Guardian

Trinidad & Tobago $3

Tuesday, January 5, 2021 THE GUARDIAN OF DEMOCRACY No 39136 guardian.co.tt

BLUDGEONED
TO DEATH
Teacher beaten with hammer at Preysal home
Male relative surrenders to police PAGE 5
Colleagues, students mourn loss of ‘beautiful soul’

House of murder victim Suzette Sylvester (inset) at Mowlah Trace Extension, Preysal. PICTURE SHASTRI BOODAN

Trini writers EBC reports

win 2020 smooth
Costa Book nomination
PAGE PAGES
Awards 7 process 8 10 -
 Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
news
4-11
editorial
12
opinion
13
rec
19-25
classifieds
30-33
sports
34-40 |3
LEAD STORY POLITICS INTERNATIONAL
Teacher beaten to Tsoiafatt-Angus Trump pressures
death with hammer faces immediate elections chief:
POSITIVE CASES
expulsion from PNM Find 11,780 votes
A 48-year-old teacher and mother
was discovered yesterday morning,
President Donald Trump pres-
7,178
bludgeoned to death at her Preysal, PNM Tobago Council former DEATHS
sured Georgia’s Republican secre-
Couva home. Police believe a male
relative beat Suzette Sylvester, a
Public Relations Officer and
councillor Dr Denise Tsoiafatt-
tary of state to “find” enough votes 127
to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the
secondary school teacher, with a Angus’ filing of nomination papers PEOPLE TESTED

The
hammer until she was dead. A police
report states that Sylvester’s body
was discovered by her son around 6
state’s presidential election, re-
as an independent candidate for
January 25, 2021, THA elections,
peatedly citing disproven claims of 72,735
fraud and raising the prospect of a
violates the PNM constitution and ACTIVE CASES
“criminal offense” if officials did not

News
am. He then raised an alarm to his
grandmother and uncle who live
next door their home at Mowlah
333
she will be expelled. So said the
change the vote count, according to
party’s Island Council chairman
a recording of the conversation.
Stanford Callender. “The party’s
—Page 17 GLOBAL POSITIVE CASES

Digest
Trace Extension. —Page 5 constitution is clear. —Page 9
86,083,228
GLOBAL DEATH TOLL
ODD SPOT
1,859,791
Remorseful man returns stolen sword after 40 years
Today’s A veteran returned a sword he stole The man, who Gaylord described If you or a loved one develops
stories in 14 from a statue of a Revolutionary War
general 40 years ago, telling the head
as a “great big bear of a guy,” told her
he had worked at a bar in the town
symptoms of COVID-19,
please call the hotline
capsule of the Massachusetts town’s historical while he was enrolled as a student Trinidad: 877-WELL (9355) or
Tobago: 800-HEAL (4325)
commission that he regretted taking at Westfield State University. After for further guidance.
it. a night of drinking, he and a group If the person is severely ill,
OPINION

Side effects
There are already sto-
ries of patients with heart
attacks being made to wait
for the result of a Covid test
before being admitted to
hospital.
Near the end of writing
I get news that “thousands
of surgeries have been can-
celled in the public health
sector last year”, resulting in
a “huge backlog”.
My surgical friends
confirm. “Massive num-
bers……real massive….
every surgeon and junior
knows how bad it is.”
We need to work out
exactly what’s
going on in
the health
sector.
Dr David Bratt—Page 12
Quote of the Day
It takes 20 years to build
a reputation and five
minutes to ruin it. If you
think about that, you’ll do
things differently.
—Warren Buffett
Contact us
Port-of-Spain:
22–24 St Vincent Street,
(PO Box 122)
Telephone:
225-4465 (4GML)
Exts 4227, 4231,
4232, 4254, 4377
Chaguanas Sales Office:
225-4465 (4GML)
Exts 6002, 6003
San Fernando Bureau:
225-4465 (4GML)
Exts 6101, 6104, 6106
Tobago Bureau:
Camille McEachnie
camille.mceachnie
@tobagotoday.co.tt
3
WEATHER F CUS
MOSTLY SUNNY
Sunny to partly cloudy skies and
breezy conditions, with brisk,
isolated showers from the late
afternoon into the night. Heavier
rainfall to favor southern and
eastern halves of both islands.
Piarco Max 32 °C Min 20 °C
Crown Point Max 31 °C Min 23°C
Google workers form new labour
union, a tech industry rarity
A group of Google engineers and
other workers announced yesterday
they have formed a union, creating
a rare foothold for the labour move-
ment in the tech industry.
About 225 employees at Google
and its parent company Alphabet
are the first dues-paying members of
the Alphabet Workers Union. They
represent a fraction of Alphabet’s
workforce, far short of the threshold
needed to get formal recognition as
a collective bargaining group in the
US.
But the new union, which will be
affiliated with the larger Communi-
cation Workers of America, says it
will serve as a “structure that ensures
Google workers can actively push
for real changes at the company.” Its
members say they want more of a
voice not just on wages, benefits and
protections against discrimination
and harassment but also broader
ethical questions about how Google
pursues its business ventures.
Google said yesterday that it’s tried
to create a supportive and rewarding
workplace but suggested it won’t be
negotiating directly with the union.
“Of course our employees have
protected labour rights that we sup-
Cindy P Gaylord, the chair of
Westfield’s Historical Commission,
said a man contacted the city hall
saying he had the sword stolen from
the town’s statue of Gen William
Shepard in 1980, the Springfield
Republican reported on Sunday.
Gaylord agreed to give the man
anonymity if he returned the bronze
sword and arranged for him to drop
it off at her home along with his wife,
she said.
“He had a great deal of shame
and remorse,” Gaylord told the
newspaper. “He is a veteran and told
me the fact that he did this to another
soldier troubled him. He wants the
story printed to remind people that
something you do in your youth could
haunt you for the rest of your life.”
port,” said a statement from Kara
Silverstein, the company’s director
of people operations. ”But as we’ve
always done, we’ll continue engaging
directly with all our employees.”
Unionization campaigns haven’t
historically been able to gain much
traction among elite tech work-
ers, who earn big salaries and other
perks like free food and shuttle rides
to work. But workplace activism at
Google and other big tech firms has
grown in recent years as employers
call for better handling of workplace
sexual harassment and discrimina-
tion, opposition to Trump adminis-
tration policies and avoiding harmful
uses of the products they’re helping
to build and sell.
of friends went to steal the sword, call the 811 (emergency hotline).
which he said he wrenched loose
with just his own strength. When they
realized what they had done the next
morning, they were not sure how
to return the sword without facing
consequences.
The stolen sword was replaced
with the help of a local sculptor and
paid for by an anonymous donor, the
newspaper reported. The returned
sword is likely to be preserved by
a local museum, the newspaper
reported.
Shepard was born in the area in the
1730s and fought as a militia man and
solider in multiple wars, including the
Revolutionary War. The town erected
the bronze statue of him in 1919, the
newspaper reported.
Google software engineer Chewy
Shaw, who has been elected to the
new union’s executive council, said
he and others decided to form the
group after seeing colleagues pushed
out of the company for their activ-
ism.
“We want to have a counterforce
to protect workers who are speaking
up,” Shaw said.
The union’s first members include
engineers, as well as sales associates,
administrative assistants and the
workers who test self-driving vehi-
cles at Alphabet automotive division
Waymo. Many work at Google’s Sili-
con Valley headquarters, while oth-
ers are at offices in Massachusetts,
New York and Colorado.
 4 news
Rowley: Govt sought additional
$16B to address COVID-19
CAMILLE MCEACHNIE
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said
last night the Government had to
source $16 billion more than the 2020
budgetary allocation to assist the coun-
try through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Rowley was addressing the audi-
ence at the PNM Tobago Council’s 2021
campaign launch and presentation of
candidates for the January 25 THA
elections.
He said Tobago got its fair share of
the budgetary pie and attributed this
to a “smooth cooperation and associ-
ation” between the People’s National
Movement (PNM)- led Central Govern-
ment and Executive Council in the To-
bago House of Assembly (THA).
“We had to go and find $16 billion
additional to the budget of last year
October to be able to fund our ar-
rangement through a pandemic to be
where we are today,” the PM told his
audience.
Cold weather Kamla tells party launch new ferry has six deficiencies
grips T&T
KALAIN HOSEIN
kalain.hosein@guardian.co.tt
Trinbagonians woke up to an unusu-
ally cold morning yesterday as tem-
peratures dipped below 20°C across
several areas of Trinidad.
At Piarco, Monday morning’s min-
imum temperature came in at 20°C,
while at Crown Point, Tobago, a
milder 23°C was recorded according
to the Trinidad and Tobago Meteoro-
logical Service.
Weather stations across the coun-
try recorded temperatures between
18°C and 20°C in Eastern, Central
and Southern Trinidad. Across
Northern Trinidad and Tobago, tem-
peratures remained above the 20-de-
gree-mark.
The minimum recorded tempera-
ture by a calibrated weather station
was 17.63°C in Penal at 5:00 AM Mon-
day. An uncalibrated thermometer in
Lengua, Barrackpore, recorded a chill-
ing 15.0°C at the same time.
One more cool night is in T&T’s
forecast before moisture returns to
the region beginning late today and
lingering through the remainder of
the week.
What caused these
cold temperatures?
A dry and cool air mass, originating
over North America, made its way to
the Caribbean following a low-pres-
sure system in the North Atlantic. A
high-pressure system pushed the air
southwestward, with strong winds
also agitating our seas this weekend.
While moisture and temperature in-
creased on the air mass’ journey to
T&T, conditions remained stable and
dry to limit cloud development and
allow for cool temperatures from Jan-
uary 1 onward.
PNM Political Leader, Prime Minister
Dr Keith Rowley speaks at the
launch of the PNM’s campaign for
the January 25 Tobago House of
Assembly elections, last night.
He said despite the country’s finan-
cial constraints, Tobago’s future had
not been “stymied ... it has been accel-
erated.”
He listed the Roxborough Fire Sta-
tion, Roxborough Hospital, and fund-
GAIL ALEXANDER
Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bis-
sessar has called out Government on
an inspection report regarding the new
Tobago ferry APT James which states
the vessel has six deficiencies, includ-
ing missing fire safety equipment.
She also wants answers on whether
eight people returned home with the
Prime Minister’s daughter for Christ-
mas and why the National Security
Ministry’s Permanent Secretary got
exemptions to leave and return to T&T
last month.
Persad-Bissessar spoke at last night’s
UNC meeting to launch the party’s
campaign for the January 25 by-elec-
tion.
She said the APT James which cost
half a billion dollars is en route to T&T
but has to stop at various location and
has to be inspected.
“When the vessel was in Malta
and gone through inspections, we ex-
pected a brand-new half-a-billion-dol-
lar vessel would have been free from
any deficiencies.”
“I have in my possession a copy of
an inspection document from Malta,
which states that on inspection not one
or two deficiencies were identified but
a total of six deficiencies,” she said.
“Defects range from a lack of proper
certification and documents to miss-
ing fire safety equipment and a lack of
proper structural access points to vital
areas of the ship. It was even discov-
ered the electronic charts that assist
the navigation of the vessel was out-
dated and did not conform to current
maritime codes.”
The report showed the emergency
system muster list was incomplete and
fire detection/alarm system missing.
“The fact these deficiencies exist at
all in what is supposed to be a brand-
new ferry demonstrates the lack of
attention to detail that went into pre-
paring the ship before it was sent to
T&T. This was a Government-to-Gov-
ing of the ANR Robinson International
Airport expansion projects as evidence
of growth.
Dr Rowley said the latter project
would ensure the island is ready for
the tourism industry’s resurgence after
the pandemic.
Speaking about the THA elections,
he said people were asking for the
other parties to get the opportunity to
control Tobago.
“There are aspirants in Tobago say-
ing ‘give them a chance’. This is not a
bingo. It is not Play Whe. It is not the
horse race track. This is the future of
the children and all the people of Trin-
idad and Tobago.”
Stopping short of naming the Pro-
gressive Democratic Patriots’ (PDP)
leader Watson Duke, Rowley ad-
dressed public servants directly.
“Let me say something to a lot of
you people, especially public servants
in Tobago who have a job and who be-
lieve this is none of your business and
The newest vessel in the national fleet of ferries, the APT James. PICTURE COURTESY
THE NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED NIDCO.
ernment arrangement which is no
longer subject to the Procurement law.
They can make these big purchases
without any oversight.”
Persad-Bissessar said while people
remain stranded outside of T&T, PNM
“friends and family” were being given
exemptions to enter and leave. She
claimed the National Security’s Perma-
nent Secretary was granted exemption
to leave T&T on December 19 and an-
other to return December 30.
“Why did he leave? No government
business was being done outside.
Everyone’s using Zoom and webinars.”
Persad-Bissessar alleged Security
Minister Stuart Young “lied” when he
made statements on exemptions in-
cluding about “first come first served”
basis.
“How did Miss Rowley who applied
for an exemption in November get it in
November when people were applying
and begging March, April, May…Octo-
ber, November? He said ‘first come,
first served’ but you have people jump-
ing the queue,” she alleged.
“Is it true Miss Rowley when granted
exemption, did she also bring eight
friends with her? Who are they? Are
they nationals? Were they in the
queue? Did they come in at the same
time?”
you are secure, you go and put some-
one in office who believes that he vex
with everybody and they believe you
did not support them enough or at all
and treat you the same way they treat
their union members after the last
elections.”
Duke, who is also President of the
Public Services Association (PSA), sent
20 PSA workers on vacation leave im-
mediately after the PSA elections last
month.
Tobago Council Island leader Tracy
Davidson-Celestine, who also spoke
at the meeting, echoed a similar sen-
timent.
She, too, did not name the PDP.
She said another party would “stall or
completely derail Tobago’s recovery
projects.”
She said the PDP’s current leader-
ship is similar to “a headless horse-
man.”
More on the THA Elections on page
9.
She said Attorney General Faris
Al-Rawi’s son was also granted exemp-
tion to leave and return.
“What is your policy? You have
stranded people out there man!”
She said attorneys are looking at the
ministry’s policy in granting exemp-
tions and will also be challenging allo-
cations made to regional corporations
claiming there is inequity there.
Persad-Bissessar said another per-
son from the Procurement board had
either resigned or is about to, apart
from deputy chairman James Chang-
Kit.
“I hail Mr Chang-Kit. He’s a true pa-
triot.”
She said resignations weren’t
enough and banding together is
needed.
“I propose UNC join with other
groups and have roundtable or webi-
nar discussions on this procurement
legislation. We will not let it go! We
will not give you support in the Parlia-
ment. You could cry and gnash your
teeth as much as you want, we will
isolate you!”
Persad-Bissessar slammed Prime
Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s statement
that the worst is behind T&T.
“Are you living in T&T? Prime Minis-
ter you lie,” she said.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
Supt (Ag) Wayne Mystar.
PICTURE SHIRLEY BAHADUR
Police: 2020 had
lowest road
deaths in 63 years
The Trinidad and Tobago Police
Service, Traffic and Highway Patrol
Branch said 2020 saw the lowest
number of road traffic deaths re-
corded in this country in the last
63 years.
But while it recognised the ac-
complishment, in a statement, the
Traffic and Highway Patrol Branch
also once again strongly advised all
drivers to comply with the laws by
obeying roadway speed limits and
to avoid the payment of fines and
the accrual of demerit points.
It said on the last day of 2020 -
Thursday, December 31- all units of
the Highway Patrol initiated major
enforcement and high visibility po-
licing initiative targeting dangerous
and reckless drivers.
That exercise resulted in 269
speeding tickets being issued to er-
rant drivers.
Traffic Branch Senior Superin-
tendent, Wayne Mystar, together
with Superintendent Rampersad
instructed all Highway Patrol Units
to elevate road policing activi-
ties across the nation’s highways
through Speed Enforcement, DUI
and Stop and Search exercises.
Supt Mystar said, “Our latest fig-
ures indicate that there were 96
recorded traffic deaths in 2020,
which is a historically low figure.
This is an astonishing achievement
because the last time Trinidad &
Tobago experienced a road death
figure below 100 was in 1957. Al-
though the TTPS welcomes the
significant decrease in road fatali-
ties, every road death was one too
many, consequently, we will con-
tinue to work assiduously in 2021 to
help reduce the road fatality figure
even further.”
The TTPS Road Safety Project
Coordinator, Sgt Brent Batson,
added, “The TTPS plans to expand
the iRoadsafe education campaign,
which helps drivers make safer de-
cisions and forms part of our injury
and collision prevention efforts
in 2021, that also includes closer
stakeholder collaboration with the
Licensing Authority, Arrive Alive
and the Insurance Association.” Sgt
Batson added, “we will never know
whose lives we may have saved, but
just knowing at least 25 persons are
still with their families because of
the dedicated efforts of traffic law
enforcement officers is enough rea-
son to double our efforts in 2021.”
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt news 5
Teacher beaten to death with hammer at home
RHONDOR DOWLATROSTANT tance Progamme will engage with
the school to provide support to staff
A 48-year-old teacher and mother and students.
was discovered yesterday morning, “The Ministry notes with great
bludgeoned to death at her Preysal, concern the events that led to this
Couva home. death and is hopeful that the perpe-
Police believe a male relative beat trator can be brought to justice,” the
Suzette Sylvester, a secondary school ministry said.
teacher, with a hammer until she was Noting the significant impact that
dead. this news can have on the loved ones
A police report states that Sylvest- and students of Sylvester, Education
er’s body was discovered by her son Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said,
around 6 am. “We mourn as a country today. We
He then raised an alarm to his mourn the loss of a life, of a woman,
grandmother and uncle who live next of an educator; in circumstances
door their home at Mowlah Trace Ex- that are sad and distressing. It is
tension. my hope that during this period of
Sylvester’s mother told police that grief the support offered can aid her
she saw the suspect leaving the com- loved ones in the ways they require.”
pound. President of the International
Police said the suspect walked into Women’s Resources Network Adri-
the Chaguanas Police Station and ana Sandrine-Rattan said domestic
alerted them to the situation. violence victims often try to save
Officers subsequently went to the School teacher Suzette Sylvester, who was allegedly beaten to death by a close male relative, with some of her the relationship and added that
scene where they met grieving rela- former students at the El Dorado West Secondary. PICTURE FACEBOOK she heard that Sylvester was one of
tives who ushered them into Sylvest- those.
er’s bedroom to where her body was, “I saw them both over the week- Why her? Why he couldn’t just school with the many challenges “She was trying to save the re-
slumped on the ground near the bed. end and they seemed very happy. leave. She was soooooooo beautiful I have faced in life, it’s because of lationship but that by themselves
Preliminary investigations revealed She was talking and laughing so and humble and everything perfect. teachers like her.” cannot be saved, but sometimes it
that Sylvester and the male relative if there was something going on I I’m sure she got up in the most per- The Ministry of Education also reaches a point where you have to
had an argument between 10.30 pm never knew and I never even sus- fect spirit to start her day with her extended condolences to Sylvest- take an exit to save your life.”
and midnight on Sunday. pected anything.” students. What about her son? This er’s family, students, colleagues and Rattan said her organization has
Police said they were told that Syl- He added that his sister was never is not fair! Suzette Sylvester I have friends. made several recommendations to
vester later went to bed at about 2.10 the type to be involved in argu- never expected to see this, never in It noted that Sylvester moved to the government to help victims of
am Monday morning. ments. “She never liked quarrelling. a million years. You were so jolly, Preysal High School in September domestic violence, including assis-
Sylvester was a Secondary School If there was any quarrel she was the always laughing. I just can’t accept 2016, after 15 years of service at the tance with housing.
Literature teacher at Preysal Second- type to end it. She was always jolly this,” one of her colleagues wrote on El Dorado West Secondary School. “We recommended that the gov-
ary School. and pleasant.” social media. In a release, the ministry said ernment look at low-cost housing
Speaking with the Guardian Media Sylvester’s death sent shockwaves A past student described her as a the education community was both for victims and their children be-
at his home, Sylvester’s brother said among her colleagues and past and “beautiful soul,”. shocked and saddened to learn of cause they would have reason not to
he was in shock over his sister’s present students. One of her col- “No one deserves to die like this the tragic circumstances surround- stay but leave and go to the low-cost
death. leagues lamented: “Suz you tried… no one. Such a beautiful soul. She ing Sylvester’s death. housing because most victims stay in
He added that if his sister was in an God knows how much you tried.” was my school mom. When people It added the Student Support Ser- abusive relationships because they
abusive relationship he never knew. “Lord I have so many questions. asked me how I made it through high vices Division and Employee Assis- have nowhere else to go.”

