He is now set on becoming the world’s number one fitness athlete. His love for health and fitness grew as he became a teenager and now, at 24, has amassed several trophies, medals and titles in just over two years, representing T&T locally and abroad in bodybuilding.

Last month, Lindsay, who lives at Enterprise Street, Chaguanas, brought home a bronze medal, his most recent accolade, after participating in the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Diamond Cup-Men’s Physique category held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

He is also preparing to defend his title in the national seniors championship of the T&T Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (TTBFF) Men’s Physique category later this year.

Lindsay, whose community has been making negative headlines recently, praised his mother, a 43-year-old single parent, for “all the licks” he received as a child and for keeping he and his twin brother, McAnthony, grounded.

Lindsay and his brother are members of the T&T Coast Guard. Lindsay is attached to the Squadron Department and is also a certified trainer, gym instructor and fitness consultant.

Disappointed by the violence and gang activities taking place in his community, Lindsay, who was born and raised in Enterprise, said parents needed to be more responsible for their children.

Shaking his head, he said he was “very much disappointed.”

“I wish the Government could do more but there’s only so much it can do. It all goes back to parenting. Parents needs to focus more on their children, be more observant.”

He said although parents were working they needed to be involved.

Licks kept me on the straight path

Asked why he entered the sport, he told the Sunday Guardian: “To be honest, one of the reasons I entered the sport is really to show the youth that there are positive things they can get involved in...there are other ways out; you don’t have to lime on the block or turn to a life of crime.”

Lindsay grew up without his dad and his mother, Welete, a small business owner, was the disciplinarian.

“I never had my father around and so, my mom stuck with us in terms of guidance. She was mother and father.

“It was licks. I think the biggest mistake society made was getting rid of corporal punishment because at the end of the day, if she didn’t do what she had to do to keep us on the straight path we probably we have ended up like some of the other youths, but she held on to us.

“My mom just turned 43 and she did it on her own.”

His advice on the crime situation in Enterprise and the entire country was for parents to be more involved in their children’s lives.

“Know who your children’s friends are, friends lead you astray. If you don’t stand for anything, you’ll fall for everything, right?

“People need to stop blaming the Government and start taking more responsibility.”

Asked if he would remain a resident of the Enterprise community, Lindsay said there would come a time when he’d want to start a family.

He said: “I would not want to hear that my son or my daughter getting home from school and end up picking up a stray bullet. I will not know how to bear that so I do intend to leave the area at some point.”

But he won’t leave without giving back to the place where he was born and raised.

“I will not leave the area without giving back. I want to do something for the youths.”

‘To be successful, model someone’

Lindsay’s trophies and medals are neatly placed on a shelf at Raw Fitness and Health Club in Gasparillo, where we met for the interview.

Lindsay said his affinity for fitness started at the age of 14, but it was only when he was 19 he started to train at a gym.

He said, “I started to train at home but not lifting weights. I didn’t like it.”

Before 20, he was already certified with the International Sporting and Conditioning Association.

He said as his training progressed people encouraged him to get into bodybuilding.

“They said I would do really good.

“A guy kept at me with it and I eventually decided to take part in my first show which was in November 2014.

“I placed first in my category and second overall. Then, in June 2015 I decided to compete at a national level and placed first in my category and second overall at the juniors.

After that, I took part in the Sports World Classic. It’s a regional show. I also placed first in that.”

The Raw Fitness-sponsored athlete said his goal was to become a pro-IFBB athlete.

Lindsay puts in about 90 minutes training a day and said he works out up to six days a week, following a strict diet.

He credits his discipline to being a cadet during his secondary schools days at Asja Boys’ College in Charlieville.

Asked about his role models, Lindsay said: “To become successful in an area, you need to find somebody who has done it and model that person and don’t be afraid to ask questions. I have asked a lot of questions along the way.”

He said he was not easily influenced and has a strong mind.

“If my mind tells me no, it is no.”

His role models are his coach—Quincy Winklaar, professional bodybuilder, army veteran and former police officer from the Netherlands, and Quincy’s brother Roelly Winklaar.

His role model in his category of Men’s Physique is Jeremy Buendia—currently an American IFBB professional Men’s Physique competitor.

His most recent victory was the Men’s Physique Mr Olympia 2016.

Lindsay said: “I knew that somewhere and somehow something good was going to happen but I didn’t know what.

“In terms of fitness and being a successful person, I wanted to become one of the world’s number one fitness athletes.

“I never knew anything about Men’s Physique and it just happened that that’s the category I fell into.”

There’s no stopping Lindsay. He said in the next five years, he sees himself as a pro-Men’s Physique athlete.

In this season of drought, when every newscast is embellished with at least two fiery protests for the crystal element of life (a necessity your humble correspondent is now straitened for), it may be appropriate to recall an event precipitated by a volatile combination of disenfranchised masses, water restrictions and an oppressive colonial government. Though the memory of the 1903 Water Riots is now relegated to a few custodians of the past, it had far-reaching implications, socially and politically.

The genesis of the riots began long before 1903, when shortly after the devastating cholera epidemic of 1854, the installation of pipe-borne water was viewed as a top priority for Port-of-Spain. It had been in limited availability at the Governor’s House in St Ann’s since the tenure of Governor Lord Harris in 1851, of his predecessor, Sir Ralph James Woodford in 1821. With the usual snail’s pace of implementation that has remained our legacy of colonial administration, it was not until the 1880s that something concrete was done about this situation. In that decade, the Director of Public Works, Edward Tanner, settled on the upper reaches of the Maraval River as a likely place for the site of a reservoir. After much wrangling with the De Boissieres and other landowners along the river for permission to route pipes through their properties, the project was completed in the early 1890s by Tanner’s successor, Walsh Wrightson, who was partially responsible for the construction of the roadway which bears his name.

Thus, the burgesses of the municipality of Port-of-Spain not only had access to public fountains and pumps spewing an endless supply of cold, sweet water, but many also had the luxury of precious liquid running from pipes in their homes. In the noisome barrack-yards of the city, the denizens of the town’s ‘Jamette’ society, revelled in the new utility and frolicked under open taps in their yards and wash-houses all day and night. This, however, was to lead to one of the causes of the riots.

To diverge slightly, on January 18, 1899, Governor Sir Hubert Jerningham, under advice from the British Secretary of State, abolished the Borough of Port-of-Spain and its Council, which was deemed to be petty and inefficient in the management of its own affairs. Henceforth, the affairs of the burgesses were to be managed by Central Government. This move was received with much bitterness and resentment by the masses, as the Municipal Ordinance was seen as a concession to self-governance by the colonial masters. The revocation of the Ordinance was seen as a humiliating slight to the rising tide of Black Nationalism which was sweeping the colony.

