On Monday April 18, 1966, the late Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, stepped onto the tarmac at Piarco International Airport and was greeted by then prime minister Dr Eric Williams and members of his Cabinet.

The year before, Dr Williams had visited the east African country and issued an invitation to Selassie who had been planning to visit the region, especially  Jamaica where he was revered as a spiritual figure by Rastafarians there. When the Caribbean expedition came off, T&T was the firststop, followed by a tumultuous trip to Jamaica.

Rastafarian researcher, Tyehimba Salandy, believes the emperor’s visit was pivotal to the subsequent, exponential growth of the faith in T&T and the strengthening of the movement in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

In introducing Salandy at a National Trust public lecture in Port-of-Spain last Thursday, Lisa-Ann Paul, who functions as heritage preservation and research officer at the National Trust, argued that “this momentous occasion (the Selassie visit) may have provided the impetus for the early beginnings of the Rastafari movement in Trinidad and Tobago.”

However, Salandy went on to advise a packed Old Fire Station hall last Thursday, Rastafarianism was yet to confront its sturdiest challenges.

In fact, Salandy argued that in addition to endemic racism against people of African descent, the “nationalist project in Trinidad” contributed more than its fair share of physical violence against and the marginalisation and social alienation of Rastafarians.

Backed by a selection of news clippings and photographs, Salandy said Rastas were openly vilified by different sections of the national community and persecuted by the police.

“It was clear that the authorities and many members of the public viewed Rastas with great contempt and disgust, viewing them as illiterates, insane, deviant and criminal,” Salandy argued.

He said the movement gained momentum in the years following the 1970 Black Power uprising when Afro hairstyles began giving way to dreadlocks. This was bolstered by the growing influence of Jamaican reggae superstars “who were rooted in the Rastafari tradition.”

He identified other influences such as the use of marijuana in the religious rites of Hindus together with their vegetarianism.

There was also the legacy of a relatively strong, black conscious, Garveyite movement during the pre-independence years that fed into the growth of trade unionism and radical thought.

Salandy argued that an important contributory factor behind a lack of recognition for Rastas was a prevailing repudiation of “the strong ethnic identification” of the group with things African.

This, he said, found expression in Dr Williams’ famous speech in which he asserted that there was no place for “Mother Africa” in T&T.

He also pointed to media reportage on the growing presence of Rastas throughout T&T, citing one 1973 newspaper article which referred to the group as “a bunch of filthy, unkempt black power terrorists who are only out to make trouble.”

Rastafarians were also readily associated with the activities of the National Union of Freedom Fighters (NUFF), whose members were systematically hunted down and killed after launching attacks on police stations and other facilities throughout Trinidad.

This, Salandy argued, provided the impetus behind growing threats of violence, killings and discrimination that threateneda proper place in school for Rastafarian
 children and jobs for adherents to the faith.

The evening’s proceedings also gratuitously conflated the problems of Rastas with the plight of Afro-Trinidadians generally.

Paul, for example, suggested that the gains of the Black Power movement “were such that persons of darker hues were able to navigate social and economic spaces with greater ease.”

However, she added, “The Black Power Movement was by no means a cure-all. We still have a lot of work to do to move the mountain that is colonialism, self-hate and general ignorance.”

She argued that in addition to the conflict associated with a lack of self-appreciation was the battle to claim “our heritage; that is, the tangible and intangible legacies of a culture or environment that informs usabout ourselves.”

“European heritage represented through sites, monuments, properties, and other cultural facets are often regarded more highly than others mostly based on the outdated misconception that colonial inheritances are superior to indigenous and non-European heritage.”

Both Paul and Salandy, whose lecture was the highlight of the evening, appeared to be saying that the insights of the early days of African/Rastafarian awareness remained challenged by school curricula, mass media and general systems of social organisation that continue to marginalise the value Rastafarian values can bring to T&T society.

There were no dissenting voices in the audience.

There are those in authority who have said that police are trained to treat with the mentally ill and there are also those in authority who assure us that police are not trained to deal with those presenting with acute mental ill health.

They may both be right depending on where you stand. What to your mind, for example, does being “trained to treat with the mentally ill” entail? We know police can train guns on the mentally ill, as they have been known to do, but what training is that based on? What directives are given to officers and what modes have they been trained to employ to subdue those in distress before the “shoot-to-kill” instruction?

I even venture to ask, “What in the belief system about the mentally ill makes a police officer shoot a person, not to maim or subdue—like on the leg—but determinedly to kill?

Looking at the research, the expert consensus in many jurisdictions and countries with seemingly better policing than ours is that “officers often lack the training to approach the mentally unstable”.

A 2008 study says, “Police officers report such situations as problematic because persons with mental illness may not respond well to traditional police tactics (Engel, Sobol, & Worden,2000).”

But it seems here, as in many other places where we have regular shooting to death of the mentally ill by law enforcement, all police seem to employ is “traditional tactics” in situations where they are treating with the mentally ill who do not process thoughts and behaviour in any “traditional” manner.

Lack of competence

Police display lack of competence, compassion was this column’s headline when they killed Paul Marchan (http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2017-03-29/police-display-lack-compe...)

Marchan, 30, was shot dead on March 16, 2017, by officers of the Western Division Task Force who responded to reports he was acting in a deranged manner.

The news story then said, “Marchan went to a relative’s Diego Martin home and was hurling objects. When the police arrived, he allegedly doused himself in a flammable liquid and locked himself in his car. When the officers finally got him out the car, he allegedly slashed one of the officers on his hand with a piece of broken bottle and stabbed the other with a knife.

The report said that when Task Force officers arrived Marchan reportedly charged towards them with the knife and they shot him twice.

