Hot on the heels of AmBev making a bid to buy Barbados-based Banks Holdings Ltd, which will also have some implications for Banks DIH Ltd in Guyana, we now have Heineken preparing to complete a take-over of Jamaican-based Desnoes & Geddes Ltd.

As take-over activity in the Caribbean beer market heats up, how will traditional regional brands like Red Stripe, Banks and even locally-based Carib (in which Heineken holds a 20 per cent stake) fare under the new ownership arrangements? 

Perhaps, that question might best be answered by a beverage marketing expert?

Let us first start by reviewing the results for Desnoes and Geddes for its fiscal year ended June 2015.

Changes in financial position

Total assets less current liabilities rose to J$10.99 billion from J$9.63 billion as at June 2014.

Long-term assets advanced from J$7.61 billion to J$8.86 billion as at June 2015. The lone declining component, investment in joint venture, contracted to J$86.7 million from last year’s J$181 million. This reduction reflects the proportionate loss of J$94.3 million from its 50 percent joint venture, Celebration Brands Ltd (CBL).

Investment properties moved from J$889.6 million to J$943.3 million; this mostly reflected fair value gains of J$53.7 million.

Property, plant, and equipment advanced to J$6.63 billion from J$5.5 billion. The major addition for the current period was in returnable packaging, which consumed J$1.06 billion.

Employee benefits asset for its defined benefit pension plant rose to J$1.2 billion from J$1.05 billion. This improvement reflects the higher fair value of the plan’s assets (J$6.85 billion compared with 2014’s J$6.13 billion); this growth was helped as the return on the plan’s assets improved to 15 per cent from nine per cent.

Total current assets increased by 2 per cent to J$4.73 billion from last period’s J$4.64 billion.

The only declining component, cash and cash equivalents, fell to J$1.37 billion from J$1.79 billion in June 2014. Much of this reduction related to higher purchases of property, plant and equipment (2015: J$2.05 billion; 2014: J$1.72 billion) combined with the absence of any proceeds from the disposals of investments (2014: J$956.3 million).

Accounts receivable advanced to J$1.74 billion from J$1.37 billion. This increase was mainly reflected in the trade receivable component, which climbed to J$1.7 billion from J$1.2 billion.

Despite almost 14 per cent higher sales, inventories increased marginally to J$1.15 billion from J$1.08 billion (or by about 1.07 per cent).

Total current liabilities fell to J$2.6 billion from J$2.62 billion. Both taxation payable and sums due to fellow subsidiaries declined.

The major component, accounts payable, increased by J$98.3 million pushing the closing balance to J$2.11 billion; this was 4.9 per cent greater than 2014’s J$2.01 billion. Notably, trade payables fell to J$822.6 million from J$959 million. In contrast, other payables climbed to J$426.3 million from the previous level of J$162.6 million.

Total long-term liabilities moved to J$665 million from J$618 million. This represented employee benefits obligations of J$138 million (2014: J$142 million) and deferred tax liabilities of J$527 million (2014: J$476.1 million).

Equity changes

Total shareholders’ equity advanced to J$10.33 billion from last year’s J$9.01 billion.

Other reserves moved to J$796.6 million from J$678 million. This represents net employee benefits assets of J$1.06 billion less deferred taxes of J$265.5 million.

The major increase was concentrated in the retained earnings component, which climbed to J$6.98 billion from the previous year-end’s J$5.78 billion. Here, the main movements were the current year’s profit of J$2.33 billion reduced by dividends to shareholders of J$1.12 billion.

With 2,809,170,386 shares outstanding, each share had a book value of J$3.68 (2014: J$3.21).

Revenues and profit

Excluding consumption tax, net 2015 sales registered at J$13.09 billion; this was 13.8 per cent greater than the J$11.5 billion recorded for 2014.

The cost of sales climbed by only 12.5 per cent to reach J$7.63 billion from the previous level of J$6.78 billion.

These favourable changes saw gross profit improve by 15.7 per cent to reach J$5.46 billion from J$4.72 billion for the 2014 period.

However, marketing costs climbed by 36.5 per cent to reach J$1.37 billion from last year’s J$1 billion. This change restrained profits to J$4.09 billion from the J$3.72 billion earned in 2014.

General, selling and administration expenses increased to J$1.26 billion; this was marginally greater than 2014’s J$1.22 billion. Meanwhile, other net income fell to J$155.5 million from J$232 million last year.

In line with lower cash balances, interest income fell to J$19.4 million from J$24 million.

D&G also incurred losses on its CBL joint venture of J$94.3 million, a loss on disposal of property of J$70.4 million and had net pension and medical benefits expenses of J$8.1 million.

These movements helped D&G produce a pre-tax profit of J$2.83 billion. This compares unfavourably with a pre-tax 2014 profit of J$3.83 billion.

In 2014, two special factors contributed to the higher result; first, there was J$155.1 million relating to a gain on settlement of intra-group balances upon liquidation of subsidiaries and then there was a gain on disposal of investments of J$973.7 million.

During 2014, D&G Ltd sold its 5 per cent stake in Brasserie Nationale d’Haiti, valued at J$487.9 million and its 10 per cent shareholding in Windward and Leeward Brewery Ltd, valued at J$472.7 million. The disposal of these two investments on December 19, 2013 to Heineken generated a one-time profit of J$973.7 million for the company.

After taxes, the 2015 net profit registered at J$2.33 billion compared with J$3.31 billion. These results translate into EPS of J$0.83 for 2015 versus J$1.12 for 2014.

Divisional performance

Although domestic sales increased by 13.5 per cent segment profit advanced by only 6.2 per cent. Local sales were helped by brand extensions, such as Red Stripe Sorrel and Lemon Paradise.

In contrast, export sales rose by 15.3 per cent and delivered a profit improvement of 24.3 per cent. Exports were driven by improved sales of its flagship brand, Red Stripe.

The company is pledged to increase its use of local raw materials to 40 per cent by 2020. One example is by using local Cassava to replace imported high maltose corn syrup.

Although exports are growing, more than 84 per cent of its sales (both in 2014 and 2015) are still made in its home market, Jamaica.

Dividends and share price

In line with its lower profits, D&G reduced its annual dividend to J$0.40 from J$0.50 paid for the 2014 fiscal period.

D&G’s price closed at J$7.55 on June 30, 2015. Relating the current year’s dividend to that price gave investors a yield of 5.3 per cent.

After a quiet few months, the share price surged to J$13.07 on October 9, 2015 when 29,094,681 shares changed hands.

This upward movement continued with the price closing on October 12, 2015 at J$15.03 and then jumped to J$25.03 on October 14, and then further climbed to J$29.63 on October 16, 2015.

Much of the reasons for these positive price changes are explained in the following section.

Recent ownership changes and prospects

Desnoes & Geddes Ltd released the following announcement on October 8, 2015:

“Desnoes & Geddes Ltd was advised yesterday October 7, 2015, that Heineken acquired a controlling stake in Desnoes & Geddes Ltd by acquiring the entire issued capital of Udiam Holdings AB, a subsidiary of Diageo plc for the sum of US$420,990,826.00. Udiam owns 1,625,549,827 shares in D&G which constitutes 57.8 per cent of the share capital of D&G. Prior to the acquisition, another subsidiary of Heineken already owned 434,033,141 D&G shares which constitutes approximately 15.45 per cent of the share capital of D&G Following the acquisition, Heineken indirectly owns 73.32 per cent of the share capital of D&G.”

The price paid by Heineken International to Diageo for Udiam equates to US$0.259 per share; this was approximately equivalent to J$30.90. This explains why the share price has appreciated so much in recent weeks. That price equates to more than 8 times the theoretical “book value” of the company!

As a result of these changes in ownership, D&G’s AGM has been rescheduled to Friday November 13, 2015 from the original date of November 3, 2015. This shift would allow for new Heineken directors to be appointed and elected.

Subsequently, it is expected that Udiam, on behalf of Heineken, will make a formal offer to the other shareholders for the remainder of the company.

It is entirely possible that the final price for the remaining shares in D&G could be higher than that paid by Heineken or even the most recent trade on the Jamaican Stock Exchange.

Having sold Lascelles de Mercado, first to CL Financial/Angostura and then on to Campari and now, very likely, D&G to Udiam/Heineken, what is the state of ownership of the spirits market in Jamaica?

Closer to home, we are also in the process of seeing the possible sale of Banks Holdings Barbados to AmBev. However, last Tuesday, ANSA McAL Ltd, 80 per cent owners of Carib Brewery, decided to enter the bidding for BHL by making an offer of B$5.20 per share for “all” of the company.

