Column: Can TT gov't afford $2.3B helicopters?

When Italian defence and aerospace company Finmeccanica announced last year that its Agusta Westland subsidiary had won a contract worth US$348 million (TT$2.3 billion) to supply four AW139 helicopters to the Trinidad and Tobago government the news raised some serious questions.

The most important was whether Patrick Manning was buying the aircraft instead of the private bombardier jet he had planned to purchase for his private use for half a billion dollars.

Related: What's the real story on that Bombardier jet?

The Manning government explained at the time that the helicopters would be used for national security.

The contract documents stated that the four helicopters will be for the use of The Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard (TTAG), a dedicated unit involved in search and rescue, surface surveillance, law enforcement, drug interdiction and disaster relief.

The helicopters were to be part of the country's national security upgrade that included the three offshore patrol boats (OPVs) ordered at a cost of TT$1.5 billion.

The new government has cancelled the contract for the OPVs, explaining that they are not suited for surveillance duties and also stating that maintenance alone would cost taxpayers half a billion dollars a year.

"There are several things that we had to consider. Do we need three OPVs? The country is not at war out in the seas; the country is at war on the ground, in our streets and in the towns within Trinidad and Tobago," Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told reporters on Wednesday.

"The cost to maintain the vessels would have cost taxpayers in excess of $500 million annually. Our country cannot sustain that at this time," she said.

The cost factor and the maintenance issues are also relevant in the helicopter contracts.

The average list price for the AW139 is about US$25 million, which would put the actual cost of the four helicopters at US$100 million (TT$633,000M), leaving the bulk of the contract figure - US$248 million (TT$1.56 billion) for upgrades, training and logistics.

Can Trinidad and Tobago afford that for four aircraft at this time?

Or is it that unlike the OPV deal, it cannot get out of the contract without having to pay hefty penalties?

When the government cancelled the OPV contract it said the UK manufacture was in breach of contract and the Prime Minister told reporters the government would not only have to get a full refund of the TT$1.5 billion, but the manufacturer would also have to pay damages running into more than TT$60 million.

So far all we know is that the new PP government is buying the helicopters for TT$2.3 billion, which leaves us to assume that the new government either thinks the deal is a good one or it knows that it can't pull out of the contract without substantial losses.

The other question is whether these aircraft are really meant for search and rescue and air surveillance.

According to the company's website the primary use of the AW 139 is VIP/Corporate transport.

The company's website states that the AW139 is capable of carrying up to 15 passengers "at very high speed, in a most spacious and comfortable cabin".

The fully-fuelled AW139 can fly for up to nearly six hours at an altitude of 6,000 feet and has a range of 1250 kilometers. It has a maximum cruising speed of 306 km/h, which means it could fly from Port of Spain to Grenada in about 20 minutes and to Barbados in about an hour.

The aircraft are sophisticated and versatile enough for transporting state officials anywhere in the country and on short regional trips but will not be able to handle the long-range flights of the Bombardier executive jet, which the government had contemplated buying.

The company's sales brochure states: "The AW139’s world of refinement is matched by the highest standards in style and comfort. The spacious cabin provides flexibility for the most sophisticated requirements...The AW139’s interior materials are the finest available in the world, selected not only to maintain their beauty and value, but to enhance the experience of flying."

The sales pitch makes it sound like Manning was really buying some fancy flying machines for himself and his officials. Perhaps one of them might have ended up in a private hanger at the mansion, which Kamla has now inherited.

Now that things have changed, should the PP government still be buying these helicopters?

TT$2.3 billion is still a lot of money, especially with a projected deficit in excess of TT$7 billion. Surely the government could find very good use for the extra money.

But then again Kamla may not have much of a choice. It all depends on what the fine print in the contract says.

For now, we will give the government the benefit of the doubt and hope that the helicopters will do the job for which they were purchased.

Jai Parasram - Toronto, 30 Sept. 2010.

Commonwealth should embody Gandhi's vision Rambachan tells foreign ministers

In one of his final meetings in his hectic working trip to New York, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Surujrattan Rambachan chaired an important Commonwealth session.

Dr. Rambachan sat in the chair for the ninth annual Commonwealth Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

His chairmanship of that meeting was as a result of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar being the chairperson of the 54-member nation Commonwealth.

Dr. Rambachan said the meeting was “most significant” since it gave the Commonwealth the opportunity “to discuss issues of Commonwealth concern, thereby adding value in a UN context and strengthening our partnership with that umbrella organisation.”

He noted that the Commonwealth has a membership of about 30 per cent of the world’s population.

He said that the United Nations Millennium Development Goals “remain distant and elusive targets for many of our member States.”

Dr. Rambachan added: “Even today, poverty is rampant in many of our societies.

“The challenge of climate change still looms large, especially for small island developing States.

“Terrorism constantly finds new forms and manifestations.”

He stated that globalisation presents “the unique challenge of creating communities and a world community where people of different ethnicities, religious commitments and ideologies can live and work together.”

Commonwealth nations are among the most diverse in the world, Dr. Rambachan said.

But that added that while “technology has brought us together”, it “does not provide the values for inspiring us to live harmoniously.”

In that respect he cited Mahatma Gandhi for the manner in which he sought to create inclusive communities.

Gandhi’s communities included the poor and outcasts, he stated.

Rambachan said: “He was visionary in imagining a community where men and women are equal. It included persons from the world’s diverse religions.”

He observed that Gandhi had influence Nelson Mandela and other great minds and obtained independence for India from Britain.

“The inclusive societies he created in his ashrams in South Africa and India must inspire what we aim for as national and global communities,” said Rambachan.

