On Tuesday, Padarath said 15,000 lives could be at risk at the official opening of the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba on May 13 featuring legendary cricketers Lara and Sachin Tendulkar.

Padarath said major questions remain outstanding on the safety of the structure, a decade after its original planned completion date.

Padarath called on Government to, “make public, all relevant documentation that the stadium and grounds were assessed and deemed safe and fit for public use.” At a media conference yesterday at the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs on Elizabeth Street in St Clair, Garcia said, “I regard the statement made by Mr (Barry) Padarath to be reckless and irresponsible and I say this based on the Arun Buch report, because it was the UNC Government who in 2012 commissioned Arun Buch to do a structural survey and assessment of the Brian Lara Stadium.” Reading from the Arun Buch structural survey Garcia said, “It says in accordance with the contract between UDECOTT and Arun Buch and Associates Limited for the review of the engineering designs and, as built drawings prepared, we Arun Buch and Associates Limited have reviewed the drawings and the related civil structural engineering analysis and designs.

“We are of the opinion that the contents of the drawings are accepted as fit for purpose.” Garcia then said, “Arun Buch in a 19-volume report, thousands of pages, commissioned by the last Government found the building to be structurally fit for purpose and then to come with this (the Barry Padarath comments) to panic and bring fear to a unsuspecting public.”

Since 2006 they have provided these needed services to companies and contractors in the area and have subcontracted to other security firms as well but they are dealing with the complication of a slow down in overall business as well as the problem of late payments as other businesses are experiencing the same.

“There are quite a few security companies in TT,” he notes, “but more regulation is needed to avoid these fly-by-night companies that spring up to provide work because someone knows someone who can give them a contract. This is also putting a damper on all the investments we have made to be fully compliant with international standards.” He has also observed that people of the area aren’t benefitting as much as they should from the plants being constructed in the area and sees that poverty continues in areas like Palo Seco and environs as a result of a mix of persons not having the right skills and others with the skills being bypassed for positions by persons from outside of the area. He hopes that firms will instead look to qualified companies like his own who have the right infrastructure and training to execute security services and to also seek to higher closer to home where the impact would be greater.

The Red Force were upgraded from fifth to third in the Regional Four Day Championship standings, with an overall total of 102.8 points, behind the Guyana Jaguars (134.8) and Barbados Pride (124). Rounding off the standings were the Jamaica Scorpions (102.6), Windward Islands Volcanoes (97.6) and the Leeward Islands Hurricanes (89.2).

However the Red Force won four and lost five of their matches, used three captains in the Four Day Championship (Yannick Ottley, Kyle Hope and Marlon Richards) and had as much as 24 players involved in the 10 First Class fixtures.

“When we started off, with all expectations, we were looking at winning the Championship,” said Logie, during an interview on Tuesday. “We went into the Championship believing it (was) possible, given the indication of so many established players making themselves available. Since then, it never materialised.

“We’ve been playing under- cooked in terms of personnel,” continued the former West Indies vice-captain and coach.

“We had a pretty ordinary First Round. We always believed that if we put it together we could challenge.

We created our expectations after the Super50 (in which the Red Force were beaten by the Scorpions in the semi-final stage) and, after the First Round, for a top three finish.” Logie stated, “we did it, at the end of the day, thanks to many of the young players that stepped up to the plate. It has been a frustrating season. We had about three or four different captains and, at the end of the day, the young players would always (take a while) to adjust to different leadership styles.

“I think the core remained of what we wanted, the commitment level from players and the responsibility that you expect from them. They all continued to work hard so it was just reward at the end of the day for a young player coming into the set-up, showing what they can do if they really commit, if they really take the responsibility. We showed a lot of fight and heart to finish third.” Asked to elaborate on the frustrations he faced, Logie replied, “you can never settle if you have people coming in and out. If you have experienced players, (they) must be able to step up to the plate. It’s about taking the opportunity and guiding the younger players.

“That is something we haven’t been seeing and it’s something that is lacking in our cricket. It’s not wanting to cast aspersions on any player but that’s what good teams (do), knowing that when the going gets tough, that the star players come to the party.” There was conjecture about Logie’s position as the Red Force coach, in light of the squad’s struggles in the longer format.

“Like everything else, time would take its course,” he said. “My contract runs until July. I intend to see that through and that’s all I would say on that.” Commenting on the amount of TT players who partake in T20 leagues worldwide, instead of committing fully to the Regional Four-Day level, Logie admitted, “I would like to think that all players would want to play all aspects of the game. They may have a preference to the limited-overs or the T20 (events) because of the financial rewards, but I think all cricketers would want to play all formats. I think it’s a matter of getting a balance and possibly managing their time and possibly managing which tournaments to take part in.” However, he admitted, “we are preparing these players pre-season and when the season starts, they’re unavailable because they’re in T20 Leagues all over the world. It’s unfair to us and it’s unfair to me as a coach because you have to bring new players into the set-up and you have to start all over again. And then the results, at the end of the day, are all that matters.”