That development might have complications for Massy Holdings, which, in September, sold its large stake in BHL for “only” B$4 per share. Could it be argued that it was too hasty to sell those shares in order to boost its bottom line for its September 2015 year-end? Let us see what transpires in the coming weeks.

Is this the start of the realignment of ownership interests in the spirits businesses across the region? Perhaps, there is a bigger story here?

The following guide is intended to aid readers in analysing the case, “Managing Upwards.” When analysing a case, remember that there are many possible approaches and solutions and the goal is to develop your analytical and problem-solving skills rather than figure out “the one right answer.”

Synopsis

Stacy Seales had just returned from attending her first executive’s retreat after being promoted to the position of branch manager at the bank where she worked. This was her second promotion since joining the bank as an accounting assistant in 2007 and represented a major achievement for her career. While she was excited by this promotion, she sometimes felt like a misfit since she was often the youngest person at meetings and often found herself in the uncomfortable position of having to give instructions to subordinates who were twice her age. She had also been experiencing increasing friction with a few of the older staff members who seemed to resent her rapid rise in the organisation. 

As she reflected on the meeting, she couldn’t help wondering whether she would be accepted by employees who were so much older than she was and what she could do to earn their respect.

Case analysis

Q1. What are the typical characteristics of employees who belong to Generation Y?

Generation Y, also known as milllenials or the Internet generation, refers to the generation of people born during the 1980s and early 1990s. In contrast to previous generations, members of Generation Y are more technologically savvy due to growing up within the information age and have incorporated technology into all aspects of their lives.

Employees who belong to Generation Y are much less committed to their organisations and are more comfortable changing jobs. This is evident by the fact that despite being promoted to a senior promotion in a relatively short period, Stacy was still keeping her options open and seriously contemplating a job offer from another company.

Compared to previous generations, millennials seek challenges but are very concerned with achieving an effective work/life balance. 

“Working to live” rather than “living to work” is a common mantra for employees of this generation. These workers also seek constant positive feedback and reassurance they are doing a good job and prefer instant recognition of their efforts by senior management over a more formal annual performance appraisal. 

A striking characteristic of millennials is the fact that they are extremely ambitious and confident in their ability to achieve their life goals. This can sometimes be perceived as overly aggressive by older members of the organisation. Stacy did not hesitate, for instance, to ask for a meeting with the HR manager when she felt that her career goals were not being fulfilled. 

Millennials are also more reliant on social networks and prefer to work in teams. They rely on this network for assistance in getting solutions to problems they encounter and are accustomed to texting and speaking in an abbreviated form with members of their social circle. Face-to-face communication is sometimes viewed as an inefficient form of communication compared to social media and these employees are often unaware of their non-verbal cues.

Q2. What strategies would you recommend to manage these Generation Y employees?

If companies do not want to lose talented employees with the potential for generating significant long term revenues, they need to develop new strategies for engaging millennials. One of the most important actions that managers can take is to set clear targets and provide continual feedback. Performance reviews should be done on a quarterly basis rather than annually and the factors required to succeed in the organisations need to be clearly identified. 

The corporate culture itself needs to be less hierarchical or rule driven and more participatory and “people-centred.”

It is critical that millennial employees be provided with some flexibility and autonomy in order not to feel that they are being micro-managed. Reward systems should be developed to provide public recognition to employees as they achieve significant milestones and the incentive structure needs to be competitive with industry standards in order to increase employee retention.

The company can satisfy employees’ desire for continual learning by offering tuition reimbursement and ongoing training and development programmes. Emphasising the ways in which the company gives back to its community and providing opportunities to engage in socially responsible projects matches the willingness of millennials to focus on a higher purpose in life. Opportunities to blow off steam and engage in social activities are also necessary to foster the healthy work/life balance that these employees crave.

Training needs to be provided in workplace protocols as part of the onboarding process so that Gen Y employees are made aware of what constitutes acceptable behaviour in the workplace. 

Establishing mentoring opportunities for employees and providing clear career paths is important for retaining millennials who are driven to succeed and embrace close social ties within the workplace. Spending time teaching and coaching these employees is an investment that will significantly enhance the likelihood of retention while also increasing loyalty. 

Q3. What challenges does Stacy Seales face in her current position and what career advice would you give her?

The major challenge that Stacy faces is that she is not relying on the soft skills that propelled the earlier stages of her career. There is a clear breakdown in communication with the older members of her team and rather than reaching out to the veterans she appears to have resorted to working harder in order to justify her appointment. 

While her professional expertise is unquestioned, she is exhibiting poor interpersonal skills and unduly focusing on the age difference that exists instead of finding creative ways to bridge the gap. 

Focusing on her personal achievements rather than seeking cooperation and building rapport with her subordinates serves to further isolate her from her colleagues. 

Taking the offer from the accounting firm may seem attractive because of the increase in salary and the fact that Stacy would no longer have to deal with the criticism of her coworkers. 

Leaving the current organisation, however, is shortsighted, since it does not preclude the possibility that she would face the same reaction from older workers in her new job. She may also not get the active support that she currently enjoys from her superiors and thus have less of a network to rely on in navigating any challenges she may encounter. 

It thus appears advisable for her to stay and gain some managerial experience while identifying mentors within the organization who can assist her in dealing with the inter-generational conflict that she is currently facing. 

Dr Barney Pacheco is a lecturer in the Department of Management Studies at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine

Green Screen—the Environmental Film Series, now in its fifth year, will run from November 2 to 13, with free screenings of movies at Medulla Art gallery, De Nu Pub, San Fernando Hill and other venues. 

The launch, taking place at the Digicel Imax theatre on November 2 from 6 pm, will feature the world premiere of A Better Place. 

The film tells the inspirational stories of five environmental projects in T&T. The programmes, all funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) Small Grants Programme, show the commitment and dedication of diverse groups working from where they are to make T&T a better place. 

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Miquel Galofré and produced by Sustain T&T’s own Carver Bacchus, A Better Place tells the story of five community-based organisations through the work that they do and how their experiences in diverse communities and areas impacts their view of the world. Infused with local music, stunning visuals complement stories of hope, resilience and survival. 

“The film has been created from a personal, social and environmental heroism perspective. It is a visually sumptuous film supported by relateable stories. It shines a light on projects that would normally fly very low on the radar in terms of mainstream media coverage but it’s definitely something people need to know about,” said Bacchus. 

Since its inception in 2011, the Green Screen—The Environmental Film Series has sought to raise awareness of environmental issues by screening local and international films. So far the project has served to spark conversations about environmental issues that affect everyone. These have led to the development of several eco-driven projects, mostly in secondary schools. This year’s theme, Together, highlights the need, now more than ever, for not just a passive collective awareness but also an actively unified drive towards restoring and preserving the environment. 

“Everyone knows that climate change is eventually going to impact severely on smaller countries, ourselves included. But what are we as a people doing? What are we as a country doing together to fix this problem? So that is the theme this year because everything that we want to do, the positive changes that we want to see, everything that we hope will happen in the next 20 years depends on what we do now together as a people,” said Bacchus.

Funding has always been a challenge for the Green Screen Project. Fortunately, the German Embassy set out to help them develop the project from the start and has been one of the main partners of the initiative. The European Union has also played their part in terms of sponsorship. However, the lack of interest from corporate T&T is a major concern for Bacchus. 

“I think that this is a very attractive project not only from a branding and corporate social responsibility perspective. Over the years we have grown and have brought on supporters; Atlantic LNG has been a part of the project for the last three years. We still look forward to more support in getting the message of awareness out via film because it’s an exciting project and the screenings are free to the public,” he said. 

Green Screen is a Sustain T&T project and was created as a platform to engage people through films about environmental conservation, climate change, green energy and sustainable development. 

“Sustainability is something that is connected to development and our development is connected to diversification and from my perspective the creative industries are an important component of diversification. So we are sitting at the crossroads between the creative sector, sustainability and design, we are right in that sweet spot in the middle there. We decided to show films because they connect with people emotionally,” said Bacchus. 

Ultimately, Bacchus hopes that the film series will illustrate to audiences their impact on the environment and also make them aware of what they can do as individuals to curb negative behaviours and reinforce positive ones. 

“We want people to come and look at films but we also want them to change their behaviour. Some people are doing all the right things, but most of T&T is not. There is still a lot of improper disposal of waste, still a lot of overuse of energy, destruction of natural habitats—and a host of things that continue to happen. We want to start changing people’s mind about this by making connections between our long term prosperity versus our current scenario,” said Bacchus. 

