Overall market activity resulted from trading in 13 securities of which one advanced, five declined and seven traded firm. Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 80,594 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $3,067,718.70. Scotia Investments Jamaica Ltd was the volume leader with 21,513 shares changing hands for a value of $30,057.94, followed by Scotiabank T&T Ltd with a volume of 19,286 shares being traded for $1,255,335.88. 

First Citizens Bank Ltd contributed 9,812 shares with a value of $353,296, while Republic Bank Ltd added 6,513 shares valued at $794,287.93. Clico Investment Fund enjoyed the day’s sole price increase, climbing $0.49 to end the day at $22. Conversely, Scotiabank T&T Ltd suffered the day’s greatest loss, falling $1.13 to close at $65.09.

ANSA Coatings Limited, a subsidiary of the ANSA McAL Group of Companies, recently launched its newly renovated Marabella Colour Studio at 42 Union Park West, Marabella. Guests at the event included local contractors, property developers, hardware owners, and members of the company’s board of directors. 

Roger Roach, managing director of ANSA Coatings Limited, delivered the feature address. He praised the company for not only being the largest paint company in T&T, and one of the largest in the region, but for also being the most diverse, innovative and progressive organization in the industry.Roach reiterated the company’s commitment to providing customers with an ideal shopping experience whilst keeping up with the latest international trends and standards.

Also speaking at the event was Sean De Souza, Penta Paints’ sales and marketing manager. De Souza encouraged customers to get inspired by the model rooms inside the new Colour Studio that give just an idea of the possibilities that exist with Penta’s paints and accessories. 

 Deputy Mayor of San Fernando Alderman Junia Regrello delivered remarks at the event on behalf of the San Fernando City Corporation and commended the company on their rebranding initiative. Among the many changes at the Colour Studio, it now boasts an upgraded parking facility, branded windows, new displays and renovated staff facilities.

About a month ago US cultural critic John McWhorter posted an essay on the Daily Beast headlined “You Can’t Steal a Culture.” He was responding to Sierra Mannie, a student at the University of Mississippi, whose article “Dear Gays: Stop Stealing Black Female Culture,” had been published in Time magazine (July 9).

Ms Mannie, addressing white gay men, wrote: “Maybe, for some of you, it’s a presumed mutual appreciation for Beyoncé and weaves that has you thinking that I’m going to be amused by you approaching me in your best ‘Shanequa from around the way’ voice.… [but] you are not a black woman, and you do not get to claim either blackness or womanhood. It is not yours. It is not for you.”

Admittedly, here, where the undisputed African chief of Africanness has declaimed homosexuality to be anathema to Africans, this might seem absurd. Addressing gay men as if they had a right to exist, much less talk back! Shocking. But McWhorter, in the US, saw in it an important theme. “The debate over what we call cultural appropriation,” he wrote, “has roots in the justifiable resentment of white pop musicians imitating black genres for monetary gain.” From George Gershwin and Elvis Presley to Eminem and Miley Cyrus.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members

Tony Fraser

Who put them so? What PNM goat mouth has struck the People’s Partnership Government during four years of being in power? Or maybe Kamla is suffering the consequences of what Bas may consider her neemakharamism, daring to take away from him the party he built and owned into perpetuity.

Journalist Ria Taitt has calculated that 20 ministers have departed in a variety of ways over the period; it must surely be the highest turnover of government ministers ever. What perfidy has benighted this regime which promised so much and had so much political currency at its disposal in May 2010 when a large percentage of the voting population gambled with Jack and Kamla to hang Manning’s bare deuce?

I confess to not having any deep insight into the workings of cultural high science, political voodoo, neemakharamism and the vengeance of Moko. However, I want to suggest a few more earthly, easily explainable reasons that could account for the dramatic loss of political ground by the PP within months of the population’s deciding it wanted to experiment with a political formula which could at least subdue the ethnic demons, reduce corruption and achieve quality governance.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members

The proposal by the Prime Minister (the PM) to have Parliament change the way MPs are elected by having “a runoff poll,” if approved, will have the effect of consolidating the tyranny of the majority in a country of minorities. 