“The Commonwealth should embody this vision.”

-Reporting by KEN ALI

Quote of the Day - T&T Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh

Photo story: Happy Day! Kids get free laptops for school

 

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has handed out the first set of laptops promised to form one students at secondary schools. The government has ordered more than 20,000 computers from HP for distribution to schools across the country

Read the story: PM tells students: Let victory be your game

We don't owe one cent to BAE: PM Kamla

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said Wednesday her Government does not owe any money to BAE Systems of the United Kingdom for three offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) ordered by the previous Manning PNM government in April 2007.

Speaking with reporters shortly after arriving home from her visit to New York, Persad-Bissessar said the reverse is the case - BAE owes the government about $61 million in damages. That's the money that the government invested in the project over the past few years.

She said in addition, BAE will have to refund the TT$1.5 billion for vessels for failure to deliver them on time.

The Prime Minister was responding to suggestions that the Trinidad and Tobago government owes BAE nearly TT$3 billion, which includes the cost of construction of the three vessels and cost overruns.

"There are stories that I have been reading that we owe BAE money and we breached the contract. No, that is not the case at all. I am advised that BAE is in breach of the contract because of two reasons.

"They (BAE) are in breach because of delay, which was the most substantial cause we have to termination of the contract, but they are also in breach because they have not been able to comply with the specs that had been contracted for," she said.

BAE has confirmed that it was received written notice from the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago that it is cancelling the order for the OPVs, adding that the company is seeking to "engage in commercial discussions with GORTT and hope to reach an equitable settlement."

Persad-Bissessar said the government decided to scrap then project "after careful analysis of the project and the substantial breaches in contract by BAE". She also said the government did not think the OPVs could assist in the fight against crime.

She explained that her Government could not make a public statement on the matter because of a non-disclosure clause in the contract that prevented such information being made public.

She told reporters government officials will meet with BAE. However she insisted that the government is firm in its decision to scrap the contract.

"There are several things that we had to consider. Do we need three OPVs? The country is not at war out in the seas; the country is at war on the ground, in our streets and in the towns within Trinidad and Tobago. 

"The cost to maintain the vessels would have cost taxpayers in excess of $500 million annually. Our country cannot sustain that at this time," she said.

Persad-Bissessar stated that her government has better things to do with the money that would have to be invested in the boats.

"We feel that we could better spend that money right here on the ground to fight crime, to pay police officers more money, pay the Defence Force more money, to pay the prisons officers more. To get equipment and, of course, food and hospitals beds," the PM said.

She her government is not scrapping all contracts made by the previous administration. She will honour the $2.3 billion deal for four Agusta Westland AW139 twin-turbine helicopters for search-and-rescue, surface surveillance, law enforcement, drug interdiction and disaster relief operations.

Read the story:Manning gov't buying 4 helicopters for TT$2.3 billion

PP gov't to pass law to prevent legal action in CL matter

Government's Central Bank Amendment Bill to be presented in Parliament Friday will prevent anyone from taking legal action against the Clico bailout plan, without the written consent of the Central Bank.

Former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, who represents a group of Clico investors has threatened legal action if the government refuses to ament its plan. 

He has argued that the state is legally obliged to pay investors based on the agreement that Clico's parent company - CL Financial - signed with the government of Trinidad and Tobago last year.

The Manning administration made that deal when CL boss at the time., Lawrence Duprey, sought government assistance for the conglomerate, which had become insolvent.
 
The People's Partnership inherited the problem and is offering some relief for persons whose money is tied up in Clico.

They plan announced in the budget is for each investor to get up to $75,000 in cash with any outstanding balance to be paid over 20 years in equal IOUs with no interest. There has been widespread condemnation of that plan from people who have more than $75,000 invested in Clico.

However the government is firm in its decision and has stated that it is standing on firm legal ground.


Read related story: PM Kamla: We stand by Clico decision, insists plan is legal

The bill needs that special majority because some clauses in the draft legislation relate to the right of the individual to the enjoyment of property, to equality of treatment before the law and to equality of treatment from any public authority.
 
The government has the three-fifth majority needed to pass the bill in the House of representatives but will need support from some non-government members in the Senate.

The bill provides allows the government to grant financial assistance from the Government, the Central Bank or "any other body approved by the Government or the bank to an institution where such assistance is deemed necessary to reduce a serious threat to the stability of the financial systems of Trinidad and Tobago".

It states the the "quantum, terms and conditions of the "past, present or future financial assistance" would be approved or ratified by Parliament, by Resolution".

The bill also gives the Attorney General the power to "institute, undertake, take over or continue any non-criminal proceedings in order to enforce a claim belonging to the State or any person, authority or institution for any fraud, dishonesty, fraudulent trading, negligence, malfeasance, breach of a statutory duty or other improper conduct arising out of the circumstances that resulted in the serious threat to the stablility of the financial systems of Trinidad and Tobago."

And it will provide for the appointment of a chief restructuring officer (CRO) in respect of an affiliate of an institution that is granted financial assistance under this legislation. Such an officer would be nominated by the Attorney General.

The CRO would be able to liquidate property and other assets to repay the Government and will be paid from the money raised through disposing of assets.

PM Kamla: We stand by Clico decision, insists plan is legal

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told reporters Wednesday her People's partnership government will stand by its decision on the bailout for Clico depositors and insisted that the plan is legally sound.

Persad-Bissessar made the point at a media briefing at Piarco International Airport shortly after her return home from an official visit to New York where he addressed the General Assembly of the UN and attended several high-level international meetings.

