Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says she has a neighbour named Christian Gokool but to her knowledge he has never received any Government contracts.

Also responding to Independent Liberal Party leader Jack Warner’s questions on whether there were at least three drug finds in 2013  at he home at Philippine, San Fernando, Persad-Bissessar said Warner was “delusional.”

She said so yesterday as she responded to Warner’s claims, at a cottage meeting at Embacadere, San Fernando, on Wednesday night. 

During his speech, Warner spoke about the 2013 alleged marijuana find and questioned whether there were more than what was confirmed by the police. He also gave Persad-Bissessar two weeks to tell the nation who “Christian” was.

Interviewed by reporters following the sod-turning of the Housing Development Corporation and Republic Bank’s Carlton Lane Housing Project yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said Warner needed to be more specific because she knew several “Christians”.

“I do not know which “Christian” he is speaking about so we await his words,” she first said.

But asked by reporters if Warner may have be referring to Christian Gokool, she said: “Oh yes, that name is familiar to me. In fact, Christian Gokool is my neighbour at the Philippine residence, one of the properties next door belongs to him, his father and his wife.” 

Asked if Gokool was a recipient of Government contracts, she replied: “Not to my knowledge that Mr Gokool has received any government contract. I am not aware of any such contract.”

Told that Warner was also questioning whether marijuana was in fact found three times on her premises and not once as confirmed by the police, Persad-Bissessar said:

“Mr Warner is delusional, quite frankly. There is something that says he who alleges must prove and I await Mr Warner to prove any of the allegations that he has made. 

“If it is that the police have reported something was found there fine, the police is investigating that, go ahead.

“Mr Warner said I was in New York (April) 12 (2013). I could hold up my passport to you and show I left the country on the (April) 14 (2013), so now he is shifting the goalpost at every single moment, shifting the dates. I think he is delusional, quite frankly.”

She suggested that reporters ask Warner why he resigned the day after she returned to the country.

But speaking at a political meeting in La Brea last night, Warner again stuck to his guns on the claim, saying he had given the PM two weeks to say who Christian is or he would. He said if the People’s Partnership believed he was bluffing they could wait until the time passed and he would deliver the bombshell if they did not.

Resignation claim false

Persad-Bissessar also denied asking Warner if she should resign after the marijuana was allegedly found.

“Of course not. I have gone through five years of office with people calling upon me to resign every day. Would I ask someone if I should resign? No... totally not true.”

Reiterating  she was not aware of the marijuana find in 2013, she said when the report came about it she felt horrified and very disturbed. 

“The report speaks to a point in my premises which is like hundreds of yards away. it is way out.

“I have no control of that part of my premises, no direct control. It is in fact under the control of police, soldiers, other workers, Special Branch... they have control of those portions of the premises,” she added.

Told that Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley had said the easiest way for her to end that was to say she did not smoke marijuana, she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.

“I think he might be high when he asked that question,” she replied.

Persad-Bissessar also said people were not foolish and she did not believe anyone in the country thought Warner could become prime minister but noted the people would decide on September 7.

Chairman of the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) Dr Lackram Bodoe said a back-up of medical waste at the San Fernando General Hospital had to do with a delay in payment to a contractor and not the malfunctioning of the incinerator.

Responding to complaints about the dangers posed by the accumulated medical waste, which included amputated limbs, needles, and bloodstained items, Bodoe assured that the $9 million incinerator installed last year was functioning well.

He said it was allowed to accumulate because daily paid workers refused to work on Tuesday.

Speaking with members of the media at SWRHA’s symposium on leadership at the Southern Academy of Performing Arts on Wednesday, Bodoe said: 

“I want to give the assurance that the incinerator itself is working well. 

“It is a new incinerator that was installed last year and the issue had to do with a contractor who was supposed to remove the garbage and there was a delay of funding and that is what created a temporary situation yesterday.”

Asked how soon the situation will be rectified, he said: “I have just been given the assurance by the CEO that the matter is being dealt with as we speak, so I expect by the end of the day it will be sorted out.”

In addition, Bodoe said the SWRHA was also considering introducing a new type of technology, called the radio wave technology for incineration, which was much more atmosphere friendly.

However, a Public Service Association representative, who wished to remain anonymous, said the incinerator had been breaking down on a regular basis since it was installed last year and was not working at this time.

“They even had to revert to the old incinerator and that is unsafe and unhealthy to people operating that incinerator. Since last week Thursday the incinerator (new one) is down,” he added.

He said workers took the action on Tuesday because since last week they were assured that the garbage problem would have been sorted out. 

Union leaders yesterday condemned the “disrespectful” move by the All Trinidad General Workers’ Trade Union (ATGWTU) to host its own Labour Day celebrations in Couva.

They made the remarks as they paid homage to labour movement icon Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler at his gravesite at the Fyzabad Public Cemetery at the annual Labour Day wreath-laying.

Standing in front a bust of labour movement icon Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler, however, president of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget said the story of Butler has not been properly told.

“And these days people are attempting to rewrite history. They are attempting for their own political gains to erase off the political landscape of T&T the significant contribution that Butler would have made in our early years of development. Were it not for T&T would not be where it is today. Were it not for Butler those who went into office in May 24, 2010 would not have seen that office.”