Deputy chairman of Office of Public Regulations resigns

RENUKA SINGH

The deputy chairman of the Office

Cites displeasure with recently-passed Public Procurement Bill
of Public Regulations (OPR) James Chang-Kit also took aim at the minished by the assented bill. He January 30, 2021, with the effluxion
Chang-Kit has resigned, citing frus- relative “silence and acquiescence does however want to see the com- of time. I wish him well in his future
tration with the elements of the re- of the society” and said that some pleted bill. endeavours,” the minister wrote.
cently passed Public Procurement members of the OPR board had ac- “I cannot say what was on his Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi
Bill. cepted the fatality of the bill’s pas- mind when he issued that letter,” said he found Chang-Kit’s resig-
Chang-Kit released a resignation sage. Lalchan said. nation letter to be “curious” and
letter yesterday saying the assent “Some members of our board in “Parliament has a role to play “strongly objected” to his criticisms
of the bill by President Paula-Mae accepting this sorry state of affairs in this country in terms of making of the 2016 amendment.
Weekes was the final insult to the in a fast-dwindling and bankrupt laws. Once Parliament has debated “I wish the gentleman well. I disa-
office. economy has driven me to despair those laws and passed relevant laws, gree that the previous amendments
The President assented to the bill and so it is with a heavy heart that I we as an organisation are bound by in 2015 and 2016 emasculated the
on December 27. submit my immediate resignation as law to follow through on the imple- OPR,” Al-Rawi said.
“The two prior amendments in the Deputy Chairman of the Board mentation of the laws. There is a Al-Rawi completely refuted that
2016 and 2017 had an initial damag- of Procurement Regulation,” Chang- process to follow,” he said. he sought to undermine the OPR.
ing effect on the recruitment process Kit concluded. Lalchan said that the law, as it “This was no small exercise. Every
for a Regulator and the operation of OPR chairman Moonilal Lalchan stands now with the amendments, single procurement from as small as
the parent Act and signalled the Gov- said Chang-Kit’s resignation was not still leaves the OPR in a position to a pen must be open to challenge,”
James Chang-Kit
ernment’s reluctance for proper pro- a surprise. He said his term was due review and investigate all the issues he said.
curement oversight,” Chang-Kit said. to end this month. “We never say everyone has to of Government to Government re- “Whilst Mr Chang-Kit is free to
He said there were “subsequent “I don’t know if he took this op- follow through like what is done in lationships and the whole issue of exercise publicity of his own views,
stalling and stymying” of the OPR’s portunity to say he no longer wanted Parliament and debates and so on,” the amendment of Section 5 exemp- I have of course don’t necessarily
efforts to have the necessary regu- to serve on the board. I won’t say it he said. tions. share his point of view,” Al-Rawi
lations proclaimed adding that the was surprising or I’m shocked,” Lal- “People will disagree and we have Finance Minister, Colm Imbert said.
OPR went through “interminable re- chan said. had very strong opinions on the tweeted that he had “taken note” of “I find it quite curious that his let-
views and subtle attacks brought on He said he was not sure what board which we appreciate, which Chang-Kit’s resignation. ter of resignation refers to the fact of
by the Government”. caused the strongly-worded resig- I as Chairman appreciates,” he said. “I have taken note of the public two prior amendments of 2016 and
“Via its agents in state enterprises, nation. He said that the board remains resignation of James Chang-Kit as 2017. This is the first time it has ever
Minister of Finance and Attorney “As everything else, the Board is strong despite disagreements on is- a member and deputy chairman come into the public domain and I
General both subtle and frontal, un- very democratic, we would vote and sues. of the Procurement board 26 days certainly must have a very strong ob-
derwrote its reluctance for proper let everybody ventilate,” Lalchan Moonilal said despite Chang-Kit’s before his three-year appointment jection to his statement in relation to
oversight of its spending,” he said. said. parting shot, the Board was not di- would have naturally expired on the 2016 amendment,” he said.