The plan announced in the budget earlier this month will offer a maximum of $75,000 to each Clico investor. Anyone who has more than that will get the balance in equal instalments at no interest over 20 years. A bill to put the plan in effect is expected to go to Parliament on Friday.

The government announced a similar plan for depositors of the Hindu Credit Union (HCU), which was put into receivership during the Manning administration. HCU members are happy with the plan. However the Clico arrangement has drawn sharp criticism from various sources, including investors and the opposition.

Former Attorney General Ramesh L. Maharaj is representing one group that is claiming that the government action is illegal. He has threatened to go to court if the government doesn't change the plan.

"The Government has to back down or they will be forced to back down. The Minister of Finance is making statements he is not legally competent to make," Maharaj told stakeholders Sunday.

He also warned that if the Central Bank fails to act it could become "personally liable" for the money.

Read the story: Ramesh says gov't must pay Clico investors, threatens to take CB to court

But Persad-Bissessar is not bothered with the threat. She told journalists that she is confident that the government is standing on firm legal grounds, a point also made by her Attorney General, Anand Ramlogan.

The AG told reporters Tuesday, "We have been careful about the deliberations and it is well within the law. Mr Maharaj is entitled to seek clients and represent them," Ramlogan said. 

He also stated that the investigations into CL are completed and that the relevant files have been sent to the DPP.

Read the story: Clico probe completed, files sent to DPP: AG Ramlogan

Persad Bissessar reiterated that the government inherited the CL problem from the Manning administration and chose the best of three possible plans to deal with it.

She said Clico investors can decide for themselves if they want to accept the government's offer or not. She made it clear that in developing the plan her government had to act in a fiscally responsible manner since the money to pay the individuals is coming from taxpayers.

"I want to warn that while it is that we would be seeking to help all those we can, these monies are monies that belong to you.

"They are taxpayers' dollars that you paid. They are dollars that we could use to pay for hospital beds, to build schools, to provide laptops, that's the money that we have been asked to lift it out of the treasury and give it.

"Indeed, it's no longer, with due respect, the money of those persons who have made the deposits. Those monies were lost and fritted away by Clico and CL Financial and so on," Persad-Bissessar said.

Read other related Clico stories: 

PP gov't stands by Clico plan, will defend it in court if necessary 

Clico agents want PP gov't to pay depositors in 5 years, prosecute CL officials

Abu Bakr jailed, facing charge of murder

Jamaat-al-Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr has been charged with murder and jailed.

Bakr and another person - Brent "Big Brent" Miller - were charged Wednesday with the murder of Israel Sammy in 1998. 

The charges stem from the report of a coroner's inquest into Sammy' death that was presented in the Port of Spain Magistrate's court by Coroner Nalini Singh.

Both men will remain at the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca until October 6 when they are scheduled to appear in court.

In May 1998 masked men abducted Sammy, who was 22 at the time. Police found his body behind his house; he was beaten and shot.

Where the money gone? TT sports minister tracking missing $81M

The Manning PNM government allocated $81 million to refurbish stadiums in Trinidad and Tobago. But the job was not done and now the country's new Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Anil Roberts wants to know where the money went.

Roberts told reporters Wednesday the sporting facilities were in a state of disrepair up to 10 days before the recently concluded Women's FIFA under-17 World Cup football tournament because the former government had done nothing to repair the facilities.

He said the government had to intervene. "There could have been no world cup. The stadiums were dilapidated," he said.

"Right now there is a forensic audit going on in the Sport Company and we have the Auditor General's report which shows that the money was allocated and misappropriated. 

"It was not spent on what it should have been spent on and we are going to solve that problem," Roberts promised.

He said his ministry will find a suitable company maintain the various stadiums and save the government of millions of dollars. 

He said once a new board is in place at the Sport Company of T&T (Sportt) it will invited tenders for a facilities management expert company "so that we don't have to come every two years and spend $100 million".

Roberts added, "If we want to go in the general direction of sport tourism, we have to upkeep and maintain facilities at an international challenge."

Shriners gift to TT, will treat sick kids for free

Shriners Hospital for Children in the United States is offering a gift to the children of Trinidad and Tobago.

The non-profit charitable organisation operates a network of 22 pediatric non-profit hospitals.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar disclosed Wednesday that she met with officials of Shriners during her visit to the United States who gave her the assurance that the hospital not charge any money to treat children from Trinidad and Tobago in dire need of medical treatment for various illnesses.

She said Government will only have to cover the travel expenses for any child under 18 who is treated at any Shriners hospital.

The Prime Minister also said Trinidad and Tobago nationals living in Brooklyn have pledged annual financial support for the Children's Life Fund.

Canada's visa requirement for Grenada under review; T&T citizens still need visas

Grenada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter David, and Canada’s Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, Peter Kent, met on the margins of the 65th Session of the General Assembly of the UN in New York and discussed the removal of the visa requirement

Canada's Minister of State of Foreign Affairs in the North American country has said visa requirement for Grenadian citizens if still open for review by his government.

Peter Kent made the disclosure when he met with Grenada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter David during a bilateral meeting on the margins of the 65th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

“We are aware of the visa issue and let me state that this has nothing to do with the relations between both countries but rather with individuals who took advantage of the economic citizenship programme,” Kent said. He promised to follow up on the progress of the review.

That economic citizenship programme was introduced by Grenada in October 1997 to supplement government revenues. 

It allowed investors to acquire a legal second passport for a specified minimum investment in the local economy. However, the system came under fire from critics who said it allowed criminals to effectively adopt new legal identities for a price.

