Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar may still have the general election date tucked away in her back pocket, but date or no date, the heightened political activity over the weekend signaled an intensification of campaigning for an election that will take place within the next three months. 

Another major milestone is approximately four weeks away—the end of the fifth session of the tenth Republican Parliament, with a strict time limit for the calling of the election looming even larger after that.

However, it was clear from the events held at Constantine Park, Macoya and Nelson Mandela Park, Port-of-Spain, that the two major political contenders for government, the ruling People’s Partnership (PP) and the People’s National Movement (PNM), are in full campaign mode. Their respective supporters, thousands bussed in from points across T&T with their party t-shirts, flags and banners in hand, are already fully mobilised.

While the activities staged by both parties are annual events, it was hard to ignore the distinctive election energy and excitement emanating from the camps. In the case of the PNM, the sports and family day, while not strictly a political affair, did have campaign overtones. If anything, the address by political leader Dr Keith Rowley was both a call to arms and a preview of what will likely be the tone of his platform presentations.

The Opposition Leader pulled no punches, zeroing in on the disintegration of the Integrity Commission and other controversies, never straying from the verbal sparring that has always been a feature of his long and occasionally dramatic political career. Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, on the other hand, put more emphasis on wooing voters, highlighting her government’s achievements over the last five years and claiming that most of the PP’s manifesto promises had either been delivered or were well on the way to being delivered. She also evoked memories of the PP’s launch in 2010 when she joined with other coalition leaders to renew the pledge they made to the electorate back then. Never mind that the leaders were not the same ones who signed the Fyzabad Accord five years ago and one of them, the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ), has long since parted ways with the coalition.

But even more significant and definitely not overlooked by either political side, were the findings of opinion polls, reported in the Guardian and elsewhere, on the same day that their events took place. 

All delivered snapshots of the political terrain and the increasing number of undecided voters. Despite some poor results on personal favourability and job approval from the first three marginal constituencies that we surveyed, the Prime Minister had a better showing in Moruga Tableland. Overall, the PP still urgently needs to regain ground, particularly in the marginal constituencies. The PNM needs more forward momentum along the East-West Corridor and other critical areas of the country, and will have to look at ways of driving up the popularity of Dr Rowley.

Emailgate, according to one poll, may not significantly affect voters’ choices, even though it has dominated national debate and has been a popular platform issue for several weeks. Hopefully, this fact is not lost on the parties, and the focus will now switch to the issues that matter to voters. The election bell has not yet been rung but the race is on.

Your child is looking at porn! And you’re scared, right?

Porn is ubiquitous. It is everywhere, in magazines, books, the cinema, in your head, in the street (Carnival time or not), on your TV, computers, tablets and smart phones.

Trinis love to hear about where we stand in world stats. It takes us away from our real worries. So we have the reputation as being one of the happiest countries in the world yet the 35th for suicides, which means we’re depressed but pretending to be happy. We come sixth in the world for public holidays yet tenth for murders and third for arrogant politicians. Are the three related? Still, the Trinidadian accent ranks tenth on CNN’s top ten sexiest accents in the world and we have the world’s hottest pepper, the Moruga ‘Scorpion.’ Also related?

Last September, the Express published an article claiming that in 2008, on a per capita basis, Trinidad and Tobago topped Google’s list of countries with people using the search word “porn.” Since then, this country usually placed in the top ten, ranking fourth last year after Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Fiji.

Yet we act surprised when we find our adolescents watching...porn! Oops, wonder where they got that idea from? But is there anything new about adolescents, especially males, looking at porn? We all did it when we were young. Remember those little packets of dirty old pictures, dating back from the turn of the century and probably the same ones your grandfather used to look at? How many times did you “borrow’ them and go into the toilet at school to “look” at them?

Steups and now you pretending that it is something new and you didn’t know about it?

Yes, there is a lot of concern about the type of porn that’s online compared to what was easily available in the past. Pornography is now more explicit and it sometimes depicts acts that fantasize behaviour that appears to be hurtful. But there is no evidence that online porn is any more dangerous than the pictures we looked at in the past.

There is no evidence that watching porn is harmful or dangerous to adolescents unless the child is doing it so much that it’s interfering with other activities. There is also little evidence that viewing violent pornography increases sexual aggression. 

Put the activity into context. It’s common. An occasional peek at pornography or use of pornography for sexual stimulation is generally not a mental health concern, as are cases where children are obsessed with the material. If the child is looking at pornography for hours at a time, or is collecting it, then you have a serious problem that requires professional help.

Why do children look at pornography? For some, it’s to be “cool.” Some young children use porn to impress their friends, much as they sometimes smoke to show their independence.

Sometimes it’s curiosity, but in many cases—especially for males past puberty, it’s for stimulation. Interest in sex and voyeuristic behaviour to satisfy sexual urges is completely normal. Whether the young person makes up images in his head, gets them from television shows, movies, magazines or images on the Internet, the process is much the same.

The problem with porn is not that adolescents will seek out and look at it from time to time. That’s normal. If that’s all they do, relax. So long as they are not obsessed with looking at porn, there is little harm in it and little you can do.

The problem parents have with porn is that it makes them confront their own sexual prejudices, hang-ups, concerns et cetera.

The problem is when the parent overreacts. When a big deal is made of the incident. Especially if the parent has not worked through their own sexuality and feelings about sex. When sexual frustrations or guilt remain fixed in the psyche, the act of a child, your child, behaving in a sexual way can rekindle unpleasant memories and trigger violent reactions that only make things worse than they ought to be.

So what can parents do? 

First of all, look into your heart and clear up your concerns. Then, have the conversation! The one about sex. Have it ahead of time. Many parents blissfully ignore their children’s sexuality. They don’t talk about sex with their children when they’re young and when they trip over their child’s porn at age 14, they suddenly realise their child is a sexual being. 

Conversations with your children are part of parenting. They are difficult. Most parents do not have them. Yet, they can ultimately be good for your children and your relationship with them. But parents need to address their moral feelings about sex, and porn is part of that. 

You can’t talk about porn without thinking about yourself watching porn. You cannot talk about masturbation without thinking about yourself masturbating. Do not consider porn isolated from sexuality. One of the reasons parents don’t want their children looking at porn is because they’re uncomfortable with their child having sexual thoughts or feelings.

Do not make the child feel as if they are somehow abnormal or perverted. Your feelings about sex and porn are key here. You really need to help children distinguish between fantasy and reality when it comes to sexually explicit material.

In addition, you need to consider configuring your search engine for “Safe search.” Or, put a filter on whatever devices the child uses. The best filter however isn’t the one that runs on a device, but the one that runs on the computer inside the child’s head.