Part of this sense of transgression fostered by the people was due to the influence of Emmanuel ‘Mzumbo’ Lazare (1864-1929). Mzumbo, as he called himself in tribute to his African heritage, was a hero to the downtrodden coloureds of the town. A dignified black man, and a prominent solicitor and a Lieutenant in the Trinidad Field Artillery Volunteers (who represented the colony at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897), Mzumbo was a founder of the Ratepayers Association with Henry Alcazar and Edgar Maresse-Smith, also outstanding coloured citizens of the period. The Association also included white sympathisers like the disenfranchised Mayor of Port of Spain, John Cox Newbold. The organisation was formed in response to the impending Water Ordinance of Public Works Director, Walsh Wrightson which proposed that water meters be installed in the town to make burgesses pay for their water. It was based on reports of drafted Water Inspectors, who reported freely running taps in the seedier districts. The Association viewed water as a right of existence, and not a scarce commodity to be bought and sold.

The Ratepayers’ Association also took issue with the shoddy state of water delivery and with the disbanding of the Borough of Port-of-Spain by the British Secretary of State and Governor Sir Alfred Maloney, who had succeeded Governor Jerningham. On the morning of March 23, 1903, the Water Ordinance was carded for debate in the Red House, which was the seat of the Colonial Government and the Legislative Council. Thousands of people, incited by the Ratepayers’ Association, assembled in Brunswick Square (now Woodford Square) and created an uneasy tension while the Legislative Council sat in caucus. The debate over the ordinance had originally been carded for March 16, but had been postponed to the 23rd because of the interruption of the rowdies assembled in the Public Gallery.

Governor Maloney, perhaps expecting public unrest, ordered the Commandant of the Trinidad and Tobago Constabulary, Hubert Brake, to have 35 armed policemen sequestered within the Red House in addition to several dozen outside. In an attempt to limit access to the Public Gallery it was proclaimed that access would only be granted by a system of allotted tickets. The Ratepayers deemed this action to be illegal and attempted to storm the Gallery at 10.30 am but were repelled by Brake and his officers.

Alcazar and William Gordon Gordon, a wealthy Scottish merchant, were in the Council Chamber at the time of the barring of the Ratepayers, and they in turn, left the room as a sign of protest. Meanwhile, the tense crowd outside erupted into heated aggression. The violence was incited when a constable outside the Red House attempted to arrest a woman and immediately came under a hail of stones, forcing him to liberate his captive.

A shower of missiles began to assail the building and the windows of the Council Chamber (where the debate was in session) were shattered. The deliberation over the Water Ordinance ended abruptly as Governor Maloney was spirited to the Education Office for his safety, while a group of rioters broke into the Registrar’s Office and set fire to the stacks of files and papers stored therein. Walsh Wrightson, had in local parlance ‘taken front before front took him’ and slipped out of the Red House disguised as a policeman, in full view of the protesters who were calling for his blood.

As the flames spread, the security of the Governor became critical and Commandant Brake took the decision to have him moved to the nearby Police Headquarters on St Vincent St (the same building that was burnt in the 1990 attempted coup). In order to gain a passage through the mob, the ominous Riot Act was read to the crowd, and then the policemen were given the order to fire on the protesters. When the smoke from the rifles of the police cleared, 18 people lay dead and 51 were wounded. Two of the more touching fatalities involved Eva Carvalho, a young woman who was shot at point-blank range by a policeman who was alleged to be her estranged lover, while 12-year-old Eliza Bunting was bayoneted through the chest. Several others were arrested, including the Executive of the Ratepayers’ Association, Lazare, Alcazar and Maresse-Smith, who had fled when the shooting began.

Among the more bizarre incidents of the riot, was the fact that though the Fire Station (now part of the Nalis complex) was a few meters away from the Red House, it did not turn out to combat the flames in the Red House until it was almost completely gutted. The Captain of the Fire Brigade, Walter S Darwent, was accused by Colonial Secretary Courtenay Knollys of being sympathetic with the cause of the insurgents, an accusation which may not have been too far from the truth.

A Commission of Inquiry was hastily assembled and chaired by Colonial Secretary Knollys. Lazare, Alcazar and Maresse-Smith, the leaders of the Ratepayers’ Association were acquitted of all charges surrounding their arrest over the riot. The Commission also made another compromise in recognition of the need for self-governance, by recommending that water management affairs fall under the jurisdiction of a municipality, rather than central government. This was a major victory for those who had raised their voices in protest. As a trophy of the triumph, Lazare seized upon the ornate fountain which had stood in the covered foyer of the now-gutted Red House, and had it installed at his country estate in Diego Martin, called Lazdale. This relic was later given to the National Museum and can now be seen in the courtyard of that institution.

A year later, the Port-of-Spain Water Authority and Port-of-Spain Sewerage Board were incorporated. Both these entities were later merged with the Municipal Water Works in San Fernando to form the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA). It was not until June 26, 1914, that the Borough Council and Municipal Ordinance of Port-of-Spain were reinstated. The Red House was completely rebuilt by 1907, its most notable addition being the imposing rotunda or dome which is its most recognizable feature today. Though it is long forgotten, the Water Riots of 1903 and the events sparked by this momentous chapter in our history, have doubtless impacted on T&T in the years following, and will certainly do so for many years to come.

It is interesting to see history is occurring in cycles. Even computer models can predict drought, famine, food shortages, political turmoil. Is there a replay of the water riots in all these communities? Civil unrest for water? Should we be planning urgently for global warming? Angelo presents the Water Riots and its political consequences. —Rudolph Bissessarsingh

For over 20 years, The Caribbean Cross Training and Multi Sport Club has been quietly turning out race-winning triathlon athletes without much fanfare.

The club’s director Andrew Eligon together with coach Alison Elliott said their training methods go against the grain of “traditional” triathlon training with the club’s athletes training for shorter intervals allowing them faster recovery times and no burnout.

Some of the club’s members, Jorja Sierra Jalim, 13, Ayomide Gilbert-Semper, 15, Ethan Miller, 15, Hayden Reid, 18 and Justin Boynes, 12, are the rising stars and future of triathlon in T&T.

The challenge for the club, however, was to find corporate, private or government sponsors.

Speaking with the Sunday Guardian on Wednesday at Sackville Street, Port-of-Spain, Eligon said “The reason why we’ve had so much success is because we’re following the principles of the ITU (International Triathlon Union).