On April 1, 2017, according to reports, Raymond Joseph, 51, of Mahaica Road, Point Fortin, was shot and killed by municipal officers inside the Point Fortin Area Hospital after he was allegedly behaving violently and grabbing an officer’s gun.

Joseph allegedly grabbed the gun of the municipal police officer who had assisted in taking him to the Area Hospital. Relatives of Joseph, a retired soldier, had sought the police’s help to take him to the hospital for treatment. He allegedly began acting violently at his home and relatives sought help from officers.

He was shot three times.

The final story highlighted today, mercifully ended with the “assailant” being hospitalised.

On Saturday, November 25, 2017, the headline read, Police shoot man after roadside rage and told of the story of a man suspected of being mentally ill who picked up a two-year-old boy and shook him “like a stuffed toy” along the Tarouba Road, San Fernando.

Police said that around 8 am, the suspect walked up to a doubles van at the top of the Tarouba Interchange, where the boy was standing with his mother from where he grabbed the child.

Police reported that it took several minutes after the suspect was shot for him to lose enough energy for them to detain him, so severe was his tantrum.

The Guardian news story reported that, “The suspect asked for water, but before he could be given, he smashed the glass case holding the doubles. As patrons stood in shock, the man picked up the boy and choked him, while saying ‘This is a robot’. A woman pulled the boy away and ran.”

A fruit vendor who witnessed the incident, alerted two officers who were on traffic duty. The suspect began biting Dulan’s fruits and throwing them on the roadside before capsizing the stall.

The story said, “As WPC Mahabir approached the suspect, he picked up a piece of wood and struck her in the head. But as the man advanced towards Mahabir’s colleague, the officer shot the suspect twice in his leg. This did not stop him as he took up and a piece of wood and banged it against the police vehicle.”

The officer was treated and discharged. The man was hospitalised.

– Caroline C Ravello is a strategic communications and media professional and a public health practitioner. She holds an MA with Merit in Mass Communications (University of Leicester) and is a Master of Public Health With Distinction (The UWI). Write to: mindful.tt@gmail.com

Last Monday, the National Library and Information System Authority (Nalis), in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain and the Ministry of Education (MOE), through its Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Secretariat for the Implementation of Spanish (SIS), hosted activities to commemorate World Book and Copyright Day and the International Spanish Language Day at Nalis. Other partners for the day’s activities included the Embassies of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic and the NGC Bocas Lit Fest.

Events began at 9 am with the screening of the Spanish children’s film Atrapa La Bandera at the Audio Visual Room. This formed part of the CineLit Festival, which has become a fixture at the annual Bocas Lit Fest. Other films screened included Lluvia en los ojos, El regreso del Vampire, ¿Qué es la guerra?, Un día en familia and El Regalo de Anancy.

From 10 am, at the Abercromby Street arcade of the library, students showcased their Spanish-language talents during the Spanish Read-a-thon. From noon, the Children’s Library Storytelling Room was the venue for Spanish language workshops targeting children between the ages of six and 12 years and Form Four pupils attended a writing workshop with Chilean autor, Marcelo Simonetti, at First Floor Seminar Room.

Students of Spanish at UWI joined the day’s activities to recite poems and literary fragments. The day’s events concluded with the screening of the film La Novia at 5:30 pm and a promotional video on the importance of learning Spanish.

Debbie Goodman, Nalis’ manager corporate communications said that Nalis’ commemoration of Spanish Language Day is yet another effort by the Authority to promote the use of Spanish as a second language and Spanish and Latin American culture. In addition to Spanish classes conducted by libraries, in June 2017, Nalis introduced its Latin Nights programme which celebrated Latin American traditions, music, dance, films, art, poetry and cuisine.

Last year, Latin Nights was held in association with the Embassies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba and El Salvador. The second edition of Latin Nights will be held from June 11 – 16 this year.

In September 2017, as a result of the association with the embassies for Latin Nights, Club de Español, a Spanish language conservation club was born. Sessions are held every Wednesday at the National Library from 5 pm to 7 pm.

The highly anticipated 2018 Jazz experience in Tobago has started. Community-based organisation Plymouth Bethesda Heritage Development Foundation (PBHDF) was first to host its Jazz event—Plymouth Jazz @Dawn Breakfast Fest—with the theme Let’s Start the Experience, on Sunday, April 22. The event, which is in its second year, promotes local breakfast dishes prepared by home-grown cooks and chefs in Plymouth such as the traditional heart-warming cocoa tea, roast bake with a variety of favourite fillings.

The community group teamed up with API Record Label CEO Avery Seaton, who conceptualised the event, with the intent of reviving the community by creating interest and revenue for local business owners. Many may recall that Plymouth was the first district in Tobago where the Jazz Festival was held in 2004. However, due to a decline in revenue in the heavily touted event, the Festival was postponed. In 2010 the Festival was revived by the administration but was never returned to Plymouth.

In 2017, a group of dedicated members of the (PBHDF) took up the challenge of reinstating Jazz with the Breakfast Fest concept and christened it Plymouth Jazz@ Dawn. The main intention of returning Jazz to Plymouth is to give the villagers a sense of hope and recreate the excitement that was once enjoyed by business and community. The organisers intend to promote performers from Tobago and Trinidad, initially, to provide a space for local acts and build interest in Jazz among this sector.

The headline performers for Plymouth Jazz@ Dawn Breakfast Fest 2018 were, from Trinidad, Brendon “I-Sasha” Young, Tobago songstress Adana Roberts, pianist Sean “Sesalito” Mc Coon, 2018 Tobago Soca Monarch Jehvon “Royal” Jackson and veteran artiste Jeffery “Prince Unique” Thomas Upcoming Tobago artistes Sarah “Devine” Clarke and Kelsie “Kellz” Robley also featured at the event.

