Dear Dr Keith Christopher Rowley, Happy Independence to you and all of T&T, I trust this letter finds you in good health.

With just eight days to go before the next general election, it has now become pellucidly clear to us, the over 15,000 Clico “assenting” policyholders and our families, that the People’s Partnership Government has absolutely no intention of paying us our just and rightful due, contrary to their public pronouncements on March 27, that Clico is solvent, its statutory fund is now fully funded and all assenting policyholders would be made whole.

The Clico Policyholders Group held our mass policyholders’ meeting two Sundays ago to discuss the way forward. We are pleased to inform you that the meeting was a success as evidenced by not only the more than 200 policyholders who were in attendance but more importantly based on the substantive resolution that was unanimous passed as follows:

• Be it resolved that ALL ‘assenting’ Clico Policyholders withhold our support for the PP and its affiliates with immediate effect, until such time that we are paid the balance due on our contractual entitlements from the Clico Statutory Fund

• Be it further resolved that the PP be given until August 21, to respond to the said resolution failing which, the policyholders group would immediately approach the “government in waiting” (ie the PNM) for them to make a clear and unequivocal statement on whether or not they will ensure that all “assenting” policyholders are paid the balance due on our contractual entitlements from the Clico Statutory Fund, should the PNM be successful at the polls on September 7.

Unfortunately, August 21 has come and gone, however, to date we have had absolutely no satisfactory response from the PP except for an ill-advised, off-the-cuff remark by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar that withholding our support for the PP “may be seen as blackmail...” Thereby, confirming our worst fears that the PP is not serious about their commitment to pay policyholders our just due and bringing back memories of two now infamous statements “a promise is a comfort to a fool” and “take it or leave it.”

In the circumstances, we wish to request an urgent meeting with your good self or your representative to address the latter part of the resolution.

In the interim, we are confident that you will not disappoint us like others have done and remain mindful of the fact that the decision to intervene (and rightfully so) into the affairs of Clico in 2009 was taken by the PNM government in response to a request by the CL Financial Group for substantial financial support for what was initially diagnosed as a temporary liquidity problem, but in fact turned out to be a structural illiquidity and solvency problem.

You would recall that given the size and economic diversity of the group’s operations, it was the PNM government and Central Bank that correctly deemed the intervention necessary in order to avert a national crisis by achieving certain key objectives: (1) Protect the country’s economic and financial system from risk and restore confidence. (2) Protect resident policyholders and depositors in the insurance and financial services companies of the group. (3) Continue Clico as going concerns as the means of restoring confidence and maintaining system stability and (4) Recover public funds from CLF.

It is noteworthy that Clico and the other troubled financial services entities of the group combined accounted for circa $46 billion of funds under management and represented approx 30 per cent of GDP. Moreover, CLF controlled total assets of approx $100 billion and given the breath and depth of its economic involvement, the PNM government’s stated concern, at the time, was that a potential failure of Clico and the other financial services entities, could cause the entire group to rapidly become insolvent and so affect the financial sector as well as the entire economy, particularly at a time when the international economy was already in deep recession.

It is also noteworthy that in relation to the protection of "third-party" policyholders and depositors, the PNM government made it very clear that those (ie senior management etc) who would have been party to the decision-making that led to the collapse or may have benefitted from same did not qualify for the protection/support which the Government would have provided. Clearly, such international best practice seems to have been totally disregarded by those in authority as evidenced by the recent multi-million dollar payout to former Clico directors. But enough said. We thank you in anticipation and look forward to your timely response.

Peter Permell

Chairman, Clico Policyholders Group

As we celebrate our 53rd anniversary as an independent nation and prepare to celebrate our 39th anniversary as a Republic, can we truly say that our social, cultural, political and economic systems has adequately served the people of T&T? 

A careful analysis would reveal that we are no way closer to First World status as we were in 1962, the year of our independence. 

One just has to look at the state of our Public Service, our educational system, our justice system, our health system, our crime-fighting initiatives, our road and transport systems, and most importantly our political system, in order to determine what little we have achieved as a nation in the provision of adequate public services on demand to all our citizens so that everyone could feel counted.

A conversation with the ordinary man on the street would reveal that most of us are enthralled by the dependency syndrome. We believe that it is the duty of the Government to give us everything—including a job.

That should not be so as it is not the duty of any government to give us anything, inclusive of a job. In the free market it is each person’s duty to market his or her job skill and labour for whatever they are worth. As citizens we have been spoilt over the years, largely by a dependency syndrome, which pays us a stipend to join a “make work” programme that in the long-term actually keeps us in a poverty trap. The Government however has a duty to provide good governance with efficient public services and amenities for all the citizens.

But is it intentional that they keep us in a dependency syndrome? It appears so, as this is a means for those in authority to keep us in mental bondage in order to ensure that they maintain their status as so-called owners of the nation, when we in fact put them into office as servants of the people.

So as we embark on another exercise to once again elect “servants of the people,” we need to reflect on the state of our political, cultural, social and economic systems and determine if they have really meaningfully served us in an independent, Republican nation. In my view they have not. 

Additionally the big three—inequality, violence and corruption—continues to plague our society regardless of which political machinery is in office. But the choices for solutions to our societal problems are not immediately available to us as citizens. Those who are now offering themselves to serve are cut from the same cloth and can best be described as “birds of a feather that flock together.” In other words those political machines that portray themselves as political parties are really different sides of the same coin as can be evidenced by the presence of political grasshoppers, opportunists and band-wagonists, especially within recent times on the various political platforms. Additionally, these political machines only become activated at election time in order to hoodwink us to vote for them.

So we are left proverbially between a rock and a hard place. In that regard, until we unite as a people and identify ourselves as Trinbagonians and not as “PNM or UNC till ah dead” or “Indians and Africans,” we will continue to spin top in mud and every year around this time we will put up national flags, emblems and buntings and participate or witness our Independence Day parade at the Savannah.

