I no longer go to any of the matches and in the final clash I turned off the TV with the WI at 45/6, or something like that.

In my 50 years of playing and watching sport I have never been so disinterested in WI cricket. While I do not wish to play the blame game, I and many others do not believe the current WI team is the best possible one.

I would like to challenge the WI selectors and the board to pick their oneday team to play against my team as follows: Chris Gayle, K Brathwaithe or L Simmons, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Jason Mohammed, Dwayne Bravo, K Pollard (capt), D Bishoo, S Narine, Azari Joseph, and Ravi Rampaul. Reserves: Jason Holder, Darren Sammy, DR Smith and JL Carter.

If the starting 11 is playing, the board/selectors can have all other WI players and even Bahamians, Bermudians, Canadians, Americans and any other players in the North and South American regions.

I truly believe my team will beat their team by at least two to one, for example: if we bat first we will score 300 runs and bowl their team out for 150.

Why is it that the WI spectator must be put through the stress of knowing that: 1. The team picked by the WICB has no chance in hell to beat any of the top six teams in the world.

2. The team is not the best team because of regional and curry-favour pressure by other WI territories.

3. Players with the best batting, bowling, and fielding statistics over the last three years are not included in the team.

I am just fed up and I know there are maybe hundreds of thousands of WI spectators who feel the same way.

I now resolve to learn the rules and follow American football and baseball to watch instead of this excreta.

And to think that there were years when I did not miss a match in the Oval, or being glued to the radio at 2 am in the 1980s to listen to Gus Logie and Deryck Murray knock off 80 runs in eight overs to beat Australia.

What a waste.

Goodbye cricket. While I will always love you, you’re not doing anything for me and may the selectors and board face “Peter at the gate,” when I will request he “bun dem.” I see no future for WI cricket and foresee Ireland, Afghanistan and embattled Zimbabwe reaching the top ten with WI as the proverbial 12th man. Damn this hurts.

Ivan Grimes via email

They have not, and will never, learn their lesson — that politicians in TT are only interested in power and the preservation of their respective party.

Trade unions are tools to be used and fooled. Voters are only important at election time.

All this talk about mutual respect for trade unions is just campaign gobar.

I have watched over the years how certain trade unionists align themselves with political parties, wearing red and yellow underwear, being offered positions on State boards and in the Senate, and they are blinded from hobnobbing with their so-called “political friends,” neglecting workers’ interests, which should come first and foremost. And that’s a fact.

They even genuflect before their political masters, some of them unable to straighten up after.

They get too close, when they should be keeping their distance.

But will they ever learn? They even allow politicians to climb on their backs to attain power, only to feel the pain after. Now they bawling. Don’t bawl, take it like a man.

Keith Anderson via e-mail

Moonilal was also critical of the amendment which would give the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the authority to determine whether cases were sufficient to go forward in the courts. “Such action as contained in the proposed amendment gives the DPP the power of filtration, of filtering cases and proffering an indictment to the High Court, before the same person prosecutes the matter,” Moonilal stated.

Moonilal said the drafters of the Constitution never “anticipated the prosecutor would become a judicial officer as well” saying they wanted to have a magistrate or the Judiciary “filter these matters and the prosecutor would create his case with the police.” “By conferring onto the DPP the power to sit down and determine, to proffer an indictment without a judicial officer scrutinizing the information and the evidence before, is tantamount to undermining the constitutional structure and by so doing, you are defeating the Constitution,” he stated.

Prime Minster Dr Keith Rowley made these announcement at the post cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre on THursday.

Indarsingh said this was a continued assault on the country’s workers.

In the case of Caroni Green, Indarsingh said this was a tool to diversify the economy but the People’s National Movement (PNM) has a problem with anything with any reference to Caroni 1975 Ltd.

Predicting there will be massive job losses in this fiscal year and beyond, Indarsingh called for the creation of an unemployment insurance fund and amendments to the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act

Jennings Smith, who is also Toco/Sangre Grand Member of Parliament, made this declaration as she rejected allegations made by Naparima MP Rodney Charles, during debate on the Pre-Trial Procedure Bill 2017 in the House of Representatives.

A former police officer, Jennings Smith stated, “In my experience in the Police Service, I have seen where I have been a witness, where I have been a complainant for victims of heinous crimes.” Government MPs thumped their desks as she added, “I want to refer particularly to female victims.” Noting Charles reference to a murdered police officer as he said the Opposition would support measures to deal with crime in TT, Jennings Smith asked, “I wonder if it’s a charade or if it’s real?” While describing herself as an OJT in the Parliament, Jennings Smith looked across the Parliament chamber at Opposition MPs. Government MPs thumped their desks again, when she quipped, “Sometimes I am not really convinced that those on the other side have the heart or the feelings of what goes on in this country of TT.” She recalled a case where a victim in a matter she was involved in as a police officer was killed while the preliminary inquiry was going on.