In 2001 the country's finance minister suspended the program indefinitely. Anthony Boatswain said at thne time that it was "too risky" in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the United States.

However in December 1997 Canada imposed the visa restrictions on citizens from Grenada, Dominica, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, all of which sold passports. Up to that time anybody holding a passport from one of those countries could have entered Canada without a visitor's visa.

David told Kent the visa matter is important for Grenada noting that a recent study gave Grenada a good rating in the proper enforcement of its passports.

“This continues to be a major issue for our nationals and our hope is that you would examine the review process since we have made tremendous strides in correcting the wrongs of the past,” he added.

Trinidad and Tobago citizens are also required to apply for visas to enter Canada and pay hefty non-refundable fees to apply for the privilege of visiting the country. 

The Conservative government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney imposed the visa rule in 1988 in a bid to end a flood of Trinidad and Tobago citizens who were entering the country and making refugee claims. 

Caricom citizens from The Bahamas, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent don't need a visitors' visa to enter Canada.

Canadians can enter Trinidad and Tobago without even having a passport so long as they have a valid photo ID.

View the list of countries that need visas to visit Canada

Laventille school gets first laptops from PM Kamla

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar Bissessar is expected to head to the Success/Laventille Composite School Wednesday to present form one students there with laptop computers promised by her government.

Persad-Bissessar returned home Wednesday from a hectic trip to New York, which included an address to the UN General Assembly.

She spoke of the laptops during the address, noting that it is part of her People's Partnership focus on education and technology. 

The promise of a free laptop for every child entering high school for the first time was a key plank in the general election campaign in May. 

The government invested $83 million in the computers, which are equipped with all the necessary software, including tracking programs to locate the computer if it is lost or stolen. 

Jamaicans have nothing to worry about over Air Jamaica takover by CAL: Warner

Jack Warner told Jamaicans earlier this week they have nothing to worry about with respect to the deal between Caribbean Airlines (CAL) and Air Jamaica, which the previous Manning government negotiated earlier this year.

Speaking at the launch of FIFA sponsored Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Technical Centre at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Monday, the Trinidad and Tobago Transport Minister admitted that he had some initial concerns about the deal, which he questioned while in opposition.

However he said he is now "comfortable" with it after assurances from Captain Burrell in Jamaica and his technical staff in Port of Spain.

"I wasn't in favour of saving Air Jamaica originally, as I didn't think it was in Trinidad and Tobago's best interest...But (Captain) Burrell...called me to look into the possibilities of Caribbean Airlines and Air Jamaica co-existing, and benefiting each other.

"After speaking with him, I then went back to my technical people, and they said it could work, with both airlines operating at a world-class standard. It was then I decided to sign the US$49.5 million take-over deal," he said.

"I hope this is the last time I will have to say this, but there is no need to worry, and on October 21 when the contract is signed it will signal a new beginning for Air Jamaica, just as it is the case today with football," he declared.

His assurances echo the comments made two months ago at the CARICOM summit in Jamaica by Trinidad and Tobago prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar that her government would honour the deal.

Caribbean Airlines took over Air Jamaica's operations in May. The deal gives the Trinidad and Tobago government majority shareholder in the Jamaican national carrier.

Read the story: CAL to take over Air Jamaica by July 1, become Jamaica's official carrier

Column: Rowley's dilemma is how to justify his mutiny against his own party

Keith Rowley appears to have found himself in a political straight jacket.

The new PNM leader told supporters earlier this week that the current government seems to be  “more PNM than PNM” since it is keeping many PNM programmes.

He made the comment as he tried to explain his party's rationale for voting for the budget.

One of his caucus colleagues was careful to explain that there is a difference between voting for government policy and the appropriations bill. 

Colm Imbert stated on an Internet chat site that MPs vote for the "appropriations" not the budget speech, which he said is a statement of government policy.

That means, according to Imbert, when Rowley and the PNM registered their "Ayes" for the budget they did not agree to such things as the scrapping of the smelter or the CL plan. So his point is that it's OK to support the budget but at the same time slam the government.

Rowley didn't follow that line of logic.

Instead the opposition leader admitted that the PNM "ushered in" the People's Partnership, which he suggested is really a different incarnation of the PNM.

But he had a warning, a reason why the new government is not fit to be in office.

“Those who got it don’t know what to do. They have no plan. They didn’t expect to be in Government...We ushered the People’s Partnership into Government half way into the term,” he said. 

Rowley admitted that the PNM “invited” change and that the voters’ reaction in the May 24 general election was to the way the PNM leadership at the time managed the country, not that the policies were flawed.

Rowley said the PNM elected not to play "stupid politics” and hurt the party's credibility so it voted for the budget, which contained PNM plans.

So what really is Rowley's point?

What we have experienced in Trinidad and Tobago since the electoral overthrow of Manning and the PNM is a shift to good governance and a clear direction to improve the lives of the people.

And contrary to Rowley's argument, the People's partnership DOES have a plan - a good one - that it clearly outlined in its manifesto. That document was not something scrambled together for political expediency.

And yes, it embraced some of the PNM's plans, which had the potential to work well under a government of the people. 

The GATE program, for example, is being expanded and improved. And as a point of interest, GATE was really an improvement on the UNC "dollar-for-dollar" policy introduced under Kamla Persad-Bissessar's stewardship as education minister. 

What the People's Partnerhip government is doing is called CONTUINUITY. It's what's expected of a responsible administration. 

Sadly, in the process it has inherited a lot of baggage from the Manning era, some of which will cost the taxpayer much more than anyone envisaged. 

