Cuffie said Cabinet approved and confirmed a note which deals with the backlog of pensions in the Public Service and the Government is putting measures in place to ensure this problem does not recur in the future. The minister said he has received numerous complaints from citizens all across the country about the undue delays and hurdles they face when trying to access their public service pension payments.

In outlining the history of the problem, he said understaffed departments throughout government ministries were a major contributory factor. Additionally, Cuffie indicated, public officers who were trained to deal with pension and leave, a specialized field, got promoted leaving behind new officers who were unfamiliar with that area of work. “Based on PMCD (Public Management Consulting Division) recommendations, we will use predominantly contract officers in staffing the pensions departments and giving them one to three year contracts to ensure you have a cadre of officers dedicated who will not be transferred or promoted and leaving the people’s pension in abeyance,” Cuffie explained.

He added that paying the sum of TT$17,000 annually in property tax to the US government has sensitised him to the difficulties that many in the country will face when the property tax goes into effect.

In a telephone interview from overseas, on Saturday, Ramadhar reiterated the property tax will bring hardship to many homes. “I do have a problem with the property tax, it is a burden I have to carry.

I know now the difficulties that many of our citizens will face if they don’t pay. If I don’t pay it here ( in the US) I will lose my property and for the Minister of Finance to personalise it, to suggest that this battle is about Prakash Ramadhar shows how superficial he is.

“It has always been about the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.

Prakash Ramadhar can pay his property tax because of hard work, and a long legacy of hard work in his family, but there are many in the society who cannot do so. As a member of the Parliament, I speak for the oppressed and that’s what it is about, ” he said.

Continuing to criticise the property tax, Ramadhar insisted it will bring no immediate benefit to citizens who are already facing severe hardships because of the high cost of living. He said the monies collected will not go to local government but into the Consolidated Fund where Government can use it for what he called, “some hairbrained project such as a highway to Toco which will not bring any real benefit to the citizenry.” Ramadhar revealed he is in the process of putting together a team of lawyers to mount a legal challenge against the property tax and is also mobilising people all across the country to write their MPs, including PNM MPs, telling them they do not want the property tax.

He plans to host a property tax forum at the St Augustine community centre on Tuesday at 6 pm where persons can share their concerns and have questions regarding the property tax answered.

In other words, the army, which has a long tradition of no cover-ups, must go on the offensive when matters tend to blemish its once proud image with information provided to the public. It cannot afford to dodge any unsavoury missiles or bullets thrown its way.

It must bite the bullet, even if it leaves a funny taste in the mouth.

May I remind Brig Rodney Smart that the army is the bedrock of our democracy, and if its image and credibility are always on the line, all fall down.

KEITH ANDERSON via email

Last Friday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert informed MPs in the House of Representatives that the Mid-Year Review will be presented sometime in the first half of May.

BATT said S&P highlighted the country’s rising debt and the associated interest burden over 2017 to 2020, which jointly constrain the government’s fiscal flexibility to adjust to adverse shocks. The Association said S&P has also noted that public finances are in a vulnerable state in light of a prolonged and substantial drop in energy revenues causing increased borrowing to fund budget deficits and worsening debt to GDP ratios.

Recently a decision was taken to carry out renovation work on the station and tents were pitched outside the station for officers to serve members of the public.

However, due to the daily high temperatures, officers have been complaining of the heat as well as dust blowing in their faces, while they are exposed to all the elements and they feel that the time has come for the Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams to intervene and move them to a rented building where there are suitable conditions for them to work under.

The officers told Newsday that no proper planning was put in place before the renovation works started and they believe that a building should have been rented for them so that their work could go on uninterrupted.

Officers insist that they could no longer operate under the existing conditions and are also calling on the Minister of National Security to intervene.

They added that they are now also exposed to criminal elements who can now pass in front of the station and single them out under the tent and probably fire a shot at them.

Yesterday, Secretary of the Police Social and Welfare Association Acting ASP Anand Ramesar confirmed that the Association had been informed of the concerns expressed by the more than 60 officers based at the Valencia Police Station.

“The Association became aware of the Valencia situation very recently and our investigation into the matter has confirmed that police officers indeed been placed in less than adequate conditions fit for human occupation.

There is a position taken by the Association to call on the Acting CoP to review the current situation as many of the officers are expressing sentiments of frustration, demotivation and feelings of neglect,” Ramesar said

Commenting on the significance of the occasion, Minister Rambharat stated: “Every visit to the Emperor Valley Zoo is a reminder of the outstanding work of the ZSTT.

As the Society celebrates its 70th Anniversary today, the Zoo is leading the way in animal conservation and welfare; public education; care for the environment; and most recently recycling and waste management.” He added, “Today is a reflection on the foresight of those men and women who created the Society 70 years ago. We have much to be proud of and thankful for.” At that time in 1947, a group of conservation-minded individuals had a vision to advance the field of zoology and felt that the best way would be the establishment of a zoological garden. Some five years after, on 8th November 1952, the Emperor Valley Zoo opened its gates to the public.