• MORE INFO: GREEN SCREEN—The Environmental Film Series will host its Benefit Launch & Cocktail Reception at the Digicel Imax on November 2. • Tickets are $150. To purchase visit the DIGICEL IMAX box office (Cash Only) or call 745-6017. • Please visit: facebook.com/Greenscreentt.

NYERERE HAYNES 

Under extremely rainy conditions that appeared to be conducive for breaking records, debutant Richard Perez of Cuba and Kenyan Caroline Kiptoo ensured another foreign dominance at yesterday’s 12th edition of the UWI Spec International Half Marathon from the St Augustine Campus to the La Resource junction in D’ Abadie and back.   

Perez, the Pan American marathon champion left the field behind to cross the finish line in a time of one hour and eight minutes flat. Kiptoo on the other hand had to work hard up until the last few miles to beat her Trinidadian counterpart Tonya Nero with some five miles to go and retain the title she won last year.

Her time was one hour, 17 minutes and 54 seconds while Nero was exactly a minute behind her in one hour, 18 minutes and 54 seconds.

A heavy downpour soon before the start at 5.30 am yesterday morning may have swayed some fans from making an appearance to support their runners but it also provided an alternative from a usually scorching hot event which saw a field of 1,200 face the starters gun. And Perez, a first timer to the event had to keep his eyes on favourites Kenneth Rotich of Kenya and Chavez Da Silva of Brazil. However the Brazilian, who only last year said that he wanted to win the race for the next ten years, had to pull out of the race somewhere close to the midway point due to diarrhoea. 

With ten miles to go Rotich, who has dominated local long and middle distance racing, couldn’t keep up with the Cuban and Perez opened up a huge lead and took it to the finish. After the race he told the Guardian “I didn’t know what to expect so I decided to start slowly and monitor the top runners. With 10 miles to go I realised that the Kenyan could not keep up with me so I raced to the finish line for the win.”

Strangely the Cuban said also that the rainy conditions held him back as he felt heavy throughout the race. Perez’s time of 1:08.00 flat was a mere three minutes shy of the course record. 

Following him in second was Rotich in 1:08.06 with Jamaican Kirk Brown in third in 1:09.12 and fourth Pedro Espinoza Perez of Mexico in 1:09.57 while  another Jamaican Ruper Green secured the fifth position in 1:10.49. Meanwhile with Richard Jones still recovering from a slip disk in his back, T&T failed to be among the top six runners yesterday. In fact Matthew Hagley was the first T&T runner to cross the finish line in a time one hour, 13 minutes and 12 seconds in position seventh. Veteran Curtis Cox was two spots behind Hagley in ninth (1:15.53). 

Among the women Kiptoo could not shake off a nagging Nero for most of the race but eventually got the better of her with five miles to go and win by a minute. She said afterwards that she was satisfied with her time because it was an improvement from last year. Meanwhile the slender built Nero, who only a few days ago said that she would have stopped the foreign domination, explained that she was totally satisfied with her time. 

“One of my main goals was to dip under the one hour and 20 minute hurdle and I did that. I think I ran my race under conditions conditions that I really enjoyed but the Kenyan ran well and won. Maybe next year I will try again” Nero said. She added “I have been using this race also to prepare for the Dubai marathon next year and I think it went well also so I am satisfied.” 

Nero was followed in third by Yailen Garcia of Cuba and Celine Lestrade of T&T in fourth.

Meanwhile organisers of the uwi half marathon remembered veteran runner Charles Spooner by presenting a painting of the runner to his family. Spooner who died earlier this year at the age of 91, was a regular participant in the race who in fact took part of every race except this one. 

At the event yesterday was Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon, UWI principal Professor Clement Sankat and other dignitaries. 

  ​WALTER ALIBEY 

If you want a rainbow you have got to put up with the rain. However, the cricketers from West Indies and Sri Lanka were not in search of a rainbow but a Test match win and they would have left disappointed at the end of the fourth day of the second and final Test of the Sobers/Tissera series at the P Sara Oval, as play was completely washed out.

When the team buses pulled into the Oval on a cloudy Sunday morning the equation was simple—West Indies needed 224 runs to win the Test and Sri Lanka needed to capture nine wickets before they reached there.

Batting first, the Sri Lankans were bowled out for 200 and the West Indies stuttered in their reply to close at 163 all out. 

Armed with a lead of 37 runs on first innings, the home team made 206 all out in their second turn, leaving the West Indies to get 244 to square the Test series 1-1. They ended play just after lunch on the third day at 20/1 and were hoping to get on the park yesterday but it was never to be. 

The rain did not fall hard at all but there was a constant drizzle throughout the day that made sure the entire ground kept covered. The umpires had three inspections and finally called off play at 3 pm, when it was obvious that the drizzle would not stop to allow the cricket.

In Sri Lanka it is customary that they cover the entire field, but the constant drizzle and the length of time the covers were kept on led to sweating underneath and this was also a factor in calling off the play.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) cricket operations manager Carlton Bernadus explained to Guardian Media, that they normally employ 150 men to pull covers during a Test match. “It is costly when you think that you have to employ 150 men for five days but we are about making sure we get as much cricket as possible.” Even that strategy could not work yesterday as the drizzle never let up.

The men manning the covers were mostly indoors for the entire day and would not have had to do much for their US$10 a day salary yesterday.

Left-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler Darren Michael Bravo has been named the International Cricketer of the Year by the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) at Saturday’s 59th Annual Awards presentation held at the National Energy Skills Centre in Couva.

Bravo who occasionally took the field as a wicket keeper, was not present to accept the award, citing his duties with the West Indies at the Sober/Tissera Test series at the P Sara Oval in Colombo.

The 26-year-old Queen’s Park Cricket Club standout got the nod from the TTCB executive for the top honour, which his Red Force teammate Yannic Cariah proudly accepted from Sports Minister Darryl Smith.

Meanwhile, right-handed batsman Imran Khan of Alescon Comets emerged as the National Senior Cricketer of the Year, while Felicia Walters of Preysal Phoenix received the Delores Thomas Trophy being the T&T Women’s Cricket Association’s (T&TWCA) choice for Player of the Year 2015.

Khan, 31, who has enjoyed pride of place on the T&T team, the West Indies A team and the Barbados Trident respectively, was among five athletes short-listed for the award. The other contenders were: Jason Mohammed, Yannic Cariah, Kjorn Ottley and Marlon Richards.

But that was not the only major award for Khan on the night. He was also named the T20 Cricketer of the Year. It was a similar scenario when Walters was called to receive the Delores Thomas Trophy for Players of the Year. Britney Cooper, Lee Ann Kirby, Stacy Ann King and Karishma Ramharack were also nominees for this prize.

But it was the 769 runs which Walters put on the score board and the 25 wickets she took for the season under review that gave her the edge.

The night of honours continued with former sports minister Manohar Ramasarran being named the TTCB president’s choice for Administrator of the Year, while Joycelyn Francois-Opadeyi, president of the T&TWCA was bestowed with the President’s Award.

But as vital as it was for athletes to perform at their best, the TTCB executives wanted to ensure that top cricketers were associated with being even better citizens.

To achieve this, the national governing body did not allow the academic success of top young cricketers to go unnoticed.

That’s when Red Force U-19 captain and national scholarship winner Varindra Jagrup was called to the stage to receive his honour, alongside fellow academic achievers Arti Ramroop and Sajay Bidhesi.

The programme continued with the Most Disciplined Player Award going to Alia Joseph of Moosai Ladies. Meanwhile, Shania Augustus of Preysal Achievers could take pride in the fact that her commitment to the sport did not go unnoticed which as a consequence earned her the award as the Most Promising Player. The Most Improved Player was Karishma Ramharack of Moosai Ladies.

The role of the media in the coverage of and publishing of match reports, as well as other matters inimical to cricket did not escape the attention of the awards committee.

At the weekend presentation T&T Guardian sport reporters Vinode Mamcham and Jelani Beckles were honoured for their contribution to the growth as the sport in the print media, while Vinode Narwani of CCN TV6 was praised for his reporting in the electronic media.