In the meantime we will continue to struggle to achieve true independence so that we can enjoy the real benefits of an independent, Republican nation. It is time that we give real meaning to words we proudly display on our Coat of Arms—“TOGETHER WE ASPIRE, TOGETHER WE ACHIEVE.” That will only happen however, when we do the necessary work to transform and build a society where everyone would count and there would be social justice and equity for all. It is only then we will be able to celebrate our nationhood together as one people and in the process we would be able to tell the politicians who facilitate those political machines that “THE PARTY DONE!”

Bryan St Louis

La Brea

Silver ! Silver ! Silver ! Silver !

Silver was the colour yesterday on the final night of the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China. It was delivered to this country by four brave men on a damp night where clouds threatened rain. A torrential downpour sent many scampering for over three hours.

On the track, though, it was the opposition that was sent scampering as T&T’s quartet of  Renny Quow, La Londe Gordon, Deon Lendore and Machel Cedenio, woke up 70,000 persons in the Bird Nest Stadium with some quick times over the four legs of the mens 4x400 metres relay final, only to lose to the more experienced USA team, anchored by 400 metres silver medallist, La Shawn Merritt.

T&T finished second in a new national record of 2.58.20 , eclipsing the old mark of 2.58.34.

 Quow  again ran the opening leg and gave a much improved performance after his struggles in the preliminaries.

He handed over to Gordon who ran  the race of his life. This powerfully built man with the heart of a lion, roared his way forward and made up the stagger. Turning into the home straight, he ran past the American to hand the baton to Lendore in first place.

 Lendore led all the way, handing over to Cedenio in first place as T&T chased gold.

Running into the home straight, Cedenio was in third, falling behind  Jamaican Javon Francis and Merritt, but he did not panic. “I know that is the strongest point of my race. I was calm, I know I have enough leg speed to catch them, so I was still good.”

Although he passed Francis, he could not go past Merritt.

Lendore, who was the first man off the track after the race, said he and his teammates were very happy to give the country a silver medal on the eve of Independence.

 “After the prelims, we knew we had a great chance of medalling and we came out here and delivered. Our strategy was to get to run from the front. We wanted to run free, and to see the best we could do from the lead,” Lendore said. “We started off great and we are happy. We all gave 110 per cent and we have seen the result. It made us all proud,” added Lendore.

Quow was also ecstatic about the performance, describing it as well  executed. “We had a good race plan and did what we wanted to from the beginning. We wanted to hit them from the beginning so we would not have much work to do and that is what we did.”

Gordon was not happy with his start even though his finish was marvellous. “Once I cut in and messed up a little. I let the USA man (Tony McQuay) get into the lead but I just kept my focus and said I will pass him on the homestretch and that is what I did,” he added.

Cedenio belied his youthfulness. “We ran second to a guy who medalled in the 400, so that was a very good performance . Every single one of the team ran good, especially the lead off.  Renny, La Londe, Deon, we all came together. We had a tough decision in picking the team but we came together finalised it and we felt this was the best team to get the medal here tonight,” noted Cedenio.

T&T ended the Championships with two medals, following the success of the women’s  4 x 100 metres team of Kelly Ann Baptiste, Michelle Lee Ahye, Reyare Thomas and Semoy Hackett, who won the bronze medal on Saturday.

Nineteen-year old Machel Cedenio was delighted at his silver medal in yesterday’s 4 x 400 metres relay at the World Championships here in Beijing. “My first senior World Championships and I got a silver medal. That is really good. I want to thank God for bringing me here today with my teammates. We all have a good bond and we all have a team chemistry.

“I hope that people keep supporting us. We are out here to do our best for our country. We love all our fans.”

Cedenio, who also finished seventh in the men’s 400 metres, paid tribute to the parents who have supported all of the T&T athletes. “We thank all of you for your support  because track and field has really improved in our country,” he added.

Cedenio, together with Renny Quow, Deon Lendore and Lalonde Gordon, finished second behind the United States in the event yesterday.

Lendore, who has been recovering from injury this season,  also called for more support going forward. “I want to thank everyone. I am happy that people are able to hear what we are doing.”

There was a poignant moment during the celebrations when Lendore found time in the mixed zone to address youngsters from China who gathered to watch the returning athletes. Lendore took off, not only his number tags, but those of others and gave them to the children. Their joy was something to behold.

Yesterday’s silver medal also focused thoughts on the Rio Olympics. Gordon stated: “What happened here tonight will send a message that we are serious next year. We will take some rest, refocus and get ready for next year.”

Quow was also aiming at Rio. “The plan is to be ready from October to August. We are just going to work hard and do what we are accustomed doing. (AB)”

In spite of the paucity of medals at the World Championships, president of the National Association of Athletics Administration (NAAA)  Ephraim Serrette believes there is no need to panic.

T&T won two medals, both in relays in the Championships which ended in Beijing yesterday.

Serrette noted that the T&T women who won their first ever 4x100 metres medal at a World Championships showed that the future was in good hands.

“Our women, based on what we have seen here, can go under 42 seconds and even change the colour of the medal in the future.”  

Serrette said while Jamaica will be hard to beat, the USA can be anything at times. “Even though they did not use some of their top runners  this time, we ourselves are developing a strong pool with Kai Selvon set to come back.”  

Serrette believes that the bronze medal success was a shot in the arm. “We needed something like this for our women athletes. I don’t know how we can explain it but we continue to lose our female athletes particularly the young ones in the under 18 to under 20 group. So we have to see how we can use this to inspire them to stay.”

He said it amounted to the athletes and the Association working together. “We are a listening organisation, we understand the needs of the athletes but there is always some restrictions in terms of funding which together we need to work on. We have a very good relationship with the president of the Olympic Committee,  Brian Lewis, who is also athlete driven,” said Serrette.

