Independent Liberal Party leader Jack Warner says he’s been asked by the Immigration Department to return his diplomatic passport—on the PP Government’s instructions. Former PP minister Warner, in a release yesterday, said that at 1.05 pm yesterday he received a call from acting Chief Immigration Officer Keith Sampson on the issue. “The acting CIO called to inform me that on the instructions of the Government, I am to immediately return my diplomatic passport,” Warner said. “Mr Sampson, who sounded embarrassed to make the request, agreed to give me a one-week facility that would allow me to transfer my ten-year US Visa on to my regular passport, after which it would then be immediately returned. “I recall in 2007 when I was elected as a Member of Parliament in the UNC Opposition, on my own volition I offered up my diplomatic passport to Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who dignified his office by returning it to me indicating that it was not necessary. My response to Mr Manning then was that ‘you are not so bad after all.’ “Fast forward to six years later and this Government, of which I was an integral part, has asked that I return the diplomatic passport. “I therefore wish to assure the Government that not only will I return the diplomatic passport issued in my name, but also the one issued in my wife’s name, before close of business on Wednesday July 24, 2013.”

During a walkabout in Felicity yesterday, Warner reiterated he had no problem returning the passport. He said: “At the end of the day I expect even worse than that. It doesn’t faze me at all. I don’t want people to feel this is a Jack Warner issue at all.” He said his main worry was for the political future of T&T. “My concern is for Mrs Persad-Bissessar’s Government. Democracy is under threat,” he said. Contacted yesterday, UNC deputy leader Suruj Rambachan said: “Any time someone ceases to be a minister one has to return any diplomatic passport they hold. When I was ambassador to Brazil I returned the diplomatic passport when I returned home.” Asked by T&T Guardian why the Government didn’t seek to have Warner return the passport in April when he resigned and why it was being requested now, Rambachan said: “He should have returned the passport voluntarily himself when he ceased to be a minister.” Asked why he (Rambachan) gave up his US green card when he entered Government, as Warner said he had, Rambachan said he did not think it was ethical to continue to hold his green card after he became Foreign Affairs Minister.

ILP interim leader Jack Warner is calling for an investigation into a government minister who he said bought a house in Hamilton, Canada for $800,000 (Canadian dollars) and a BMW for his daughter to attend McMaster University in Hamilton, in less than three years. 

Warner said all of this was done on just a minister’s salary. He was addressing ILP supporters who came from across T&T and gathered in the muddy savannah at the Marchin Recreation Ground, Charlieville on Friday. When asked after the meeting to name the minister, Warner said: “Everybody knows who it is.”

Warner said: “How come this same cabal minister has a brother who up to 2010 was on unemployment levy in Canada and now three years later is a big UNC contractor in T&T, even building play parks all over the country at ridiculously inflated prices? How come, Madam PM? How come? There is a book, titled Rich Man, Poor Man, but this minister should re-write a new version, Poor Man, Rich Man.”

Warner said he had been hustling money for the UNC long before he came into government. He said: “Before I came into government, I have been soliciting the help of business interests, encouraging them to give back in support of the disadvantaged, dispossessed and even the unfortunate ones in our society.

That is no secret. Before we entered into government, my friend Kamla and I, all hours of the night, were in Fairways meeting with residents asking for and receiving their financial assistance, but I have no intention of ever exposing those residents. Never! “When we went into government, that policy never changed.

 “As Minister of Works and Transport then, I had called on contractors who received millions of dollars from the Government annually, and I had asked them to do something for country and pave a road for free. “I wrote to businessmen asking them to expand their establishment even when there was no room, just to employ a man or a woman, a boy or a girl from the communities where they do business. So the practice of Jack Warner going to big business for help is nothing new.”

Lashing out at the Prime Minister, Warner said: “...on your instruction and using the same Ministry of Works and Transport letterhead, I had even asked contractors to pave, without cost, the car park at the Divali Nagar site, which they did.” Warner said it was true that he wrote to contractors in his capacity as Minister of Works and Transport for assistance, not only for the Christmas parties but for other functions hosted by the ministry’s social events committee.

