DAILY BRIEF
TUESDAY 26TH MAY, 2015
NEWS
Lies and Letters
Israel Khan SC has denied a claim by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley that the letter he (Khan) wrote to the Integrity Commission (IC) demanding that the Emailgate probe be concluded had Zainool Hosein's name on the letterhead. Retired Justice Zainool Hosein is chairman of the Integrity Commission and worked in Khan's Justitia Omnibus Law Chambers as a consultant before he was made chairman of the IC in November 2014. Khan has challenged Rowley to head to the courts to seek justice if he believes that the Integrity Commission's decision to terminate Emailgate was questionable. Khan is Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar's attorney in the Emailgate affair. Khan said yesterday that he did send letters to the Commission with Hosein's name on the letterhead-but this was prior to his appointment in 2014. "The day he (Hosein) was appointed we removed his name from the letterhead and from the building," said Khan. He said Rowley was misleading the public to think that he (Khan) wrote to the Commission headed by Hosein when at the same time his (Hosein) name was on the letterhead. Read more...
Gang war claims another victim
The on-again off-again gang war between Block 8 and Beverly Hills, Laventille, claimed another life on Sunday after some months of relative calm in the area. The latest victim was 32-year-old Emmanuel “Iron” Pauline, who was shot while washing his girlfriend’s car on Sunday. Pauline, his girlfriend Sunshine Sobers said yesterday, was a labourer who loved his two-year-old son. Sobers said at the time of the shooting, around 5.25 pm, there were children playing nearby.“Friday had an incident with a shooting up there where a man collected three shots. He is recovering at the hospital. The area where they shooting from is on a hill and the shooters could see straight down inside Beverly Hills, so is not to say is somebody who walked up to him and shot him,” Sobers said.“He was washing the car and the shot came, then others came after that. I think he got the first shot because I think that is what alarmed everybody that they were shooting. The children had to run. My ten-year-old child was with him. I had to run in somebody else’s building,” she added. She urged the gang members to stop the warring but says all appeals go to nought, as at best they “cool it down” for a while only to start up again. Read more...
Integrity commissioners meet Prez
The remaining members of the Integrity Commission emerged smiling from discussions with President Anthony Carmona yesterday, but remained tight-lipped about their talks or anything that led to the resignation of two of their colleagues last week. Chairman Zainool Hosein and Commissioners Pete London and Deonarine Jaggernath, spent close to two hours with the President yesterday. The three arrived at the office of the President at about 11.30 am and discussed matters relating to the Integrity Commission’s decision last week to terminate the emailgate probe because of no or insufficient evidence, as well as to the resignations of two other commissioners, Deputy Chairman Sebastian Ventour and Shelly Ann Lalchan. Yesterday, Theron Boodhan, Communications Specialist at President’s House confirmed the meeting and Newsday understands a statement by either the President or Justice Hosein could be made shortly. Well placed sources revealed the President will be moving apace to fill the vacancies which arose after Ventour and Lalchan decided to quit. Read more...
POLITICS
Kamla: I am always with you
In a symbolic gesture on Sunday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar joined hands with the leaders of the People’s Partnership as she reinforced her Government’s commitment to fulfilling the vision they began when the coalition assumed office in 2010. Resplendent in a bright yellow pleated dress, Persad-Bissessar held hands with Tobago Organisation of the People, Ashworth Jack, National Joint Action Committee leader, Mutemi Mutuma, and Congress of the People’s Prakash Ramadahar, pledging to take their views on board as the partnership seeks a second term in Government. Alluding to a biblical quote: Psalm 46: “And remember, be still and know I am God...fear not for I am I always with you...” she urged the leaders. She was later serenaded briefly by Jamaican singer Romain Virgo, who rendered the Michael Bolton song, ‘Soul Provider’. The Prime Minister’s gesture culminated in a lengthy address at the People’s Partnership’s 5th anniversary rally, Sunday at Constantine Park, Macoya. Persad-Bissessar’s address gave some insight into her plans for the country, should the partnership return to Government following the upcoming general election constitutionally due in September. Read more...
Senate argues over Clauses 52 and 53 of Motor Vehicles Bill
The seemingly endless clause-by-clause review of the Motor Vehicles Authority Bill during Committee Stage in the Senate yesterday was disrupted twice when questions were raised about the wording of Clause 52 and Clause 53.Referring to the infamous March 23 day of “total policing”, Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi queried the use of two different phrases about that “you must have it in your possession” versus “a person who drives shall have on his person, or in the vehicle for production.” “I could see a policeman on a day of “total policing” having a very different point of view. seriously,” Al-Rawi declared, to which Attorney General (AG) Garvin Nicholas said, “I’m very interested to find out from Faris Al-Rawi how that could be. Expanded.” Referring to oil checks as one of the things which motorists were asked to check by police during the March 23 incident, Al-Rawi said if a young man were pulled over by police and upon saying he has his driver’s permit “in the glove compartment” and the police officer said that is not considered “in your possession”, especially if the young man does not own the car he was driving, the driver could end up in trouble with the officer. Read more...
