Black Immigrant Daily News

Tobago

An aerial view of Scarborough, Tobago. – Jeff Mayers

​​A gala event is being planned by the Assembly Legislature of the THA, under the patronage of presiding officer Abby Taylor, for the 60th anniversary of independence.

A source at the secretariat said the event, scheduled for August 29, will be held at the Shaw Park Complex in the lead-up to further celebrations.

Public attendance has been limited to 60 people, and those interested can apply for invitations through the link https://www.tobagolegislature.org/tpg

The source said invitations will be issued to 60 people who “are citizens of TT and in possession of a valid national ID card, drivers permit or passport.”

He said only one person per invitation is permitted, while the deadline for submission is August 19.

“Winners are subject to a security background check before invitation is issued. Invitations will be issued in the name of the winner only and is non-transferable.”

Employees of the Assembly Legislature and their immediate families are not eligible to enter.

The other details, he said, are being fine-tuned.

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine could not be reached to ask him about other plans for the celebrations, as calls and messages to his cellphone went unanswered.

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Saint Lucia’s Men’s 4x100m Relay Team placed fifth in the Men’s 4x100m Final on Sunday at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

The quartet of Delan Edward, Lenyn Leonce, Michael Joseph and Stephan Charles clocked 40.17s, just ahead of sixth-placers The Gambia (40.18s).

The top three placers in Sunday’s Final were England (38.35s), Trinidad and Tobago (38.70s) and Nigeria (38.81s). Guyana placed fourth with 40.05s, while Singapore placed seventh (40.24s) and Kenya did not finish.

This was the first time that Saint Lucia fielded a Men’s 4x100m Relay Team at the Commonwealth Games.

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On Saturday, the Saint Lucian Relay Team ran a record-breaking 39.96s in the Men’s 4x100m Relay – Round 1 Heat 2, finishing fourth, smashing the previous National Record, which stood at 40.96s.

Speaking after Sunday’s Men’s 4x100m Relay Final, Team Captain, Lenyn Leonce, said: “It was a good race. Again, we had struggles with the baton for the second to the third exchange; it’s just something that we have to work on, but my teammates and I are satisfied. We’ve made it to the Final and placed fifth in the Final and we just have to work from there.”

Meanwhile Athletics Team Coach, Makeba Alcide, said: “I am really proud of the guys. We finished fifth overall with 40.17s, which is not the National Record they wanted to go for. They ran the National Record in the Semifinals, but had fifth place at the Commonwealth Games (Final). That’s huge for us. We could have done a lot better, but we’re thankful for the fifth place. I mean, our hand-offs, we still need to do a lot of work (and) the guys need to continue with the chemistry they have. They’re a young group of guys, so we’re just hoping they can stay together and will continue to get more experience in the 4x100m.”

Also on Saturday evening, pole vaulter Micky Ferdinand made an early exit in the Men’s Pole Vault Final after failing to make a mark in his initial attempts.

Despite his best hopes for a medal on the day, Ferdinand later expressed that he had trouble using the poles. He also noted that lack of adequate practice at the tournament due to circumstances beyond his control was another factor in his performance. However, he plans to rebound better in future competitions.

Sunday’s posting by the Men’s 4x100m Relay Team capped off an outstanding overall performance by Team Saint Lucia at the Commonwealth Games. Thirteen athletes represented the island in Birmingham, with sprint star Julien Alfred winning a silver medal in the Women’s 100m Final on August 3.

Alfred led for more than half the race and finished second in a time of 11.01 seconds, edged out by Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, a five-time Olympic gold medalist and the fastest woman alive in the 100m, who clocked 10.95 seconds. England’s Daryll Neita picked up the bronze with a time of 11.07 seconds.

Team Saint Lucia’s Chef de Mission, Joyce Huxley, said: “What a great finish to the Games for Team Saint Lucia! While the relay team comprising Michael, Delan, Lenyn and Stephan was very happy with their eighth place in the Prelims on Saturday, they were even more delighted with their incredible fifth place finish in Sunday’s final. Each of the relay team members had already performed well, reaching semifinals in their individual events, and were able to work together for this historic result on the final day of competition.”

She added: “The highlight of the Games has, of course, been Julien Alfred’s silver medal in the Women’s 100m, a remarkable performance at the end of a long and intense season of competition for this rising star in the Athletics arena. But we have also witnessed strong performance in Swimming, Table Tennis and Boxing.