“If you look at the result we have with Hayden Reid who got into the sport just under three years, he won by two minutes last year in the national championships.

“The athletes follow scientific principles and proper diets, they all use heart rate monitors and have protein after training.

“T&T can hold its own against the world in triathlon and multi-sport but a lot has to change and we need to stop with the over-training.”

He said top athletes who had been in the sport for 12 to 15 years, their times had not really improved in the last five years.

Eligon said the club’s athletes, who had only been in the sport for an average of three years, have seen their times improve every year.

He said the children at his camp trained a lot less than in other programmes and were producing better performers as well as doing extremely well academically.

But funding continues to be a big challenge. Eligon appealed to corporate T&T, citizens and the Government to provide support. Eligon said it was a worthwhile cause and with funding the club can invest in its young people, provide them with additional coaching, more staff qualifications, equipment, physiotherapy and give more swimming scholarships.

He said a good carbon-fibre bicycle cost from US $3,500 and up. National sprint and junior champion Hayden Reid and Ayomide Gilbert-Semper needed bicycles, while many other top athletes at the club were not funded and most of them only had one pair of running shoes. They also need monitors.

Attorney Ronald Boynes, whose son Justin is participating in The Caribbean Triathlon Age Group Championships today in Miami, said heart monitors were important especially with the younger athletes. The monitors help their coaches gauge that the athletes do not overtrain for a prolonged period with an elevated heart rate. Boynes said by using the monitor, his son was able to beat athletes who were training much longer than him.

Boynes said T&T could be an ideal destination for international triathlon competitions. He said the Western Peninsula, Chaguaramas and Invaders Bay, were conducive to the disciplines of swimming, running and cycling.

Boynes said the riding trail through the Chaguaramas area around the golf course, biking up in the mountain trails had the natural infrastructure for well organised triathlon competitions to take place here as part of the country’s divestment and sport tourism programmes.

He said this was more important moreso in these stringent economic times to look at those areas to diversify the economy.

Boynes said T&T had a rich history of excelling in sports producing icons such as Wendell Mottley, Brian Lara, Richard Thompson and Ato Boldon. T&T had many world-class sporting facilities and world-class athletes can be invited to participate in sporting events.

He said T&T needed to invest in its athletes to reap the rich rewards for the young people inspiring and supporting them.

Boynes said the sport was not cheap, however there was the potential glory it could bring to the country.

He said everyone under coach Eligon’s charge excelled, the reason for that was he took the parents into his confidence because he realized that there had to be a partnership with parents, athletes and their coaches.

For more than 40 years, Prestige Holdings Limited has been “helping people taste happiness every day”. The devotion to autism awareness is just another way that the company has continued to deliver on their promise.

On April 2, World Autism Awareness Day, the brands under Prestige Holdings Limited participated in the worldwide initiative to ‘Light It Up Blue’. ‘Light It Up Blue’ in support of autism awareness included KFC, Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, Subway and Starbucks brands, with 21 of their flagship restaurants joining buildings from all continents for one night to serve as beaming beacons of blue light in our country. 2017 marked the second year the brands have joined forces to Light It Up Blue.

What is autism? Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first three years of life and affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. It is a physical condition linked to abnormal biology and chemistry in the brain. Why is a puzzle piece used as the symbol for autism? The puzzle piece symbol reflects the mystery and complexity of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Since every puzzle piece is different in some way, a puzzle piece accurately represents the diversity of the individuals affected.

It is estimated that approximately 13,000 families are affected by autism (according to WHO statistics crediting one per cent of the country’s current population). When a child is diagnosed on the autism spectrum, he/she requires 20 to 40 hours of therapy per week, but the Autistic Society can offer up to two hours per week. Therefore, the majority of families cannot access appropriate and affordable education for their children in their communities.

Prestige Holdings Limited has embarked on a journey to promote autism awareness by partnering with the Right Start For Autism group, a partnership journey which began in 2014. On World Autism Awareness Day, a media launch which synergised this partnership with Right Start For Autism was held at Price Plaza compound where all five of the Prestige Holdings Limited’s brands exist.

It was used as a platform to sensitise the public at large through an official ‘Light It Up Blue’ plug-in ceremony by CEO Charles Pashley and local celebrities Ian Alvarez aka Bunji Garlin and his wife, Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez. A cheque was also presented to the Right Start For Autism group, as an integral part of honouring the corporate social responsibility initiative.

During the month of April, Autism Awareness month, the company held steadfast on pillars of support for this cause. They assisted with the education of the public with pamphlet distribution at all five restaurants. On display at flagship restaurants was the vibrant murals/portraits canvassed on a spectrum of blue hues to support the company’s 2017 Autism Awareness theme ‘Different Is Beautiful’. These were painted live by artists Tracy Chan and Lee Anthony Aleong during the launch. The brands’ social media pages and digital billboards were infused with a corporate message highlighting ‘Early Detection, Early Treatment, Best Results’. KFC meal boxes were also branded with puzzle pieces and autism ribbons and the Kid’s Pack contains a puzzle devoted to autism awareness. Employees of all five brands were also seen wearing autism awareness broaches on their uniforms and the company will also be hosting its first-ever fashion show—the culmination of an internal T-shirt competition for autism awareness—on Wednesday.

—Brand Leader Pizza Hut Krista-Lee Lookit

Erline Andrews Poetry in T&T is at an exciting crossroads. Poetry slams are drawing sold-out crowds. T&T poets are winning awards and drawing international attention. And a steady stream of new and standout verse talent from T&T and other parts of the English-speaking Caribbean is being published.

This year, the winner of the annual NGC Bocas Lit Fest National Poetry Slam will receive a cash prize of $50,000-up from $20,000 the previous year and $3,000 in 2013.

“We’re putting our money where our mouth is. We’re serious,” said Jason Julien, deputy CEO of First Citizen’s Bank, the slam’s main sponsor, during the festival’s launch last month. He called the money an investment and said of the slam: “The rich content that you see on that stage is priceless, invaluable.”

The slam will close off the festival today at Napa, Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain. Thirteen finalists are expected to compete. (See Page B40)

“The longstanding joke is that you don’t go into poetry expecting to make money,” said blogger and Sunday Arts Section books reviewer Shivanee Ramlochan, whose first collection of poems, Everyone Knows I Am a Haunting, will be launched in July.

“And there’s an old adage that says the only people who buy books of poetry are poets."

But, she added, “I think over the past five to eight years I’ve seen a lot of things that made me question how true that is.

