Port-of-Spain – The government of Trinidad and Tobago turned its public relations up a notch late last month following a robbery attack on an elderly couple visiting Port-of-Spain while on a cruise. According to reports, Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell is making plans to meet with Minister of National Security Stuart Young and officials to discuss security for tourists following the attack on the couple at Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain.
According to the reports, Michael Wilson, 74, and his wife Sally, 72, were on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary when the wife was violently slashed and robbed on Boxing Day. The episode delayed their departure from Port-of-Spain, with the cruise ship leaving the couple behind. Husband and wife left Trinidad a few days later for home without completing their anniversary cruise.
The ministerial duo of Mitchell and Young plan to set a date to meet later this month for talks on tourist safety. The meeting will also include security arrangements for Carnival 2019.
Said Mitchell: “With respect to cruise-ship tourists, we’ll meet to find ways to improve security.”
Mitchell also praised the young tour-guides who proliferate downtown Port-of-Spain when cruise-ships visit, saying they were a top selling point for Trinidad and Tobago as a destination and for being a point of safety for visitors. The guides are multi-lingual university graduates.
Commenting on the British couple’s negative experience, and whether tourists could access the safety of guided tours to attractions such as the Magnificent Seven historical buildings at the Savannah, Mitchell said: “Tour operators operate from the Cruise Ship Complex. On the ship you can pre-book, or when you come onshore you can book a tour. But you can’t stop the tourist who wants to go sight-seeing about the city on their own. The new type of tourists want to submerge themselves in the local culture, so they just go walking and roaming and find their way back.”
He said in this era of the Internet, tourists research local attractions and note it is a 15-minute trip to the Savannah and then opt to travel alone.
Commenting on the negative experience of the Wilsons, Mitchell said it had been a crime of opportunity by someone passing in a car. The robber slashed the straps on Wilson’s handbag, and in so doing had cut her on the hand as she resisted.
According to Randall, the ship’s agent said this was the first such crime against a cruise-ship tourist in 30 years.
“The police do an excellent job, but can’t be everywhere at all times, while criminals have the advantage of knowing where they will strike,” Mitchell said.
He added tour operators can alert local police stations ahead of bringing tourists to a site, but things can get difficult when tourists go walking on their own. He noted that incidents can happen in any country, and added, “But things can be improved.”
According to the reports, the Wilsons arrived in Trinidad on Boxing Day with more than 3,000 other passengers on the MSC Preziosa. They were forced to miss the sailing of the ship after the wife was injured during the robbery.
According to police reports, the Wilsons were walking around the Savannah at 12.30 pm when they were attacked. The wife had a bag draped over her right shoulder and resting on her left hip. The thief slashed the bag, containing two bank cards and her Nokia cellphone, slicing her left hand as he did so. The man ran off.
The injured woman was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital by a passing taxi, where she was treated for the cut and discharged. However, investigators said the seriousness of Wilson’s injury went unnoticed, with doctors treating her for just the superficial laceration to the hand.
Following her discharge, it was noticed her finger was not moving and she was rushed into surgery. A tendon on the hand had been torn during the attack, and follow-up surgery was performed to repair the paralysed finger.
Police said the couple gave a vague description of the thief as a “tall African man”. Police work was further hampered since there are no CCTV cameras around the Savannah.
Said Mitchell: “Our visitors would have been looking forward to their trip only to have it ruined by an act of violence.”
He added security arrangements will be reviewed to prevent a recurrence, and said the police have always been diligent in collaborating with the Tourism Ministry and other stakeholders to keep visitors safe.
“We will continue to work with them to ensure the well-being of our guests and to improve the visitor experience,” he said.
Additionally: “This was the first such incident involving a cruise ship passenger in recent memory, and is an occasion for pause and re-evaluation of the measures we put in place for the safe and enjoyable stay of our visitors.”
The Wilsons left days later on a British Airways flight for their home in the United Kingdom.

Port-of-Spain – Police Commissioner Gary Griffith told doctors on Sunday he has been working round the clock since he took office last August, and was stressed, missing meals, and not sleeping properly, and this may have contributed to his hospitalisation.
“I am running my blood to water, destroying my body in an effort to make this a safer country for our citizens, and I would continue to do so. Yet some, ironically, have found a voice that the only thing that they can do to fix Trinidad and Tobago, and a few others, who defend criminals when we arrest them, is to try to undermine what I am trying to do because of their own selfish agenda,” he said.
He added: “For decades every citizen complained, and rightly so, that criminals have taken over the country and the TTPS is not doing enough. However, after a few months under my watch, a handful with absolutely no knowledge or experience in law enforcement now suddenly gets a voice, and all of a sudden it is a 180-degree turn and they find that the police is now doing too much, and using too much excessive force. It is the right of citizens to give views, but not when you lie with false information to try to deliberately affect the TTPS from doing their job."
Despite this, and his body’s response to the pressures of the job, Griffith maintained: “I do not intend to slow down, I intend to go up a gear.”
On Sunday, Griffith complained of pains to wife Nicole Dyer-Griffith, who took him to the St Clair Medical Centre. He later returned to his official residence following checks by doctors. Dyer-Griffith confirmed her husband he was seen by doctors at the institution.
“He is much better… we took him into St Clair. He was experiencing some pretty severe abdominal cramps so he spent most of the day there. He had to be rehydrated. He was very dehydrated. He had some IV therapy and he had some routine tests undertaken and after a few hours they said it was okay for him to go home…” Dyer-Griffith said.
Dyer-Griffith said her husband worked too hard, and many long hours. “[But]… that is not going to change anytime soon, as that is just written into his DNA, and that is the only way we both know.”
Dyer-Griffith said it was a matter of putting things in place and ensuring the basics are followed up, and that he “[eats] on time and get some rest at some point in time, but as I said his drive and push is not going to change”.