The argument for the change, as I understand it, is that a mechanism needs to be put in place to prevent the continuation of our voting history of having candidates being elected to Parliament with less than 50 per cent of the votes cast in a constituency. The PM argues that having a runoff vote between the two top polling candidates—if no one candidate gets more than 50 per cent of the votes—is that the second poll will have the effect of placing greater emphasis on the quality of the candidates selected, as the question in the runoff will be “which of these two candidates will better serve me and my constituency?” And the effect will be that each member of the House of Representatives will only become such a member if he “obtains more than 50 per cent of the votes cast in a constituency.”

A noble and admirable objective—if this is indeed the desirable objective. But, should the minority of voters in an election—even if that minority is 49+ per cent but less than 50 per cent—be effectively disenfranchised and have no voice in Parliament? I think not, because this is what leads to and consolidates ethnic-based voting and the allocation of state-owned resources on the basis of ethno-political considerations when the Opposition becomes the Government.

This is what we have now and this is what the PM proposes to consolidate. And this is what we will have as the political wheel turns and turns in the years to come!

We don’t need this system. It is dysfunctional, inequitable and demonstrably discriminatory, historically, on many grounds all over the country, whichever of the two major parties is in power—PNM or UNC. What we need is a system that will allow for representation of significant minorities from the electorate in the Government—along with the majority! This will be real democracy, not a democracy characterised by the tyranny of the majority! Arrangements must be made for the votes and voices of the minority to be heard.

In order to implement this change, Madam PM as a first step, in every constituency there should be two seats. One of those seats would go to the candidate receiving more than 50 per cent of the votes cast, as you propose, and the other seat would go to the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes. 

Under this system, when I and the many thousands like me vote, we would be certain that our votes will in fact be represented in Parliament—whether in the Government or Opposition. Our votes will really matter and our voices will be heard through our elected representatives in every constituency—majority or minority. We will have less of an inclination to vote NOTA (none of the above).

This change in providing representation for the minority views, not “runoff polls,” is what is necessary now since it has been abundantly clear for some time, that the Westminster system of Government and Opposition, in the light of our history and current circumstances, is entirely unsuited to our special multi-ethnic and multicultural circumstances. All the Westminster system does is entrench non-productive “Opposition” politics and leads to an unseemly scramble for political spoils to “re-balance” the scales whenever governments exchange. 

Time for real change!

 
I am pleased to make a statement on the first day of the epoch-making and revolutionary changes we have ushered in through the new Standing Orders.   

We take pride in the fact that we have been able to overhaul and comprehensively revise our Standing Orders which operated for over half a century, from 1961.

Likewise I am pleased that we take action and we take pride in later introducing the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2014 which seeks to ensure that we keep more of our promises made in our 2010 Manifesto (in fact we recall this is the first ever Manifesto to be adopted through Parliament as our policy agenda for development and progress).

In that Manifesto, we sought to establish a partnership with the people to build unity and ensure prosperity for all.

Good governance was sought through effective representation, participation, transparency and accountability.

The adoption of the manifesto through Parliament as our development policy agenda was the best way to ensure that citizens had the power to hold us to our commitments, and to demand of us, the development and progress that we promised.

In other words, we immediately put the power where it rightfully belonged – in the hands of the people.

As outlined in our Achievements Booklet, Honourable Speaker, we have delivered on over 90 percent of our promises, contained in our 2010 manifesto. And, today we seek to deliver even more of those promises – by keeping our Constitutional Reform promise to give more Power to the People.

Mr. Speaker, if I may give a brief background as to how we arrived here, on March 2, 2013 the Cabinet appointed a National Commission on Constitutional Reform (NCCR) to “engage in the widest possible consultation as a pre-requisite to constitutional reform”.

Matters for consideration were to include limitations on terms of service by the Prime Minister, a right of recall in respect of non-performing Parliamentary representatives, respecting the voices of the minorities whilst giving effect to the will of the majority, making every vote count and also for provision for fixed dates for general elections.

These matters, and of course others, were considered by a very distinguished constitutional commission chaired by the Hon Minister of Legal Affairs Mr. Prakash Ramadhar and included Madam Justice AmrikaTiwary-Reddy, Mr. Justice Sebastian Ventour, Dr. Merle Hodge, Dr. Hamid Ghany and Mr. Carlos Dillon.