“Yes, it is true that commercially the sales of poetry will always be below short fiction and novels,” she continued. “But the creative interest in making a community around poets is more encouraging that it’s ever been.”

The Bocas festival itself is one reason for the change. But Bocas is building on a foundation that was laid by different people over the years, said Ramlochan.

“I think it’s owed to pockets of grassroots movements of people who’ve been working in poems, making small spaces that have become bigger ones and getting buy-in from people who have the funding to make things happen—like residencies, like workshops, like publishing initiatives,” she said.

“Something magical must have happened along the way so that people with money stood up and took interest and realised that poetry was not only saleable but worth investing in,” she said.

Ramlochan is social media manager for the festival and for Paper Based Bookshop, which specialises in Caribbean literature and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Paper Based offers titles you wouldn’t find anywhere else and gives readers and writers an opportunity to meet. Ramlochan organises the regular Paper Based author/reader event called An Evening of Tea and Readings.

Paper Based founder Joan Dayal won this year’s Bocas Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters.

Andre Bagoo, like Ramlochan, writes about the literary scene and does reviews on his blog and in a daily newspaper, all part of generating and sustaining interest in local literature. His third book of poems, Pitch Lake, was recently published.

He and Ramlochan attended a local initiative, the Cropper Foundation Residential Workshop for Caribbean Writers, in 2010 along with another rising Trinidadian poetry talent, Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné.

Boodoo-Fortuné won the Bocas Emerging Caribbean Writers Prize in 2015. Ramlochan had been shortlisted for the award.

“It was really from that workshop that the germs of my first book came together,” said Bagoo, whose second book of poetry, Burn, was longlisted last year for the prestigious OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.

Bagoo is the PRO of the Circle of Poets, which meets every month and gives members an opportunity to read their work and receive critique.

“There’s definitely a deep interest in poetry and the Circle of Poets is just one organisation. You have all these other organisations,” he said.

He gave a short list that included the Writers Union, the monthly open mic event called True Talk No Lie and the Poetic Vibes Arts Foundation.

“Those are just a few,” he said.

LGBTQ activist Colin Robinson’s book, You Have You Father Hard Head, his first, was published last year. He also attended the 2010 Cropper Foundation workshop and participated in other Caribbean writing development programmes, including one called the St James Writers’ Room in 2014 with UK-based Trinidad-born author Monique Roffey, who won the OCM Bocas Prize the previous year with her book Archipelago.

Robinson read his work at an open mic event at the first Bocas in 2011 and was approached afterward by Jeremy Poynting of the Leeds-based Peepal Tree Press, who invited him to submit a manuscript. Peepal Tree, the world’s foremost publisher of Caribbean literature, also published Bagoo’s and Ramlochan’s recent books.

“What’s happening is that Caribbean people are good poets,” Robinson said, laughing, of recent attention being paid to poets from the region. Robinson and other poets were interviewed on a half-hour feature in March about contemporary Caribbean literature broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

“I think we live in a postcolonial world. Caribbean poets in particular can write from a local space, can write using local language in a way that can achieve value,” he said of the differences between the contemporary literary environment and the past. “We’re not having to imitate metropolitan ideas of what literature should look like.”

Peepal Tree, founded in 1985, has published some of the best Caribbean writers, including celebrated poets Vahni Capildeo, Kei Miller, Kamau Brathwaite, Jennifer Rahim and Ishion Hutchinson.

Capildeo, a Trinidadian, won the British Forward Prize for Poetry last year. Miller, a Jamaican, won it in 2014. Another Jamaican, Claudia Rankine, won the prize in 2015.

Peepal Tree has had a book on the longlist for the OCM Bocas Prize every year since the competition began. Most years it has multiple books.

In 2015 the Peepal Tree-published book by St Lucian poet Vladimir Lucien, Sounding Ground, won the prize. All of this has contributed to Peepal Tree seeing an increase in sales over the past few years.

“We always get far more poetry submissions than we can actually do anything with,” said Poynting, when asked if he’s seen increased interest in writing poetry. But, he added, “the quality is probably a lot higher than when I started.

“We certainly get more submissions that you have to take seriously”, he said.

Bocas programme director Nicholas Laughlin, who’s also had a book of poetry published by Peepal Tree, agreed there’s been an improvement in the poetry environment within recent years.

“I think the last five or ten years has been a really fertile time, certainly here in T&T. I feel like there are more really good published poets working here at home than ever before,” he said.

He said this was the reason he wants to see more done to get these writers more international exposure and opportunities to develop their craft. This would require increased financial commitment from State and private entities.

Bocas arranged for Ramlochan—whose book Laughlin calls “a total game changer” and “one of the most exciting books of poetry I’ve come across in years”—and Capildeo to read their work at the prestigious PEN World Voices Festival in New York next month. It’s the kind of exposure you expect for poets of their calibre, but it comes with a cost.

The Bocas Emerging Writers Prize is not being offered this year for lack of a sponsor.

“Writers need certain kinds of support and certain kinds of infrastructure,” said Laughlin. “So it’s wonderful that we’ve got all this talent and people are writing and they’re publishing. But there’s a lot that comes beyond that.”

Laughlin said there still persists stubborn attitudes about poetry that he hopes will continue to change.

“We still have this perception poetry is difficult, it’s hard, and it’s not for everybody, it’s only for really educated people, it’s only for other poets, it’s only for an elite,” he said.

“But,” he added, “what’s really interesting is to put people who feel that way into a room with some really good poets and have them experience the work and see how it changes their minds”.

More info: bocaslitfest.com

LOPEZ: SELWYN of PankaStreet, St. James passedaway on 25th April, 2017.Son of the late Vernon and Beatrice Lopez. Husband of Rita. Father of Jason, Karenand Khristian. Father-in-law of Shelley. Grandfather ofEnrique, Lucia and Isabel.Brother of Sylvia, Eileen (dec), Yvonne (dec), Vera (dec), Bar-bara, Winston (dec), Selma,Lenon, Marcelle, Mercedesand Holly Betaudier (dec). Brother-in-law of Monica, Valand Sam. Uncle of many. Relative of the Chin Aleong, Hislop, Chun, Camacho, Dookharan and Ragoo families.

No flowers by request.Funeral at 10.00 a.m. on Tues-day 2nd May, 2017 at Churchof the Assumption, Maravalfollowed by cremation at theCrematorium, Long CircularRoad, St. James for 12.30p.m. For enquiries, call C&B625-1170 or visit clarkandbat-too.comDeath

Today is a bank holiday in Barbados and Roston Chase with a wonderful unbeaten century (131 n.o.) against Pakistan yesterday has set things up nicely for his countrymen to come to the cricket at Kensington Oval.