He said: “I signed as minister because I have nothing to hide.”  Warner further said: “One businessman alone over the past three years alleged that he has contributed over $27M to your Christmas fund, Prime Minister.  Whether that is true or false, it is not for me to judge, but if we want to start investigations don’t you think we should investigate that too?

Madame Prime Minister, I even recall one former chairman of Caribbean Airlines donating $5M from a losing CAL to your Children’s Life Fund. Should that not be investigated too?

The ILP leader questioned the difference between him soliciting funds from the business community for a Christmas party for his staff and others soliciting funds from the business community for the PM’s annual toys drive.

UNC Chaguanas West candidate Khadijah Ameen believes that Jack Warner, the ILP interim leader, has reached to his “lowest point of desperation.” Speaking with the Sunday Guardian, Ameen answered the allegations made by Warner when his ILP held a public meeting on Friday at the Marchin Recreation Ground, Charlieville. Warner showed a photo of Ameen and councillor Dianne Bishop seated in front of a birthday cake with small piles of cash stacked around the cake. 

Warner alleged the monies were kickback from contractors. Ameen said, however, it was Bishop’s birthday and the cash was from a sou-sou paid to Bishop. Ameen claimed the photo was supplied by another COP councillor who was desperate and a “a non-performer.” She said she had assisted that councillor to get a job for a relative in the corporation. 

She said: “I can sleep at nights, I don’t have any skeletons in the cupboard...People with glass houses should be very careful at the stones they cast. Some may fall on their windows.” Answering charges that her driver at the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation received more than double his salary in overtime payment for taking Ameen around on private business, Ameen said her driver was never used for anything than official business. She said all overtime was approved by the CEO of the Corporation.

Ameen said “Mr Warner is now clutching at straws, what else can he do? He failed to deliver to the people of Chaguanas West and created a public relations image about himself. Maybe he should answer why an employee of the Ministry of Works hardly shows up for her job and is instead sitting inside his Chaguanas West offices. He should clear the air on that.”

Ameen said Warner was now poaching on the COP and trying hard to cause a fracture in the PP Government. She said allegations made by Warner on the PP leadership was nothing more than a sinister plot to sway supporters to his ILP, hoping that the COP members “would take basket.” Ameen said the public should look carefully and observe that it was only a handful of PP councillors were jumping ship to the ILP and questioned why PNM councillors were not going to the ILP. 

“Is it because they are all of the same party—PNM A and PNM B?” Ameen said the UNC was receiving tremendous support from the people of Felicity since they believe that Warner is himself run by a one-woman cabal at the helm of the ILP.

Three more local government representatives have jumped ship to Jack Warner’s  ILP. Making the move on Friday night was Clinton Jennings (COP), councillor for Arima Central—Arima Borough Corporation; Winston Ramsaroop (COP), councillor for Maracas/Santa Margarita—Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation; Danan Singh (UNC), councillor for Longdenville/Edinburgh—Chaguanas Borough Corporation.

The three were introduced by ILP leader Jack Warner to supporters who made the journey from as far as Toco and Point Fortin to an ILP public meeting at the Marchin Recreation Ground, Charlieville, on Friday. Jennings dubbed Warner “Action Jack.” He said Warner had delivered to the people of Mt Pleasant, Arima. Ramsaroop said “Action Jack” had brought lights to recreation grounds in his area. He believed that Warner already had Chaguanas West in the bag.

Singh, meanwhile, said he was mandated by the people he serve to join the ILP. He said Warner had made several promises and delivered to the people of the area. Singh said he became a councillor because of Warner, and that he joined the ILP to lend support back to Warner. “I am just following the voice of the people,” Singh said.

Warner thanked the councillors for taking the bold step. Chaguanas mayor Orlando Nagessar said he was deeply disappointed that Singh had joined the ILP and questioned the real motives behind the move. “We must know why. I feel there is more that what we are hearing,” Nagessar said.

