British citizen Kevin Harrison who co-owned (SIS) Central FC football club with Sport Minister Brent Sancho is now Sancho’s adviser.

This was confirmed by the ministry and Harrison yesterday.

Sancho was appointed on February 2 to replace Rupert Griffith. The latter replaced former minister Anil Roberts, who resigned last year amid the Life Sport furore and corruption allegations concerning that programme. It is under probe by police, the Integrity Commission and other authorities.

Central Football Club, “The Sharks”, is a T&T professional football club. 

It was founded in 2012 by Sancho and is based in California, Couva. It plays in the TT Pro League. 

After the club’s first season, it built a reputation in bringing football in community events, having completed over 12 projects and had reportedly struggled over the years. 

In September 2013 the club received sponsorship from Couva-based Super Industrial Services (SIS) 

Harrison joined the team in 2013 as operations director. After Sancho was appointed, Harrison was reported to have taken over as managing director of CFC since Sancho, as minister, had to separate himself from the club.

He was quoted in news reports that the changes would not negatively affect the club and that Sancho would not be involved in the club.  

At that time Harrison was quoted as saying while it was a good move for Sancho “politically, it was not the best time to take the position with all the controversy that’s going on.”

He said yesterday the ministry had an allocation for the post of adviser and secretary. 

He said the secretary was under contract and he also had a short-term—about three months—contract and was “just a civilian paid by the ministry” but gets no public service benefits like gratuities or such. He said the contract may be extended depending on when the general election was held and Parliament dissolves.

Harrison said he remained CFC’s operations manager and was also continuing the managing director duties. He said he would be able to manage all portfolios since the ministry stint was short term.

He said he would steer clear of any situation where conflict of interest could arise and would recuse himself or step away if confronted with that. 

Harrison said he understood fully there could not be one rule for some people and another rule for others and that the only way the situation might be abused was if CFC got more than others.

He said that would not occur. “All clubs would be treated alike and no preferential treatment would be given,” he added.

Harrison said CFC, which qualified for the Carib Cup Championships on Wednesday night, had applied to the ministry for assistance since last October, well before Sancho was appointed minister. Efforts to contact Sancho yesterday were futile.

Formerly from the UK, Harrison, 52, lives in central Trinidad. His business career includes real estate and giving financial advice to footballers from several leagues.

After the 2006 World Cup, he was reportedly approached by Sancho, Kelvin Jack and Ian Cox, who asked for his help with a dispute over bonus payments to the squad. 

After visiting the region to deal with legal action, he reportedly declined a TT Pro League offer but later helped negotiate a sponsorship arrangement between DirecTV and North East Stars FC, where Sancho was CEO and subsequently both established CFC.

Pandemonium broke out outside the More Money Pawnshop and Jewelry Store yesterday as hundreds of customers with their pawn tickets in hand demanded they get their monies for their pieces of gold, which they had pawned for fast cash.

Pounding on the shop's glass windows and doors, hurling obscenities were too much for staff, police and private security personnel to cope. 

Backup was called in and by 10.30 am a contingent of heavily-armed officers from the Inter Agency Task Force arrived on the scene.

Host of Crime Watch Ian Alleyne was also on hand attempting to quell the crowd and restore law and order. 

He told about 300 pawn ticket holders they were going to be seen by management and assured them of a good settlement.

However, those words from Alleyne seemed to be quickly forgotten as the rowdy crowd grew more impatient and began pushing themselves towards the shop's glass doors.

Several attempts were made by police officers to push them off but that only caused intense confrontation between officers and customers.

One customer, Reynold Hernandez, was jostled by police but was defended by his sister Kay and others. Alleyne intervened, as well, pulling Hernandez away from the officers and again pleaded with the crowd to calm down.

The store opened for business yesterday morning at about 8 am but would only accommodate pawn ticket holders.

From as early as 6 am people were seen gathering outside the Henry Street store waiting patiently for it to open its doors. Initially there was a number system in place but by mid-morning it fell apart as people became rowdy and verbally abusive.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian, director of operations Wayne Griffith explained  it was agreed that pawners would be able to get 90 per cent value of their pawn.

"The settlement plan was agreed to $200 per gram. It would take some time to pay out the final settlements because we have a database of 2,500 customers."

Griffith said he believed that by Monday they would start payouts but added that it would be done systematically in alphabetical order.

He added that payments would be made by cheques and people should look out for a public notice which would be published in the print media.

Pawn ticket holder, Reena Marajh, said she pawned over 11 pieces of jewelry for a cash loan geared towards payment of medical bills. After she was dealt with by staff, Marajh of Morvant would only receive $4,038.

"It real sad to know that all my expensive jewelry worth tens of thousands of dollars gone and I only getting back little money. i have been doing business at this shop for the past two years," Marajh said.

Another customer from Cunupia, who did not want her name published for security reasons said she has been pawning jewelry for over 40 years, firstly at another popular jewelry store and estimated her losses to be well over $250,000.

"A lot of sentimental pieces of gold gone. Pieces that my mother had from little girl growing up... good gold. It hard. My husband recently bought new wedding diamond bands for us and I pawned that and now it’s gone. My wedding ring alone cost him $21,000. It real hard."

The shop was robbed over the weekend with the thieves stealing an estimated $15 million in cash and jewelry. 

With Digicel T&T Pro League leaders, Central FC defending champions DirecTV W Connection, five points adrift in second spot will be aiming to cut its lead at the top when it tackles bogey team this season, Play Whe San Juan Jabloteh in the second match of a double-header at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, from 8 pm.

On Tuesday last, Central FC made certain of staying top of the nine-team standings when it edged red-hot Pt Fortin Civic 1-0 thanks to a strike from inform Willis Plaza to climb to 35 points from 16 matches and also earned the $35,000 for topping the second round table with 18 points, four more than Jabloteh.

Meanwhile, W Connection (30 points) which needed a win to stay in with a chance at drawing level on points at the end of the round with the was held to a 1-1 draw by second from bottom Caledonia AIA.

And tonight, while on paper it will start as favourites, the Stuart Charles-Fevrier-coached W Connection know all to well that Jabloteh, fourth on the table with 23 points, will pose a much tougher task as was evident in their two previous meetings so far this season.