The CL fiasco, the Offshore Patrol Boats (OPV), the la Brea smelter project are examples of bad and costly decisions that the new government must now address.

The real problem for Rowley is that HE campaigned against the PNM and his former leader and wanted nothing more than a PNM defeat. The People's Partnership won two elections based on its programs and the failure of the PNM. 

That is the reality that Rowley cannot face. He is still in shock and hoping that he can convince his divided party that his mutiny was justified. 

He is using the argument that to make an omelet one has to first break the egg. The truth is the egg was a rotten one and the people discarded it along with the whole chicken coop.

That's a matter the PNM must now address instead of trying to take credit for what the People's Partnership is doing. 

And Rowley would do well to try to emulate the new kids on the block and redevelop his party as one that respects and represents the people, not only its parochial interests.

The people voted for change and so far, although there is obvious discontent in some quarters, they are happy with their decision because they are seeing a strong light at the end of the tunnel signaling true HOPE for a better Trinidad and Tobago.

And Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her colleagues know very well that if they become arrogant like the PNM and ignore the people, those who put them in office will fire them with the same zeal with which they elected them.

The people are still in charge of Trinidad and Tobago. And now, more than ever, they know it and understand their true power.

Jai Parasram | Toronto - 29 Sept. 2010 

PP gov't stands by Clico plan, will defend it in court if necessary

The government of Trinidad and Tobago will soften its approach to dealing with Clico depositors, Finance Minister Winston Dookeran said Tuesday he will consider a proposal for a "special window" for depositors adversely affected by genuine cases of hardship.

Speaking with reporters at a news conference in Port of Spain Dookeran said, "We recognise that there are some individuals who may have hardship situations,..

"We don't expect it to be many and these are genuinely hardship situations, and to that extent we are considering a special window to deal with cases who have genuine hardship and, by that, I mean matters of life and death."

However the minister said he is not deviating from pursuing "what clearly is a model for resuscitation of the financial sector".

Dookeran has proposed a maximum initial payment of $75,000 to investors and where the principal amount exceeds the ceiling, the government will pay the balance in IOU's over a 20-year period with no interest.

That has sparked a firestorm of protests from people who will be getting the IOU's. They claim it is a breach of the MOU signed between the government at the time and CL in January 2009.

A group of CLICO depositors is seeking a meeting with either Dookeran or Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to discuss alternatives.

Dookeran, acting Prime Minister Errol McLeod and Attorney General Anand Ramlogan appeared together at the news conference to clarify certain "misinformation".

Mc Leod told reporters, "There has been a whole lot of misinformation and we have seen a level of political and other opportunism taking place since our announcement of the steps the People's Partnership Government intends to take as we set out to assist the thousands of people who have invested in CL Financial and CLICO."

He added, "We have an irreversible responsibility to see after the many, even as we address the interests of the few. And 1.3 million must be many times more than the few."

Dookeran addressed the issue of the guarantee offered to CLICO depositors by the previous Manning PNM government stating that it "can only become effective in our system if there was parliamentary appropriation of the funds." He said the previous government did not do that.

The minister described his government's offer as "generous and fair", and advised that the bonds being offered to depositors are "sovereign bonds" with "first claim on the Government treasury".

"There is nothing that they are losing and it amazes me when I hear those cries in the wilderness," Dookeran said.

Ramlogan defended the legality of what the government is doing. "I want to reassure the national community that what we have done is in accordance with the laws of Trinidad and Tobago and we have no reservations or qualms about any allegations of illegality.

"And any threat of legal action, we stand ready, able and willing to defend the rights of the State and citizens of this country," Ramlogan said.

"There is a fundamental flaw in the logic of the legal arguments that have been put forward. The assistance which we are rendering directly to the depositors is not a matter that will involve the regulatory aspects of the Central Bank's powers.

"It is in fact a private arrangement between the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and depositors who may which to avail themselves of the assistance which we are offering."

The AG said the government will table a bill in parliament Friday to "give legal authority and proper framework to effect this solution".

Clico probe completed, files sent to DPP: AG Ramlogan

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan told reporters Tuesday investigators have completed their probe of alleged wrongdoing at CL Financial and that he has sent the files Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard.

Ramlogan spoke with journalists after delivering the feature address at the formal opening of a workshop on corruption at the Cascadia Hotel in St Ann's.

"There were many aspects to those investigations conducted by the Central Bank and Attorney General. It was a very multi-faceted approach to what is recognised to be a multi-dimensional problem.

"Those investigations have now drawn to a close. Those reports and files have been passed over to the DPP of the country and he will be in a better position to answer any questions...(about) what action will be taken."

Ramlogan also spoke about the CL payout proposed by the new government, noting that everything is legal. 

"We have been careful about the deliberations and it is well within the law. Mr Maharaj is entitled to seek clients and represent them," Ramlogan said.

In his address to delegates to the two-day conference the AG spoke of a need for the various arms of the public service and Government as a whole and seek to ultimately better understand the need for reform and changes "if we are to effectively remove corruption of public life and have a transparent system of government."

He said corruption transcends borders and is sometimes difficult to contain. He admitted that fighting corruption requires international co-operation since the issue is no longer confined "to a local rum shop and parlour".

Editorial cartoon: The Sandesh Diaries

Clico agents want PP gov't to pay depositors in 5 years, prosecute CL officials

A group representing some agents and customers of Clico has sent letters to Finance Minister Winston Dookeran and Prime Minister Kamla persad-Bissessar suggesting that the government pay depositors their full investment in five years instead of 20 years. 

