National sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye created history yesterday when she won this country’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games with a stunning performance in the Women’s 100m final at the Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast, Australia.

Running in lane four, Michelle-Lee clocked a time of 11.14 seconds to win gold, becoming the first female sprint medal at the event. It was also the first gold medal for this country at the Commonwealth Games in 20 years. (The last time this country won Gold at the Commonwealth was in 1998 when Ato Boldon won the 100 metre sprint.)

The race which ran at around 7.30 am local time yesterday was witnessed by Michelle-Lee’s mother, Raquel, at her Haig Street, Carenage home. “It felt wonderful this feeling will never leave meh, to see all the hard work she put out is really nice,” Raquel said.

Beaming with pride, Raquel told Guardian Media that she watched the race with her mother and her sister and they could not contain themselves when Michelle-Lee won the race.

“That hour of the morning we jump up and get on. We ran outside and say we win a gold medal.”

Their shouts of joy resonated in the community. Up to late yesterday when she spoke with the Guardian Media, Raquel said “my mother and sister can’t catch themselves yet,” she said laughing.

Raquel said as the “first female athlete to bring something to Trinidad it was wonderful, is just wonderful.”

She spoke to her daughter briefly but said “everybody keeps calling her in Australia. We did not get to talk good yet. Maybe after the medal ceremony when she has time she will call me.”

Michelle-Lee celebrates her 26th birthday today.

She tweeted on her twitter account “It’s my birthday in Australia happy birthday to me!”

Her mother said the win was as great a blessing as Michelle-Lee, who is an only child.

“I feel great, this is one miracle I live to see,” she said.

But it will be some time before the family sees the gold medal or celebrates Michelle-Lee’s victory.

That’s because Michelle-Lee is “going on a world tour soon after. She has Diamond League meets this year and may not return home until December.”

That’s when her mom said they celebrate her victory. It will be up to Michelle-Lee, she said, to hold talks with the Government on whether anything should be done in her honour.

“She is a very quiet person, so it’s up to her to speak with them,” her mother said.

Michelle-Lee, according to her mother, “always liked sports, she is a sports person. She has been in athletics since the age of seven. Nineteen years later she created history by winning gold for T&T.

Her mother is now expecting big things not just at the Diamond League meets but also at the 2020 Olympics.

Michelle-Lee trains in Austin, Texas where her mother said the coaches “don’t make joke.”

“When they come out their house and say you have to come out to train, you have to train, it could be what kind of weather, you have to train. They train from six o’clock in the morning and from training you have to go to the gym. The training out there and here it totally different.”

Raquel said she visits her daughter often but because of her training schedule and her meets, it’s hard to see her more often.

“I was up there in December, but I just want her to focus, so I remain in the back.”

Michelle-Lee’s mother said her daughter is an inspiration to her nephews and nieces, who like her, have a deep interest in sports.

One niece who attends the St Catherine’s school on Duke Street in Port-of-Spain is already winning “trophies in gymnastics,” and she has two nephews playing sports in the United States.

Raquel said the joy she felt yesterday will stay with her forever. To T&T, her message was simple: “thank you for all the support. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said.

Heermatie Sanker waited anxiously for her phone to ring yesterday, hoping that there would be news that her common-law husband Awardnath Hajarie and their son Nicholas would be coming home soon.

But by yesterday afternoon, Sanker felt dejected as the prospect of spending another lonely night at her Fullerton Village, Cedros home became more of a reality.

Speaking by telephone yesterday, she said she was yet to get a call from her eldest son, Vicky Sanker, who went to Venezuela on Sunday to secure the men’s release.

“I have not gotten any calls, all we heard was what was said on the news last night. I don’t know if they got released or not, their phones cannot respond from down there. Right now I am not feeling good so I just went to lie down and take a rest,” Sanker said.

Sanker’s brother-in-law Indar Hajarie said Vicky’s in-laws live in Venezuela so they would handle whatever is needed. Indar said that in Venezuelan prisons, the prisoner’s family is responsible for providing food and clothing. He said there was no information on whether Awardnath and Nicholas were released or on their way back. On Thursday, Awardnath, 52, Nicholas, 26 and fellow villager Shami Seepersad, 35, went fishing in the Soldado Main Field, off the coast of Cedros, when they claimed they were chased and arrested by the Venezuelan national guard. A worker aboard a Trinmar offshore installation recorded the incident on his cellphone and posted the video on Facebook.

The fishermen were taken to the mainland where they were detained for illegally fishing in Venezuelan waters.

According to the Ministry of National Security, they were expected to be charged and taken to court on an unknown date.

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said yesterday the three T&T fishermen are still in Tucupita.

He said the matter is before the Venezuelan courts and both the Guardia Nacional and T&T Defence Force are both probing the matter.

However, Cedros fishermen said La Guardia Nacional has been arresting local fishermen in Trinidad waters for years in order to extort money from their families.

As the recession in Venezuela worsens, they said the La Guardia Nacional is demanding US currency and food supplies in exchange for the release and safe return of the fishermen they capture.

If the family does not pay, the fishermen would be taken back to Venezuela and charged.

The Ministry of National Security on Friday stated that based on the reports it received from Venezuelan authorities, several T&T vessels were being pursued for fishing illegally in their waters. That chase encroached into T&T waters.

The Ministry referenced the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which made it illegal to enter the waters of a sovereign state without permission of that state.

Defence Force sources said they did not receive any request for assistance or permission from La Guardia Nacional to enter T&T waters.

The source said that anywhere else in the world, military forces entering sovereign territory without permission can be considered an act of war.

Local coast guard had reported that during routine operations, two unidentified pirogues were seen crossing between Venezuela and T&T waters.

However, it appeared that when the chasing vessels observed the T&T Coast Guard vessel, they retreated to Venezuelan waters.

The Coast Guard vessel, in accordance with international law, did not pursue those vessels into Venezuelan waters.

Executive Director of the Coalition Advocating for the Inclusion of Sexual Orientation Colin Robinson fears that Thursday’s ruling by the High Court of a case filed LGBTQI rights activist Jason Jones challenging this country’s buggery laws could lead to a backlash or embolden people to discriminate against LGBTQI rights advocacy groups.