Whether it be the Prime Minister, a trade union leader or former union leader turned minister, Roget added: “Today we condemn any action or any attempt to place significance on any other spot of ground than Fyzabad here and Charlie King junction. It exposes the deceitfulness of all of them.”

Also expressing his disapproval with the situation, Communication Workers Union’s education officer Clyde Elder said he felt extremely hurt, disappointed and disrespected because “Fyzabad is the birthplace of the trade union movement and if ever you have to say thanks to anyone on labour day it is thanks to Butler and all of those who struggled in the past.”

Saying it was never to late for the trade union movement to do what Butler did in the 1930s and unite every single worker, he said it would take a revolution of the minds, hearts, thinking and conscience to ensure that labour is protected, advanced and respected by all.

Bankers, Insurance and General Workers Trade Union executive Eric Cabrera said children should be encourage to attent this event and pay homage to Butler. 

Union members were also fortunate to hear from one of the few remaining Butlerites, Soogrim Coolman, who was with Butler when he took his last breath. 

“I am a witness of what happened at Charlie King junction, all that has been written is not true,” said 87-year-old Coolman who joined with members in singing hymns and labour songs as they paid homage to Butler. Wreaths were also placed on the graves of comrades Neville Taylor, Nicholas Patterson and Eric John. Homage was also paid to La Brea Charles who was shot by police officers after they mistakenly took him for Butler on June 19,1937.

National Trade Union Centre (Natuc) vice president Watson Duke has vowed to reclaim Charlie King Junction and Fyzabad from the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) and to stop them from dominating Labour Day celebrations.

Duke also denied that he was paid by the People’s Partnership Government to “mash up” the Labour Day celebrations on Friday. He was bodily removed by the police from Charlie King Junction during a confrontation with his members and Joint Trade Union Movement members at the annual celebration.

Duke told Sunday Guardian that he would be meeting with Natuc executives later this week to discuss the situation.

He is also seeking legal advice because “a lot of our constitutional rights were violated.”

While the police acted a “bit excessive and harsh,” he said at the end of the day, they were doing their jobs.

Noting that Charlie King Junction and Fyzabad was a historical spot and the epicentre of trade union struggle in the 1930s, he said: “We are, therefore, bent on reclaiming that spot on behalf of all citizens...A spot which has been hijacked and stolen by the OWTU over the last 42 years.”

What happened Friday marks the beginning of the end of OWTU domination, he said, adding “I guarantee you, you will not see another Labour Day like that again. This is the last of showmanship by the OWTU as being the owners of Labour Day, Fyzabad and Charlie King Junction.” 

He accused the OWTU of dividing trade unions.

Responding to Sheep and Goat Farmers’ Association leader Shiraz Khan allegation that the Government paid him to disrupt the celebrations, Duke said he refused to “answer such low class accusations.” He said Khan should “mind a goat and stop making idle statements.”

A foul odour led to the discovery of the decomposing body of a missing sub contractor on Friday. Alvin Wilson was in his truck which was found in a river at Rivulet Road, Couva.

Wilson, police believe, ran off the road and plunged into the river on June 13 after dropping a friend home in Gasparillo around 4.30 am.

His relatives carried out several searches hoping to find the 32-year-old father of one alive. 

However, their worst fears were realised on Friday around 6 pm when vendors running a stall close to the river spotted the truck after they got an awful smell.

Speaking at her home in Couva yesterday, Wilson’s mother Jennifer was disappointed with the police’s response in the matter.

Jennifer believes the police did not search for her son or conduct a proper investigation into his disappearance. She said if the police had done their job properly, they might have found him earlier. 

She said on Friday night after her son’s body was found, the police called his common-law-wife Sherry Ann Alexis to ask her for another statement. 

She said the police told Alexis they misplaced her statement and took another statement from her over the phone. 

Jennifer said the family was back and forth between the Couva and Gasparillo police stations trying to get answers. “I am very much disappointed. All the family took their vehicles and searched for him, going to the hospitals,” said Jennifer who lost another son, Lester, seven years ago. He was murdered.

She said Wilson, who has a four-year-old daughter, was hardworking and had a lot of plans, including changing his life, going to church, getting married and building his house.

His father, Alwyn, who went to the area where his son was found, said it was not possible to see the truck from the road.

He said he spent Friday driving through San Fernando looking among the homeless for his son.

Alwyn said they are awaiting the results of an autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre tomorrow before making funeral arrangements. 

Couva police are investigating.

Meanwhile, two men escaped serious injury after the car they were travelling in ran off the road and plunged into the Gulf of Paria at Mosquito Creek, around 1 am yesterday. 

They were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where they were treated and discharged.

Kristyan Gokool has declined to comment on the alleged scandal involving himself and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, saying the matter was now in the hands of his attorneys for “appropriate action.”

His comment yesterday came in the wake of another released taped conversation purportedly involving former special branch officer Jit Hardeen, the driver of former minister Glenn Ramadharsingh and Independent Liberal Party leader (ILP) Jack Warner.

Hardeen has since denied he was the person on the tape. However, the man on the tape spoke about a clandestine visit to the Prime Minister’s private home in Phillipine, allegedly on Ramadharsingh’s instructions.