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M: 3
 6 news
Health Minister hopes for
best after Tobago beach party
RISHARD KHAN
rishard.khan@guardian.co.tt
Health Minister Terrence Dey-
alsingh is hoping that partygoers
in Tobago do not infect their loved
ones and kill them.  tested positive in that small unit
Over the weekend, dozens of
beachgoers gathered on No Man’s
Land in Tobago for a party and
pictures that circulated online
showed COVID-19 protocols wer-
en’t being adhered to.  done by the Ministry of Health
In response to a question from
Guardian Media during yester-
day’s virtual press conference,
Deyalsingh said: “It happened.
I am just hoping that the par-
ents and grandparents of those
young persons don’t pay the ulti-
mate price, which is, dying from
COVID.”
He indicated that in other coun-
tries this type of behaviour has
forced governments to enforce
harsh and strict lockdown meas-
ures. Gatherings in public of more
than 10 people are currently pro-
hibited under the Public Health
Regulations. Citizens are also man-
dated to wear facemasks while in
public, including while on the
beach.  If we are seeing the same trends
UWI confirms COVID-19 variant not in T&T
Research by the University of
the West Indies (UWI) has con-
firmed that the new United King-
dom and South African variants
of the COVID-19 virus are not in
circulation in T&T.
The announcement came from
professor of Molecular Biology
and Virology, Christine Carring-
ton.
“We have also screened other
samples provided by the Trinidad
and Tobago Ministry of Health and
by CARPHA for both the UK vari-
ant and the South African variants
that are of concern. So far we have
not detected...any of them in the
Trinidad and Tobago samples,”
she said.
To test for these new variants,
Prof Carrington explained the
PM: Management of pandemic remains top priority
LOYSE VINCENT
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley
says that managing the pandemic
remains government’s priority as
he warned that reopening the bor-
ders could lead to a reversal of the
gains made so far.
In an interview on Tobago’s
Channel 5 yesterday, Dr Rowley
said that there are some 330,000
people holding T&T passports
around the world but said man-
agement of the pandemic requires
ensuring the country’s health sys-
tem is not overwhelmed.
Asked to comment on allega-
tions that both his daughter and
the son of the Attorney General
The Prime Minister is expected
to review the current period this
coming weekend.
However, while last week’s daily
average cases are down to eight
per day, the chances of less restric-
tive measures aren’t high. 
The Chief Medical Officer Dr Ro-
shan Parasram indicated that the
low average must be taken with “a
grain of salt” and that the ministry
is eyeing mid-January to see the
effects of the recently concluded
holiday season.
“Spikes usually show up 14 to 21
days after any particular event so
we have to monitor it for the most
of January, see what is happening.
Prof Christine Carrington
leftover genetic material from the
testing process for the public was
used. “When swabs are taken from
individuals for diagnostic testing,
the first step that happens is they
Faris Al-Rawi were favoured
above many others to come home
in time for Christmas, he said no
favour was shown to either.
“The government had taken
a decision to bring home all
students abroad and all efforts
were being made to bring home
students, so Al-Rawi’s son came
home with many other students.”
The Prime Minister said al-
though his daughter wanted to
come home a long time ago and
she was unable to, as she is based
in New York where there was a
high level of infection. However,
he said she applied for exemption
in the last quarter of last year and
she was successful.
Partygoers at No
Man’s Land, Tobago
on Saturday.
then we can review and suggest
what can happen and should hap-
pen then,” Dr Parasram said.
Nurses at PoS
Hospital contract virus
Meanwhile, several nurses at-
tached to the old COSTATT build-
ing at the Port-of-Spain General
Hospital have contracted the
virus.
According to the president of
the T&T Registered Nurses Asso-
ciation (TTRNA), Idi Stuart, this is
the third such outbreak to occur at
the building.  in the hospital’s infection preven-
He told Guardian Media that
within the past two weeks, 25
members of nursing staff in ad-
extract genetic material from that
sample and that is what they use to
do the PCR test to detect whether
the virus is present (in that person)
or not,” she said.
“When they extract that RNA,
they don’t need all of it for the
diagnostic testing. Usually, they
have excess and that is stored in
a freezer. That is where we were
getting our material from so they
would share that material with us.”
She said they used stored sam-
ples from around the time the var-
iants were known to be circulating
internationally as well as samples
collected more recently. This, she
said, allows them to observe the
virus’ evolution.
“By analysing the genetic se-
quence of the virus in the sam-
“I did not go into the depart-
ment and tell anybody put my
daughter on a flight to come home
—if there is anybody who has a
problem with my daughter com-
ing home—I am busy they could
keep that.”
Dr Rowley said at the onset of
the pandemic the government
sought to bring home all people
who were surprised by the bor-
der closure but that some of them
were in countries where the bor-
ders were closed which provided
several challenges.
“By July we thought we had
dealt with the majority of those
people but then there was an-
other set of people, the ones who
dition to several other personnel
had to be placed on quarantine
leave with immediate effect.
“We have word that actually five
nurses have since tested positive
and at least three patients have
right there and this is untenable
in the association’s point of view,”
he said.
“It could throw a spoke in the
wheel of the good work being
since the COVID outbreak.”
He called on the North West Re-
gional Health Authority to address
several concerns starting with
appointing a substantive CEO, to
regularly test all nursing staff at
least twice a month and to test all
patients who are being housed at
the hospital.  CASANDRA THOMPSONFORBES
When contacted, acting CEO
Salisha Baksh told Guardian Media
that the outbreaks occur when
they have asymptomatic patients
who later become symptomatic
and test positive for the virus. She,
however, expressed full confidence
tion and control protocols which
were fully initiated and resulted in
the quarantining of the staff.  are more susceptible, followed
ple, what we can do is determine
the particular lineage of the virus
that it belongs to, and there is a
lot of other...inferences that we
can make about the virus. (For
instance) how it is spreading and
how different lineages are con-
nected and things like that,” she
said.  will come. We are anticipating
The new variant was discovered
to be circulating in the United
Kingdom mid-December.
Although investigations are on-
going into it, officials believe the
strain is more easily transmissi-
ble than others. However, early
indications do not indicate that it
is more deadly nor that it would
compromise the efficacy and ef-
fectiveness of the COVID-19 vac-
cines. (RK)
live abroad and who now decide
that they want to come home.”
He said originally the govern-
ment estimated that there were
between 5,000 and 7,000 people
who were surprised by the border
closure. He said the figure now
stands at 9,000 people.
Another area of concern, he
said, was that the majority of
those people are coming from
countries with high levels of in-
fection.
Dr Rowley said while he under-
stands that some people abroad
may be facing difficulties, the gov-
ernment has provided funding to
assist those who may be facing fi-
nancial difficulties.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley as a
guest of Tobago Channel 5
yesterday morning.
Rowley: T&T
to get vaccine
by March
Trinidad and Tobago will be in
line to receive COVID vaccines
within the first quarter of 2021.
In an interview on Tobago
Channel 5 yesterday, Dr Rowley
said, the Ministry of Health would
focus on those groups being ex-
posed the most, including health-
care workers and the elderly who
by the rest of the population. He
said T&T was a part of the COVAX
group among 162 countries, put-
ting this country in a much better
place to respond to the virus.
“How it was done, all the coun-
tries put up money to drive the
science on the understanding that
when we find the cure, it would
be shared on a particular formula
around everybody worldwide and
we are a part of that, so our turn
that given the numbers being pro-
duced and the availability and its
use going forward, that we, some-
time March going into April, Trin-
idad and Tobago should be in line
to get our share,” he said.
He said vaccines would be dis-
tributed on a phased basis.
“We are looking for enough
in the first instance to do some-
where between 20 per cent and
30 per cent of the population and
you get different tranches and
of course we also anticipate that
different suppliers can come into
the market as we go forward so it
becomes more available,” he said
Commenting on the new strain
of the virus, Dr Rowley said, peo-
ple should continue to follow the
stipulated guidelines to protect
themselves.
“Biologically it is possible that a
new strain could come up which
makes the tested and approved
vaccines impotent, so we are not
seeing that and the reports are
and of course the scientific in-
vestigations continue worldwide
on new strains as well as the old
strains to put humans in a better
position to hold the forth. We still
will have to do that physical thing
which is try and avoid the virus
coming to you.”
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt news 7

T&T writers win top book awards

T&T writers Monique Roffey and
Ingrid Persaud have topped the
Novel categories in the prestigious
Costa Book Awards for 2020.
Persaud, a UK-based writer, art-
ist and academic, won the Costa
First Novel Award for Love After
Love, a story about Betty Ramdin,
her shy son Solo and their lodger,
Mr Chetan.
Written in Trinidadian prose,
the novel was praised by judges for
“teeming with life” and being “full
of unforgettable characters.”
Persaud, winner of the 2017
Commonwealth Short Story Prize
and the 2018 BBC Short Story
Award, commenting in an inter-
view about the book’s title which it
shares with a classic Walcott poem,
said: “I borrow the title of Walcott’s
poem with deference and grati-
tude. In the act of loving another,
do we not often carelessly lose
sight of ourselves? I’m sure every-
one can identify with that chal-
lenge . . . We should all heed that
famous last line where the poet di-
rects: ‘Sit. Feast on your life.’”
Persaud, who left T&T at 18 and
moved to the UK to study, began
writing in her 40s, after a success-
ful career as a legal academic and
visual artist. She read law at the
London School of Economics and
studied fine art at Goldsmith Col-
lege and Central St Martins. She
taught law at King’s College, Lon-
don and The Fletcher School of
Law and Diplomacy and worked
as a visual artist before becoming
a writer. She has also written for
National Geographic.
Roffey won the Novel Award for
her seventh book, The Mermaid
of Black Conch: A Love Story. This
was her second time on the Costa
Novel Award shortlist—six years
ago she was shortlisted with her
third book, House of Ashes (2014),
based the events of the 1990 at-
tempted coup.
She achieved success with a dark
love story that weaves together
myth and magical realism. It is
about a fisherman and a mermaid
based on a legend shared by indige-
nous Caribbean people. Aycayia, a
centuries-old mermaid, is drawn to Monique Roffey Ingrid Persaud
the singing of a fisherman, David.
But her curiosity is her undoing on the Green Bicycle (2009) was writing at the Manchester Writing Poetry and Children’s Book—with
when she is caught by American shortlisted for the Orange Prize School, Manchester Metropolitan one of the five winning books se-
tourists. David rescues her and in 2010 and the Encore Award in University, and tutor for the Nor- lected as the overall Costa Book of
hides her away, where she slowly, 2011. Archipelago (2012) won the wich Writers Centre. the year. Each category is judged
painfully turns into a woman. OCM Bocas Award for Caribbean Launched in 1971, the Costa separately by a panel of three
The judges called the novel “a Literature in 2013 and was short- Book Awards is one of the UK’s judges per category. The Costa
story of rare imagination” and “a listed for the Orion Award 2014. most prestigious and popular book Book of the Year is then chosen
glorious myth.” Her memoir, With the Kisses of prizes and celebrates the most en- by a nine-member panel which
Roffey is the author of six books, His Mouth, traces a personal jour- joyable books of the year by writ- includes representatives from the
five novels and a memoir. Three ney of mid-life sexual self-discov- ers resident in the UK and Ireland. original panels who are joined by
of her novels are set in T&T and ery. The prize has five categories— other well-known people who love
the Caribbean. The White Woman Roffey is a lecturer in creative First Novel, Novel, Biography, reading.