The right-hander coming in with the West Indies struggling at 37 for three, scored a brilliant century in his first Test at home, to ensure the home team closed the opening day of the second Brighto Paints Test Series in a fighting position of 286/6. Chase was unbeaten on 131, while skipper Jason Holder was not out on 58.

With Barbados’ only living national hero in Sir Gary Sobers in attendance, Chase and fellow Barbadian Holder added an unbroken 132 runs for the seventh wicket that must have been very pleasing to him.

Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Abas both bowled beautifully to reduce the West Indies to half their side down for just 107 runs. Chase showing the right temperament for Test cricket was a perfect example for other batsmen. He was is no rush, respecting the potentially harmful deliveries and hammering the bad ones. He played some attractive shots during his knock that found the approval of the purists at the ground.

When he raised his century of 165 balls with 14 fours, he became the first Barbadian to score a Test century at Kensington Oval for 18 years. The last player to do so was Sherwin Campbell against Australia in 1999. The last time fans here saw a Test century by a West Indian was Shivnarine Chanderpaul against Australia in 2012.

Holder brought up his half century just before the close of 115 balls with six fours.

Earlier, Holder called correctly at the toss and, given the dry nature of the track, decided to take first strike. He would have thought of the future and how difficult it would be batting on the fourth and fifth days on this pitch.

However, the pitch had nothing to do with the first two dismissals of the match. Kraigg Brathwaite who has looked off-colour for far too long this season, was caught behind groping at a delivery angled across him from Amir. Shimron Hetmyer playing his second Test showed exactly that, as his inexperience saw him playing at a delivery away from his body - to be caught in the slips.

Shai Hope was next on his way up the pavilion steps after making just five runs as the West Indies looked in disarray at 37/3. Keiran Powell was still there and looking solid — the difference with his approach was the fact that he played each ball on merit and was willing to get in line. He got the pressure eased off him with the arrival of Chase. The languid right hander played positively and allowed the West Indies to claw back towards the end of the session as they went to lunch at 72/3.

After the break both men took the score past the 100-run plateau before a double strike kept Pakistan in control. Powell, initially given not out to Amir, was sent on his way upon review for 38. He faced 83 balls in an innings of composure, hitting five fours. Soon after Vishaul Singh continued his struggle in the big time, edging to slip for three runs. At 107 for five the end looked near for the West Indies but Chase was still there and he was intent on fighting for his team. He found a familiar ally in Shane Dowrich and the two battled well. Fighting fire with fire the two right handers reeled off a number of beautiful fours much to the delight of the crowd numbering around 2,000 people.

They added 47 runs for the sixth wicket before Dowrich gave Shadab his first wicket. He was caught by Younis for 29 after facing 54 balls and striking five fours. Chase stood firm and carried the West Indies to tea at 166/6 with an unbeaten 70 up to that point.

Lawyers representing national gymnast Thema Williams have described the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) response to questions over its role in her exclusion from the 2016 Rio Olympics as totally inadequate.

In a telephone interview yesterday, attorney Keith Scotland said the response which was made in a press release issued on Saturday following Williams’ media conference on Wednesday, raised addition questions.

He said: “In my opinion it was a totally inadequate response to the questions asked and it raises these issues even further.”

“So any governing body can do whatever it wants to an athlete and the TTOC will just be a rubber stamp. I am thunderstruck,” Scotland added.

The controversial dispute between the athlete and the T&T Gymnastics Federation began after Williams was replaced by Marissa Dick to represent this country at the Olympic Test Event at Rio de Janeiro event in April, last year.

Her initial selection was based on her performance at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Glasgow, Scotland on October 23, 2015, where she placed higher than Dick.

Williams claimed that her coach John Geddert was informed by the federation that she was withdrawn because she was injured, a claim which she denies. Alternate athlete Dick was selected to participate in the event instead and eventually qualified becoming the first person to represent T&T in gymnastics at the Olympics.

Last Wednesday, Scotland and Martin Daly, SC, who is also representing Williams, called upon the TTOC to answer nine questions related to its confirmation of the federation’s decision.

The TTOC claimed that it approved Dick’s participation after consulting the local federation, the International Federation for Gymnastics (FIG) and its attorneys.

In addition, the TTOC noted that its instituted an investigation against the federation for ethical issues over the switch. However, it admitted that the investigation was put on hold as the matter is considered “sub judice” because of Williams ongoing lawsuit with the federation.

Williams is suing the federation and its executive members for almost $11 million in damages for compensation for her “loss of opportunity” and damage to her personal and professional reputation allegedly caused by the “harsh and oppressive” actions of the federation’s executive.

Her attorneys are contending that by failing to be given an opportunity to qualify for the last year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, she suffered a huge loss of opportunity of endorsements, motivational speaking engagements and repeated business opportunities as well as a full scholarship to the Michigan State University, which she forewent in her bid to represent T&T at event.

Last week, High Court Judge Frank Seepersad dismissed a preliminary application by the federation to have Williams’ lawsuit struck out as it claimed that the dispute should have been addressed in arbitration. The lawsuit is expected to go on trial later this year.

Triple Crown winner Alistair Espinoza again proved he is presently the best player on local soil in the sport to date. Back in January he captured thenational title which included the triple crown honour, when the T&TBA held its national championships.

On Saturday night, Espinoza outplayed his arch-rival Will Lee, who entered the tournament as defending champion, and record a 21-15 and a nail-biting 26-24 points win in the second rubber, to lift the 2017 Solo National Championship at the Central Regional Indoor Sports Arena in Chaguanas.

Espinoza also captured the titles in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles categories. In the men’s singles Lee was no easy push over as he showed and proved to be a formidable force as gave Espinoza, a stiff run for the title. Espinoza’s experience once again came to the fore as he was able to deal with anything his opponent had to offer.

Later the pair of Espinoza and Lee secured the men’s doubles by defeating the team of Naim Mohammed and Sheraz Nabbie, 21-13, 21-18. The Triple Crown was completed later when Espinoza, combined with Jada Renales to capture the Mixed Doubles title, downing club mates Lee and Chequeda Deboulet, 21-10, 21-14. It was Lee’s second loss of the night to Espinoza who stamped his authority as the best.

Capturing two titles on the night to share the spotlight with Espinoza was Solange Guzman, who is the women’s champion. She outplayed rising star of the sport Renales in the title finale 21-6 and 21-9.