Robinson made the statement yesterday, as a coalition of LGBTQI and feminists NGOs, under the umbrella body Alliance for Justice and Diversity, converged outside Parliament to protest, as he called on the nation to “share the nation and show love and inclusion to one another” and that we should turn our attention from people’s bedroom and deal with more pressing matters affecting the country.

Among those who attended the small protest was Fixin T&T head Kirk Waithe, communications officer at the Office of the President Cheryl Ann Lala and columnist Shiela Rampersad.

Wearing jerseys with the words emblazoned “We take Pride in our Liberty” Robinson said it was time that we do away with the hate, rhetoric and fear-mongering, as he called on Parliamentarians to protect them.

The small gathering follows last Friday’s protest outside Parliament by T&T Cause—a coalition of evangelical churches of the possibility that the High Court may rule against the constitutionality of buggery law.

Justice Devindra Rampersad is set to give a ruling on Thursday on Jones’ challenge that TT’s buggery laws are discriminatory and therefore unconstitutional.

Jones who lives in the United Kingdom, but frequents T&T, said he did not enjoy the same rights as heterosexual people because of Section 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act.

Robinson said they were fearful that any kind of judgment may make their lives challenging in the short-term “because there may be a backlash” or embolden people to discriminate against them.

T&T Cause stated that no matter what the court’s decision, the population wants the buggery laws kept.

He said if should Jones won the matter it would send a message to politicians that “they can’t hide behind criminalisation anymore and they actually have to create policies and programmes that will address a segment of the population that is vulnerable.”

Robinson called on the Evangelical Association to release full details of a national poll on “same-sex attraction” conducted by pollster Nigel Henry.

Diana Mahabir-Wyatt president of the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights who also joined the gathering said there was a need for diversity in T&T and the acceptance that we are all different.

Rusty steel pans were stacked in the open yard of the San Fernando West Secondary School after the pan room was cleared out to make way for the badminton and table tennis students.

The eviction of the Old Tech Steel Orchestra (OTSO), which was formed in July 1994, has left the band with nowhere to practise or store their instruments.

The band’s leader, Sean Ramsey said for years the band had helped to promote positivity and culture for students at the school, even helping to reduce delinquency.

It has grown to include players from other schools. In recent years, the band competed in the National Panorama small bands competition and placed 11th in 2018. The players are preparing to participate in the Point Fortin Borough Day festival at the end of April.

When Ramsey showed up at the compound on Farah Street yesterday, it appeared that it was the end.

“This is where pan has reached in our country when in Switzerland, England and other parts of the world, people are running to this instrument. Now we have people who are victimising our own instrument... It is very sad this morning to know that Old Tech Steel Orchestra, one of the bands in Trinidad and Tobago which has been pioneering pan this way, does not have a school.

“I am seeing all my pans at the back of the school, lined up. These are bass pans, very expensive pans that are being exposed to the weather so we now have to check those pans. One set of bass pans right about now costs about $2,500,” Ramsey said.

He said the school’s principal, Ronald Mootoo, advised them since last August that they would not be allowed to use the compound, as the players lacked supervision and were vandalising the school property.

Ramsey said he informed the Ministry of Education but never got a response.

Since then, they moved some of the instruments to the Hatters pan yard, along Lady Hailes Avenue, while they practised for Carnival in TML Primary School’s carpark.

Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis said he had been looking into the issue and would make further checks. Francis said that anything that would work for the betterment of students and socialise them in a positive way was something a school should encourage.

He said that when the band was given an eviction notice, he was contacted by former community development, culture and gender affairs minister Joan Yuille-Williams. He then asked Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan to allow the band to remain until the Carnival season was completed.

A school official said that in 2008, unknown to the principal, Ramsey registered the band in the National Panorama competition and took on the name, Old Tech Steel Orchestra.

He said for school purposes, the band was called the San Fernando West Secondary Steel Orchestra.

He said Ramsey would carry out the musical arrangement and practice of for band but it was the principal who would determine where they played and when practice was held.

He said that since 2008, the school had been asking the band to move but they had been begging for extensions. The band was given its last extension in 2015.

In 2017, he said, Ramsey made an application to use the school but it was rejected. In response, he along with his lawyers, wrote to the Ministry, claiming squatter’s rights.

In January, the Ministry gave the band up to January 12, to leave the school’s compound but since they did not, some of the pans were removed. He said that the pans were already exposed to rain and that the Ministry of Health found that the drums were collecting water and mosquitoes were breeding in them.

A Venezuelan was killed trying to escape from his abductors who snatched him while he was on his way home from work on Friday night.

Maickal Martinez, 18, was not killed because he was involved in drugs, arms and ammunition and criminal activities, according to close friends of the young man.

Martinez left his job at West Mall, on Friday shortly after 7 pm and boarded a taxi to Port-of-Spain but was instead taken to Laventille where he was robbed of his cash, cell phone and other valuables, police said.

Martinez managed to run a short distance away from his attackers but was shot three times in the back. He was taken to the hospital by police officers on patrol and subsequently succumbed to his injuries.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, a close friend of Martinez, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, described him as a very timid but hardworking individual.

“He was very dedicated to working hard so that he could send back money to his parents so that they could buy food and other essentials that they needed for their survival back in Venezuela.”

“Mickey (as he was fondly called) was a very sweet child who had the biggest of dreams and wanted to achieve so much for his family.

“His sister and him were very very close. His parents are very distraught to have lost their son by this heinous crime,” the friend said.

“His sense of humour was one that would light up any room and he was very affectionate and respectable to everyone he came in contact with throughout his short life.

“He will be dearly missed. May his blessed soul rest in peace,” Martinez’s friend said.

Martinez’s mother is Trinidadian and his father is from Caracas.

He and his sister once lived with their parents in Caracas in Venezuela.

A few months ago, Martinez’s parents decided to send their son and daughter, who both had dual citizenship, to Trinidad to work so that they could send money and food back to them in Venezuela.

The siblings rented an apartment in Curepe.

Martinez worked in a store at The Falls, Westmall while his sister works in a computer company.

Public Service Association (PSA)president Watson Duke says there will be civil disobedience in the country. He is also calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to treat with issues facing the country.