“We also have to make some of our athletes aware of the need to have patience. There are those that want it all to happen too quickly, they want the success overnight,” noted Serrette, himself a former top athlete in the 80’s.

Serrette was also pleased that the 4x400 metres team stood by each other and broke the national record.

“This was about guts and performance. This was the highest level and we have to fully appreciate what was done here tonight. This was another national record so we have to continue our programmes and progress our athletes further with all the assistance   we can get,” he added.

“Our plan is to review our performances and take the necessary action to improve what needs to be and to address other areas of concern that would have arisen at the Championships,” stated Serrette. (AB)

BEIJING—For the world’s best sprinters, passing the baton in the 4x400 relay is about as easy as rolling out of bed in the morning.

Picking a winner in that race used to be easy, too.

Not anymore.

An awkward exchange between US sprinter Allyson Felix and her teammate, Francena McCorory, played into a razor-thin loss to Jamaica at world championships Sunday. The American women fell by 0.31 seconds and settled for a second straight silver at the worlds after winning the Olympic and world championship titles five straight times.

“It’s hard, this one,” Felix said. “But it’s motivation for next year.”

Next year is the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and from the US perspective, the planning can’t start soon enough.

Yes, the United States won the most medals for the sixth straight time at the worlds, dating to 2005. But it did so with only 18. That’s seven fewer than the last worlds, 11 fewer than the London Olympics and the lowest total at the worlds since 2003, when the Americans won 16 — after four were taken away for doping.

“When you’re No 1, it’s always a steeper pinnacle,” USA Track and Field president Stephanie Hightower said. “And staying on top is always a lot harder than when you’ve got to work your way to the top.”

The US team certainly had some high notes. Exhibit A yesterday: A come-from-behind anchor leg by LaShawn Merritt in the men’s 4x400 that closed out the nine-day meet. Though the women are on a losing streak, the men have finished first in the long relay at every worlds since 1993; a handful of those wins have since been vacated because of doping.

“It was important for us to end this right,” Merritt said. “Everyone on this team gave their best. But giving your best doesn’t always mean you’re going to end up with a gold medal.”

The second-place finish a few minutes earlier by Felix and Co ensured the United States would not win the most gold medals at this meet. Thanks to the relay upset, and a gentleman named Usain Bolt, Jamaica tied Kenya for the lead with seven golds, one more than the Americans.

The Kenyans picked up their last gold from Asbel Kiprop in the 1,500 metres. Other winners yesterday included Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana in the 5,000 and Mare Dibaba in the marathon, Kathrina Molitor of Germany in the javelin and Derek Drouin of Canada in the high jump.

Felix walked away with a gold in the 400 and a pair of silvers—one in each relay—to push her career total to 12 medals at worlds.

There was no shame losing to Jamaica’s speedsters in the 4x100.

Losing to Jamaica in the 4x400 is a different story.

And the fact that part of the problem was a baton exchange is a real head-scratcher. It’s nowhere near as technical a handoff as in the short relay, where the timing has to be just right and there’s virtually no room for error. It’s such a non-issue in the long race that when McCorory was asked what happened on the exchange, her response was: “Something happened with our exchange?”

Um, yes.

When McCorory reached back with her left hand to receive the baton from Felix for the anchor leg, she grabbed air. That forced McCorory to pause ever-so-slightly to grab the stick on the second swipe. The whole thing took less than a second, but the race was decided by 0.31.

“Obviously, you don’t want that to happen,” Felix said. “You need every inch.”

Maybe things would have been different had Felix been running last, instead of third. Second-guessing has become a gold-medal event for the US relay team.

On Saturday, the men got disqualified from the 4x100 for an exchange out of the passing zone, marking the eighth time since 1995 at the worlds or Olympics they had either been disqualified or failed to finish.

“We’re not going to be perfect every time,” Hightower said. “But for the most part, we had some spectacular performances.” Leading the way was Ashton Eaton, who yesterday picked up the gold medal, along with a $100,000 world-record bonus check, for his performance in the decathlon.

And Merritt’s gold in the relay goes with a silver in the 400 and gives him the American men’s record with 11 world championship medals.

Still, the US finished with six fewer medals and one fewer gold than at the last big meet in Beijing—the 2008 Olympics.

That performance triggered a top-to-bottom review of the operation called “Project 30”—a nod to the goal of winning 30 medals at the London Olympics. There don’t appear to be any such plans in the works after this performance, though clearly this is a time for looking forward, not back.

“There’s a lot of intensity and a lot of pressure and a lot of high expectations for our athletes,” Hightower said. “I’m confident they’ll rise to the occasion when it’s necessary.”

Going where gold has been found in the past has been Usain Bolt’s best bet.

Bolt’s breathtaking Beijing breakout performance in 2008 still reverberates. The Trelawny speedster has swept up nuggets in a modern-day gold rush that takes sprinting beyond the pale. The world has caught on, yet no sprinter has caught up.

 Bolt won gold medals in the 200 at every global championships. His victory Thursday bestowed him a fourth world title in the 200 to go with his two Olympic gold medals. In total, he has won 10 world championship gold medals.

For sure, the multiple gold medallist is undoubtedly the best news received by the Caribbean in years. 

In 2008, Pablo McNeil, one of the coaches responsible for Bolt’s fame—and fortune, was sitting under an ackee tree in his yard when the phone rang. The track coach could have ignored my call, what with a gaggle of news agencies hounding him since Bolt ran like hell in Beijing. 

Yet McNeil uncradled the receiver, and so the back story of his charge’s success began to spill out. It was as if Bolt had uncoiled his lingay frame, bursting free from shoe-tight starting blocks.