Plymouth/Golden Lane area representative Assemblyman Marisha Osmond has taken keen interest in the event’s development and was one of the main sponsors this year. The 2018 sponsors included Darryl’s Famous Foods, Davyn’s Limited, Angostura, Quality Stamps, Men of Exile, Trico Industries, and Street 91.9FM.

The organisers also extended special thanks to Buccoo/Mt Pleasant and Providence/Mason Hall/Moriah area representatives Ancil Dennis and Sheldon Cunnigham, respectively.

Organisers say some of the sponsors and individuals who have already committed to support the event in 2019 and the theme for next year’s event has already been identified—Plymouth—I Am Jazz.

ANDREA DE SILVA
andrea.desilva@silvaimage.net

The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts will be hosting two jazz concerts tomorrow. The first concert will be the second edition of the Live@Lunch concert entitled Simply Jazz and it will be held in Woodford Square, Port-of-Spain, from noon to 1 pm.

This event supports the Live Music District initiative for Port-of-Spain; a collaborative project among CreativeTT (MusicTT) and the Port-of-Spain City Corporation. With support from the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts. This endeavour is aimed at creating a platform to promote the upcoming musicians of T&T across all genres.

Last Sunday evening, Live Music District treated a large audience to a live command performance by 2018 National Panorama (Large) champion bpTT Renegades and five artistes on Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook.

Featured acts for tomorrow’s Live@Lunch concert are jazz pianist Adan Hagely, fast-rising LeAndra Head, Moricia Cagan, Shaniqu3, Shannon Z Francois and Candice Caton.

The second concert, titled Fusion, the Jazz Experience, takes place tomorrow evening at 7 pm, on the Steps of National Academy for the Performing Arts (Napa), Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain. As a special treat to the public, the ministry will host a Craft Market at 3 pm at the same venue.

Headliners for tomorrow evening’s free concert are the National Steel Symphony Orchestra, Vaughnette Bigford, Michael “Ming” Low Chew Tung and the UTT Jazz Ensemble.

Scores of school bus drivers yesterday staged a protest outside of the Public Service Transport Corporation in San Fernando over $10m in outstanding debt owed by the Government.

The protest blocked motorists and caused a massive traffic pileup along Lady Hailes Avenue.

They demanded the outstanding salaries be paid immediately and threatened to withhold their services once the Secondary Entrance Assessment examinations are completed on May 3.

President of the Maxi-Taxi Concessionaires Association, Rodney Ramlogan said more than 300 drivers transport an estimated 30,000 students on a daily basis and since December they have not been paid a cent.

“We are usually paid on a fortnightly basis by the Public Service Transport Corporation. People have been struggling to meet demands for even servicing their maxis and paying their loans. It has passed the stage of diesel and tyres and banks. Right now it’s about buying food — these guys have not been able to provide food on their tables at home,” Ramlogan said.

Since the salaries were withheld, Ramlogan said more than 40 drivers have withdrawn their services, opting to ply their vehicles for hire.

“I have asked all the drivers, especially those who transport children to primary schools, to beg, borrow or scrape the bottom of the barrel just to make sure we accomplish this next week and take the children to school to write their SEA exams. After that if we are not paid we will not work,” Ramlogan said.

He said last year there was a similar problem occurred and after the protest outside the Ministry of Education they were paid for two outstanding terms.

Another driver, Harold Codrington, said his maxi taxi insurance, which is $22,000, will come up for renewal next month.

“I don’t have money to pay. I have a daughter in University in Barbados doing law. How do you expect me to feel when she calls for me and I don’t have money to send? When I have a daughter who is at her highest level of her education, what can I tell her, that the Government don’t pay? I have to find money, borrow money, somehow to send her,” Codrington said.

He urged the Minister of Education Anthony Garcia and Minister of Finance to look into the matter.

“This is quite heart wrenching and we are not asking for handouts, we are just asking for the money that we worked for already,” Codrington said.

PTSC’s Operations manager Brian Juanette declined to comment on the protest yesterday and directed questions to general manager Charles Mitchell but he was not in office.

Head of Marketing at PTSC Sherry Ann Lee Hunte also was unavailable. Finance Minister Colm Imbert could not be reached for comment.

PAYMENTS BEING PROCESSED

The Ministry of Education has put measures in place to verify all invoices for payments to maxi taxi operators who are contracted by the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) to transport school children, according to a media statement issued yesterday.

This decision follows concerns raised by people from various quarters to carefully review and analyse all requests for payments, in order to ensure quality service and value for money.

Minister of Education Anthony Garcia says the review exercise conducted by the Ministry of Education has so far resulted in the reimbursement of approximately $ 1.7 m to the Ministry.

Garcia said the invoices for payments for January were received from the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) on April 20 and are being processed.

He said the service provide by the maxi taxi operators is valuable and the Ministry of Education will continue to work with them as a valuable stakeholder in the education sector.

It rained goals in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Challenge at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva last night with T&T’s Soca Princesses hammering Suriname 7-0 in the featured match of a doubleheader.

After a boring goalless draw between Guyana and Grenada in the first match, the home team, who are preparing for the FIFA World Qualifiers, lit up the stands with Mariah Shade and Shinelle Arjoon scoring a pair of goals each in the rout.

Coach Jamaal Shabazz’s call for his players to get behind the backs of their opponents proved to be a walk in the park, as Shade demonstrated this from as early as the first minute when she ran on to a Tasha St Louis feed inside the area, and with the goal at her mercy, she fired straight into the outstretched arms of Zuwena Dors in the Suriname goal.