Finally, when all else fails the child needs to be pay a penalty. No computer access for a time. Grounded at home for a week. Cut off allowance. Something that sends a clear signal that you are concerned and are willing to lay down the law.

Some of the other non-porn issues make watching porn dangerous. Some paedophiles use porn sites to groom children to make the child more susceptible to sexual exploitation. There is the financial issue if the child uses a credit card to get access to paid sites. Finally, if any of the images are of people under 18, the child might be accessing illegal child pornography and be susceptible to feeling the full force of the law.

The reported news in the local and regional media of the possible axing of West Indies legend Shiv Chanderpaul on the eve of the test series against Australia is very disheartening to me.

I share the view that his run production in the last two test series has been below average. 

However, his test batting average remains over 50 and his home batting average against Australia is over 80.

At 40-plus, we all know that his end is near. 

Mr Dave Cameron has acknowledged that he would like to ensure that Shiv gets a proper exit. 

Here is a man who has given half his life to West Indian cricket—the most capped West Indian player (164 tests) in the history of West Indian test cricket (87 years).

The two tests are in Dominica and Jamaica. 

He is an honorary citizen of Dominica and how magnificently fitting it would be for Shiv to end his illustrious career in the homeland of the president of the West Indies Cricket Board with a guard of honour before a world-wide cricket audience!

Gentlemen, as you have extended an olive branch to the West Indian IPL players, which indeed represents a spirited display of West Indian integration, identity and unity, I am kindly asking you, the esteemed administration of the WICB, to reconsider your decision, pending or otherwise, to axe Shiv Chanderpaul from the forthcoming series against Australia.

Reza Abasali

via email

In case you haven’t realised, once your child has entered primary school, you are a Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) mom or dad! So get invested in change. The primary school system is failing our children, even those who excel (early burnout is on the increase). The headlines celebrate the top few, the Ministry rewards the first 200 and parents praise prestige schools entrants. What of the rest? What of the 30 per cent achieving less than 50 per cent? Yes they are placed in high schools (we have a 100 per cent placement policy), but they are not coping because high school offers the same measure of success. That’s for another conversation.

In 2015, 18,000-plus children wrote SEA. Approximately 2000 are placed in prestige schools. Based on current trends; 20 per cent (3,600) will drop out before CSEC, 62 per cent (8,370) will fail to get a five-subject CSEC certificate. Of the approximate 3500 to go on to CAPE about 2100 (11 per cent) will pass three subjects, thus qualifying for entry into university. What happens to the remaining 16,900? While not everyone needs or wants a university education to succeed (and there are those), as a society, rudderless, many of our young people are turning to crime. 

Our boys are the most vulnerable. Following the 2014 results, Minister Tim Gopeesingh lamented the disparity between girls and boys making the top 200 list as “significant.” The top three pupils were all girls and while more boys than girls wrote the exam, the Minister noted that “every year more boys have to repeat the SEA examinations.” Only 26 per cent of the first 200 top students at SEA are boys. Mind you, that girls are excelling does not mean the system is suitable for them.

I intimately understand this. I have a son, his entry into the formal education system was a baptismal in the difference between boys and girls and their respective responses to our schools’ “one size fit all” “academic excellence is boss” teaching methods. 

Pre-school was great! He enjoyed the learning by seeing and doing. Once we entered primary school, all hell broke loose. In first year, he would simply do no school work for the entire day. He could turn anything into a toy. Even his fingers became jet planes if all else were confiscated! His teacher was helpless to the task of exciting him to read and write. Not her fault, she only knew one way. He was punished, separated from the class, to no avail. I got called in to discuss the situation. The recommendation; he should repeat first year. I resisted. 

Second year was a little better. His teacher took the time to understand how he learnt. She incentivised rather than punished and we had a fair year. 

In standard one, things went far south. By now I was thinking that something was wrong with my son. The principal shared my concern and provided names of children psychologists. But, typical mother, resistance to this notion, time went by and we started standard two. The daily shut down resumed. The psychological testing reared its head again when I was called in with a group of “delinquent parents” (that’s how the system makes you feel when your child is less than star academic performer)! I must confess, true to parental form I pushed, punished, pleaded, bribed, compared, screamed, even cried. 

Before I could make the dreaded phone call, I bought a Lego two years advanced for his age. I gave it to him at 10 pm and went to bed. At 1 am I was awakened, completed spacecraft in his hand! Not possible if he had attention deficit syndrome! He simply had classroom attention deficit!

He discovered paper airplanes, his modifications were amazing! He developed an interest in dinosaurs and while he stuttered through the school readings was excited to read about dinosaurs. He could not remember simple things taught in school but knew everything about Dina sours! He had to conduct the experiment to grasp the difference between a solvent and solute. He has now graduated from building a 1200 piece Lego by direction to building on his own designs. While his reading is poor, his comprehension skills are excellent! He will spend hours with a football, is a star team player, excels at tennis but cannot sit still to get the math homework completed. 

So does my son have learning disorders or is it that he learns differently? I am no psychologist, but convinced that it’s the latter. My son is street smart, a critical thinker and problem solver. The education system, instead of nurturing this, is snuffing creativity out of him, and ironically we keep calling young adults (who have gone through his school experience) to build a creative and innovative society. How? When the system required only rote and regurgitation!

According to one writer, in the 21st century classroom, children need to discover, to experiment, to do research and to use their ability to think and reason. This is the 21st century, what are we doing to give our children what they really need?

Indera Sagewan-Alli is an economist currently attached to the University of the West Indies’ Caribbean Centre for Competitiveness. 

While most of the population seems overly anxious about elections and election, I really couldn’t care less. Not that I am trivialising the importance of having the right to cast a ballot for the party of your choice, but nothing so far—and one hopes that this will change before election day—has moved me to consider either of the major players.

On one side you have ‘mis-steppers’ and ‘blunderers’ and on the other you have old faces that are known failures. Skirting the sidelines are many smaller factions with no known constituency, but one whose leadership is more closet UNC than anything else. But like other places in the world, rabid support for political parties is very present here. You give them your adulation and guaranteed votes by the hundreds of thousands without question and then get treated like dirt. Behind the flashing smiles and platform rhetoric, however, are the political investors whose votes are few but dollars are plenty. They expect to benefit with appointments, contracts or rentals worth millions while you get a box drain and a condescending ‘your government working for you.’ 