Smooth restart of virtual classes First aid kits for special schools Special needs schools were
BAVITA GOPAULCHAN the happy recipients of 100
first aid kits as part of the
After a three-week break over the Christmas Digicel Foundation’s ‘Pre-
season, thousands of students returned to paring You’ Programme.
virtual classrooms yesterday for the start of The kits were donated by
the second virtual term of the 2021 academic the T&T Red Cross Society
year. (TTRCS) and presented to
Even though teacher-learning engagement principals of Goodwill In-
has not officially begun for some students, the dustries, New Beginnings,
Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Asso- The Memisa Centre, Na-
ciation’s (TTUTA’s) vice-president, Marlon tional Centre for Persons
Seales, believes it was a “smooth start”. with Disabilities, Wharton
In a telephone interview with Guardian Patrick and Lady Hochoy
Media, he explained, “Some principals put Digicel Foundation Board member Guy Small, left, head
Arima. of Security & Facilities Digicel, presents the Digicel
aside two or three days for planning purposes The joint initiative by
so we expect that schools may actually start a Foundation Partnership Recognition Award for FY 2019
TTRCS and the Digicel to Jill de Bourg, president of the T&T Red Cross Society
little later in the week”. Foundation comes on the (TTRCS).
Although teachers at some schools were heels of  first aid train-
wrapped up in meetings for most of the day, Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly. grateful to the Digicel TTRCS.
PICTURE NICOLE DRAYTON ing that took place at the Foundation,” said Jill de She accepted the award
the National Primary School Principals Asso- Red Cross headquarters
ciation (NPSPA) said that there were others Bourg, President of the on behalf of the Red Cross
last month. Equipping TTRCS, “and we’re thrilled Team who facilitated the
trying to work out additional details. The minister said in-person learning could the schools with first aid
“Some schools are in the process of giving resume for students of Standard 5 as well as to be part of a programme first-aid training work-
kits ensures teachers and that builds resilience for shops, and also reminded
out devices, not many, so these are the little Forms 4 to 6 on February 8. She said a draft administrators of special
things that are going to be worked out at this policy guideline is expected to be finalised vulnerable children. Know- those in attendance of the
needs schools are not only ing that they’re better pre- V65 Emerging Designer
point in time, but my understanding is that this week. However, the Minister emphasised trained in first aid efforts,
for a number of schools classes would have that this is based on if the number of COVID- pared for a disaster eases Competition for Red Cross
but have the necessary their minds and ours.” Carnival 2021, encouraging
resumed for some students online and the 19 cases remains low. tools for emergency re-
others will start tomorrow and perhaps later Even before the physical resumption of Digicel Foundation them to spread the word
sponse. Board Member and Head amongst their peers and
on,” Lance Mottley said. classes, Dr Gadsby-Dolly noted that CXC Jan- The Red Cross has long
In a video message sent to the media yes- uary exams should begin on January 18, “and of Security & Facilities at communities.
been a valued partner and Digicel Guy Small was on Over the 2019-2020 pe-
terday afternoon, Education Minister, Dr so all arrangements are being made for those stakeholder of the Digicel
Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, assured the procurement to take place”. hand to present the first- riod, ten special needs
Foundation’s ‘Preparing aid kits to the six princi- schools have participated
of these laptops has begun. She further an- Currently, 90 schools are being repaired at You’ programme, which is
nounced, “the Learning Evaluations Commit- a cost of $74 million, according to Dr Gads- pals. He also surprised in the Foundation’s Pre-
a disaster and emergency de Bourg with the Digicel paring You programme
tee has put out a call for suppliers of E-books by-Dolly. preparedness programme
and we will be taking a closer look at what Both TTUTA and the NPSPA said they were Foundation’s 2019 Partner- and 30 principals and ad-
for persons with disabili- ship Recognition Award, in ministrators received first
digital resources can be provided for the use looking forward to the phased reopening of ties.
of our school population for the next school schools and are already engaging in consulta- acknowledgement of all aid certification from the
“Our Society is very the good work done by the Red Cross
year.” tion with the ministry on this issue.
 8 news
Big by-election fight in Hindustan/ St Mary’s, Hollywood
‘Smooth sailing’ as candidates
file nomination papers
GAIL ALEXANDER
The by-election “fight” is in
Hindustan/St Mary’s and Holly-
wood.
There will be a four-way bat-
tle for the seat of Hindustan/St
Mary’s and a three-way fight for
the Hollywood seat among the
five by-elections taking place on
January 5.
Apart from the PNM and UNC
candidates contesting the by-elec-
tions, several Independent can-
didates are also seeking the nod
from voters in those two areas.
This was confirmed yesterday
by the Election and Boundaries
Commission after candidates
filed nomination papers with EBC
Returning officers.
The EBC said there were no
issues yesterday and described
the entire process as “smooth
sailing.”
A total of 13 candidates filed
documents, EBC stated.
Only the PNM and the UNC
have candidates in all five elec-
toral districts. No other political
parties fielded candidates.
However, two independent
candidates filed papers for Hin-
dustan/St. Mary’s electoral dis-
trict and one independent in the
Hollywood electoral district.
The nomination process for
the by-elections in Trinidad was
in addition to yesterday’s nomi-
nation process for candidates for
the Tobago House of Assembly
polls also being held January 25.
The EBC stated 28 people filed
nomination papers for the THA
polls.
The Trinidad by-elections are
to fill vacancies left by councillors
who went on to become Members
of Parliament (MPs) in the August
2020 general election.
It concerns corporation seats
UNC hopeful wants Diego to ‘move on’
JANNELLE BERNARD
jannelle.bernard@Cnc3.co.tt
Candidates for five Local Gov-
ernment electoral districts, in-
cluding Morne Coco/Alyce Glen,
filed their nominations yesterday
ahead of by-elections to be held
later this month.
This after Symon De Nobrega
was elected as a member of par-
liament for Diego Martin Central
in the August general election.
PNM candidate Jinelle Schul-
ere-Smart who arrived at the
Diego Martin Central Secondary
School around nine on Monday
morning, with a small contingent
of supporters to file her papers,
Local Govt/THA nomination day
in Hollywood (Point Fortin),
Hindustan/St Mary’s ( Mayaro),
Arima central (Arima), Cunupia
(Chaguanas), Morne Coco/Alyce
Glen (Diego Martin).
A total of 32, 351 people will
vote in the five by-elections, EBC
communication manager Bobbi
Rogers also confirmed.
In Hindustan/St Mary’s, inde-
pendent candidates Ariel Saun-
ders and businessman Peterson
Marinus Morales are contesting
against PNM’s Martina Loubon-Le
Gendre and UNC’s Tylon Farrell.
The seat was formerly held by
UNC’s Michelle Benjamin, now
Moruga MP. The PNM initially
announced Shazam Lalloosingh
for the seat in December but re-
placed him last week with Lou-
bon- Le Gendre. The PNM hopes
to win the seat which it last held
in 2013 with Natalia Menden,
PNM officials said.
The party particularly wants
the seat after it lost Moruga in the
August general elections.
In Hollywood, Independent
candidate Christopher Wright
(who’d screened for PNM and
was rejected) is contesting against
PNM’s Leslie Chang Fong and
UNC’s Daniel John. The seat was
held by PNM’s Kennedy Richard-
son, now the Point Fortin MP.
It will be a straight PNM/UNC
fight in the Cunupia, Arima Cen-
tral and Morne Coco/Alyce Glen
seats.
The electorate in each of the
five areas is as follows: Arima
Central (4,147), Cunupia (8,318),
Hindustan/St Mary’s ( 8,723),
Hollywood ( 2,748), Morne Coco
/Alyce Glen (8,415).
The EBC stated there were no
reported incidents on Nomina-
tion Day.
“ All accounts from Returning
Officers for the upcoming 2021
said she is aware of some of the
issues facing the residents and
she is hoping to build on the work
that De Nobrega started, in a bid
to resolve those issues.
“We have some infrastructural
deficiencies for example drain-
age, roadways, and so forth, water
shortages as well, so YES we are
aware that there are a couple of
issues that need to be addressed
as any other district”, she said.
Meanwhile, the UNC candidate
for the area, John Laquis, who
arrived without any fanfare, said
while he is aware of the loyalty
of the people of Diego Martin to
the People’s National Movement,
he is hoping that the residents of
Tobago House of Assembly Elec-
tions and 2021 Local Government
Bye-Elections indicate smooth
sailing as prospective candidates
presented themselves at their
respective offices to file nomina-
tion papers for the January 25th
polls.”
PNM PRO Laurel Lezama- Lee
Sing said, “The PNM has duly
nominated five by-election can-
didates and all five reported a
smooth process and successfully
filed their nomination papers
with the respective Returning Of-
ficers.”
Lezama -Lee Sing said PNM’s 12
THA election candidates also suc-
cessfully submitted their nomina-
tion papers.
UNC chairman Dave Tancoo
said, “The filing of nominations
was a smooth process with UNC
candidates being easily able to
complete the process before
noon.”
CANDIDATES
HOLLYWOOD—Leslie Chang
Fong (PNM), Daniel John
(UNC), Christopher Wright
(independent).
CUNUPIA—
Rasheed Ali (PNM), Richard
Sukdeo (UNC)
ARIMA CENTRAL—
Dr Hillary Bernard (PNM), Sheldon
Garcia (UNC)
HINDUSTAN/ST MARY’S—
Martina Loubon-Le Gendre
(PNM), Tylon Farrel (UNC),
Ariel Saunders (Independent),
Peterson Marinus Morales
(Independent).
MORNE COCO/ALYCE GLEN—
Jinnelle Schulere- Smart (PNM),
John Laquis ( UNC)
UNC candidate for Morne Coco/Alyce Glen, John Laquis.
PICTURE ROBERTO CODALLO
UNC candidate Sheldon Garcia is greeted by his opposite Dr Juliet-Hilary
Bernard after she filed her nominations papers at the La Horquetta Regional
Complex, yesterday.
Candidates vie
for Arima Mayor
PETER CHRISTOPHER
peter.christopher@guardian.co.tt
Ushered in by a music truck and
flanked by several People’s National
Movement stalwarts, Dr Janet Hi-
lary Bernard entered the La Hor-
quetta Regional Complex yesterday
to file her nomination papers.
Arima Member of Parliament
Penelope Beckles, Arima Mayor
Cagney Casemire, Sangre Grande
Regional Corporation Chairman
Terry Rondon and other members
of the Arima Borough Corporation
were at her side as she took her
steps towards the office of the re-
turning officer.
Former Mayor of Arima and cur-
rent D’Abadie/O’Meara MP Lisa
Morris-Julian, who was the former
local government representative for
the Arima Central electoral district,
arrived shortly after Dr Bernard
filed her papers, and told the PNM
candidate that she was proud of
her.
This endorsement, the PNM can-
didate said, was one of the reasons
she did not feel any significant pres-
sure following in the former may-
or’s footsteps.
“I certainly won’t feel that as any
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
PICTURE ABRAHAM DIAZ
pressure because she is offering me
her full support. In fact, because
she has done such a wonderful job
and so many people are endeared
to her it makes it a lot easier for me
going through this electoral pro-
cess,” Dr Bernard said.
The United National Congress
took a far more reserved approach
to the nomination process. Candi-
date Sheldon “Fish” Garcia arrived
not too long after the PNM and their
entourage but opted to wait until
the red-clad group had left before
approaching to file.
There was a brief moment when
the groups converged with conver-
sations being struck.
After filing, Garcia a school bus
driver, said his contribution to the
community and the youth in Arima
would prove decisive in the race.
“I am feeling very confident this
morning for. I know I am going to
get the job done. For years I have
been working in our area with the
youths, mainly the youths because
I focus on the youths. They have
been neglected for years. When
I pass and I see them playing and
everything in that state I say it’s
time to throw my hat into the ring
and get the job done,” he said.
Morne Coco / Alyce Glen will see
the need for better representa-
tion.
He said it’s time to move on.
Laquis said, “I just could do
the best I can and hope that the
people come out and support
me. I will like to go in the corpo-
ration because it have a lot of stuff
around here that they can do and
they not doing. And it’s simple it is
not million-dollar projects which
they seem to like. If anything is
twenty dollars or fifty dollars, nah
it have to be twenty million that
is what they like. Small things will
be better for everybody, it will af-
fect people better”.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
Confident
PDP wants
to transform
Tobago
LOYSE VINCENT
The Progressive Democratic Pa-
triots is predicting victory in the
upcoming Tobago House of As-
sembly elections. The elections,
which are scheduled for January
25, will see the party presenting
12 candidates for selection by the
Tobago electorate. After filing
nomination papers yesterday,
Deputy Political Leader Farley Au-
gustine said his team is ready to
transform Tobago’s development.
“For far too long we have been
stymied by people who are in-
terested in themselves and inter-
ested in their own pockets and
more interested in benefitting
their friends and families. We are
going to bring a type of govern-
ance that would be in the interest
of all Tobagonians.”
Noticeably absent was the par-
ty’s Political Leader Watson Duke,
who members said filed his nom-
ination papers earlier Monday
and left for Trinidad on urgent
business.
Confident of victory, Augustine,
who will lead the charge on the
party’s behalf said the PDP will
make Tobago one of the best lit-
tle islands in existence. Augustine
said the PDP is prepared to serve
the island in the event they are
unsuccessful at the polls as they
have been doing since the party
was formed in 2016.
“Our members have always re-
mained grounded whether it’s in
the church community groups,
sports groups wherever, we have
never lost touch with our roots be-
cause we are Tobagonians first.”
According to Augustine, the
party has been making contribu-
tions to the island although they
were not in office.
“We are the ones who high-
PDP Deputy Political Leader Farley
Augustine after filing his
nomination papers to contest the
Parlatuvier/L’ Anse Fourmi/Speyside
seat, at the John Dial Community
Centre, yesterday.
lighted the lack of public trans-
port in the east by walking from
Roxborough to Scarborough and
we brought international atten-
tion to the failure of the sea bridge
by undertaking the great swim—
within days they found a boat.”
He also shed some light on the
role of the party’s Political Leader
should the PDP be victorious at
the polls, following speculation
that Duke would not allow Augus-
tine to assume the role of Chief
Secretary.
“Mr Duke will be the Area Rep-
resentative for Belle Garden/East
Roxborough/ Delaford and Mr
Duke will continue to serve as
such until the end of his tenure
and Mr Duke has made it clear
and public to everyone that he
is preparing for 2025 where he
would have another bite at the op-
portunity to become a Member of
Parliament for Tobago East.”
Augustine said Duke felt he
would better be able to serve the
island at the parliamentary level
in order to deliver more to the
people.
news 9
Tsoiafatt-Angus files papers as independent THA candidate but...
PNM officials: Denise
faces immediate expulsion
CAMILLE MCEACHNIE
People’s National Movement
(PNM) Tobago Council former
Public Relations Officer and coun-
cillor Dr Denise Tsoiafatt-Angus’
filing of nomination papers as an
independent candidate for Janu-
ary 25, 2021, Tobago House of As-
sembly(THA) elections, violates
the PNM constitution and she will
be expelled.
So said the party’s Island Coun-
cil chairman Stanford Callender.
“The party’s constitution is
clear. Once a member of the party
goes up against a candidate of the
party selected, that is tantamount
to automatic expulsion. The party
does not have anything to do with
her. Dr Angus would have done it
to herself. It is very unfortunate,
but that is the situation.”
Speaking with reporters after
filing her nomination papers with
the Election and Boundaries(EBC)
Returning Officer at Glen Road,
Former PNM official Dr Denise Tsoiafatt-Angus, centre, flanked by husband
Dr Tsoaifatt-Angus said she faced
Dr Dwight Angus and party supporter Candice Nicholls, after filing her
a “difficult decision.’
nomination papers at the Glen Road EBC Returning Office yesterday.
She said as a doctor, she is
PICTURES CAMILLE MCEACHNIE
trained to hear the “cries of the
strated that. (Winston) Gypsy She is one of four independent
people.”
Peters was a part of the UNC. He candidates in the elections.
“...It came down to the choice
was a PNM. He ran against the The other three are Anthony
between party politics and peo-
PNM. Moses Thomas, who ran Hector—Black Rock/Whim/ Spring
ple politics ...and for the people
on a PDP (Progressive Democratic Garden, Unity of the People—Nick-
of Scarborough/ Calder Hall to get
Patriots) platform, yet he was re- ocy Phillips, and Ricardo Philip-
the service they deserve and have
installed by this same executive.” Class Action Reform Movement.
been clamouring for.”
Tsoiafatt-Angus failed to get the Phillip and Phillips are vying for
Asked if she was upset the
party’s screening committee’s the Buccoo/Mt. Pleasant district.
screening committee had by-
nod to represent the Scarbor- Twelve candidates from two po-
passed her, she replied: “I am
ough/Calder Hall seat against the litical parties-PNM and PDP- also
only a human being. I think any-
incumbent Marslyn Melville-Jack, filed their nomination papers
one of you would have been dis-
for the second consecutive time. with the Election and Boundaries
appointed.”
She also did not secure their ap- Commission’s (EBC) three Return-
Questioned on whether she
proval to run for the Bacolet/ Mt. ing Officers yesterday.
was prepared to face the conse-
St.George seat in the THA’s 2014 According to the EBC’s Chief
quences of her actions, she said
elections. Her supporters staged Elections Officer, Fern Nar-
she did not know what would
a noisy protest in 2017. Last year, cis-Scope, the candidates are
happen.
they plastered leaflets across the vying for votes from an electorate
“ I know the PNM is a very for-
district, demanding Melville-Jack totalling 51,062.
giving party. They have demon-
vacate the seat.