Three minutes later, Arjoon gave the hosts the opening goal.

St Louis again playing provider found Arjoon unmarked on the left side and she rifled home a shot into the top of the net.

The visitors had little time to regroup when they were stung with a second item in the tenth minute from St Louis, the T&T captain.

Patrice Superville produced another of her searching runs down the right flank, this time delivered perfectly for the unmarked St Louis to head home.

There was little to no resistance from the Surinamese who struggled in both defence and attack. Shade and company squandered goals at will, but it failed to overshadow their dominance.

Shade opened her account in the 29th minute after being singled out by Arjoon in the box and she beat the custodian with a low shot.

Later, defender Karyn Forbes, from the right side, beat Dors with a fierce low drive in the 35th minute before Shade got her second goal on the night when she drilled a left-footer into the far post from an almost acute angle on the left, for her team’s fifth item.

Arjoon’s second came on the stroke of halftime, benefiting from a loose ball in the area before firing past Dors to open a 6-0 advantage at the break.

On the resumption, T&T went on the attack again, and Jonelle Cato joined the goal-spree with a 52nd-minute goal that added to the rampage. Otherwise, it was an anti-climax from a dominant first that should have ended in double figures.

Tracy Thornton continues to be the fusion mad man who is preaching the marriage of hard rock, heavy metal, and steelpan. His latest effort was a recording session in June 2017 when 25 pannists came togetherwith several rock stars and  recorded a five-song digital EP that has now been released on Apple Music.

You can check out the songs on the Pan Rocks website with videos of each and a 15-minute video documentary on the project. The project was also the subject of a feature piece in the April issue of Drum! Magazine.

The songs include classic rock hits like Kiss’s Detroit Rock City from 1976, Led Zepplin’s Kashmir from 1975, and Been Caught Stealing was a number one hit for Jane’s Addiction in 1990.

There is also an original by Tracy, Dain Brammage, which as he notes is a silly way to say brain damage and a wacked out—Trans Siberian Orchestra inspired-version of the Christmas classic, Carol of the Bells.

The trap drummer for thevsession was Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction that had put steel drums on the recording of one of their biggest hits, Jane Says, which is how Thornton had first heard pan.

Perkins was someone that Thornton was most excited to get. The other rock musicians on the session were guitarists Bruce Kulick from Kiss and Tracii Guns leader of LA Guns, bass player Billy Sheehan from Mr Big and the Russian cellists Emil and Dariel from America’s Got Talent. Another rock drummer Matt Starr produced the project.

Once they got dates fixed, Thornton started calling his list of folks he had met at Pan Rocks concerts at schools across the US and assembled a group that were jazzed to be part of it.

Thornton moved from being a rock drummer to pan player in the 1990s and has from the beginning wanted to merge the two.

He went to the Festival of Steel in Morgantown that led him to 1995 Panorama and he has been coming to Trinidad every since, bringing school groups a couple summers.

He formed a group called Been Caught Steelin, toured the United States with the youth steelband Sons of Steel, and taught pan at every level. He has recorded albums too as issued tribute albums on pan to artists like the Ramones and Jane’s Addiction.

In November 2013, Thornton organised with Angel Lawrie the first major Pan Rocks concert with a dozen steelbands participating with guest artists including Liam Teague.

He got 80 players for a mass steelband doing his charts at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in San Antonio, Texas in 2015.

That really opened things up for him as word of mouth spread on what he was doing to more school steelband directors and ever since has travelled across the US going to schools interested in putting on a Pan Rocks concert. He is going everywhere the last few months across the US and Canada including recently New York, Texas, Ohio, Michigan and California.

Thornton has put a lot of time and money into Project LA but from the beginning was confident it would work.

“I just knew this fusion would work. The same energy, the same power, the same intensity.” Now he hopes to take it on the road.

He keeps researching various options, what avenues, what connections might make it come together. Vegas maybe.

Thornton dreams one day to bring rock stars to Trinidad and having Pan Rocks rock Port-of- Spain and the rest of Trinidad.

RAY FUNK is a retired Alaskan judge and Fullbright scholar who is passionately devoted to pan, calypso and mas.

In celebration of Alta’s 25th anniversary, Alta students around the country were asked to write about the impact the organisation has had on their lives. Since 1992, Alta has provided classes around the country for thousands of Trinidadians who struggle with reading and writing. Alta students enrol in the programme at many different levels of literacy and leave when they have accomplished their literacy goals.

While it is difficult to manage work and family life alongside Alta classes, students continue to persevere and in all cases see changes in their lives after attending Alta classes. In the coming weeks, Alta will share their pieces through this column. This week, two students from the San Juan North Secondary venue share how Alta has impacted their lives.

Student Name: Marissa Collins

“My name is Marissa Collins, I am from the lower Santa Cruz area. I am the mother of two beautiful kids. I heard about Alta over the television, radio and Facebook so I decided to look into it more. In my research I learn that Alta teaches you to read and write. I have trouble in spelling and the pronunciation of words and also understanding English. My friends and family will laugh when I say certain words and ask me “Where you come from?” So I decided to join Alta.

On my first day I went to class I felt scared. I thought that I would be the only one there, but it had more people. When I sat and looked around at people in the class they were different age groups. I thought the teachers would be impatient and only here for the money.

In continuing to attend class it became more friendly and welcoming. The teachers are always willing to assist you with your questions and concerns. At the end of class we always have a game to play, (and) we all have fun. The teachers help you get a better understanding about English language, reading and writing. By attending these classes my spelling, pronunciation of words and sound is improving.

