Wheelchair-bound children suffering from cerebral palsy and their parents demonstrated in the rain yesterday, calling for the opening of the National Enrichment Centre at Carlsen Field, Chaguanas.

The centre was built just over two years ago at a cost of $13.5 million and is equipped with physiotherapy equipment and a pool to treat all people with disabilities but remains unopened.

Cerebral Palsy Society of T&T (CPSTT) president Philip Metivier said his association has been clamouring for the use of the centre for the past two years. However, he said whenever the CPSTT asks about the status of the centre they keep getting excuses from the Ministry of Social Development and a run-a-round from Minister of Social Development and Family Service Cherrie Ann Critchlow-Cockburn.

Metivier said he was supposed to meet with Critchlow-Cockburn in March but she called at the eleventh hour and cancelled the meeting.

“I wrote several letters to her requesting a meeting and I never got a response,” Metivier said.

He said to add insult to injury, several grants, such as the caretaker grant and food cards, were taken away from parents who depended on these state handouts to take care of their children.

Visually impaired parent Angela Swamber, who has been blind for the last 27 years, cried and as she told the media of her plight.

Swamber said there is no help locally for children with CP and the centre offered a ray of hope when it came to therapy. Swamber shed even more tears when she said her son had often asked her why was he born to suffer this way.

Parent Rohini Mootilal complained that they are experiencing problems to get the special Eldamo buses from PTSC to take their children for medical care. They said the drivers also inconvenience the children since they also stop to pick up PTSC workers and delay the process to the health services.

Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh, the former Minister of the People and Social Development under the People’s Partnership administration, said the Government should stop playing politics with children suffering from CP.

Ramadharsingh said: “They are not the average citizen, they are not even the average differently-abled person that is physically impaired. You have a condition in CP where you have a physical difficulty and in some cases, you have a mental challenge as well.”

Ramadharsingh said some children with CP have different nutritional requirements and may have to be fed intravenously or may die.

“They need the food grant, they need this facility for therapy, they can raise funds to bring in specialists. There is a pool for physiotherapy, there is no excuse, even if times are hard a new brand facility should be put to use and not remain unused.

“This is a colossal shame that this facility is not being used and today they have to shelter in a tent while a facility that was built for more than $13 million and being underutilised …do not let political victimisation affect these children, use it constructively for the benefit of the children.”

A Trinidadian woman has been jailed in the United Kingdom (UK) for defrauding a charity she worked for of in excess of £.75 million.

In an article dated July 13, 2018, on the Metropolitan Police’s website, Nadia Deone Chase-Ali, 35, of Bonchurch Road, W11, was reported to have appeared at Isleworth Crown Court, where she was convicted of fraud by abuse of position, theft and removing money from England and Wales.

She was sentenced to six years in prison.

Chase-Ali was employed as a financial officer with Carnival Village Trust (CVT). She then went on to work freelance for the organisation, holding a position of trust in which she was expected to safeguard the financial interests of the charity.

Over the course of two years, Chase-Ali allegedly made 530 separate payments totalling £784,262.56 from CVT and TW11’s bank accounts into four of her own bank accounts. She disguised these transactions as payments to legitimate suppliers, service providers and government organisations.

To conceal the theft, the article stated, she stole from the charity and company a significant number of financial documents, including outstanding invoices, payment demand letters and financial statements, which were found at her home address the day she was arrested on March 16, 2017.

The trial began on June 11 and on day two of the trial Chase-Ali changed her plea for two counts - fraud by abuse of position and removal of criminal property out of England and Wales. She continued to plead not guilty to theft of the financial documents.

Member of the Public Accounts Enterprises Committee (PAEC) David Small says “a clear message has been sent out by the Board of the Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP) following the Board’s dismissal this week of the programme’s chief executive officer Nigel Forgenie.

The Board is chaired by Thora Best

Small added: “And I suppose by extension the Government that if your hands are found in the kitty they are prepared to take action.”

Small was the committee member who put the question to the now sacked chief executive officer of YTEPP three times on July 4 whether he had a relative working at the company or whether any relative had been given a contract.

On the three occasions Forgenie responded in the negative.

He was warned by committee chairman Wade Mark of having to face the consequences if he did not tell the truth since he was under oath.

It was only on the fourth occasion when the question was put to him by committee member Jennifer Baptiste-Primus that Forgenie admitted his wife had been employed in a dance programme run by YTEPP under her maiden name.

Yesterday, Small told the T&T Guardian the dismissal was a “surprise, I think it is the first time in the records of how the JSC functions something like that has occurred.”

He said it was “really unfortunate,” but he said he gave Forgenie “every opportunity to come clean, I told him that we had additional information and I am giving you the opportunity to change your answer and to come clean, and he insisted on going the way he went.”

Small said he took no pleasure in the dismissal of the CEO since “I will be the last person to have any enjoyment or excitement from someone losing their job in this economic climate,” but he said it was clear that things under Forgenie’s 12- year tenure at YTEPP were not as they should have been.

He said he doubts that Forgenie “acted alone, so I expect that the Board will continue its investigation to determine who else in the company is culpable.”

Small said Forgenie’s dismissal “is a huge swelling effect for a long time most people holding those positions would say nothing would happen and we will be able to walk away and life goes on as normal.”

He said while the committee is not a “punitive committee trying to get people to lose their jobs or have people fired,” they do have a duty to “protect the resources of the State in the best way possible to make sure that people who are in charge of these entities who have control of these resources, apply the proper rules and procedures, that’s what we are trying to do.”

Yesterday, calls to Forgenie’s phone went unanswered and calls to YTEPP chairman Thora Best were also futile.

Small said holders of high office at State entities “and I continue to hold the view that when you listen to the way some of the people in charge of these entities operate, they don’t seem to understand that this is taxpayers’ money, this is not a slush fund for you to take and spend and don’t apply proper control or procedures.”