Speaking yesterday at a press conference at the association’s office, Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, Duke said, “We are ready to start protesting, start a level of civil disobedience in this country that was absent over the last two years. We gave it a long rest and now is time the Government speaks to these issues seriously. The Carnival is over and Easter and Good Friday are also over. It now time for the Government to deliver.”

Duke said there has been wanton spending by the Prime Minister and that Government spent millions on paintings, the seabridge, the grooming of the golf course and an ailing minister.

“There is a design call out to the Prime Minister, the head of the Public Service, the head of our country to start handling public servants, officers and workers in general in this country or call elections now. We are not in the mood to play wait or wait for the mid-year review,” he said.

He added: “All that has taken place while my members, 80,000 public servants, in this country continue to catch their nennen and wonder where their next meal is coming from. Wondering how they will pay their debt collectors, going into debt and further debt and this make believe talk that there is no money in the country.”

Duke said the country has been in chaos for some time.

“Then we have the threat of further joblessness by creating the T&T Revenue Authority by destroying WASA, destroying Customs and Excise, destroying Immigration and destroying Petrotrin,” he said.

He said members of his union have been warned of upcoming property tax, public transport and a hike in water and electricity rates.

Duke said during last year’s negotiations in November, the Ministry of Finance offered zero per cent wage increase from 2014 upwards but one per cent wage increase for 2020.

“Where are we going in a country with so much wealth that this country is bursting at its seams with banks accounts sky-rocketing to millions and billions?” he asked.

He said the Government has stopped talking to the PSA. He is also appealing to the Government to “sign (agree) that no one will lose their job.”

He said next week, the PSA intend to hold a “mass burning” of university degrees because they served no purpose in this country, as many people with those degrees cannot find jobs

Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte is supporting statements made by chairman of TTPost Eula Rogers that there are no plans to privatise the organisation.

In a release yesterday, the minister, however, said the he business model of TTPost needs to change.

He said, “The advancement of digital technology has changed market conditions in the postal industry across the globe. And as such, TT Post, like other national postal services, needs to engage in a transformation exercise to adapt to the changed environment.”

In an interview on Sunday, Rogers described as “misleading,” recent statements made by the Postal Workers’ Union (PWU) that plans are afoot to privatise the State-owned public utility company.

Rogers said so in response to claims by general secretary of the PWU David Forbes, who on Saturday at a press conference, accused the Government of undermining the operations of TTPost as they build a case “to move ahead with the privatisation of the organisation.”

Rogers said she had no information to suggest that TTPost was moving to privatise, insisting that she was “taken aback and disturbed,” by Forbes’ comments, since the organisation has been keeping the union up-to-date and informed of the company’s move to develop a new business model.

In his statement yesterday, Le Hunte reiterated the Government’s recognition of TTPost’s obligation under the United Postal Organisation Convention to provide an efficient mail delivery service to the population.

The minister also assured that the organisation’s transformation will enable it to carry out this and other services, more efficiently.

He said, “That efficiency is needed so that, not just TTPost, but all the entities under the ministry’s purview can reduce their dependency on the State, especially in light of the country’s current economic position.”

“The minister agrees with the articulated position that the employees of these utilities may be best positioned to share insights on improving the operational efficiency of their respective agencies.

The minister, since assuming office, has met with several union representatives of the entities under the ministry’s purview, with a view to exploring ways to increase efficiencies, reduce costs, and increase revenues. The management and boards of these entities have also been in regular contact with union representatives, and have provided the Ministry of Public Utilities with consistent feedback, the statement said. Le Hunte also noted that given the country’s economic circumstances, it cannot be business as usual.

Political analysts admit to being shocked by the Cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley via a press release from the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday.

Winford James told Guardian Media: “I did not expect a reshuffle,” since mere days before the Prime Minister had expressed “full confidence in all of his Ministers.”

But the reshuffle, he said, may not have been about a loss of confidence but rather that the Prime Minister was “seeking a better fit of his Ministers with the different portfolios.”

In the reshuffle, Darryl Smith who held the portfolio of Sports and Youth Affairs Minister was demoted to Minister in the Ministry of Housing. Randall Mitchell is no longer the Housing Minister.

That portfolio has been taken up by PM Rowley, in addition to his other responsibilities.

Mitchell has replaced Shamfa Cudjoe as Minister of Tourism and Cudjoe is the new Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs.

Maxie Cuffie who has been hospitalised for the past six months has been demoted to Minister in the Ministry of Public Administration. Marlene McDonald who was appointed Minister in the Ministry of Public Administration in March now assumes the full ministerial portfolio.

James said in the case of Cudjoe, the PM “was signalling that she made some missteps and misstatements on the matter of the sea transportation issue. The statement in particular that she is not a Tobagonian by boat and also that businessmen on the seabridge are fake businessmen, and statements of that kind which have angered a lot of the tourism stakeholders in Tobago.”

By his action, James said, the Prime Minister was “trying to reassure stakeholders in Tobago that he had been taking note,” and shifted Cudjoe to the Sports Ministry.

But tourism interests, he said, could take some “comfort” from her removal.

Political commentator Ralph Maraj said the PM’s reshuffle was “paltry” and was simply a case of “reshuffling bush cards. It is pathetic and will not improve the already low level of performance from what has been a substandard Cabinet.”

Maraj said the PM should have dismissed Darryl Smith. Shifting Smith to the Ministry of Housing, he said, was “a disastrous move. Generally, people feel he should not be in the Cabinet because of the allegations against him and then there is the question of the TT$93,000 jaunt to Tobago.”

Maraj was also of the view that Shamfa Cudjoe should have been dismissed, instead, she was assigned the portfolio of Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs. See Page A5

Days after a major landslip claimed part of the roadway at Garth Road, Williamsville, Works Minister Rohan Sinanan has instructed Director of Highways Navin Ramsingh to investigate.

In an interview Sinanan said Ramsingh will send a team of engineers to assess the problem following which arrangement will be made to rectify the problem.

Chairman of the Jones Street Improvement Committee Ravi Raghunanan said last Friday an area at Scale Road Junction and Garth Road, Williamsville slipped about three feet, causing single lane traffic.