Well, that’s how the firing of the starter’s pistol echoed all the way to William Knibb Memorial High School in Martha Brae, Trelawny, where, at 15 years old, Bolt had finally figured how to angle himself into the blocks, turn the tricky curve by exploiting the arms like pistons so he could slingshot his sinewy stilts down the straightaway—the voice of limbs bellowing a shout-out, a primal scream, really, toward the 200-metre finish line.

Having trained Olympians Donald Quarrie, Raymond Stewart and others in high school, Jamaica’s coach Glen Mills has polished another breakout athlete. Mills may be in the spotlight again, but his colleague McNeil  will always stand in the shadows as the principal investor, the one who formulated strategy for Bolt’s progression. And that’s how the first Beijing echo reached McNeil in 2008 —satisfied, yet bristling as ever.

“I’m disturbed, upset at how Bolt was removed from high school while I was assisting with his development,” said McNeil, who likened the drama of Bolt’s relocation to a kidnap without ransom.

“Whoever was behind it didn’t advise me and never called, but I heard they put him up in a house in Kingston.”

Bolt had lived with parents Wellesley, an itinerant businessman, and Jennifer, a rooted Seventh-Day Adventist; an elder sister and younger brother.

McNeil harked back to an earlier bizarre turn of events when Wellesley tried to pull Bolt out of Knibb, but Cherry Campbell, the president of the PTA, stepped in and successfully argued in favour of the coach as Bolt’s mentor. 

Campbell sold coconut drops to help defray Bolt’s running expenses. Likewise, the French family, supermarket owners, provided nutrition, while Clifford Waddell chipped in with clothing and shoes and Brenda Jackson, who managed a games room, took the role of a surrogate mother. Bolt called her “mommie.” It was all a community effort—from Falmouth to Trelawny—without any of the clan, except Bolt’s whiz coach, being aware of the direction the yellow brick road would take.

McNeil, who passed away in 2011 at 72, matriculated at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and kept company with the sport’s great names of his day. After all, he was in the same pool of sprinters like Tommie Smith, renowned for his black-gloved, fist-in-the-sky protest against racism while standing on winners’ row (200 metres) at the Mexico City Summer Olympics in 1968. 

Four years earlier, McNeil had run his first Olympics in Tokyo. One year later, in 1965, he matched compatriot Herb McKinley’s national record in the 200 in San Diego, and again in Barbados.

McNeil caught up with Bolt, a budding athlete, after he graduated from Waldencia Primary School. Bolt was 12 years old entering William Knibb in 1999, and McNeil, a social science teacher and physical education instructor, sports under his control, already had a sumptuous salutation at the ready.

“It was his agility and energy in physical education that excited me,” McNeil said.

“He showed us more turn of foot (old Jamaican saying) than anyone else.”

An unpaid coach (“like 95 per cent in the profession in Jamaica”), McNeil was assisted by three physical education teachers and a father-figure, Dwight Bennett. Soon, Bolt, inching taller with each birthday, was making a racket on the track, his training pushing two to three hours each weekday. The payoff was grand. He was clocking 10.3 seconds in 100-metre straight-aways, one after the other.

Fast times at Walter Knibb High certainly alerted the coach but he didn’t let on to Bolt that his pupil was a prodigy. Then there was a workout, the 200-metre step-down that determined whether Bolt could handle, say, the 400. The tricky part of the six-set series was that the last one was expected to be run the fastest even as it was especially exhausting. Still, Bolt was upright at the end.

“I allowed him to develop gradually,” said McNeil, remembering that conditioning was his main concern.

There was apprehension in the classroom, too. Bolt was less than stellar. It was tutor Norman Peart who put a hand. 

By 2001, McNeil’s attitude to track was more spatial than temporal. Time spent there became an odyssey of discovery. He stepped up training on the school’s uneven track—a grassy pathway that flooded during a downpour. And he’d take his athletes to Burwood Beach so they could pump their arms underwater, working against force. He knew he was struggling against the tide, though, when he couldn’t enforce a strict diet in an area of grim poverty. So, Bolt and teammates made do with yams, cocoa, bananas, breadfruit and dumplings.

When McNeil enlisted his young charge in foreign meets, red flags went up at the Jamaican track and field body. But the uproar didn’t deter him from piling up routines on Bolt’s loaded regimen. One of the workouts was aptly called the Killer Diller, coach Bud Winter’s template at San Jose State University in California. 

McNeil also favoured the approach of Los Angeles-based countryman Leo Davis, whom he holds in esteem.

“Davis has credentials as one of the leading coaches in the world, though not in his own country,” said McNeil of his friend who trained Olympians. “They won 28 gold medals at world-class meets over the years. I liked his style.”

The Killer workout consisted of six laps of nonstop interval sprinting at 50 metres and 60 metres. Each would lead Bolt through a jog of 180 metres, then catapult him down the final leg under a spiteful sun like a ship in space.

“Some people were calling me ‘wicked,’ but after we practised the Killer Diller he’d ask me, ‘what else?’”

That Bolt embraced a grind that could induce the heaves from a normal athlete was not beyond the rarefied atmosphere of his prodigious talent. So, McNeil added another specialty; it required Bolt to sprint 450 metres, rest for a few minutes before tackling the 550, and, after unwinding for ten minutes, run down the 600 like a cheetah on speed.

Nothing came easy, though his demeanour disproved it. 

For example, there were periods when Bolt habitually trained on three or four sets of 30-metre sprints, as well as 50s and 70s. Afterward, skipping rope on the ball of the foot and maintaining a high knee lift became a chore that drained the heart. The activity emphasised rotation of the hips, McNeil said, because they’re the power plant. From the knees down is just support for the body, McNeil reminded Bolt.

But even then, with the tank on empty, Bolt was his usual clowning self.

“He’s just a happy-go-lucky youngster,” his former coach said.