Committee chairman Wade Mark agreed saying “we need value for our money, as I keep telling people there is no party colour in the taxpayer dollar.”

Mark said since assuming the role of oversight JSC’s and parliamentary committees like the PAEC “ had extraordinary success in keeping State enterprises under check and real serious scrutiny and probity.”

Without the parliamentary oversight committees, he said, the public would not have a lot of the information which is now available, “There has been a massive increase in the level of accountability, transparency and openness as a result of the formation and establishment of the committees,” he said.

On the specific case of Forgenie, Mark said his was “unique because he blatantly lied to the committee.”

Mark said, “There are instances where we seek information and get all kind of roundabout answers to questions and a complete refusal to answer.”

He recalled when TSTT appeared before the committee when they were asked about the sale arrangement with Massy Communication, “we asked did they do an evaluation, did you do due diligence, they gave us a cock and bull story. The committee is yet to get the report requested so we sent a report to Parliament to that effect.”

Once the parliamentary committees submit their report with recommendations the State entities under review have 60 days to respond in writing to tell the committee they have received the recommendation and the action which they have taken.

Both Small and Mark believe that while the committees have an important role in keeping the State entities accountable, the organisation charged with monitoring State entities the Investment Division of the Ministry of Finance needs strengthening.

Mark said, “You have 110 State enterprises and 20 people in the Investment Division how can they supervise properly? It is impossible.”

He believes that the Investment Division should become “an independent unit attached to the Parliament with an independent budget and reporting directly to the Parliament.”

Small agreed that the Investment Division “is woefully understaffed, woefully under-resourced, so that needs to be fixed.”

Small said it was a “physical impossibility,” for the division to properly monitor the State entities given its short-comings urging that the issues be addressed.

Carl Celestine has been appointed interim chairman has been appointed at the National Commission for Self Help Limited

This after the organisation’s chairman Edgar Zephyrine tendered his resignation.

In April the commission appeared before the PAEC chaired by Wade Mark and was described as a “rogue entity.”

Zephyrine was accused of “doing your own thing as chairman,” by Mark.

Several committee members including Mark, Jennifer Baptiste-Primus and David Small had raised concerns about the Abercrombie Fund which the Commission invested TT$20 million in at First Citizens.

“How does a company on a tight budget have $20 million to invest?” Small asked. Zephyrine said the investment in the fund “has been a bit of a mystery.”

But Baptiste-Primus noted Zephyrine himself had signed off on two withdrawals from the fund.

Baptiste-Primus expressed concern that money from the fund was used to pay suppliers without approval from either the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Community Development.

The Committee also heard from the commission’s corporate Secretary and Legal Advisor Kendra Thomas-Long who said she had recognised “certain breaches of control by the Zephrine- led Board and “sought to raise it via a board note, but I was prevented from doing so.”

The T&T Guardian was told that Zephyrine subsequently resigned as chairman. Another Board member also tendered her resignation shortly after the PAEC meeting.

Yesterday, employees of the Commission suggested the need for a “forensic audit” into the entity as they called for an account of the TT$10 million withdrawn from the Abercrombie fund under the tenure of the Zephyrine- led Board.

The T&T Guardian was also told that an acting CEO is due to take up duties on Monday after the CEO, who was suspended by the Zephryine led- Board, decided not to return to the commission .

Senior staffers said the organisation is “finally settling down,” and returning to “its original purpose where it gives grants and help people. We were at a standstill but things are slowly picking up.”

Efforts to contact line Minister for the Commission Nyzan Gadsby Dolly proved futile yesterday.

A former Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) executive and a construction company director have been each released on $250,000 bail after appearing in court on corruption charges yesterday.

Wendell Diaz, the former head of Procurement and Logistics at WASA and Michael Arjune, a director of Kall Co Ltd, were granted bail when they appeared before Magistrate Kerri Honore-Narine in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court.

Diaz was charged with corruptly accepting a $30,000 bribe from Arjune as a reward for influencing the award of WASA contracts to the company. Arjune was charged for paying the bribe in December 2013. The charges did not state if any contracts were induced by the alleged bribe.

The duo was not called upon to plead to the charges, which were laid indictably.

Police prosecutor, acting Inspector Rajesh Lal, objected to bail for Diaz, who lives at Red Hill, D’Abadie, and for Arjune, who lives at Boissiere Village, Maraval.

Honore-Narine disagreed.

Kall Co is one of several contracting companies that were named in a recent novel state civil cartel claim over $200 million in contractors awarded under the People’s Partnership government in the run-up to the 2015 general elections. The cartel claim centres around 10 contracts for rehabilitation of roads in Caroni, which were granted to five contractors by the Estate Management and Business Development Company Ltd (EMBD).

The other contractors, who are also challenging the claim, are Namalco, Fides, TN Ramnauth and Company Ltd (TN Ramnauth) and Mootilal Ramhit and Sons Contracting Ltd (Ramhit).

That claim, touted by the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government as its first corruption case, is currently before High Court Judge James Aboud and is yet to go to trial.

Kall Co has also won several millions of dollars in lawsuits over uncontested work it performed for other State agencies over the past few years.

Even after it was implicated in the cartel claim, the Government still awarded it a $400 million contract for the first leg of the controversial Churchill Roosevelt Highway extension to Manzanilla, which is currently under construction.

Diaz was represented by Ulric Skerritt, while Jagdeo Singh and Criston J Williams represented Arjune. They were charged by PC Patrice Loney-Phillip of the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau.

Both men were ordered to reappear in court on August 10.

When contacted on the matter yesterday, WASA chairman Romney Thomas said he had heard that charges have been laid against Diaz.

“What I can tell you is that Mr Wendell Diaz was the former acting director of corporate services prior to his termination in March of 2017 for gross misconduct,” Thomas said, adding the AG’s office continues to work on claims of a civil nature involving corruption.

Pressed further, Thomas refused to comment saying Diaz’s matter was now before the court.

Calls to Kall Co’s office yesterday went unanswered.