But the real issue for me is that no one is willing to talk about what matters most to me. The incumbents have had five years, but getting five minutes attention from my MP and PM was impossible. Tell me, how difficult is it to speak to me about fixed date for elections, term limits for office holders, separation of legislature and executive, abolishing our ‘first family’ and its attendant costs, a bicameral parliament of elected members, not one half appointed, a police service that has an elected head and not some ineffective system that just can’t work in appointing one much less with authority to make real change, a public service that works and real thought into our infrastructural needs instead of which contractor should make money this term? Much less about personal safety when you are on the wrong side of the dealmakers who want their millions and a person’s life is worth nothing?

But age brings weariness with wisdom. You understand that political power has always been more about controlling purse strings than policies and programmes, that you have to accept democracy for what it is (majority wins even if you don’t like it) and that Gandhi was wrong when he said to never underestimate the power of one man to change the world. Like retired Justice Ventour, I too can say challenge me on any of the above, but will abide by Mark Twain’s dictum about arguing with fools.

Joshua Merrick

Enterprise

My father has been waiting for his Caroni two-acre lease for the past six years and so fed-up he has become that he requested I write this letter. 

Minister Bharath stated that all Caroni lands would be given by mid-2015. Such a far cry from the truth. 

Is it possible for that which cannot be done in six years to be done in a few months? This Government is absolutely unaware of the plight of ex-Caroni workers who have been waiting for their leases but just getting a Brer Anansi story from the Commissioner of State Lands office. The Director of Surveys has failed to do his job by not ensuring the plans for Orange Grove plots be submitted so that leases can be processed. 

Why must this be allowed to continue? Monies have been paid for this lease and it is high time that this matter be resolved. Is there any government office one can go to and emerge smiling? I call on the Prime Minister and Minister of Land and Marine Resources, Mr. Jairam Seemungal, to look into this matter as soon.

Sabita Katwaroo

Via email

Looking through the newspaper recently, I noticed an ad from a Central-based religious organisation.

There was going to be a religious ritual for the protection of the country, all well and good and get this, for the re-election of the present Prime Minister.

Should we not try to keep religion out of politics?

Your religion is your own private and personal belief.

Then every major religion will have a service for their chosen one.

Have your service but do not state publicly who you support.

This group supported another party previously and their candidate was severely thrashed.

Ironic isn’t it?

Notice at any governmental function all three major religions are represented.That is how it should be.

Let us endeavor to keep race and religion out of politics. We have a beautiful country, let us keep it that way.

The best person will win.

Religion is man-made.

We will get a government we deserve.

T&T is a multi-ethnic, religious country. Let us preserve what we have. I love my country. God bless our nation. 

AV RAMPERSAD

PRINCES TOWN

I went to a house warming Saturday and supplying the music was an old time steelband named Sappaphonics; a tenor pan, a double second; a guitar pan, a drummer, and an unobtrusive iron man. 

The sound from this aggregate was unbelievable; the choice of music ranged from the 60s to today, and I'm talking calypso, pop, R&B and ballads. Played with an old time steel band strum that made you hold your "craft" and three step the night away. 

When they took a break no one cared what the DJ played; we all waited for the steelband. The performance and its effect were the same when they played at Pan in the Countryside in Blanchisseuse. They must have played at least 30 songs, which begs the question: If a bunch of "old" guys can remember 30 songs in one night, why can't modern-day panmen remember one panorama tune after practicing it every night for months. Just goes to show that age is chronological, old is a state of mind.

Gerard Johnson,

via email

COLOMBO—West Indies Women secured the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka women after a dazzling all-round effort by Hayley Matthews spurred them to an easy nine wicket win in the final match here yesterday.

Matthews, with impressive figures of four for 10, restricted Sri Lanka to 74 runs and scored an unbeaten 32 as her side cruised to victory with 52 balls remaining at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

The Caribbean women have now wrapped-up the series two-one after losing the opening encounter.

Mathews grabbed four Sri Lankan wickets to crash any hopes of a recovery after Anisa Mohammed and her captain, wicketkeeper Merissa Aguilleira conspired to disable the top order.

The Sri Lankans, sent in by West Indies, struggled from the onset losing wickets frequently in the face of dangerous spells from Mathews and Mohammed.

Mohammed picked up two wickets for seven runs including two maidens from four overs.

She sent the home side reeling at six for two by removing opener Yasoda Mendis and Dilani Hansika cheaply, both caught by wicketkeeper Aguilleira.

Opener Chamari Jayangani top scored with 43 in a valiant attempt to steady a sliding innings but was quickly running out of partners as Hayley swept aside the middle order.

The off break bowler removed Nipuni Hansika for one, Shashikala Siriwardene for two,   Eshani Kaushalya  for two and Sripali Weerakkody for a single as the Sri Lankan innings imploded.

While Jayangani perished approaching the death overs, Sri Lanka’s only other double digit contributor, Chathurani Gunawardene scored 10.

Matthews and Stafanie Taylor brought West Indies well within sight of their series victory by putting on 74 runs for the first wicket.

Taylor, who scored 38 from 35 balls punctuated with six fours, was caught while attempting to take her side across the line in fine style.

Matthews struck five fours and was unbeaten on 32 from 33 balls. CMC

SCOREBOARD 

West Indies vs Sri Lanka 

Sri Lanka innings

Y Mendis  st †Aguilleira b Mohammed    1         

C Jayangani c Henry b Smartt     43        

D Surangika st †Aguilleira b Mohammed    0         

M Hansika  c King b Matthews    1         

S Siriwardene  c & b Matthews     2         

E Kaushalya  c Smartt b Matthews    2         

S Weerakkody st †Aguilleira b Matthews    1         

P Gunawardene c Smartt b Fletcher    10        

U Prabodhani  run out (Dottin)    0         

M Kumari  not out     7         

I Ranaweera not out     2

Extras (w 5)    5         

Total: (9 wickets; 20 overs)    74        

Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Mendis), 2-6 (Surangika), 3-20 (Hansika), 4-31 (Siriwardene), 5-41 (Kaushalya), 6-48 (Weerakkody), 7-60 (Jayangani), 8-61 (Prabodhani), 9-70 (Gunawardene)

Bowling: Taylor 3-0-14-0,Mohammed 4-2-7-2, Matthews 4-0-10-4,Fletcher 4-0-18-1,King 1-0-9-0,Smartt 4-0-16-1.