The Honour Roll

International Player 

of the Year:

Darren Bravo

Club of the Year–Premiership:

Queen’s Park Cricket Club

TTCB President’s Award:

Joycelyn Francois-Opadeyi

Administrator of the Year:

Manohar Ramsarran

National Cricketer of the Year (Male)

Imran Khan

T&T Women’s Cricketer Association Cricketer of the Year:

Felicia Walters

National Youth Cricketer:

Cephas Cooper

Youth Spinner of the Year:

Varindra Jagrup

Media Awards:

Vinode Mancham–T&T Guardian Newspaper

Vinod Narwani–CCN TV6)

Media Appreciation Award:

Jelani Beckles –T&T Guardian Newspaper

Youth Excellence in Academics Awards:

Arti Ramroop

Varindra Jagrup

Sajay Bidhesi

Secondary Schools Cricketer of the Year:

Jameel Maniram (Male)

Shania Abdool (Female)

Primary Schools Cricketer of the Year:

Kyle Kissoondath (Male)

Kelcia Ramchandar (Female)

T20 Festival Cricketer of the Year:

Imran Khan

Premiership 2: 50 Over Cricketer of the Year

Travis Blyden

Premiership 1: 50 Over Cricketer of the Year

Lincoln Roberts

Cricketer of the 

Year–First Team

Evin Lewis

Cricketer of the Year–Reserve Team

Amando Patterson

Most Disciplined Player:

Alia Joseph (Moosai Ladies)

Most Promising Player:

Shania Augustus (Preysal Achievers)

Most Improved Player:

Karishma Ramharack (Moosai Ladies)​

The International School of Port of Spain and Bishop’s Anstey High School set the tone on opening day of the School Girls’ Rugby League 2015 season on Saturday afternoon with impressive victories.

In the first match of three the International School (ISPS) inflicted a crushing 43-0 defeat on Tranquility Government Secondary with Kimberly Shen taking up a leading role for the Westmooring girls by scoring four tries and certainly impressing each time she went over the line. 

Sara Low provided sterling support to Shen, contributing two tries of her own and no less than four conversions while Katy Marek also took the ball over once as the ISPS ladies showed their prowess.

In the day’s third fixture, a seasoned Bishop’s Anstey shut-out over new comers Corpus Christi College 32-0. Imanuel Francis was very explosive for the ladies from Keate Street, scoring four tries and one conversion in the win. Further tries were scored by Babirye Oura and Jah-Mara George each crossing the goal line once.

Earlier, St James Secondary and Providence produced the lowest scoring match of the afternoon with the girls out of Belmont defeating their opponents from the city that never sleeps 15-nil. Danielle De Gannes, Shavnee Richards and Keanna Allen scored once each to lead Providence on that victory.

WALTER ALIBEY 

National cricketer Lendl Simmons has been ordered to pay his former lover $150,000 in compensation for disseminating a series of photographs of them engaged in sexual act.

Delivering a landmark ruling in the Port-of-Spain High Court Justice Frank Seepersad ruled that Simmons had breached the confidentiality of his relationship with 24-year-old mother of two, Therese Ho, by sending the photos to her friends after their relationship ended in 2013.

While Seepersad admitted that local laws had not developed to address issue of revenge porn, the court had a duty to develop and interpret existing laws to protect citizens such as Ho from the pain and suffering which resulted from the unregulated practice popularised with the increased use of social media.

He also called upon Parliament to seriously consider introducing legislation to address the issue and other forms of cyber harassment including racism in online posts, examples of which followed the general election last month.

In addition to the compensation, Simmons was also ordered delete the photographs and to refrain from further disseminating them. Seepersad also ordered that copies of the photos used during the case be immediately destroyed.

The man, who became a social media pariah, after footage of him allegedly striking a toddler and force feeding her a bottle of baby milk became a viral video, has been granted bail of $150,000 by a Tunapuna magistrate. 

Dexter Gobin was granted $150,000 bail after he appeared before magistrate Gillian David-Scotland charged with abusing a child on October 17 and 20. 

His wife Yanique Taylor-Gobin, a Jamaican national, was denied bail since she has overstayed her time in the country and a detention order was taken out against her. They were arrested in San Fernando last week.

The couple is accused of allegedly beaten a child at their Rafferty Street, St Joseph, Maracas home earlier this month.  The couple will reappear on November 16.

As part of his bail conditions, Gobin was ordered to report to the St Joseph Police Station on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and to remain 100 metres from the child. 

Shortly after the matter ended Gobin, a diabetic, was taken by police to the Macoya Health Facility for medical treatment for his illness.

In this claim the parties were engaged in a sexual relationship and during the course of same several photographs were taken by them, some of these photographs depicted the Claimant nude and two of the photographs depicted her engaged in fellatio with the Defendant (the photos).  After their relationship ended some of the photos were allegedly shown to other persons and as a result the Claimant instituted the instant action and sought the following reliefs:

1. An Injunction restraining and/or prohibiting the Defendant whether by himself, his servants and/or agents or otherwise howsoever from disseminating and/or disclosing and/or using those confidential nude photographs of the Claimant which the Defendant has in his possession.
2. An Injunction restraining and/or prohibiting the Defendant whether by himself, his servants and/or agents from disseminating/disclosing/posting/uploading/publishing and/or causing to be further published/posted/uploaded/disseminated/ disclosed the said confidential nude photographs and/or any further material and/or any other photographs and/or videos of the Claimant whether by the internet/telephone/social media or howsoever otherwise which impeded with the Claimant’s private information and/or breach of her confidence.

An order that the Defendant do deliver up and/or destroy/discard all the photographs and other materials he possesses of the Claimant.

Damages for breach of confidence.

Aggravated Damages

An order that the attached nude photographs of the Claimant be destroyed by the Registrar.

Costs

Interest

Such further or other relief as the Honourable Court may think just in the circumstances.
 

At the trial, the parties were the only witnesses and their evidence is summarised as follows:
 
The Claimant’s case

The Claimant is a 24 year old mother of two and she stated that she had a dating relationship with the Defendant which commenced in March, 2013.  At paragraph 8 of her witness statement she testified that she took nude photos of herself and sent same via WhatsApp to the Defendant’s phone for his private use when he was out of the country.  She testified that she was aware that the Defendant was living with ‘Kabrina’ who was the mother of his daughter but she said the Defendant told her that it was just an arrangement of convenience.  During the course of her involvement with the Defendant, the Claimant said that she took pictures of her engaged in fellatio with him.  Eventually, she stated that she had concerns over the future of their relationship and ended it.  Her evidence was that after the relationship ended she felt obligated on a moral level to inform Kabrina of her relations with the Defendant. This disclosure, she said, was met by a violent reaction from the Defendant and she asserted that the Defendant then distributed the photos to several persons close to her including the father of her youngest daughter (Kasi), her friends, as well as to some of his own friends. The purpose of this disclosure she says was to embarrass and shame her. 
 

Annexed to her witness statement were a series of screen shots of messaged conversations that she says she had with the Defendant via their respective cell phones over WhatsApp and Viber as well as screen shots of messaged conversations between the Defendant and two of her friends, Danielle and Amanda (collectively called ‘the messages’).  The messages formed part of her unagreed bundle of documents and they were incorporated into her witness statement. The Claimant’s evidence was that notwithstanding attempts by her and her friends to plead with the Defendant for him not to distribute the photos, the Defendant was intent on destroying her and did so by distributing them.  As a consequence she was subjected to public ridicule and embarrassment and she suffered from suicidal thoughts and became frustrated as she had to live in shame.
 

The Claimant also testified that as a further consequence of the distribution of the photos she was also reassigned duties at work.  During the course of her cross examination the authenticity of the messages which formed part of her evidence was not challenged.  The Claimant was also not challenged in relation to the effect, which she said, the distribution of the photos had on her.
 
The Court found that she was an impressive witness.  Her responses in cross examination were consistent with her evidence in chief and were very direct.  The Claimant therefore engendered in the Court, an unshakable feeling that she was a witness of truth.

 
The Defendant’s case

The Defendant did not dispute that he had sexual relations with the Claimant but he denied that they were “in a relationship”.  He said that at all times they were both involved with other persons, he with Kabrina and she with Kasi. He stated that he sent some of the photos to Kasi but that this was done only after the Claimant had shown some of the photos to Kabrina.
 

At paragraph 4 of his witness statement the Defendant said that two of the photos which depicted the act of fellatio were taken at the Claimant’s request.  The thrust of his defence was that it was the Claimant who breached any confidentiality that existed in relation to the photos when she showed them to Kabrina and he said she did this as she wanted to disrupt his family life because he had ended the sexual relations that they enjoyed.
 

In cross examination, the Defendant said that he took the photos depicting the act of fellatio because he did not trust the Claimant and wanted to hold it over her head.  This response was in direct contradiction to what he stated at paragraph 4 of his witness statement. He accepted that messages were in fact sent and exchanged between himself, the Claimant and her friends Danielle and Amanda and that the screen shots that were exhibited were accurately reflected.  The Court noted that in the various messages, the Defendant never asserted that the Claimant had shown the photos to Kabrina, in fact he accused her of having spoken to Kabrina.

The Court was not impressed with this witness, his responses were not direct and there were substantial contradictions between his evidence in chief and his responses in cross examination. 