Minister of the People and Social Development and Caroni Central MP, Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh, has criticised former United national Congress councillor Danan Singh for jumping ship. Singh is one of several UNC and Congress of the People councillors who have joined former UNC jefe Jack Warner’s newly formed Independent Liberal Party in the run up to the July 29 Chaguanas West by-election, which Warner is contesting. Singh publicly joined Warner and other defectors during a political meeting in Chaguanas on Friday.

However, on Sunday during an event he hosted at the Edinburgh 500 Recreation Ground, Ramadharsingh said the constituents of Caroni Central had denounced Singh’s decision to switch loyalties. He even questioned Singh’s motives and hidden intentions. “People in this community and others are calling him to resign,” he said. “He carried the symbol of the UNC into the election and has now turned coat and he does not have the moral legitimacy to wear the party’s symbol.”

Ramadharsingh said he had heard Singh on the ILP platform saying that he owed Warner a favour, “when all this time he came across as a loyal supporter of the UNC.” Ramadharsingh said UNC supporters were disenchanted over Singh and his relationship with Warner. He claimed Warner was rejected by the people of Caroni Central when he and the ILP tried to hijack a function for young sportsmen at the same venue recently.

“A sports day was held two weeks ago under the patronage of the MP’s office. We sponsored this and we got donations from different companies from T&T and we were planning a massive prize distribution function. The councillor for the area was heavily involved in the exercise…We heard the councillor defected to the ILP and wanted to hijack the function.” Ramadharsingh said he had met every coach and athletic team involved in the exercise and they were totally against the young people being used by political parties. “He (Warner) is in the business of political profiteering,” he said.

Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh yesterday denied owning six houses, saying he owned one house and land and is paying a mortgage to the bank. On Tuesday at a political meeting in Caroni, Independent Liberal Party (ILP) interim leader Jack Warner alleged a government minister in the “outer cabal,” who could not afford to buy two doubles in 2010, now owned six houses under the names of relatives and had been given houses as gifts from contractors. 

At the press conference at his Caroni Central constituency office yesterday, Ramadharsingh said the Government was considering legal action against Warner for his allegations against  government ministers. A pre-action protocol letter addressed to Warner was later issued on Ramadharsingh’s behalf. He told supporters at his office that Warner was trying his best to inflict pain on those opposing him. He called his former colleague an “evil clown” who was carrying out a circus to destroy people with lies and propaganda. 

He said all the properties shown by Warner were either houses he rented or the homes of his relatives and Warner did not check his facts. He owed the bank and hardware store for a house he was building, he added. “I don't take people money and I don't buy homes that I can't afford,” Ramadharsingh said, adding Warner should not bring his ministry into any bacchanal. “I never ask any contractor to sponsor anything in my ministry. I ask Jack Warner, where the money gone?” 

Chandreka Sahadeo, Ramadharsingh’s uncle, said Warner also lied about two houses shown on the lLP platform. Sahadeo said he also paid rent for government quarters at Las Lomas. “There are no Caroni houses in that area. That is one of the houses he lied about.” He said the house Warner referred to at Boy Cato and Madras Road was his house, which had been under construction for three years and produced a deed that showed he had bought it on September 21, 1998.

“That house was built and was not bought,” he said. An emotional Chandra Ramadharsingh, the minister’s mother, said her son had worked hard as a veterinarian to save money to start building a house. “Glenn used to work seven days of the week. He had no off-day,” she said. She said as a vet he earned three times more than a minister. “Why must Jack Warner do this wicked thing for?” she asked. “I want Jack Warner to take warning. What he put us through we will never forgive him,” she said.

Barrington “Skippy” Thomas, whom Warner also mentioned on the ILP platform on Tuesday, said yesterday Warner had recommended him for a Cepep contract. “I had to wake up 1.30 am in the morning and wait by his office like a lagahoo,” he said. Thomas said he accepted a Cepep contract in Edinburgh 500 to clean up the area and provide employment. He said he committed all the money from the contract to the community and his Cepep company already had given $60,000 in sporting equipment. 