Alleged improper communication between prosecutors and a magistrate may derail the preliminary inquiry into the assassination of former Independent Senator Dana Seetahal, SC.

Lawyers representing some of the 10 men charged with the crime yesterday made an application calling for Senior Magistrate Indrani Cedeno to recuse herself from the case, which she has been presiding over since 2016.

In the application, which was obtained by the T&T Guardian, the group’s lawyer Criston J Williams explained that the improper communication was revealed to him and other defence attorneys during a chamber court hearing before Cedeno on June 1.

Williams said at the meeting they were informed that there was communication between the prosecution and Cedeno in November last year and in May.

“This ex-parte unilateral communication caused Magistrate Cedeno to have heightened sense of fear as she perceived the nature of the communication received subjectively and subsequently made a formal application for ‘increased security’,” Williams said.

Williams alleged that the communication related to a series of violent threats made in series of Whatsapp messages. The messages, which do not directly refer to Cedeno or the case, were attached to the application.

In the application, Williams suggested that the communication and the failure of Cedeno to disclose it within a reasonable time was improper.

“It is fundamentally flawed and unbecoming of the prosecution led by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and begs the question of prosecutorial conduct in the circumstances,” Williams said.

He also suggested that her conduct may make a fair-minded observer question whether she would be biased against the accused men.

“In the instantaneous case at the bar, it shall be difficult to persuade the hypothetical observer that the magistrate has or may have the ability to dismiss from her mind her perceived subjective threat in making of her decisions,” Williams said.

In the event that Cedeno agrees to recuse herself, it would mean that the preliminary inquiry, which is already at an advanced stage, would have to be restarted before a new magistrate. This would further delay the case, as prosecutors will have to re-tender the 50 witness statements that have already been put into evidence. The ten witnesses who have already given evidence before Cedeno will also have to take the witness stand a second time and be cross-examined by defence attorneys. It will also have a ripple effect on other unrelated cases in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court, as most magistrates do not schedule hearings of their cases when the high-profile case is listed due to heightened security measures implemented for it.

Cedeno only took control of the case in 2016, after former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar recused herself from the case after it was revealed some police officers in her security detail had assisted in investigating Seetahal’s murder. However, Ayers-Caesar’s recusal did not totally derail the inquiry as the State had not begun to lead evidence when it occurred.

The application is expected to be considered when the case comes up for hearing before Cedeno, next Wednesday.

ABOUT THE CASE

The issue is the second alleged blunder by the prosecution team since reputed gang leader Rajaee Ali and 13 alleged associates were charged with the crime, a year after Seetahal was murdered on May 4, 2014.

Seetahal was shot dead behind the wheel of her SUV while driving along Hamilton Holder Street, Woodbrook.

Ali, his brothers Ishmael and Hamid Ali; Devaughn Cummings, Ricardo Stewart, Earl Richards, Stephan Cummings, Kevin Parkinson, Leston Gonzales; Roget Boucher and Gareth Wiseman were initially charged with the crime.

They, along with Rajaee’s wife Stacy Griffith, Deon Peters and David Ector, were also charged under the Anti-Gang Act for being members of a gang.

In 2016, the DDP’s Office applied to amend the gang charges due to an administrative error made when they were laid on the group.

Cedeno dismissed it as she ruled that the time for making the amendment had expired. Peters and Ector were set free, while Griffith remained as she was charged with an unrelated gang offence that was not affected by the blunder.

Cedeno’s decision on that issue is being challenged in the Court of Appeal next week.

In December last year, the murder charge was discontinued against Stephan Cummings, who was instead charged with conspiring to murder Seetahal.

Ector was murdered earlier this week.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says his Government “ will never sacrifice the racial, ethnic and religious stability of T&T in attempting to win an election.”

Addressing a political meeting in Belmont on Thursday night he accused the UNC of “starting a race war in El Socorro.”

He accused the Opposition of being “prepared to risk the country’s social ethnic and religious stability to win one local government seat.”

He said he understood the problem, “if you lose eight times in a row you can’t risk loss number nine,” but he said it was at the price of telling Muslims in El Socorro that the anti-terrorism act is anti-Muslim and the government attacking Muslims.”

Rowley also took to task one Muslim leader who criticised him after he described the Boardwalk killings was akin to terrorism.

He said he made no apologies for his statement. “I say a man in using an automatic weapon to spray a crowd of innocent people trying to kill somebody and you end up killing three people and four almost got killed and others could have been killed, this indiscriminate killing isn’t that what terrorism is, indiscriminate killing of innocent participants that is what it is,” the PM said.

The Prime Minister said there are guns in this country “that can shoot many rounds within seconds” and anyone who has such a weapon “could act like a terrorist.”

His statements about the Opposition and the race war were in sync with a letter which residents in El Socorro have been receiving in their mailbox in the lead-up to the bye-election in Barataria in which residents were told that their decision “should be decided on real issues, on the truth and not on messages of fear and religion.”

Although there was no signature, the letter head was ‘From the desk of Dr Keith Rowley Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Political Leader of the peoples National Movement.

Addressed to ‘Dear resident,” the letter described Barataria as an “ethnically, culturally, religiously diverse and suburban neighbourhood.”

The letter, which residents said they found in their mailboxes, listed eight challenges which “as a society and government we face.”

Those included “overcoming the scourge of violent crime,” protection and education of children, restructuring the energy economy, looking after the vulnerable in society, confronting and changing the culture of corruption in public affairs, diversification of the economy, and building public institutions to work “in the people’s interest and not against it.”

A concern was conveyed in the letter that while no path is without challenge, T&T has of late been “tarnished by the few trying to divide us or inflame emotions,” to choose a government “along lines of religion, misinformation and fear.”

Barataria is a widely Muslim community. Homes in Mohammedville and the Nur ul Islam Mosque were among those raided during the so called terrorist threat over the Carnival period.