In fact, Jabloteh, coming of a 2-1 win over Defence Force, winners of two of the last three Pro league crowns thanks to a double from Jamaican Newton Sterling, holds the edge in their clashes so far for the 2014/2015 campaign, a 1-1 round one league draw, and a 2-0 triumph in their First Citizens Cup quarterfinal last November.

Speaking on the eve on the match, Charles-Fevrier noted that there is still a very long way to go in the title race and from his point of view, he was very confident that his club can defend its title.”

Two hours earlier at Couva, Caledonia, winless in its last three matches, but buoyed by the 1-1 draw with W Connection will be hoping for much more improvement as it faces high riding third placed Japs North East Stars (26 points), which is coming off a 2-1 win over St Ann’s Rangers, and won their first round duel, 2-1.

Missing out on tonight’s match will be Caledonia’s midfielder Conrod Smith and his Stars’ rival Dwayne James, both through suspension.

Up at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya, fifth and sixth placed teams Defence Force and Pt Fortin Civic will both be hoping to get back to winning form against St Ann’s Rangers (6 pm) and Police FC (8 pm), respectively.

Devante Stewart and Isaiah Wylie scored a hat-trick each as Pleasantville Secondary crushed Naparima College 7-0 to capture the T&T Hockey Board Secondary Schools Outdoor Champions Division South Zone Boys title on Wednesday.

Michael Stewart added the other goal for Pleasantville in the lopsided contest at the Debe High School Ground, for his team to top the three-team round-robin series with maximum six points, three more than Marabella South, which was beaten 7-3 by the eventual champions.

Marabella South swamped Naparima 9-0 in the other zonal match.

In the North Boys Championship Division, Trinity College Moka forward Justin Beharry also found the nets three times each as they routed St George’s College 8-4 at the Police Barracks Training Ground, St James.

The win lifted Trinity to maximum nine points from three matches, three ahead of its opponent and St Anthony’s College in Pool A and a point away from a semifinal spot.

Diego Martin Central also leads Pool B with nine points from three matches, while St Mary’s College B is second with six followed by Belmont Secondary and Woodbrook Secondary, with three apiece from two and three matches respectively.

In the Girls East Zone title race, Chelsea Dey banged in a handful of goals as Bishops East clobbered Lakshmi 11-0 to go top ahead of St Augustine Girls High School on goal-difference at the National Hockey Centre, Tacarigua.

Nicole Whiteman added a beaver-trick for Bishops East, now with nine points from four matches, the same as SAGHS, but with a superior goal-difference of plus-14 to its rivals’ plus-ten with a match left for each team.

However, St Augustine Secondary also stayed in the hunt for the zonal title as it improved to six points from three matches following a 4-1 whipping of St Joseph’s Covent (St Joseph).  

Yesterday, Bishops East was expected to play its remaining match against St Joseph Convent (St Joseph) while St Augustine Secondary faced St Joseph College and also has a match versus Lakshmi left to play.

State-owned National Helicopter Services Limited (NHSL) has been assigned a corporate credit rating of cariBBB+ on a regional scale and ttBBB+ locally by the Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS).

The regional agency said the initial rating is supported by NHSL’s “very strong relationship with their core clients, good market position as evidenced by contracts with most offshore oil and gas operators and their favourable geographic location. 

CariCRIS said it expects further improvements in the company’s profitability as it reaps the benefits of newly acquired contracts and upgrade of their fleet of aircraft. It said NHSL’s planned regional expansion should boost revenue and profitability.

“This initial BBB+ corporate credit rating indicates that the level of creditworthiness of this obliger, adjudged in relation to other obligators in the Caribbean and within T&T is adequate,” CariCRIS said.

CEO of CariCRIS Wayne Dass said the public rating of NHSL represented an important step in improving the accountability and transparency of operations in the state enterprise sector.

The favourable credit rating coincides with the publication of the company’s financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2013, which show a net profit of $19.9 million.

NHSL chairman Captain Marc Dasent said the company had shown improved profitability over previous years due to prudent management and cost-effective approaches.

He said: “It is anticipated in the coming years there will be an increase in offshore and deep-water activities which the company must be in a position to respond to. Also, further potential growth regionally lends itself to opportunities which we are determined to pursue.

“Henceforth, we have embarked upon a fleet renewal programme with the introduction of the S760 aircraft from Sikorsky.”

Dasent said NHSL’s choice of Sikorsky aircraft is strategic and it has entered into an agreement with the company to acquire two and lease a third.

“Further, we are vigirously pursuing regional developments in the areas of Guyana and Suriname and anticipate positive results,” he said.

Adam Stewart, CEO of Sandals Resorts International, will be the feature speaker at the T&T Manufacturers’ Association’s (TTMA) gala President’s Dinner on March 5 at the Port of Spain Ballroom, Hyatt Regency Trinidad.

For the first time the event will include an award ceremony which celebrates local manufacturers. The TTMA President’s Dinner & Awards aims to showcase T&T’s manufacturing talent and capability while promoting the sector locally and abroad. This year’s theme is Business Beyond Borders.  

The TTMA said in a release on its website: “The inaugural awards recognises excellence in manufacturing and serves to reward those who have developed modern capacities while nurturing their competitive advantage, focused on research and strategic planning, generated substantial increases in export capacity and foreign exchange revenue and who have done so in a socially responsible manner. These awards will represent the highest standards in manufacturing, innovation and excellence and celebrates Trinidad and Tobago’s manufacturing industry.”

It is envisioned that it will become the premier annual award event for the local manufacturing sector, supporting and recognising manufacturing success

The keynote speaker at the dinner and awards, Adam Stewart, has been CEO and deputy chairman of Sandals Resorts International for nine years and in that time the company has experienced unprecedented growth, innovation and development transforming the all-inclusive concept to luxury Included resorts that offer guests levels of exclusivity never seen before.

Prior to becoming CEO, Stewart was director of resort product, responsible for all on property operations and revenues, including the photo shops, gift boutiques, in-room television system and telephone and internet capabilities across the company's three major brands—Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts and Royal Plantation. 

A member of the Sandals Resorts International Executive Committee, Adam Stewart also served as chairman of the Sandals' Youth Committee, inspired by his father, Butch Stewart, to head the development of creative approaches to children's facilities at all Beaches Resorts, including youth entertainment, food and programmes.

Stewart is a graduate of Florida International University's acclaimed Hospitality Management Programme.

Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) yesterday announced a partnership with Facebook to offer customers a simple, personalised way to access free Wi-Fi. 