BUSINESS
Atlantic supports Lady Hochoy Home
Atlantic CEO Nigel Darlow and a team of the company’s employees and their families did more than just work until nightfall at the Lady Hochoy Home in Gasparillo, on the recent United Way National Day of Caring (May 17).The Atlantic team also handed over the proceeds of a special company drive that had been organised by Atlantic’s youngest employees, the 2014-2016 cohort of Graduate Trainees. Over two weeks, the Atlantic trainees collected toiletries, canned goods and clothing donated by Atlantic employees for the children of Lady Hochoy Home. These were presented on the Day of Caring to Sister Antoinette Fahey, the Home’s superintendent.
“Atlantic has had a long tradition of employee volunteerism, and a big part of the Atlantic culture is to get involved in the community,” Darlow said. “Atlantic has been partners with United Way since 1999, and every year we look forward to mobilising our staff to be involved with United Way, and to help make a difference in society.” Tameeka Luces-Lima, Atlantic’s Contractual Service Agreement (CSA) Analyst and Coordinator of the company’s United Way Employee Committee explained that Atlantic has been participating in the National Day of Caring since 2013, when United Way first staged the initiative. Read more...
Bharath defends Howai over NEC
Trade Minister Vasant Bharath says there is no need for Minister of Finance Larry Howai to step aside, even as investigations continue into the fraudulent transfer pf $60 million was fraudulently transferred from the National Energy Corporation (NEC) to banks accounts in Dubai, Boston and Antigua. The wire transfer was done when Howai was chairman of NEC and CEO First Citizens. Howai maintains that his credibility has not been damaged. In mid May NEC officials confirmed that an independent internal investigation had found that the wire transfers were fraudulently prepared outside of their processing system and using a procedure which was not standard for confirmation and validation of wire transfers. The company 58 per cent of the funds had been recovered from banks in Boston and Antigua. Read more...
CWC group revenue higher at US$1.8b
Just months after completing its acquisition of Columbus International, Cable and Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) has announced that its group revenue is up four per cent to US$1.8 billion for the year ended March 31.The company said this strong performance reflects strategic progress over the year, including a 7 per cent increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of US$585 million and a successfully completed US$100 million cost reduction plan.With the Columbus acquisition completed on March 31, CWC said integration was underway. Commenting on the results, Phil Bentley, Chief Executive of CWC, described 2014 as “a year of transformation and growth.”“We created a new senior executive team operating out of our new Miami hub. We developed a new vision and strategy for the group, backed by our US$1 billion Project Marlin investment programme. We began to execute a performance improvement plan and deliver our strategy to grow. Read more...
REGIONAL
Bouterse wins general elections in Suriname
President Desi Bouterse (69) and his National Democratic Party (NDP) won the general elections held on Monday in Suriname. With over 80 percent of the votes counted preliminary results indicate that NDP won 27 of the 51 seats in parliament. V7, a coalition of six parties, secured 17 seats. Five seats go to Alternative Combination of former guerilla Ronnie Brunswijk, while the remaining two seats went to DOE and PALU respectively.It is the first time in Suriname’s political history that a party that participated on its own has won the election. Final results are expected on Tuesday and an official declaration of the results in at least two weeks. “Our social programme and the determination of our supporters has paid off,” said NDP’s campaign leader and former minister of public works, Ramon Abrahams after it was clear that his party had a comfortable lead.Highly controversial due to his military dictatorship during the 80s and a drug sentence in Holland, Bouterse, who is also the main suspects for the murder of 15 opponents in 1982, remains popular due to his social policies. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
Fuel strike that shut down Nigerian economy to end, official says
A strike that brought Nigeria's economy to a standstill appears to be ending."We have suspended (strike) action for now," Olowoshile Bayo of Pengassan, the nation's petroleum and natural gas association, told CNN on Monday. "We did not want to create the impression of conflict with the incoming administration and people. We will take up issue with the new government when they arrive." Nigeria is about to install a new president. In March former military leader Muhammadu Buhari defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonathan. The companies that import fuel say they haven't been paid by the Nigerian government, so they held back their massive supplies, which sit warehoused and untapped at Lagos' expansive seaport. Nigeria is an oil-producing nation but has to import fuel because it doesn't have the capacity to refine enough of its own fuel to serve the population. There was immediately one good sign, with a gasoline tanker being seen on the road for the first time in weeks. Read more...
26th May 2015