“He doesn’t understand how fast he is. He was never rude, but I used to get upset that he didn’t value the level of speed he had to deal with. Some afternoons, I’d be looking for him at workout and his friends would tell me he’s in town.”

Bolt was chasing skirts on the sly.

“But once I brought him back, he gave me 101 per cent,” McNeil said.

“I take it that he was spoken to in no uncertain terms and so he made up his mind to break the 200-metre record at the Olympics. What Coach Mills has been doing is a continuation of where I left, in addition to his own method of coaching. He added spice.”

Reached by phone in Los Angeles, Davis, too, wrapped his emotions in Bolt’s surreal aura.

“It is wonderful, exciting and a pleasure to see the cleanest win—and the cleanest lean—in years. Of course, his previous mentor is among the greatest coaches of all time. That, too, helped.”

Flashing back seven years, McNeil said he mentored Bolt about “proper foot placement and body angle” so he could settle his six-foot-five frame in the blocks.

“What mystifies the world of sprinting,” McNeil said, “is how could this tall guy master the curve? Rolling the hips was the key and pumping the arms around the curve meant the left arm had to stroke ­faster than the right because the track curves leftward, and when you approach the straight both arms must be back in rhythm together. The more rapid the action, the faster hip rotation will follow.

“He had terrible arm action: his shoulders were raggedy and his head was thrusting backward. So everything I taught him before coach Mills got him in 2005 was about technique.”

As T&T celebrates 53 years of political Independence, we should remind ourselves of the outstanding contributions over this period of our sportswomen and sportsmen in their respective sporting disciplines locally, regionally and internationally. 

Athletics:

• Hasley Crawford, gold medal, 100 metres Montreal Olympics 1976

• Keshorn Walcott gold medal javelin London Olympics 2012, Pan American Games, Toronto 2015

• Jehue Gordon, gold medal, 400 metres hurdle IAAF World Championship in Moscow, Russia in 2014

• Cleopatra Borel, gold,shot put Pan American Games Toronto 2015

• Jarrin Solomon, Renny Quow, Machel Cedenio and Lalonde Gordon 4x400 gold Pan American Games, Toronto 2015

• Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Michelle-Lee Ahye, Reyare Thomas and Semoy Hackett 4x100 bronze, 1AAF World Championship, Beijing, China, 2015

• Renny Quow, Machel Cedenio, Deon Lendore and Lalonde Gordon 4x400 silver 1AAF World Championship, Beijing, China, 2015, new national time 2:58.20

• Khalifa St Fort, silver 100m IAAF World Junior Championship, Cali Colombia, 2015

• Rondell Sorrillo, Keston Bledman, Emmanuel Callender, Dan-Neil Telesford,  Wendell Mottley, Ato Boldon, Richard Thompson Daryl Brown, Marc Burns, Richard Thompson, Mikel Thomas, and Kamria Durant

• Trinidad and Tobago World Masters Athletic team (outdoor) ten medals (4 golds, 3 silver, 3 bronze) World Games, Lyon France, 2015. 18 medals at Masters games Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2013.

Badminton: Debra O’Connor—5 times (1984, 1985, 1990, 1993 and 1995). Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO). Single and doubles champion in 1984, 1985 and 1995. In 1990 and 1993 she was a Triple Crown winner, being crowned singles, doubles and mixed doubles champion.

Body Building:

Dareem Charles, Michael Hercules

Boxing:

• Claude Noel first world champion, Mexican Rodolfo Gonzalez to win the WBA World Lightweight title, 1981

• Leslie Stewart won the WBA World Light Heavyweight title in 1987 defeating Marvin ‘pops’ Johnson

• Ria Ramnarine T&T first female world champion, defeated Ana Fernandez to win the WIBA Mini Flyweight World title, 2005

• Giselle Salandy multiple World champion- WBA, WBC and WIBA middle weight titles

Cricket: Brian Lara world record holder for the highest first class score (501 not out) and highest test score (400 not out). Sir Learie Constantine, Jeffery Stollmeyer, Brian Davis, Charlie Davis, Sonny Ramadhin, Gerry Gomez, Deryck Murray, Bernard Julien, Rangy Nanan, Inshan Ali, Ian Bishop, Dinanath Ramnarine, Ann Browne-John, Anisa Mohammed, Merissa Aguilleira, Joey Carew, Daren Ganga, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Daren Bravo. T&T Blind and Visually Impaired cricket team—WICB T20 and 40 overs champions 2015.

Cycling: Roger Gibbon, Gene Samuel, Maxwell Cheeseman, Michael Phillips, Hylton “Barracuda” Mitchell, Roger Smart, Njisane Phillip and Emile Abraham.

Distance Running: Moses Ranghell, Bernard Mungroo, Michael Alexander, Curtis Cox, Richard Jones, Lynette “Granny” Luces, Richard Jones and Tonya Nero.

Dragon Boat Racing: Aquaholics Dragon Boat 1st 200m Premier Mixed Category at Pan American Club Crew Champions (PACCC), Canada 2015. 2nd and 3rd in two other events over 500m and 200m respectively.

Football: Dwight Yorke won several championships in England and Europe with Manchester United. Alvin Corneal, Bobby Sookram, Sedley Joseph, Lincoln Phillips, Everald “Gally” Cummings, Richard Chinapoo, David Nahkid, Russell Latapy, and Shaka Hislop. The ‘Strike Squad’ 1989, ‘Soca Warriors’ 2006, and ‘Soca Princess’ 2014.

Golf: Stephen Ames, Carlos ‘Sexy’ Baynes,  Maria Nunes Sachin Kumar, Liam Bryden, Zoe Correia, Ryan Peters, Ysabelle Lawrence, Sarah Mackenzie

Hockey: Stacey Sui Butt, Kwandwane Browne and Dwain Quan Chan. 

