said jobs, while reassessment of existing jobs which require a Bachelor’s Degree to a pay grade less than a job that requires 5 O’Level CXC/CSE C/GCE subject and a minimum of five to seven year’s experience in crime and security.

“It seems very questionable to hire outside when staff with long and dedicated service are being overlooked”. “Did the CSO approve these positions or is this the avenue to give the boys high paying jobs for loyalty? questioned SSA officers yesterday.

Newsday was also told that the executive of the SSA is littered with Colonels, Majors and most of the former SIA hierarchy.

Officers are calling for the resignation of Colonel Robinson and his team which includes Colonel Bridgewater (Asst Director), Major Best Asst Director, Major Roger McClean (Asst Director) Dr Lenore Winchester (Asst Director), Ms Denise Farray (Manager Counter Intelligence), Mr Clint Eligon Special Adviser.

As the visitors fell behind late in the first half, coach Dennis Lawrence inserted trio Nathan Lewis, Alvin Jones and Akeem Roach, and they interjected new life into the TT attack in the second half as the visitors surged ahead before conceding a late equaliser.

TT found themselves trailing in the 41st minute when Denron Frederick beat goalkeeper Marvin Phillip to leave the hosts 1-0 ahead at half time before an enthusiastic home crowd.

TT, preparing for the pair of FIFA World Cup qualifiers against United States (June 8) and Costa Rica (June 13) respectively, continued to enjoy good spells of possession and were rewarded when Lewis struck the equaliser in the 66th minute.

Lawrence had Mexican-based Yohance Marshall in his defensive line up for the first time since taking over as coach with Honduras-based forward Jerrel Britto making his senior international debut.

Roach notched the go-ahead goal in the 80th, on an assist by Alvin Jones, but Grenada grabbed an 89th minute equaliser through substitute Saydrel Lewis. “In the first half Grenada were very well organised in their defensive shape and we moved the ball far too slow, also giving the ball away in crucial areas of the pitch where Grenada should have capitalised,” said Lawrence.

“In the second half we tried to move the ball quicker and more positive where we were creating problems in wide areas and managed to get total control, keeping Grenada playing on the counter attack which we dealt with for most of the second half.

“But once we took the lead, we did not manage the game after and we made an error yet again allowing Grenada to score the equaliser.

“But all in all it was a very good exercise as the main focus is to get enough competitive football before the qualifier against the US on June 8. There is not much competitive football for most of the boys until the League starts on May 26 and we have to close the gap before we head into the two qualifiers which would require having to get as much football for them before that period,” Lawrence ended.