This commission operated so as to achieve public involvement. There was extensive consultation and a careful report with recommendations was produced. This is a copy Mr. Speaker, of the report by the Constitution Commission and thereafter, we went back to the public for further consultations and an Addendum or Supplementary Report was also produced.

Mr. Speaker, the bill which will be laid is soundly based on the recommendations and amendments to our Constitution, as set forth in the report and the post script report.

I take this opportunity to thank these Commissioners including the honourable Minister of Legal Affairs and indeed all the many citizens across the nation who made their voices heard and contributed to the dialogue.


A Constitution Amendment Bill 2014 Mr. Speaker, is to be introduced today, which will propose a term limit for the office of the Prime Minister, a recall provision and a runoff poll in elections for the House of Representatives.

These measures Mr. Speaker, require only a simple majority.

Further, I will in the near future, lay a Bill to fix the dates of Parliaments so the dates for general elections will be known.

Such a Bill will require a special majority.

 

REFORM DETAILS

The reform details Mr. Speaker:

Firstly, Term Limits for the Prime Minister.

1)Term Limits for the Prime Minister

In our present proposals there is a simple amendment which prevents the President from offering the Prime Ministership to anyone who has served for two full terms or at least ten years and six month, which is the two Constitutional Terms.

Once a Prime Minister has served for a period of 10 years and 6 months (5 years being the normal 5 year life of a Parliament and the subsequent 90 day period by which general elections must be held).

We are of the view Mr. Speaker, that fossilized leadership, which entrenches itself via manipulation and control of party politics, is an anathema to the principles of democracy and growth.

We have had our fair share of leaders who continued to rule and refused to give way even though it was obvious that the time for change had come.

This can suffocate new talent and stifle a democracy. 

THE US SYSTEM VS WESTMINSTER

The two term limit provision is a very important feature to give Power to the People and for a powerful democracy. And so Mr. Speaker, the provisions will be contained in the bill so I will not spend time to read the exact wording of those provisions.

But I would want to say that, whilst American Presidents leave office with dignity and grace, Westminster Prime Ministers cling to power to the very end and are often forced out of office in indignity and disgrace. These were the words I read long ago in an article by Professor Selwyn Ryan.

And so, whilst American Presidents leave Mr. Speaker, there is empirical evidence to suggest that this may well be true.

Some 91 countries worldwide Mr. Speaker, have term limits of two terms for their Heads of Government.

We are seeking to become country number 92 with term limits for the Prime Minister.

 

BENEFITS OF TERM LIMITS

There are many benefits for this Mr. Speaker, and in the debate, we will spend we will spend more time given the restraints of the new Standing Orders.

We will just mention the second provision contained in the bill – The Right of Recall Mr. Speaker.

 

2)RIGHT OF RECALL

This amendment would create the ability to recall individual Members of the House after the expiration of three years from the date of election.

The right of recall is a term used to describe a process whereby the electorate can petition to trigger a vote between scheduled elections on the suitability of an existing elected representative to continue in office.

 This forms part of the systems of government at different levels in several countries including Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Phillipines and Venezuela.

 

 

PROCEDURE FOR RECALL

Again, the bill would lay out the procedure for that recall. And, there are several benefits for the recall.

 

BENEFITS OF RECALL PROVISION

This again Mr. Speaker is to give us a stronger democracy, a stronger connection between elected representatives and the electorate.

And, of course Mr. Speaker, greater representation at the Parliamentary level.

 

EXPANDING THE RIGHT OF RECALL

Thirdly, we seek to expand the existing right of recall in the constitution - You will recall Section 49 A, which is a right of recall but it is only within the hands of the Leader of a party. It was exercised in the case of St. Joseph.

What we are seeking to do is to expand that right of recall to place the power in the hands of the people and the people of the country will be the ones to trigger recall of an MP.


 

BOLD STEP

The right of recall Mr. Speaker, does not yet exist at Westminster and so this is a very bold step.

It may well be that Trinidad and Tobago may lead the way for Westminster because we would be the first Westminster-style democracy that will be adopting the right of recall.

Indeed in the Queen’s speech June 4th, 2014 she stated that her government will introduce legislation on the recall of Members of Parliament.

So we shall be the first of the 52 Commonwealth countries.

 

SECOND BALLOT RUNOFF VOTING

The third provision is for Second Ballot Runoff Voting.