The Facebook Wi-Fi solution helps improve the consumer hotspot login experience by providing a quick and simple way for consumers to access Wi-Fi by logging in via Facebook, as well as giving local businesses more opportunities to connect with their customers. 

Customers connecting to a CWC-powered Wi-Fi network in participating locations will be able to open their browser on any mobile device or laptop to a Facebook check-in page. After logging in, customers will be directed to a localised Facebook Page, where they can receive the latest information about the business hosting the Wi-Fi service. 

“At CWC, a key part of our Fixed-Mobile Convergence strategy is to enable our customers to access the Internet wherever they are and on whatever data enabled device they happen to be using. Facebook Wi-Fi will enable a frictionless login experience in hundreds of CWC wireless hotspots across our markets and drive the best possible mobile internet experience,” said James McElvanna, CWC VP of Products. 

Aruna Bharathi, Mobile Partner Manager at Facebook, said: “Not only does Facebook Wi-Fi allow customers free Wi-Fi in a cost-effective way, but it provides local businesses with new tools to engage their customers online and generate value for their products and local economies, resulting in a win-win for all.” 

The first CWC market to launch with Facebook Wi-Fi will be Lime Barbados in the first quarter of 2015.

Two armed bandits escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash yesterday after robbing a First Citizens customer who was leaving the One Woodbrook Place branch.

According to police reports, around 3.30 pm the woman, who was accompanied by a male security guard attached to Security Analysts Services (SAS), was leaving the bank when two armed men robbed them of the cash and sped off in a white Mitsubishi Lancer. 

After the duo were robbed the security guard fired at the escaping bandits 13 times, hitting the car 12 times, police said.

Police said the robbers might have been targeting the two, who conduct regular business on behalf of an organisation.

Sources at the bank said when the shots were fired clients, as well as staff at the loans department located close to where the shots were heard, began to scamper. 

When the T&T Guardian visited the scene other security guards attached to One Woodbrook Place lauded the SAS officer as a hero and a “well-trained man” who was “serious about his job.” 

Police were informed that one of the bandits had left the car and went inside Tru Value Supermarket where he was hiding out. As a result the grocery and other stores at the plaza closed earlier for the day. 

The information turned out to be false, police said. Police added that they suspected at least one of the bandits might have been shot and they were requesting all medical institutions to report any incidents of gunshot victims.

More than 26 million visitors came to the region in 2014, which was a 5.3 per cent increase in the numbers who came in 2013. This growth in arrivals is above the international average in growth rates which measured 4.7 per cent. As a group, the visitors spent an estimated US$29.5 billion in the Caribbean.   

The Caribbean tourism industry had what can only be described as a stellar year last year, as the figures released by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation on visitor arrivals in the region and their expenditure indicate the significance of tourism to the Caribbean, both the Spanish-speaking areas and its Caricom member states.

More than 26 million visitors came to the region in 2014, which was a 5.3 per cent increase in the numbers who came in 2013. This growth in arrivals is above the international average in growth rates which measured 4.7 per cent. As a group, the visitors spent an estimated US$29.5 billion in the Caribbean.   

The Caribbean has long been said to be the most in-demand, warm-weather destination for tourists from North America and parts of Europe.  

The question is have the major and minor tourism destinations in the region developed the full capacity of an industry that creates tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs for a wide segment of the population.

In the industry are employed taxi drivers and rental vehicle operators, hoteliers and owners of villas, the airline operators, customs and immigration officials, the sellers of sugar cake and other foods as well as even the many women who braid the hair of tourists on our beaches.

In addition to which, the industry pays a significant amount of taxes to governments and in some countries is the major and perhaps only earner of foreign currency to pay for the import of vital goods and services.

The larger Spanish-speaking destinations have done quite a lot to continuously attract tourists in increasingly larger numbers.  

They have diversified their tourism product through casinos, all-inclusive attractions, water sports and various forms of night life for adults. Some islands have utilised the physical infrastructure and natural beauty of the island territories. 

With the opening of the door to Americans to travel to Cuba, the mystique of a country where not too many Americans have been to over the last 50 years, Havana is surely set to “capitalise” on the new possibilities.  

At the intercessional meeting of Caricom Prime Ministers in the Bahamas, which is one of the Caricom countries heavily dependent on the tourism industry, Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie called on his colleagues to strike up the kind of association with Cuba that would allow for visitors to Cuba purchasing multi-destination packages that would allow them to include Caricom destinations in their tours. That is neither a new nor unique idea. It has been touted for years under the One Caribbean brand. But as with so many good ideas developed in the region, implementing it has been slow and/or not attempted beyond conference halls.

One of the great challenges facing Caricom tourism destinations is that of being able to diversify the product away from the basic sun, sea and sand package. The tourism experts at the UN World Tourism Organisation have been writing about environmental tourism, about cultural tourism, inclusive of the indigenous musics produced in the region, health tourism and a range of other possibilities.

Having a diversified product will surely expand the range of visitors who come to the region.

There also needs to be an attempt by the industry players to expand the source markets from which tourists come. 

Hordes of wealthy Asians are now travelling the world with large quantities of foreign exchange in their pockets and could be the focus of the region’s tourism marketing agencies. Tobago is ideally suited for expansion and diversification of product. The private sector with the right kind of support from the ­has to become proactive in seeking ways to diversify the products offered.

In light of the decline in T&T’s energy revenue, the Government should take a new look at the role tourism can play in the diversification of the country’s economy.

ILP’s Jack Warner had significant support in Parliament yesterday. Not just outside the Waterfront Plaza with the small group from the PNM-controlled San Juan regional corporation who toted a prettily-clad female mannequin—labelled “Rats”—and violently yelled abuse at PP MPs entering the building.

(PP’s Winston Peters who stopped to talk with them and was blistered with abuse, bowed and walked away. They, however, greeted PNM’s Terrence Deyalsingh with handshakes.)

Inside, PNM MP Patricia McIntosh sported Kelly green matching Warner’s ILP signature colour and PNM leader Keith Rowley gave vocal support to Warner’s no confidence motion against House Speaker Wade Mark. It was a lovefest from the start when Warner opened with thanking “PNM family” including Rowley for allowing his motion priority on the agenda.

However, Warner’s blows for the Speaker (on alleged Cepep contracts) received reply in same from PP House leader Roodal Moonilal (on alleged contracts in the Warner household also.)