West Indies innings

H Matthews not out    32        

S Taylor c Prabodhani b Ranaweera    38        

D Dottin  not out    0         

Extras (lb 2, w 3)     5         

Total: (1 wicket; 11.2 overs)    75        

Fall of wickets: 1-74 (Taylor)

Bowling: Weerakkody 1-0-6-0, Prabodhani 1-0-11-0, Kumari 2-0-13-0, Kaushalya 1-0-9-0,Gunawardene 2-0-9-0, Siriwardene 3-0-18-0, Ranaweere 1.2-0-7-1

Result: West Indies won by nine wickets.

Series: West Indies won the three-match series2-1.

Toss: West Indies Women.

Umpires: R Kottahachchi and R Wimalasiri. CMC

Rock Follies is all ready to prove a star turn and provide the best possible entertainment for punters when the curtain opens for a seven-race programme at good to firm Thirsk today; Lady Cecil has had few runners this year!

Is that because numbers are now low at the famous Warren Place stables, from where Sir Henry dominated the flat-racing scene for more than three decades, or is Jane being patient?

A bit of both probably; there’s no denying an obvious opportunity for Rock Follies, placed in all five races to date and clear best-in on the time-handicap which is enjoying a consistent spell, despite cold weather, that has turned the form book upside down these past six weeks.  

A beaten favourite on her last outing, six weeks ago, Rock Follies represents a sound bet in the 3-y-o Maiden Auction Stakes over six furlongs despite being drawn right on the out side of eight declarations!

Bapak Asmara will also attempt to recoup recent losses under Jamie Spencer in the Maiden stakes over five furlongs, just a question of Kevin Ryan’s charge reproducing anything like his 2014 form.

That certainly wasn’t the case at Redcar last month when Bapak Asmara weakened disappointingly under trainer’s daughter Amy at a time when Kevin’s yard definitely wasn’t firing.

Both Bapak Asmara and Rock Follies are worth the journey northwards; if there are no non-runners they justify a thieving each-way double, the type bookmakers hate, hence the reason why they paid trainers in the past to take out horses out and thwart such as myself; we made a business out of EWD’s!

Twice-raced Markstein has Tuco to beat in the fourteen-runner Maiden Stakes over seven furlongs of Kempton polytrack tonight, preference is for John Gosden’s charge.

There will be a jumping special and so check, as ever, on www.dailyearner.co.uk for another juicy, good-priced, selection.

A superb innings of 117 not out by talented batsman Kirstan Kallicharan powered North to an exciting three-wicket victory over South in the Vasha Foods Under-19 North/South Classic at the National Cricket Centre (NCC) in Balmain, Couva, on Monday night.

The tall-scoring East Zone batsman slammed 14 fours and two maximums off just 103 balls to lead North to 290/7 in 48.2 overs in pursuit of South’s 289/7 in their allotted 50 overs after they won the toss and elected to take first strike.

Right-handed Kallicharan came to the crease with his team in peril on 87/5 after losing four wickets in quick succession for the addition of only five runs as Keagan Simmons (14), Amir Jangoo (19), Brandon Maharaj (0) and Saeed Mohammed (0) were all dismissed cheaply.

At that stage South would have fancied their chances of making light work of the opposition as wily spinner Varendra Jagrup grabbed two wickets with assistance from Bryan Boodram and Jonathan Williams who started the slide with one apiece.

But Kallicharan found a useful partner in Joshua De Silva who made a well-played 37 with four fours.

The pair put on 89 for the sixth wicket which took the score to 176/6 in 38 overs before De Silva was unfortunately run out. But his dismissal let in Renaldo Lezama, who teamed up with Kallicharan to put on a match-winning partnership of 105 runs and place North on the brink of victory before he was also unfortunately run out for 36.

Earlier South mounted a formidable target for North through the effort of right-handed opener Cephas Cooper who struck 14 fours and a huge six in an undefeated knock of 114.

Cooper carried his bat in a remarkable innings during which he faced 125 balls and shared important partnerships with fellow opener Dejourn Charles (47). The pair’s opening partnership was 97 in 21.2 overs.

The hard-hitting batsman also combined with Jeron Maniram to post 55 for the fifth wicket; and 31 with Clevon Kalawan, with both being dismissed for an identical score of 27 as the overs counted down. What was impressive about Cooper’s and Kallicharan’s innings is that they are both just 15 years old.  

It was the second straight victory by the North team in the classic series, having defeated South last week in the Under-17 clash, which put them in striking distance of a coveted Vasha hat-trick with their Under-15s meeting South tomorrow at the NCC in Balmain starting at 2.30 pm.

Victoria District champions Cunjal Government were defeated once again in the Inter-School Boys Cricket Competition in the Atlantic National Primary Schools Cricket League, losing by nine wickets to Preysal Government on Friday night (May 22) in Barrackpore.

Batting first, Cunjal Government scored 111 for 6 off 20 overs. As formidable as this score seemed, the boys from Preysal were undaunted, sending in brothers Kyle and David Kissoondath as openers. The brothers posted a 50-run opening stand, with Kyle unbeaten at 36 and David racking up 19. Captain Kristian Dookrie also represented well, knocking 26 not out. Kyle Kissoondath was named Man of the Match.

Earlier at the same ground, the Cedros Government Girls maintained their winning form, defeating Preysal Government Girls, 71 all out off 19.1 overs. At their turn at crease, the Cedros girls scored 74 for three off 11 overs.

In other Inter-School Boys action, Montrose Government beat Point Fortin ASJA by 65 runs at the Fanny Village recreational ground in Point Fortin. Rajiv Ramnarine, 34 and Nick Ramdial, 38 were the top scorers for Montrose.

SCORES

ATLANTIC NATIONAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS CRICKET LEAGUE SCORES

BOYS INTER-SCHOOL COMPETITION

At Barrackpore: Cunjal Gov’t 111/6 (20) vs Preysal Government 112/1 (13)(Kyle Kissoondath 36no, David Kissoondath 19, Kristian Dookrie 19)—Preysal Government won  by 9 wkts.

At Fanny Village: Montrose Government 149 all out (Rajiv Ramnarine 34, Nick Ramdial 38) vs Point Fortin ASJA 84 all out (D Cox 35, Brandon Bansraj 2/5 )—Montrose won by 65 runs.

At Inshan Ali Park: Montrose Gov’t 143 all out (Rajiv Ramnarine 14, Aaron Bankay 13, Joseph Rasheed 13) vs Brothers Pres 122/5 (K Roopchand 41)—Montrose won by 21 runs.

GIRLS INTER-SCHOOL COMPETITION

At Barrackpore: Preysal Gov’t 71 all out (19.1) vs Cedros Gov’t 74 for three (11)—Cedros won by 7 wkts. 