The pleaded case before the Court was founded upon the common law concept of breach of confidence and the Court had to consider whether this concept could be applied to the instant facts.  

The Law
           
Breach of confidence

According to Gurry on Breach of Confidence: ‘The Protection of Confidential Information’ 2^nd Edition (p. 107-108), the court exercises an equitable jurisdiction in restraining a breach of confidence independent of any right at law.  This independent equitable jurisdiction, enables the court to grant relief in three scenarios with respect to confidential information where no remedy would normally be available at law.
Firstly, where the parties to a confidential disclosure are not in a contractual relationship, equity provides the only basis for the court’s intervention.

Secondly, where a third party receives confidential information from a confidant in breach of the confidant’s obligation of confidence, equity will restrain the third party from misusing that information.  Thirdly, equity may restrain persons who have acquired confidential information in the absence of a confidential relationship. This applies to strangers who surreptitiously acquire information or who have actual or constructive knowledge that the information which has come into their possession is confidential.  

For a claim of breach of confidence to succeed, the traditional requirements, as outlined by Lord Greene MR in Saltman Engineering Co. Ltd .v. Campbell Engineering Co Ltd (1948) 65 RPC 203 and Megarry J in Coco .v. AN Clarke (Engineers) Ltd [1969] RPC41, are as follows:

The information must have had the necessary quality of confidence, that is, it must not be something which is public property and public knowledge. 

There must have been an obligation of confidence in the circumstances under which the information was imparted.

There must have been an unauthorised use of that information by the party communicating it to the detriment of the confider. 

In Morison .v. Moat 68 ER 492, the Court stated that if a Defendant is proved to have used confidential information, directly or indirectly obtained from a plaintiff, without the consent, express or implied of the plaintiff, he will be guilty of an infringement of the plaintiff’s rights.  

In the case of Campbell .v. MGN [2004] 2AC457, Lord Nicholls described breach of confidence, in so far as it protects confidential (as opposed to private) information, as an equitable principle and Lord Walker in his dissenting speech observed that, ‘where there is no contractual tie the cause of action is the equitable jurisdiction to restrain…breach of confidence’. 

Traditionally a duty of confidence will be imposed where confidential information is imparted in circumstances where the confidant either has notice (actual knowledge not being essential) that the information is confidential, or has agreed that such information is confidential, such as where there is either an expressed or implied term in a contract. In such a situation, the duty of confidence arises out of the nature of the relationship between the confidant and the person to whom the information relates and the confidant should not take an unfair advantage of such information, either through use by himself or through disclosure of third party.  

Where however there is no obvious relationship between the parties, an independent duty of confidence will arise in equity, where the confidential information is divulged to a third party by the person confided in, or a confidant, or even where a third party has come across the information either by surreptitious means or innocently.  

The circumstances are subjected to the reasonable man test, i.e whether a reasonable man standing in the shoes of the recipient of the information would have realised that upon reasonable grounds the information was being given to him in confidence.   

Lord Hoffman commented obiter  in the case of Campbell .v. Mirror Group Newspapers Limited [2004] 2 AC 457 (HL) at paragraph 51

Instead of the cause of action being based upon the duty of good faith applicable to confidential personal information and trade secrets alike, it focuses upon the protection of human autonomy and dignity—the right to control the dissemination of information about one's private life and the right to the esteem and respect of other people”.  

The Courts have recognized that information, disseminated between individuals who fall within the following categories of personal relations, may attract the cover of confidentiality.

1. Husband and wife: In Duchess of Argyll v. Duke of Argyll (1967) 1 Ch 302 it was established that although not all information communicated within a marital relationship attracts equity’s protection, equity will be concerned with information relating to the private life, personal affairs or private conduct communicated between spouses in confidence and in a circumstance the said information is not already in the public domain.

1. As between unmarried sexual partners:  Established in Stephens v. Avery (1988) Ch 449 at paragraph 454.

It appears that the common law concept of breach of confidence has never been applied in this jurisdiction to deal with a circumstance where intimate photographs taken in private have been distributed without the consent of the other party.  

The Australian case of Giller .v. Procopets [2004] VSC 113 bears some factual similarity with the case before this Court.  In that matter the Defendant who had previously been in a defacto relationship with the Claimant, surreptitiously took video recordings of their sexual activities together and showed these videotapes to relatives and close friends of the Claimant. The Claimant sought damages for, inter alia, breach of confidence and or invasion of privacy. With regard to the claim for invasion of privacy, Gillard J at first instance held that the law in Australia had not developed to a point where a right of privacy existed. With regards to the claim of breach of confidence, his honour found that there was a confidential relationship between the parties, which had been breached by the Defendant’s behaviour in showing the video tapes to third parties. However he held that the claimant could not recover damages for mental distress. On appeal, the Court of Appeal also refused to recognise the tort of privacy, but awarded damages for mental distress caused by the breach of confidence.  

Similarly in the case of Wilson v. Ferguson (2015) WASC 15 the Supreme Court of Western Australia held that pictures taken and sent using mobile phones were of  the necessary quality of confidence that there was a breach when the Defendant posted the images on his facebook page.  According to Mitchell J. at paragraph 66  
“intimate photographs and videos taken in private and shared between two lovers would ordinarily bear a confidential character and be implicitly provided on condition that they not be shown to any third party”

In Stephens v Avery (supra), Sir Nicholas Browne-Wilkinson V.-C. was dealing with an application to strike out a statement of claim based upon a claim for breach of confidence.  The information related to sexual conduct of a lesbian nature between the plaintiff and another and she revealed the details to a person who in turn disclosed them to the press. It was submitted that sexual conduct, whether it be heterosexual or homosexual, lacks the quality of confidentiality because by taking part in the sexual activity both sexual parties know what has happened and accordingly neither can claim the information is confidential. In dealing with the argument His Lordship said -

"In my judgment this submission is wholly misconceived. It is based on the premise that as between unmarried sexual partners there is no duty of confidentiality. Therefore, both parties are free to discuss the matter with the whole world. I will assume that submission to be correct but without expressing any view on its correctness in law. Even on that assumption, the fact that the other partner to a sexual relationship may disclose what has happened does not mean that he or she has done so. To both people the details of their sexual lives are high on their list of those matters which they regard as confidential. The mere fact that two people know a secret does not mean that it is not confidential. If in fact information is secret, then in my judgment is capable of being kept secret by the imposition of the duty of confidence on any person to whom it is communicated. Information only ceases to be capable of protection as confidential when it is in fact known to a substantial number of people."
His Lordship concluded -
"In principle, therefore, I can see no reason why information relating to that most private sector of everybody's life, namely sexual conduct cannot be the subject matter of a legally enforceable duty of confidentiality."

While it may appear that an individual’s sexual exploits should be afforded some protection on account of privacy, the law in this jurisdiction has however not developed so as to recognize any such right.  
Right to Privacy

In Wainwright .v. Home Office [2004] 2 AC406 the House of Lords held that there was no English domestic law tort of invasion of privacy and the English court has not recognised a cause of action based upon personal privacy.  

Gilbert Kodilinye in: Commonwealth Caribbean Tort Law 5^th Edition at chapter 16 entitled: “The Developing Tort of Misuse of Private Information” at p.453-454 noted, that “the traditional  elements of the law of confidence have been used as a springboard for the development of what is now termed the tort of misuse of private information, which may cover circumstances or situations not covered by the law of confidence, since it is more closely aligned with the right to private life found under Article 8 of the ECHR and under constitutional fundamental law principles. In satisfying the test for a successful claim in the tort of misuse of private information, the question is whether a claimant has a reasonable expectation of privacy concerning the information disclosed or about to be disclosed.”  

 According to Kodilinye, there is no developed jurisdiction of the tort of misuse of private information in the Caribbean.  He noted that while the fundamental provisions of some constitutions allow for some measure of constitutional protection of privacy, this remedy is only available in actions against the state and are not available against private citizens.  

 In this jurisdiction therefore no action can be founded based on the failure to respect the privacy of a person. Given the rapid pace with which the face and fabric of the society has changed and cognizant of the infinite reach of social media, it cannot be denied that the privacy of the person is under attack and there is dire need for the enactment of statute to afford protection for citizen’s personal privacy. 

It must also be recognized that while the Courts in the United Kingdom are now obligated to apply the law in relation to breach of confidence in a manner that is consistent with that Nation’s obligations under the Human Rights Act 1988 and its obligations under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,  no such obligation exists in this jurisdiction. 