Section 46 (1) of our Constitution states that “the House of Representatives shall consist of members who shall be elected in the manner provided by Parliament”.

This means that Parliament is vested with the authority to provide for the manner by which members are to be elected to this Honourable House.

I wish to change the way we elect our members to strengthen our democracy in a way that makes the power of the people supreme.  

Recall and runoff polls are clearly linked.

The runoff is often viewed as a corollary of the right of recall as an MP who is elected with less than 50 % of the votes cast is obviously immediately vulnerable to a recall.

Such polls, it can be noted, are widely used in countries with substantial democratic traditions INCLUDING France, Switzerland, Argentina, Venezuela, The Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea.

A runoff poll is proposed so that each member of the House of Representatives will only become such a member if he obtains more than 50 per cent of the votes cast in a constituency.

This means that where, on a first poll at an election that is not achieved, a second poll will within 15 days be held between the top two candidates.

This will place greater emphasis on the quality of the candidates selected as the question in the runoff will be “which of these two candidates will better serve me and my constituency?”

 

 

In such a system, the voices of the minority would be respected even as effect is given to the will of the majority and, every single vote would matter and count as the possibility of voting a second time will breathe new life and meaning into the democratic process.

 

NO MINORITY MP

This measure reaffirms democracy and ensures that the balance of power is always tipped in favour of the People, not the Government.

Over the years, we have seen so many candidates get elected to this House on the basis of winning less than 50% of the votes cast.

It would be unfair to future candidates who will be elected and who will now come under the revised constitutional provisions for being recalled by their constituents that they should start their term of office as MPs on the basis of being minority winners.

That will only serve to strengthen any persons who may wish to use the revised recall process for ulterior motives.

It is necessary to protect against this by having all MPs elected on a majority basis.

Further, because of its effectiveness in defining democracy and securing the rights of people over the rights of politicians, the United National Congress will also be considering the adoption of this process into its constitution, subject of course to the agreement of the membership.

 

FIXED DATE FOR ELECTIONS

Mr. Speaker, hitherto, the Prime Minister has been subject to no limit on her term of office and no particular constraints have been put on her ability to advise the President to dissolve Parliament and set a date for general elections.

The Commission has recommended that the date for general elections be fixed.

It is therefore proposed that the life of a Parliament should ordinarily be fixed at five years.

This will effectively fix the date for the holding of general elections.

Long gone would be the days of silly boasts and taunts about leaders ‘having the date in their back pocket’. 

This provides clarity for the population at large and enhances the ability to participate in our democratic life, for all will know the electoral timetable.

This will enable all participants in the political life of Trinidad and Tobago to have the certainty needed to take a full and fair part in a participatory democracy.

Furthermore, the role, Mr Speaker, of the House of Representatives and the Senate is enhanced because the influence of the executive over Parliament is lessened.

I am sure, Mr Speaker, that all members of this Honourable House and the Senate welcome anything which strengthens Parliament.

It is my intention to lay a Bill with this reform shortly.

 

CONCLUSION

I thank you very much Mr. Speaker  and I say that these moves, these initiatives are initiatives we promised in our Manifesto in 2010, we placed into government policy on our agenda for development.

We are keeping those promises to place power, and greater power, in the hands of the people.

I thank you.

In the face of the mounting economic and social challenges, the Caribbean urgently needs to tap into new sources of growth. Across the region, the search is on for areas that will create new job opportunities, improve its competitiveness and drive innovation. Creation of a Single ICT Space in Caricom is expected to provide tremendous benefits, if the region can muster the collective strength to make it a reality.

Cautious optimism 

On the global stage, strategic use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is widely acknowledged as a critical pillar for sustainable and inclusive growth. However, the Caribbean lacks a genuine single market for electronic communications. Seeking to address this, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Heads of Government recently announced plans to establish a Caricom Single ICT Space. 

There is little debate over the need for such an initiative. The world is moving increasingly towards an Internet-based economy, directly affecting everything from traditional service sectors such as tourism, agriculture and finance to new sectors such as online retail, and software development. If ever there was a time to use ICT to breath fresh life into the region’s economies, it is now. 

Yet the news of Caricom’s plans was met with at best, cautious optimism, and in some cases outright cynicism. This is not surprising. The regional body has a notoriously poor implementation track record. And the challenges of implementing a single ICT space are similar to the challenges that hinder several other well-intentioned regional initiatives. 