In further criticism of Warner’s Tuesday night meeting, Ramadharsingh said Warner should not bring any Guyanese to tell “people to thief “or have speakers on the ILP platform to talk race. He said he would function as the councillor for Longdenville-Edinburgh since the last councillor, Danan Singh, had jumped ship to the ILP. “Anybody have a problem, come and see me,” he said.

United National Congress (UNC) activist Bhandat Ramkir, 50, was gunned down hours before the start of today's Chaguanas West by-election.

Latchman Jattan, 52, brother of the deceased, said a silver car stalled in front of Ramkir's home at Peter's Field, Felicity and the driver of the vehicle asked Ramkir to keep an eye on the car. Ramkir later confronted two strange men who were tampering with the car and an argument ensued. He was shot by in his upper chest area and ran into his house where he died.

Jattan said he was shocked over the death and attributed the incident to strange men who, he said, had flocked into the area following a political motorcade Sunday.

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said the UNC had warned of an increase of unsavory persons entering the community during the last month. Ramlogan said he was deeply concerned about the level of thuggery unleashed on to the people of Chaguanas West.

Imam Rasheed Karim describe Ramkir as an ardent activist who attended 99 per cent of UNC meetings.

Garth David, one of two men who were injured in an accident involving a vehicle in Attorney General Anand Ramlogan’s security detail, said yesterday he plans to take legal action against the driver. David and his friend, Primnath Rampaul, were struck by a black Toyota Prado around 9 am on Monday as they were on their way to the Felicity Presbyterian School to vote in Monday’s Chaguanas West by-election. 

Rampaul, also known as “Leggins”, fell as he was hit and the SUV reportedly ran over his ankle. He remained at hospital yesterday. Yesterday, David, 59, said he was first struck on his right shoulder by the wing mirror. He said after he was hit he heard a “popping” sound when the Prado rolled over Rampaul’s ankle. “I heard his leg was broken in three places,” David said.

David, a mechanic, said he wanted new Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner to help him get the framework in place to take legal action against the driver. “I went and vote for Mr Jack and I ent fraid to say so. He help plenty people. We get we road fix and more. “I want to take the driver to court. He just speed and hit we just so,” he added.

David said the ambulance took almost an hour to arrive and he used a handkerchief to cover his friend’s wound as he feared it would become infected. The driver did not get out but was eventually stopped on Greenidge Street, Felicity. He returned moments later and was questioned by police. 

The Independent Liberal Party (ILP) will be going after the Tunapuna Piarco Regional Corporation and the Chaguanas Borough Corporation aggressively for the local elections. This announcement was made by ILP leader Jack Warner when he spoke with reporters yesterday at his Chaguanas West office.  Warner said any postponement of the elections would only spell more trouble for the Government. 

He said the ILP has plans on capturing the Point Fortin and Sangre Grande corporations and others, either entirely or in part. Warner said the ILP would be setting up shop in Bon Accord, Tobago, on August 15 since he believes that most of the island has gone green. Warner said he was also receiving positive responses from some government ministers.  He said Finance Minister Larry Howai has promised to assist a woman who came to him in tears seeking assistance on a matter involving the HCU. 

‘T&T calling out for service’
Warner said, however, he was disappointed that members of the cabal were still victimising people who supported the ILP. He said Fitzroy Beach and a delegation visited him around 3 am yesterday and launched a formal complaint. He said President Anthony Carmona’s speech must not fall on deaf ears. Warner called on all MPs to get up early to serve the people. “I am where I am because of representation,” he added.

Warner said his victory should be a wake up call for other MPs to hit the road and represent their constituents. He said many of them only wanted the luxuries of offices such as fancy SUVs but do not want the substance of office such as working for the people. “T&T is crying out for service,” Warner said. He was most disappointed with AG Anand Ramlogan and Moruga MP Clifton De Coteau. 

He said De Coteau had been his friend for 50 years but threw it all away. “I am not bitter, I am disappointed.” Warner also said his lawyers started legal action against Sir David Simmons after the by-election. “Win, lose or draw, I will sue.” He said he plans on making an agreement with himself and Concacaf public soon.