Warner’s no-confidence motion was timely enough to provide him platform as purported champion of right, at a time when renewed spotlight may fall on him in coming weeks. This, as ex-PP members Gary Griffith and Nicole Dyer-Griffith lobby “like-minded independent” people among the politically disaffected towards a renewed Third Force.

Neither one of the power couple have confirmed excluding Warner (or PNM people) from their lobby and Gary has praised Warner’s stock in local government polls which trumped COP’s.

COP’s Operations Centre where Dyer-Griffith dramatically resigned last Sunday, is located in Charlieville—Warner’s Chaguanas West constituency. But that may not be the only reason he figures in their scenario. Griffith has confirmed he continued talking to Warner after becoming Minister replacing Warner. The latter also told T&T Guardian he and Griffith have always talked  and exchanged ideas though he (Warner) didn’t speak a lot to Emmanuel George after he took over Warner’s National Security spot in 2013.

“I feel sorry for him and Nicole; I’ll be talking to both soon,” Warner says, noting he’d said last week coalitions would come at the appropriate time.

The Griffith initiative to lobby a fourth/third Force would be a boon for Warner whose ILP has haemorrhaged in the last two years, from top to bottom. He says he isn’t concerned about leadership of any new/renewed vehicle. How politically attractive Warner will be—particularly to COP and PNMites who’d taken issue with him while he was in Government, remains to unfold. 

Now a political weapon against the PP, Warner has a warmer spot with the PNM hierarchy which supported yesterday’s motion—a situation which could also affect his courting of PP/COP support via the Griffiths.

The President last month approved an Integrity Commission tribunal concerning Warner’s finances. That team is to be sworn in ahead. The Commission recently advertised for criminal and forensic investigators. 

Warner apart, the Couple Griffith has garnered some following, judging from resignations (up to yesterday with Joe Pires) in COP’s Diego Martin units where COP/UNC traditionally lose to PNM.

What overall effect on COP from the Griffiths’ lobby remains to be seen, particularly since Dyer-Griffith has name-dropped former leader Winston Dookeran and his latest book into the mix. The book details his speeches from 2006 when he left UNC and formed COP to last year’s Parliament debate when he voted against the PP’s run-off plan. 

Dookeran yesterday stressed “reconceptualisation” is needed, but said dialogue with all—including COP—was positive. Asked if he’d head a reconceptualised vehicle, he merely chuckled. 

Zen Hassan, deputy chairman of Dookeran’s executive has distanced the team from a meeting Dyer-Griffith allegedly held recently with COP members. Hassan said it was unlikely the constituency would follow the Griffiths. He said the people being mobilised in that area weren’t bona fide COP members.

It also remains to be seen how successful Dyer-Griffith’s lobby will be with disgruntled COP-ers who, however, feel she should have supported ex chairman Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan’s efforts for COP change, rather than line up behind leader Prakash Ramadhar in elections, taking Bachan’s place. COP is also targetting the same people the Griffiths are. COP chairman Jamison Bahadur says he will be calling ex members such as Wendy Lee Yuen and others. Lee Yeun told T&T Guardian this week she’s out of politics.

How COP shapes up remains to unfold in the series of public meetings starting Tuesday in its leader’s constituency. Its challenges arise as COP officials query claims that the UNC wishes to field most seats including COP areas like San Fernando West where a high profile sportsman and a Senate member are tipped to be in the running for candidacy.

It also arises when COP had hoped to benefit from PNM fragmentation in Arima. Supporters of Penny Beckles Robinson were disappointed after a meeting with the PNM chairmanship on Wednesday when they were told the selected candidate (Anthony Garcia) remains, attendees said. PNM’s Arima executive meets next week to work out how they will inform party groups of the situation.

On Carnival Friday my wife, like many others, was stuck in traffic. Suddenly she was side-swiped by a public transport bus edging its way into her lane; it ripped off the front bumper and slightly dinged some metal work. So be it. We’re not materialistic folk and while being our only vehicle, it is just a family run-about car.

Dutifully and according to T&T law, she exited the vehicle to assess the damage. The front bumper had come off but was still partially hinged to the car making it impossible to drive to a safer zone without running over the bumper. 

The bus driver drove off and parked at the side of the road and left my wife and child in the middle of the road, our vehicle unable to move to a safer zone. Obviously traffic started to backup, frustration built, tempers were strained and the typical horn honking and cussing started.

Maybe they were unaware or just had no regard for the “baby on board” sticker, as there was actually a terrified and frightened two-year-old in the back seat witnessing this.

At this point I’d like to deeply personally thank the group of young lads from a local school who promptly came to her rescue. They pulled off the damaged car part, shoved it in the back, joked with our little chap and ensured her safe passage out of a potentially volatile situation.

Day after day, we’re informed of the utterly depressing stories of our nation’s youth going astray with gang fights, mobile phone sex incidents, bullying and even child murder.

This was a typical group of (racially diverse) Trinidadian males obviously from a public school. 

Give the young people of this island a chance to prove their true selves and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. So many are from kind, loving, positive-thinking and inspiring families. We may just be foreigners in your country, but we have absolute faith in the next generation of young men in Trinidad. 

Let’s continue to tell them and let them know we know this; give them all the opportunities and challenges for them to step up to. Even if they fail, boost them back up and let them go again.

We believe in you, even when many might not.

Cheers lads,

Most impressed

“I must say this year the socadrome is much better, everyone feels safe in here. We are seeing more police officers than masqueraders!” 

Just one of the comments from revellers escaping the punishing pilgrimage to the Savannah stage. They paraded for row upon row of plastic chairs at the Jean Pierre Sports Complex. While organisers say the number of spectators was a vast improvement over last year’s turnout, most reports suggest that attendance was middling at best. 

Perhaps the organisers could have had the surplus of police officers fill out the stands for visual effect. Spectator interest wasn’t any better at the main stage. As the camera crane swooped over the sprawling boards at the Queen’s Park Savannah, the hundreds of empty seats were far more eye-catching than the invariably boring bands and embarrassingly weak choreography preceding the crossing of the stage. But how many masqueraders care about spectators anyway? 

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why attendance at major Carnival venues has plummeted over the past few years. Crime is a possible factor, fears of car-theft or worse, robbery with violence could have kept crowds away. There is also the possibility that there is diminished interest in the portrayals, the costumes simply fail to inspire. Live coverage commentators at the Queen’s Park Savannah made sporadic references to “Monday wear.” 