Horse Racing: Emile Ramsammy, Eric ‘Colt’ Duran, Maniram ‘Boboy’ Maharaj

Netball: T&T was crowned joint World Netball Champions with Australia and New Zealand in 1979, 3rd in Singapore 1983, Joint 2nd in Scotland 1987, 9th in Australia 2015. Jean Pierre, Janet Bailey, Sharon Castanada, Joelisa Cooper, Samantha Wallace

Powerboat Racing: Andrew Lewis, Ken Charles

Special Olympics: T&T, 48 medals (15 gold, 9 silver and 24 bronze), Special Olympics World Games, Los Angeles, California 2015.

Squash: Colin Ramasra, T&T’s first professional player (2007), highest ranking in the world, 148. Joshua Pinard, Kale Wilson and Richard Hart.

Swimming: George Bovell III bronze medal in the 200IM at the 2004 Athens Olympics. 

Multiple medallists at World Championships, FINA World Cup, Pan American Games, CAC. Paul Newallo, Sebastian Paddington, Sioban Cropper, Shantol Ince and Dylan Carter.

Table Tennis: Mansingh Amarsingh, Derek DeSilva, Steve Ragbir, Seamus Clarke, Dexter St Louis and Rheann Chung, Aaron Wilson, Arun Roopnarine and Aleena Edwards.

Tennis: Lystra Lewis, Allan and Lindsay Price, Beverly Corbie, Elizabeth Gibson, Shane Stone, Ivor Grazette,  Olivia Bennett, Anneliese Rose, Shenelle Mohammed, Solange Skeene, Emma Davis, Emma-Rose Trestrail, Emily Lawrence, Nabeel Mohammed, Kobe Andrews, Liam Sheppard, and Aidan Carter.

Shooting: Bert Manhin and Roger Daniel

Triathlon: Jason Gooding and Ancil Greene 

Taekwondo: Cheryl Sankar stood tall in Taekwondo. 

Weightlifting: Rodney Wilkes was the country’s first medallist at the Olympics winning the silver medal in the featherweight category at the 1948 London Games. 

At the 1952 Helsinki Games, he won bronze at the same event. 

It is evident that T&T Independence can also be viewed through the excellent performances of its sportswomen and sportsmen. 

Their performances have continued to ensure that Trinidad and Tobago is viewed as a serious competitor at all levels of competition.

As the society develop, every effort should be made to continue to support the country’s sportswomen and sportsmen in the most efficient, effective and transparently accountable manner so that they can realise their dreams as well continue the rich tradition of sporting success. 

BEIJING—Jamaica picked up a third relay gold in world-leading time as the Caribbean finished among the medals on the final day of competition to conclude a successful IAAF World Championships here yesterday.

The 4x100 metres quartet of Christine Day, Shericka Jackson, Stephenie Ann McPherson and Novlene Williams-Mills ran a world leading time of three minutes, 19.13 seconds to add a third relay gold medal following victories in the sprint relays on Saturday.

Running the anchor leg, Novlene Williams-Mills saved the best for last and cruised past American Francena McCorory in the last 20 metres to give Jamaica gold.

The United States finished second in a time of 3:19.44 and Great Britain took home the bronze in 3:23.62.

“These girls, they did it all the way. That is when you have the heart of a champion, that is what you do,” Williams-Mills said on passing McCorory near the finish line.

And it was all about T&T and the United States in the men’s version with the experienced American LaShawn Merritt holding off a challenge from Machel Cedenio to deny the Caribbean nation victory.

Renny Quow ran an opening split time of 43.23 seconds which set the scene for Trinidad and Tobago with Lalonde Gordon clocking 45.68 on the second leg and Deon Lendore, 44.75 on the third.

Cedenio then challenged Merritt to the end in timing 44.16.

The Americans completed the 400m relay in a world leading time of 2:57.82 with T&T finishing in a new national record time of 2:38.20 and Great Britain clocking a season best of 2:58.51.

In the only other event with Caribbean participation, Donald Thomas cleared 2.29 metres for sixth in the men’s high jump. His compatriot Trevor Barry was tenth with 2.25m.

Canada’s Derek Drouin (2.34m) won a jump-off with Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine and Guowei Zhang of China (2.33m) for the gold medal.

Kenya topped the medal table with seven gold for a total of 16 medals with Jamaica also finishing on seven gold but 12 medals. United States finished with 18 medals but only six gold.

The next IAAF World Championships will be held in London in 2017. (CMC)

Charmy would be a popular winner of the 2-y-o Maiden Fillies’ stakes over a mile of ‘good to soft’ Chepstow, mount of the irrepressible Cathy Gannon!

Talk about resilient Cathy is the epitomy of professionalism and her resolve these past two years has been astounding; nasty injuries laid her low but this remarkable Irish lass has always wanted to be a jockey and a mother; she’s achieved both, in rare circumstances!

While on the injured list (again!) Cathy turned a negative into a positive, became pregnant and had a healthy off-spring; earlier this year the name Gannon reappeared only to disappear briefly because of a shoulder injury.

Cathy took her time even though patience isn’t her strongest virtue and ‘worked’ back to 100 percent fitness; her contacts were alerted, she rode a winner, put her name back in the spotlight and grabbed every opportunity going, partnering winners all over.

They say it’s impossible to  distinguish between some female jockeys and the experienced males, watch Cathy and understand just what that means, especially with one of those characteristic barnstorm finishes.

Charmy, one of five rides on this eight-race programme, is no ‘cert’ but represents a ‘prestige’ ride for a high-profile yard and Cathy knows how important it will be to ride her into the winners’ enclosure; I’ll bet she does!

Earlier, over the same course and distance, they kick-off with the Dorothy Mort Memorial Maiden Stakes and Richard Hannon means to win it with Taqwaa, third in the ‘Convivial’ at York ten days ago.