Vandals desecrated a Hindu temple in Felicity yesterday before attempting to burn down the building after they cleaned out its valuables. According to Bhimsingh Bholansingh, president of the Shree Shankar Mandir, 139 Cacandee Road, it was the third attack in four days on the mandir. He said the intruder/s first struck on Saturday, returned on Monday and then again yesterday. He said they targeted the murtis in the temple, ripping up the garments and stealing the jewelry adorning them.

Bholansingh said the burglars prized open a door on the southern side of the temple to gain access and they also took the contents of a donation box. Yesterday around 1 pm, a villager alerted neighbours that fire was seen coming out of the compound. Villagers called the fire services which subsequently arrived and put out the fire. Bholansingh said when the intruder returned yesterday, a stack of plastic chairs was set on fire and it was only through the alertness of residents the mandir was saved from destruction.  

President of the Sanatan Dharma Maha, Sat Maharaj, said he was outraged by the acts and hoped they were not politically motivated because of the support the SDMS gave to the PP Government for the last by-election. He said, however, he was also mindful of break-ins into religious establishments by vagrants seeking money and other valuables. 

Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner, who visited the mandir yesterday, said he was disappointed by Maharaj’s statement but not surprised. He said the act seemed to be pure vandalism. Warner said he would assist the temple in getting ready for a Ramayan, carded for August 16, adding he was sure the police would be able to apprehend the culprits. 

He said he also had read where Minister of National Security Emmanuel George was angry that he said crime was on the rise. He said it was not his intention to make the minister look bad but said the national population did not believe crime was going down. “If the minister is comfortable with crime the way it is so be it,” Warner said, adding there was deadly government silence on rising crime. He plans to say more about how crime can be curbed when he launches his local government  election campaign on Saturday. 

Food price inflation, which was at 29 per cent in 2010, has been reduced to nine per cent this year, while T&T’s agriculture sector grew by six per cent, Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj announced yesterday. Speaking at the harvest launch of the Caroni (1975) Ltd Green Initiative at Orange Valley, Couva, Maharaj restated government’s commitment to food security and lowering the food inflation rate.

He said the food import bill, which now stands at $4 billion, was caused by years of neglect of the agricultural sector and when the People’s Partnership took government in 2010 less than five per cent of agricultural plots leased to sugar workers were in cultivation. Maharaj said the Caroni Green Initiative is designed to maximise production linking farmers with leaseholders in a scheme that will benefit all parties. 

He said the Green initiative, which is based on a shared value business model, guarantees a consistent supply of produce every week. Maharaj said when the fields were ploughed for the first phase of the project, 19 contracted farmers were interested in taking part and since then 43 farmers have indicated their willingness to participate.

He said all abandoned Caroni lands should be in production by next year and 5,800 acres of land will soon come into production providing employment opportunities. Maharaj said labour should come from the URP and Cepep agri programmes and people interested in employment in agriculture. The minister also announced that by the end of September a 200-strong praedial larceny squad will begin to patrol hot spots. 

Maharaj said as production increases Namdevco would take an active part by having several packing houses in production near to agricultural sites. He said Namdevco exported paw paw to Barbardos earlier this year and is looking at markets in St Lucia.

Members of the People’s National Movement (PNM) should be afraid of political leader Dr Keith Rowley, interim leader of the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) Jack Warner said yesterday. Before the start of an ILP victory motorcade in the Chaguanas West constituency, Warner was asked to comment on recent statements by PNM officials who dismissed claims that his newly-formed party is gaining a foothold in their Laventille stronghold. 

He said: “If I was the PNM I would not be afraid of (losing) Laventille or Diego Martin, my biggest fear would be Rowley.” Warner said the ILP’s biggest asset is Dr Rowley. “Once he there we ain’t have no problem, no problem at all,” he added. Warner said he plans to continue to lobby for a by-election in San Fernando East, the seat held by Patrick Manning, the former prime minister, who has been ailing for some time. 

He said Manning is an absentee MP who is failing to represent his constituents and the time is ripe for a by-election for the seat.