The letter stated: “As your Prime Minister, but more importantly as a fellow citizen, I have seen an alarming willingness of a few in the public space to use their religion, misinformation and fear to obscure the real issues and divide this nation along fault lines that fit their own narrow interest or personal agendas.”

It said: “The growing intensity of their actions and the indifference towards the threat it presents to our social stability should be seen and rejected by all.”

The letter detailed historically from the Peoples Charter by Dr Eric Williams in 1956 which were enshrined in the Constitution highlighting the national watchword ‘tolerance’ stating that as a country we had moved “far beyond” the meaning of the word.

It said as a national T&T had crossed boundaries and celebrate each other’s culture, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Shouter Baptist , Indian Arrival Day, Emancipation Day and more recently the First Peoples holiday, “our children grow up as we did celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr, Christmas and Divali.”

It included the Prime Ministerial oath, and sought to assure that “as your Prime Minister I lead a Government and a party,” that not only has an “abiding loyalty,” to the oath but “we have always believed that religious liberty is an indivisible right under the Constitution.”

Those things the people of Barataria were told were being brought to their attention to show that the society as it is today was “built one block at a time on ideals like tolerance, discipline and production.”

The letter noted: “Our success as a society does not only lie within the usual boundaries of just respecting our differences, but because we have crossed those boundaries and grown to celebrate and embrace them as our own.”

Residents were told “you will have a choice to make in the upcoming by-election, I believe that this seat, like all seats, should be decided on real issues, on the truth and not on messages of fear and religion.”

The letter added: “No election should be decided on religion, fear or misinformation,” but about making a choice to voting to “continue on a path to progress, prosperity, stability, tolerance and service,” and “selecting a trusted political party to best serve you,” as it urged residents to vote for Kimberly Small. See Page A10

The Parliament meets next week Friday—July 20— to discuss a nomination sent from the Police Service Commission for the post of Commissioner of Police.

Stephen Williams topped the merit list which was compiled by the firm KPMG.

Two weeks ago, the Parliament rejected the nomination of Harold Phillip as Commissioner of Police and referred the issue back to the PSC advising them to use the merit list which continues to be valid for a year.

Phillip and another deputy Deodat Dulalchan were rejected by the Government because they both applied for the job of deputy commissioners and not that of Commissioner of Police.

Williams, who has been acting Commissioner of Police for the past six years, applied for the job of top cop and topped the merit list.

Asked by the T&T Guardian whether he was willing to accept the job if the Parliament accepted the nomination Williams said he had not commented on the issue around the commissioner’s appointment since the process started and he will; not do so now.

Williams told the Guardian that his effective date of resignation is August 8, 2020.

Despite the fact that two of his deputies were interviewed for the post of commissioner and were nominated before him for the position, Williams said he had seen “no obvious dissension among the ranks over the issue of commissioner,” but he declined further comment.

Although the country has been experiencing a severe spate of crime which has seen a spike in murders, Williams said, “Over the past four to five years we have been averaging 12,500 serious crimes in Trinidad and Tobago, compared to an average which was 20,000.”

Williams said he has “weekly meetings with my divisional heads” as they seek to get a handle on the crime problem.

The reluctance of T&T to make the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) its final court of appeal is an embarrassment.

The statement was made by Chief Justice Ivor Archie as he addressed a special sitting of the court to commemorate the appointment of new CCJ President Adrian Saunders.

The ceremonial hearing was held at the CCJ’s headquarters at Henry Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday morning.

Archie said: “I consider it a continuing embarrassment that as the seat of the court we do not yet access its appellate jurisdiction.”

Archie’s comments were supported by almost all the speakers who proceeded him including the Chief Justices of Barbados and Guyana and several senior regional attorneys.

Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Fitzgerald Hinds also echoed that statement in his address on behalf of the Government.

“I have taken note of the expressions of embarrassment by the CJ and others and I too am embarrassed,” Hinds said as he claimed that his Government and political party has always supported this country’s ascension to the court.

In an interview after the ceremony, Hinds explained that while the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) had signed the initial treaty establishing the court in 2000, it has since repeatedly refused to support moves to replace the United Kingdom-based Privy Council with it.

“Once the Government changed 2001 there was a sudden turnaround and we have not been able to get their support since,” Hinds claimed as he pointed out that Opposition support was vital as such a change required a special majority of Parliament to be ratified.

In his speech, Law Association president Douglas Mendes, SC, who regularly appears at the CCJ in regional appeals, claimed that issues with ascension were also caused by misinformation on and misconceptions of the court.

Mendes said: “Contrary to the naysayers, this court has not been an instrument of the heads of Government.”

Of the 12 Caricom nations which signed the treaty, only Barbados, Guyana, Belize and Dominica have made the move to have their criminal and civil appeals heard by the CCJ. The CCJ still has exclusive jurisdiction to hear all cases involving the interpretation of treaties dealing with Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) for all 12 signatory states.

Speaking with reporters after the event, Sauders, who is from St Vincent, admitted that he and his colleagues hoped that more countries would take the step.

“That is a political process though but there are things we can do in order to assist that process,” Saunders said as he admitted that more public information was needed.

“One of those things is providing more information on the court, on what it does and about the processes we undertake and some of the cases we do. People can get a greater sense of confidence about the court and about our ability to be a protector of the rights of people and to serve the Caribbean public in promoting the rule of law and defending democratic values,” Saunders said.

He also admitted that in the past education programmes only targeted bar associations and professional organisations.

“I think we need to spend more time engaging with people on a broader or grassroots level,” Saunders said. He suggested that the court was considering using social media and mass communication methods to get its message across.

Saunders admitted that there was misinformation in the public domain about the court independence and ability.

“The Court actually has produced far more judgements for the four countries that are on board in the appellate jurisdiction than the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has produced for the several other states that are still sending their final appeals to them,” he said.

Saunders claimed that the large case-load was possibly caused by the easy access to the court and fact the appeals to it are much cheaper for litigants.