Guzman, a dominant right-hander, the multiple title holder, proved to technical and physical for her young opponent on the night. Guzman started 2017 impressively with her second major Single’s title of the year having captured gold at the January Championships.

She completed the brace of titles when she paired up with her single’s rival Renales in the women’s doubles to defeat Castanada and Walrond, 21-9 21-10.

Rounding off the trophies on Saturday night were the veterans who turned back the clock in the master’s tournament as the six pairs on show put up incredible performances to wow the crowd at CRISA. The title eventually went to a pair of former national champions Ronald Clarke and Derwin Renales who have become a powerhouse duo in the Masters division, remaining undefeated through the Round Robin format of this division.

The silver medal went to Lewis and Singh and the bronze to Joachim and Maharaj. Finishing just outside the top three was the pair of Nabbie and Reyes.

The local bodybuilding fraternity was plunged into mourning on Saturday following the news of the death of the rising bodybuilding talent Brett Bengochea. The 36-year-old drowned while bathing with friends at Balandra beach on Saturday afternoon.

It is understood that Bengochea got into difficulties and went under water. Suzanna Hadad, the local bodybuilding federation president said his body was fished out of the water and desperate attempts were made to resuscitate him as he was being taken to the nearby Toco Health Facility.

Hadad described his death as a huge blow to her federation and the sport, saying he had so much talent and promise in the sport.

“We are still trying to come to terms with the fact that he has really died. He was such a good person and trainer who was always pleasant to everyone he met,” Hadad said.

Members of bodybuilding federation and the fraternity were expected to attend a wake at his Tacarigua home last night. Bengochea came on the scene in 2015 and made an almost immediate impact by winning the Junior Nationals and the overall title in his class, before quickly progressing to the seniors where he contested the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Body Building and Physique Championship in the Dominican Republic last year and placed fifth in the Men’s Physique C Class.

According to Hadad, “Bengochea was what you called a newcomer to the sport but he had so much potential.” Bengochea was on a shortlist of 30 bodybuilders to compete at this year’s CAC tournament in Mexico City in September, Hadad said, noting that the top six athletes from each category were chosen from last year’s CAC competition.

In addition to his achievements in bodybuilding, Bengochea was also an actor whose role as Alejandro in Sean Hodgkinson’s local film ‘Traffiked’ has brought him much fame and publicity in the industry.

Cool Team is selected to beat thirteen rivals in an ‘aged’ Maiden Stakes over an extended mile of ‘good to firm’ Windsor today, when ‘showers’ are forecast for the Berkshire area.

Seven months have elapsed since Cool Team made a promising debut over a similar distance on Newcastle tapeta, finishing second and posting a useful time-handicap mark caught my attention.

There is no doubt Newmarket-based Hugo Palmer is now among a ‘fashionable’ set of trainers; a powerful string is well managed and colossal wealth supports his everyday objective, winners.

By all accounts Palmer isn’t a ‘soft ride’ and is, apparently, quite feisty but there is a fine line between unpleasantness and authoritativeness; so many at the helm know the buck stops at them and ships will go under without a strong, disciplined approach. Legendary boss, Barry Hills, who trained more than 3000 winners, springs to mind.

James Doyle landed our nap, Firefright, at Doncaster last Saturday and he’s booked for another, Cool Team, strongly-fancied to score and go one better.

It’s a ‘Bank Holiday’ (another!) and so just the six meetings to analyse; among them is an intriguing eight-runner Classified Stakes over a mile of ‘firm’ Bath where that description could well be ‘like a road!’

Bath is the highest racecourse in England, no watering system and so its ground staff has become experienced in turf husbandry; heavy dews and long(er) grass are the key combination and I’ve never been averse to punting on this unique, centuries-old surface.

Watering is the bane of my life, as explained after the devastation wrought by the Sandown ‘clerk’ three days ago; last week both Pontefract and Beverley were watered, they are are situated on steep climbs up to the winning line. Work that out!

Paul Cole-trained Pacofilha should occupy one of three places in the ‘classified’ race and William Haggas-trained Coconut Creme looks a tasty proposition for a six-runner Maiden Stakes over a mile and a quarter of the ‘good’ Humberside venue; rain is forecast, no watering mentioned!

Defending champion team Queen’s Park Cricket club has been knocked out of the 2017 T&T Cricket Board (T&TCB) T20 tournament at the hands of Central Sports at the quarter final stage.

Queen’s Park fell to Richard Ramkissoon’s men by two wickets at the Brian Lara Stadium in South Trinidad, which hosted its first official match.

Batting first, the champion posted 156 for seven in their 20 overs with Tion Webster getting a typically hard hit 64 and Akeal Hosein 34. Rakesh Maharaj continued his good bowling form this season with 3/25 for Central Sports.

The veteran Shazan Babwah who has been a real standout in domestic cricket this season then scored 25 and together with Kamil Pooran 23 and contributions down the order from other batsmen pushed the unfancied Central Sports team to victory at 157 for eight with two balls to spare.

In the earlier game, Merryboys cricket club moved easily into the semi-finals with a 48-run victory over Cane Farm.

Batting first on a slow pitch, Merryboys got to 148 for eight in their allotted 20 overs. Leading the way with the bat were Mario Belcon and the veteran Lincoln Roberts. Belcon belted 40 of 40 balls with five fours, while Roberts made 32 of 29 balls with a four and two sixes.

Anthony Simmons grabbed two wickets for nine runs, while Devon Clement scalped two but was costly at 41 runs. In reply, Cane Farm struggled and lost early wickets, which affected them from mounting a meaningful challenge.

A lot was expected of former Barbados player Alcindo Holder who ironically played for Merryboys up to a couple season ago but all he got was a single. Cane Farm was restricted to 100 for seven of their 20 overs. Top scorer was Shakeel Allick who made 33 not out of 31 balls with four fours. There were two wickets apiece for Marlon Richards, Keon Isaac and Rishard Harris.

Second half substitutes Nathan Lewis, Alvin Jones and Akeem Roach came off the bench to assure the T&T Soca Warriors earned a share of the points in a come-from-behind 2-2 draw with Grenada in Saturday’s international friendly match at the Kirani James Stadium in St George’s.

The match played to officially open the Grenadian domestic football league, saw the home team taking the lead in the 41st minute when Denron Frederick beat goalkeeper Marvin Phillips, despite the overwhelming amount of possession the visitors enjoyed in the first period.

Coach Dennis Lawrence who was using the match for much needed practice ahead of two crucial World Cup qualifiers against the United States on June 8 and Costa Rica five days later on 13, sought to increase his offensive firepower by inserting the trio soon after the half-time interval and was almost immediately rewarded.