Port-of-Spain – Opposition whip David Lee last week accused government MP Camille Robinson-Regis of “political theatrics, PR and gimmickry” following publication of her letter to the editor that criticised the Opposition for alleged non-co-operation to pass legislation in Parliament.
“As the incoming government, our job is not to support poorly conceived legislation, but to hold the government to account and provide alternative and workable strategies for our development,” Lee said.
He added, “The government is under the misguided notion Parliament is an extension of Balisier House.”
Lee accused the government of saying they will legislate by tactics.
“The dismissive and insulting manner with which the government treats with questions and motions in Parliament is a matter of public record, and they cannot hide their behaviour behind paltry letters to the editor,” he said.
He noted the government’s parliamentary record was atrocious and characterised by utter disdain for those with a different view. He said while the government claimed five new bills must be passed for Trinidad and Tobago to come off blacklists like the Global Forum and FATF, only one poorly-drafted bill has reached Parliament.
Said Lee: “Further, this Rowley’s government’s record with Joint Select Committees is deplorable. The JSC appointed to discuss the most important Tax (Amendment) Bill, met for only two hours and 15 minutes.”
Lee alleged the government had a poor record in effecting the Anti-Gang legislation that they claimed to be urgent.
“We can look further at their behaviour in bringing, at the eleventh hour, legislation requiring a special majority, rife with errors and expecting the Opposition to participate in the creation of bad law. They are now resorting to their familiar blame game trying to make excuses for their incompetence.”
Lee said while the government had claimed to be “red and ready” to run Trinidad and Tobago, they have turned out to be the worst government in post-independence history.
“The country is fed up of the PNM’s blame game manoeuvres,” he declared.
He advised that the government’s time would be much better spent fixing the inter-island ferry service, providing new jobs for the 5,000 workers fired at Petrotrin, and reducing the tax burden to stimulate growth in the economy.
“Our country is in shambles after three years of government by ‘vaps’ and policy made up on-the-fly. The population is demoralised,” he said.
Lee said our economy is one of the lower performers in Caricom.
“Camille Robinson Regis’ time would be much better spent convincing her Cabinet colleagues that they should immediately resign and call elections so that a UNC government led can restore sanity, prosperity and good governance to our country. That way they can settle into being the Opposition she would like to see,” he said.

Port-of-Spain – Senior economist, Dr Roger Hosein has expressed scepticism that Trinidad and Tobago can maintain its projected trajectory of two percent growth for 2019 given its present trajectory.
Hosein was commenting on Prime Minister Keith Rowley’s national report, which was presented in a national address on Sunday night. Hosein said the government’s projections have not taken into consideration downward revisions in energy commodity prices, especially oil, increased debt, and the impact of the closure of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery on the marginalised communities and overall productivity. Hosein heads UWI’s St Augustine’s Economics Department.
“It is against the backdrop of all of the above that I was surprised to see a growth rate of close to two percent presented by the PM... It's possible I may be wrong, but the numbers to me, don’t point in that direction,” he said.
According to Hosein’s breakdown, in September, the IMF suggested that if oil prices improved to (all figures in USD) $70 in 2018 and held at about $69 per barrel in 2019, along with natural gas prices at $2.80 per mmbtu, then Trinidad and Tobago’s economy will grow by $6 billion in 2019, international reserves would dip to $6.9 billion (from $11.5 billion in 2014) and external public sector debt would climb to 16.9 percent in 2019 (as compared to 8.6 percent in 2014) while the current account balance would record a surplus of 7.3 percent in 2019 (as compared to 14.7 percent in 2014). The current account refers to the difference between a country’s exports and imports.
However, in December, one of the leading energy forecasters, the US government’s Energy Information Administration lowered its 2019 forecast for oil to $54 per barrel, $11 lower than the Trinidad and Tobago government’s budget predicate, while natural gas will be $3.11 per mmbtu.
“Let us for simplicity assume that these expected trends in oil and gas cancel each other out, then the 0.9 percent growth assumed by the IMF for 2019 is still possible. However, that forecast did not take into account the closure of the refinery and the associated demultiplier effect on the host community and the rest of the economy,” he said.
Hosein said he was not able to acquire the refinery’s contribution to the country’s GDP from the Central Statistical Office, but his guess was impact of its closure would stall real economic growth in 2019 to between 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent, with risks tilted to the downside, given that the West Texas Intermediate oil price (on which Trinidad and Tobago’s budget is based) actually averaged $46 for January, much lower than projections, although gas prices fell within rage. If the trend continues, it will impact growth and forecasts for the economy will likely be lowered.