Swami Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic Hindu saint, who was born in India on January 12, 1863. His birthday is celebrated as National Youth Day in India and his messages are referred to in most intellectual discussions on Hinduism. This young Swami was credited as a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India and the introduction of Hindu religious philosophies to the United States of America, when he spoke at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago in 1893.

But before taking Hinduism to North America, this young Swami toured the Indian sub-continent extensively and acquired first-hand knowledge of his people and how they lived under the British colonial government. History records that the Swami, known as Narendra, left his monastery to lead a Hindu religious life as a wandering monk without a fixed abode, without ties and independent. His sole possessions were a kamandalu (water pot), a staff and two of his favourite books. He travelled extensively in India for five years.

Six years ago, on behalf of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, I attended an international conference on Hinduism in Detroit, USA. Many of the Hindus of North America were of the opinion that Swami Vivekananda was the person who introduced Hinduism to the West.

I had to correct that historical inaccuracy, pointing out that the Swami visited Chicago in 1893 while Hinduism was being practised in the Caribbean 50 years earlier. For the first time the Hindu delegates were informed that Hinduism was introduced in Guyana in 1838 when the first shipload of Indian indentured labourers arrived to work on its sugar plantations.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members

Electoral politics in T&T has been put on dazzling new heights with the introduction of a Constitutional Amendment Bill which, when passed, will change the face of the country’s political landscape in very fundamental ways. 

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, speaking in the House of Representatives on Monday, when the measures were announced, told the legislature and the nation by extension the constitutional reforms were promised by the People’s Partnership coalition, which included that item in their 2010 general election manifesto.

It was a major item in the PP’s bag of promises, and although a team was appointed to a constitutional commission which was headed by Legal Affairs Minister Prakash Ramadhar, there was some level of scepticism as to whether the regime would fulfil this aspect of its election pledges before the next general election.

This position was borne out by the length of time the Ramadhar team took to produce its report and some citizens wondered if they would ever finish its task in time for the next general election. But after a perusal of the PM’s statement on Monday one got the impression that the members had indeed worked long and hard to produce a report which would find favour with the wider population.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members

A group of politically, unblemished citizens have come together to form a new political party in T&T.  The name of the party: National Democratic Movement. Our current focus is to hear from right-thinking citizens of T&T who are interested in either joining or making valid recommendations and contributions to this new party. Citizens, are you tired of the old rhetoric which passes for political parties in T&T? Are you tired of the same talk, election after election, with no change after?  

The problem is not the politicians, they are doing their jobs or whatever. The problem is us, the citizens, we allow and take and feebly protest at times, with no true change to our mindset. T&T needs new political paradigms from new people who are experienced in particular fields.

We do not need experienced politicians with speckles of new faces to tell us this is the change we need. We need new everything. People who have not felt or know the pull of corruptness because they have not been in either Government or Opposition. We need new people to govern this country and take it forward.

We need people who are able to withstand the temptation of becoming corrupt, to stand up to the corrupted because their moral fibre is strong and true.  We need people who are willing to make tough decisions but still have the interest of the people and the country at heart. We need to rid ourselves of the big fish and little fishes alike, no matter who they are or where they live or what status they may possess. We need to be kind, be our brother’s keeper and be less acrimonious to each other. 

 We need a government to take us back to our spiritual roots, regardless of the global consequences. We need to ensure that as citizens we are safe in our homes and proud to say T&T is indeed my country without shame. We need to ensure that those who are given responsibilities can give an account of themselves—doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers, public servants, journalists. We need to ensure that systems are transparent and country productive—education, health, tender, procurement, policies, safety and justice.

Are you tired of the letters of the alphabet that form our active political parties—all having the letter P: PNM, PP, ILP? Then be of good cheer, a new hope is on the horizon. Some citizens already have either Facebook or e-mail contact. Feel free to contact us now. A new hope is here: National Democratic Movement.

National Democratic 
Movement

The current Limacol CPL T20 Cricket tournament taking place in the Caribbean and attracting large crowds at the various venues is quite wonderful for sport-loving people of the Caribbean. This T20 Cricket is also bringing a lot of promising young cricketers to the forefront, such as young Evin Lewis, and Nicholas Pooran of T&T and Ronsford Beaton of Guyana.