This is a trend of recent vintage in which masqueraders, possibly loathe to “ruin” their Carnival costume on the first day, wear something bland and disposable on Carnival Monday (hey that’s Tuesday wear too!). This works out well for the bands who have more crap to sell to “tusty” revellers, but who the hell wants to watch people chippin’ across the stage in a non-costume? 

I have always wondered, as we grappled through the ages with congestion of the bands on the streets, why Monday wasn’t designated for a set number of bands to cross the Savannah stage, and Tuesday for another. In a two-day affair, why does everyone have to parade the stage on both days? Instead, spectators on the streets gather to see people in short pants and tank tops, revellers rendered spectators themselves. 

Even the “ole mas” lacked the ingenuity and inventiveness of days past. Most players simply belched out crass, puerile riffs on current affairs. The music was, as usual, dreadful. Soca is now in full transition to EDM (electronic dance music) as artistes try to ape global trends. The International Soca Monarch show, while gobbling up millions in state funds, maintains its poor production standards. The artistes assail enlightened sensibilities with shoddy, senseless skits and awful caterwauling interspersed with rambling conversations with the audience. 

The Calypso Monarch competition which is supposed to be our premier cultural event was even worse. The crop of calypsoes died on the vine, the calypsonians, having abandoned all pretense of singing, simply deliver their poorly-written speeches set to music. 

For all the unavoidable realities of what Carnival has become, denial is as much a hallmark of the festival as is the limp revelry. Many voices, with the exception of vendors, described this carnival as “bess.” It is quite possible that people are offering this opinion based on the season of fetes and not the street parade itself. The parade of the bands as a cultural asset has been subsumed by the season, which is primarily commercial in nature. The big event is no longer the climax of the Carnival season, but the muted after-party. 

Change is inevitable, resistance is futile. We can either embrace or eschew this evolved festival, it won’t make much difference in the end. The state, with the benefit of in-depth analysis of the festival today, should consider removing funding for Carnival. If business interests are taking the lead in reshaping this cultural tradition, then they should be the ones funding it given the immense profits they are making off the taxpayers’ investment.  

The Government should reserve funding for the preservation of traditional elements of Carnival. I attended the National Junior Panorama Finals and was blown away, not simply by the performances of the young pannists but by the enthusiasm of the crowd; each fed the other. Some of the bands obviously weren’t ready for the stage, their performances sounding more like a tuning. No big deal, they are young and the most important thing is they are eager to carry on this tradition. This event, all things considered, was well attended. 

So too were the National Stick fighting Finals. In fact, the seating at Skinner Park was filled to capacity as stickmen from across the country braved the Gayelle to buss people head. I don’t think I have ever been to a Carnival event where there was such intensity, crowd excitement and buoyant pace. 

Such traditions appear to carry on, just on the fringes of a larger festival that now appears bloated, riddled with gout and set to expire; all to exultations that this was the best Carnival ever!

The Pan Movement across the world has gone into orbit but our Panorama is still stuck in the mud. Please know that the reality is our instrument is no longer ours: the pan has taken on a life of its own and is roaming freely, taking root wherever it is appreciated. 

At this time, our only claim to it is that pan originated in Trinbago. Trinbago as the mecca of pan music is now becoming in jeopardy. 

If better music is being played elsewhere, there is where the focus and attention will be. The organisers of the Panorama are stifling the growth, creativity and development of pan music in Trinbago, especially at Panorama.

Panorama 2015 is now behind us and the decision of the judges is final, but almost everyone disagrees with their selections. What this tells us is that the judges have to go; that the judges do not have the capacity to assess and appreciate creativity and innovation in music; that the judges have become programmed to the extent that they seem to be working from some formula; and that the judges are stuck in a rut. 

Music that is creative and innovative confuses them and with a simple stroke of their pencils they dismiss anything that might be outside of their comfort zone. 

Where does this leave our Panorama musicians, our arrangers? 

The judges have our arrangers in a state of confusion. If we are stuck with these judges who are selected by Pan Trinbago, then understand that the “formula” has to evolve, because the music is certainly not stuck in time. There are arrangers who are taking the music to another level. 

My question at this time is, are any of these judges musicians? A degree in music does not make you a musician and does not give you the ability to judge the music of musicians. The ability to teach scales to children does not qualify you to judge a Panorama competition. To the judges on the panel of Panorama 2015, I pose this question: “How many minutes of published music have you produced?”

So you award your points and there is a winner and nine losers and the state of confusion is perpetuated. At this 2015 Panorama the band that was announced as winner clearly did not have the best music, which happens all too often at Panorama. As a result we are no better off this year than we were before. 

Keen competition is what brings about improvement. An arranger knows when there is an arrangement that is better than his/hers and would strive to be better. But when the judges, with their left-brain formulas, award their points and a winner is announced who clearly did not deserve to win, then our Panorama is in jeopardy. 

This is a competition that is watched and scrutinised internationally by musicians. What are they to think? It remains popular but it is not growing. Most of our bands sound the same year after year and this is condoned and encouraged by the judges. The judges and therefore Pan Trinbago are contributing significantly to the demise of pan in T&T.

The system of judging and/or the judges have to go. There are six judges on the panel for the large band category of Panorama. My suggestion is that a maximum of two judges from Trinbago be on the panel and the remaining four be sought out internationally to eliminate any bias that the local judges might have. Only then will we be able to say that the competition was fairly judged and the best band on the night won.

No more than one-third of the judges on the panel should be from T&T and at least one of these should be from Tobago. 

The remaining judges could be sought from countries such as, but not restricted to, Jamaica, Grenada, Barbados, St Lucia, Haiti, Martinique, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil, countries of the African Continent, India etc.

Please let us not take this lightly. Who we are as a people and our contribution to the world is at stake here. 

I appeal to the general public and specifically to the arrangers, captains and tuners of all steel-bands to take action now and get rid of this system of judging Panorama. I am suggesting a meeting be held as soon as possible. 

Please contact me via e-mail: dosomethingforpan@gmail.com

Courtney J Bartholomew

I have reported on two occasions that the street light in front of my house was not working. On the first occasion, some four months ago, I called the 800-BULB number and left a message with the details of the problem. After one month with the street light still non-functional, I called again and was unable to make contact with them. 