Last year’s overall winning school, Maria Regina, leads the Primary School division with 104.5 points, only 17 points ahead of a surging Dunross with 87.5 points. Leading the charge for Dunross was Nicholas SiuButt, who won the boys Under- 11 category with his unique style of positive judo.

Also, not to be outdone was Isabel Clarke-Wills of Maria Regina who led her school to victory in the girls Under-11 category.

Nicholas’ older brother Adam of Fatima, showed his usual composure and used his skills and experience to overcome his challengers from Diego Martin Central Secondary.

Kaitlyn Bernard of Holy Name, proved why she is the top girls judo competitor in Secondary School when she came out on top of gruelling round-robin contests with other competitors from Holy Name and Bishop Anstey High School. Despite this, Holy Name still hold the lead in the girls division by 65.5 points over Bishop Anstey, and is in the lead for overall honours as the top judo school in the country. Other winners were Daniella Ramsay (Holy Name), Joshua John (St Mary’s) and Xavier Jones (Fatima). Jones and his archrival from St Mary’s Luke Walker, both world-ranked competitors by the International Judo Federation, treated the crowd with quality judo.

The final schools judo tournament will be held on June 10 where competitors would be looking to win their respective divisions and $5,000 each for their school. The school with the most points overall gets bragging rights as Champion School and the Ian Thrush Challenge Trophy for 2016/2017.

President of the Prison Officers Association Ceron Richards confirmed the water shortage at the prisons. “This water shortage affects these two prison institutions every year and nothing has been done by past governments and the current administration to remedy the situation,” Richards said.

He said that on Tuesday, officers complained to him saying they are worried for their safety as inmates are getting angry at not being able to bathe or even clean their slop buckets. Richards says he will be seeking a meeting with the Prison Executive on the issue.

Over the past few weeks, fiery protests have taken place in various parts of the country by residents over a lack of pipeborne water despite assurances by Public Utilities Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, that there is no water shortage in the nation. (See Page 16A) Efforts to reach Prison Commissioner Cecil Duke on the matter yesterday proved futile.

Justice Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell ruled in favour of Joan Chee who, in 2016, was bypassed for promotion to the position of Acting Personnel and Industrial Relations Officer III.

Chee filed a judicial review claim against the Statutory Authorities Service Commission (SASC) contending that the commission acted irrationally and unreasonably when it appointed someone else to act in the position. She complained that the person who got the job never acted in the position before or held lower positions and that she (Chee) had the experience, qualifications and a recommendation of the chief executive officer for the promotion.

She also submitted staff reports which rated her performance as excellent and outstanding.

In a 26-page judgment, Donaldson- Honeywell ruled that the commission acted irrationally and in breach of Chee’s legitimate expectation that she would be promoted.

Chee began working at the corporation as a temporary Clerk I in 1978.

Donaldson-Honeywell said the commission failed to properly consider seniority, considered irrelevant factors and placed insufficient weight on others such as the CEO’s recommendations.

She also found that there was insufficient evidence that the SASC properly considered her long record of unblemished service, her excellent and outstanding performance during previous acting appointments, the fact that she was already serving in the personnel and industrial relations stream and appraised as eminently qualified for promotion.

The SASC’s decision was quashed and the court ordered that it reconsider Chee’s promotion in accordance with the findings of the court.

Chee was represented by attorneys Anand Ramlogan SC, Jayanti Lutchmedial, Kent Samlal and Douglas Bayley. The Commission was represented by attorneys Neil Byam, Karlene Seenath and Amrita Ramsook

More needs to be done to promote the area,” he adds, but also observed that some level of infrastructural development needs to be looked at.

“There should be some activity for children when they get here, more options in terms of food and drink for when people come too. Visitors often are looking to sample local rums and alcohol on these trips,” he adds.

As for residents, he has observed that about 25% of the residents benefit from investments in the area with about 75% of the work force coming from outside.

“The Mitsubishi plant is likely to be more of the same and residents know little about it.” There has been a definite slow down in visitors to this wonder of the world and he also noted that proper facilities need to be added to match visitors’ expectations which would likely increase the number of arrivals to the site.

“In this economy, we don’t know what’s really happening – whatever the people are working for in La Brea isn’t as much as it should be plus land and building tax coming, so things (are) going to get much harder.” Still he remains hopeful that the summer period would improve visitor arrivals.

At that point in time, I was working within the ACS secretariat under the Caribbean Sea Commission.

I was acting as a legal researcher and unit assistant. After the legal adviser had left the organisation, I acted temporarily as legal adviser for the ACS.” She said it was there her passion for ocean governance and protection of the region’s marine environment grew. “The Caribbean Sea Commission itself was a project by the ACS to seek to get the United Nations (UN) to declare the Caribbean Sea a special area in the context of sustainable development, recognising that several of the territories within our Caribbean region are heavily dependent on our Caribbean Sea, to generate their economies.

For example, when tourists come to TT or any other of the Caribbean territories one of the principal attractions for tourists is the beaches.” Stephens began writing and compiling her book last year, after being invited by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Hamburg, Germany to conduct research in the area. She said, “Naturally my leaning was to our own Caribbean Sea and trying to talk about the legal implications for the mechanisms for protection of our sea.” In the 88-page book, Stephens defines the Caribbean Sea and the Caribbean region, and explains the importance of the sea to the region [the ACS region and not just Caricom].