The instant case reinforces this Court’s belief that it cannot confine itself to a myopic view of the law and in the absence of legislative protection, the common law concept of Breach of Confidence has to be moulded so as to address modern societal demands.  The law has to be dynamic and has to develop in such a way to ensure that it remains relevant and it must be recognised that there is an obligation of conscience which requires that videos, photographs and/or recordings that capture private intimate relations, should be clothed with a quality of confidentiality. 

There can be no circumstance that is more private and confidential than where parties are engaged in consensual sexual activity in private.  In such a scenario it is unlikely to expect that there would be an express agreement by the parties that their liaisons would be confidential but in such a circumstance an obligation of confidentiality can and must be implied.  Consequently, all photographs and recordings which capture sexual practices conducted in private should only be disseminated where the express consent of all the parties involved has been obtained.  This Court is of the view that the position adopted in Giller v. Procopets (supra) should be followed in this jurisdiction and this Court finds that the photos in this case are covered with a cloak of confidentiality and that a confidential relationship existed between the parties.  The distribution of sexually explicit images including the uploading of such material unto the internet, without the consent of the depicted subject cannot be condoned in civilised society.  The possession and dissemination of such sexually explicit material can be used as a tool of blackmail, intimidation and/or revenge and this can result in the infliction of hurt, pain and damage to the depicted subject.  On the facts before the Court there was a breach of confidentiality when the photos were distributed, but the issue to be determined is ‘who was first responsible for the breach of confidentiality by their unauthorised distribution of the photos?’ 

The Defendant’s evidence that the Claimant was the one who first distributed the photos is rejected by this Court for the following reasons:  

1. Firstly the messages do not support this assertion.  In the course of the various conversations, the Defendant never accused the Claimant of the distribution of any of the photos.  In fact, the messages reveal that pleas were advanced by the Claimant and her friends beseeching the Defendant not to distribute any of the photos.

1. Secondly, the Defendant is now married to Kabrina but she was not called as a witness, though she is resident in this jurisdiction and she is not ill.  Kabrina’s evidence could have assisted the Court in its resolution of this issue as the Defendant contended, that the Claimant showed the photos to her before he showed them to Kasi.

1. Thirdly, the Court found the Claimant’s version of events was more plausible and probable than the position postured by the Defendant.

The Defendant admitted that he sent photos to Kasi and it is clear on the evidence that that he had no authorization from the Claimant to do so. The messages in evidence strongly suggest that the Defendant may have also shown or sent the photographs to other persons in addition to Kasi.  The Court found as a fact that it was the Defendant who first breached the confidentiality by distributing/sending the photographs to Kasi without obtaining the Claimant’s consent.  The Court also found as a fact that the Defendant’s actions were motivated by a desire to cause the Claimant upset, embarrassment and distress.  In the circumstances therefore the Claimant is entitled to relief. 

It is unfortunate that as a society we have not been proactive and that we are burdened with so many archaic laws that predate our independence.  The impact of social media and its consequent effect on our individual and collective privacy has to be acknowledged and addressed.  There is a tendency for persons to hide behind the perceived anonymity that comes from using a ‘username’ and/or a user profile while sitting behind a computer screen or when using a hand held device to engage in offensive, hurtful, divisive and destructive discourse.   These persons may feel that they are empowered but their actions can infringe upon the rights of others with the aggrieved persons having no recourse. 

Online conversations and the dissemination of information over the internet initiate an open ended forum. The internet is a comprehensive and cohesive data base and there is really no anonymity in relation to the use of same.  Photographs uploaded unto the internet can be retrieved forever.  The impact upon an individual’s privacy is tremendous and the absence of clear and cohesive legislation to protect our citizens’ privacy and to punish those who violate the rights of others, can cause us to descend into a bottomless pit of anarchy.  The use of obscene language in a public place is an offence, yet, online comments to newspaper articles and messages posted on social media are very often foul, racist and despicable but no criminal charges are preferred since evidential challenges arise in relation to the authorship of the offending material.  A similar challenge exists in relation to the posting of online defamatory statements.  Deeming legislative provisions that create a rebuttable presumption of ownership and responsibility for material posted on one’s social media page, facebook account or from an individual’s email address should therefore be considered.  The time for legislative intervention is long overdue. 

Having found that there was a breach of confidentiality and that the Claimant is entitled to relief the Court must now address its mind as to the nature of the relief that should be afforded to the Claimant  

Reliefs available to the Claimant

The Court in its inherent jurisdiction can grant relief and award equitable compensation in addition to injunctive relief.  The courts in New Zealand and Australia have with regularity treated equitable compensation as the basis of any award for breach of confidence.  In this case there is no evidence of actual financial loss or of physical injury, however in her evidence the Claimant said that she suffered emotional and mental distress and that she was subjected to public ridicule.  Her evidence, on these matters was not challenged.  

In Cornelius v. De Taranto (2001) EMLR 12 at pages 66-67 and 69, Morland J said: ...[I]t would be a hollow protection of [the right to protection of confidential information] if in a particular case in breach of confidence without consent details of the confider's private and family life were disclosed by the confidant to others and the only remedy that the law of England allowed was nominal damages. In this case an injunction or order for delivery up of all copies of the medico-legal report against the defendant will be of little use to the claimant. The damage has been done. ... In cases of commercial or business breach of confidence the powers of the court are not barren. Such remedies as injunction, delivery-up, account of profits and damages may be available... similarly in the case of personal confidences exploited for profit or peddled to the media. ... In the present case in my judgment recovery of damages for mental distress caused by breach of confidence, when no other substantial remedy is available, would not be inimical to considerations of policy but indeed to refuse such recovery would illustrate that something was wrong with the law.  

This Court endorses and adopts the aforementioned view by Morland J. as well as the position adopted by the Appeal Court in Giller v. Procopets (supra). Equitable jurisprudence must be characterised by a measure of remedial flexibility.  In Giller v. Procopets (supra), the appellate court found that monetary compensation for emotional distress could be awarded both in the exercise of the Court’s equitable jurisdiction and under the Victorian version of Lord Cairns’ Act which was cast in materially similar terms to s25(10) of the Supreme Court Act 1935 (WA).  While there is no equivalent of the Lord Cairn’s Act in this jurisdiction, the reasoning which was based on the inherent equitable jurisdiction to award compensation for breach of an equitable obligation can be followed. 

The position postulated in Giller v. Procopets is consistent with the way in which the law has developed in the United Kingdom, albeit under the influence of the Human Rights Act 1998 (UK) and jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. 

Even as at late 1996 when Giller v. Procopets was decided, it would have been difficult to predict the dramatic effect that the internet and social media now has on the global community.  This pervasiveness is reflected in the way the Claimant and Defendant herein communicated with each other, often by electronic communication.  While it may be difficult for some to comprehend, it appears that it is not uncommon for couples in a sexual relationship to share intimate images with each other using their mobile phones during their relationship.  This practice has introduced a relatively new verb- ‘sexting’ – to the English language and the dissemination of graphic sexual material after relations end has been coined as ‘Revenge Porn”. 

Technological advances have dramatically increased the ease and speed with which such communication and/or sexually graphic images can be disseminated to the world and the process of capturing and disseminating an image to a broad audience can now take place over a matter of seconds by a few finger swipes. 
 

The prudence of this contemporary practice of sharing intimate material which often involves sexual images, by electronic means should be weighed against the damage, distress and embarrassment which the broader dissemination of such material can cause.  This reality must therefore inform the way in which equity responds to a breach of the obligation of confidence and has to be considered when determining the relief that should be awarded in response to a breach of that obligation.   

There is a disturbing trend to immortalise almost every facet of daily life by taking photographs and uploading them unto social media sites.  Such activity should also be cautiously reviewed, since the material that is posted may cause a serious compromise to the subject’s personal security as profilers and deviants can predict movements and patterns of behaviours. 

 The behaviour of the Defendant cannot be condoned and demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the feelings, emotion and dignity of the Claimant with whom he shared sexual relations. The Court was alarmed by the manner in which the Defendant viewed the Claimant as an object and his statement as contained in the messages that “she was just a ‘f--k’ ” is unacceptable.  The treatment of women as mere objects of pleasure is offensive, derogatory, antiquated, has no place in a civilised society and is indicative of the general lack of respect. 

In this society women are often treated as second class citizens and as being inferior to their male counterparts but the reality is that they are excelling in all facets of national life and they are achieving greater academic success than many of their male counterparts.  It is rather unfortunate that a young and talented cricketer like the Defendant behaved in such a manner.  Upon the shoulders of those who hold positions of power, prestige and publicity there rests an onerous responsibility to adhere to the highest standards of moral and civilised conduct especially since the nation’s children look towards them to set the standard of acceptable conduct.  As a society we have to undertake a critical review, reprioritise and refocus. The objectification of women continues to be viewed as being culturally acceptable as is evident in our soca and chutney music.  We must ask ourselves the question, “how are we to build a developed nation when we encourage and celebrate disrespect?”  Respect for individuals regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, for the law and for authority, must define the way we live and interact with each other. 

