Black Immigrant Daily News

The Education Ministry in Trinidad and Tobago said students and teachers at a school who hid in their classroom after hearing gunfire nearby will be given counselling, and classes will be delivered virtually, while discussions are held to address safety issues.

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly told Loop News that the ministry is aware of the incident, which took place on October 31, 2022, and has been in communication with school officials and the Catholic Education Board.

The ministry said for the rest of this week, teachers will deliver classes virtually and the Student Support Services Division has planned virtual counselling sessions with students, school personnel, and parents.

Dr Gadsby-Dolly said she has communicated with acting Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob regarding these safety issues at some schools.

“I have spoken to the commissioner of police about the situation, as it is not only this school which has this type of issue affecting students, teachers and school operations. The commissioner is currently having internal discussions and will revert today (Wednesday) with the TTPS’ recommendations for ensuring the safety of all school personnel during school hours; not for this school only, but for a few others which are similarly affected.

“School relocation has been raised as a solution, and that option is also being evaluated, though no final decision on relocation has been made at this time. The MOE’s focus remains, especially during the rest of this week, on meeting the emotional needs of the staff and students who underwent this traumatic experience.”

She said a decision will be made later this week on school operations.

The video, which was shared online earlier this week, showed primary school students hiding under their desks, while what sounded like gunfire could be heard nearby.

The incident reportedly took place at a school near East Port of Spain.

In the video, a woman can be heard urging the students to be quiet, while the explosive sounds are heard a short distance away.

Police have vowed to step up patrols across the country after a spate of killings, including several incidents in which children were killed or injured.

The National Security Council, headed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, met on Monday to address the crime situation and arrangements were made for joint patrols with members of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) throughout the country and in hotspot areas.

The police will also be working with other security units, such as the Municipal Police, and the Transit police to increase presence and visibility to limit the opportunities for criminal activities.

The country recorded 508 murders up to November 1, 2022, with some criminology experts saying that this year could be the country’s bloodiest in history, if killings continue at this rate.

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CMC-Former Foreign Affairs Minister Oliver Joseph has admitted that the previous New National Party (NNP) administration had a policy of accepting cash for diplomatic passports. However, there have been denials that a Polish man was charged almost double the usual amount and a significant portion of that went to the bank account of an NNP constituency office.

Joseph confirmed that there was a policy of the former administration, led by Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, of appointing diplomatic passport holders as ambassadors-at-large if there was no representation in the territory or jurisdiction from which an application for citizenship came. No diplomatic immunity was granted, however, he said.

Unlike an ambassador-in-residence, who is usually limited to a country or embassy, an ambassador-at-large operates in several neighbouring countries.

“What we [did] is conduct a thorough due diligence investigation and once approved they are then asked to pay the required funds to the state. The fee was US$150,000, nothing more, and the Cabinet conclusions will reflect the same,” Joseph said.

During a town hall meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell alleged that a Polish national had claimed that in June this year, in the midst of the general election campaign, he was asked to pay US$290,000 for a diplomatic passport, with US$150,000 for the State and US$140,000 for the NNP’s constituency office in St George South.

“We have the records…. The Cabinet conclusion said that it was US$290,000 to the State of Grenada. The last time I checked, the constitution does not establish the New National Party South St George office as part of the State of Grenada, so my free advice now is that the New National Party South St George office, or the New National Party for that matter, should kindly hand over to the state of Grenada the US$140,000 that magically found its way into your bank account,” he said at the town hall meeting at the Grenada Trade Centre.

Describing the move by the Polish nation as a gamble in which he lost, the Prime Minister said his government will not grant the request for the money to be returned.

“I do not know who advised the Polish gentleman…. The gentleman has been asking back for his money. The State of Grenada has no intention of paying back any money to anybody, but I also want to point out and give some free advice to the South St George New National Party that you might have to pay back the man his money,” he said.

“This is essentially trading in diplomacy or, more specifically, trading in a diplomatic passport. This administration has put a stop to this, we will not do it, it is wrong. For a government, days before an election to be suggesting to people that they could be made diplomats in the middle of an election campaign ridiculous and that is the kind of challenge that we have to treat with,” Prime Minister Mitchell declared.

However, Joseph insisted that the amount paid to the state was only US$150,000 and there can be no other figures in the Cabinet conclusion.

“That is the figure we set and we did not change it in the build-up to the election, so I challenge those with other evidence to present it,” he said.

Norland Cox who contested the South St George Constituency seat for the June 23 general election, also distanced himself from the payment.

“I can clearly state that my campaign, our campaign [in] which we were unsuccessful, in no way will our records show that we have received any direct funding from any foreign donor. All our support was from ordinary persons, local businesses and even former parliamentary representatives for South St George who supported our campaign,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.

“So that is the fact, and I want to repeat again that my campaign and my staff, we have not received or been in contact with any individual…. We have not been in any contact with anybody via email, phone call, anything of that sought for any financial support to my campaign,” Cox insisted.

Nicholas Steele, a former candidate for the NNP in the same constituency, also said he did not receive US$140,000 for his campaign, although he did confirm that during his 2018 election bid, there were financial contributions that required him and his office to declare the source of funds.

Grenada’s financial laws mandate that financial transactions of EC$10,000 and up deposited into an account must have a source of funds declaration.

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A 25-year-old Maloney man was shot dead and another wounded in a shooting on Wednesday afternoon.

Police said Anthony Browne was liming outside Building Six, Maloney, at around 4.45 pm, when three men got out of a silver car and shot him.

Browne ran away but collapsed nearby.

The men also shot another man, who was walking towards his own car, as they drove off. Passers-by saw the shooting and took the wounded man to hospital, where he is in critical condition.

Police from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region II and a district medical officer visited the area and declared Browne dead.

Crime scene investigators found six spent shells.

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See full statement from the Guyana Government:

The Government of Guyana has noted a press release purportedly issued by Delta Energy and Petroleum Company (DEPCO) reported in the Guyana Chronicle News […] November 02, 2022 headlined “10,000 jobs lined up as funds secured for Berbice-based oil refineries”.

The Government of Guyana wishes to make it clear that it has had no discussion with DEPCO, and no permissions or commitments have been given by the Government to the said company in relation to the development of oil refineries.

Furthermore, it is worthwhile to note that having received several unsolicited proposals, the Government of Guyana on October 15, 2022, invited proposals for interested Parties for the design, finance, and construction of a 30,000 barrel per day, (b/d) oil refinery to be built in the vicinity of Crab Island in Berbice. As indicated in the Request for Proposal (RFP), in order to be considered all interested parties must respond to this RFP.

The response to this RFP will be used to determine a capable partner that will be selected to work with the Government to complete the project based on (i) the timeframes stipulated, (ii) evidence of financial and technical ability and (iii) response to other requirements of this RFP.

Responses to this RFP must be submitted to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) by December 13, 2022 (closing deadline).

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