On the tape, which was aired on Monday night and at Warner’s press conference yesterday, it is alleged Ramadharsingh also met Gokool at the residence. 

When T&T Guardian visited Gokool’s home at Lengua Village, Barrackpore, yesterday, a man who was washing one of the vehicles in the yard said no one was home. He, however, asked for contact numbers which were given to him.

Not long after, Gokool called one of the numbers but declined to comment on any of the allegations.

Instead, he said: “I listen to the press conference on 102FM and the TV6 last night and the issues which were brought up have been directed to my lawyers to take appropriate action.”

Gokool said he would not make any further comment on those matters.

He has been in the spotlight since Warner called on the Prime Minister, at an Embacadere meeting last Wednesday, to tell the nation who Kristyan was.

Persad-Bissessar subsequently confirmed that Gokool was her neighbour at her private residence in Phillipine. 

Gokool, the son of businessman Daniel Gokool, who is listed as a director of Danny Enterprises, has admitted his parents helped him to buy a multi-million dollar property near the PM’s residence but he had not moved into it as yet because his child was ill.

Afeya Aneisha Jeffrey, 23, exemplifies the saying, “beauty with brains.”

The dancer, former schoolteacher and recently crowned Miss T&T Carnival Queen is expected to leave next week, to participate in, not one, not two, but three regional beauty pageants.

This Point Fortin beauty hopes to continue to make her country proud by bringing home the three crowns from these competitions. However, she is still seeking financial assistance to achieve this goal. 

A former secondary school biology, integrated science and dance teacher, Jeffrey holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental and natural resource management and is pursuing her second degree in physical therapy at UWI, Mona. 

Her dream is to become a physical therapist specialising in dance physiotherapy.

In her 2009 debut as a model, Jeffrey won her first title as Miss Teen Guapo. 

In the years that followed, she was crowned Miss Labour day 2013 and the 2014 Miss Island Queen and UWI, Mona. In 2014, she also captured the second runner-up place in the Miss T&T World competition.

A dance choreographer for the past four years specialising in T&T Folk, Afro-Caribbean dance, Latin and modern contemporary dance, Jeffrey also spends her time tutoring children in her community in dance as well as academics.

An advocate for cerebral palsy awareness, Jeffrey’s future goals also include owning a professional dance studio and a multi-faceted fitness and wellness complex and establishing an animal sanctuary. 

She leaves on Monday for St Vincent to participate in the Miss Carnival pageant that will take place on July 3. Following this event, she will be heading to Antigua where she will take part in the Jaycees Queen Show on July 27. 

On August 3, she will be vying in the Miss Caribbean Culture in St Kitts and Nevis. 

Blood flowed in the San Fernando Magistrates Court yesterday after a prisoner attacked another with a padlock for allegedly sexually assaulting him in prison.

The incident left attorneys who were seated at the bar table in front of the dock scampering out of the way, while members of the public were ordered out of the court.

The padlock, which was tied to a shoelace was seized by police officer, but no one could explain how the prisoner came into possession of those items.

Both prisoners are charged with sexual offences. However, police sources said the attacker claimed the injured prisoner allegedly sodomised him in remand yard. Another prisoner who was also in the holding bay was also injured in the melee.

The incident took place around 11 am in the First Court while several prisoners were in the holding bay waiting for Deputy Chief Magistrate Mark Wellington to arrive.

Several attorneys, members of the public and police officers were also in the courtroom.

“Them is raper man and them have to dead,” the prisoner shouted after striking the other prisoner several times on the head with the lock. He then kicked him in the face several times. Blood flowed from a gash on the prisoner’s head and blood splattered in and around the dock. 

An eyewitness said: “The man get hit about ten times. He did not fight back, he just lean up on the wire. Lawyers scamper out of the way.

“Court and process police officers seem to be in shock, a detective who had a court matter got the cell open and went in, then the other officers came.”

“By that time the guy had stopped beating the other man. He was telling the prosecutor, ‘allyuh know what going on with me and this man.’”

With blood dripping from his head to the floor, the injured prisoner was taken out and escorted to the Second Court. 

A few minutes after Wellington arrived, but matters were dealt with in the absence of the prisoners. A cleaner was seen mopping up blood on the ground in the court and in the corridor.

As the prisoner was being taken to the ambulance outside the court, he was overheard saying that he would take whatever punishment he got.

The prisoner was taken to San Fernando General Hospital for treatment, but he is expected to be charged for beating the other prisoner. 

T&T Guardian was told that last week a prisoner threatened a court and process police officer with a surgical blade. 

An attorney suggested that the officers get taser guns while another suggested that the authorities set up a court task force to deal with such incidents.

T&T Guardian was told than an investigation has been launched into how the lock and shoelace came into the prisoner’s possession.

In awarding more than $.4 million to one of the people charged under the Anti Gang legislation during the state of emergency in 2011, a High Court judge yesterday slammed the police officers who charged him, saying they had fabricated the case.

Delivering judgment in favour of Kevin Stewart in a malicious prosecution lawsuit, Justice Joan Charles severely criticised two seniors and a junior police officer for their conduct in the case.

“I also hold that the prosecution of the claimant (Stewart) was malicious in that Police Constable Phillips, together with Assistant Superintendent of Police Mohammed and Assistant Commissioner of Police Fredericks, were motivated by indirect or improper motives,” Charles told the court.

