NEWS
Drunk Mayor Fined
As a senior public servant Point Fortin Mayor Clyde Paul ought to set a better example to others. This was the stern advice yesterday from Point Fortin Magistrate Alicia Chankar, before whom His Worship stood on a charge of drunk driving to which he changed his inital plea of not-guilty to guilty. The Magistrate, who presided in the Second Court, remarked that holders of public offices must at all times seek to set better examples for society to follow. Paul’s conviction and fine came just five days before the nation heads to the polls for the local government election scheduled for next Monday. Paul, 71, was expected to go on trial yesterday as he pleaded not guilty to the offence at his initial court appearance on October 20. But when the case was called, the mayor changed his plea to guilty. Read more here
School visit turns heated: Garcia jeered PTA president lists woes at school
Education Minister Anthony Garcia was jeered by parents of students at the Santa Flora Government Primary School during a visit yesterday. Parent Michael Nemai confronted Garcia during the encounter, asking where the school’s 248 students would be housed and Garcia replied: “I will not speak to you if you cannot address me properly. I will not be answering any of your questions.” Garcia then stormed off, leaving his security personnel and the team who had visited the school with him, including Minister in Ministry of Education, Dr Lovell Francis, and MP for the area, Nicole Olivierre, stumbling to catch up. Though Nemai look stunned, he joined the group of parents who were following Garcia and hurling questions at him. Read more here
NGC Goes To Privy Council
A multi-million-dollar lawsuit filed by the National Gas Company (NGC) against Super Industrial Services (SIS) Ltd and Rain Forest Resorts Ltd (RFRL) relative to the construction of the Beetham Water Recycling Plant has been struck out by the Court of Appeal. Read more here
POLITICS
PNM wins first local govt seat
The ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) has taken the lead in next Monday’s Local Government Elections, winning the seat of Mon Repos/ Navet district in the San Fernando City Corporation, which it currently controls. A notice issued yesterday by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) said the PNM candidate for Mon Repos/ Navet Patricia F.M. Victor-Wilson is the only validly nominated candidate for the district following the withdrawal of her United National Congress (UNC) rival Daryl Kishan Soodeen. As a result of Soodeen’s withdrawal, the EBC said in accordance with Election Rule 15 (2) of the Representation of the People Act, Victor-Wilson is, “consequently declared elected.” The Commission advised special electors living in this district that because they are now not required to vote, those electors who have already collected their envelopes are requested to return them to the Office of the Returning Officer at the San Fernando City Corporation, any registration area office/sub-office or its electoral office at Scott House in Port-of-Spain. PNM General Secretary Ashton Ford confirmed Victor-Wilson’s victory and said the party is pleased with this development. UNC chairman David Lee confirmed Soodeen’s withdrawal and explained this was done on medical advice. Lee said Soodeen had fallen ill recently and medical advice given to the UNC advised against Soodeen’s continued participation in the campaign. Read more here
Tewarie outlines differences: UNC backs Local Govt reform
The United National Congress has struck down claims made by Prime Minister Keith Rowley that it was being obstructionist to proposed reform of Local Government legislation. However, two of the party’s senior members said there must be constitutional protection for Local Government as they questioned and called for clarification on the role of the Rural Development Ministry. On the campaign trail, Rowley accused the UNC of impeding its decision to introduce and pass legislation for the reform even though he said, they have been supportive until now. Read more here
PM heads to V’zuela
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley disclosed that this country has a “serious gas problem” and he will be heading to Venezuela in December to sign an agreement for the provision of a gas supply. Rowley was speaking at a People’s National Movement (PNM) meeting at Five Rivers Junction, Arouca, on Tuesday night. Read more here
BUSINESS
Gopee-Scoon at CPA workshop
Trinidad and Tobago is supporting action being taken, at the upcoming the 11th Ministerial Conference in Argentina, on a number of priority issues to benefit the region including a reaffirmation of the multilateral trading system and the completion of the Doha Round of trade talks, says Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon. Addressing the opening of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association - World Trade Organisation Parliamentary Workshop on Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, Gopee-Scoon said the other priority issues which TT supports as part of the African Caribbean Pacific grouping include a development-oriented outcome consistent with various recent global commitments and goals, and a permanent solution on public stock holding for food security purposes that satisfactorily addresses the food security concerns of all developing countries. TT also supports an outcome on a Special Safeguard Mechanism for developing countries that would limit the negative impact of import surges or sharp drops in the prices, and the submissions of proposals that seek to keep special and differential treatment at the core of the negotiations including services negotiations, she said. With regards to trade facilitation, Gopee- Scoon said she was pleased to indicate that TT was the ninth member state of the WTO to accept the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and the first country in the Caribbean. Read more here
Rowley: More projects for local contractors
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says Government is moving to award more construction contracts to locals. He says, though, local professionals must be able to “rise to the occasion” and complete those projects within budget. Rowley was speaking yesterday at a seminar hosted by the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC), at the Radisson Hotel in Port of Spain. Read more here
REGIONAL
A Community Filled With Fear - Family Feud, Gang Violence, Murders Leave Lime Hall Residents Shocked And Uneasy
It is a winding, eight-minute drive uphill from the north coast highway through the bustling town of St Ann's Bay until you reach the square of the village of Lime Hall - an elongated knot of a handful of wooden, two-storey buildings, a few lazy bars, and a farm store. On the left is an approximation of a small shopping plaza. About 200 metres beyond the square, at the intersection where there is the St Saviour's Anglican Church, take the right along the road, whose barber green top gives way to unpaved marl after 80 metres. On either side are large, concrete homes, built mostly by Jamaicans returned from living abroad. Maybe 450 metres along this stretch, on the left, is Arthurs Mount Estate. There used to be an imposing but obviously time-worn, home here, a smaller version of the old plantation great houses. Of so-called 'stone nogg' construction, with stone and brick at the lower portion and wood at the upper, it had five bedrooms, a dining room, and sitting rooms. There were two outer buildings. One was the kitchen, the other a storehouse. Read more here
Prince Harry arrives in St Kitts-Nevis amid claims of disrespect by PM
Prince Harry, officially Prince Henry of Wales, received a warm welcome to the federation of St Kitts and Nevis when he disembarked from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight at Port Zante, Basseterre, on Wednesday. However, chairman of the opposition Labour Party, Marcella Liburd, said the fact that Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris left St Kitts three days ahead of Prince Harry’s planned visit to the island smacks of disrespect. “I think it’s highly disrespectful for someone representing the monarchy to come into St Kitts -- we knew well in advance -- and for the prime minister to decide not to be here I think is a show of the type of disrespect that he metes out to people generally,” she said. Prince Harry arrived in St Kitts on Wednesday morning as part of his Caribbean tour, which had been announced since early September; Harris left the island on Sunday afternoon to travel to the Philippines where he was to receive a Gusi Peace Prize Award from a private foundation. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Stein, liberals seek voting hack investigation
Green Party nominee Jill Stein launched a bid Wednesday to seek a recount in three key Rust Belt states as pressure builds among liberals to challenge election results. The Stein campaign said they needed to raise over $2 million by Friday to pay for recounts. They had reached their goal by early Thursday morning, and have now increased their target to $4.5 million. "Over the last 48-72 hours, reports have come in from experts, cyberexperts, who are reporting to us some very troubling news about the possibility of security breaches in voting results across this country," Stein campaign manager David Cobb said in a video posted to her Facebook page Wednesday afternoon. Read more here
Austrian far-right hopeful Hofer may back EU vote
24th November 2016