It was not until the 66th minute that T&T got the equalizer. Lewis played a one-two with Jomal Williams before beating the Grenadian custodian with his shot. The goal lifted the T&T attack and they added another 15 minutes later when Roach benefitted from an assist by Alvin Jones before he fired in his team’s second goal of the match in the 80th-minute.

However, the home team refused to accept defeat and with a minute left in the clock midfielder Saydrel Lewis, who also came on as substitute, got the equalizer following a lapse in concentration by the T&T defense.

Lawrence had Mexican-based midfielder Yohance Marshall in his defensive line up for the first time since taking over as coach with Honduras-based forward Jerrel Britto making his senior international debut, starting in attack alongside Shahdon Winchester. Carlos Edwards skippered the team on the evening with the starters also including Hashim Arcia, Leston Paul, Triston Hodge, Curtis Gonzales, Jared London, midfielder Jomal Williams and goalkeeper Marvin Phillip who was brought into action on a couple of occasions to deny the Grenadians.

After the match, Lawrence said he was dissatisfied with T&T’s first half showing but was left with a better impression after the interval. “In the first half Grenada were very well organised in their defensive shape and we moved the ball far too slow, also giving the ball away in crucial areas of the pitch where Grenada should have capitalised.” Lawrence explained.

He noted however, “In the second half we tried to move the ball quicker and more positive where we were creating problems in wide areas and managed to get total control, keeping Grenada playing on the counter attack which we dealt with for most of the second half. But once we took the lead, we did not manage the game after and we made an error yet again allowing Grenada to score the equaliser.”

The T&T team was schedule to return home yesterday. Lawrence will resume preparations later this month with a provisional squad in Colorado, USA ahead of the qualifier against the US at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 8th

T&T’s Boys under 18 national Water polo team finished fifth in the XXIII South American Junior Water polo Championships which came to an end on Saturday in Colombia. T&T team pushed past Venezuela, beating them 16-6 for their final placing.

Rowley’s team-mate Jason Hackett scored 12 goals for his team, while Charles Gillette and Jean Luc Hinds, both scored nine each. Tyrece Joseph contributed five and Joshua Welsh two.

The team put up brave fights against their opponents, seeming to get their momentum going after their first two games which they lost to Argentina 13:8 and Colombia, 19:4.

However, after those set backs T&T regrouped and registered a convincing win against Uruguay 18-8. In the semi-final round, T&T over-powered Chile 17-6 and then stopped Venezuela by ten clear goals to close-off their participation in the tournament.

Peru finished fourth with Argentina securing the bronze medals, Colombia the silver and Brazil the gold as the overall champion.

The team was coach by Alan Too-a-Foo and managed by Derek Hinds.

Both will now turn their attention to the team’s preparation for participation in the much anticipated CCCAN competition which T&T will host from June 22 to 28th at the National Aquatic Centre in Couva.

They came to give us a minute, maybe two, of their stories of life behind prison walls. Not enough time to tell it all, but enough time to throw the imagination of the free into bewildered and unchart­ed territory. Jail is home for the incarcerated man or woman awaiting a trial that never seems to come.

This was projected in poems by the inmates from the courtyard of the Port-of-Spain Remand Prison on April 26, as prisoners partici­pated in the first-ever Facebook Live-streamed event from a prison in the Caribbean. Voices From In­side—T&T, is part of the 2017 NGC Bocas Lit Fest.

The event was spearheaded by US writer, professor and activist Baz Dreisinger who has been working assiduously for prison reform around the globe aimed at giving voice to the voiceless, faceless people who live in prisons but simultaneously to showcase the redemptive power of the arts and the benefits of a humane approach to justice that aims to repair instead of enact revenge.

There were heartfelt readings of original poems by prisoners, ex­cerpts, from writer and educator Debbie Jacob’s published Wishing for Wings—a book of writings from young men at the Youth Training Centre (YTC) where she has been voluntarily teaching English for several years.

Some of these men were past win­ners of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest My Life Prison Poetry competition.

Inmates like Ryan Ramoutar—who wrote three novels that have all been given some high ratings on sites like Amazon, Smashwords and Kodo— read his winning piece.

Ramoutar, the author of Kiss of The Killer and Breakable Moments has won the Author’s Appreciation Award from the Nalis in 2013.

Ramoutar, a product of abandon­ment, extreme poverty and the sui­cide of his parents has been writing about his world from his cells with pencils and copy books.

Nicholas Khan’s moving delivery of The Wall, a touching illustration of life as it begins and promises to end in prison because of the slow and incoherent justice system that exists, was enough to move the lis­tener to tears.

Khan entered the prison sys­tem illiterate at 16 and is now 27, and has not yet had a trial. He told the T&T Guardian he has faith that he will be free one day. “In many ways as much as I want to get out, prison prevented me from becoming a memory.”

To share this pioneering moment were local celebrities Machel Mo­natano, Kees Dieffenthaller, Mu­hammad Muwakil and Anya Ay­oung-Chee who read from Dreising­er’s book Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World. The readings were based on Dreisinger’s accounts of time spent in Jamaica working with law enforcers and prisoners enrolled in the Rehabilitation Through Music programme at the island’s General Penitentiary.

It spoke of experiences, the acute unsanitary conditions and even vio­lence that occurs behind prison walls. The long wait by prisoners on remand for a trial is the same as in T&T. Dief­fenthaller also blessed inmates with a performance of his song Lion, which he said he wrote at a very low period in his life. He encouraged inmates to never give up as sometimes things have to burn all down for newness and victory to come.

Former International Soca Mon­arch Montano promised acting Dep­uty Commissioner of Prisons Cecil Duke, that he would work with T&T Prison band, Outfit International in the future.

The band is made up of inmates and officers who teach music and they provided the music for Wednesday’s event. Lead vocalist Trevor Haunte’s renditions of Sparrow’s 1967 classic, Education and Ras Shorty I’s Watch Out My Children were well received by the appreciative audience.

Duke told the T&T Guardian, he was truly happy to see such an event take place.

He praised Debbie Jacob for her years of commitment to the prison service in volunteering her time to teach literacy.

He boasted that as a result of her determination, there is now a space, the Royal Reading Room which gives incarcerated fathers the chance to read, do homework, bond, or surf the Internet with their children.

Dreisinger told the T&T Guardi­an when she began volunteering as an educator at prisons 15 years ago, her eyes opened to the need for some forum where the incarcerated could communicate their stories with the world.

“The idea is to number one, break down the barriers between out­side and inside; justice should be a transparent system; prison should be visible.