Asked if the court could handle an even larger case-load when more countries agree to sign on, Saunders said yes as he pointed out that the CCJ has provisions for 10 judges, although it currently has seven.

“Because they send the most appeals to the Privy Council and given that we reside here, if Trinidad were to come on board there is every likelihood we would need another judge,” Saunders said.

A mother of one, an attorney by profession, is seeking to take action against a private medical clinic in South Trinidad for performing a CT head scan in a manner that has caused ongoing severe internal injury in her head, brain and face.

The Sunday Guardian has been told that as a result of severe continuous symptoms since the scan, the patient, who has asked not to be identified at this point, is questioning whether she was improperly exposed to radiation or whether the CT machine at the medical clinic was faulty.

In a letter dated July 7, 2018, to Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh, the patient requested “an unbiased, properly conducted investigation and the taking of steps in the interest of health and safety pursuant to the Private Hospitals Act Chapter 29:03.” The Sunday Guardian was told that on June 11, 2018, the patient said she felt “completely well” and had no complaint up until the time immediately following the CT scan. The woman, who suffered from occasional headaches on the left side of the head over a two-month period prior to the CT scan, went for the scan on the advice made of her primary care physician, who was seeking to get answers to her initial complaint.

Contacted by the Sunday Guardian, the woman shared her experience.

“The back of my head, inside the head/brain, felt extremely painful, together with a burning sensation from the top to the base. The sides of my head and forehead all had the same kind of feeling. My throat felt swollen, raw and painful. My nose felt strange…dead and numb…breathing for me became difficult.”

In her letter to Deyalsingh, the woman said two hours after doing the scan she felt ill and began experiencing numbness in the face and upper lip, her two eyes became very dry with a rough feeling when she blinked and her eyes became blood-shot red.

The woman, in her letter, also told Deyalsingh how she noticed “violent involuntarily jerks” occurring in certain parts of her body, including her limbs. “That same night I fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the night and when I opened my eyes and they felt parched. When I looked in the mirror I saw they both were bloodshot. I tried not to panic and drank several glasses of water but still, I felt dry inside and no saliva in my mouth,” the woman said.

“I tried to go back to sleep at about 2 am but each time I closed my eyes I kept seeing a brightness… then the jerking started and intensified, frightening me out of my wits,” she added.

The attorney said later that morning she got up and attempted to get ready for work but found that she was extremely weak and in pain.

“I was forced to lay face flat on the couch of the living room motionless… my body jerking.”

The woman told the Sunday Guardian she contacted her doctor, who contacted a female official at the private hospital.

“It was a question as to whether I was improperly exposed to radiation or whether the CT machine was faulty and this my spouse and I discussed with my doctor, who would have relayed the gravity of what I was experiencing with the private hospital official,” she said.

With her symptoms continuing with intensity, the woman proceeded to speak to the technician and the manager of the CT unit at the private hospital but was only told that “the dosage administered was ‘automatic’ and that the technician does not have any input….there was no elaboration.”

In a bid to seek further medical help, the woman travelled to the United States where she saw a neurologist there who also suggested that an inquiry must be made into the “condition, lifespan and servicing of the machine and skill of technician that did the CT scan.”

“I was told by the neurologist that the brain tissues, meninges, could be damaged,” the patient said.

“I need as much help, maybe expert help and required treatment.

It’s almost as if I have reached that point of desperation and I am pleading with the Minister of Health for help and an intervention. I am also asking for the minister to launch an investigation and act accordingly. I have not been able to carry out my duties mand responsibility as an attorney and as a mother to my son, who needs me.”

An email sent to the founder of the clinic and another official querying the incident and requesting an update and/or pending actions went unanswered.

When contacted for a comment on the case, Deyalsingh said: “No comment, as it is an active investigation.”

INFO

In November 2011, the then Cabinet approved a national radiation protection policy. This policy came three months after it was revealed that 223 cancer patients at the Brian Lara Cancer Treatment Centre were overexposed to radiation for a prolonged period.

The policy calls for the establishment of a Radiation Regulatory Authority clearly sets out codes of practice, and also stipulates management requirements for safe practices in the public and private sectors.

On June 29, 2018, the Brian Lara Cancer Treatment Centre (BLCTC) and its owner Medcorp Limited were found negligent in the death of businessman Ricardo “Smokey” McKenzie.

Delivering a 35-page judgment in the Port-of-Spain High Court, Justice Mira Dean-Armorer ruled that McKenzie’s death was caused by a radiation overdose during his treatment at the centre in 2009. She noted that while McKenzie’s doctors suggested that he had five years to live when he was first diagnosed, he only survived for 18 months because of the centre’s negligent treatment.

In her judgment, Dean-Armorer noted that BLCTC admitted that its linear accelerator was miscalibrated during the period of McKenzie’s treatment. She also pointed out that while testifying at the trial, its former clinical director Dr Peter Bovell admitted the centre did not have a senior physicist to operate the machine and it relied on a junior employee who was not certified to do so.

Approximately 200 patients were affected by the miscalibration, with the centre settling claims with most except McKenzie’s and a handful of others, who were awaiting Dean- Armorer’s decision to continue their lawsuits. (See page A6)

People’s National Movement’s Belmont East candidate Nicole Young did not get the massive sea of red she was expecting for her motorcade yesterday, but that did not stop her from seizing the opportunity to speak with and greet residents who turned out to support their potential “would be” councillor.

The motorcade marked the end of Young’s campaigning in her hometown as she gets ready for tomorrow’s Local Government by-election, where she will hope to triumph over the United National Congress’ Lianna Babb-Gonzales and the PEP’s Felicia Holder.

Taking a break during her campaigning, Young told the Sunday Guardian outside the infrastructure issues in the community, the human element was what was needed. Asked about her most memorable experience throughout the campaigning, Young said it was meeting a woman for the first time who embraced her genuinely and told her she loved her.