On the evidence, the Court is convinced that the Defendant wanted to inflict mental and emotional harm to the Claimant.  He felt that she had jeopardised his relationship with Kabrina and the familiar say ‘Hell hath no fury as a woman’s scorn” has to be adjusted in this case, as the evidence suggests that “Hell hath no fury as the Defendant’s scorn.”  The Claimant chose to engage in an unconventional relationship with the Defendant.  The same moral obligation that she said caused her to inform Kabrina of her relations with the Defendant when their relationship ended, should have caused her to avoid the relationship with the Defendant in the first place.  Individuals must take responsibility for their actions and they are charged with the primary responsibility of safe guarding themselves.  

Under the common law, aggravated damages can also be awarded to compensate a litigant when the harm occasioned by the wrongful act has been aggravated by the manner in which the act was done. There is on the facts of this case a distinct element of aggravation and the Defendant demonstrated a clear and unshakable determination to make the Claimant pay and to expose her in the literal sense of the word.  The Defendant’s conduct was unacceptable and the Court found as a fact that significant distress and embarrassment was inflicted upon the Claimant.  This Court is of the view that the breach of confidence was occasioned with the deliberate intent of causing embarrassment, distress and humiliation to the Claimant and it is therefore necessary to include in the award of compensation an appropriate quantum for aggravation.  

In Giller (supra) the Court of Appeal awarded the sum of $40,000.00 including the sum of $10,000.00 in aggravated damages.  This Court is of the opinion that the sum of $150,000.00 should be awarded as compensation to the Claimant and this said sum is inclusive of the sum of $60,000.00 which is awarded on account of aggravated damages.  

In the circumstances the order of the Court is as follows:  

The Defendant is to pay to the Claimant the sum of $150,000.00 inclusive of an award for aggravated damages.  

A perpetual injunction is hereby issued so as to restrain and/or prohibit the Defendant his servants and/or agents from disseminating, uploading, posting and/or publishing nude and/or sexually explicit photographs of the Claimant and/or photographs that depict her performing the act of fellatio whether by way of the internet, cellular phone or any other form of social media or by any other means whatsoever.  

It is hereby ordered that all the photographs exhibited in this matter should be place in a sealed envelope until the time limited for the filing of an appeal, upon expiration of same, if no appeal has been filed, the photographs are to be destroyed by the Registrar.  If an appeal is filed the photographs shall remain sealed until any further order is issued by the appellate court.  

The Defendant is to pay to the Claimant costs calculated on a prescribed cost basis.   

There shall be a stay of execution of the payment of the awarded sum of $150,000.00 and the costs awarded of 14 days.  

 
FRANK SEEPERSAD
 
 

I remember well the shock and awe I felt when I first heard a Professor of Immunology say at a lecture up at UWI one evening many years ago, that babies should be immediately given to their mothers as they come out of the womb and that they should be put to the breast ASAP. 

Shock, because these were the days when newborn babies were whisked off by a nurse to be dried and cleaned and weighed and measured and stuck with needles to check their sugar levels or their red blood cell levels or their jaundice levels and then had their little stomachs filled with two ounces of cow’s milk formula and after some hours, if you were lucky, your little white-washed babykins might be returned to you with the admonishment to not let the baby roll off the bed. 

Shock also because this was a professor of immunology and what the hell did he know about babies to the point where he was giving advice about them. 

But as he continued to explain his point, I felt a sense of awe, and respect too. In medicine, the less you do, the better. That’s because of the distress caused by trying to do too much: unnecessary operations for abdominal pain; infected injection sites from unnecessary injections; allergic reactions from unnecessary antibiotics and psychologically damaging reactions like the “vulnerable child syndrome” after minor illness made prominent in the minds of parents by self serving physicians out to “big up” themselves. 

The child in utero lives in a sterile environment. There are no germs (bacteria, viruses etc) inside the womb (although recent studies suggest that the placenta does have its own bacteria). She is protected from infection as long as the mother does not suffer an infection that can invade the child, usually through their common blood that courses through their joined up arteries and veins. 

The first contact that that baby has with germs comes as she is born through the mother’s birth canal, as her skin comes in contact with the mother’s vaginal passage. 

This is good because you want the baby’s skin to get colonised by the mother’s germs! 

Because the mother has immunity to the germs that live on her skin, or inside her, like inside her vagina or trachea or intestine etc. 

This immunity has already been passed on to the baby in utero through the common link in their blood. It is there at birth.

The second contact is with the environment inside the room where the birth takes place, nowadays, usually a hospital. This is potentially bad. The worst sort of germs are found inside a hospital and nursing homes too. (Bacteria and viruses do not respect money). 

The baby will not have any defence against these potentially deadly bacteria because the mother is unlikely to have any immunity against them. Moreover, the baby’s immune system does not begin to function well, does not begin to produce those substances that we call under the broad name, immunity, until the second half of the first year. Young babies are at high risk of developing an infectious disease during this period. Where do the germs come from inside a hospital room? From everywhere! We do not know this, we are not taught this in school, they teach us a lot of nonsense and little of practical value, but we humans live in an amorphous broth of germs. 

Germs are in the air around us, on the walls and ceilings of rooms, on desks, chairs, bottles, cups, newspapers, toilet paper, money, computer screens, toys, cell phones, bannisters and door knobs. 

They are there particularly on our skin, in and on our nose, eye, ears, mouths, saliva, penis, secretions, toes, hands, especially hands and finger nails, and they are there in their trillions. 

We constantly and unknowingly interact with them and the reason we do not get sick is because, one, most germs are harmless and indeed quietly and unobtrusively help us to live, and two, because we humans have wonderful defences that are constantly attacking and destroying certain harmful bacteria or viruses or parasites etc. 

Newborn babies cannot do that well until they are about six months old. So as soon as that baby comes out and, if she is lucky enough to have had a vaginal birth where the initial seeding of the skin and the nasal and oral cavities began, it is crucial to hand the baby to the mother or father for them to touch and kiss and breathe upon, so that the child’s inner organs become colonised with their parents’ germs.

But you may say, what happens to the defences that the mother handed on to the baby in utero? How long do those substances last in the baby’s blood stream and protect the baby until her defence mechanisms kick in? They actually last only a couple of months. So what happens? Well, that’s where the mother’s milk comes in. 

Breastmilk contains those exact same substances that protect babies from infection, the exact same antibodies and chemicals and white blood cells that protect the mother from germs. The entire process of going from the womb to the breast has been very cleverly worked to ensure our survival as a species. 

And that’s the immunological argument and why doctors now recommend that babies are given to their parents to hold and breastfeed from the time they are born until they are about six months old and for longer if possible. The professor of immunology knew his paediatrics.

Message from His Excellency President Anthony Carmona on the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-moon delineated the role and purpose of the United Nations when he succinctly stated, “The United Nations works for the entire human family of seven billion people, and cares for the earth, our one and only home.” The United Nations family this year celebrates 70 years of this relentless commitment to the progressive development of Mother Earth and its inhabitants. 

For 70 years, the United Nations has been the embodiment of hope and has stood as an indomitable pillar in this global village of ours, fostering international peace and security, promoting sustainable development, protecting human rights, upholding international law, delivering humanitarian aid and fighting climate change. It will do us well to have regard to the genesis of the United Nations. “In 1945 nations were in ruins. World War II was over and the world wanted peace.” Out of this maelstrom, the United Nations was born as a beacon of hope for healing among nations.

Today, the United Nations represents more than a healer of post-war wounds and wounded relations among Member States. The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have since paved the way for the present 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) mandated by the United Nations on 25 September 2015 to its Member States. These goals are critical and strategic targets set by the UN to assist countries to developed nation status girthed with social and human imperatives. The citizenry of the world must always engage these 17 Developmental Goals as the benchmark for true national, regional and international development.

Our community of nations has been a better, more secure and structured unit because the United Nations exists, not as a philosophical ideal, but as a functioning conduit of dialogue, negotiations and disaster relief among nations. 

Amidst it all, the United Nations has been in the vanguard of securing world peace in a world burdened by strife and conflict. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon further stated, “The world is over-armed and peace is underfunded.” Through their peacekeepers, the United Nations has made great strides, against seemingly insurmountable odds, in protecting the weak, the marginalised and the displaced from the ravages of nepotism, dictatorship and poor governance. Its mighty efforts in the sphere of world peace have not gone unnoticed. For example, in 1954 and 1981, the Office of the UN High Commissioners for Refugees was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, as was the UN Peacekeeping Forces in 1988. In 2001, the United Nations, as the umbrella organisation, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together with Kofi Annan “for their work for a better, more organised and peaceful world”.