“We should know who is in there, why and what the conditions are like, it should not be this big hidden world,” Dreisinger said.

She explained big part of the live stream is to say “we see you” to human­ise the prison population that doesn’t get seen or heard and is forgotten about. She reiterated the event was to give voices to the voiceless and also connect prison struggles around the globe.

The professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and teacher of English and African-American stud­ies runs a programme in the US called Prison to College Pipeline which is about creating access to education from literacy to university.

She has already be­gan this programme in Jamaica and is hoping to move up the Antilles introducing it. Here, she has partnered with UWI St Augustine Campus, to start the programme in local prisons.

Dreisinger said she is appalled at the conditions of prisons everywhere, and though she had not seen the Port-of-Spain Remand in its entirety, she imagines the chal­lenges are no different.

She is a firm believer that it is a rehabilitative society that is needed generally.

“I don’t like the term rehabilitation because most people in prison were never habilitated in the first place.

“They were not given opportunities. I just met a gentleman here, one of the poets who said he was illiterate before he came to prison; he has been convicted of nothing, but yet awaiting trial for eight years now.

“That it should take him coming to prison to learn how to read shows that the rehabilitation that has to happen, has to happen in society,” Dreisinger said.

“It’s not about reha­bilitating people. Let’s rehabilitate a society that is producing people to come to prison.”

Watch the full event on www.facebook.com/bo­caslitfest

Minister of Agriculture Clarence Rambharat says he has mandated two state-owned enterprises, Namdevco and the ADB, that fall under his ministry, to review their operations with a view to increasing their efficiency.

Rambharat was asked to give an update on the closure of non-performing state enterprises under the Ministry of Agriculture in an interview after last week’s ceremony to launch the National Aid for Trade strategy which was held at National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port-of-Spain.

He said that the National Marketing and Development Corporation (Namdevco) is looking at ways it can make its operations more efficient. Declaring that he is not satisfied with Namdevco’s performance, he said staffing is one area that would be looked at.

“I have also asked Namdevco to do an exercise with the staffing and structure to determine whether it meets the current requirements of the country.”

Rambharat’s remarks comes after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s, mid-March announcement at the weekly post-Cabinet news conference that State enterprises that were not performing would be closed. His remarks also come after it was declared at a meeting of the Joint Select Committee that State Enterprises collectively owed $44 billion.

“Namdevco is under very close review. We now have an exercise going on to review aspects of Namdevco, one is the data collection of Namdevco. Under the law, Namdevco is responsible for collecting and disseminating of agricultural data. I am not satisfied with the quality of work performed by Namdevco,” he said.

Regarding the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Rambharat confirmed that he had given instructions to the bank to examine its operations, “to deal with some of the complaints we have gotten from farmers in terms of the inflexibility, the bureaucracy, the poor customer service in some cases.”

What is clear, he said, is that state enterprises under his Ministry’s watch cannot operate as it did previously.

“Everyone of those agencies have been closely examined by me, by the Government and I have said whether it is in the ministries or agencies of the Ministry, we are not going to progress in agriculture, in the management of state lands, in fisheries, by doing things the way we have done it for the last 30 or 40 years. Fundamental changes must take place in Agriculture,starting with the Ministry itself and I have set out the work that has been done to ensure that we do what we have to do.”

He also said Caroni Green Ltd has been closed and an announcement has already been made about the closure of Seafood Industry Development Company.

Overall market activity resulted from trading in 14 securities of which three advanced, three declined and eight traded firm.

Trading activity on the first tier market registered a volume of 1,139,778 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $11,200,506.71. Sagicor Financial Corporation was the volume leader with 941,250 shares changing hands for a value of $8,480,662.50, followed by Scotia Investments Jamaica Ltd with a volume of 93,463 shares being traded for $253,257.60. TTNGL contributed 62,639 shares with a value of $1,408,545.91, while Guardian Holdings Ltd added 23,881 shares valued at $370,158.25.

TTNGL registered the day’s largest gain, increasing $0.02 to end the day at $22.49. Conversely, Calypso Macro Index Fund registered the day’s largest decline, falling $0.38 to close at $21.50.

The scene is familiar. It’s hard for anyone driving on T&T’s roads not to witness, at least once a day, an official government luxury car leaving us behind in traffic by using their blue flashing lights.

Often it is one of those black Toyota Prados used by senior government ministry officials, but marked police vehicles, sirens blaring and lights flashing, are known to regularly plough through traffic as well.

There is, of course, also the matter of these vehicles enjoying free access to the Priority Bus Route—perhaps the only major roadway in the East-West Corridor not prone to peak hour gridlock traffic.

Unless we have the most crisis-ridden country in the world, where disaster must be averted through urgent action by government officials and politicians, what we are witnessing is a constant abuse of the blue flashing lights so that those in power can avoid the traffic woes all of us, poor mortals, must endure every single day.

While it is understood that in some cases, such as with the President or Prime Minister and their security details, or the prison transport convoys, swift and clear transit is needed for security purposes, this isn’t the case with most other official vehicles.

At least the love affair by senior government representatives with flashing lights is not unique to our land. In India, red flashing lights on official cars have become a potent symbol of privilege and abuse of office, too. But no more.

Following an order by India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from this week his ministers and senior officials are banned from displaying red flashing lights to speed through traffic. And, under the new rules, only emergency services will be allowed to use blue flashing lights.

The decision is preceded by India’s Supreme Court ruling in 2013 stating that only those with constitutional office roles, including the president, the prime minister, cabinet ministers, senior judges and some other officials should be allowed to display the infamous red beacons on their cars. The order was mostly ignored up until now.

The move is seen as a very visible attempt to change what many Indians see as the VIP treatment politicians and senior government officials get wherever they go at the expense of ordinary citizens. Or, as coined by Mr Modi, instead of a culture of Very Important People, the country needs to move to a culture of EIP–Every Person is Important.

We should take a leaf from Mr Modi’s actions and we could also follow the example of many other countries where emergency services personnel can be disciplined and even lose their jobs if caught using blue flashing lights or speeding when not involved in a legitimate response.

Given the bigger problems with corruption and poor management in our public sector, it could be argued that the government should spend time and effort on something more important than taming the abuse of blue flashing lights in official cars. That misses the point.

By actively stopping this kind of abuse, the government would also be sending a very clear message to its officials and its own cabinet that the true privilege of being a public servant is in serving the public and the nation, not to openly and disgracefully milk every perk of the job, including the ability to breeze through our heavily congested roads. It can be done, one flashing light at a time.