Through his attorney Kevin Ratiram, Stewart had filed the lawsuit after the prosecution discontinued proceedings against him in September 2011, a month after he was charged by PC Phillips with being a gang member, on the grounds there was insufficient evidence. 

In a 27-page judgment delivered in the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain, the judge found that ASP Zamsheed Mohammed and ACP Fredericks’ handling of the case was in breach of established police procedure and in breach of Section 12.1 of the Anti Gang Act, adding their conduct amounted “to a gross dereliction of their duty.”

Noting that Stewart was taken from his home, family and labelled a gang member by the police when they clearly had no evidence, the judge said: 

“The senior police officers—ASP Mohammed and ACP Fredericks—failed to use the 72 hours provided by the Anti Gang Act to obtain a written report from PC Phillips on his investigations of the claimant, so as to satisfy themselves that there was reasonable and probable cause to arrest and charge the latter.

She said immediately after he received the file from Phillips after Stewart was charged, ASP Mohammed should have been able to discern there was insufficient evidence to charge the accused. 

“The irresponsible and unprofessional conduct of the senior officers in giving instructions to this very junior officer to charge the claimant when there was no written report or a file before them on the claimant’s alleged gang activity, caused the claimant to suffer damage, embarrassment, the loss of his liberty and was in breach of his constitutional rights.”

Pointing out several contradictions and inconsistencies in Phillips’ evidence, Charles said:

“The fact that this officer, throughout his testimony, attempted to buttress, strengthen and fabricate new evidence against the claimant is a strong basis for concluding that he fabricated the case against the claimant and that in fact he had no reasonable or probable cause to charge him.

“I also form the view, based on the many lies and inconsistencies in his evidence, that the prosecution of this claimant was malicious in that there was indirect or improper motive for proceeding with the charge against him.”

Ruling that the facts of case do not satisfy the requirement of Section 12 and 13 of the Anti Gang Act, the judge said Stewart’s previous convictions for possession and trafficking in drugs could not have formed the basis of reasonable suspicion. 

‘Lesson for the police’

Describing the judgment as a victory for the rule of law attorney Kevin Ratiram said that should serve as a lesson to the police. 

Noting that more than 400 people were arrested during the state of emergency, he said the police acted as a law unto themselves with total disregard for due process.

“Now that this case has been won, I shall be filing about 20 more similar ones, arising out of the SoE.” 

More info:

The state of emergency was declared by the Government on August 21, 2011 after it was announced that a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister and three Cabinet ministers had been uncovered. For two months and 17 days the country was under the state of emergency. The curfew was in effect in the hotspot areas and all citizens were to be in doors between the hours of 11 pm to 4 am. 

According to figures released by the police, the SoE saw 463 gang-related arrests; 1,405 people being detained on outstanding warrants; 12,739 rounds of ammunition, 34 magazines and 154 firearms being seized; and 484 people being arrested for breaching the curfew, 833 for other offences and 1,024 on drug offences.

The SoE ended on December 6, 2011.

One day before Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM) leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh ends his nine-month hunger strike, he has vowed to use all his strength to ensure the People’s Partnership loses the general election.

He also came close to being arrested yesterday after he confronted OAS security, bursting the caution tape in a cordoned off area of the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension construction site in Penal.

Following a press conference at Gopie Trace to announce officially he was ending his strike today, Kublalsingh walked across to the construction site, demanding to know what was being constructed there. 

When he got no answers, Kublalsingh got angry and tried to enter the site, bursting the tape in the process. 

He and another HRM member had an argument with security officers before he left, still without any answers.

Earlier Kublalsingh signalled his intention to fight against the PP Government, saying: “We have two months of hard fighting and we will fight them down to the wire.”

Although the HRM had meetings with various political parties, Kublalsingh said he would not be forming any political alliance “but I know who I will not be voting for,” he said.

Kublalsingh, who claimed he has been surviving on tulsi leaf, water, coconut water, an occasional cup of dhal said although he felt weak, his fast had not seriously affected his health. 

He embarked on the hunger strike, the second in two years, after the Government refused to review the construction of the controversial Debe to Mon Desir segment of the highway in September 2014.

Although the HRM’s support in the Penal/Debe area has dwindled because of intimidation, Kublalsingh said the HRM still had a lot of support from sections of the national community.

His reason for ending the strike at this time, he said, was to assist his members who were being terrorised and harassed by project manager National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) and OAS, to leave their property.

MORE INFO

Kublalsingh intends to end his fast today around 10 am by consuming on a meal prepared by his mother Vilma Kublalsingh. Vilma who was among a handful of supporters at the campsite, was not sure what she would prepare for her son to break his fast. 

Expressing relief and happiness that Kubalsingh was ending his strike, she said God answered her prayers. 

Whether she had any concerns about her son’s battle against the Government, particularly in this election season, she said: “Not too much. I am a praying person.” 

She did not think anyone would harm Kublalsingh as he was “covered in prayer.”

For the second consecutive year, all top three students in the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) have come from schools in the south – all in the Victoria Education District. 
 
 
 
Anusha Saha of Grant Memorial Presbyterian School topped the18000 plus students who wrote the exam.
 