Tyrique Sutherland scored a goal in each half as Play Whe San Juan Jabloteh blanked Police 3-0 to get back to winning ways in the Malta Carib 2015 Youth Pro League Under-13 Division on Sunday.

After dropping its first points in a 1-1 draw with DirecTV W Connection a week earlier, Jabloteh was eager to pick up three points and stay ahead of Caledonia.

And Sutherland made certain of that with the opener in the 43rd and his second in the 69th before Jardel Johan added a third item four minutes later.

The win, the ninth in ten matches for Jabloteh pushed its points tally to 28, one ahead of Caledonia, 5-2 victors over Pt Fortin Civic. 

Jabloteh also remained top of the Under-15 Division standings after whipping Police 4-0.

The inform Kesean St Rose led the way for Jabloteh with a hat trick  in the 58th, 73rd and 80th after the Police had gifted its opponent the lead via a 48th minute own goal.

The win lifted Jabloteh to 28 points, now seven clear of Japs North East Stars which battled to a 3-3 draw with Defence Force.

Results

Sunday’s Malta Carib 2015 Youth Pro League results:

•  Defence Force 4 (Kalon Seepersad 19th, Justin Wilson 25th, 70th, Jon Jackman 74th) vs N/East Stars 0
•  Caledonia 5 (own goal 5th, gervan Williams 42nd, Atiba Weeks 49th, Kareem Trotman 52nd, Isiah Villaroel 69th) vs Pt Fortin Civic 2 (Ezekiel Kezar 53rd, Thaj Neptune 60th)
•  Club Sando 0 vs W Connection 0
•  Jabloteh 3 (Tyrique Sutherland 43rd, 69th, Jardel Johan 73rd) vs Police 0
•  St Ann’s Rangers 1 (Keron Manswell 54th) vs Central FC 1 (Jabari Johnson 38th)

Under-15 Division:

•  N/East Stars 3 (Kishon Hackshaw 47th, Jalani Augustus 59th, John Paul Rochford 63rd) vs Defence Force 3 (Twon Grannum 33rd, Sheldon Phillip 54th, Darius Dickson 72nd)
•  Caledonia 2 (Emannuel Cumberbatch 10th, Jirel Meloney 33rd) vs Pt Fortin Civis 0
•  W Connection 1 (Nikel Rawlins 65th) vs Club Sando 0
•  Jabloteh 4 (own goal 48th, Kesean St Rose 58th, 73rd, 80th) vs Police 0
•  Central Fc 2 (Ian Cowie 17th, Sherwin Williams 30th) vs St Ann’s Rangers 1 (Naphatali Carrington 64th)

Under-17 Division:

•  N/East Stsrs 2 (Ronaldo Francois 41st, Brian Williams 88th) vs Defence Force 0
•  Pt Fortin Civic 2 (Ronaldo Edwards 11th, Darnel Hospedales 55th) vs Caledonia 1 (Rahim Gordon 21st)
•  W Connection 2 (Shobal Celestin 54th, 66th) vs Club Sando 0
•  Jabloteh 1 (Trey Hanley 2nd) vs Police 0
•  St Ann’s Rangers 2 (Saleem Henry 30th, Jean-Luc Pantin 65th) vs Central FC 1 (Isaiah Lopez 19th, Yevan Rajpaul 88th)

Current Standings

Malta Carib Youth Pro League

Under-13 Division:

Teams    P    W    D    L    F    A    Pts

Jabloteh    10    9    1    0    55    4    28

Caledonia    10    9    0    1    31    5    27

W Connection    10    5    3    2    37    6    18

Central FC    10    5    2    3    13    8    17

Rangers    10    4    1    5    19    15    13

D/Force    9    3    1    5    18    27    10

Police    10    2    3    5    12    27    9

Pt Fortin    9    2    2    5    9    26    8

Club Sando    10    1    2    7    5    52    5

N/East Stars    10    0    3    7    6    35    3

Under-15:

Jabloteh    10    9    1    0    30    7    28

N/East Stars    10    6    3    1    28    12    21

W Connection    10    5    3    2    26    14    18

Club Sando    10    5    2    3    12    12    17

Pt Fortin    9    5    1    3    15    8    16

Central FC    10    3    2    5    13    19    11

Defence Force    9    2    4    3    16    17    10

Rangers    10    2    1    7    17    26    7

Caledonia    10    1    2    7    8    18    5

Police    10    1    1    8    5    37    4

Under-17:

N/East Stars    10    7    3    0    24    4    24

W Connection    10    6    3    1    20    7    21

Jabloteh    10    7    0    3    19    8    21

Central FC    10    4    4    2    15    12    16

Police    10    5    1    4    15    12    16

Pt Fortin    9    5    1    3    17    15    16

Caledonia    10    4    2    4    17    11    14

Club Sando    10    2    1    7    8    28    7

Rangers    10    1    1    8    12    32    4

Defence Force    9    0    0    9    5    23    0

Radical changes to the management of local football are underway says Raymond Tim Kee, president of the T&T Football Association (TTFA).

Even as his term of office comes to an end in June after four years in office, he has offered himself for re-election to the post, Tim Kee was talking tough on the issue of strategic reform.

He said gone were the days when practitioners were installed in key positions because they simply knew the sport. The TTFA head did not say if this was among the suite of constitutional reforms a special committee of the TTFA was presently reviewing.

In order for football in T&T to become a major revenue earner and as a consequence ensure the TTFA achieved self-sufficiency, he said, business professionals needed to be enlisted by the football body.

This said the TTFA head, was one sure way to win the confidence of the private sector about the tremendous returns to be had from this type of investment.

Speaking at the TTFA 2014 Awards held at the VIP Lounge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Woodbrook, Tim Kee said, “The TTFA is undergoing change management exercises which seems go against the thread of what has become habit or natural, as you would say, because our focus is a new one and a different one. Our focus is on good governance with emphasis on transparency and accountability. And as time progresses, we are going to see emerging some new faces, some different faces, many of whom may not have ever played football; probably never bounced a ball.”

He added, “I came out of the business sector and I recognised by looking and observing that football is a product. But the people who market and sell products are the business people, not practitioners in the craft that produce the product. So Mr Hart (Stephen) and his team and other members of the technical staff, it is their business to produce the product on the field and they are accountable to those who sit, not in their ivory towers, but those fairly comfortable rooms–air conditioned rooms–who at times would complain of heat because of challenges. So, we expect a different product. We expect a different behaviour. We expect different norms. Football as anything else depends on economics.”

Turning his attention to the development of the sport, Tim Kee cited the level of capital that went local governing bodies for the sport in Concacaf.