“A private contractor who operates a gravel plant next door brought in some landfill and did some remedial work so at least people can still pass but we need the government to fix this properly,” Raghunanan said.

Chairman of the Princes Town Taxi driver Association Wendell Baboolal said because of the deplorable road conditions taxi drivers were forced to raise their fares.

“People are already paying $8 from Princes Town to Williamsville even though it is only a five mile distance. This road is destroying our vehicles. The cost of maintenance is high and we have no choice at this point,” Baboolal said. He added that residents felt neglected and forsaken.

“These road conditions are affecting the health of the taxi drivers. We have 20 registered taxi drivers and 20 PH drivers and all of us are suffering. Some of us have opted not to work on that route because of the landslip and road conditions,” Baboolal added.

Another resident Alex Jones said during a walkabout six months ago, Sinanan promised to assist in repairing the land slippages at Garth Road and to fix the dilapidated Guaracara/Tabaquite Road which starts at Reform and goers through the communities of Ben Lomond, Williamsville, Whiteland, Mayo, Hardbargain, Ecclesville and ends in Tabaquite.

“We know where the landslides are and we have identified them to the Ministry. Garth Road is a disaster. We highlighted this on our Facebook page since last year but we did not get the support from the government. We went to the Ministry of Works and we were told the government has no money to do anything,” Jones said.

In desperation, the residents also contacted the Ministry’s pothole repair hotline at 623-MEND but nothing was done, Jones added. He noted that the lifespan of a road is about seven years but parts of the Guaracara Tabaquite Road has not been repaired in 20 years.

In a letter sent to Sinanan on April, 9, Naparima MP Rodney Charles called on Sinanan to intervene saying if the landslip worsens the area will be inaccessible.

“Pupils of the Brothers Road Presbyterian School as well as the early childhood centre will be severely affected if the road collapses,” Charles added.

The committee appointed by Cabinet to fast track stalled private sector projects will focus on initiatives valued at $10 million or more that will help diversify the local economy away from dependency on oil and gas.

These are among the terms of reference for the group, chaired by businessman Christian Mouttet, which has already started meeting with private entities, including the T&T Chamber of Commerce, the T&T Manufacturers Association and the American Chamber of Commerce.

According to a release from the Office of the Prime Minister, the committee will not be implementing new projects but will facilitate their progress through the various state entities using existing procedures.

Its terms of reference include that projects must:

• originate from the private sector (local or foreign) and with access to funding (either local or foreign; not from government);
• support and boost the manufacturing and tourism industries;
• support and encourage innovation, import substitution and job creation;
• must be “value added job creation” and not ‘middle-man’ type jobs or projects;
• would improve the quality of life for the citizenry without competing with existing state enterprises. Ideas may include; innovative low-cost housing, power generation and food production.

Private entities wishing to seek the committee’s assistance can email its Secretariat at govpsimplementationcommittee@gmail.com.

Overall market activity resulted from trading in 12 securities of which one advanced, four declined and seven traded firm.

Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 108,997 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $2,224,506.02. Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited was the volume leader with 29,429 shares changing hands for a value of $229,521.20, followed by NCB Financial Group Limited with a volume of 24,363 shares being traded for $151,604.60. T&T NGL Limited contributed 20,792 shares with a value of $574,469.65, while Guardian Holdings Limited added 19,574 shares valued at $313,180.

One Caribbean Media Limited enjoyed the day’s sole price increase, climbing $0.05 to end the day at $12.48. Conversely, First Citizens Bank Limited registered the day’s largest decline, falling $0.11 to close at $32.59.

Clico Investment Fund was the only active security on the Mutual Fund Market, posting a volume of 1,828 shares valued at $36,836.55. It remained at $20.15.

In Monday’s trading session the following reflect the movement of the TTSE Indices:
• The Composite Index declined by 1.41 points (0.11 per cent) to close at 1,259.
• The All T&T Index declined by 0.78 points (0.05 per cent) to close at 1,699.62.
• The Cross Listed Index declined by 0.28 points (0.25 per cent) to close at 110.37.

Against a backdrop of contrasting regional and international economic conditions, the Sagicor Group achieved improvements in revenue, net income and equity for the 2017 financial year.

In a report on the results which has been posted to the T&T Stock Exchange, chairman Stephen McNamara told shareholders: “Regionally, the Caribbean experienced modest economic growth, but continued to engage in fiscal consolidation through various measures of tax increases and public expenditure cuts to reduce high levels of public debt. Internationally, the USA experienced growth, increases in interest rates and a significant, but favourable change in its tax regime for business.”

He said the group’s net income increased by US$6 million from US$109.3 million in 2016, while group equity was US$932.3 million, compared to US$795.4 million in the prior year, an increase of US$136.9 million.

Net income attributable to shareholders was US$72.2 million, compared to US$61.7 million in the prior year, an increase of US $10.5 million. Earnings per common share was US 23.7¢—an annualised return on common shareholders’ equity of 13.3 per cent compared to 12.6 per cent for the prior year.

Total revenue increased to US$1,220.9 million, compared to US $1,134.1 million the previous year, an increase of US$86.8 million or 7.7 per cent. Net premium revenue reached US$745.6 million, compared to US$664 million, an improvement of US$81.6 million or 12.3 per cent. Premium income increased in all segments and benefited from the issuance of a single premium annuity relating to the group’s Jamaica segment.

McNamara said: “Exchange gains/(losses) also showed a loss of US$4.2 million, compared to gains of US$12.6 million in the prior year, a reduction of US$16.8 million. Foreign exchange movements were affected by a strengthening of the Jamaica dollar when compared to the United States dollar in 2016, resulting in foreign exchange declines in financial assets denominated in United States dollars in our Jamaica segment.

“Overall, the company experienced a gain on translation of the Jamaica segment, which is reported in other comprehensive income. In addition, the prior year included exchange gains relating to declines in the Trinidad dollar, when compared to the United States dollar, there was no significant foreign exchange movement, relative to this currency in 2017.”

As at December 31, 2017, Sagicor’s assets amounted to US $6.8 billion, up from US$6.5 billion in 2016 and liabilities closed at US$5.9 billion, compared to US$5.7 billion for the previous year.