Alta turned out to be just what I wanted it to be. It made me feel more positive in myself. I can also assists my kids in there homework; with a better understanding as I go along. I am really happy that I made this step.” 

Student Name: Colin Renaud “I am a student of Alta at the San Juan Secondary School, I am 49 years of age, yes I said 49. And I’m very proud of being a part of Alta. I started in 2017 and only missed one class, I’m enjoying every day of class. I have two wonderful and if not the best and understanding tutors.

I became a student at Alta because I needed more out of my life, and to reach for the stars but I could not spell and pronounce some words well and I was too ashamed that others would find out. Now because of this I could not read well so now at Alta I am learning to spell and to read and the pronunciation of words.

I am taking this head on. Now I am able to help my son Elyiah with his homework, something I could not have done before but because of Alta I now can.

I’m so proud of myself and my son as well. We now help each other. He helps me with my spelling, pronunciation and reading. (Before), I would send him by a cousin to do his homework. Now we do it (together) and she checks it to see if we are right or wrong. Alta made me understand English the way it should be. I did not expect Alta to be so helpful. At first I was ashamed now I am proud. I also have lots of fun meeting others, my confidence has gone up by almost 100 per cent. I did not expect this level of understanding at Alta this experience has change my outlook on my life and others.

Alta is making me and my family life better, I knew that I needed more, so this is why I came I said to myself it was now or never so here I am helping myself to help others like myself.”

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more Alta student writing on the impact the organisation has had on their lives.

The T&T Animation Network has congratulated the Animae Caribe Animation and Digital Media Festival (Animae Caribe), Coded Arts and Lagoon Animation Studios, for being three of only six companies, to have been awarded grant funding for training and development under the Skills for Global Services Initiative.

These three companies cover a cross-section of the animation sector. Animae Caribe has 17 years of expertise in running its animation and digital media festival; Coded Arts comprises a dynamic group of award-winning animators and programmers dedicated to becoming the key player in video game development outsourcing in the Caribbean and the collaborative Animation production company in T&T.

Dubbed ‘a vision 2030 initiative’, Skills for Global Services is a grant of the Ministry of Planning and Development’s Global Services Promotion Programme (GSPP), which will provide the awardees with funding to support training and skills development. The three animation companies will receive a total of approximately 1.5 million dollars in funding.

Skills for Global Services comprised of a competitive and rigorous bidding process, only six of 26 applicants, were awarded grants. Companies were required to submit proposals that were not only novel, cost-effective and well-designed but needed to prove their ability to increase exports and create jobs.

The success of Lagoon Animation Studios, Coded Arts and Animae Caribe, therefore, was no small feat and represents a significant milestone as a testament to the animation industry’s economic viability.

“Coded Arts is very thankful to have been awarded the GSPP grant and with this our plans are to begin working with some of the top talent in the US to bring the skills of our local artists to another level,” explained Coded Arts director, Andy Berahazar.

“This is all to encourage and facilitate the growth in our animation services sector and help foster a thriving digital media outsourcing industry here in Trinidad and Tobago,” he concluded.

According to Carolina González-Velosa, Labour Market and Social Security Specialist of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the awarding of three of six grants to animation companies, demonstrates why animation, is an industry front-runner for the economy of T&T.

With a mission to cultivate an environment of collaboration and innovation, empowering artists to reach their full creative potential through a holistic educational experience, founder and chief creative o fficer Karisa Phillip of Lagoon Animation Studios outlined her company’s future contribution to animation sector development.

“We would like to sincerely thank the Ministry of Planning and Development, and the Global Services Promotion Programme for honouring our organisation with this award, thereby enabling us to fulfil this objective,” she stated.

“With this opportunity, Lagoon is poised to actively participate in the ongoing collective effort to develop the local animation sector, through the execution of our Online 3D Animation Skills training Programme.”

The Ministry of Planning and Development administered programme in partnership with the IDB: Skills for Global Services, also, offered an unconventional but welcomed approach to skills development. The T&T Animation Network wishes to congratulate and commend the Ministry of Planning and Development for engaging in effective and innovative policymaking.

Its intervention in the animation sector has created a landmark opportunity for sector development, not only in training but also in the structuring how animation products are developed for future distribution and export.

“Animae Caribe is pleased to be an awardee of the GSPP grant,” confirmed Youth and Festival Coordinator, Jessica Yawching.

“With this grant we are able to train the producer talents of Caribbean Animated Content while also creating a model for the development, marketing and distribution of Intellectual Property to a global audience.

This will have a direct impact on the animation industry as it will increase employment opportunities, acknowledge the Caribbean as an international player and raise the standard and amount of local content created.”

By allowing the private sector to take the lead in determining their training and skills development needs and facilitating that process through much-needed funding and technical assistance, we believe it will result in a more impactful programme. We hope that Skills for Global Services will be the first of many initiatives, to be implemented by the Ministry of Planning and Development.

To learn more about the initiatives of the T&T Animation Network (TTAN) visit ttanimation.org or email: ttan.animation@gmail.com

ABOUT ANIMATION COMPANIES:

Animae Caribe has 17 years of expertise in running its animation and digital media festival; Coded Arts comprises a dynamic group of award-winning animators and programmers dedicated to becoming the key player in video game development outsourcing in the Caribbean and the collaborative team under Lagoon Animation, a 3D Animation production company in T&T.

ASJA Boys’ College, San Fernando, in conjunction with its’ Parent Teacher Association, will be hosting their 14th Annual Choka Fest at the school on Saturday, April 28, at 4 pm.

PTA president Selvon Ramroop said, “This year, our themed event will take you on a Taste of the Middle East where you can enjoy the savoury dishes as well as tempting Arabian desserts like the Basbousa, while sitting in a transformed setting.”