“I visited her house during our walkabouts and she doesn’t know me, nor did I know her, but she read my profile and when she met me she embraced me and said, ‘Oh gosh, come darling, you don’t know how much I love you and I am proud of you.’

“That just stood out for me, that human element in particular. We know it’s about infrastructure and these different things but at the end of the day it is also about that human connection.”

She described her experience as very exciting as the people of Belmont East positively received her.

“It has been extra motivational for me. I have been speaking with some of the councillors from the Port-of-Spain Corporation and already they tell me it is going to be hard work. But I think I am up to the task because I signed up for this and I am excited to start.”

Young said she plans to do some innovative things in Belmont East, including implementing a collaborative monthly meeting with the various councillors representing south, north and west Belmont.

“I think it would be good for people to meet their councillors so we can all share and exchange ideas as we won’t have all the answers. We want that sort of interconnectivity to share ideas. I really want to champion for it,” Young said, adding the people of Belmont East are very intelligent so she knows great ideas will come from them.

“I really do feel confident. As I said I have been on the ground and the feedback is very motivating and people have welcomed me into the PNM family so I feel confident.”

Resident Ingrid Slinger told the Sunday Guardian there was need for positive things for the youths in the area. She said jobs and recreational sporting centres were missing from the community. She said more sporting centres will contribute to constructive behaviour among the youths, as too many of them have idle time on their hands.

Slinger said she believes that a young positive person like Young will make a huge difference in Belmont. She said Young’s predecessor, the late Darryl Rajpaul, did not impress her, as he did not fulfil many promises he made. However, she said she thinks Young has the drive, youth and passion to do a better job.

Another resident from Belle Eau Road, Akil Patterson, didn’t share the same view on Rajpaul. He said Rajpaul did a lot for the community and felt Young would have huge shoes to fill, although he believed she had already stepped up to the plate and will do well as a new female councillor.

Asked what was the pressing issue that needed to be addressed, he said there was a need for proper waste disposal as there was a serious dumping and garbage collection problem.

Although there was evidence of racial and political unity in Belmont East yesterday after the opposing candidates in tomorrow’s by-election shook hands gracefully as their motorcades sailed past each other without incident, they both agreed change was needed in order for the community and its residents to progress.

Their goals to improve the area also closely mirrored each other’s as they pledged to repair roads, clean clogged waterways, introduce a reliable water supply and implement a consistent schedule for garbage collection.

Surrounded by a small crowd of no less than 50 people, which included Opposition Senator Whip Wade Mark, United National Congress (UNC) candidate Lianna Babb-Gonzales said she was sensing victory.

Minutes before taking her post at the head of the UNC motorcade as it moved along Belmont Circular Road in a final push ahead of tomorrow by-election, Babb-Gonzales said, “This is the exciting part of it, as we have put in all the hard work, met the residents flesh-to-flesh and we are ready to go. We know victory is right at the door.”

Hesitant about making promises, Babb-Gonzales said she could only issue an assurance to “try my best to efficiently make things right in the essence of improving the infrastructural matters that have been highlighted by the residents.”

She added, “I am committed to helping persons get jobs and helping them in various aspects of sports, and also to have a place for the kids to engage in sports and do activities to further themselves in the future.”

Babb-Gonzales is hoping to secure more votes than the UNC candidate who contested the 2016 Local Government election.

Former Belmont East councillor, People’s National Movement (PNM) Darryl Rajpaul, won the seat back then after capturing 724 votes out of the 3,237 persons registered.

At the time, the UNC was only able to secure 49 votes. The seat was left vacant following Rajpaul’s passing last November.

As the supporters of each candidate (PNM and UNC held simultaneous motorcades in the constituency) mingled with each other at Piggott’s Corner yesterday, creating a sea of red and yellow, they engaged in the spirit of piccong and revelry as they waved party flags and held aloft pictures of each candidate as they danced in the streets.

Asked how she intended to tackle crime in the area, Babb-Gonzales, who lives along Belmont Circular Road and is a community favourite who operates a boxing gym and a kindergarten, said people had unfairly labelled Belmont as a gang and drug-infested area.

Saying the crime issue was affecting the entire country, she admitted constituents were fed-up of waiting on the authorities to effect positive change.

“Even though things have happened in the past, the people are loving and good and are willing to move forward with the assistance of the Government,” she said.

She admitted she was reluctant to serve initially after being told repeatedly that Belmont East was a PNM stronghold, but laughed as she said, “When God is steering the wheel and me just doing what I am accustomed to doing, having a school and people entrusting their children to me, I believe that is why they can entrust themselves to me as a community.”

Babb-Gonzales will round off her campaign with an interfaith service today.

Communications Minister Stuart Young has accused former government minister in the People’s Partnership Devant Maharaj of being associated with a fake profile being used to peddle misinformation against him (Young) on social media.

Maharaj is now considering legal action against Young as a result of this accusation.

The situation began after a Facebook profile under the name “Curtis Lawerence” stated that Young was bleeding the taxpayers of this country by drawing “four ministerial salaries”.

Apart from being Communications Minister, Young, the Member of Parliament for Port-of-Spain North/St Ann’s West, also holds the portfolios of Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister

On Friday, Young took issue with the post by “Curtis Lawerence”.

“This fake profile of Curtis Lawerence is associated with Devant Maharaj. The cowardice of hiding behind a fake profile of Curtis Lawrence and being exposed has resulted in further ‘fake news’ and lies being promoted by the opposition as seen here,” Young stated on his Facebook page.

“I receive ONE salary as a Government Minister even though I hold three Ministerial portfolios.

Once a MP is a Minister he/she does not receive any MP salary and accordingly, I ONLY receive one salary and that is a Minister’s salary,” he wrote.

“This latest attack by Devant Maharaj and his fake profile (Curtis Lawerence) is yet another example of the UNC dishonest type of politics.”

Maharaj said he referred Young’s post to his attorneys “for their review and consideration to ascertain if any appropriate legal action can be taken.”