Two men were killed in a shootout with police yesterday after a reported carjacking and high-speed daylight chase. Dead are Kareem Stewart, of Racecourse Road, Carapo, and Keyon Guy, of Arima, both of whom are known to the police, according to Superintendent Johnny Abraham.

He said the men were killed after a crime spree which began Tuesday around 9 pm, when four armed men stole a black Nissan Navara in the St Margaret’s area. The four reportedly proceeded to Arima where, early yesterday morning, they stole a brown Toyota Hilux from a family. An all-points bulletin was issued and the Navara was spotted hours later along Todd’s Road, travelling towards Caparo. 

Police from the Central Division and the Northern Division combined and tracked down the vehicle, then engaged in a high-speed chase on Todd’s Road when the driver tried to get away. The Navara eventually crashed into a ditch off the side of the road. Two men came out of the vehicle and shot at police before escaping on foot, officers said. Not long after, the other two men who were in the Hilux also crashed about quarter-of-a-mile from where the Navara ran off the road. 

Police said they later spotted the two men from the Hilux in a white Nissan AD station wagon and pursued them. According to police, the men came out the vehicle and fired at them. The police returned fire and wounded the men whom they then took to the Chaguanas Health Centre where they were pronounced dead on arrival. Police recovered a shotgun, a 9mm pistol and several rounds of ammunition. The search for the escaped pair is continuing.

A Cabinet reshuffle is coming in two weeks, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said yesterday. She said so while speaking to the media after distributing books and bags to children at the Rienzi Complex, Couva. Persad-Bissessar said: "Before we go back to the Parliament that will take place.There will be a reshuffle, a realignment of portfolios for better delivery."

She said the Ministry of Local Government and Ministry of Works would be divided into two ministries. She said the others would also be on the "chessboard" in a bid to better share the work and deliver to the people The PM said she was not in a position to say who would be given the ministries but noted there was room for improvement and the decision was taken after much feedback from the public and government. 

She said nominations for UNC candidates for the upcoming local government elections would close on September 9 on or before 4 pm. "Thereafter we go into the budget and screening for candidates," she said. She also offered condolences to the family of former councillor Sahadeo Boondoo who died over the weekend from a heart attack.

Residents of La Brea and environs are to benefit from the hundreds of jobs that would be created when Mitsubishi makes a substantial investment in La Brea next year, Minister of Energy Kevin Ramnarine said on Wednesday. Speaking during a touring of the La Brea Industrial Estate, Ramnarine reminded the public of the US$850 million methanol to di-methyl ether (DME) project that would be located on 50 hectares of land at the Union Industrial Estate.

Approximately 3,000 jobs are expected to be created at peak construction. Ramnarine said di-methyl ether is being touted as a fuel of the future that would serve as a replacement for diesel and propane. During the tour, Ramnarine visited the La Brea Industrial Development Company Limited (LABIDCO), Trinidad Offshore Fabrication Unlimited (TOFCO) as well as the adjoining Brighton Port.

Ramnarine said a small iron and steel facility is also coming to the area which would also generate jobs that he would like to see going to the residents of the surrounding communities. Ramnarine said  La Brea is poised to be the next Point Lisas and a major player in the energy sector, noting that the new highway is going to play a major role in this new area of economic growth.

He said the new Mitsubishi facility would have a port with an impressive berth of 307 metres in length and would be dredged to a depth of 15 metres to facilitate Panamax-type vessels. Ramnarine said he would like to see existing energy plants become more energy efficfient and new plants  be developed up to new benchmark standards for energy efficiency.

The La Brea industrial estate and Brighton Port have many natural assets that have established this estate as a premier industrial location in Trinidad. These advantages include its strategic location to the Venezuelan and Brazilian coastlines, 24-hour dock facilities and a natural deep-water harbour that is open all year round. The Union Industrial Estate has been touted as the next Point Lisas Industrial Estate.

Located approximately 1km away from the La Brea Industrial Estate, UIE comprises 400 hectares of land prepared to handle heavy and light downstream gas-based industries. The estate is supplied with all amenities including natural gas supply, drainage, water and telecommunications.