PM wishes defecting
candidate well
LOYSE VINCENT
Prime Minister Dr Keith
Rowley kicked off the first of-
ficial workday of the new year
with a wide-ranging interview
in Tobago where he addressed
a number of issues on the is-
land.
He also endorsed the can-
didates selected by the PNM
Council, who all filed nomina-
tion papers yesterday, as well
as the move by longstand-
ing PNM member Dr Denise
Tsoifatt-Angus who would be
running as an independent
candidate.
Dr Rowley said service to
the party is voluntary and
no one can be forced to be a
member.
“It would be disappointing
if a member decides to go that
way but if that is the case we
will still wish them well.”
He also addressed a number
of projects including the ar-
rival of the new fast ferry— the
APT James—which he said is
on its way to Tobago from the
Canary Islands as well as the
Roxborough Hospital, which
will be commissioned today.
The Prime Minister said the
original construction cost of
the facility was $60 million,
however, the final completion
cost of $80 million deals with
the cost of acquiring equip-
ment for the facility.
As it relates to the
long-standing Tobago Auton-
omy Bill, Dr Rowley stressed
that there was “no conten-
tion” with the bill as it is cur-
rently before a Joint Select
Committee, which comprises
members of the PNM, the
UNC and Independent mem-
bers. He warned however,
that the PNM could only act
within the confines of parlia-
mentary law, as the passage
of the bill requires opposition
support.
He also noted that while it is
nomination day in both Trini- Tobago PNM Political Leader/candidate for the Lambeau/Signal Hill Tracy Davidson-
dad and Tobago, “the UNC is Celestine is greeted by a cultural troupe to file nomination papers at the Glen Road
not present in Tobago.” Community Center in Tobago yesterday. PICTURE PNM TOBAGO COUNCIL
 10 news
UNC candidate for Cunupia, Richard
Sukdeo, flashes his receipt for
$2,000 after successfully filing his
nomination papers yesterday.
Tassa, music trucks for
confident Cunupia candidates
SHASTRI BOODAN
The battle is on for the seat of
Cunupia on the Chaguanas Bor-
ough Corporation. Candidates
Rasheed “Patos” Ali (PNM) and
Richard Sukdeo (UNC) filed their
nomination papers on Monday
at the office of the Returning Of-
ficer at the Southern Main Road,
Cunupia.
Ali was the first to file. He
was escorted by a small entou-
rage along with tassa music that
PNM candidate Rasheed “Pato” Ali, centre, shows the V for victory sign after
filing his nomination papers, with his wife Shareeza Ali and campaign
manager Lennox Rattansingh.
made the walk from his cam-
paign offices located 100 metres
north of the office of the Return-
ing Officer a party-like atmos-
phere.
After successfully filing, Ali
said he plans to put the squeeze
on the authorities to deliver to
the people.
Ali, a 70-year-old popular
businessman from the area, said
Cunupia has suffered too long
from a lack of infrastructure,
bad roads and overgrown lots.
PICTURES SHASTRI BOODAN
Ali said it was high time that the
PNM be given the chance to de-
liver to the people of Cunupia.
Ali said he was encouraged by
the people of Cunupia to get up
and do something. He said the
community was not all that well
represented by the past MP and
Local Government Councilor.
He said, “We will find funds,
we will find a way to get things
done.” Lennox Rattansingh, the
campaign manager for Ali, said
Ali has already hit the ground
running with a rigid walka-
bout campaign. Rattansingh
said all protocols regarding
Covid-19 would be followed.
Sukdeo showed up at the
office shortly after 10 am.
He was accompanied by
a music truck and support-
ers.
After filing Sukdeo came
out flashing his receipt
showing the $2,000 paid to
contest the election.
Sukdeo, 65, a retired pub-
lic servant, said his chances
of winning are excellent.
He said the UNC has rep-
resented the people of
Chaguanas well at the local
government level.
When asked if he may be
eyeing the available post of
Deputy Chaguanas Mayor,
he said: “I can’t speak to
that, I am here just filing
these papers as a council-
lor.”
Sukdeo said he plans to
campaign online and on the
streets while observing all
Covid-19 protocols. He said
the election day machinery
was well oiled and he was
ready to take the seat home
for the UNC. The seat be-
came vacant when Vandana
Mohit, the previous coun-
cillor gave up the post to
contest the seat Chaguanas
East seat in the last General
Election, which she won.
South candidates: It’s anybody’s game
KEVON FELMINE
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
The electoral district of Hollywood
in Point Fortin has been under the
People’s National Movement (PNM)
representation for more than two dec-
ades, however opposing forces believe
that will change on January 25 as the
party selected the wrong man for the
job.
Point Fortin Deputy Mayor Leslie
Chang Fong is contesting the seat re-
cently vacated by former mayor Ken-
nedy Richards Jr, who won the Point
Fortin constituency in last August’s
General Elections.
Chang Fong sits in the Point Fortin
Borough Corporation council as an
alderman but seeks to represent a dis-
trict that Richards Jr and his late father
oversaw.
As candidates submitted their
nominations to the Elections and
Boundaries Commission’s returning
officer yesterday, independent candi-
date Christopher Wright and United
National Congress (UNC) candidate
Daniel John said Chang Fong was un-
suitable because he does not live in
the area.
Wright, a stores clerk at the Minis-
try of Works and Transport, screened
for the PNM but was not selected.
After seeing who the party chose, he
decided to contest the elections inde-
pendently.
“I always believe when it comes to
local government, you always get local
representation from the area itself.
The PNM candidate is not from the
area. He does not know the people in
the area. He does not know the needs
and the wants in the area, so it will be
challenging for him to work the area,”
Wright said.
John agreed with Wright, saying that
because Chang Fong does not live in
the district,  he has not experienced
what residents face and could not
deliver what they need. John said the
PNM was in power for a long time and
that electing them again would only
bring more of the same.
 “If you are not in the area, you can-
not really do anything for the area be-
cause you do not understand the real
needs of the area. In terms of one of
the candidates, who is an alderman,
you have been an alderman since be-
fore and the problems are still there,”
John said.
However, Chang Fong believes he
has the best team to win the election
with former Point Fortin Mayor Fran-
cis Bertrand and retired ACP Donald
Denoon assisting his campaign. Chang
PNM’s Leslie Chang Fong, left, and UNC candidate Daniel John give each
other an elbow bounce at the Patrick Gordon Building in Point Fortin.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
Independent candidate Christopher
Wright after filing his nomination
papers to contest the Local
Government by-election for the
district of Hollywood/Point Fortin.
Fong said issues such as infrastructure
and squatter regularisation would be
atop his agenda if he wins the elec-
tions.
In Princes Town, the Hindustan/
St Mary’s district is up for grabs as
former councillor Michelle Benjamin
won the Moruga constituency in last
August’s general elections. Her fellow
UNC colleague Tylon Farrell hopes to
fill the seat she left in the Princes Town
Regional Corporation. Farrel, a fabri-
cator and business owner, believes
people would elect him because he is
a man of the soil. 
“I am from St Mary’s, Moruga. I am
accustomed to going to the Tableland
area via sports and stuff like that and
dealing with the people who more are
downtrodden in the area. One of the
key things I think I will win the elec-
tion with is trying to revitalize the area
using culture,” Farrel said.
He also wants to use sports to create
a positive impact on the youths in his
area.
For PNM candidate Martina Lou-
bon-Legendre, she hopes to build on
the votes she got when she suffered
defeat in the 2019 local government
elections. Loubon-Legendre contested
the New Grant/Tableland electoral dis-
trict that time but is confident of being
elected as the only PNM councillor in
the Princes Town Regional Corpora-
tion council.
For anyone looking for an alterna-
tive to the main parties, Ariel Saun-
ders is offering his services. Saunder
said people are fed-up of the PNM and
UNC.
“We are at a point in our history in
Trinidad & Tobago where people can
no longer stomach or stand or bear
the burdens that come with the PNM
and UNC. And so people are looking
forward to something different,” Saun-
ders said.
PICTURES RISHI RAGOONATH
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
Arrests imminent in
RBC ATM heist—police
RHONDOR DOWLATROSTANT
  
 RBC in Toronto, Canada has con-
firmed that its Maraval Branch ATMs
were  vandalised this  weekend and
added that the police are continu-
ing their investigations into the $1.3
million heist.
Difranceis Robles weeps as she Guardian Media reached out to
cuddles her stillborn baby girl Andrew Mc Grath, Director, Corpo-
rate Communications, Caribbean
and Personal and Commercial Bank-
ing, Royal Bank of Canada and was
told: “We can confirm that our ATMs
at our Maraval Branch were vandal-
ised overnight between January 1
and 2.”
“Police attended the scene and are
Amit Gannah shows a dress he bought for his daughter Yeximar Kimberly Gannah who died during birth at the
San Fernando General Hospital on Saturday. PICTURE RISHI RAGOONATH currently investigating,” he added.
Guardian Media understands that
news 11
and that arrests are imminent.
According to a police report, at
about 9 am on Sunday a manager
of RBC reported that information
was received from the Electronic
Response Officer that there was un-
usual activity at the ATM at one of
their branches. Upon her arrival at
about 10 am she opened the ATM
room and observed the two ma-
chines cut open and cash trays on
the floor. 
An estimate of $1.3 million cash
T&T currency was missing. 
WPC Parks of the St Clair Po-
lice Station visited the scene and
observed that entry was gained
through a hole on the western side
of the building. No CCTV was ob-
tained as cameras were non-func-

Couple wants probe after

investigators have possible leads tional at that location. 