This experience will enable them to gain more knowledge from the seasonal Test players and even attract talent scouts from the IPL T20 Tournament which is being held in India, resulting in some of the young players securing contracts. But it is very unfortunate that the Red Steel unit had a problem carrying the name T&T Red Steel. I think that should have been overlooked by our then Minister of Sport, since the composition of the team is basically local players, seven of them to be exact.

Rest assured that the majority of Trinbagonians are backing the boys in red, white and black.

Kelvin La Roche
St James

Dear Minister Khan, as the Ebola virus spreads rapidly through Africa, our tiny island nation, far across the Atlantic, seems relatively safe from the deadly disease—for now. Our country is currently battling the Chikungunya virus. However, there also exists the frightening reality that Ebola could reach our shores. 

The many illegal immigrants from Africa and elsewhere that end up in T&T are high-risk factors that further add to the volatility of our islands’ health state. At the risk of sounding paranoid, I shudder to think of the mayhem and destruction that such an attack could wreak on us and on the Caribbean. To make matters worse, there also exists the theory that this highly-contagious disease could be airborne, further complicating matters.

 Dr Khan, I implore you to take steps and implement some preventative measures, whether it be to prevent people from travelling to Africa or screening people and/or quarantining those who return from there. Steps need to be put in place regardless of how far we may be from the source because in the end, we would have nobody to blame but ourselves should this plague come bearing down upon us.

The rich may be able to run but the vast majority would not be able to.

P Dawn

What a pleasure it was to see and hear the celebrations of our Emancipation! The depiction of our history was very informative and dramatic. We are now in the month of August, when we celebrate our Independence. The drama should continue to show how our nation has evolved through the years.

I wish you and other media houses would use your influence to encourage the playing of our national songs. Gone are the days when children would sing Our Nation’s Dawning and other national songs. Some of them don’t even know the words of the anthem. We adults who love to sing the anthem are debarred from so doing at functions because we are forced to listen to a recorded version or to one person crooning while we stand at attention. 

The players at the just concluded World Cup matches sang their anthems with confidence and pride even if they were off key. We should not wonder why very few of our youths have no national pride. Playing and singing our national songs can boost national awareness. Future generations need to become aware of our history, not only at national celebrations but throughout their maturing years as they prepare to be loyal and patriotic citizens of our nation.

J Greenidge
Arima

Altruistic Benefit Cup 2 is scheduled to take place at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Sunday from 6 pm to 8 pm. 

The charity football match will feature two star-studded teams—Media United and Celebritilona. 

The Media United team will consist of personalities from print and electronic media including Hypa Hoppa, Shal Marshal, Sunny Bling, Sampson Nanton, James Saunders, Gyasi Merrique, Mark Bassant, Paul Montano and Jovan Ravello.

While the Celebritilona team will be made up of artistes, businessmen, politicians and national sportsmen including Brent Sancho, Fuad Abu Bakr, Kernel Roberts, Olatunji Yearwood, Orlando Octave, Cyclops, Ecliff Elie and Wayne Mystar.

The inaugural Altruistic Benefit Cup was held on December 1, 2013, World Aids Day, and copped by team Celebritilona, which was captained by cricketer Dwayne Bravo. 

The match was geared towards raising fund for persons living with HIV/Aids, with the beneficiaries being the Cyril Ross Home, Mothers 2 Mothers and the Children’s Life Fund, a release said. 

This year’s match will be geared towards raising funds for people living with cancer and their families, and to also assist with the eradication of illiteracy in T&T. Part proceeds from the event will be donated to the Cancer Society of T&T, the Just Because Foundation and Nalaa Circle. 

Altruism or selflessness is a traditional virtue, which speaks to the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others. It consists of sacrificing something for someone other than the self, with no expectation of any compensation or benefits. 

The Celian Group said in a release that the promotion of altruism is very crucial to the social development of the nation and that volunteerism needs to be re-injected into the fabric of our nation, hence the name Altruistic Benefit Cup. 

“We would like to thank all media personalities, celebrities, sponsors and interest groups who have selflessly given their time and resources to assist with this venture, “the release said.