Sagicor is listed on the Barbados and T&T Stock Exchanges and the London Exchange.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley may have generated more questions than answers to the changes he made in his cabinet lineup yesterday.

It was clear that he had to do something about Darryl Smith who had sought to be the “best performing minister” but who, to put it mildly, appears to have had performance issues.

Shifting Smith to the housing ministry that the PM will now head appears to be one way of keeping tabs on him while saving him from the ignominy of a firing.

The PM seems hesitant to fire people without giving them a chance to redeem themselves.

Take the case of Marlene McDonald who has had several reincarnations while still facing the prospect of an inquiry into her actions in former portfolios.

And what of Shamfa Cudjoe as Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs who many regarded as being out of her depth in the tourism ministry?

Is Cudjoe’s replacement in tourism expected to bring any new vibrancy to the ministry and put an end to the petty squabbles we have heard about?

None of the reaction has been positive and confirms the feeling that the PM had started out with a weak cabinet that did not have the capacity to deliver the kind of administration he promised.

Reshuffles are often expected to bring a new dynamism to the cabinet and give some ministers an opportunity to shine even brighter.

We are not convinced that yesterday’s changes will have that kind of impact.

Gender policy
Had it been fully in place, the National Policy in Gender and Development would have at least provided a basis for more level-headed discussions of two burning gender issues.

Yesterday’s protest by LGBTI activists outside Parliament and Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus’ revelation that there has never been a policy on sexual harassment in the public service, show up gaps and shortcomings on matters of gender that can potentially hinder progress in key areas.

The reality is that no framework currently exists in T&T to facilitate full and equal participation of men and women in the development process all because no political administration is willing to push past conflicts over sexual orientation and reproductive rights.

Ahye Ahye!

Tommy Joseph already has the chorus. He tried it out yesterday morning on Vibe CT105 as the morning team broke the news that our golden girl Michelle had just struck gold on the Gold Coast. It reminds us of Sparrow’s Penny when she won the Miss Universe crown in 1977.

Having written critically about the harm the SEA exam is doing to our children and the lack of a family-oriented paediatric service in the PICU at EWMSC, it was gratifying to have two positive experiences last week. On Monday I was shown, by a new mother, a notification titled, “Kids Get Warm Welcome at Mt Hope Women’s Hospital: New mothers can welcome their entire home at their bedside to meet the newest member of their family!” That’s a move in the right direction. Congratulations to the staff.

On Friday a child came in needing referral to an eye specialist. Parents were having some problems getting the referral at the Health Centre. Two phone calls later, problem solved, the system worked and hopefully by today the child will be on the way to recovery. Congrats to my two colleagues who assisted. They know who they are.

So, despite the best efforts of incompetent, racially motivated politicians moving around in escorted cars and helicopters while the rest of us fight up with the traffic on land, sea and air, we have some commendable things going on.

My friends, old fogies all, beg to differ. Through their rum or nowadays, whiskey-tinted spectacles, they affirm that things were better in the forties, fifties and sixties. Not only in T&T. World was healthier, less epidemics, less wars, less violence, they like to say. People were happier.

Some of them like to wax poetic about life in ancient agricultural societies and speechify about the pleasures of the simple life, when women knew their place, no doubt on their backs.

Some statistics seem in order. In the late twentieth century life expectancy doubled, from 40 to70-plus. Most of this is because we have virtually eliminated premature death ie death from childhood infectious diseases. In the so-called “golden age” of the fifties, children in T&T were dying in droves from malaria, typhoid fever, gastro, diphtheria and polio. I saw children with tetanus and whooping cough on the paediatric wards at Port-of-Spain Hospital as late as 1980. There were few premature babies around to increase the ranks of the disabled. Most died. I have figures from the Prem Unit at POSGH from the 70’s.

Fifty per cent mortality in 1979. Death was so common grieving parents were comforted, “You could make ah nex one!” Sex, the second great island reliever.

Now a child’s death is an automatic cause for a lawsuit or investigation.

These days, less than five per cent of children die before reaching adulthood. In the developed world the rate is under one per cent. Vaccinations, antibiotics, improved hygiene and a better medical infrastructure are the reasons. Not diet as so many people think. Smallpox has been eradicated.

You can estimate the age of people by checking for the smallpox scar on their arms. If it’s there, they were born before 1979, the last year when smallpox vaccination was given anywhere in the world. If it were not for some radical, fundamentalist Muslim groups in Nigeria and Afghanistan and a corrupt, communist regime in Venezuela, we would be close to doing the same thing for measles and polio.

Poverty was endemic in the fifties; starving, marasmus were common on the wards. Today the problem is overweight. In 2010 famine and malnutrition combined killed about one million people, whereas obesity killed three million. In 2014 more than two billion people were overweight compared to 850 million who suffered from malnutrition. Half of mankind is expected to be overweight by 2013. One third of Trinidadians is overweight already.

People say there’s too much violence? In 2010 obesity and related illnesses killed about three million people, terrorists killed a total of 7,697. For the average Trinidadian, Milo poses a far deadlier threat than ISIS.

What’s the problem then? Not only old fogies with warped memories but expectations. It took little to make someone happy 70 years ago. How do you bring joy today, to bored, overpaid and overweight people who believe they are entitled?

Ireland and Poland are two European countries that are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. The religion counts for about 80 per cent of Ireland’s five million population, and 95 per cent of Poland’s 40 million population.

Even though religious freedom is a constitutionally protected right in both countries, they are in the midst of re-examining their laws regarding abortion. Ireland’s government is debating a new amendment that would legalise the procedure.

Whereas Poland, which already has the toughest anti-abortion laws in Europe, the ruling right-wing party is attempting to implement a bill that would further restrict access to it.

These are just two situations in the ongoing secular debate on whether the state should defy the teachings of a higher authority for the purpose of serving a “greater” good.

Two days from now, on April 12, the High Court will rule on the buggery statutes of the Sexual Offences Act (sections 13 and 16) in the landmark case that was filed by Trinidad-born gay rights activist Jason Jones. It’s a day that’s been a long time coming for the local LGBT community and–dare I say–should have come a long time ago. However, it’s ironic how both the current and previous prime ministers have paid lip service to their cause but ended up lacking the political will to address it directly.