Seventy years later, the Emperor Valley Zoo is vastly different to those early times where a small collection of animals was exhibited in cages.

Today, the Zoo is in an active upgrade programme transforming its exhibits into those befitting a world-class facility.

The enclosure housing the giant otter has been described by international zookeepers as among the best in the world and the animal collection is diverse with neotropical and international representation. Complementary educational and recreational activities which are a daily staple contribute to the Zoo’s reputation as a premier destination for families.

Credit for the enviable status which the ZSTT has earned comes from the leadership of a multi-sectoral board which has at its helm well-known environmentalist Gupte Lutchmedial.

With a vision for the ZSTT’s role that goes far beyond the zoo, this organisation is involved in several conservation activities, including leatherback turtle conservation at Manzanilla, manatee conservation and research in the Nariva Swamp and environmental advocacy on a number of issues of national and international importance.

“I am proud of the role that the ZSTT plays in saving species and protecting the environment,” said Lutchmedial. In expressing appreciation for having come this far, Lutchmedial asserted: “It’s been an evolving journey and the ZSTT would have certainly benefitted from the contributions of its members over the years to reach this milestone.”

At this mid-morning meeting with Minister Anthony Garcia, executive members of NAPSA also suggested working toward an integrated programme to develop after-school care by members of community (some of whom would wish to leave by 4 pm). Presumably to get home by dark because of social violence.

The obvious conclusion is that there is a progressive transformation of the very idea of childcare.

First of all, the primary caregivers, educators and models have shifted from parents and teachers and have now moved to community.

With the reduced lunch break (to better allow teachers to prepare), primary schoolchildren will spend less time in school and less time at home.

Apparently, it is envisaged that concerned (or should it be committed) community caregivers will take up the slack. Children will be at such facilities at an earlier stage. We are of course talking about primary schoolchildren, that is, children from the age of five to 11 years usually.

At this same meeting and on the heels of many commentaries that I recall on the subject immediately following the last SE A exam, the executive of NAPSA also discussed the Secondary Entrance Assessment Examination.

There seems to have been no suggestion that the distribution of children across districts, social classes or abilities should be changed. Or, indeed, that the whole thing should just be made obsolete. No. Instead private schools will be the model for a proposed change in the matter of how many hours children spend at school, and the status quo will remain the same.

If this suggestion is implemented, and if this “integrated” model of day care does not work, parents and society will simply have to bear the consequences. Since most average wage earners probably cannot afford extra day-care fees, there will no doubt be a rise in the instances of violence, or indiscipline, caused simply by neglect.

Alternatively, the pressure on young parents will grow and the frustration already evident in our society will increase. The matter is simple, since in many homes both parents work fulltime, or indeed there may be only one parent — usually the mother — and the cost of bringing up children and ensuring that they are well looked after is simply already too high.

While teachers are not babysitters, they do share a burden of responsibility for teaching moral, social and cultural values. As society changes, obviously these issues have to evolve. But is the solution a shorter school day? Are there no other mechanisms given the level of research and the committees set up over the years to look into school violence and an increasingly indisciplined and violent society? The fact is that over many years successive governments have discussed and paid for policy assessments and research that might lead to potential change, in fact exactly as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services, Jacinta Bailey-Sobers, has suggested in another headline news item. She “challenges” public servants to “take the time to go over the many research studies, which have been produced at great expense by Government and determine what policies could come out of them.” The issue of course is more than policy formulation. It is about implementation. But she is right.

All those many documents collecting dust speak to something deeply sinister and rotten at the core. They speak to a deep-seated desire to resist change and to pretend all the while that things are getting better.

Bailey-Sobers noted the research into disability matters as examples of these failures to formulate policies. Research by institutions such as the UWI should provide considerable fodder to enable change. But we see no change in actual budgets or personnel or even training and certainly not facilities.

But to go back to primary schools, how many commentators have pointed out the relationship between societal violence and a school exam system that creates cartels of and for the elite and that marginalises both those with little incentive to learn and those who face challenges to learning? Instead of taking on board the considered opinions and the research into violence and marginalisation, a union is recommending that the State shorten the time spent in school and place the burden of responsibil – ity on those very communities which are already hard-pressed to nurture and protect their young.

They keep trying to scuttle what is going to happen.” Young stressed, “This government does not interfere with the internal affairs of any country, including a democratic state.” He told MPs, “ I can give the assurance here now that the parties are continuing to work on schedule and hope to deliver on time.” Later in the sitting, Energy Minister Franklin Khan indicated that State oil Petrotrin incurred a cost of $3.99 million as a result of cautionary closure of its installations in anticipation of proposed strike action by the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) earlier this year.