A group of dedicated and committed parents, who constitute the PTA, takes the time from their busy schedules to support the teachers and the school’s administration led by principal Alim Ali.

Ramroop said, “This is the flagship fundraising venture of the PTA and proceeds are used to assist the school in pursuing and acquiring additional resources aimed at ensuring the development of the school.”

As one of the school’s major fund-raising events, Choka Fest was introduced in 2004 by Ramroop. It consists of a variety of vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian dishes such as aloo,  tomatoes, bhaigan, eddoes, dasheen bhagi, salt fish buljol and the ever popular fish choka prepared in various culinary styles.

Over the years, the Choka Fest has evolved by adding a variety of desserts to choose from, an enhanced ambience where one can sit and enjoy their meal while being entertained by live entertainment or simply enjoying a cup of tea or coffee in a friendly atmosphere.

Ramroop extended thanks to the sponsors who over the yearshave continued to support Choka Fest and other events at ASJA Boys’ College.

Info

For additional information or to assist, contact ASJA Boys’ College (657- 8373) and, or PTA Secretary (390-7368).

Energy Minister Franklin Khan is being asked to explain a new Petrotrin internal report which, according to attorney Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, casts doubt on whether the energy company was justified in terminating a contract with A&V Oil and Gas for production and supply of crude oil.

The August 2017 report, which was compiled by Petrotrin’s internal audit team, was passed to Maharaj by St Augustine MP Prakash Ramadhar, who told the T&T Guardian he preferred that Maharaj speak on the issue.

Ramadhar, who first raised the issue with Khan two weeks ago but got no response, confirmed that he will be taking the issue to Parliament again, hopefully tomorrow.

A&V was accused in an internal audit report of overstating the oil it supplied to Petrotrin. The energy company ended its contract with A&V for production in the Catshill field, Moruga, after those findings were confirmed by independent foreign auditors Kroll and Gafney Cline.

Maharaj is expected to reveal details of the report later today but said it “casts doubt on whether Petrotrin was justified to terminate A&V’s contract with Petrotrin for the production and supply by A&V of crude to Petrotrin.”

He said the report found that the data and measurements Petrotrin used in the internal audit report were faulty. Maharaj added that Petrotrin’s failure to disclose the report sent by Ramadhar to A&V’s lawyers “raises serious questions on the reliability of the internal audit report on which Petrotrin relied to terminate A&V’s contract.”

He said this affects the public interest as Petrotrin is losing revenue and its debt burden has been put at close to $15 billion. He said the company needs all the available revenue and if it wrongfully terminated a contract from which it earned substantial revenues “that is an injustice against the public.”

Petrotrin officials have declined comment on the matter.

Need cash fast but forgot your wallet at home? A Cardless Cash facility launched yesterday by Republic Bank Limited (RBL) allows customers to get up to $500 daily at any Republic Bank Blue Machine.

General Manager of the bank’s Electronic Channels and Payment Division Denyse Ramnarine said the new facility is an extension of RepublicOnline and RepublicMobile App services, so customers already registered for these services can simply log on to use the feature.

Customers can simply log on and select the desired option—payment to self or a third party—via the transactions tab in the main menu of RepublicOnline, or via the transfer funds tab on the RepublicMobile App.

The transaction amount is then entered and in the case of third party transfers, the recipient’s name and mobile number.

Once the transaction is submitted, a transaction ID and cash code is sent via email and/or SMS, or to the third party recipient, via SMS. The recipient can then press any button on either side of the ABM screen and enter the requested codes to withdraw the cash.

The transaction ID and cash code must be used within 48 hours from the time it is initiated. The recipient, who doesn’t have to be a Republic Bank customer, can then visit any Republic Bank Blue Machine.

Ramnarine said the Cardless Cash feature allows fast and secure access to cash without the use of a card and is a convenient payment option for conducting low-value payments to any recipient with a mobile number.

A transaction fee of $4 is charged to the sender upon successful completion of the cash withdrawal. A fee of approximately $0.55 for each message sent and received is applied by the mobile service provider.

Ramnarine said as long as the sender is within his/her $500 daily limit, multiple transactions can be performed to the same or other recipients. Once the sender has access to RepublicOnline or th RepublicMobile App, the transaction can be initiated from anywhere around the globe. However, the recipient can only access the funds at a Blue Machines in T&T.

Ramnarine said over time the bank will examine the feasibility of increasing the $500 limit.

Implementation of T&T’s National Quality Policy (NQP) will strengthen market access by enhancing the country’s capability to trade more effectively, says Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon.

“Businesses face challenges in meeting stringent quality standards abroad and in competing with poor-quality imported products . . . he National Quality Policy will address these market access challenges,” she said at the launch of the policy on Tuesday.

The NQP will aid local businesses with increasing competitiveness and their ability to participate in international value chains.

It is anticipated that its implementation will build specialist capabilities and enhance resources in quality related areas, as well as develop and enforce technical regulations and practices which support production and creation of high quality goods and services.

The policy vision was reinforced by Norris Herbert, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry who also anticipated a positive impact on trade with the NQP’s operationalisation.

Gopee-Scoon said the policy addresses several barriers related to laboratories, legislation, enforcement, certification and accreditation. While the Government has negotiated a number of trade agreements for manufacturers and service providers there is opportunity to ensure market presence.

She added: “There are many price competitors and therefore, Trinidad and Tobago’s emphasis should be on delivering products and services that differentiate themselves in the world market place on the basis of quality, value and innovation rather than on price alone.”