Even worse, the reality that both administrations have abandoned it to a political no man’s land shows that they either don’t care about the issue or remain beholden to the religious interests amongst the electorate.

Earlier last month, Bishop Victor Gill of the Redemption Christian Centre, led a small gathering outside Parliament to voice their objection to the proposed repeal of the Buggery Laws. While making it clear that he harbours no resentment towards homosexuals and members of the LGBT community, he claimed to be acting in the best interests of the country and was speaking on behalf of thousands of citizens. He said that it was “scientifically proven” (it’s not) that there’s a correlation between sexual perversion and an increase in crime and that, “…gay rights should not be superior to heterosexual rights.”

This sentiment was repeated during a media conference held last Wednesday by the Christian non-governmental organisation, T&T Cause, announcing their intention to hold another protest outside the Hall of Justice on the day of the court’s ruling.

Taking centre stage once again, Bishop Gill was of the opinion that LGBT persons are not entitled to equal rights as, “… (homosexuality) is not a human right, it is a human wrong.”

Unfortunately, this twisted logic is not unique to religious fundamentalists and strikes a similar chord to Sat Maharaj’s staunch defence of the age allowance in the Hindu Marriage Act.

Notwithstanding the rationale behind such ecclesiastical thinking, even if the intention lacks overt malice, religion must not trump reason when it comes to basic human rights. When this government set the minimum age for marriage at 18-years-old, it risked alienating the Hindu and Muslim communities but was nonetheless the right thing to do as it protects the rights of ALL under age children, both girls and boys.

It’s just a shame that the same legislative fortitude is lacking when it comes to protecting the rights of gay citizens. And the issue is instead being left up to the courts to determine whether the before-mentioned law is unconstitutional.

We’ve all heard some version of the adage that “doing the right thing isn’t always the easiest or the most popular thing to do”. Well Trinidad and Tobago, we are about to face one of those moments. Even if the law has never been enforced, as long as it remains on the books it labels some of our citizens as criminals due to their sexual orientation. That notion cannot be allowed to continue.

So to those citizens who feel that their religious beliefs will be offended by removing the Buggery Laws, tough! If the teachings of a higher authority can’t bequeath equality for all under heaven then they have no say when it comes to the making and rescinding of laws on earth.

CineLit is an innovative hybrid of film and literature and one of the highlights of the eight annual T&T literary festival, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest.

Thirty-one films from over 22 countries, including 17 films in Spanish and Portuguese, all subtitled, and range from award-winning feature films based on the work of some of Latin America’s greatest writers, to children’s animations and stirring documentaries about contemporary life. All free, with a choice of seeing them at UWI, St Augustine or at Nalis, Port-of-Spain, between April 16-29.

Comedy, tragedy, romance are all part of the CineLit mix, plus another chance to see two memorable films in English: the prize-winning Green Days by the River, directed by Trinidadian Michael Mooledhar and adapted for the big screen from the popular Michael Anthony 1950s coming-of-age novel; and in collaboration with Green Screen the Environmental Film Festival, Death by a Thousand Cuts, a striking documentary that tells the story of the unending struggle between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, this time over the illicit exploitation of the remaining forest for charcoal that Haitians depend on but which has lead to severe deforestation.

Migration of Caribbean people and its effect is one of the themes of the 2018 festival, and the movement of music with its practitioners as they travelled to escape or find work around the Caribbean basin is a remarkable story. Ferguson is a documentary about Walter Ferguson, the King of Calypso from Limon in Costa Rica where English-speaking “caribeños” settled and their music took root.

In a panel discussion that follows the screening on April 27, Rudolph Ottley, author of Ambataila Women: The Untold Story in Calypso from Chanterelle to Calypsonian 1838-2014, discusses the annual Caribbean calypso festival in Limon with Maria Nunes, the photographer who is archiving T&T’s cultural heritage.

Having its world premiere is a series of films specially produced in collaboration with international partners in an NGC Bocas Lit Fest initiative. Pacific Voices brings together six poets from around the world together with six film makers who interpret their work in short films.

From T&T award-winning director Maya Cozier teams up with Kayo Chingonyi from the UK, and multi-prizewinning poet Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné has her work interpreted by Puleng Langa Sturart from South Africa.

Wayne Brown was a journalist and writer whose name still resonates with many younger Caribbean writers, having mentored several of them in his native T&T, and in Jamaica where he later lived. His filmmaker daughter Mariel Brown’s new film Unfinished Sentences brings the private life of this touchstone literary father into focus and sheds new light on his relationship with the own daughters.

Unlike the other CineLit films being screened free of charge at Nalis, the T&T premiere of Unfinished Sentences will be screened at the Central Bank Auditorium, price $180 to include a welcome cocktail reception on April 26, at 6.30 pm.

Like Green Days by the River, there will be only one screening. All other films receive repeat screenings.

A full CineLit film progamme is at: www.bocaslitfest.com.

CineLit is a collaboration between the Latin American embassies, Spain, UWI and the NGC Bocas Lit Fest. It is part of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest. Title sponsor is the National Gas Company; lead sponsor is First Citizens; main sponsors are the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts and One Caribbean Media.
Massy Foundation and UWI are also sponsors.