In addition, the group is asking the government to prosecute the senior officials of the company who caused the collapse.

Solomon Hem-Lee, a sales representative and chairman of the South Action Group, told reporters his group 16 agents and their clients, noting that one agent has 500 cleints. 

He explained that his group is not linked to the CLICO Policyholders Protection Association, which is represented by former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence-Maharaj.

Hem-Lee said 10,000 people will benefit from the $75,000 payment, but 25,000 citizens will be paid in the form of the 20-year bonds.

The agents also want the report on Clico conducted by forensic expert Bob Lindquist to be made public.

Hem-Lee said all "instruments" sold were approved by the regulators of Trinidad and Tobago. He said CLICO workers were ready to protest if Government did not back down on its plans.

Jack takes a break to attend to FIFA business

Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner left Trinidad Monday with FIFA President Sepp Blatter to attend to official FIFA business.

The top FIFA officials will be in Anguilla Tuesday to officially open a new football stadium. Warner will then travel to Colombia for preparatory talks for the FIFA Under 20 Men’s tournament.

Warner is travelling on Blatter's private jet.

The works minister will attend cabinet on Thursday and Parliament on Friday. He'll then travel to Barbados for Saturday's 100th anniversary of the Barbados FA, where he will deliver the feature address.


Public Utilitities Minister Emmanuel George is acting as Works and Transport Minister while Warner is out of the country.

PSA declares war over wages, gives PP gov't until Friday to respond to proposals

 

Public servants Monday gave the four-month-old people's partnership government of Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar administration until October 1 to respond to their demand for a new wage structure. And they warned that they prepared to resort to industrial action if she fails to meet their deadline.

Members of the Public Service Association (PSA) marched in the Trinidad and Tobago capital of Port of Spain Monday and delivered a letter to the Office of the Prime Minister, which outlines their demands for new wages.

Persad Bissessar was out of the country at the time, attending the United Nations General Assembly debate in New York. She is returning home Tuesday night.

PSA president Watson Duke told reporters his union is giving the government until Friday to make a counter proposal and reiterated that the government's "legitimate time is up on midnight Thursday".

Duke said, “On the first of October, Friday, they have entered into the grace of the public service, fire and prison included and at any time after that we could choose to end our grace and then it is war, not war with guns, but war with labour."

He was emphatic that his members "will not sell our labour cheap". He claimed that the new government deceived the PSA. "They have taken our votes and they are promising us foolishness, we don’t want their promise we want money and we are not joking with that,” Duke declared.

The PSA is demanding that the basic salaries for public workers should be a minimum TT$6,000 monthly. "We have been suffering for years…we are not taking anything less than 6,000 dollars. In order to get a pension of 3,000 dollars you need to move to a minimum of 6,000 dollars,” Duke explained.

Thee Prison Officers Association and the Fire Officers Association joined Monday's march. They also have salary issues with the government and are demanding a minimum base salary of TT$8,000 for members.

The previous Manning PNM government had put off salary negotiations with the three groups after he called the general elections in May. Manning's defeat at the polls left his unfinished business for the new government.

Caribbean Airlines buying 9 new planes for $1.2 billion

European aircraft manufacturer ATR has announced that it has sealed a deal with Trinidad and Tobago's national carrier, Caribbean Airlines, to supply the airlines with nine ATR 72-600 aircraft.

The contract is worth US$200 million (TT$1.26 billion) and deliveries are to begin late next year, according to ATR, which is based in France.

ATR said the aircraft will be configured with 68 seats and will replace Caribbean's current fleet of five Dash-8 300 aircraft.

The new fixed-wing planes will operate the airbridge service between Trinidad and Tobago and will be used on some routes operated by Air Jamiaca, which Caribbean Airlines recently acquired.

The ATR media release dated Monday September 27 quotes Caribbean's CEO Captain Ian Brunton as saying the acquisition of the ATR 72-600s "will allow Caribbean Airlines to continue to develop and improve the offering to our customers."

Brunton added, "The low operating costs and fuel consumption of the aircraft are particularly appealing and provide us with tremendous flexibility in adding frequencies and developing new markets in the regional sectors.”

The company's CEO Filippo Bagnato said the ATR aircraft are well suited for the operating environment of the Caribbean and for the short-haul sectors in the region.

“The Caribbean and Latin American area has been an important market for ATR and we see strong potential for further increase in the regional fleets and networks”, he said.

“We also see this agreement with Caribbean Airlines as an important step with great potential for further cooperation to expand...in the region," Bagnato added.

The company's website states that ATR was formed in 1981 and has grown to become the world’s leading manufacturer of "advanced 50 to 74 seat regional turboprop aircraft".

It notes that "ATR is a joint venture and equal partnership between major European aerospace companies Alenia Aeronautica (a Finmeccanica company) and EADS. Its headquarters are in Toulouse, southern France and in 2009 the company generated a record turnover of US$1.4 billion (€1.1 billion)."

It says, "ATR has sold more than 1,000 ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft, which are used by over 160 operators in 90 countries" adding that the company meets "the worldwide standard for environmental management and sustainability".

The aircraft were ordered by the previous Manning PNM government. Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner spoke about the order during the general election campaign in May and said all deals made by the Manning government would be reviewed.

Gov't will listen to view of Clico policyholders: Mc Leod

Acting Prime Minister Errol Mc Leod told reporters Monday the government of Trinidad and Tobago would consider the views of Clico policyholders who oppose the plan to pay them a maximum of $75,000 with rest their investments in equal instalments over 20 years at zero interest

Mc Leod said Finance Minister Winston Dookeran would make a complete statement on the matter.