While the Mexican Football Association had an annual budget of US$100 million, he said, the United States Football Association got an allocation of US$75 million.

“You know what our own is? Five million and we struggle to make it. And yet, we go out and produce a quality of that product that is comparable to some of those other countries who are better endowed financially and who enjoy the financial support from so many different corporate citizens,” he said.

Tim Kee added, “So when people say that ‘God is a Trini’, I am inclined to believe that sometimes, because against all odds, we still prevail and not only prevail, prevail with distinction. Our commitment is that qualifying for World Cup would not be a flash-in-the-pan anymore. We intend to pursue qualification for World cup from 2018 onwards.”

The 2015 Champions League final may well turn into a farce. There is absolutely no way that Barcelona can lose this match against a second rated Italian team in Juventus.

Of course, the many new Juventus fans in T&T may be upset to believe this or to even read this, but the reality is that no one in their right mind can expect Juventus (The Old Lady) to win this final.

In fact, apart from their diehard fans, such as Jason and Arcwell, I cannot think of any others who believed they would reach the finals on Saturday June 6, in Berlin.

And yes, we all know that sport is unpredictable and that it is a one off game and anything can happen, and that Juventus can score a lucky goal and hold on to the end, but the reality is certainly much different.

Barcelona, if at their best with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in tandem will destroy Juventus and the match could turn into an embarrassment, with a 4-0 to 5-0 score line. Anything less will be success for Juventus. In fact, if you review their victories, their goal scoring has been limited and a positive result for Juventus will depend on Carlos Tevez, the enigmatic Argentine forward.

Mind you, it is not Juve’s fault that they have reached the finals. They did what was required of them. Their style of defensive, gritty football, is not football in the beautiful style which purists like myself love to see. Instead, it will be a game for Juventus built on technical ability and awareness. Unfortunately even so, I expect them to falter, given the clinical nature and form of this current Barcelona outfit.

My understanding is that most Barcelona fans, and there are thousands in T&T, are already planning celebratory parties.

Even the bookmakers in London who are normally very conservative are supporting Juventus to win at 9-4 , which is quite good in a two-race final while Barcelona at 1-9  which is not good betting odds at all.

Many have asked why no English team is in the finals or even the semis or quarters. What is clear is that when Chelsea—with their less than provocative style of football—can win the English Premiership, it cannot be good for the brand of the game in ENGLAND.

It is now for the other leading clubs in England to regroup and make the necessary changes, so that they can challenge for the title in England and secondly for Champions League success. One expects clubs such as Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspurs and Liverpool to make sound investments for the next season if they want to be competitive.

The best players in the world all want to play Champions League football, so it is no surprise that several teams struggle to attract the elite footballers when they fail to qualify for this tournament.

So onwards to the finals. Juventus fans who are still reading this article and seething with rage, will want everyone to know that names such as Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba must not be underestimated and they have the class to worry Barcelona.

The Juve player who may have the greatest impact could be veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon who will need to rekindle his days of supreme goalkeeping to stop the Barcelona machine.

Therefore, as fans come together for the battle in Berlin, there will be many neutrals like myself who will want an entertaining match, a game that keeps you interested and is competitive. Somehow I do not believe this would happen, even though I watched carefully when Juventus were quoted by the Bookmakers at 9-1 to lift the trophy, at the semifinal strange and found that enticing.

So enjoy the football. I know that thousands of you will be heading to the savannah for the Heineken party. Note I didn’t say to watch the match. I expect the atmosphere to be electrifying, and the promotions between Heineken, who have been associated with Champions League football for ten years, and The Fan Club, where original is the name of the game in clothing and other footballing accessories, is certain to make the occasion more appetising. A Lionel Messi personalised jersey, signed by the man himself, is one of the prizes for someone who predicts the correct result. What a wonderful gift for the fans, thanks to Heineken and The Fan Club, who will also be sponsoring four other prizes. Incidentally both Mario and Mikhail Singh, who own The Fan Club are Barcelona supporters. They must be in their glee. They understand football, unlike their dad, Valentino, a Manchester United diehard (sob).  

Whatever the outcome, predictable victory for Barcelona, or scratchy win for Juve, it is congratulations to both teams, their management and their supporters for making each other happy. 

In a world filled with politics, strife, disaster and turmoil, it takes an occasion as such to give some meaning to life. Isn’t sport a great facilitator?

Jack Warner is among several powerful figures in global football facing charges over widespread corruption over the past two decades, the New York Times reported.

UPDATE: Warner responds to news of US indictment

In a media release this morning Warner disassociates himself from the investigations stating that he has left FIFA and international football more than four years ago.
 
“It has been reported that a number of FIFA officials have been arrested in Switzerland and that at least one raid conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigators in Miami is being executed at what I presume to be CONCACAF offices.  
 
“My name is being reported by international media as being one of those persons sought in connection with the probe.  
 
“The people of Trinidad and Tobago will know that I quit FIFA and international football more than four years ago and that over the past several years I have recommitted my life to the work of improving the lot of every citizen of every creed and race in this nation,” Warner said.  
 
Reaffirming his innocence, Warner stated that he was afforded no due process and was not questioned on the matter.
 
“I have fought fearlessly against all forms of injustice and corruption. I have been afforded no due process and I have not even been questioned in this matter.  I reiterate that I am innocent of any charges.   I have walked away from the politics of world football to immerse myself in the improvement of lives in this country where I shall, God willing, die,” he said.
 
Warner claimed that FIFA matters no longer concern him. However he noted the controversial upcoming elections.  
 
“The actions of FIFA no longer concern me.   I cannot help but note however that these cross- border coordinated actions come at a time when FIFA is assembled for elections to select a President who is universally disliked by the international community.   At times such as this it is my experience that the large world powers typically take actions to affect world football.  World football is an enormous international business,” he said.
 
Warner added that his sole focus is now on the people of T&T and he will continue with his political life.   
 
“That is no longer my concern. My sole focus at this stage of my life is on the people of Trinidad and Tobago. I wish to advise the hundreds of thousands of persons who support the ILP that my commitment to them and to the people of Trinidad and Tobago is undaunted and can never be broken,” he said.

He later posted a video to Facebook responding to the allegations.

Warner faces charges and extradition
Several charged are officials of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the organisation responsible for the regulation and promotion of soccer worldwide, as well as leading officials of other soccer governing bodies that operate under the FIFA umbrella. Warner is a former vice president of FIFA.

In addition to senior soccer officials, the indictment also named sports-marketing executives from the United States and South America who are accused of paying more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for media deals associated with major soccer tournaments.