A new champion will be crowned in the A division of the Ladies competition when Promenade Club host its Classified Tennis  Championships serves off tomorrow at the Club’s Clay Courts, Paradise Pasture, San Fernando. 4 pm.
A new champion will be crowned as defending champion Kelta Sathoo decided not to enter this year. This leaves last year’s runner up and top seed Michelle Chem as the favourite to take the crown. 
Matches in the Ladies A Division Singles and the Men’s B Division Singles will be contested tomorrow and Sunday.

Tomorrow’s Fixtures

Men’s B Singles 
Quarter Finals
 P Hosein vs S      Raymond
 K Corbie vs R Chen
 S Corbie vs S     Ramohan
 A Pierre vs C    La Croix

Ladies A Singles
Quarter Finals 
 M Chen vs W       Rahmut
 A Lucky vs I      Rahaman
 S Hassanali vs     Ramdhan
 A Jaggernanth vs     J Arjoonsingh

Former national striker Stern John was back on the scoresheet for 2014 champion WASA FC, when he scored the third goal in a 4-0 win over Joe Public to send his club to the top of the TTFA National Super League standings on Wednesday.

John, who helped the club to a positive finish last season after a generally poor campaign, scored in the 57th minute. Damien Pompey and Kirth Hutchins gave WASA a 2-0 half time lead, before John and Ethan Robinson scored second half goals to put Joe Public, the 2011 treble winner and former Pro League champion to an unfamiliar place—at the foot of the standings.

WASA now leads the standings with 12 points from four wins after five matches. The club leapfrogged unbeaten Petrotrin Palo Seco in the process. Palo Seco was stunned by Bethel United in a 2-2 draw, after leading 2-0 up to the 73rd minute. Corey Cyrus scored moments before the close of the first half, before an in-form Darren Alexis doubled up for the reigning SFA champions in the 67th minute. 

The Tobago club, playing away from home, surged forward and earned a key point after goals from Vernon Wilson and Akeilon Murphy in the 73rd and 87th minutes, respectively.

Reigning champion Guaya United’s trip to Tobago’s 1976 FC Phoenix was postponed.

On Sunday, when match day six kicks off, four games will face postponement due to flight issues, while another, NLCB La Horquetta’s trip to YTC Ground, Arouca, against FC Santa Rosa, will be postponed due to the unavailability of the ground. 

The three matches to be played are: Joe Public versus Coosal’s Las Lomas United at the Marvin Lee Stadium, from 4 pm; WASA FC versus Real Maracas FC at WASA Ground, St Joseph, from 5 pm and Defence Force versus Malabar FC at Macqueripe Youth Camp, from 4 pm.

Results

​

 WASA FC 4 (Damien Pompey 15th, Kirth Hutchins 35th, Stern John 57th, Ethan Robinson 60th) v Joe Public FC 0

 Coosal’s Las Lomas Utd 2 (Dion Lewis 43rd) v Travis Joseph 67th) v T&T Defence Force 2 (Jahvon Neptune 19th, Khalid Chrichlow 25th)

 Club Sando 4 (Kern Cupid 43rd, Kerron Mitchell 58th, Akeem Humphrey 65th, Andre Quashie 90th+2) v Real Maracas 2 (Shaquille Smith 77th, Dillon Bartholomew 88th)

 Siparia Spurs 3 (Andy London 20th, Shevon Frederick 76th, Denzil Garcia 90th pen) v Malabar FC 2 (Kevon Woodley 6th, Gorean Highley 25th)

 Petrotrin Palo Seco 2 (Corey Cyrus 41st, Darren Alexis 67th) v Bethel United 2 (Vernon Wilson 73th, Akeilon Murphy 87th)

 Stokely Vale 2 (Dereme Williams 7th, 47th) v FC Santa Rosa 1 (Rashad Griffith 13th)

 NLCB La Horquetta SA 4 (og (Sherlon Phillips) 18th, Kern Roberts 36th, Kerron St Cyr 62nd, Kevin Mulzac 84th) v D’Lime Bar Goal City 2 (Kayode Legall 33rd, Akini Ferguson 89th pen)