“I find it amazing that a Cabinet Minister, who is called the Minister of Everything, has the time to spend trolling on Facebook and to make such spurious comments. It is also informative that an attorney, without checking the evidence to verify the truth, has made such allegations,” Maharaj stated.

Maharaj categorically denied Young’s claims and challenged the minister to prove his allegation as a fact. He also urged Young to spend his time focusing on other issues in the public domain.

The Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) is accusing Petrotrin board of breaching their Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) from April to oversee the restructuring of the company over an 18-month period.

During a protest outside Petrotrin’s Point Fortin building yesterday morning, OWTU branch president at Trinmar, Ernesto Kesar, called on the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Petrotrin chairman Wilfred Espinet to stop protecting the “deep pockets” and prosecute those who stole monies from Petrotrin.

He recalled that Petrotrin executives and OWTU president general Ancel Roget signed an MOA on April 3 to restructure the company. Kesar said they had agreed to meet on a monthly basis.

“Since this MOA has been signed we have not met with Espinet or any members of the board or management team to effectively implement the tenets of this memorandum. If that is not deception and disingenuous behaviour I don’t know what is. You gave a commitment Mr Espinet, you gave a commitment Mr Riley (advisor to Petrotrin Board)...,” he complained.

In the MOA, the union proposed that Petrotrin is divided into four entities, Land: North and East (LNE), Trinmar Offshore Operations, Exploration and Production and the Augustus Long Hospital. They also agreed to establish a working committee comprising representatives of both parties to “address, resolve and agree on the four organisational structures, work processes and skills/competencies and manpower requirements which will make the company internationally competitive, thus ensuring its survival, sustainability and profitability.

“We are calling on you all today to get back to the table and sit with the recognised majority union and help us reorganise and fix Petrotrin in the interest of all of Trinidad and Tobago,” Kesar said.

Based on an annual report, he said it has been estimated that Petrotrin would have contributed $16 billion to the economy between 2011 to 2017.

“When top-class politicians go on the media every day and they say to the public that Petrotrin owes the Government for so much of years money I am saying that is not true,” he added.

Kesar also claimed three senior officials were allowed to “bump up” their salaries before they retired and were now getting pensions equivalent to the salary they would have had previously when a pension is supposed to be two-thirds of your salary.

“So these fellas are enjoying pensions of the Chief Justice and the Prime Minister, these are the kind of pensions. That in itself is bad but they did not remit their contributions to the pension plan so you took monies and you did not remit it and I am saying, Dr Rowley, Wilfred Espinet, Minister of Energy present and past you all owe the public the duty to ensure that these things are brought to justice,” he added.

The conversation surrounding the decriminalisation and possible legalisation of marijuana has been taking place around the globe. But what does this mean for Trinidad and Tobago? The Sunday Guardian continues to look at the issue in part three on the topic today.

While the majority of Caricom member states held national consultations in their respective countries to give citizens a chance to have their voices heard on the issue of possible reform of laws dealing with marijuana, Trinidad and Tobago’s Government denied a request to have such a consultation here. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s statement on the issue last week also seemed to signal there is no way forward on it here.

This according to the report by the regional body established to look at the possible reform of legal regimes regulating marijuana in Caricom countries.

In March 2014 at the 25th Inter-Sessional Meeting of Caricom Heads of Government in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Regional Commission on Marijuana was established to interrogate the issue of possible reform to the legal regimes regulating marijuana in Caricom countries.

The commission, chaired by Dean of the University of the West Indies’ St Augustine Law Faculty, Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, submitted its report to the Caricom heads in Jamaica last Friday.

The 132-page report was titled “Waiting to exhale. Safeguarding our future through responsible socio-legal policy on marijuana.”

In the scope of its work, the commission was authorised and mandated to “engage in an extensive consultation process with members of the community and other key stakeholders at the national level to elicit the population’s view about current usage and re-classification.”

“To fulfil its mandate, the commission employed mixed methods to gather data. Primary data were obtained from the national consultations, comprising national public meetings and focus group discussions to obtain in-depth information. National consultations were convened in member states working in collaboration with the various Ministries of Foreign Affairs. Secondary data was obtained from several sources,” the report stated.

“The commission made itself available to every Member State of Caricom and accommodated all requests with respect to scheduling, so as to ensure that Caribbean peoples had the opportunity to voice their opinions on this issue of deep social significance to the region. Consequently, national consultations were conducted in nine countries: St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis, Belize and the Bahamas.”

Currently Caricom has 15 full members.

And while natural disaster and general elections prevented Dominica and Grenada respectively from holding consultations and St Lucia did not respond to the request for a consultation, Trinidad and Tobago simply said a national consultation on the issue could not be accommodated. Because Jamaica has already amended its marijuana laws, the commission said a consultation was not prioritised there.

“The consultations were structured in two parts, comprising focus group discussions of targeted stakeholders, in addition to public town hall meetings. The national public meetings allowed for attendees to articulate their concerns on the issue of decriminalisation of marijuana.

While national surveys would have provided information general to the population, given the time and budgetary constraints for conducting national surveys, public town hall meetings allowed for open discussion and clarification of issues where such necessity arose,” the report stated.

Addressing the post-Cabinet press briefing last Thursday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the issue of decriminalising marijuana was not a priority for his administration.

Rowley said for the Government the jury is still out on the science of the issue and his administration would be guided as it evolves.

“But at the moment we’re not running any advocacy for decriminalising marijuana or incorporating it into the economic space because we have some other priorities and we’re also not convinced of the benefits that some people are asking us to grasp,” Rowley said.

While the Government did not allow for national consultations here, the commission did receive a petition from Caribbean Collective for Justice (CCJ) head Nazma Muller with 9,500 signatures from Trinidad and Tobago calling for marijuana to be legalised.