Eventually I called customer service in Port-of-Spain and was routed to a marketing/communications office where the person who answered was kind enough to make contact with the department. A service vehicle came at night and apparently repaired the light. 

Over the next two weeks, the bulb flickered, went off, came on and eventually died in late January. 

I made a report to the 800-BULB number on February 2, 2015. When I called again on February 19, I was told that they have the report and are now logging it into their system. 

I have called again yesterday only to be met with the same problems. Their system is now asking me to log in to a voice mailbox. 

While I understand that there may be many multitudes of reports, I would like to think that now TTEC should be able to access better technology to give customers updates on their requests. 

What would happen if I did not pay my bill on time? Would the response be as slow as two months? I think not. Can somebody please advise?

Annie Downie

Manager, Building & Maintenance

RC Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain

This is the first time I feel so very compelled and moved to comment on the National Panorama results, Large Bands.

Having witnessed all the performances and seated quite closely behind the adjudicators, I cannot understand how/why Exodus did not win the competition.

Musically they were the best and their performance was out of this world! No doubt that was the reason they won People’s Choice by a huge margin. Exodus performed like bosses with confidence and authority.

Is it that the adjudicators consider that this band from Tunapuna should not beat the PoS bands? Exodus has consistently been way ahead of all other bands in a number of aspects and they should be acknowledged and commended.

Stephen Pierre

Washington DC

May 24, 2010, was a busy day. T&T’s election: Manning out, Kamla in. Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding sent police and army into Jamaica’s Tivoli Gardens to pick up Christopher “Dudus” Coke, wanted in New York for drug trafficking. Tivoli left 76 dead—at least 44 of them cold-blooded extra-judicial killings, according to a 2013 report by Jamaica’s then public defender, Earl Witter. 

Last month, Golding and his key colleagues faced a commission of enquiry chaired by Sir David Simmons, former attorney general of Barbados; a familiar face from T&T’s 1990 coup enquiry. They aren’t looking pretty. One huge issue is the chain of command. If the police and army killed 44 people in cold blood, who gave the orders? Or, was it a free-for-all—in which case, whose hand slipped the controls? 

Golding says he was told of bodies piled in the morgue on Day One, May 24. He says there’s still no evidence for a “murderous spree.” But “neither can it be said that these people died of cardiac arrest.” Representing the public defender, Lord Gifford—a British peer who lives in Jamaica—asked: “as the head of the Government, the minister of defence, the chairman of the National Security Council, do you recognise that it was your responsibility—the buck stops with you?” 

His answer was odd: “As prime minister I have to accept responsibility,” but “that doesn’t mean that I take personal responsibility.” Hang on. So when he’s being prime minister, he stops being Bruce Golding? I’m trying to work that out. Any thoughts? He spoke of “weaknesses in command and perhaps lack of supervision on the ground.” He said: “The impression I have was that every soldier and every policeman that was there was virtually operating on his own; that there was nobody to say ‘Hey, no, don’t do that’.”

So, were the police and army under control? Former police commissioner Owen Ellington told the enquiry: “It is difficult for untrained civilians to assess the quality, stability and strength of command and supervision on the ground…There was no breakdown.” But some of his evidence looks odd. Did the security forces wear masks to hide identities when they went into Tivoli? Said Ellington: “To the best of our knowledge and belief, none of the members of the security forces wore masks.” 

But Sir David says he has “a substantial body of evidence” that masks were used. One big question seems to be missing from Sir David’s terms of reference. Bruce Golding’s government received a US extradition request in August 2009. They waited nine long months before acting on it. Why?
Sadly, that question belongs to Dorothy Lightbourne, Golding’s former attorney general. Lord Gifford told Lightbourne: “the tragedy of Tivoli” was caused by her ministry’s “unnecessary delay.” The extradition “should have been sent to the resident magistrate’s court for determination.”

That’s a toughie. Lightbourne said she held back because the US request was based on illegal wiretap evidence. But if it was flawed in August 2009, when it first came, it was still flawed in May 2010, when she eventually acted. She was asked about arson attacks on police stations ahead of May 24. She wasn’t aware of them. “I do not read the newspapers or watch TV news as they are usually very disturbing.” Worldwide, plenty Cabinet ministers don’t read the papers. But most have a staff member to prepare a digest of the important stuff. 

If you’re attorney general and someone starts burning police stations in your capital, you ought to know. Then there’s the US surveillance plane which flew over Tivoli. New Yorker journalist Mattathias Schwartz used his country’s Freedom of Information Act to track down the facts. Golding now agrees that the plane was over Tivoli on May 24, Day One. But he says he requested air support only on May 25.

Lord Gifford showed him a letter from his foreign ministry dated May 18, accepting a US offer of air surveillance. Said Golding: “I’m seeing this for the first time. I wasn’t aware of it.” He didn’t think his foreign minister knew about it either. That’s an odd way to have run a government. “Dudus” heard early about the extradition request, and was spotted “heading fast” into Tivoli. Former national security minister Dwight Nelson was asked: “Did you try to find out who may have tipped him off?” “No, sir.” Why? “Had I received a formal report, I would have acted accordingly.” 

That’s an odd way to run a security agency. If intelligence doesn’t come on headed notepaper, it gets ignored. Everyone knows the root cause. Jamaica’s gang-linked political violence runs back to the 1940s. Tivoli Gardens falls inside Golding’s former Kingston Western seat. He told the enquiry he “cut off all communication” with Coke in January 2008, and “stopped supporting his community programmes.” So before that date, they were good partners? 

T&T police killed 46 last year. That’s Tivoli numbers; and work for David West. If he finds too many of them unjustified, we too may need an enquiry.

Marcia Henville’s murder has again brought to the forefront the brooding spectre of domestic violence. The level of domestic abuse which women and their children are exposed to at home has not abated over the years, even despite domestic violence legislation. Much too often, the culmination of a long and intense history of abuse at home is the killing of the female partner. Sometimes, the children’s lives are also taken. And sometimes, to complete the orgy of violence, the man ends up taking his own life.

I don’t intend on this occasion to reflect on the forces which drive men to kill their loved ones or former lovers. I only observe that it must by now be obvious to law enforcement officers, policy makers and legislators that once the menace of domestic violence invades the home, the chances are not at all negligible that the female partner and her children will at some point be the victims of serious bodily harm, or death.