Intruder killed during home invasion

stillbirth at Sando hospital
SASCHA WILSON
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
A couple’s excitement and
happiness of starting the new
year with their new bundle of
joy were shattered on Saturday
when the baby was delivered
stillborn at the San Fernando
General Hospital.
Amit Gannah, 29, a load at-
tendant, is now demanding an
investigation as he blames his
baby’s death on negligence by
hospital staff.
“You done have everything
prepared for when that baby
reach and when that baby reach
so far, to no life anymore. To
hold a dead baby instead of a
living baby is not a nice feeling,
it hurts a lot,” said Gannah at his
South Oropouche home yester-
day.
Showing the clothes that he
would never get to dress his
baby in, Gannah said his com-
mon-law-wife, Venezuelan mi-
grant Difranceis Robles, 22, has
been crying constantly. She is
still being treated at the hospital
after heavy blood loss.
Gannah believes that his baby,
whom he named Yeximar Kim-
berly Gannah, was stillborn be-
cause the doctors took too long
to do the caesarean section.
He recalled that last May when
Prisoner held after being released in error
A prisoner who was released
in error from the Eastern Cor-
rectional Rehabilitation Centre
(ECRC) has been recaptured
and is now back at the prison.
The prisoner, Keiron Deli-
cia was charged for larceny of
a motor vehicle and was re-
Robles found out she was preg-
nant she joined the maternity
clinic. He said his wife had no
complications and the baby was
healthy. Robles had two previ-
ous C-sections from a previous
relationship and the doctors
told her she would have to do
another one.
“She went on the 14 of De-
cember they stated it in the re-
port and the file that she have
to do an immediate caesarean
anytime she get pain or contrac-
tions.”
He said last Tuesday while he
was at work she began experi-
encing pain and the ambulance
took her to the hospital. At the
hospital, he said, they prepped
her for surgery, but the caesar-
ean was not done.
He said she was given injec-
tions for the pain and discharged
the following day with an admis-
sion slip to return to the ward
on January 7. The c-section was
scheduled for January 8.
But, on Saturday around 1 am
she started experiencing severe
pain and they called the ambu-
lance. He said on the way to the
hospital, the baby was moving.
“We reach there around 1.30
in the morning. She was done
bleeding everything for the baby
to be born. They came about
half-past two am and said they
that he was charged a few days
later and sent to the remand,
however, prison officers re-
leased him in error on Decem-
ber 29 at about 4.15 pm.
Acting Commissioner of Pris-
ons Dennis Pulchan confirmed
that an inquiry is ongoing to as-
An intruder was killed, allegedly
with his own gun, by the owner of
the property during a home invasion
back into his bedroom and the in-
truder attempted to follow him but
he  slammed the door on the in-
were not getting any heartbeat
yesterday morning. truder’s hand and a firearm fell to
on the baby. They wanted to
The deceased, police said, re- the floor. The homeowner said he
keep she an hour again to see if
mained unidentified. grabbed the firearm, opened the
she would do a natural birth.”
According to a police report, at door and discharged several shots
He said even though he ex-
about 12.55 am the homeowner at at the intruder. As the intruder col-
plained to them that she was
Calcutta Settlement #2 told police lapsed, the homeowner told officers
supposed to have an immediate
that he was awakened by noises. As he ran to the neighbour’s house and
caesarian, he said they still did
he exited his bedroom in an attempt alerted them and contacted police. 
not do it.
to make checks, he was confronted Officers of the Freeport Police
Four hours later, they took
by the intruder who was dressed in Station, Chaguanas CID and Central
her into the theatre.
dark clothing, wearing a hoodie and Division Task Force responded, pro-
Gannah was told that the pro-
mask. cessed the scene and are continuing
cedure would take about two
The homeowner said he ran investigations.  (RDR)
hours. “Half-past ten they took
her out of the operating theatre
and took her to the ward. When
they bring the baby, the baby
was already dead.” When his
wife asked him about their baby,
,Q/RYLQJ0HPRU\RI
he could not answer her.
While on the ward, Gannah
claimed he saw other women
being neglected by the staff.
Gannah said he did not file
a complaint with the hospital
because he did not know how
it had to be done. But he wants
justice for their loss.
“The length of time they leave
the baby in her to cut her she
could ah also be dead and then
it would ah be more pressure.”
Contacted for a comment, the
South West Regional Health Au-
thority advised that the couple
+$52/'+%+$*:$1'$66
6XQULVH6HSWHPEHUWK6XQVHW-DQXDU\WK
makes a formal complaint, fol-
lowing which an investigation
<RXGLGVRPDQ\WKLQJVIRUXV
would be launched.
<RXUKHDUWZDVNLQGDQGWUXH
$QGZKHQZHQHHGHGVRPHRQH
:HFRXOGDOZD\VFRXQWRQ\RX
brunt of the law.”
7KRVHVSHFLDO\HDUVZLOOQRWUHWXUQ
Pulchan confirmed that
:KHQZHZHUHDOOWRJHWKHU
shortly before 3 pm yesterday,
%XWZLWKWKHORYHLQRXUKHDUWV
Delicia was recaptured in the
Central area by officers. <RXZDONZLWKXVIRUHYHU
Pulchan, who is actively in-
volved in the inquiry has as- $/:$<65(0(0%(5('%<
sured that the Trinidad and <RXUGHDUZLIH3HDUO
manded on some warrants. Po-
lice said he was held by Central
Division on December 22, 2020,
and allegedly gave a wrong
name and address.
Guardian Media understands
certain the circumstances sur-
rounding the erroneous release.
He also disclosed that an of-
ficer has been appointed “to in-
vestigate what really happen...
those culpable will feel the full
Tobago Prison Service “remains
committed to public safety and
security and will engage all re-
sources possible to have this
matter rectified in the shortest
time possible.” (RDR)
/RYLQJFKLOGUHQ+DUROG-U1HDODQG$QG\GHFHDVHG
'DXJKWHUVLQODZ)ORUHQFHDQG.DPLOOH
*UDQGFKLOGUHQ6XQLWD6DQMD\6DVWUL.DULQDDQG.HYDQ
$OVRRWKHUUHODWLYHV
 12 Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt

Guardiann
opinion
Established 1917

The celebration and the pain

Across the globe these days there is little to celebrate
because of COVID-19, but for this small island state, the
celebration was doubled yesterday when two Trinidad-
born writers, Monique Roffey and Ingrid Persaud, claimed
Fill up
A man balances two empty gas
victory at the Costa Book Awards. cylinders as he searches for a
Why the big deal? Well, the award is recognised as one of refill along the Eastern Main
the UK’s most prestigious and popular book prizes. Road, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.
Trinis love to talk. We love colour and light, the beauty PICTURE ABRAHAM DIAZ
of our language makes many New Yorkers and Britons stop
to listen, and now to add to that we write the kind of books
they enjoy reading.

Heard last week from a local
Persaud won the Costa First Novel Award for her entry colleague with many years experi-
Love After Love. Judges described it as “teeming with life” ence taking care of adult patients.
and “full of unforgettable characters.” “Boy, I have never made out so
Her work gives a captivating insight of love how it heals, many prescriptions for anti-anxi-
how it harms, the twists and torments of obsession, sex and
romance.
ety, anti-depression medications
and sleeping tablets in all my
years in practice!”
Persaud had previously won the Commonwealth Short
Story Prize in 2017 and the BBC National Short Story Award I ask a pharmacist friend if her
in 2018. pharmacy was seeing more of a
demand for the same drugs over
Monique Roffey took home top honours for her book
the past year. Her reply?
titled The Mermaid of a Black Conch: A Love Story. The
“Totally….that is all that’s sell-
novel unveils the tale of how a fisherman’s singing attracts ing. Till agents running out of
a centuries-old mermaid. The judges deemed the novel “a
stock! It has got worse in the last
story of rare imagination,” and a “glorious myth.” three months.”
These two Trini authors won from a field of 700 books There does seem to be a prob-
submitted for this year’s awards which recognise the most lem, quite ignored up to now by
enjoyable books in five categories. the Ministry of Health and the
It is heartening to see the recognition which Ms media, whose focus has been
Persaud and Ms Roffey have achieved, and it is even more on COVID the disease, with little
heartening that T&T’s literary flag is flying high. consideration on the implications
There is a lesson here for our young people—believe in of the side effects of the manage-
yourself, reach for the stars and you can achieve anything ment of the outbreak on our life-
you set out to do. style, our health, our education
Unfortunately, on the very day these two Trinidad-born and our economy, all of which
women achieved the literary heights of greatness an English impact on our mental status.
In fact the public health focus
teacher was bludgeoned to death with a hammer at her
on the COVID-19 outbreak seems
home in Preysal, Couva.
to be “follow the protocols” and
Suzette Sylvester, 48, who taught at the El Dorado West the media approach is “all proto-
Secondary School was bludgeoned to death by someone she
cols followed” and few seem con-
knew, another case of domestic violence ending in death. cerned about what’s happening
While we applaud the achievements of Persaud and with other health issues.
Roffey, who have shown us that there is a lot to be proud But those other health issues
of, we know there is a dark side to this country that rears its are also public health concerns
head too often, and more often than not it’s our women and and the emphasis on COVID-19
children who suffer. has meant those concerns have
Suzette’s life ended in what may have well been a love not been addressed over the last
story gone wrong. For Ingrid and Monique, their love year. Compounding this seems to
stories have put them at the pinnacle of their writing game. be the scarcity of money available
These are three women who worked hard and focused on to the government so that we are
what they wanted to achieve. Strength and determination seeing the nation that just some
and the will to achieve can get you anywhere. It is a lesson years ago had the third highest
GDP in the Americas, having to
that young women and men must learn. The answer is not
wait, cap in hand, for someone to
violence.
give us a vaccine while countries
The scourge of domestic violence must not continue to all over the world have started
steal our women and mothers from us. Someone has to put
their vaccination programmes.
an end to it. The time for talk is over. Those in authority We might get a vaccine in March
must act. We know law enforcers cannot be in our homes or April. It’ll then take months for
all the time, but the penalty for the crime must be such enough of the population to be
that it discourages the perpetuation of this most heinous of vaccinated and immunity gained
crimes. so we cannot look forward to any
Side effects
Dr David Bratt
meaningful change in our lifestyle
until September or so. (Massachu-
settis began immunising on De-
cember 30 and their Department
of Health hopes to have 80 per
cent of state residents immunised
by June and they are an organ-
ised state). Another nine months
of living in fear and isolation, sur-
rounded by some of the pettiest
COVID rules in the world?
So it was not surprising to re-
ceive two publications, one from
the USA, the other from the UK
that spoke to similar health prob-
lems but, unlike us, with statis-
tics. The first, from the USA, says
that three times as many Ameri-
cans are now depressed than be-
fore the outbreak.
Traditionally about one in ten
Americans normally show signs
of depression: feeling down or
hopeless, loss of interest in things
that normally bring joy, low en-
ergy, trouble concentrating, or
thinking about self-harming.
In 2020 the number rose to
almost 33 per cent and an addi-
tional 25 per cent show milder
signs of depression, eg loneliness,
anxiety, trouble eating and sleep-
ing and so on.
Numbers for depressions are
also up in the high 20’s for every
country analysed, Canada, Ger-
many, the UK, France, Australia
and New Zealand.
In the UK, a Guardian investi-
gation has just found that calls
to mental health helplines and
prescriptions for antidepressants
have reached an all-time high.
More than six million people in
England received antidepressants
in the three months to Septem-
ber, the highest figure on record.
That works out to one in every ten
English citizens!
At the same time, access to po-
tentially life-saving talking ther-
apies has plunged during the
coronavirus pandemic.
Psychological help can be a life-
saver. The longer people wait, the
more severe and complex their
difficulties and their lives can be-
come.
This may be difficult for Trinis,
defined by their belief that “pills”
solve all problems, to understand.
Taking antidepressants, while
helpful, don’t solve anything. An-
tidepressants and other pills must
go hand in hand with therapy.
Given the rise in mental health
medication, one wonders how
common cannabis use has be-
come? One also wonders what
other aspects of health care are
being affected? Pregnancies? Im-
munisations? High blood pres-
sure? Diabetec care? Weight gain
for sure. There are already sto-
ries of patients with heart attacks
being made to wait for the result
of a Covid test before being admit-
ted to hospital.
Near the end of writing I get
news that “thousands of surgeries
have been cancelled in the public
health sector last year”, resulting
in a “huge backlog”.
My surgical friends confirm.
“Massive numbers……real mas-
sive….every surgeon and junior
knows how bad it is.”
We need to work out exactly
what’s going on in the health sec-
tor.