The UN’s presence in T&T since 1962 has taken the form of numerous developmental programmes in the areas of health, economic empowerment, security aid, disability and gender rights, poverty eradication, environmental management and disaster risk reduction. T&T shall continue to work and partner with the United Nations in its internal affairs and in realising the principles, aims and objectives of the UN, and as well, in lending aid to fellow Member Nations when required. We, as a Nation, must feel proud that our great son, the late President ANR Robinson, has indelibly left the mark of T&T in the UN and on the world stage by being recognised as the father of the International Criminal Court—a Court with jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. We, in T&T, salute 70 years of humanitarian service of the United Nations and wish this noble organisation all success in its global outreach.

Message from Dr Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of the Republic of T&T on the occasion of United Nations Day, 2015, marking the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations.

On the occasion of United Nations Day, I am pleased to bring greetings on behalf of the Government and People of T&T. Many have not pondered the role the United Nations has played in our daily lives, often conceiving of this Organization as remote and preoccupied with managing international conflict, peace-keeping, and avoiding war. These are all important and necessary aspects of the mission of the United Nations, but the United Nations represents much more than the promotion of order, peace and stability among nations. The United Nations encapsulates the hopes and aspirations of People everywhere to live a life of dignity, freedom and individual fulfilment, unencumbered by the shackles of racism, prejudice, classism, religious or ethnic origin, gender disempowerment, and other forms of discrimination and exclusion. While it is true that the United Nations provides a forum that brings states together for dialogue to resolve their differences and to take common action in areas of agreement, it is also the reality that the United Nations places people at the very centre of its mandate. This has always been the case from the inception of the Organization 70 years ago, as eternally etched in the very first words of its Charter: “We the Peoples of the United Nations.” It is therefore more than symbolic that in its 71st year, the community of nations launched, under the umbrella and leadership of the United Nations, the 2030 Action Agenda, the new framework for global development with 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets. All Members of the international community, including T&T, committed by their own free will, to take measures in their national domains to implement the sustainable development agenda, a blueprint to eradicate poverty and social and economic exclusion from our societies, and to create ever increasing wealth through sound and coherent public policies administered by efficient, transparent and accountable governance that serves the best interests of the people in a just and equitable manner. The Government of T&T is determined to uphold these tenets and to so administer public policy as to ensure that opportunity to contribute to national development and to shape our communities and society is not the exclusive preserve of a select few granted favoured access due to circumstance of birth or social connections, but rather, that opportunity is open and accessible to everyone and anyone who has the will and ambition to dare to take the risk of pursuing success.

For Small States like T&T, seeking its place in the world, devoted to the social and economic advancement of its people and indeed those of the Caribbean Community as a whole, the United Nations has afforded us the protection of international law, which acts as a restraint on the use of force or intimidation by the mighty over the weak. Just as in the domestic sphere where societies are built on a system of laws to govern relations between the people and the state as well as the interactions between and among the people themselves, international law regulates and prescribes, the freedoms and responsibilities of states in their interactions with other states. Our abiding faith in and adherence to the rule of law on the international plane has been the genesis of T&T’s dynamic contribution to the expanding corpus of law, built up by the United Nations to address specific problems in international society, and thus to promote order and predictability in the world. On this UN Day, 2015, I convey the grateful thanks of the Government and People of T&T to the Secretary General of the United Nations and his team, working in the service of Peace, Development and Human Rights, often under perilous or uncomfortable conditions for the improvement of the lives of ordinary people. To those Members of the UN System working in T&T, a special word of appreciation for your service and my Government looks forward, with anticipation, to collaborating with you in implementing our plans and programmes for sustainable national development in the months and years ahead.

One of the idiosyncracies of political parties south of the Caroni bridge is that whenever there is a direct challenge to the leadership the challenger ultimately meets an untimely demise. It happened with Raffique Shah in 1978, with Kelvin Ramnath in 1991, Hulsie Bhaggan in 1995 and Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj in 2000. It is a cultural thing that defines the UNC and the precursor parties as different to the PNM and all others. 

When Kamla Persad-Bissessar won leadership of the UNC from Mr Panday in January, 2010, she had by that time gained significant political capital; never behaved treacherous toward the leader, and had her ambition well concealed, that not even Mr Panday thought she was interested in the leadership. 

Further, she had been in the post of Opposition leader from the time of Mr Panday’s incarceration; gained public approval, and had won favour with a wide cross-section of the population, that even Winston Dookeran of the COP called out to her to join in national solidarity.

When Jack Warner hopped on to the Kamla wagon and ditched RamJack in late 2009, it was because he recognised she was in the ascendancy. 

All MPs in the past have suffered from the delusion that the votes they garner at a general election were obtained by their own merit. Especially when they are re-elected. We’ve seen how this is a fallacy when disloyalty or treachery rears its head.

Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj was perhaps the most powerful MP to be seen as a successor to Mr Panday. When disagreements arose between himself and Mr Panday, Mr Maharaj walked the Couva South constituency twice a day for six weeks and everyone told him they would vote for him. In the end, they spat him out like a plum seed. 

This scenario is likely to happen again.

Ronald Bhola

Trinidad needs a train system because there are too many cars and trucks on the road at rush hour and consequently a lot of productive hours are lost sitting in traffic. There is no way anyone, government or otherwise, can build new highways and roadways in time to resolve the heavy congestion experienced on the roadway. 

Another reason for a train system is to deal with disaster preparedness. In the event of an emergency citizens need to get out of the city in droves at around the same time. This leads to immediate congestion and consequently the rush to get out leaves passengers and drivers waiting in traffic for hours. 

A train system is independent of the roadway and will get large quantities of people away from the cities and towns, thus forming a critical link in the nation’s disaster preparedness plan.

Is the train affordable? If one were to use traditional methods of construction it may prove to be a rather expensive but necessary endeavour. There are some ways in which one can reduce the overall infrastructure cost. One such way is to use pre-cast concrete. In T&T concrete is relatively cheap and we have the local businesses PreCast Concrete Services, Spancrete Limited and Prest T Con among others, which can provide the expertise and products for an elevated rail service. 

Such a system is less expensive than land preparation, compacting, grading and eventually laying tracks. The beams can be lifted in place and shortly thereafter the rails can be placed on them. 

The local construction industry has the experience of building columns to receive the precast beams. In areas where land acquisition is an issue the elevated tracks will minimise the cost of acquiring the land. Elevated rails minimise the need for railway crossings and fences to prevent pedestrians walking along the path of the train. The locomotive can be diesel or electricity powered, both are affordable as T&T has a rich source of energy.

Will the train negatively impact the taxi operators? At present one can see hundreds of maxi taxi operators line up in the traffic daily to transport passengers to the major cities and towns. 

In some areas the taxi owners are so frustrated with the traffic that they refuse to make the full trip from Arima to Port-of-Spain. Instead they stop off in areas like Curepe and San Juan and either return for another trip or reload with new passengers. 

With a train service in place they would have less traffic thus making their trips more frequent and less frustrating. In addition, the thousands needing to get to the trains will have to access the taxis to get from their home or parking lot to the train station. This will result in many more passengers and shorter trips. The outcome will be less wear and tear on the vehicles, more profit and less expense in fuel and parts.

Those who will like to see T&T progress will overwhelmingly support the immediate need for a train system. The alternative is unthinkable.

God bless our nation

Steve Alvarez

Now that the campaign launch of Kamla’s re-election has turned out to be a colossal flop, her spin doctors and bloggers are working 24/7 to wish away the reality.

Fact is that the event was heavily advertised on social media and numerous news bulletins. In addition, the leader was said to have personally called a number of MPs, virtually begging for their support in a most patronising manner.

•Fact is that the event was poorly attended, notwithstanding the presence of Superman Wayne from north who mysteriously found out and flew down to Penal.

•Fact is that Kamla 2015 has led the Partnership out of Government with the loss of 11 seats and over 100,000 votes less.

•Fact is that the last election was focused on Kamla, for which she must accept sole responsibility.

•Fact is that Kamla preferred loyalty to competence in selection of candidates in Princes Town and Naparima, which had a negative impact on the general electorate.

•Fact is that the captain has led the team to five successive defeats and cannot now blame the vice captain for the losses.

•Fact is that Kamla’s magnet has lost its pull.

•Fact is, Kamla must go now!

Rudy C Paul,

Arima