However he made it clear that the Government "will always respect the views, however contrary they might be, and always respect the views of others, and will consider those views and respond appropriately.”

The Newsday newspaper reported Tuesday that the Government will present legislation soon to give separate the investment and insurance portfolios of CL Financial’s insurance subsidiary Clico, citing government sources.

It stated that this move will allow the government to pay out a maximum of $75,000, with the rest to be paid over a 20-year period.

Policyholders with investments over that ceiling oppose that plan, saying it is not legal and is contrary to an agreement signed last year between Clico's parent company CL Financial and the Manning government.


They are hoping to get a meeting with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to discuss their concerns. 

Persad-Bissessar returns home Tuesday night from a business trip to New York, which included an address to the UN General Assembly, which she delived Monday afternoon.

Ramesh says he has no political agenda in Clico affair

Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj told local media Monday his work in representing the Clico Policyholders Protection Association is not politically motivated.

Maharaj was responding to suggestions from Finance Minister Winston Dookeran that people might be jumping on the Clico bandwagon because of their political leanings.  

"I am dealing with a very serious issue," he said and warned that it is Dookeran who has a political career and he should be concerned about that.

He advised the finance minister "to act on the principles of good governance, consultation, transparency and accountability." 

Maharaj has argued that Dookeran was outside his jurisdiction when he announced measures to deal with the CL matter. 

In his budget speech in Parliament on September 8, Dookeran announced that Clico investors would get a maximum of $75,000 of what is owed to them with any other money repaid in equal instalments overs 20 years with no interest.

Maharaj has stated that the Central Bank is the sole authority to deal with the matter based on the amendment to the Central Bank Act passed shortly after the previous government approved the CL memorandum of understanding.

Maharaj has written the Bank asking it to confirm that it won't implement the government plan. He has threatened legal action.

 

However, Clico investors are in no hurry to go to court. They have said they want to have a meeting with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to discuss the matter before deciding if to pursue legal options.

In a related development, former CL boss Lawrence Duprey, 76, is reported to be ill and receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment at two medical facilities in the United States. 

Duprey quit as chairman of the CL Financial conglomerate and Clico as part of the deal he made with the  Manning PNM administration last year to shore up his company, which was unable to repay hundreds of millions of dollars to depositors.

Duprey told the Trinidad Express his priority now is to restore his health, noting that he had no opinion on the government's plan announced in the budget.

PM Kamla tells UN "too many fences" continue to divide global community

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told the United Nations General Assembly Monday she joins the international community in echoing the call for a world where people are again placed at the "centre of our actions".

In her first speech to the Assembly as leader of Trinidad and Tobago the Prime Minister described her vision of a world where the care of children is given greater priority and where poverty is seen as an enemy of human dignity, "where peace can be achieved without bloodshed and where conversations resulting in greater tolerance, mutual respect and understanding would motivate cooperation and unity".

She said the United Nations must continue to provide a voice to all States whether small, or large, developed or developing, industrialized or agrarian, noting that it must be at the centre of all discussions and decisions geared towards meeting the demands of the UN membership.

“No nation will be safe, no democracy will prevail" without "mutual cooperation towards global stability, fashioned by opportunity for all, equity and the ability to feed, provide health care, clothing, housing and education for people everywhere,” she said.

“We are all in this together. We shall rise or fall together,” she declared.

Persad Bissessar said, “Global governance...must also mean that we hold our leaders and institutions more accountable for their actions – delivering a better quality of life for all our peoples. No nation large or small must be exempted…

“A key component must be the creation of fair and equitable rules to enhance the development prospects of developing countries," the Prime Minister added.

She also called for the establishment of a mechanism “to insert the voice of the United Nations in the activities” of groupings such as the G20 so that global concerns and needs are actively considered.

“Trinidad and Tobago therefore calls for the establishment of predictable and regular channels to facilitate dialogue between the G20 nations and Members of the United Nations, which constitute the G192,” the Prime Minister told the General Assembly.

She also called on the Assembly to recognize the important work being done by the Commonwealth as it relates to small vulnerable economies. She said the international community must do more to deal with the economic plight of its most vulnerable members who depend heavily on the flow of international capital and trade to ensure that their developmental needs are met.

“Trinidad and Tobago intends to use its position as Chair of the Commonwealth to promote enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and the Commonwealth to facilitate measures to provide development financing on a predictable manner to developing countries,” she pledged.

Speaking on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Prime Minister said Trinidad and Tobago has been proactive in dealing with poverty eradication and hunger as a priority through its Ministry of the People.

However she said it is critical for the international community to do more in this regard. “Good governance requires that developed countries fulfill their commitments made at the Millennium Summit to provide assistance to developing countries so that they could achieve the MDGs by the projected deadline,” she said.

“We all have a duty to the future” she said, adding that “it will be measured by how we fulfill our responsibilities today.”

Persad Bissessar also spoke about her government’s ambitious and innovative Children’s Life Fund to provide funding and critical support for children needing life saving surgery.

“It is my belief that children must not die in my country or in any other country because they cannot afford health care. NOT IN 2010!

“There must be new arrangements and relationships between countries that have advanced medical technology and those without so that children of the poorest nations can grow as healthy human beings and achieve their full potential.

“It is only when this is done that the world will progress,” she said.


Persad Bissessar also committed Trinidad and Tobago and other CARICOM Member States to efforts to deal with the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases at the global summit on the issue next year.

“Trinidad and Tobago urges all Member States to participate in this meeting at the level of Heads of State or Government,” she said.