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Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
As a columnist, there are ethi-
cal standards I follow to protect
the integrity of this publication
as well as my own. But I also
have a personal code that I hold
myself to, as I believe that de-
cency and fairness are essen-
tial in maintaining trust with
the reader(s). To that end, I do
my best to present a well-for-
mulated argument and to not
be mean-spirited with my criti-
cisms. Also, if I am writing about
a public figure—politicians espe-
cially—I keep the focus on them
and avoid mentioning their fam-
ilies.
Case in point, when I wrote
about the controversy involv-
ing the photographs of the
Attorney General’s children
brandishing firearms (October
2016), I pulled no punches in
criticising Mr Al-Rawi’s feeble
attempts to deflect the issue…
but I never singled out his chil-
dren. However, I do have an
exception to that rule. If family
members knowingly benefit, ei-
ther directly or indirectly, from
Pushing along
Compliments to WASA customer service
It is with esteemed pleasure
that l engage the attention of
the Minister of Public Utilities
Mr Marvin Gonzales and the
Management of the Water and
Sewerage Authority (WASA)
with the frustrations faced by
the customer to access adequate
pipe-borne supply and prompt
resolutions to queries and ser-
vices, that amid the noise, to
come across a pleasant Cus-
tomer Service Representative at
the Customer Call Centre by the
name of Ms Ancilla Kirby. I must
say the effort and time to assist
was greatly appreciated.
Usually, persons are not so
inclined to further engage irate
customers. My experience with
customer service is usually very
Abuse of power?
Ryan Hadeed
their political connections, then
I have no problem subjecting
them to scrutiny. That brings me
to the topic of today’s column –
Dr Sonel Rowley-Stewart, the
daughter of our Prime Minister,
and the granting of her exemp-
tion to enter Trinidad.
To be clear, I am not disput-
ing Dr Rowley-Stewart’s right as
a citizen to enter Trinidad. But
the expediency with which her
exemption was granted raises
serious questions as to the fair-
ness of the process and its lack
of transparency. The Prime Min-
ister has decried the criticism as
A boy pushes his bicycle along Belmont Circular Road, Port-of-
Spain, on Sunday.
painstaking but at that time liais-
ing with Ms Kirby l found it to be
different. She went beyond the
call of duty utilising whichever
platform there maybe to assist. I
am unsure of her precise desig-
nation but such conscientious
efforts should never go unno-
ticed.
I am aware of the woes WASA
has endured but rarely places
focus on the very “few” com-
mitted persons at the ground
level. You could tell that this is
her personality in treating the
public. Her communication was
clear and her execution was ex-
tremely meticulous. I always
cast blame on the staff for neg-
ligence and bringing the organ-
isation into how negatively it is
opinion 13
said about returning nationals being
given priority over those who reside
abroad. Unless she has quit her job
and moved back to Trinidad, when
she applied for the exemption it
was for the purpose of a visit. That
exemption; that makes her a will- means she is tacitly complicit in the
ing participant. Furthermore, she charade being perpetrated by the
should have known that her famil- Prime Minister and the Minister of
ial relation to the Prime Minister,
as well as the convenient timing of
National Security that her case was
treated no differently to others.
the approval, would have drawn For anyone who believes that Dr
the public’s attention. The scrutiny, Rowley-Stewart wasn’t afforded
therefore, is justified; she should special consideration… well, I have
“disgusting behaviour”, insist-
accept it along with the admonition a pitch lake in La Brea that I’d like
ing that, “She [his daughter]
that comes with it. to sell them. It’s more than likely
didn’t get any favour, she didn’t
Dr Rowley-Stewart is not a 17-year- that the expedited approval of her
jump any queue.” The Minister
old university student who wanted exemption was because she’s the
of National Security echoed the
to come home to spend Christmas prime minister’s daughter. There’s
same assurance, but added the
vacation with her family. She’s an no other rational explanation, not
revelation that the exemption
adult and an educated professional, when her request was processed
process isn’t granted on a “first
so she should be held to that stand- in weeks while other citizens have
come, first serve” basis and that
ard. Unless she’s been living under been waiting for months. It’s not
each case is given individual
a rock, I don’t believe she’s ignorant only an insult to them, but to the
consideration based on certain
to the controversy surrounding the nation’s collective intelligence. This
factors. I’ll come back to this.
exemption process and the plight of was a flagrant abuse of power. And
Putting aside the truthfulness
stranded nationals. How did she feel we shouldn’t be surprised at how the
of those claims, what about Dr
about receiving preferential treat- Prime Minister and the Minister of
Rowley-Stewart’s role in this
ment while her fellow citizens con- National Security tried to deny cul-
matter? After all, she submitted
tinue to suffer? Is it that she simply pability, with the Prime Minister re-
the request and accepted the
ignored the hypocrisy? Or did her sorting to his usual boorish attitude,
desire to come home outweigh any and the Minister of National Secu-
sense of guilt? rity seemingly forgetting his own
Beyond any aspersions as to her lies – I mean – policy changes. But
thoughts, Dr Rowley-Stewart has we should be disappointed by the
her own father to blame for thrust- actions of Dr Sonel Rowley-Stewart.
ing her into the national spotlight. The granting of her exemption
Whenever asked about the fairness typifies our country’s broken and
and efficiency of the exemption pro- corrupt systems – that, by itself, is
cess, the Prime Minister repeatedly bad enough. But what’s worse is that
referred to his daughter’s situation, she accepted it, and that represents
implying that he was committed to a validation of those systems by the
putting the safety of the country citizens who benefit from them.
ahead of his concerns as a father. But Should Dr Rowley-Stewart have re-
again, unlike some citizens, Dr Row- fused it? Perhaps it’s more a ques-
ley-Stewart wasn’t stranded through tion of whether her decision ‘not
no fault of her own. Both she and to’ reflects poorly on her character.
her husband live and work in New At her job she’s a professional who
York; that’s according to information must adhere to ethical standards.
available online. It’s an important But here in Trinidad and Tobago,
point because it contradicts what she’s obviously free of such restric-
the Minister of National Security tions.
PICTURE ABRAHAM DIAZ
perceived but not this one.
COVID-19 has forced many
of us to adjust to online trans-
actions instead of interfacing
with others and in my opinion
is more effective than endur-
ing traffic, the long lines, or
the lengthy wait on the archaic
phone system and extensions.
Lastly, I take this opportunity
to thank the Honourable Minis-
ter of Public Utilities for the as-
surance to the public that more
would be done to improve the
infrastructure and responsive-
ness to customers and their
queries.
R. ALI
Caroni
via email
 14 news
France’s go-slow coronavirus
vaccination strategy backfires
PARIS — France’s cautious approach
to rolling out a coronavirus vac-
cination program appears to have
backfired, leaving barely 500 peo-
ple inoculated in the first week and
rekindling anger over the govern-
ment’s handling of the pandemic.
President Emmanuel Macron
was holding a special meeting with
top government officials yesterday
to address the vaccine strategy and
other virus developments.
The slow rollout of the vaccine
made by Pfizer and the German
firm BioNTech was blamed on
mismanagement, staffing short-
ages during holiday vacations and a
complex French consent policy de-
signed to accommodate unusually
broad vaccine scepticism among the
French public.
Doctors, mayors and opposition
politicians pleaded yesterday for
speedier access to vaccines.
“It’s a state scandal,” said Jean
Rottner, president of the Grand-Est
region of eastern France, where in-
fections are surging and some hos-
pitals are over capacity.
“Getting vaccinated is becoming
Q. Does the new strain of
Coronavirus spread more easily?
A. Yes. Experts now think the new
variant is between 50% and 74% more
transmissible than other dominant
strains, according to a study by the
Center for Mathematical Modeling and
Infectious Diseases (CMMID) that has
not yet been peer-reviewed. The WHO
estimates this would tack on 0.4 to the
basic reproductive number R, which
dictates how many people each infected
person would spread the virus to.
Based on models of that growth, the
new variant could be responsible for 90%
of all new COVID-19 cases in London and
East and South England by mid-January,
that study found.
Another study from the UK, published
December 27 to medrXiv and also not
peer reviewed, found higher viral loads in
PCR tests that are negative for the S gene.
Testing negative for the S gene means
the virus has the 69-70 Del mutation and
so such S-gene dropouts are thus a proxy
for, but not a certain indication of, the
samples coming from the B.1.1.7 variant.
And a higher viral load makes it easier for
the virus to spread.
DOMESTIC CALL 999 OR THE FOLLOWING NUMBERS FOR ASSISTANCE:
VIOLENCE is a CHILDLINE: 800-4321 (toll free)
serious violent THE CHILDREN’S AUTHORITY HOTLINE NUMBERS
crime that 996, 800-2014
RAPE CRISIS SOCIETY
includes both PoS: 622-7273 ; San Fernando: 657-5355
physical and NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE
emotional abuse. 800-SAVE or 800-7283
The
COVID CHRONICLES
Battling the pandemic like a game of chess
“The Queen’s Gambit”, a recent
Netflix hit, chronicles a young
woman’s rise from an orphanage
to world chess champion while
battling personal demons of drug
and alcohol addiction.
After 85 million cases and almost
1.9 million deaths, American
surgeon and author Dr Robert
Pearl believes that chess provides
excellent insights into our COVID-
19 battle.
The title refers to an one of
1327 possible initial strategic
moves or “openings”. Many
countries like the United States
and the United Kingdom faltered
at the start of the pandemic with
widespread lockdowns, failure to
listen to medical experts, school
closures, confusing public health
messages and no mask mandates.
New Zealand attacked the threat
early and yielded positive results
with strict border control, initial
Mauricette, a French 78-year-old
lockdowns and widespread testing.
woman, is the first to get vaccinated
South Korea’s aggressive contact
for COVID-19 at the Rene-Muret
hospital in Servan near Paris on tracing and quarantine campaigns
December 27. utilised technology to identify
“superspreading events” while
more complicated than buying a
providing a masterclass opening
car,” he said on France-2 television.
move in reducing transmission.
In France, a country of 67 million
After the initial blunders, the
people, only 516 people were vacci-
nated in the first six days, according
Vaccination campaign picks
to the French Health Ministry. Ger-
many’s first-week total surpassed
200,000 and Italy’s was over 100,000
— and even those countries are
under fire for being too slow to
protect the public from a pandemic
that has killed more than 1.8 million
up speed around the world
people worldwide. (AP) The campaign to vanquish the corona-
virus is picking up speed, with Britain
CARIBBEAN’S MOST beginning to dispense the second vac-
cine in its arsenal yesterday, and India,
AFFECTED COUNTRIES the world’s second-most populous
CONFIRMED CASES country, authorising its first shots.
Jamaica 13,203 In the US, meanwhile, government
Cuba 12,740 officials reported that vaccinations
have accelerated markedly after a dis-
Belize 10,938 appointingly slow start. Dr Anthony
Haiti 10,127 Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-dis-
Guadeloupe 8,660 ease expert, said over the weekend that
1.5 million shots were administered in
Bahamas 7,924
72 hours, bringing the total to about 4
Trinidad & Tobago 7,178 million.
Martinique 6,091 Britain yesterday became the first
nation to start using the COVID-19
TOP 5 MOSTAFFECTED vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and
COUNTRIES Oxford University, ramping up its na-
CONFIRMED CASES tionwide inoculation campaign amid
USA 21,325,012 soaring infection rates blamed on a new
India 10,357,569 and seemingly more contagious variant
of the virus.
Brazil 7,754,560
On Sunday, India authorised two
Russia 3,260,138 COVID-19 vaccines — the Oxford-As-
UK 2,713,563 traZeneca one and another developed
UPDATED AT 5 PM LAST EVENING by an Indian company — paving the
way for a huge inoculation program to
SUICIDE HELP
RESOURCES
LIFELINE (24 HOUR HOTLINE)
645-2800
South Africa testing whether vaccines work against variant
lifelinett ON FACEBOOK JOHANNESBURG — Scientists in South
ALIVE (SUICIDE HOTLINE)
800-5588 or 866-5433 Africa are urgently testing to see if the
and 220-3636 vaccines for COVID-19 will be effective
against the country’s variant virus.
The genomic studies come as Brit-
ain’s health minister, Matt Hancock,
and other experts in the UK have said
they worry that vaccines may not be
effective against the South African var-
iant.
“This is the most pressing question
Dr JOEL DAVID TEELUCKSINGH
Consultant Physician/
Endocrinology/Diabetes
(Dr Teelucksingh hosts “Ask The
Doctor” on Thursdays at 8 pm on CNC3)
middlegame continued to be a
litany of failures in much-vaunted
Westernised health systems as flaws
and inequities were cruelly exposed.
Unproven therapies, psychological
battles, socioeconomic collapse,
antagonistic leadership and
insidious “pandemic fatigue”
ensured that those regions remain
trapped in a tortuous spiral
of burnt-out health workers,
depleted intensive care beds
and overcrowded Emergency
Departments. The absence of a
clear strategy failed to work against
a mystifying, relentless opponent
like SARS-CoV-2.
The endgame is in sight with
the recent approval of coronavirus
vaccines that have been rolled out
82-year-old Brian Pinker receives the Oxford University/AstraZeneca COVID-
19 vaccine from nurse Sam Foster at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford,
England yesterday.
stem the outbreak in the desperately
poor country of about 1.4 billion peo-
ple.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
called it a “decisive turning point to
strengthen a spirited fight.”
But questions have been raised by
facing us right now,” said Dr Richard
Lessells, an infectious diseases ex-
pert who is working on the country’s
genomic studies of the variant.
“We are urgently doing experiments
in the laboratory to test the variant,”
against the blood of people with anti-
bodies and against the blood of people
who have received vaccines, Lessells
told The Associated Press Monday.
The tests, called neutralising assays,
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
to wealthier nations at warp speed.
However, there are fears about
efficacy against new variants and
false claims from antivaxxers that
have created apprehension. It is
unclear if this may be a seasonal
encounter like influenza as the
duration of immunity varies
and could be a stalemate rather
than checkmate. The woeful
unpreparedness, unscientific
fallacies, partisan politics, chronic
disease epidemic and social
challenges must be addressed for
future challenges.
In Ingmar Bergman’s classic
1957 film “The Seventh Seal”, a
knight returning from the crusades
plays chess with Death in order to
buy time for a young family. His
final redemptive act highlights the
human aspects of love, kindness,
understanding, charity and hope
that are essential to the new normal
in 2021.
Hopefully, this deadly opponent
will be checkmated in the New
Year. There has been a resurgence
of interest in chess as many seek,
like the protagonist in “The Queen’s
Gambit” a world that “I feel safe in
it. I can control it. I can dominate it.
And it’s predictable.”
health experts over the vaccine devel-
oped by India’s Bharat Biotech. They
point out that clinical trials did not
begin until mid-November, making
it almost impossible for the company
to have analysed and submitted data
showing its shots are effective.
will help determine the reliability of
vaccines against the variant, he said.
The South African variant, 501.V2,
is more infectious than the original
COVID-19 virus and has rapidly be-
come dominant in the country’s coastal
areas. It is expected that the variant will
quickly become dominant inland in Jo-
hannesburg, the country’s largest city,
and the surrounding Gauteng province,
he said. (AP)
 15