Security at the nation’s secondary schools will be beefed up from today’s start of the new term to ensure incidents of violence on school compounds are eradicated, Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh said yesterday. He made the comment after a short ceremony in which he distributed schoolbags to needy children from his Caroni East constituency. Gopeesingh said government secondary schools will be assigned two safety officers, while schools controlled by denominational boards will have their own management structures in place. He said more student support services will also be available for the new term. Each principal in the 143 secondary schools, he said, will be given hand-held scanners so that students entering and leaving the compound can be scanned. He reminded that items such as camera phones and instruments that may pose a danger to students have been banned from schools. 

Gopeesingh said walk-in scanners would be used to detect irregular materials and students would be disciplined. He said all management staff at schools had been advised that the ministry's policy of a zero tolerance to bullying also remained in effect. The minister said 212 repair and maintenance projects had been started at the beginning of the school vacation in July and all schools that fell under these projects would be opened today. However, he said a number of primary schools had to be rebuilt and the ministry is hoping to house the affected students at community centres but some of these centres were not yet ready. He said this may cause some delay with up to four schools. However, he admitted that work on 16 schools was not yet completed up to yesterday, although they were hoping to complete them in time for the start of classes today. Work on all the unfinished schools will continue after-hours and on weekends, he said.

Meanwhile, the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association said yesterday that from the information it had, 12 schools would not be ready for the opening of today’s new term.
TTUTA general secretary Peter Wilson put this down to the fact that the contractors in the ministry’s School Repair Programme, who were supposed to begin work in July after schools closed, did not begin until a few weeks ago in August. Wilson said the ministry indicated there was a funding issue and consequently the repairs started very late in the vacation period. He said there were outstanding repairs for electrical and sewer problems, pigeon infestation and general dilapidated infrastructure. He said the teachers are expected to return to classes but if the conditions are unhealthy and unsafe they may have to remove themselves. 

Teenager Patrice Seerattan and her family spent yesterday attending to repairs on their home at Jerningham Junction, Cunupia. The Seerattans’ home was one of 15 partially damaged when a funnel cloud tore through the community on Friday before wreaking havoc in other parts of Central Trinidad. Poorandaye Seerattan, 49, the matriarch of the household, spent the morning cooking a meal of curried chicken and rice, minus the dhal side dish, in a kitchen covered by a yellow tarpaulin. The family's home was soaked on Friday and most of their food items went bad. The family spent Saturday night without electricity and the younger Seerattan, 17, noted yesterday that they were uneasy over the weekend as there were sporadic showers on Friday and Saturday after the funnel cloud did the initial damage.

The younger Seerattan said the family was grateful for all the help they received from community members and government officials. She said neighbours assisted them in partially repairing their roof. The Ministry of the People and Social Development, Seerattan said, gave them a temporary food card which they used to purchase groceries and kerosene for the weekend. The family also got tarpaulins and two mattresses from the ODPM. Chairman of the National Commission for Self Help (NCSH), Surujdeo Mangaroo, visited the affected communities yesterday. He said field officers had made assessments on Saturday and 14 applications were being processed by NCSH staff. He said grants of up to $15,000 would be given out to affected residents by tomorrow. Mangaroo said since October some $40 million in grants had been distributed by the NCSH. He said from this figure, $6 million had gone to disaster victims.

CEO of Caroni(1975) Ltd Deosaran Jagroo says young people are starting to take a serious interest in agriculture. He said so during a media tour of the Caroni Green Initiative programme at Orange Valley, Couva. Jagroo said Caroni advertised last week for farmers to participate in the progamme and by Monday the second phase of the programme had been oversubscribed. He said there was a “tremendous response” from young people and UWI graduates interested in careers in agriculture.

“We have more farmers than land at this time,” he said. Caroni leases the land from from sugar workers who were give two-acre plots and contracts farmers to produce specified crops for the market. The company provides consumables, prepares the land, provides planting material and security and markets the crops, while farmers provide labour.