Dorothy was a wonderful lady, wife of David who owned Coventry Stakes winner Varingo; they were my friends during very happy on-course times.

There are so many meetings on this bank holiday Monday but our focus is on two-year-olds and Kumandavsumfun is napped for the Selling Stakes over six furlongs at ‘good’ Ripon; should win unchallenged!

I think it was a former PM who once referred to T&T as “a little black speck” somewhere in the Atlantic? A speck of little importance, despite having a transient advantage in petroleum and gas, now fast fading, to the world’s major countries. 

Reading some of the articles in the press or maccoing local social media, one would be forgiven for believing that many, if not most Trinis, think we are big stuff, important strutters on the world stage. Hence the dislike other Caribbean people have for us. We are known up and down the islands as “Trickidadians.” Most believe we are a superficial people, full of bluster and air, good for a fete and little else, “a tale, Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” (Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, 19-28)

It’s bad enough being small-time islanders pretending to be important. There is a spectacular video show available on the Net (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Eh5BpSnBBw), that furthers the image of how inconsequential we are. 

It shows in succession, the place of our planet in our solar system, then the place of our solar system in our galaxy, the Milky Way, with its billions of stars, then the place of, really, our runty little Milky Way’s place in our local galactic group, then the local galactic group’s place in the Virgo supercluster of galaxies, then where that supercluster of galaxies is positioned in the universe. 

Now we have Stephen Hawking telling us that black holes are portals to other universes. At the end of the presentation, you are left with the feeling that T&T and its problems, including the present political charade, are “small ting.”

By the time we are teens we should have a sense of our planet’s place in the universe and of Trinidad’s in the world. It might be an advantage if our legislators (and the rest of us) took time to study astronomy.

People ambitious to have power-holding roles in government should be required to pass exams in any subjects that would suggest they have an understanding of how best to help a democracy function. 

Included in these tests might be a freshman course in evolutionary biology/general ecology; questions on the historic use of basic science in making best use of our resources and keeping our infrastructure safe and sound; on the importance of various transportation systems and how best to help realise their usefulness; on our record of economic booms and busts and what might provide the way to employment for the most people; on the importance of ongoing genuine civil debates and how they might be encouraged; on the candidate’s understanding of philosophy’s formation of ideas, as well as a grasp of astronomy.

The astronomy course should be mandatory for anyone running for office. That may not happen any time soon, but a small step would be to replace astrology columns in newspapers and magazines with an astronomy one. 

Could that trigger more rational thinking over the long run and stem some of the anger, frustration and disenchantment that is so evident in this election because of the poor showing of our politicians.

Who now believe that politicians care about us? In 1962, 90 per cent of the people would have said yes. Even if they did not always agree with results, people felt elected officials had their interests at heart. 

Today 90 per cent will say no, a complete reversal. They don’t think politicians give a penny’s worth of gobar for anything except making money. They don’t perceive a difference between the two main parties. They’re fed up and angry and what is just as bad is that the press does not get it. 

With rare exceptions, the media continue merrily along its way and do not comment on this frustration and exhaustion that politicians have the country in. 

The election cover is the same as always. The same stale quotes. Same tedious articles. Same pictures of politicians holding babies. Same mauvais langue on the talk shows. 

Last week I tuned in to one of the better radio stations. The talk was about some bimbo who had accused a politician about something or the other and was now backing back and claiming she wanted to get on with her life so the gossip, old lady gossip, was why she was doing that and that she had not denied that the putative incident had indeed taken place, “heh heh heh!” but both gentlemen agreed that the lady had a right to her own life, heh heh!

You scan the papers in vain for some rational discussion about policies and all you get are media releases from political parties or frightening claims that are never substantiated about death threats and sexual innuendos or trite talk about how the “people” must decide on certain questions. 

All of a sudden the “people” become important when difficult questions are asked. This passes for leadership in T&T.

You watch a question-and-answer session with the PM and all you get is fawning questions and puppy-dog expressions of love and respect for “the honourable” title. 

Be nice and you might get something to “eat ah food.”

Towards the end of the second world war, the social philosopher Karl Polanyi pointed out that when politics offers little choice and little prospect of solving their problems, people seek extreme solutions.

We are in for a couple of very rough years.

I have read and listened to with interest the exchanges between the Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and the management of WASA in the matter of the current shortage of potable water in Tobago. While WASA is on solid ground in pointing to the low level of rainfall in the island this could very well be a blessing in disguise as it raises a fundamental issue which, though seemingly unconnected, impinges on the ongoing matter of internal self government for Tobago.

I have always wondered at the rationale behind the responsibility for services such as water supply in Tobago not having been bestowed to the THA. This seems to have had its origin in what I would term “administrative bigness” which was the guiding principle in the setting up of Statutory Authorities in the post-Independence period. 

I am of the view, therefore, that the WASA Act and the Schedule of the THA Act should both be amended to transfer responsibility for the subject water to the THA. After all, at the moment (nor is it ever envisaged in the future,) neither Tobago nor Trinidad supplies each other from water resources located in the other. 

My understanding is that the rationale for the arrangement was said originally to be (a) the need to have the level of expertise required available to Tobago, and (b) the added assumption that economies of scale were to be reaped for Tobago were there to be bulk-purchasing of materials and supplies for the production and distribution processes. 

These assumptions are, of course, of doubtful validity. I can see therefore, no compelling reason for having the water supply agency in Tobago, as it were, tied (figuratively) to the coattails of St Joseph. Such cutting of the nexus between St Joseph and Scarborough will, of course, see the THA being responsible for water rates and charges in Tobago. 