The soccer officials charged are Jack Warner, Jeffrey Webb, Eduardo Li, Eugenio Figueredo, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Rafael Esquivel, José Maria Marin and Nicolás Leoz.

The Times said much of the U.S. enquiry was focused on the Concacaf region, which governs soccer in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

The confederation's Trinidadian former boss Warner was regularly dogged by accusations of corruption before he resigned in 2011, at which point FIFA terminated its investigations of him.

The U.S. criminal case will allow courts to look into matters that in the past had been investigated mainly by FIFA's own internal ethics committee, answerable to itself. 

U.S. law gives its courts broad powers to investigate crimes committed by foreigners on foreign soil if money passes through U.S. banks or other activity takes place there.

DOJ announces indictments
A statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Warner and Webb—the former and current and presidents of CONCACAF, the continental confederation under FIFA headquartered in the United States – are among the soccer officials charged with racketeering and bribery offenses. 

The DOJ website said: "The indictment alleges that, between 1991 and the present, the defendants and their co-conspirators corrupted the enterprise by engaging in various criminal activities, including fraud, bribery and money laundering.  Two generations of soccer officials abused their positions of trust for personal gain, frequently through an alliance with unscrupulous sports marketing executives who shut out competitors and kept highly lucrative contracts for themselves through the systematic payment of bribes and kickbacks.  All told, the soccer officials are charged with conspiring to solicit and receive well over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for their official support of the sports marketing executives who agreed to make the unlawful payments.

The indictment relates to bribes and kickbacks involving the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the CONCACAF region, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League, among other events. 

"Other alleged schemes relate to the payment and receipt of bribes and kickbacks in connection with the sponsorship of CBF by a major U.S. sportswear company, the selection of the host country for the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 FIFA presidential election," the DOJ statement said.

Two of Warner's sons, Daryll and Darian Warner were identified among those who pleaded guilty, in July and October of 2013 respectively, to wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and the structuring of financial transactions.

"Daryan Warner forfeited over $1.1 million around the time of his plea and has agreed to pay a second forfeiture money judgment at the time of sentencing," the statement said.

Former CONCACAF general secretary and a former FIFA executive committee member Charles "Chuck" Blazer, another defendant named by the DOJ, "waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a 10-count information charging him with racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, income tax evasion and failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)."

On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said, "While at least one FIFA executive served as CONCACAF president without pay, there was little altruism involved, as he alone is alleged to have taken more than $10 million in bribes over a 19-year period and amassed a personal fortune from his ill-gotten gains."

Lynch was delivering remarks at a press conference announcing the charges.

Officials arrested in Zurich

Two criminal investigations are under way, with seven senior officials arrested in Zurich on US charges. Separately, Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal case into the bids for the 2018 and 2022 world cups, to be held in Russia and Qatar respectively.

Swiss police arrested some of the most powerful figures in global soccer on Wednesday.

Those arrested did not include Sepp Blatter, the Swiss head of soccer's multi-billion dollar governing body FIFA, but included several of those just below him in the hierarchy of the wealthiest and most powerful sports body on earth.

The arrests by plain-clothes police were made at dawn at a plush Zurich hotel where FIFA officials are staying ahead of a vote this week where they have been expected to easily anoint Blatter for a fifth term in office.

Swiss prosecutors said they had opened criminal proceedings against unidentified individuals on suspicion of mismanagement and money laundering related to the awarding of rights to host the 2018 World Cup in Qatar and the 2022 World Cup in Russia.

Data and documents were seized from computers at FIFA's Zurich headquarters. 

The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) did not immediately identify which officials were arrested pending extradition to the United States, but media reports said they included Jeffrey Webb and Eugenio Figueredo, both FIFA vice-presidents.

The officials were suspected by U.S. investigators of having received or paid bribes totaling millions of dollars, the Swiss FOJ said, while the media and promotions executives were accused of paying the kickbacks. 

"The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York is investigating these individuals on suspicion of the acceptance of bribes and kickbacks between the early 1990s and the present day," the statement said.

"The bribery suspects - representatives of sports media and sports promotion firms - are alleged to have been involved in schemes to make payments to the soccer functionaries - delegates of FIFA and other functionaries of FIFA sub-organisations - totaling more than US$100 million."

FIFA under cloud

​

A spokesman from FIFA spoke at a press conference arranged in response to the breaking news said it was "a sad day" for FIFA.

The international governing body of soccer collects billions of dollars in revenue, mostly from sponsorship and television rights for World Cups.

It has persistently been dogged by reports of corruption which it says it investigates itself, but until now it has escaped major criminal cases in any country.

In particular, the decision to award the World Cup to Qatar, a tiny desert country with no domestic tradition of soccer, was heavily criticised by soccer officials in Western countries. FIFA was forced to acknowledge that it is too hot to play soccer there in the summer when the cup is traditionally held, forcing schedules around the globe to be rewritten to move the cup.

FIFA hired a former U.S. prosecutor to examine allegations of bribery over the awarding of the World Cups to Qatar and Russia, but has refused to publish his report, releasing only a summary in which it said there were no major irregularities. The investigator quit, saying his report had been mischaracterised.

Sources: NY Times, Reuters, BBC

Independent Liberal Party leader Jack Warner has responded to news of his indictment in the U.S. by issuing a statement maintaining his innocence.

"I have been afforded no due process and I have not even been questioned in this matter.   I have walked away from the politics of world football to immerse myself in the improvement of lives in this country where I shall, God willing, die," said Warner in a statement Wednesday.

Warner is a former Vice President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the organisation responsible for the regulation and promotion of soccer worldwide. He is also former president of Concacaf, the organisation responsible for football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. He is also former chairman of the United National Congress (UNC). 

"It has been reported that a number of FIFA officials have been arrested in Switzerland and that at least one raid conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigators in Miami is being executed at what I presume to be Concacaf offices. My name is being reported by international media as being one of those persons sought in connection with the probe," Warner said in the statement.
 
"The people of Trinidad and Tobago will know that I quit FIFA and international football more than four years ago and that over the past several years I have recommitted my life to the work of improving the lot of every citizen of every creed and race in this nation. This is where I have let my bucket down. I have fought fearlessly against all forms of injustice and corruption. The actions of FIFA no longer concern me," he said.

"I cannot help but note however that these cross-border coordinated actions come at a time when FIFA is assembled for elections to select a President who is universally disliked by the international community. At times such as this it is my experience that the large world powers typically take actions to affect world football. World football is an enormous international business," he continued.
 