 
 
Riyad Rajan, a male student of TML Primary School, brought glory to his school by placing second, while young calypsonian, Aaliyah Webb of San Fernando Girls' Government School was student amassing the third highest grade.
 
 
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar accompanied by Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh and San Fernando West MP Carolyn Seepersad Bachan went to all three schools this morning to break the good news. 

 
The Prime Minister congratulated all of the students and urged them to continue to do good work. 

 
The excited students thanked their parents, teachers and God for their accomplishments and advised those writing the examination next year t that hard work pays off in the end. 
 
 

Anusha and Aaliyah will attend the Naparima Girl's High School, while Riyad will attend the brother school, Naparima College. 
 

There was an atmosphere of excitement and celebration at three primary schools in San Fernando yesterday, after their students grabbed the top three places in the Secondary Entrance Examination (SEA). Topping the SEA exam was Anusha Saha, 11, of Grant Memorial Presbyterian Primary, while Riyad Rajan, 12, of TML Primary School, placed second and third was Aaliyah Webb, 12, of San Fernando Girls’ Government.

The news came as a shock to all three students and their parents, who only found out how well they had performed when it was announced  by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at their respective schools. Saha and Webb will be attending Naparima Girls’ High School while Rajan will be starting at Naparima Boys’ College. All three said they were excited about starting at their new schools in September. 

It was the second consecutive year that South schools have grabbed the top three SEA places. Last year the top students came from Avocat Vedic School, Fyzabad, Grant Memorial Presbyterian School and TML Primary. Fifteen Grant Memorial students placed in the first 200. School principal Gillian Mahabir attributed the school’s academic success to holistic development, dedicated teachers, supportive parents, hard-working students and putting God first.

At TML Primary, Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh, who visited all three schools together with San Fernando West MP Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, said nine out of ten SEA students scored more than 50 per cent, eight out of 10 scored more than 60 per cent and this year only one per cent of students got less than 30 per cent, as opposed to 14 to 15 per cent in 2010.  

Former attorney general Anand Ramlogan was also celebrating at the school, as his daughter Shweta passed for Asja Girls’. Principal Camille Hosein said copping second place was the best retirement gift for which she could have asked. Hosein, who has served 28 years in the teaching profession, boasted that out of the 68 students who wrote the exam 26 placed in the top 200. 

And at San Fernando Girls’, Webb’ who has entered several school and national calypso competitions, performed a calypso composed by her father. Six students from that school placed in the first 200. Her teacher Helen Dwarika described her as the perfect student.

Hard work pays off
Beaming with happiness, the top three SEA students, although from different schools, shared the same advice to upcoming SEA students: “Hard work pays off.” Future brain surgeon Anusha, the only child to her parents—Indian nationals Jayanta and Kuntyala Saha—said with hard work and perseverance success would follow.

“I want to thank everyone for my success. I would not have been able to do it without all my teachers and my parents, especially my mom. “I am very happy today and I know that my hard work really paid off,” said Anusha, who especially thanked her SEA teacher Nicole Subhanee. She said she wanted to become a brain surgeon because she liked “to do stuff like doctors and I am interested in doctors and science.” 

Anusha, who is also involved in chess, music, singing and spelling, will like to visit the US during her vacation. Promising to grant that wish, her father, an engineer, said they migrated to T&T 15 years ago when Anusha was two-and-half months old. Although confident he was going to do well, second place was not something Rajan expected. 

Aspiring to become an attorney, Rajan said: “I feel very proud of myself. I will like to thank every  one who has helped me. I did very few lessons and most of the work came from my teachers.” He thanked SEA teacher Shaheed Allaham and his other teachers. 

PM promises auditorium 
In congratulating all 18,310 students who wrote SEA, Persad-Bissessar said: “This year a total of 74 boys and 126 girls placed in the top 200 students in the SEA. “Last year, T&T recorded the best academic performance ever in the history of all three exams, the SEA, the CSEC and the CAPE. In 2015, this year, the academic performance has surpassed last year, this year recording the best performance ever in the history of this exam.”

Speaking at Grant Memorial Presbyterian, she added: “It seems to me that this school must have a very special formula because you score so highly all the time. Strategy is very important and your strategy has been to be at the top and winning. 

“I ask you to continue it but I also ask the Minister of Education to see and find out what is the strategy here, what is the model that is used, what is the formula that your school ends up ever so often in the top ranks of the SEA, so minister we could learn a lot from Grant Memorial.” She promised to build an auditorium for the school next year.

A group of La Romaine residents left the San Fernando Magistrates Court disappointed yesterday after they failed to stop Glo6 fete from being held in their community tomorrow.

Granting the occasional licence for the fete, deputy Chief Magistrate Mark Wellington suggested that the law be amended to allow residents to object to such licences.

Sea View Parkway Company Ltd, represented by Wendy Durham, Reshma Maharaj and Gary Rattan, filed a petition in the court objecting to the fete at Space La Nouba compound in La Romaine.

When the matter came up yesterday, attorneys Keith Beckles and Dexter Bailey represented licence applicants—  Sheldon Stephen and Dwight Grant — while attorney Rennie Gosine represented the objectors.

Citing Section 44, Sub Section 1 of the Liquor Licence Act, Beckles argued the provision explicitly stated only the police officer in charge of the division could object to the licence. 