“The majority of Caribbean peoples believe that the cannabis/marijuana laws are ineffective, discriminatory, deeply unjust, unfit for purpose, violate rights and lack legitimacy. They also believe that prohibition is preventing the region from taking advantage of the economic opportunities in the cannabis industry and medical research and prohibiting access to medicine that can heal them more effectively and cheaply than traditional pharmaceuticals,” the committee report stated.

“The groundswell of support and enthusiasm for change is a significant indicator to Caricom governments on the question of law reform. Notwithstanding, the commission believes that it is a necessary, but not sufficient condition to invoke change. It therefore interrogated and analysed the most up to date scientific, medical, legal and social data to substantiate these views. It found that the evidence clearly supports this public opinion and demonstrates that the existing prohibitionist regime induces more harm than any possible adverse consequences of cannabis/ marijuana itself.”

The report added: “It seems that Caribbean peoples have their hand on the pulse. Indeed, in many respects the ‘horse has already bolted,’ since Caribbean nationals are already accessing marijuana as “medical refugees” from the several countries, including allies that have already decriminalised, or legalised the plant. The now relatively few voices against change to the law, premise their arguments, not on immorality, or wrongdoing, but chiefly on concern about perceived adverse impacts on mental health, the youth, increased use and the supposed incapacity of institutional resources.

“These are legitimate concerns which the commission carefully assessed. Some of these fears have been assuaged through the modern scientific research that was harnessed. Others remain, but the commission is satisfied that they can be appropriately addressed through a responsible framework for law reform as is advocated in this report.”

The commission said it believes the end goal for Caricom “should be the dismantling of prohibition in its totality, to be replaced by a strictly regulated framework akin to that for alcohol and tobacco, which are harmful substances that are not criminalised.”

However, it acknowledged law reform can take many forms and should conform to national realities.

“This is particularly because the commission is of the view that law reform should not adopt a laissez-faire, liberalised approach, but proceed within a responsible, controlled regime that will depend on focused and adequate institutional resources to achieve the desirable objectives,” the report stated.

“The commission is unanimous in its view that the current classification for cannabis/marijuana as a ‘dangerous drug’ with ‘no value’ or narcotic should be changed to a classification of cannabis as a ‘controlled substance.’”

The mother of four-year-old Sian Flemming is appealing to the public to come out and support a worthy cause—the Incredible Myron B’s upcoming King Humor-us concert to raise funds for her daughter’s medical expenses.

Hertia Foncette says baby Sian cannot breathe or swallow without the assistance of machines but was denied funding by the Children’s Life Fund because her case was deemed non-life-threatening.

Sian was born with Choanal Atresia, a congenital disorder where the back of the nasal passage (choana) is blocked by abnormal bony or soft tissue.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian on Friday, Foncette said: “Trinidad doesn’t have the facilities, that’s why we’re going to Colombia. It pains me to see her home every day. My father actually left his job to take her care of her, because we have to work to sustain her.

“She has tracheostomy and gastrostomy tubes in her and we can’t even get actual tubes here. We have to go abroad to purchase them and bring them back. I’m not going to Miami just to buy that. My appeal really for having these fundraisers is to get an opportunity to give Sian at least six months in that facility where she will be monitored.”

She said her father was not a professional or medical caregiver and her mother, unfortunately, suffered a stroke four years ago and could not move around much, so he now had to care for both of them.

Foncette said most of the earnings she and her husband acquired went towards basic necessities for their daughter.

She said it was disheartening to be spending money visiting different local therapists only to be told they didn’t deal with children with tracheostomy tubes and didn’t want the responsibility if anything went wrong.

Foncette said at least she would feel a sense of relief when she got to Cardio Infantil Hospital in Colombia because they had a full staff, professional equipment and the paediatric doctors knew what to do. She is seeking to raise at least $150,000 for the exercise.

Myron “Myron B” Bruce, the reigning National Extempo Monarch, has assembled an all-star cast of comedians and humorous calypso acts for the comedy, calypso and extempo fundraiser carded for July 21 and 22 at the Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook.

Veteran comedians Errol Fabien, Damion Melville and Louis Antoine, former extempo monarchs Black Sage (Philip Murray) and Lingo (Joseph Vautor La Placeliere) and calypsonians Kid Kalalloo (Julien Hunte) and Dirty Curty (Curtis Conyette) are among the performers scheduled to appear.

Tickets for the event cost $200 and are available at Crosby’s Music Centre, St James and Simon’s Musical Supplies, Port-of-Spain.

Tickets can also be reserved by sending a Whatsapp message to 717-7103 or 482-6067 and online at www.incrediblemyronb.com.

A 36-year-old man was shot dead while he slept at his Santa Cruz home on Friday night. Dead is La Canoa resident Atiba Mitchell.

According to reports, Mitchell was asleep next to his 32-year-old wife around 11.15 pm on Friday when she heard gunshots. The woman turned to Mitchell who told her he had been shot. She contacted the emergency services and Mitchell was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC), Mt Hope, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The woman was unharmed.

Police have no motive for the shooting as yet.

Also on Friday around 9 pm, Levi Moses, 30, was on Perkins Street, Arouca, when gunmen opened fire on him. Moses, of Smith Street, tried to run away through a track but collapsed. He was taken to the Arima Health Facility and eventually transferred to the EWMSC, but succumbed to his injuries.

In a separate incident earlier in the day, a third man, who had three aliases, was shot by police. The man is currently warded in a stable condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

According to reports, the victim is known as Kadeem Pierre, Kadeem Regis and Kadeem Flaveny. He was shot by police responding to a shooting near Building Six, Waterhole Road Cocorite. Police said they were responding to an incident when they saw Pierre and a group of armed men running along the roadway. Officers said the men opened fire on them and they responded, hitting Pierre in his arms and legs. Officers said he dropped his gun and his accomplices escaped with it.

Cocorite residents, however, claimed Pierre was shot by police as he was running away from a group of gunmen. The residents claimed Pierre was unarmed.

Investigations are continuing.