Obtaining protection orders from the court is no guarantee that the man will be restrained. As a matter of fact, in some instances the very resort by the woman to the protection which the state offers is a catalyst for further violence.

Vulnerable women and their children need the protection of state officials and institutions from their violent partners or fathers. The law imposes a duty on members of the police service to keep the peace, to coin an archaic phrase. What it means is that they are under a duty to investigate possible criminal offences and protect potential victims from those who stalk them.

Reliance on law enforcement authorities to protect women and their children from domestic violence has proved illusory because of the enduring belief, shared by a significant number of us, that domestic violence is a private matter and we interfere at the risk of being told that it is none of our business.

There are strong cultural underpinnings to this generalised attitude, exemplified in calypsoes which trivialise and sometimes glorify domestic violence, or in the glamorisation of what we refer to as “Tobago love.” Members of the police service are not immune from this and as a result have tended not to take reports of domestic violence seriously, and certainly not the threat of further, even deadly violence.

That said, much progress has been made over years as a result of the tireless work of the women’s movement generally, and specifically organisations such as Cafra and the Rape Crisis Centre, to sensitise police officers to the scourge of domestic violence and to develop protocols for dealing with complaints and preventing further violence. But the violence continues and women and their children continue to lose their lives in circumstances which are only too predictable. There have been improvements in the response of the Police Service, but long engrained attitudes die hard.

Recently, the United Kingdom Supreme Court was called upon to determine whether police officers could be held personally liable in damages to the estate or surviving family of a victim of domestic violence where the police are aware of or are told of a threat to the life or physical safety of the victim, but they fail to take reasonable steps either to assess the threat or to prevent it from being executed. Their Lordships answered that question in the negative. Among the main reasons for denying liability in such circumstances is the fear that “the police’s ability to perform their functions in the interest of the community, fearlessly and with despatch, could be impeded.” 

Put simply, the concern is that police officers may be paralysed by the fear of being sued. It is highly likely that a similar principle will be accepted as law in T&T. So what remedy do the members of a grieving family have in the face the failure of law enforcement authorities to take steps to prevent what is statistically the likely result of a history of domestic violence? There is the possibility of a remedy for the breach of the right to life under the Constitution, but under current approaches, a breach is quite difficult to prove.

This is not simply a matter of finding compensation for the innocent victims of a dereliction of duty on the part of state authorities. What is of importance is finding a legal mechanism to cajole police authorities into performing their duties more effectively. In the absence of developments from within the judiciary itself, the task falls to the legislature to grapple with the problem and come up with a solution. 

In the meantime, the Police Complaints Authority should make it its duty to investigate every case of death by domestic violence to determine the extent to which negligence on the part of the Police Service facilitated the killing. The Police Service Commission should also be astute to investigate whether disciplinary proceedings might be appropriate.

I was struck by the recent report that the former attorney general, the former minister of national security and the current chairman of the Police Complaints Authority are all felt to be under a sufficient risk of physical injury to warrant police protection. And this so, in the absence of any actual history or threat of violence. It seems obvious to me that victims of domestic violence are under the same, if not a greater risk of physical injury or death, and are deserving of similar police protection.

My last two columns asked questions about transforming the status quo, such as what are some solutions to our politics of full employment and the local increases in dead-end jobs? And what are the implications for society and community life of a creeping culture of narcissism becoming institutionalised in our education, political and economic systems? One answer to these questions is rethinking the labour market and imagining a new politics of distribution such as the increasingly popular idea of a Basic Income Grant (BIG). 

According to Prof Philippe Van Parijs, a leading proponent of the BIG and author of Real Freedom for All, the BIG is a universal income paid by the government of a nation to all its adult citizens and permanent residents. This income is paid to everyone unconditionally whether they are rich or poor, want to work or not, are living alone or with others. 

The idea exists in a multitude of versions and unites supporters across generations. Including intellectual heavyweights from both the right and left of politics such as Martin Luther King Jr, Richard Nixon, Joseph Stiglitz, Kari Polanyi Levitt, Henry George, Milton Friedman and Frederich Hayek.

Hypothetically the BIG would firstly provide enough income to cover an individual’s basic needs, which are most commonly understood as eating, drinking and housing. It is worth noting here that the anthropological record suggests that aside from sanction or other specific reasons, in primitive economies individuals were not allowed to starve or fall into destitution aside from when the whole community fell on hard times. 

As Polanyi Levitt puts it, and anyone who has read The Great Transformation by her father Karl might remember: “The idea that fear of hunger and love of gain were the motivating drivers of economic life is historically very recent.” Aside from covering our basic needs and freeing us from absolute dependence on wage income, a BIG is also designed to satisfy another level of human needs often referred to in philosophy as our “radical needs.” Radical needs refer to such things as health, dignity, and education. 

They are the needs humans require to develop personally and to cultivate the lifestyles they choose. They are the needs we require to have real freedom as a citizen to enhance our personal capabilities and be valued members of communities. These include the right to non-conformity and dissent, a driving logic of social change itself.

So how much would each citizen get as a BIG? This figure needs research and discussion. It is not something anyone currently knows with certainty, but if we borrow from the experiments and research into BIGs in Namibia, South Africa, India, Iran, and the US, there is a back of a napkin scenario we might propose.

Perhaps for argument sake, each T&T citizen and permanent resident over 18 is guaranteed an income of $10,000 a month (this figure is pulled out of the air, different proponents suggest different amounts, I went high). Enough to live on—save and budget—and provide people with real liberty in the political sense, but as the BIG can be topped up through work or other incomes like royalties, not enough to deter people massively from work.

According to the peer-reviewed research the dominant view is there will be a slight downward effect on workforce participation—one study observed a decline of  five per cent. However, many in that five per cent used the BIG to pay for and pursue adult education offsetting this decline. 

One economic argument in favour of the BIG is that citizens spent it locally on consumption goods creating market opportunities for producers and entrepreneurs. From a social justice point of view it also releases people from poverty. And there is the political argument that it guarantees subsistence for those who want to pursue alternatives to capital accumulation. 

Today these include music, artistry, childcare, nursing, philosophy, social work, farming, community development, political activism, teaching, and many other important areas of human life denigrated because of their lack of economic profit. In the process, reducing the pool of ideas for social change. 