During the period of the policy’s implementation, which extends to 2030, a robust system of regulation, certification and assessment will be introduced to protect consumers and increase the presence of local products on the global market.

This will be facilitated by the work of a National Quality Council which will ensure that high quality goods and services can be produced locally and T&T’s reputation and brand as a provider of quality products and services in the national and international markets is assured.

Overall market activity resulted from trading in 16 securities of which six advanced, two declined and eight traded firm.

Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 667,894 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $4,615,344.89.

Trinidad Cement Limited was the volume leader with 460,000 shares changing hands for a value of $1,204,425.16, followed by T&T NGL Limited with a volume of 104,464 shares being traded for $2,904,491.90.

National Flour Mills Limited contributed 72,002 shares with a value of $129,603.60, while JMMB Group Limited added 13,919 shares valued at $25,889.34.

National Flour Mills Limited registered the day’s largest gain, increasing $0.05 to end the day at $1.80. Conversely, Ansa McAL Limited registered the day’s largest decline, falling $0.10 to close at $59.80.

Clico Investment Fund was the only active security on the Mutual Fund Market, posting a volume of 11,679 shares valued at $235,421.64. It remained at $20.16

In Wednesday’s trading session the following reflect the movement of the TTSE Indices:

• The Composite Index advanced by 0.02 points to close at 1,227.64.
• The All T&T Index advanced by 0.04 points to close at 1,694.12.
• The Cross Listed Index remained at 102.44

The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), the only institution in the English-speaking Caribbean to formally offer Animation and Gaming training at the undergraduate level, has embarked on a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership to assist qualified students and graduates in entering the rising global Information Technology-enabled Services (ITeS) industry.

These initiatives are being funded via a loan contract by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through the Ministry of Planning and Development in the context of the Global Services Promotion Programme (GSPP). The objective is to advance the country’s position as a preferred source for Information Technology-enabled Services (ITeS).

Planning Minister Camille Robinson Regis explained: “The goal of the Global Services Promotion Programme is to shape, inspire and motivate the development of the ITeS sector for Trinidad and Tobago, with a focus to increase exports and employment in the sector.

“The local animation and gaming industry has increased nearly tenfold since 2004 and achieved estimated revenues of US$242 billion in 2016 globally. Trinidad and Tobago has several competitive advantages, which can enable the country to establish itself as a competitive location for the provision of ITeS.”Through this programme, employees from the two winning firms, which are both managed by UTT alumni—Coded

Arts and Animae Caribe—will receive sector-specific training to fill the gap required to meet global demand. Employees of the awarded firms, as well as other industry stakeholders, will receive training in Pre-production, Ideation, Storyboarding and Pre-Visualisation, Licensing and Distribution, IP Application for Creative Content, Animated Trailer Development and Game Prop Concept as well as Modelling Building.

UTT Animation graduate Jessica Yawching said: “Coded Arts and Animae Caribe share the common goal of solving issues important to the local animation and gaming Industry.”

This view was shared by Animae Caribe Festival Co-ordinator Camille Selvon-Abrahams, who is also Programme Leader for Animation programmes at UTT.

“Helping graduates meet global industry standard is the key to UTT’s success, working together creates a stronger workforce and better environment for everyone,” she said.

In addition to the training initiatives, the university is exploring solutions to provide equipment and tools required to meet global outsourcing demands. This will enable the amalgamation of T&T’s animation efforts which will solidify the local service offerings in the global market.

It should be cause for alarm by all that T&T has dropped five spots, from 34 to 39, in the World Press Freedom Index just released by Reporters Without Borders.

Among concerns cited in a report accompanying the Index are pending pieces of legislation—the Cybercrime Bill, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Data Protection Act, and the Broadcast Code—which it said “could have a chilling effect on press freedom and free expression online if adopted.”

Also highlighted was the incident last year in which reporters were physically attacked while investigating a story involving A&V Drilling in south Trinidad. It was described as “a rare example of violence against journalists unseen in the country in recent years.”

The free press as an essential pillar of democracy was demonstrated not too long ago with the Section 34 controversy, a prime example of the media keeping government in check.

In this new era of digital communications, the freedom to seek out and circulate news, information, ideas, comment and opinion, as well as hold those in authority to account is constantly being challenged.

In the current social media terrain, where there is an abundance of information from the expanding number of media sources, maintaining a free press is more important than ever. Media practitioners must work continually to build and maintain public trust and preserve the power of freedom of information.

Malpractice alert

The alarm raised by an orthopaedic surgeon at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital should trigger an immediate audit to check the source and integrity of components used in transplant surgeries. This should not be limited to the North West Regional Health Authority but the entire public health system.

The potential for severe health consequences for patients implanted with mismatched or defective components is just too great for this matter to be swept aside simply on the promise of an investigations.

Empowering our girls

Today some tech savvy T&T girls will join with counterparts across the Caribbean to celebrate Girls in ICT Day. They will have an immersive experience in technology, taking part in the second edition of Caribbean Hackathon, a female-driven initiative facilitated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). This is a worthwhile effort which encourages girls to pursue studies in Science, Technology,

Engineering and Mathematics.

How many of you have your cellphone close by? How often have you looked at it today or sent out messages? Do you sleep with it close by? Does it accompany you to the dinner table or to the bathroom? Is it there to greet you when you awake? Be honest now! How many of you cannot do without your cell, for even one day!

I know the stress levels just went up when you thought of doing without your cell phone. After all, it has been your constant companion, keeping you in touch with your friends, your family and the outside world, at just the touch of the screen.

The use of the cell has even invaded churches, as many priests and pastors have their sermons written on this device, which speakers also use for their keynote addresses at important conferences.