FILM LIST

MONDAY, APRIL 16
All films screened on
UWI St Augustine Campus
11 am: Mañana no te olvides
(Don’t forget tomorrow)
Comedy/Drama ∙ 2017 ∙ 110 mins ∙ Dominican Republic ∙ PG
Director: José Enrique Pintor
Widowed Roberto, suffering from Alzheimer’s, goes to live with his daughter’s family and unexpectedly he and his grandson, 22-year-old Jan who has Downs Syndrome, find a new closeness and solace in each other.
Venue: CLL Auditorium, UWI
5 pm: Guamá: Entre el mar y la montaña (Guamá: Between the sea and the mountain)
Drama ∙ 2015 ∙ 21 mins ∙ Cuba ∙ All Ages
A film about a multi-layered community project designed to protect the special Guamá coastal region in southern Cuba, vulnerable to the extreme effects of climate change.
Venue: AV Room, The Alma Jordan Library, UWI
5.30 pm: Ferguson, El Trovador de Cahuita (Ferguson, the Troubadour of Cahuita)
Documentary ∙ 2010 ∙ 25 mins ∙ Costa Rica ∙ All Ages
A documentary on the life and career of the greatest exponent of calypso from Limón, Walter Ferguson, “Calypso King” of Costa Rica’s Caribbean region.
Venue: AV Room, The Alma Jordan Library, UWI
TUESDAY, APRIL 17
All films screened on
UWI St Augustine Campus
11 am: La Matamoros (Matamoros)
Documentary ∙ 2016 ∙ 60 mins ∙ Panamá ∙ PG
Director: Delfina Vidal
1940s factory worker Marta Matamoros became a pioneering unionist fighting for the rights of Panamanians. Incorruptible and unbending despite imprisonment, she achieved the minimum wage and maternity leave for workers. Her former sister-in-arms recounts her inspiring life story with love and admiration.
Venue: CLL Auditorium, UWI
1pm: La Fiesta del Chivo (The Feast of the Goat)
Drama ∙ 2005 ∙ 132 mins ∙ Peru ∙ 17+
Director: Luis Llosa
Film version of Nobel Prize-winner Mario Vargas Llosa’s best-selling novel, telling the story of Urania Cabral an independent-minded Manhattan lawyer who, after 30 years, returns to the Dominican Republic to face the ghosts of her earlier life there under the ruthless dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, aka El Chivo (The Goat).
Venue: AV Room, The Alma Jordan Library, UWI 5 pm: La Novia (The Bride)
Drama ∙ 2015 ∙ 94 mins ∙ Spain ∙ 13+
Director: Paula Ortiz
Two men, one woman, one wedding and one desire. The story of a passion that destroys the lives of those who suffer the tragedy of a forbidden love. A film full of poetry and cinematic beauty based on Federico García Lorca’s famous drama, Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding). Awards: Goya Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography.
Venue: AV Room, The Alma Jordan Library, UWI
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18
All films screened on
UWI St Augustine Campus
11 am: La Fiesta del Chivo (The Feast of the Goat)
Drama ∙ 2005 ∙ 132 mins ∙ Peru ∙ 17+
Director: Luis LLosa
Film version of Nobel Prize-winner Mario Vargas Llosa’s best-selling novel, telling the story of Urania Cabral an independent-minded Manhattan lawyer who, after 30 years, returns to the Dominican Republic to face the ghosts of her earlier life there under the ruthless dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, aka El Chivo (The Goat).
Venue: AV Room, The Alma Jordan Library, UWI
1.30 pm: La tierra y la sombra (Land and Shade)
Drama ∙ 2015 ∙ 94 mins ∙ Colombia ∙ 13+
Director: César Augusto Acevedo
Battling illness, poverty and family breakdown, Alfonso and his family reunite to face one of their worst struggles to survive the drudgery and hardship of the sugarcane workers’ daily life. Awards: Cannes Camera d’Or, Best First Feature.
Venue: AV Room, The Alma Jordan Library, UWI
5 pm La Fórmula del Doctor Funes (Dr Funes’ Formula)
Children’s comedy ∙ 2014 ∙ 82 mins ∙ México ∙ All Ages
Director: José Buil
Film version of Francisco Hinojosa’s novel about Dr. Funes, who discovers a formula to achieve eternal youth, and when he tests it on himself he becomes a 12-year-old who embarks on new adventures with his friend Martín Poyo.
Venue: AV Room, The Alma Jordan Library, UWI
THURSDAY, APRIL 19
All films screened on
UWI St Augustine Campus
1 pm: Los Libros y la Noche (Books and the night)
Documentary feature ∙ 2000 ∙ 78 mins ∙ Argentina ∙ PG
Director: Tristán Bauer
A film on the life of one of Argentina’s greatest writers, Jorge Luis Borges, based on his thoughts, ideology and literary works.
Venue: The UWI Film Unit, 8 Carmody Street, St. Augustine
5 pm: El Benny (The Life and Times of Benny Moré)
Musical drama∙ 2006 ∙ 132 mins ∙ Cuba ∙ 16+
Director: Jorge Luis Sánchez
The dramatic life of Cuba’s great musician Benny Moré during the 1950s is captured in this fictional account that includes new versions of his songs performed by Chucho Valdes, Juan Formell, Haila and Orishas. Awards: Best male actor, Locarno International Film Festival, Santo Domingo International Film Festival and Madrid International Festival; Best First Film, New Latin American Film Festival, Havana.
Venue: The UWI Film Unit, 8 Carmody Street, St Augustine
FRIDAY, APRIL 20
All films screened on
UWI St Augustine Campus
1 pm: Mutum
Drama ∙ 2007 ∙ 90 mins ∙ Brazil ∙ 13+
Director: Sanda Kogut
This adaptation of the novella General Field by celebrated writer João Guimarāes Rosa is a moving story of loss and innocence told through Thiago, a sensitive and hopeful boy growing up in Brazil’s rugged and arid sertão region of Minas Gerais in the 1930s.
Venue: CLL Auditorium, UWI
5pm: Cenizas eternas (Eternal Ashes)
Drama ∙ 2011 ∙ 113 mins ∙ Venezuela ∙ 17+
Director: Margarita Cadenas
An accident in the 1950s on the mythical Orinoco River in Venezuela destines Ana to live with the Yanomami tribe. Her daughter Elena cannot accept her disappearance and ventures into the jungle in search of her. A touching story of loss, love and survival, inspired by real events.
Venue: AV Room, The Alma Jordan Library, UWI

What if the world paused for a moment, for one day with one mission in mind—to give with kindness. This is the passion that drives Good Deeds Day. Since its launch in 2007, Good Deeds Day has become an annual tradition of doing good that unites over 2.5 million volunteers from over 93 countries to do good for the benefit of the people and the planet. That is millions of people and thousands of organisations joining forces to volunteer for Good.

Recognised on April 15, the world will join its hands and lend its strength to causes that encourage your involvement through kindness. With a vision to inspire persons to ‘think good, speak good and do good’, the founder of this international NGO, philanthropist Shari Arison, hopes that these circles of goodness will grow as more citizens participate in Good Deeds Day.