“This event has been an amazing experience for all concerned. The logistics have been challenging, with the athletes and officials spread over two Athlete Villages located almost an hour apart, but the army of cheerful volunteers and official Games personnel have ensured that everything went as smoothly as possible — in accommodation services, catering, transport, venues, gyms, medical clinics, and sports facilities. The team members have been very comfortable in their residences, and had a wide range of options for well-prepared meals at various locations throughout the Villages. With basic needs and training venues taken care of, the athletes were able to focus on their training and events.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to be a part of this amazing team of athletes and officials here in Birmingham. Everyone has been very positive and upbeat, the athletes have been totally focused on performing at their best, and every one of them is leaving Birmingham with firm goals in mind for the future, we can expect even more from these athletes over the next few years.”

Source: Commonwealth Games (Saint Lucia) Headline photo:  The Saint Lucia Men’s 4x100m Relay Team of Delan Edwin, Michael Joseph, Lenyn Leonce and Stephan Charles placed fifth in the Final on Sunday at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

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Dr Roodal Moonilal.

OPPOSITION MP Dr Roodal Moonilal has accused Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales of being less than honest about a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and a secret deal with a Canadian company to restructure WASA.

He read from documents at the United National Congress (UNC) Virtual Report on Monday night, to counter Gonzales’ claims that Moonilal was telling lies.

Gonzales said he was baffled by Moonilal’s statement on Sunday which accused the government of entering into a secret deal with a Canadian company and signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to restructure WASA.

Gonzales said that was a “big lie,” but Moonilal read a newspaper report dated March 9, 2022, which quoted Gonzales as speaking about the arrangement and announcing, during a Conversation with the Prime Minister forum, the signing of a MOU with the Canadian company for a modulated water treatment plant.

Moonilal accused Gonzales of being in an alternative world after denying signing any such MOU.

“He is not following what is happening with his own speech. So, Mr Gonzales, tell us, were you lying at the conversation with the PM or were you lying today? Just tell us which day you were lying.”

Gonzales also rubbished Moonilal’s claim that while WASA managers were to be sent home under the restructuring programme, new managers were being secretly trained.

Gonzales said rather, some 50 OJT recruits were assigned to training at several agencies, including WASA, to access future employment.

Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales. File photo/Angelo Marcelle

He said the PP administration had had a plan to transform the utility and send workers home through an IDB loan programme, and had it stuck to its task, government would not be facing the difficult challenge it is today. Instead, he said, government had to repay a loan of almost $400 million to the IDB.

From the UNC platform on Monday night, Moonilal said the loan the PP received from the IDB was not intended to restructure WASA but to assist with a wastewater treatment programme.

He said this loan came with an approximately $11 million Voluntary Separation Employment Programme (VSEP) to negotiate with the unions to reduce staff, if possible.

“His argument was to blame the UNC, that they did not fire the people. The minister said the PP took a loan from the IDB and part of the conditionality was to fire people.”

On the contrary, Moonilal said, the initiative had nothing to do with restructuring, as Gonzales claimed, but was to finance two major wastewater treatment plants, one in Malabar and another in San Fernando.

While the Malabar facility was completed around 2018, the San Fernando plant is still outstanding and there is now a cost variation of some $90 million, he said.

“I am reading from the IDB release of December 2012, which talks about TT improving its environmental conditions with a $246.5 million loan.

“A conditionality of the loan was the offer of VSEP. Voluntary separation – not mandatory, not firing people, not sending them home.

“The minister said the PP signed a loan with the IDB for X million and part of it was to send people home. That fella don’t understand what is voluntary or involuntary. That is why he is a voluntary fool. “

Moonilal also spoke of a loan the PP government had accessed to deal with flooding in Port of Spain, “but when the PNM came into office, they fouled up everything, mismanaged everything and they could not access the loan, which went back to the IDB

“Today, just a drizzle in Port of Spain, and everywhere flood away.”

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Two young men who were fingered in several armed robberies were arrested on Monday during a police operation in Sophia, Greater Georgetown and its environs. Police stated that while conducting an exercise in Plum Park, Sophia, three-armed robbery suspects attempted to escape but they were pursued which led to the arrest of two.

The duo was taken back to their place of abode where a search was conducted where several electronic tablets, cellphones, and other electronic devices were found – all suspected to be stolen.

the items found during the raid

The teen suspects were taken to the Turkeyen Police station pending charges.

In addition, several cell phones were found at the home of a 25-year-old vendor of Block ‘E’ South Sophia. Again the items are suspected to have been stolen and as such, he was arrested pending investigations.

a television set confiscated during the operation

Further, a while in the Plum Park area the police observed a male riding away on a motorcycle. This prompted the ranks to search his premises during which they found two flat-screen televisions, a stereo set and several other electronics – all suspected to have been stolen.

Recently, the police have been conducting raids in several areas in Georgetown.

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