He said that position was authoritatively pronounced upon by a 2014 Court of Appeal judgment.

 In this case, he said, police prosecutor Cleyon Seedan stated that the police had no objection. He further submitted that the objectors could not be entertained because they had no locus standi.

Gosine said he had not seen the judgment that Beckles cited but he did not agree that only the police could object. 

Gosine cited another Court of Appeal judgment in 2013 in a similar case where the objectors were successful but the magistrate said Section 44 was not expressly raised in that matter.

Noting that nothing in the section gave anyone else other than the police the right to object to the licence, he said: “Maybe the law should be amended for occasional licences. I am not a legal draftsman.” 

However, the magistrate said from a moral standpoint Gosine was quite right that residents ought to have a say if a fete was being held in their community but from a legal one Beckles was correct. 

The magistrate also dismissed an application by Beckles for costs. The magistrate approved 29 police officers for the fete and 24 fire officers.

Citizens have no voice

“Citizens have no voice. If you don’t get the media involved or protest, you get no justice,” said Wendy Durham.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, she added: “We cannot sleep in our house. The music is so loud that our glass bangs. You can’t watch television, you cannot enjoy your property. The fete starts at 9 pm on the compound and finishes 4 or 5 o clock in the morning.

Since 2007, she said, they have been making complaints to the Environmental Management Authority because the noise level went above the agreed decibel level but they got  no redress.

“We were told to go to court and object to the licence,” she added.

Space owner Bunny Persad, who was in court, countered that the fete promoters had received all the necessary approval, including from EMA, to host the fete. He said it was not their intention to inconvenience anyone. 

A primary school teacher, accused of indecently assaulting one of his students, was found not guilty of the charge yesterday.

Arnold Jodhan says the experience has taught him a harsh lesson to be “very careful.”

He spoke with reporters outside the San Fernando High Court yesterday minutes after a nine-member jury found him not guilty.

Jodhan, 43, of Tableland, was accused of assaulting the Standard Five student in the classroom in 2008 on Ash Wednesday.

He went on trial before Justice David Harris in the Second Assizes.

The State’s case, led by prosecutor Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal, was that on Ash Wednesday in February 2008 only four children from the child’s class came to school. 

After lunch, the girl testified, Jodhan instructed two of the students to go to other classrooms, leaving her and another female student in classroom. 

The girl claimed Jodhan called her to sit next to him at his desk where he touched her inappropriately. She claimed he smelt of alcohol. 

 The State also called the other girl who was in the classroom who said she did not observe or hear anything unusual. She said the next day the victim told her something and they made a report to the principal.

In his defence, Jodhan, who was represented by attorney Kevin Ratiram, said he had chastised the victim, telling her she was lazy, because she had only attempted 40 per cent of a Secondary Entrance Assesment practice test.

He called her to sit his desk to complete the test under his supervision, which she did. He denied touching the child.  

He also called a witness who said he never smelt alcohol on his breath that day.

The judge discharged him after the jury returned with a verdict in his favour after 90 minutes of deliberations.

 I feel elated

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jodhan who has been a teacher since 1991 said he was elated by his victory.

Thanking his attorney Kevin Ratiram, Jodhan said: “It has been a long and hard seven years. I am glad it is behind me.”

Jodhan who has been on suspension since the allegation is considering returning to the teaching profession.

Although oil prices are falling, officials of state-owned energy company Petrotrin are optimistic a production target of 10,000 barrels of oil a day will be achieved by the end of the year.

The target was highlighted by Petrotrin president Khalid Hassanali during the company’s annual Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Leadership Forum at the Petrotrin Staff Club, Pointe-a-Pierre, yesterday as he challenged lease operators, service contractors and farmouts to increase their production.

“As we continue to face challenges of low prices—yesterday we were down to US$54 per barrel—and with all those other external factors beyond our control, we have to as a company ensure that our operations are conducted efficiently and safely with full integrity and full transparency,” he said.

Noting that production now stands at 9,400 barrels per day, Hassanali added: “With the current work plans in progress our target will remain at 10,000 barrels per day which I am sure is achievable and can be surpassed. 

The challenge to you, of course, is to increase it by 1,000 barrels per day by the end of the fiscal year.”

Exploration and Production vice president Jamaludin Khan said work programmes will be undertaken over specific periods of either five, seven or nine years and once they are executed properly, production will go up. 

“Right now the combine from these three programmes—lease out, service contracts and farm outs—runs, as you would have heard this morning, at just over 9,000 barrels a day,” Khan said. “So with the increased activity where everybody is drilling right now, we expect that to go up again. “

He said while operators will be affected by low oil prices, they will make profits because they are low cost operators and don’t have the major overheads of large energy companies.

HSE manager Shyram Dyal says oil prices have not affected the health and safety aspect of Petrotrin’s operations. 

“Definitely over the last two years we have seen tremendous improvements in the lease and farm out operators. 

It is something we call continual improvement in terms of looking at our management system where not all companies might be 100 per cent but the idea is to bring all up to the same level.”

Hassanali urged operators who are not yet Safe TO Work (STOW) certified, to do so by the end of the year. 

Awards were given out to operators for their HSE achievements. Taking the challenge trophy for best all round lease operator was Range Resources Limited. 

Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine, who was due to deliver the feature address, did not attend because of a personal emergency. In his absence, remarks were delivered by ministry’s permanent secretary, Selwyn Ashley.

Visitors to Palmiste Park are welcome, but not after dark. 

While the Palmiste commuinty is generally known to be safe, the park is no place for couples at night, says vice chairman of Palmiste Park committee Roland Halls. He is warning people, especially young lovers, against visiting the park after hours.

Couple attacked, woman raped
His warning comes after a violent and sexual assault on a couple in the park around 9.30 pm on Tuesday.

A late evening stroll at Palmiste Park, located on the outskirts of San Fernando, turned into a nightmare for couple after they were attacked by two men, robbed, beaten and the woman raped.

Even though the park has proper lighting, police believe the bandits were lurking in the bushes, waiting for potential victims. 

The park is usually frequented by dozens of joggers at evenings, most of whom leave by 8 pm.

Investigators said the latest attack occurred around 9.15 pm. The 28-year-old woman and her 33-year-old boyfriend were walking along the jogging track when they were ambushed by the knife-wielding men. The couple were robbed of jewelry, cash and cellphones with an estimated value of $4,000.

The bandits then beat the boyfriend, forcing him to lie on the ground while one of them raped the woman in the bushes. 

After the attack, a passerby contacted the emergency 999 hotline and WPC Sealy, PC Crawford and PC Mahabir of the San Fernando CID responded and took the couple for treatment.

Police said robberies were common at Palmiste Park a few years ago but with the arrests of a few men, such incidents had ceased. They are now warning residents to stay away from secluded areas at the park, especially at late hours.

 They also advised that people should go to the park in groups.

No lovers lane
In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Halls, the local government representative for the area, said he was not aware of the incident but was concerned. He also said he was not aware of similar attacks in the past.

"People have to take it upon themselves to be responsible. First to begin with, they have no right to be walking there at that hours, they know what is happening in this country,” he said.

Everyone using the park has to be more carfeul, given the country's high crime rate, he added.

“Young people and some of the elder people want to go and make it a lovers lane. Don’t go there after hours.”

Halls, however, said the police regularly patrol the area and even speak to people about being out at late hours.

“Young people, young lovers, what they doing out there at that hour? There is no protection. The police are patrolling but they cannot be there all the time.”

He said they have resorted to closing the gates to prevent people from parking inside the park at late hours, but that does not deter them.

“Sometimes they move the concrete slabs we have on the Bennet Road side and drive into the greens.”

During the tenure of the previous park committee chairman Lincoln Ragbirsingh, there were plans to install surveillance cameras and hire security at the park. But Halls said the committee is strapped for funds and has no intentions of rolling out those plans.

Anyone with information on the crime can call the San Fernando CID office at 652-2564. 

Disappointed by the police response, relatives of missing Morne Diablo resident Dave Cooper are now seeking the assistance of Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne to find him. Relatives believe Cooper, 47, may have been abducted from his home at Grant Trace over the weekend, a week after he received death threats from residents who accused him of being a police informant. 

Contacted yesterday his sister, Denise Cooper, said they have not heard anything further from the police and no one has contacted the family. “Since the police came and dusted for prints we have not heard anything. I not bothering. We going to see Ian Alleyne,” said Denise. Cooper was last seen on Saturday night.

When he did not turn up at his sister’s home on Sunday, relatives went to his home where they found the glass pane of his front door broken and the back door open. They saw vehicle tyre tracks, plastic straps, his pants and cap at the back of his house. Cooper’s DVD player was also missing. Calls to his cellphone went unanswered.

Relatives filed a report at the Penal Police Station but it was only after making a second report at the Siparia Police Station that the police dusted his home for fingerprints.

• Anyone with information can contact Denise Cooper at 363-3829, Gerald Hodge at 383-8886 or the Siparia CID.

Khan and incumbent La Horquetta/Talparo MP Jairam Seemungal arrived at the UNC headquarters Friday afternoon around 5pm.

UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar had arrived around 4pm, and was greeted by loud tassa drumming.

Supporters of Khan and Seemungal greeted the candidates, as they arrived at Rienzi Complex, Couva. Seemungal's supporters raised placards saying "Jairam for La Horquetta Talparo", while Khan's supporters wore yellow UNC jerseys with his name.

The first set of candidates to be screened were from the constituencies Moruga/Tableland, La Horquetta/Talparo, San Juan/Barataria and Diego Martin North East. 
 

Supporters of Jairam Seemungal hold up their placards in support during the United National Congress screening at Rienzi Complex, Couva. Photo: Rishi Ragoonath

While the incumbent, the sitting MPs for both San Juan/Barataria and Moruga/Tableland Dr Fuad Khan and Clifton De Coteau respectively, were facing competition, Ameen told the Guardian.

Ameen said as far as she is aware, all of the sitting UNC MP’s have filed nominations seeking re-election.

The screening process is expected to completed before Monday "so we would have announcements at the Monday Night Forum,” she said. 

She did not want to say when screening would resume for the rest of the candidates, pointing out that nomination day was August 17, “so we have some time in which to screen the candidates.”