This year, the Volunteer Center of T&T (VCTT), through its Caribbean Volunteer eXchange network, has partnered with the organisers of Good Deeds Day and have mobilised Volunteer Involving Organisations from across the region to implement the Caribbean edition under the theme of Plant for Peace.

2018 regional partners for Good include United Nations Volunteers (UNV), Action Towards Initiatives and Volunteering for Education in Haiti (ACTIVEH), World Merit Haiti, Suricorps for Development (Suriname), Volunteer Saint Lucia- Choiseul Chapter, Youths Inspiring Positive Change—Positive Organisation and The Christelle Harris Charity Fund (Jamaica), Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (CYPAN), Caricom Youth Ambassadors T&T (CYA) and Commonwealth Youth Sport for Development & Peace Network (CYSDP).

Plant for Peace will take life in T&T through the establishment of Community Gardens in Port-of -Spain and a Beach Beautification and Fun Day at Mount Irvine Beach, Tobago. These Community Gardens will be launched in 12 districts in collaboration with the Port-of-Spain City Corporation, WhyFarm and AhGrow TT.

On Good Deeds Day volunteers will work with members of the community to transform an underutilised space next to the Robert Greenidge playground in Gonzales from a lot of land to a lot of food through the planting of short and long harvest crops. Organisers envision that these gardens can provide an alternative and viable source of new income for participating members of the community and pioneer the start of an Agri-Preneurship movement in our capital. Food has and will always be a mechanism to bring people and communities together, thus fostering these gardens will foresee a greater community spirit and appreciation for agriculture.

Caricom Youth Ambassadors are spearheading Tobago activities and volunteers also mobilised by CYPAN for an orphanage meal and gardening tour which began last Sunday.

The first Community Garden will be launched next Sunday at Robert Greenidge Playground, Gonzales or Mount Irvine’s Beach Beautification and Fun Day in Tobago. Organisers invite everyone to sow a seed, do a good deed and plant a piece of land for peace. Support this initiative by gifting seeds or tools, donating financial resources or volunteering your time and skills. All contributions will be felt and even the smallest can bloom an abundance of good in this world.

All Hibiscus Ladies needed was a win in their final match to seal the Premiership Division 50-Over title and that they did, defeating Players Sports Club by seven wickets at Brazil Recreation Ground in the final round of matches in the T&T Women's Cricket Association League on Sunday.

Backed by the bowling of Collins sisters, Alice and Allison, and batting led by duo Shari John and Natasha McClean, who each produced half-centuries, Hibiscus got its sixth win to go along with two draws and two losses, to top the points table with 20 points.

Players batted first and despite getting a brilliant half-century (86) from Shania Abdool, were bowled out in 31.2 overs for 163. This was thanks to bowlers Alice, who led with 3/34, and Allison, who claimed 2/18.

In reply, Hibiscus needed just 23.4 overs to reach its target with John posting 53 and McClean, an unbeaten 52, to help their team to 164-2 to seal the victory and the title. Their teammate Karishma Ramharack also came good with 33.

In the battle for second place between former champions Technocrats and Preysal Phoenix, who met on Sunday at Esmeralda in their round 10 match, it was the former producing a four-wicket win to match Phoenix's 19 points. However, due to Technocrats having a better net run rate (NRR) of 0.86 compared to Phoenix's 0.84, it finished as the runner-up.

In the other match at Pinto Recreation Ground in Arima, Moosai with an unbeaten century (118 not out) from Amanda Samaroo, secured a huge 191-run win over beat Cricket Lovers, who were be relegated to the Championship Division.

Next season though, champion of that division, Cricket Divas, will challenge the top local women's teams after being promoted to Premiership Division.

Cricket Divas (2.77) earned the crown on having a better NRR than Preysal Achievers (1.91). Both closed the competition on 19 points from six wins, a draw and a loss.

Let us be brutally honest!

Or at least stay close with the truth!

The people of this country have extremely short memories, we forget easily and jump on bandwagons quickly. However, the reality is that most if not all of our athletes at the Commonwealth Games have been poorly treated in terms of funding and financial support from both corporate T&T and our government.

Dylan Carter, a 2018 reigning Commonwealth Games silver medallist is a prime example when it comes to this lack of support deliberate or otherwise. This young athlete who has flown the red, white and black national flag at the Gold Coast Games down under already after he climb the podium for the silver medal which created history in the 50 metres butterfly event last Friday, does not ask for much and goes about representing his country. He has done it from youth level to now senior ranks without any noise or fanfare and so the average person believes all is well with him.

My question is why should Dylan Carter’s parents have to finance their son's sporting career for as long as they have. He brings excellence and promotes the country on the international stage year after year. Just because he does not complain or quarrel, or don't make as much noises as others mean he's not in need of assistance as an Elite athlete.

There's no doubt that Carter, 22, is one of the future faces of our sports and need the necessary support, and so to, the many other promising Carters out there as well. When you look at the absolute respect that Carter has earned in his short time on the international level it's phenomenal and signifies what some of us already know, the pedigree and class of the athlete.

I have known Carter since his days at Fatima College when he and Joshua Romany (Dean Romany’s son) and others would come and talk about swimming, education and life, as 15-year olds, so yes, seven-years later, the progression and more importantly transition is a credit to their family life (Edward and Tracy Carter and the Romany’s) and upbringing.

Carter’s exploits have made us all proud again, it has lifted this country at a time when it not only needs it, but was dying for something positive. This positivity was felt and displayed at every corner shop, home, every workplace, every government office, in every taxi and on the streets of our twin island country.

Anyway, Let us hope that most if not all of the monies invested so far by his parents can in some way be reimbursed through the proper channels in this country so that other parents can understand that the financial sacrifices which are needed by them (early in the morning pool time, transportation, school, meets, coaches and nutrition) can in some way be rewarded and not with just a – Thank you -.

Going forward, the citizens of T&T need to display respect for every single athlete no matter their race, colour or creed and we need to be fair with all of them and not give hidden bias financial support to those we believe are less disadvantage over another. That sort of preferential treatment or lack thereof is unfair and unacceptable.