Standings

Teams Pld W D L F A Pts

WASA FC 5 4 0 1 16 5 12

Petrotrin Palo Seco 5 3 2 0 14 8 11

Club Sando 5 3 1 1 11 8 10

Siparia Spurs 5 3 1 1 11 10 10

NLCB La Horquetta SA 4 3 0 1 11 7 9

T&T Defence Force 4 1 3 0 10 7 6

Stokely Vale 4 2 0 2 5 4 6

FC Santa Rosa 5 1 2 2 5 6 5

Malabar FC 3 1 1 1 5 5 4

Goal City FC 3 1 1 1 4 5 4

1976 FC Phoenix 1 1 0 0 2 1 3

Las Lomas United 3 0 1 2 3 5 1

Bethel United 3 0 1 2 4 7 1

Real Maracas FC 4 0 1 3 5 11 1

Guaya United 3 0 1 2 2 9 1

Joe Public FC 5 0 1 4 4 13 1

It was goals galore on Tuesday after Plipdeco thrashed Prime Equipment Rentals by ten goals as group stage action continued in the SIS Industrial Football League. In the process, Plipdeco created history by accumulating the most goals ever in a single match since the inception of the league seven years ago. 
Nolan Mohammed opened the flood gates in the 9th minute with a clinical finish past Prime custodian Zawadi Henry as his defence looked scrappy and disorganised. 
Rennie Jones doubled the scoring just 2 minutes later when a brilliant save by Henry fell to the unmarked Jones who only needed to tap it in the back of the net. However, the star on the day was Ajamu Mattherson who has been one of the standout players in the tournament thus far. 
The midfielder bagged an impressive hat-trick on the day, taking his tally in the league to five goals from four matches, as his speed, precision passing and clinical finishing continue to cause problems for his opponents. Keston Belfor, Lendl Knights and Kurtis Jules all scored 1 goal each with Shamba Lewis scoring a brace to complete the annihilation of the 
Prime team, who had no answer on the day. Plipdeco has now moved to fourth place with one game remaining and are now all but assured a place in the quarterfinals of the league. 
In the second fixture of the day, T&TEC took on IPSL AUM in a clash of the titans. 
Both teams have been unbeaten thus far with T&TEC coming in to the game atop Group B with two wins, while AUM posses a win and a draw. However, the match failed to live up to the expectations as it finished in a 0-0 stalemate. Glendon ‘Ratty’ Reece failed to add to his 4-goal tally in the league. Reece, Akil Noreiga and Terrence Rajnath are considered one of the better striking forces in the tournament but each failed to find the back of the net. 
Likewise, T&TEC’s Damian Charles who has been lethal in front of the goal this year did not seem to have that magical final touch on the day. 
In the end, both teams went home with point with both in contention for a quarterfinal spot.

SUMMARISED SCORES

Plipdeco 10 ( A. Mattherson 12’ 14’ 30’, N. Mohammed 9’, R. Jones 10’, K. Belfor 17’, S. Lewis 21’ 27’, Lendl Knights 35’, Kurtis Jules 38’) vs Prime Equipment Rentals 0
T&TEC 0 vs 0 IPSL AUM

Former New Zealand batsman Martin Crowe rates Brian Lara’s footwork as among the best he has seen in international cricket. 

Crowe, who scored 5,444 runs in 77 Tests for the Kiwis, made the comments during his contribution to the Web site Cricinfo’s video podcast My XI in which former greats rate their favourite cricketers. Among the other West Indian batsmen to make his list were Gordon Greenidge (“I’ve never seen a ball hit so hard.”) and Sir Viv Richards (“He walked out to own the stage.”). He also fancied the footwork of Mark Waugh, Allan Border, Mohammed Azharuddin, David Gower, Javed Miandad, Greg Chappell and Sunil Gavaskar.

Crowe played just once against Lara during the 1992 World Cup though his innings of 52 made a big impression on the New Zealander. 

“The thing that stood out for me about him straight away was the back lift and the footwork,” he said. “I regarded him as one of the finest left handers I had ever seen. He was truly remarkable to watch at close hand as I was privileged to do. It was just sublime.” 

Crowe praised the batsman’s technique, demonstrating his movements to emphasise his point.

“There was just so much happening. As the bowler ran into bowl and he gathered to let the ball go, Lara was all of a sudden jumping into position. The bat was high, the feet were moving into position and it was just all action,” he said. “When it went wrong, he was probably moving too much. But the fact that he was moving and both feet were moving was what made him such a great player and kept him going for such a long time and that’s why he chalked up big runs.”