She looked at Caribbean economies and the role the sea plays in their development, and explored the concept of the wider Caribbean. “These countries have a shared patrimony which is the Caribbean Sea,” she explained.

Stephens is currently advocating for a delimitation of the Caribbean Sea, as it is a matter of a balancing of rights because there are, “States that have a right to navigation within the high seas and States that have a right to protect their marine area.” “What are we going to do in respect of areas outside of the national jurisdiction, and how are we going to deal with the areas that fall outside of the scope of what we are legally entitled to and which is binding in the international community? “In the text I examine the issue of the protection of our waters, even outside of the scope of national jurisdiction and how we can go about doing that as well as alternative approaches.” For her, designating the Caribbean Sea a special area is so important for the Caribbean since, “it generates much revenue for our Caribbean territories in terms of the tourism industry. The Caribbean Sea is also a repository for the oil and other hydrocarbons and the fishing industries are also dependent on the Caribbean Sea…Antigua and Barbuda, one of their principal industries, is fishing,” and it was estimated that at least one million dollars is generated on these islands through fishing alone. Stephens said protection for the sea should not only be national and regional, but rather a wide net protection as possible should exist and be recognised internationally.

While she notes that there were legislative frameworks in place, she believes they were not adequate or wide enough for the sea’s protection. She said this country’s Environmental Management Act, which includes management of the marine environment, is not enough. “You have specially protected areas demarcated under the EMA, but this is only national recognition of our territorial waters and the jurisdiction within our exclusive economic zone.” She does not think that TT and the region has as wide legal recognition, especially of the special status of the importance of the Caribbean Sea. She said while there were conventions that TT and the region are signatory to, such as the Marpol Convention 1978 [protection for pollution from ships], Cartagena Convention [which governs entire Caribbean region], and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, among others, many of these are ‘soft law’ which are not enforceable and to which states are not bound. “What was recognised within these conventions was that even though there is an attempt to protect the marine environment, we wanted a specific type of protection. In that there is widespread protection of the entire Caribbean Sea….” She said it is very important to do so since there are many threats to the Caribbean Sea, among them tourism, highlighting that in the past there had been destruction of the coral reef as a result of tourism.

“You have the whole issue now where you have issues resulting from climate change. This is something that is really critical to our Caribbean territories, because with the impact of global warming you have issues such as coastal erosion and you have a number of natural disasters…you don’t have to look too far back to see the number of natural disasters.” While, Stephens said, there were some organisations and individuals in the region, such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and professionals like Dr Wendel Parham, executive director of Caribbean Agriculture and Research and Development Institute who recognised the threat posed to the Caribbean Sea, she believes many more need to be ‘sensitised’ on the issue, with the media playing a major role. When asked if Government was doing enough on the issue of climate change, she replied, “I don’t think there is enough sensitisation about the issue of climate change. I think that should be an on-going project to have these things earmarked in the media so people are more and more sensitised to the impact of climate change.” She noted that it is so important, it has been included as part of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and UN representatives will be visiting to TT to discuss entering into an an agreement about what is happening with the areas outside of national jurisdiction.

“It will not just affect TT and our Caricom neighbours and ACS neighbours, but it will also impact on the international community.” Nature’s Gift the Caribbean Sea is available on Amazon.

Police conducted the search at about 5 am and found two pistols, and 119 rounds of ammunition in a locker. Police arrested a man in whose locker at the depot, the items were found.

The man will be charged with unlawful possession of two firearms and 119 rounds of ammunition.

The suspect, up to press time, was assisting police in other investigations. Police also found 64 grammes of marijuana in another area of the fishing depot but no arrest was made in connection with this find.

Driver Michael and throttleman Jason have been competing at a high level during the competitive regatta season. Jason said, “The competition this year seems to be very stiff. We are actually the defending champions in our class two years running. If we manage to pull off a win it will give us a hat-trick which is a very difficult thing to do.” Mobil Outlaw competes in the E Class (80 miles per hour) category of the Carib Great Race.

Jason said that the regattas are useful in the team’s preparations for the Great Race in August.

“The regattas gives you a lot of experience as far as teamwork is concerned. It helps the driver and throttleman coordinate with one another and it gets the communication better.” He continued, “It also helps you learn the boat. Everytime I race I learn something new in the boat.

It also lets you work out whatever small issues you may have with the boat.

“The Great Race is not about who is the fastest, it is not about who is the best team on the day, it is about preparation before. My philosophy is you don’t have to be the fastest on the day.” Jason explained that strategy is important, saying that in 2015 there was another boat that was faster. However, Mobil Outlaw decided to remain consistent because “if you hit one bad wave it can break something and affect the boat.” Jason said that, with some help, they can get to the 2018 World Championships in Key West, Florida, United States.

“My plan with this particular boat is that I will like to go to the World Championships in Key West, Florida to represent Trinidad and Tobago.

“I believe Michael and myself have enough free time now to go up there and give a good showing.

It comes down to corporate sponsorship because it is very costly,” he ended.