Jagroo said 400 acres would be available by the end of the month and 300 acres were already in production and had already produced three tonnes of fresh vegetables. He said by the end of the year an additional 1,200 acres should be in production. Jagroo said pineapple farmers should start production on 200 acres of land in the La Gloria area.

He said the deal was a good one—makes a profit and the farmer could earn “a significant amount of profit,” all while keeping prices very affordable as consumables were purchased in large quantities. Young farmer Curtis Paria, 26, said he expected to make close to $600,000 in profit in one year producing cauliflower on five acres of land. He said major deterrents to planting were flood, land availability and praedial larceny. However, the Caroni Green Initiative made agriculture attractive.

He said the major obstacle to young people getting into agriculture was their negative attitude to hard work.

Finance Minister Larry Howai is confident that oil prices will remain stable for the next year. Speaking a post budget forum hosted by the Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce, he forecast a long-term price of oil of around US$100 a barrel. Howai said the problem in Syria would only cause a temporary spike in prices and the biggest threat to the T&T economy would come in the form of possible labour unrest next year if industrial relations are not properly handled.

The minister said investments in the upstream energy sector are important to attract downstream investments and initiatives in the budget focused on the offshore energy sector to ensure it was up and running as steps are taken to diversify the economy. He said investments are made in the downstream sector when investors are guaranteed supplies of natural gas for a specific period. 

He said investors in the past had shied away because they could not be guaranteed a reliable supply of gas. The energy sector contributes $65 billion annually and Howai said the upstream sector can bring in more sources of natural gas to attract investment. In response to questions from chamber members, Howai said payments to contractors continue to be a major bugbear. He said it was not a question of funding but one of government bureaucracy. 

In addition, he said, some contractors who get word of mouth contracts without Cabinet approval are getting trouble to get money. Howai said he was considering pushing back the October 1 date for implementing the 25 per cent tax for vehicles over 2,500cc so that he can meet with car dealers on that matter, as well as tax concessions for hybrid cars.

Economist Mariano Brown, who also spoke at the forum, warned that motorists would not make the switch to CNG as long as diesel remains more commercially viable. He called for institutional strengthening to ensure that plans are carried through. “We need to spend a little more time moving our country from point A to Point B,” Brown said.

Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj says the Government will be spending $3.6 million to boost the aquaculture industry. He also announced plans to revitalise the Fisheries Demonstration Pond at the Bamboo Settlement Aquaculture Demonstration Centre.

Maharaj said aquaculture could create sustainable employment and referred to a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report which states that “aquaculture continues to be the fastest-growing animal food producing sector” and in 2010 accounted for nearly half (45.6 per cent) of the world’s food fish consumption, compared with 33.8 per cent in 2000. Maharaj said there have been significant imports of fish and fishery products, in particular, frozen tilapia, which has been contributing to T&T’s high food import bill. 

He said this demand can be met by increasing production in the aquaculture sector. “Approximately 75 per cent of fish farmers can be considered to be subsistence or backyard farmers who, for a number of reasons, are unable to achieve economies of scale and hence commercial and economic viability,” Maharaj said. He said Aquaculture Demonstration Centre will be used for training, field testing and demonstrations. 

In the long term, it will be used to field test the results of research and development toward improving inputs and providing appropriate technology/methodologies for further development of the sector. 

The facilities, to be completed over a period of three years, will include a training room with facilities to accommodate at least 50 people at a time; small-scale and a medium-scale commercial green water re-circulating aquaculture system; raceway-type recirculating fish rearing system; deep water recirculating fish-rearing system; a laboratory area for handling and examination of fishes; and breeding systems and fingerling production for tilapia and cascadura.

Maharaj said during the fiscal year October 2012–September 2013, 234 people have been trained in commercial aquaculture, 43 site visits were conducted for potential farmers and eight new commercial aquaculture farmers have been registered. In addition, five new hatcheries have started production of tilapia fingerlings and the tilapia hatchery facility at Sugarcane Feeds Centre has been expanded to ensure a steady and reliable supply of fingerlings.