The Ministry was refuting claims by Behaviour Change Consultant Franklyn Dolly in an interview with Newsday last week Sunday that there is a school counsellor who comes into the school every two weeks to conduct a 40-minute session with a child and then sends the child back to the classroom.

It also takes issue with Dolly’s claims that parents are given appointments two years later, stating that for high risk or critical cases, appointments are immediate and other referrals are treated on a priority basis. Additionally, home visits are conducted to facilitate further assessment.

The statement says the Ministry does not have a Guidance Clinic but provides guidance services throughout secondary and primary schools. Children are also referred to the Student Support Services Division (SSSD) by Children’s Authority, Child Guidance Clinic, the Courts, National Family Services and Community Liaison Officers, Police Youth Clubs, NGOs and CBOs. In terms of students with special needs, the Ministry of Education provides special education clinics in the Education Districts.

Responding to Dolly’s suggestion for the creation of “some kind of holding bay”, the Ministry points out that there are already established Learning Enhancement Centres (LECs) in the Education Districts across the country, which continue to provide a safe and nurturing space for students who have committed infractions.

At-risk students and students on extended suspension are assessed and a programme developed to address their social and academic needs.

The Ministry reveals that some 319 students and their parents have benefitted from attending these centres and now have the social and life skills to make responsible choices and avoid inappropriate behaviours.

Additionally, the Ministry referred to the retention of 148 positions in the Student Support Services Division, as well as 100 Special Education Instructors towards the expansion of 299, and 225 Guidance Counsellors.

The Ministry will also be seeking to increase the number of Student Support Services in the various disciplines, including the Development and Assessment Intervention Unit (DAI Unit) who play an integral role in supporting the success of the programmes and initiatives by the Student Support Services Division.

The statement says the Ministry continues to utilise the services of clinical and behavioural psychologists, it employs both internally and externally.

“Through the School Based Management model, the Ministry of Education has improved its coordinated approach to early identification and intervention,” the Ministry’s statement adds. “The former Education Minister in his tenure said he “implemented a programme whereby every teacher in every classroom would identify the difficult students.

However, the need for the programme was identified, but never implemented.

Some of those authors have a book that is so successful, they can never write another book in their lives.

Other writers fumble around trying to write that second great novel, but never achieve the goal.

Below is a list of my favourite books by authors who have written one great book.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen – One of my all-time favourite books – as well as one of the favourite books among my YTC students, Water for Elephants is the touching story of ninety-year-old Jacob Jankowski as he looks back on his life in the circus. Faced with the unexpected death of his parents, a penniless Jacob joins the circus only to find cruelty beyond his imagination.

Water for Elephants is a memorable love story and a moving story of facing adversity and protecting those you love. Sara Gruen has written other novels such as Riding Lessons, At the Water’s Edge and Ape House, but none of her novels ever measured up to Water for Elephants.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – The sweeping saga of Katie Scarlett O’Hara and the vanishing South during the US Civil War, is still one of the best love stories ever written. After the novel’s publication, Mitchell spent the rest of her life trying to manage the tremendous success of her Pulitzer-prize-winning novel. Fans clamoured for a sequel, but Mitchell wouldn’t comply with their wishes.

Except for Lost Laysen, a novel Mitchell wrote when she was a teenager, Mitchell never wrote any other book. She was killed by a drunk driver while walking along the street with her husband.

Tsotsi by Athol Fugard – South African writer Athol Fugard is known for his television scripts and screenplays including Tsotsi, Gandhi and The Killing Fields.

Early television in the 1950s featured many of Fugard’s scripts, but Fugard wrote only one novel, Tsotsi, the story of a rough, gang member whose life changes when he finds an abandoned baby. Tsotsi, the man with no name, who is only referred to by the Afrikaans name for gang leader, is a remarkable story of compassion. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole – Few characters in literature can match Ignatius J Reilly described as a “huge, obese fractious, fastidious, latter day Gargantua, (and) Don Quixote of the French Quarter.” This rip-roaring tale of Ignatitus’s adventures is one of the funniest American novels. Tool’s mother published this brilliant piece of humour and satire after Tool committed suicide.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy – When Arundhati Roy won the Booker Prize for fiction in 1997 for her moving story of of twins living in south India and dealing with their mother’s choices in life, I couldn’t wait to read what she would write next.

Her novel, beautifully written, broke many rules about form and structure. Arundhati Roy certainly was an iconoclast.

It never crossed my mind that what appeared to be a semi-autobiographical novel featuring a twin who stops speaking, would turn out to be the only novel Roy would write.

Over the years, Arundhati Roy has written many essays, but no more fiction.

The Humming-Bird Tree by Ian McDonald – This coming of age story by Trinidadian author Ian McDonald is a Caribbean classic. Set in colonial times, The Humming-Bird Tree tells the story of Allen, a British boy and his relationship to two Indian children in the village.

This is the only novel written by McDonald, who is known for his poetry.

Sometimes it takes only one great novel to make an author’s career.