"That is no longer my concern. My sole focus at this stage of my life is on the people of Trinidad and Tobago. I wish to advise the hundreds of thousands of persons who support the ILP that my commitment to them and to the people of Trinidad and Tobago is undaunted and can never be broken."

Christine. Where have you been and what have you been doing?

For the past six years I’ve been involved in advertising. I’m a Senior Copywriter and the Electronic Producer for an ad agency called Publicis Caribbean Limited, and it’s been a great deal of fun—very, very challenging and of course a source of steady income for the past six years, which, of course, as most people would know, theatre is not. 

What compelled you to return to the theatre?

To be frank, as theatre is my first love. I actually left steady employment to go out into the theatre in 1997 I think it was, and ran my company, the Baggasse Company for a number of years before basically having to give into the economics of it because I was in quite a bit of debt and I was a little burnt out so I had to step back, take a job and pay off some bills. I wouldn’t lie to you, the day my last installment was paid, I was back thinking about theatre. 

Is this the first time that you’re working on a Walcott piece? 

Yes. 

Ti-Jean and His Brothers is a classic Caribbean play. Do you feel any anxiety directing the work of such a giant as Walcott? 

I don’t feel anxious about directing the piece because I love the piece. I can only bring to the piece my complete joy in the work and my respect for the words that Walcott has written. Of course I think it’s a fine responsibility, but I want to say I’m not anxious, I’m actually kind of anticipatory. I’m having a wonderful time. 

What is your vision for the production? 

As I keep saying, Ti-Jean and His Brothers is a Caribbean fairytale and a fairytale in the truest sense of the word. It has all the magic and the mystery, evil and gore that real, real fairytales did. We’re talking about those like the Grimm Brothers for example. 

There were always ogres, witches, monsters, trolls, evil things, not like the happily ever after, sanitised fairytale we’ve come to expect from Disney for example. It is a true Caribbean tale full of all our “Caribbeaness,” full of magic, good versus evil. There is no happily ever after. As the Devil says, he’ll be back. There is a balance. 

Who are the members of your cast? 

The title role of Ti-Jean is alternated between Muhammed Muwakil and Mark Nottingham. Mi Jean is played by Nickolai Salcedo. Gros Jean is played by Kurtis Gross. The Bolom is being played by Tishanna Williams. The animals are all relative newcomers to the stage. They are all phenomenal though. Ruby Parris is the Firefly. Asha Sheppard is the Frog. Nailah Blackman Thornhill is the Bird and Jesus Patterson is the Cricket. The lead character, Devil/ Old Man/ Planter is being played by Aaron Schneider who also designed the set and costumes. 

This is a mixed group of seasoned actors and rookies. What was your selection process like? 

We had open auditions to which we had a phenomenal response. I didn’t want to go with the so called tried and true. I wanted the challenge of a fresh, new cast and largely it is. I’m very happy with what we ended up with. 

How challenging is it to orchestrate this large cast, live music and dance elements within this production on the stage of the Little Carib Theatre? 

Extremely challenging to orchestrate these factors in the Little Carib. It is, however, a space that will always hold a special place in my heart. My first production was staged there and so much tremendous theatre has gone through there, it’s a sacred place, almost, for theatre. It’s iconic. 

The theatre landscape has changed since you began your hiatus? How do you view what you’re seeing today? 

What’s happening in theatre is quite interesting. There are people tackling a lot more musicals. Recently we’ve seen lots of musicals. 

It’s something that people were not dreaming of tackling even in the earlier 2000’s. All of this started pretty much in the late 2000’s. It’s nice to see people are actually taking on these challenges because a musical is not an easy thing to stage and certainly not a cheap thing to stage. I’ve seen a lot of original work coming out as well. 

I’ve seen Penny Spencer has been writing a lot of work which is really great. We have Rhoma Spencer coming out with Medea. We have something coming from me later this year. Richard Ragoobarsingh is writing. 

Ricardo Samuel writes. It’s nice. It’s challenging. It’s growing. It’s stretching its limbs and trying to feel itself out. I think theatre’s in a pretty good place right now. 

After Ti-Jean and His Brothers, what are your plans? 

I had indicated before that I was writing as well. There is a Cinderella story in Trinidad. 

It’s our own story with our own language, music and folklore characters; Papa Bois, La Diablesse, Minstrels, Devils, Imps and not to mention a Queen of the Band costume, which I will not reveal too much about right now. But yes, I will be staging Cinderella at Queen’s Hall and NAPA South in September of this year. 

• Provided by Monkey Mountain

More info

​Produced by Monkey Mountain, Ti Jean and His Brothers, by Derek Walcott, with music by Andre Tanker, opens at The Little Carib Theatre today. For more info: monkeymountaintt@gmail.com; facebook.com/MonkeyMountaintt; 713-2303. 

Bookings: 748-4665; Tickets: Paper Based Bookshop, Normandie Hotel, 625-3197 and Little Carib Theatre Box Office from May 25, 1-868-622-4644. Sponsored in part by Republic Bank.

Scores of children from Laventille and environs were taught the rudiments of money management and entrepreneurship when RBC participated in a recent financial workshop hosted by Waby says Yes Programme (We Are Better Youth), a release said.

“We didn’t just focus on theory during the sessions but we simulated an ATM deposit and withdrawal and conducted role play loan interviews so that they got a sense of what this would look like,” said Jason Thomas, area vice president, Personal Banking, RBC Royal Bank. 

Thomas who delivered the presentation also explained the basics of banking, the components of a business plan and how to set up a business. 

Thomas said RBC was proud to support this project as it is important for young people to grasp the concepts related to business and entrepreneurship from an early age. 

He said: “Exposing children to this information gives them the tools they need to make sound financial decisions in the future. It also serves to demystify money management so that they understand how wealth creation works.”

Earlier this year, RBC entered into a three-year partnership with Waby through which the group will receive funding and other forms of support from the bank. 

Waby engages young people between the ages of four and16 from East Port-of-Spain through the Youth Entrepreneurship for Self Empowerment (YES) programme, a structured entrepreneurship development initiative.

The goal of the YES programme is to promote and cultivate youth entrepreneurship through education and business and career opportunities and includes 12 modules that focus on a wide range of topics. 

This partnership reinforces the bank’s commitment to sustainable investment, and represents one of the ways in which RBC partners with the NGO sector to develop and empower children, strengthen families, and enrich communities. RBC employees will support as volunteer chaperones for the programme’s duration.

RBC remains committed to the sustainable development of the communities in which it operates and building capacity among young people through initiatives, such as the RBC Young Leaders Programme and the Royal Bank Education Foundation.