A friend (recently deceased) who was a technical officer at the now defunct Water Resources Agency who had spent much of his time on assignment in Tobago, used to bemoan the widespread existence of what, to him, was the environmentally unsightly widespread existence of water tanks throughout Tobago. He was firm that the water resources of Tobago, if properly harnessed, would obviate the need for tanks. He used to point out:

(a) the need to de-silt the Hillsborough Dam—a project which had been on the drawing board since the 1980s; and

(b) the need to bring into production boreholes at aquifers and waterfalls etc, which had been identified.

I am not now in a position either to question or to verify the above assumptions. I did read, however, that the de-silting of the Hillsborough Dam—the single most important source of the water supply in Tobago—could not have been proceeded with due to an inability to locate a suitable site at which the deposits could be placed. Should this be the case, what of Studley Park, lying a relatively short distance away? Could these deposits not be used as landfill for a new port at Studley Park?

In any event, assuming that there has been a permanent shift in climate which may affect Tobago negatively, consideration would have to be given to the erection of desalination plants were Tobago to be enabled to attain its goal as a tourist haven.

Errol OC Cupid, 

Trincity, Tacarigua

Stop railroading us! Should we rail against the rapid rail? Somehow it seems that our politicians can’t see the wood for the trees and are missing the big picture. Is it tunnel vision or disdain for us? 

Rapid rail may or may not be necessary. What is of paramount importance is transportation efficiency. Why is it that whenever school is closed, the road has less traffic? Is it that so many parents, guardians and school buses stay at home or is it that there is no need to be competing to arrive at the same time as the average worker who begins work at 8 am?

We all agree that the ubiquitous, everyday traffic jams are the result of too many vehicles on the road. The primary challenge then becomes one of lessening the number of vehicles on the road at any given time and this will require a multi-pronged approach, of which one may be the rapid rail.

Decentralisation must be implemented. Our federal capital, Port-of-Spain, should house just the essential government offices, which do not require too much customer interaction, such as the Prime Minister’s, President’s, Central Bank’s, ministries head offices and embassies. Customer services offered by the various ministries should be fully and properly decentralised, obviating the need for visits to Port-of-Spain.

Telecommuting or teleworking, which gives the ability to work from home, must be effected. The technology exists but the necessary legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures must be put in place. Occupational safety and health concerns are paramount. Departmental, group and team meetings could be scheduled twice per month, mid-morning or on afternoons.

An efficient and timely bus transportation service, on a permanent basis, will encourage those who drive to work to leave their vehicles at home, unless they have a truly critical need to use their vehicles on a particular day. Governments continue to purchase new buses and yet more buses remain in disrepair, despite having established a vehicle maintenance company, VMCOTT, many years ago. Efficient leadership is lacking or non-existent.

Not only is an efficient school bus service necessary but schools should not all begin classes at the same time as work. This would necessitate some logistical arrangements to ensure children are not left unsupervised. The system could begin with secondary schools, beginning from Form 2, where the students are more mature and responsible and may require less supervision at home.

A few positive outcomes of the suggestions above will be more country-wide development, more employment and an improved rating of T&T. Don’t railroad us into accepting or not, a rapid rail system.

Harjoon Heeralal,

Orange Field Road, Carapichaima

What officials and activists, I observe, have been calling a lagoon, is in fact, a delta in the Oropouche Basin. That is, the water is drawn across a wide sheet, or plain, into many strands, a main river, the Godino, and eight other tributary rivers. All of this constitutes a delta which empties into the Gulf of Paria. Maps of the area in the late 19th century show that this delta stretched as far as what is known as Monkey Town and Barrackpore, over 20 miles inland. 

At high tide, this delta will be always flush with water, being that the sea water back up into the various channels. A flurry of business and housing settlements on the delta itself and on its eastern fringe have endangered the future of the delta system. 

It is impossible to mitigate the effects of a full-fledged highway and its five broad-based interchanges across this delta system, unless this artificial feature is run on stanchions. 

This is because of the following reason: the water runs across the face of the delta in sheet flow. Drainage pipes will not be able to capture the water, which flows mainly from east to west, pressing against the north-south embankment. There will always be a back-up of water to the east of the embankment, in the districts of Debe and Penal, particularly at high tide. 

Building channels along the sides of the embankment to the various tributaries as a means of outlet will hardly cure this problem. This is because the water in the tributaries will back up at high tide and push the water into the agricultural estates and communities. If this part saltwater is not sufficiently diluted by rainwater, the saltwater will salinate the soil, making it highly unusable for future agriculture.

The proposed highway in the Mon Desir to Fyzabad to Siparia to Penal to Debe area will therefore be the final decline of a very important delta system. These systems are important to protect small islands against global climate change; protect against coastal erosion and flooding; provide a sanctuary for variegated forms of ancestral wildlife; and provide a buffer for the communities against catastrophic high water events.

Ravina Singh

For many years there have been subtle questions asked around the transparency of the process used to determine which individuals are chosen to receive our country’s national awards.

The reality is that though any citizen or organisation has the right to submit nominations for consideration to the National Awards body, ultimately the final decision remains with the Prime Minister and maybe her Cabinet colleagues. 

Many are of the view that the President of our country has an input in this process. 

Well he does, but only to facilitate the process, and co-ordinate with the Secretary of the National Awards the interviewing process of the applicants. Outside of that, he has no say.

My concern is that the rules of the politics have changed significantly over the past ten years, and we have seen many instances where political influence has entered into arenas where it does not belong.

With regards to our national awards, it is very easy for there to be political railroading of this process. On occasions we have seen quite a few awardees whose stated accomplishments were marginal at best—but compounded with their political affiliation, made them prime candidates for receiving national awards.

I believe that the time has come where an independent body, insulated from party politicians, should be vested with the decision to identify people of merit who meet the criteria to be considered for national awards. 

Only then can we as citizens be assured that there is objectivity and fairness in the selection process. 

Only then can we correctly select those people who are indeed the most deserving of such esteemed honours.

Bob Mills

Tunapuna