As Opposition MPs repeatedly taunted her during her contribution, Jennings Smith warned them that she could make disclosures about what happened in 2011 about things that happened under the State of Emergency while the then People’s Partnership (PP) government was in office.

Earlier in the sitting, Charles alleged all the parliamentary sittings taking place were practice for Government ahead of debate on a private motion on crime at the end of this month.

Responding to a question in the House of Representatives, Sinanan said this initiative started in 2012.

He listed the operating times along the PBR as 5.30 am to 8.30 am and 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm.

He said a report submitted by the Traffic Branch of the Police Service to the ministry showed that the initiative failed to achieve its objective from 2012 to 2015.

Sinanan listed reduced turnaround times for maxi taxis operating along the PBR, negative impacts on the Public Transport Service Corporation’s bus schedule and increased risks of accidents as among the reasons why the initiative was stopped.

Later in the sitting, Public Utilities Minister Fitzgerald Hinds advised Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh that the formal commissioning of the lighting system at the Lower Balmain Recreation Ground should take place in June.

He identified the Military Led Academic Training Programme (MILAT), which targets young people between the ages of 16 and 20 years, as one of the measures being taken to address this issue.

Dillon, a former TT Defence Force Chief of Staff, also said the Prison Service has targeted youth perpetrators of crime and violence through programmes at the Youth Training Centre (YTC). Later in the sitting, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bridgid Annisette-George denied a request from Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal to terminate the Community Comfort Patrol Programme as an urgent matter of public importance. This programme was started under the former People’s Partnership government.

Responding to a question in the House of Representatives, Al Rawi said steps have been initiated to allow persons to apply on line for these documents at the San Fernando Office of the Legal Affairs Department.

During the meeting, the minister acknowledged the work which has been done by Habitat for Humanity in Trinidad and Tobago since 1997 and the charity’s devotion to constructing “simple, decent, and affordable housing to address the issues of poverty and housing in Trinidad and Tobago.” The minister praised its achievement in building five hundred houses for deserving families in this country since 1997.

Ram?rez’ visit to Randall last Monday coincided with Habitat’s 20th Anniversary celebrations which were held last Tuesday.

Also at the meeting was the Acting Permanent Secretary, Marion Hayes; Chairman of Habitat for Humanity TT, Derwin Howell and National Director of Habitat for Humanity TT, Jennifer Massiah. They also discussed current efforts at collaboration and other possible areas for partnership including the development of disaster-resilient housing as is currently being done in Jamaica.

The talks also touched on The New Urban Agenda which was conceptualised at the recently- held United Nations Habitat III conference and Ramirez highlighted the charity’s commitment to this policy. Both the visiting delegation and the minister agreed that the success of the New Urban Agenda lies in its ability to promote community-led development, environmental sustainability and the provision of affordable housing.

The symposium, “Research and Development Initiatives in support of economic diversification” also heard from Agriculture Minister, Clarence Rambharat, who delivered the feature address in which he said there is a need to “craft an implementation plan; we have already established the credibility of the cocoa product internationally; we have already e s t a b l i s h e d ourselves as a good producer of high quality value added products. The question is how can we work all that backwards so that we can fix all elements of the value chain so that we can do it consistently? With this Strategic Plan we are trying to fix the model that does not work all the time [for] we need to be able to match production to markets.” Rambharat added that “cocoa can help us to define, create and sustain a model that can be applicable across all the other elements of agriculture,” such as the well-established poultry sub-sector. “I value the discussion,” he said, “Make all this great work and rich material available to our farming and national community.” The symposium was intended to “showcase research and technology development” according to Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan, Professor of Genetics and Director at the centre.

“This is a time for us to think innovatively and to work collectively and collaboratively with limited resources – the farmers, the processors, the product developers, the innovators – to do what you do more effectively and efficiently.” The symposium was attended by representatives of Mars, the World Cocoa Foundation; the Cocoa Research Association of the United Kingdom; Cambridge University and Angostura.

Also addressing the symposium were Winston Rudder, Chairman, Cocoa Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago and Agricultural Development Bank; Professor Umaharan, and Professor Rhoda Reddock, Deputy Principal, The UWI.

Participants discussed Conservation and Exploitation of Genetic Resources; Mitigation of Risk – Frosty Pod, Cadmium Bioaccumulation; Branding, Start-up Support and Market Development; Food Technology and Product Development; Innovations in Agronomy to Improve Productivity; Reducing the Cost of Production through Mechanisation – Small Holder Innovations to Support Farmer Profitability; and Investment Support through Development of an Information System.