In theory a national BIG could be paid for by replacing the majority of welfare programmes already in place. Since everyone would get the same BIG, it would also abolish the complicated bureaucracy, government bias, and wasteful administration behind the current welfare state and its means-testing systems. As such, many advocates suggest by diverting resources, alongside some new progressive and old taxes like inheritance tax, wealth tax, pollution tax, vice taxes, and taxes on luxury goods, a BIG could—theoretically—be funded.

Of course, the BIG raises a multitude of questions. What about citizens under 18? What if the workforce shrinks too far? What if the tax burden becomes too great? What if the BIG creates a new class system? While there is certainly a lot more to discuss and consider, the BIG is one idea amongst many a twin-island nation and gas economy with a massive bureaucracy and welfare state might discuss moving forward.

Dr Dylan Kerrigan is an anthropologist at the UWI, St Augustine Campus.

Carl Jacobs

I looked at newspaper and television coverage of the Carnival with a deep sense of sadness. What I saw was a mindless copycatting of Rio’s pulchritudinous bacchanal. The “masqueraders”—if we can call them that—were hordes of women cavorting in “costumes” made predominantly of multicoloured bikinis, beads and large feathers which were clearly designed to reveal as much of their bodies as the law would allow. Although there were many who, in their bacchanalian abandonment, obviously didn’t care about such limits. 

The spirit that animated them was one of anything goes as they used the occasion to expose themselves and to display their special talents in the art of wining. Good heavens, I asked myself, whatever has become of our once magnificent Carnival? Is the golden age of mas gone forever?

Will our national festival which proudly earned the admiration of the world as “the greatest show on earth” ever come back? I had to resign myself to the inevitable. The creativity, artistry and imagination which made our Carnival so brilliantly unique have gone the way of all flesh. Indeed, the compulsions of the flesh have now taken over as our Carnival’s motivating force. Perhaps that was inevitable. After all, history tells us that golden ages come and go. The splendour of the Renaissance could not last forever. Still, we must wonder. 

Was it just a passing phenomenon that our country was able to produce a group of legendary bandleaders whose designing genius flowered during several decades after World War II producing a stream of epic portrayals seen no where else in the world? Put another way, why could we not have had, for examples, more Saldenhas, Baileys, Lee Heungs, Harts, McWilliamses, Velasquezes, Ammons, Minshalls and McFarlanes? Where have all our great Carnival entrepreneurs gone?

T&T’s Carnival did not achieve its greatness by the imitation of others. Rather it was an event with a tradition and efflorescence of its own, one that emerged out of the creative spirit and energy of our people, a unique celebration of our cosmopolitan genius and joie de vivre. It was the unique product of a unique society made up of people of almost every race on the globe, each contributing in different ways to its cultural melting pot.

With its roots buried in the emancipation fervour of the middle 19th century, our Carnival evolved into an annual festival that mirrored the talents of an emerging society. In his classic volume, Beyond Boundaries, historian Prof Selwyn Cudjoe covers the formative features of the festival thus: “Essentially, Carnival tried to recreate, reassemble and resurrect an African way of life that the colonial authorities attempted to stifle during slavery. Trinidad Carnival, however, was not merely a caricature of white society or the mere transformation of the French mardi gras. 

In the hands of Africans, Carnival turned out to be a festival in which the culture of the people gestated, became a stage where many talents were fused together, and turned into a springboard for exploring cultural heritage.” 

From that culturally eclectic beginning in the early 19th century, T&T’s Carnival developed a creative energy and motivation of its own, blossoming eventually into a brilliant festival, produced by a range of artists and designers who employed the medium of the costume to portray some of the great events of history, the power of conquering nations, the world’s leading civilisations and, of course, the wondrous beauty of nature, including our very own. 

It also produced a wonderful cast of characters born out of the society’s colourful historical emergence. At the climax of its glory, T&T’s Carnival produced a unique moving, dancing, technicolour spectacle that was truly the wonder of the world. But look at what our magnificent festival has now become? Clearly it has lost its soul, its raisons d’être, its relevant creative impetus. Instead, tragically, it has gone the way of all flesh.

In your most recent story about the relocation of the Arbor and Rosewood schools to a residential site on Long Circular Road, Maraval, the chairman of the schools’ parent body, Philip Hamel-Smith, made inaccurate claims about past use of the site. Dismissing local residents as “misguided,” and their concerns as “unfounded” or “dealt with,” Mr Hamel-Smith said that the proposed location of the school at 129 Long Circular Road “has since 1966 been used as institutional, having been the first home of the Cipriani Labour College, and has never been changed.”

The facts are somewhat different. The site was originally the residence of the Mizrahi family, who rented their home to the Cipriani Labour ­­College in October 1966, while its present facilities in Valsayn were being constructed. The Town and Country Act only came into being three years later, in 1969, and the site was never zoned or approved for institutional use as Mr Hamel-Smith assumes. 

The college vacated the site in 1971, and the site reverted to private residential use, owned and occupied over more than four decades by the Schneider family, Anthony Carvalho, Margaret de Freitas, the Fernandes family, Roma Wilkinson and Monica Benn. It was sold to Karen and Anthony Alleyne in 2002. 

Subsequent commercial operations did not receive a “change of use” approval for the location, and cannot be used as a precedent for renewed institutional use. This fact was confirmed in April 2014, when an advertisement was placed in the Guardian newspaper by Tao Sushi restaurant, which occupied the building until the first quarter of last year. It read as follows:

Notice to the public
Tao Sushi Foods Ltd on Friday March 14, 2014, filed a lawsuit against landlords Anthony Alleyne and Karen Alleyne of 129 Long Circular Rd, Maraval, for breach of rental contract. The landlords contractually rented a commercial building when in fact the building is residential and has never had commercial status. 

Renters beware
By order of Tao Sushi owner.

Clearly the most recent commercial user of the site discovered for himself that it was legally residential. This advertisement was brought to the attention of Mr Hamel-Smith at a meeting held with residents of Lower Maraval on July 24, 2014. His response was that he was aware of it. 

Mr Hamel-Smith failed to mention to your reporter two adjoining residential properties (at 131 Long Circular Road and 1 Champs Elysees Road) which the schools propose to occupy or annex as roadway and parking for teachers and visitors. Neither site has ever been commercial, the latter being a family home until August, 2014. We appreciate that Mr Hamel-Smith may be in a belligerent mood, but we ask him to confine his rhetoric to the facts. 

Lower Maraval residents
Maraval