Therefore, the recent newspaper report of a teenager who chopped his mother and severely wounded her when she took away his cellphone should alert us to the fact that this device, despite its benefits, has become one of the most insidiously harmful inventions of this century.

Many people have become addicted to their cellphones. Like all addictions, the emotional consequences can be devastating. Addiction creates changes in the chemistry of the brain which further drives the compulsion for the behaviours, somewhat akin to substance abuse. There is the constant need for stimulation and cell phone use offers this to a great extent.

Children and teenagers are on their cellphones more than eight hours per day in some instances.

Research shows that excessive phone use puts a person’s mental health at risk, and increases in mental illness among youth seemed to coincide at the same time that cellphones became a common accessory.

Children became more prone to mood disorders, anxiety, depression and even suicide.

While correlation does not necessarily imply causation, one has to look at the impact of cellphone use on the average child or teenager. As a parent, you may have struggled with this issue at some point. I know that I did.

Many years ago, when I took away my teenager’s phone for refusing to comply with a request, she gave me a solid push that startled us both, as this was the first time that she had become physical with me.

Even though it never happened again, I often questioned if I could have possibly approached the situation differently.

But how do we create a balance here? Like all things, anything that is done in excess will have negative consequences. We buy our children the cellphones, the television sets, the video games, all stimulating devices that appeal to them and then we expect them to exercise control and be emotionally distant from these devices.

Some of the solutions are to provide other opportunities for young people that can be equally stimulating. Whilst some parents may do this, many have no social or physical activities in place for their children as a break from studies, and the cell phone has become the new babysitter, the constant companion and close friend of the child and adolescent. Me, my cell and I!

Have we modelled appropriate cell phone use ourselves? What do our kids see us do? There are parents walking on the streets and talking on their phones, with their children lagging behind; those who use the phone while driving or take calls at family get-togethers.

If we want our children to do it differently and exercise restraint when told to do so, then we also have to model self-control. The cellphone is a relatively safe place to socially connect with their peers, to seek information and to do activities when used in moderation. When this lifeline is removed, there will be an emotional backlash and withdrawal symptoms.

What are the limits on phone usage that you have put in place, to help your child or teenager to learn self-regulation skills?

Dr Margaret Nakhid-Chatoor

Madness is defined by doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting that the result will be different. Crime has ballooned, the social fabric is weakening; the justice system is clogged with an increasing backlog of cases; the education system’s results declining; the roads congested; the economic data to inform decision making is of poor quality and is not produced in a timely fashion. The deterioration is a national issue and ongoing under different administrations. There have been nine elections between 1986 to 2015 and in the process, the party in power has been changed six times. This is an indictment against all parties and a recognition by the public that solutions remain outstanding.

Between 1999 and 2008 the economy boomed, experiencing a compound rate of growth exceeding 12 per cent per annum. Did we address the issues? Expenditure increased, government employing more people at higher rates, without any increase in productivity. Construction activity accelerated, but many houses remain unoccupied and incomplete. Health care, national security and education budgets increased without improvement in output quality.

Spending on subsidies and transfers (welfare and social programmes) expanded to 40 per cent of the annual budget under the PNM ballooning past 50 per cent under the UNC. Indeed, the entire increase in revenue between 2010 and 2014 was spent on subsidies and transfers; Cepep, Hoops for Life, URP, Life Sport et al, all populist measures to retain office.

We speak of the need for reform and retraining as illustrated by various development plans (Vision 2020, Growth Poles, 2030) with no connection to the budget or delivery objectives. Dr Williams’ words resonate in a way that we can, now, understand fully; money is not the problem. We lack direction, balance, priorities and political will. Not all the solutions are palatable. You must break an egg to make an omelette.

New laws have been enacted to address corruption; an Integrity in Public Life Act, Proceeds of Crime Act, Anti Money Laundering legislation and so on. The Central Tenders Board has been scrapped and new Procurement legislation to regulate procurement by the state and its State enterprise agents passed. There have been several commissions of inquiry and many recommendations. The recommendations remain, unimplemented or ignored.

And yet the spectre of corruption, the key theme in every election campaign for the last 18 years, remains unchecked. There has not been one successful prosecution for money laundering and no one has been sentenced for any corrupt act since Independence.

The democratic systems have worked; we have changed the management (the government) seven times. Why then have we not been getting results? Is it that the ministers are incompetent or is it a wider issue and the changes have not extended to the people issues at the next layer of management? Or are the systems and procedures, which keep an organisation on track, failing? Or is it some combination of all three? What are we to do?

In a recent conversation with a former director of Petrotrin, he noted that the company had been overstaffed from its inception and the maintenance issues well known. Yet, several decades later, the efficiency issues have not been addressed.

The Prime Minister touted that the best Minister of Foreign Affairs is leading this Ministry. He doubles as a Minister in National Security. Despite this, last Saturday saw a flagrant breach of Article 31 of the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees in the deportation of documented asylum seekers. This follows closely on other glaring mistakes emanating in the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs.

Venezuela’s problems started years ago and are only going to get worse. Expect more refugees and asylum seekers. Yet we seem to have no plan or policy to address this issue. Four ministries are fault: Foreign Affairs, National Security, Planning and Labour.

This synopsis points to leadership, management, people and process issues, a deadly combination. It is unrealistic to address every problem with equal intensity. So, priorities must be identified, capacity built or reinforced. One cannot keep blaming subordinates or public servants or demonising institutions.

A leader is responsible for the timing tone and tempo of the organisation and the success of the management team is measured by its results. Standards must be set, built into processes and accountability demanded. The timing tone and tempo has been discordant for some time and results difficult to identify. Action is required.