Port-of-Spain – Leader of the Opposition Kamla Persad-Bissessar last week joined the region in mourning the late Sir Fenton Ramsahoye, QC, to whom she said the UNC owes a debt for legal services.
Sir Fenton, 89, passed away on December 27 after a brief illness, and was cremated last Saturday in Barbados.
He was recognised by Persad-Bissessar as a legal luminary and a “Caribbean icon”.
Said Persad-Bissessar in a tribute: “His unparalleled contribution to the development of the law and politics of the Caribbean has made an indelible impact that helped shape our notion of justice and fundamental human rights.”
She noted Ramsahoye’s PhD thesis was published as a book and “even today remains the most authoritative text on land law in Guyana”.
“The law reports are littered with his cases in all spheres of the law and his erudition and legal genius are reflected in the over 300 cases in the international law reports,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Additionally, “The UNC owes Sir Fenton a great debt of gratitude as he often provided legal counsel and representation during our political struggles. Sir Fenton teamed up with former AG Anand Ramlogan, SC, to challenge the People's National Movement’s victimisation and discrimination in the highest courts.”
Persad-Bissessar said it was Sir Fenton who “led the charge” against the PNM during the 2001 18-18 tie at the polls, “when it appointed all PNM MPs as government ministers so that they were paid a salary whilst it refused to pay the 18 UNC elected members of Parliament”.
Said Persad-Bissessar: “Although Sir Fenton lost this important constitutional case in both lower courts, he was successful in the Privy Council, which delivered a historic ruling in favour of the UNC MPs, as a result of which the government was ordered to pay the UNC MPs their salaries with retroactive effect.
She said Sir Fenton's “pioneering” work on behalf of the UNC “led to greater accountability and transparency in governance, as evidenced by his numerous victories on behalf of Chandresh Sharma against the government for failing to publish annual statements under the Freedom of Information Act, and against the Integrity Commission for the failure to disclose the names of persons who had not filed their declarations”.
Sir Fenton also represented the UNC in matters over the eligibility of Winston 'Gypsy' Peters and William Chaitan to run for office over their dual citizenship status.
“Sir Fenton was widely regarded as the grandfather of West Indian constitutional law. His intellectual prowess and legal scholarship made him one of the most respected and sought-after legal luminaries from the Caribbean who successfully tested his mettle against the leading members of the British Bar in his numerous duels in the Privy Council. He made us proud and stood beside us in our darkest moments,” Persad-Bissessar said.
“We salute Sir Fenton and record our appreciation for his unwavering commitment to democracy and the rule of law. The region has lost a legal titan, and the UNC, a trusted friend and lieutenant,” she said.

Port-of-Spain – Political analyst Dr Indira Rampersad has said the first part of the Prime Minister's pre-recorded Report to the Nation is indicating he is shifting into “election mode” and trying to justify some government actions. “It is a lot of blaming (of the previous administration) still after almost four years. I am not sure how that will go down with the population,” she said.
Rampersad said the PNM has its base and the blaming message may resonate with die-hard PNMites, but there is a question whether floating voters or the UNC will buy into it.
“Blaming only lasts for a year or two. In the fourth year people don't bite. (Blaming) has a shelf life and it is long past,” she noted.
Political analyst Dr Winford James indicated from the read of the address, it appeared Rowley was on an election footing “because he returned to the theme of reckless spending by the former government”.
He also said the report suggested Rowley devoted most of his presentation to the billions of dollars the previous government borrowed on the eve of elections and short periods of repayment.
James said the only reason he could see Rowley blaming the previous government for the difficulties the current government encountered is that elections are on the horizon.
"The thinking is that theme continues to have purchase with the electorate who are as scandalised as he is by the profligacy he has described,” he said.

Port-of-Spain – Singer Suresh Yankaran passed away on Sunday at the San Fernando General Hospital. His brother, Anand, suffered cardiac arrest and passed away in January, 2017.
Both singers were the sons of the late legendary singer Isaac Yankaran.
Suresh was the husband of Samdaye Yankaran, and father of eight children.
His daughter Nirmala said her father died of cardiac arrest and had suffered two strokes. He quit singing following surgery to his throat two years ago.
“He was a man of his word. He would always try to meet the demand for classical songs in the country,” Nirmala said. She said that like the other Yankaran brothers, Anand and Sham (also deceased), Ashook and Rakesh, he loved to present the songs recorded by their father.
Rakesh said it is a very sad day for him with Suresh’s passing. He recalled his childhood days when his elder brother sang and encouraged him to sing as well.
“He did us proud as a Yankaran, and he has definitely left a void in the family, as well as in the world of classical singing in the country,” Rakesh said.
Surviving Suresh are Rakesh, another brother Ashook, and two sisters, Surekha and Devika. All four siblings are well-established singers.