Speaking about the environment and climate change, Persad-Bissessar endorsed the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) policy of “having deep and ambitious cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by developed countries amounting to about 40 to 50% by the year 2020 and 85 to 90% by 2050.”

She also spoke of natural disasters, mentioning the flooding she faced immediately on taking office four months ago.

“I recognize that Trinidad and Tobago is not the only country which has been faced with this grave problem. Recent events in places like Haiti, Pakistan and Russia, have demonstrated that greater international action is needed to provide relief to those affected by flooding and other natural disasters," she said.

She added that the devastation of Haiti provides the International community with the opportunity for not only being compassionate, but to also learn major lessons on disaster preparedness and management.

“Haiti is a challenge not only to our global conscience but also to our collective will to unite to save a nation,” she said.

Persad Bissessar also spoke about the problems of the illegal proliferation of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition in the Caribbean region, saying that in dealing with the problem governments have had to divert financial resources which could have otherwise been used for economic and social development.

“We cannot allow our young people to continue to fall victims to this insidious monster which has fuelled transnational organized crime and resulted in cross border armed violence which threaten the political and social stability of many nations. National governments alone cannot solve this problem because of its global dimension,” the Prime Minister said.

She also reminded the UN of the work of one of her predecessors, A.N.R. Robinson, in getting the UN to establish the International criminal Court (ICC) and called for international drug trafficking to be included as a crime within the jurisdiction of the ICC.

“I now call upon Member States of the United Nations which are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC to include international drug trafficking as a crime within the jurisdiction of the ICC,” she said.

The ICC is the only credible international judicial organ with the competence to prosecute those who perpetrate this crime, she added.

Persad-Bissessar also spoke of the need for reform to empower women.  

And she announced that “Trinidad and Tobago will introduce in the First Committee of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, internal peace and security, a resolution on “women, disarmament, arms control and non proliferation.” 

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar also told the Assembly there is a need for greater dialogue among nations to create a sustainable environment and secure the lives of people everywhere.

She said while the world has made tremendous strides in communications technology, creating a global village "regrettably, we cannot say that we are our neighbour’s keepers."

Persad-Bissessar said, "There are still too many fences between us, fences of politics, ideology, religion, ethnicity, culture and traditions.

She added, "As human beings we have the unique capacity to reason and on the basis of that reasoning to develop deeper understandings."

The Prime Minister urged the world body to pledge to use "this understanding gained from reasoning to promote conversations between nations and peoples."

She suggested that such conversations must "replace aggression and threats, conversations geared to finding peaceful ways to deal with differences, conversations borne out of mutual respect for each other as people and nations, conversations founded upon the respect for diversity, conversations that ensure the survival of the human race and the planet as its purpose".

Watch the full speech (18:15) on UN Television

Read the full text of the PM's speech at the UN

Guest column: The illegal use of State lands and Headlines

There is a very real possibility that many people like myself would be at pains to find what in the acting Prime Minister Errol Mc Leod’s speech at an OWTU function in San Fernando on Saturday 25th September, could have led to the headline “ Finance Minister has credibility issues”.

Such headlines can lead one to speculate that the writer either has credibility issues or perhaps some political agenda.

A few days earlier, it was reported that the Ministry of Works Minister Jack Warner was embarking on a plan to retrieve lands owned by the PTSC. These lands were once used for train lines when trains were in use in Trinidad years ago.

That initiative warrants a headline, perhaps first page. The illegal use of State lands for personal and business use continues to be a major problem facing the administrators of our country and the initiative taken by the works minister certainly deserves a major headline.

The illegal occupation of beach front property, road reserves, lands previously owned by Caroni Limited, forest reserves and State lands in general are symptoms of a nation slipping into a state of lawlessness.

The attempt of this government to restore respect for the law and attempt to directly confront the unlawful occupation of State lands is more than commendable it is a prerequisite to order in our society.

The number of squatters along the Solomon Hochoy highway, the Lady Young road, the Mucurapo foreshore and on ex Caroni lands seem to be increasing daily. 
There is also the occupation of property after the State has paid for acquiring the land.

Years ago the State attempted to relocate families from the area surrounding the Piarco airport. Did these families get State properties? Were they compensated for their property? All indications are the properties that were to be evacuated are still occupied at this time. Could there be people illegally occupying these properties?

There are many symbols of lawlessness that exist in Trinidad that must be eradicated if we are to get to a level of civility that demonstrates we are a law abiding society.

Among the many are:

• The continuing disregard for traffic laws – speeding, driving on the shoulder of the road etc.
• Abuse of environmental laws – loud music, illegal dumping of garbage, building without approval from the EMA
• The illegal hunting of endangered animals and fishing and hunting young and pregnant animals 
• The blatant abuse of the copyright laws 
• The illegal selling of food without the requisite food badges 
• Loitering and the ignoring of truancy laws which are still valid 
• Bribing of public officials 
• Defacing public property – placing advertisements on walls and utility polesI 
• Illegal churches, schools and places of public gathering without the requisite approvals 
• Use of government’s property for personal use – cars, offices, tools, equipment etc.  

These are but some of the daily practices that are illegal but are ignored by many.

Respecting the laws is necessary for restoring order to our society. To many it seems OK to deal with crime as long as individuals are allowed to carry on some illegal activities with impunity.

The PP government has started to target criminal activity at all levels and they need our support. Negative headlines which do not convey the spirit of what is being attempted can give a totally opposite impression of what is actually been said or done.

Steve Alvarez | Political Leader of the Democratic party of Trinidad & Tobago