Ameen is a member of the screening committee headed by the UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar. The committee includes the three deputy political leaders—Marlene Coudray, Dr Roodal Moonilal and Dr Surujrattan Rambachan, the four regional representatives, and Dr Daphne Phillip.

Phillip, a former minister in the UNC-led Basdeo Panday administration, recently suffered a stroke.

"She has so much information and knowledge and her guidance has been tremendous for all of us,” Ameen said.

She said there has already been “a good bit of collaboration” with People's Partnership coalition member, the Congress of the People.

With much fanfare and excitement, the United National Congress (UNC) kicked off its screening of prospective candidates for four constituencies last evening at the Rienzi Complex in Couva.

Candidates for La Horquetta/Talparo, Barataria/San Juan, Moruga/Tableland and Diego Martin North East were screened, but Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar will announce the successful candidates on Monday at the party’s Monday Night Forum in Maraval.

However, incumbent MPs for La Horquetta/Talparo and Moruga/Tableland, Jairam Seemungal and Clifton de Coteau, respectively, can be certain that they will be contesting the September 7 election in hopes of retaining their seats, since no other candidates were screened for their constituencies.

This was confirmed by acting UNC chair Khadijah Ameen, who told reporters three prospective candidates were screened for Barataria/San Juan, including incumbent MP and Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan. 

She said she was not certain how many candidates other than Attorney General Garvin Nicholas would be screened for the Diego Martin North East seat which is currently held by Colm Imbert of the People’s National Movement.

The Prime Minister, who heads the screening committee, arrived around 4 pm, but the screening did not kick off until 5, with each candidate expressing confidence of success. 

Khan, who is facing two competitors, said he was not worried as he was confident he had done sufficient work in his constituency. One of the first candidates to arrive, Khan was accompanied by a large number of supporters, many wearing jerseys with his photo printed on them, and a tassa crew. 

Seemungal also had a large number of supporters and he was accompanied by a music truck. Optimistic that the Persad-Bissessar-led People’s Partnership would be successful at the polls, he said, “I think La Horquetta/Talparo will be history in the making again because we will be victorious at the polls. 

“I think we are in a very, very strong position now compared to even 2010. In 2010 we went in not knowing what will happen. In 2015 we are going in knowing how much work we have done, despite the little hiccups we may have had over the past five years.”

Unlike his counterparts, de Coteau arrived alone with no music and no supporters. He admitted to feeling a “little bit of anxiety,” but said, “I don’t think I have anything to be fearful about. I think I have done enough although we could have done some more.”

He said he was hopeful of getting more than the 51 per cent of the votes they got in 2010.

Nicholas, who was greeted by several supporters who walked with their own parang band, was also confident of his chances. Asked if he felt his position as AG gave him a competitive edge, he said, “I think my work in the community gave me that advantage. If I were a useless Attorney General not having performed in the constituency, I would have been rejected as a candidate and rightfully so.”

When asked for an update regarding Jack Warner’s extradition to the US on racketeering charges related to his Fifa tenure, Nicholas said, “The US has until the 26th, 27th of July and it’s up to them to send the formal request. The ball is in their court really.”

No announcement was made as to when screening for the other constituencies will take place.

Despite the new technology, knowledge and skills being provided by the Chinese neurosurgery team, young local doctors are not availing themselves of the opportunities being provided.

South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) chairman Dr Lackram Bodoe, speaking at the opening of the China-T&T Micro-surgical Training Centre on Thursday at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital, reiterated his call to local doctors to grasp the opportunities. The first of its kind in the Caribbean, the training centre was established after the Chinese medical team observed that doctors here lacked microsurgical skills. The Chinese donated the equipment valued at $1 million for the training centre.

The Chinese team is in T&T based on a memorandum of understanding in which T&T benefits from the services of nine Chinese consultants and one nurse for a two-year period with a new team rotating every six months. Dr Wang Jia, captain of the second medical team, said initially the local doctors could not assist the Chinese consultant in microsurgical surgery because they lacked the necessary skills. 

However, he said, they trained some of the junior doctors who showed great interest and passion. Citing newspaper articles about SEA top student Anusha Saha who wants to be a brain surgeon, he said: “We have to set up training centres from now.

“Microsurgical training is very important for minimal invasive surgery, not only neurosurgery,” he said.

Praising the Chinese medical team for the good work they had been doing in T&T, Bodoe said, “We are very happy with the knowledge and skills being brought here. Our challenge still remains, however, in our local doctors taking up the neurosurgery training. In other areas, for example, interventional cardiology, we are doing pretty good. 

We have doctors being trained there, but I still want to throw out the challenge for our local younger doctors to avail themselves of this training.”

With microsurgery, he said, the results would be better and the complication rates lower, whereas are going to be less and the recovery time for the patients was faster. Prior to the arrival of the Chinese neurosurgeons there had been a long waiting list. 

“But, as we speak now and with these doctors operating on a regular basis, I would say that the waiting time for this type of surgery would perhaps be no more than a month and in cases where it is an urgent case it can be done within a few days.”

The training period, he said, would depend on the level of skills the doctor already possessed, but generally it would take about three to six months to become proficient in microsurgical skills. 

Chief Medical Officer Dr Colin Furlonge who apologised for Health Minister Fuad Khan’s absence described the opening as a landmark occasion.