business
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt

Used vehicle prices to

increase by $35,000 Delta CEO Ed Bastian

KYRON REGIS
kyron.regis@guardian.co.tt
The President of the T&T Automo-
tive Dealers’ Association (TTADA)
Visham Babwah has indicated that
used car prices are set to increase
significantly if the government
implements the measures an-
nounced last year during the 2021
budget.
Babwah said: “If those meas-
ures take effect car prices are
going to increase, they’re going to
increase by between, around 40
per cent.”
In terms of dollars and cents,
Babwah estimated that a car val-
ued at $70,000 arriving in the
country from the first of January,
would pay about “$25,000 to
$35,000 more for that same car.”
That price ranging between
$95,000 to $105,000 according to
Babwah, would be ascribed to the
most affordable car on the market
- a Toyota hybrid.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert
advised in a release last year that
the announcement made in the
2021 Budget regarding an increase
of taxes and import duty on cer-
tain private motor cars, namely
certain smaller engine CNG, elec-
President of the T&T Automotive Dealers Association (TTADA) Visham
Babwah.
tric and hybrid cars - the new
taxes will be applicable from Jan-
uary 1, 2021.
“All private motor cars that are
imported and cleared through
Customs on or before December
31st, 2020 will therefore be taxed
and/or be subject to import duty
at existing rates and/or enjoy the
existing tax and import duty ex-
emptions,” Imbert said.
In his Budget presentation, Im-
bert had revealed that T&T spends
$2.5 billion (US$400 million) per
PICTURE SHASTRI BOODAN
year importing an average of
25,000 motor vehicles, at least
two-thirds of which relate to pri-
vate motorcars.
Imbert said this has created a se-
rious leakage of foreign exchange,
adding the proposed measures to
remove all tax concessions on the
importation of private cars would
be initiated to address this unsus-
tainable situation and suppress
demand as opposed to an outright
prohibition.
Once this takes effect, Babwah
said: “People will no longer pur-
chase hybrid and electric cars
because they will be much more
expensive than conventional in-
ternal combustion engine vehicles
and this is what we have been say-
ing, that this is not the way to go.”
Babwah said that the taxes
were only re-instated on the hy-
brid and electric vehicles and it
is 5 per cent less in custom duty
taxes when compared to that of
a conventional car with the same
engine size.
Babwah contended: “So we are
hoping that common sense pre-
vails and the government rescinds
this decision in terms of the taxes,
maybe reduce the taxes - we don’t
mind if we have to pay the duty,
the VAT, and the motor vehicle tax
but one of the taxes must be ex-
cluded in order for the cars to be
affordable for the citizens of this
country.”
Babwah said that the used car
dealers have never asked the gov-
ernment for any grant or subsidy
and that the reason the associa-
tion was set up, was to serve the
middle and lower income earners
of T&T.
He said: “What is happening
now is defeating that purpose.”
Delta CEO
sees some
recovery from
travel slump
later in 2021
DETROIT — The leader of Delta Air
Lines is telling workers that he
expects some recovery from the
coronavirus travel downturn by the
spring.
CEO Ed Bastian writes in a New
Year’s Day memo to employees that
he expects 2021 to start with travel
deeply depressed like it was last year.
But as vaccines become more widely
available, he expects a turning point
especially in business travel. He says
Delta should generate positive cash
flow by the spring.
Bastian wrote that there is uncer-
tainty over what travel demand will
look like once significant numbers
of people are vaccinated, and that
Delta must be nimble and ready for
change.
“Just as we’ve never experienced
a global pandemic in our history,

SuperPharm records over $300m in sales for 2020
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Agostini’s Ltd has announced that
SuperPharm was one of the Groups’
best performing companies for
2020.
During the early stages of the pan-
demic, citizens rushed to acquire
facemasks and pharmaceutical prod-
ucts to protect themselves against
the COVID-19 virus. SuperPharm has
been one of the beneficiaries of this
increased spending.
In the Management Discussion
and Analysis section of the Com-
pany’s Annual Report, Managing
Director Anthony Agostini said: “Su-
perPharm was the Group’s best per-
forming Company of the Year with
sales of over $300 million.”
Revenues for the Agostini’s
pharmaceutical and health care
companies, Smith Robertson and
SuperPharm, grew by 13 per cent to
$1.1 billion.
Agostini remarked: “Both com-
panies showed resilience, as health
care became everyone’s primary
focus and we saw improved busi-
ness despite a reduction in business
hours, and other measures taken to
protect against the virus.”
He added that the pharmaceutical
Anthony Agostini
PICTURE SHIRLEY BAHADUR
and health care companies enjoyed
improved sales and profitability.
Agostini explained that all of the
companies in the Group compa-
nies were considered essential and
operated continuously throughout
the COVID-19 crisis with the only ex-
ception being Agostini Building Solu-
tions (the construction company),
which had to curtail operations dur-
ing the lockdown.
While Agostini’s companies re-
mained in operation its Managing
Director said “some of our compa-
nies were significantly impacted
by a reduction in key areas of their
business, in particular, Peter and
Company in St Lucia, and Hanschell
Inniss in Barbados.”
According to Agostini, Peter &
Company Ltd was impacted as St.
Lucia’s economy was severely af-
fected in the second half of the finan-
cial year, due to severe lockdowns
and limited, if any, tourism (the
country’s largest revenue earner).
“With the closing of restaurants
and hotels and the banning of sale
of alcoholic beverages for a couple
months, Peter and Company’s sales
levels were badly affected, and we,
unfortunately, had to furlough 35
employees initially for three months
and then take the difficult decision
to permanently release 10 individu-
als,” said Agostini.
He added that profits of the com-
pany ended at 25 per cent of expecta-
tions as a result. Agostini continued
to note that as the new financial year
begins, the situation is only margin-
ally better and said “with a difficult
2021 expected, skillful management
will be required to keep the com-
pany profitable, until tourism activ-
ity can recover.”
Agostini indicated that Hanschell
Inniss Ltd in Barbados also suffered
as the country’s economy witnessed
the fallout from the lack of tourism.
He said Barbados’s fall in tourism
added to the drying up of income
to the Government, but he posited
that it also had the effect of “driving
the unemployment rate up to 40 per
cent.”
With the winter tourism season
also looking like it will be severely
less patronized, Agostini said that
group expects consumer demand to
take some time to recover in Barba-
dos. He added that with months of
lockdown and the sale of alcoholic
products being prohibited for sev-
eral weeks in the country, Hanschell
Inniss’ sales and profits were nega-
tively affected.
He said: “Expenses had to be cut
and unfortunately, we had to reduce
our workforce by 16 persons. The
net result was the company achiev-
ing half of the prior year’s profit and
a quarter of its budgeted profit.”
Overall, Agostini’s Ltd recorded
3.7 per cent in growth for the year
ended September 30. 2020 as its net
profit moved from $163 million to
$169 million. —Kyron Regis
we’ve also never had to create and
execute a plan for recovery from
one,” Bastian wrote. “Our success
will depend on our collaboration,
our willingness to be open to new
ideas, our ability to adapt and our
humility in recognizing that we
won’t always know the answers.”
Air travel is less than half of what
it was in 2019, but it has recovered a
bit from a staggering 96% decline in
mid-April of last year.
It’s unclear just how quickly vac-
cines will be distributed across the
US over the past few weeks, Trump
administration health officials had
talked about a goal of shipping
enough vaccine by the end of the
month to inoculate 20 million Amer-
icans. Earlier this week, the gov-
ernment said 14 million doses had
been shipped, but only 2.8 million
injections had been given. Officials
said there is a lag in reporting vacci-
nations, but they are still happening
more slowly than expected. They ex-
pect the pace will pick up next week.
On Tuesday, US President-elect Joe
Biden said the Trump administration
is “falling far behind” and vowed to
ramp up the pace once he takes of-
fice on January 20. In early Decem-
ber, Biden vowed to distribute 100
million shots in the first 100 days of
his administration. (AP)
 16 stocks Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt

Daily Report on Trading, Monday, January 4, 2021 Four stocks

ALL T&T INDEX: 1,765.55 COMPOSITE INDEX: 1,315.84 NUMBER OF SHARES VALUE OF SHARES
advance,
5 decline
CHANGE: -7.06 CHANGE: -7.27 BOUGHT/SOLD: 112,211 BOUGHT/SOLD: 1,475,277.71

OPEN DAY’S DAY’S O/S BID O/S BID O/S O/S LAST SALE LAST SALE VOLUME CLOSE CHANGE
SECURITY PRICE HIGH LOW ($) VOL. OFFER OFFER PRICE($) DATE TRADED PRICE ($)
($) ($) ($) ($) VOL. ($) Overall Market activity re-
ORDINARY SHARES sulted from trading in 11 securi-
AGOSTINI’S LTD 23.99 22.25 75 23.98 837 23.99 29-12-2020 23.99 ties of which four advanced, five
ANGOSTURA HOLDINGS 16.40 16.00 15.00 15.00 13,721 16.40 26,567 15.00 04-01-2021 750 15.15 -1.25 declined and two traded firm.
ANSA MERCHANT BANK 39.97 39.00 5,000 39.95 16,785 39.97 30-12-2020 39.97 Trading activity resulted in
ANSA MCAL 53.50 53.50 35,361 55.00 3,234 53.50 24-12-2020 53.50 the following movements of the
FIRSTCARIBBEAN INT 7.04 7.00 6.25 6.26 1,000 7.05 192 6.25 04-01-2021 2,000 6.81 -0.23 TTSE Indices:
FIRST CITIZENS 43.03 42.73 42.73 42.73 11,909 43.25 4,960 42.73 04-01-2021 250 42.73 -0.30
The All T&T Index declined by
GUARDIAN HOLDINGS 20.90 21.00 20.75 20.63 6,530 21.00 45,952 21.00 04-01-2021 8,210 20.93 0.03
GRACE KENNEDY & CO 3.85 3.85 3.85 3.80 6,400 3.85 5,123 3.85 04-01-2021 180 3.85
7.06 points (0.40%) to close at
GUARDIAN MEDIA LTD 3.42 3.00 8,000 3.40 24-12-2020 3.42 1,765.55.
JMMB GROUP LTD 1.92 1.85 2,663 1.95 19,000 1.98 31-12-2020 1.92 The Composite Index declined
LJ WILLIAMS A 0.20 0.20 17-04-2019 0.20 by 7.27 points (0.55%) to close at
LJ WILLIAMS B 1.50 1.50 45,000 1.50 21-12-2020 1.50 1,315.84.
MASSY 60.99 60.99 60.99 60.61 100 60.99 4,045 60.99 04-01-2021 1,509 60.99 The Cross-Listed Index de-
NCBFG 8.13 8.13 2,444 8.50 74,864 8.13 31-12-2020 8.13
clined by 1.02 points (0.86%) to
NATIONAL ENTERPRISES LTD 3.13 3.15 9,954 3.13 31-12-2020 3.13
NATIONAL FLOUR MILLS 2.15 2.15 69,108 2.20 1,000 2.15 31-12-2020 2.15
close at 117.07.
TTNGL 17.00 17.00 15.05 15.05 3,850 17.00 18,600 17.00 04-01-2021 13,402 16.74 -0.26 The SME Index remained at
ONE CARIBBEAN MEDIA 4.84 4.79 2,000 4.85 101,913 4.85 31-12-2020 4.84 64.33.
PRESTIGE HOLDINGS 7.60 7.60 6,649 7.60 31-12-2020 7.60 Trading activity on the First-
POINT LISAS DEV 3.15 3.12 1,350 3.15 11,963 3.15 29-12-2020 3.15 Tier Market registered a volume
RFHL 134.99 134.99 31,621 135.00 15 134.99 31-12-2020 134.99 of 112,211 shares crossing the
SCOTIABANK 58.00 54.00 11,119 58.00 41 58.00 31-12-2020 58.00
10.90 10.75 29-11-2019 10.90
floor of the Exchange valued at
SAGICOR FINANCIAL
T’DAD CEMENT LTD 2.50 2.87 2.70 2.75 250,000 2.87 04-01-2021 63,700 2.79 0.29 $1,475,277.71.
UNILEVER CARIB LTD 16.65 16.70 16.65 16.65 2,787 16.70 14,023 16.70 04-01-2021 240 16.69 0.04 Trinidad Cement Ltd was
WEST INDIAN TOBACCO CO 35.40 35.40 35.00 34.00 29 35.00 131,095 35.00 04-01-2021 21,970 35.00 -0.40 the volume leader with 63,700
shares changing hands for a
PREFERENCE SHARES value of $177,719.00, followed
GUARDIAN MEDIA LTD 65.70 65.79 896 65.70 11-03-2020 65.70
by The West Indian Tobacco
WILLIAMS LJP 3.79 3.50 500 3.79 04-10-2019 3.79
Company Ltd with a volume of
SECOND TIER SHARES 21,970 shares being traded for
MORA VEN HOLDINGS 12.00 12.00 14-12-2018 12.00 $768,976.00.
Clico Investment Fund was
MUTUAL FUND UNITS the only active security on the
CALYPSO MACRO INDEX FUND 14.01 14.01 160 15.00 3,600 14.01 29-12-2020 14.01 Mutual Fund Market, posting a
25.25 25.26 25.26 25.26 392 25.45 1,600 25.26 04-01-2021 1,608 25.26 0.01
CLICO INVESTMENT FUND volume of 1,608 shares valued at
EPPLEY CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT FUND 0.67 0.67
1.70 1.70
$40,618.08.
EPPLEY CARIBBEAN VALUE FUND
PRAETORIAN PROP 3.05 3.05 17-08-2017 3.05 The Second Tier Market did
not record any activity.
SME SHARES The SME Market did not re-
CINEMAONE LIMITED 4.00 3.99 950 4.00 08-12-2020 4.00 cord any activity.
ENDEAVOUR HOLDINGS LTD 12.30 12.00 1,000 12.30 23-11-2020 12.30 The USD Equity Market did
not record any activity.
USD EQUITY SHARES
MPC CARIBBEAN CLEAN ENERGY LIMITED 1.00 1.00 16-12-2020 1.00

Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot shareholders approve merger

MILAN (AP) — Shareholders of Fiat
Chrysler and PSA Peugeot voted
Monday to merge and create the
world’s fourth-largest auto com-
pany which, its architects hope,
can more readily take on an enor-
mous technological shift in the
industry.
Addressing separate meetings,
PSA Peugeot CEO Carlos Tavares
and Fiat Chrysler Chairman John
Elkann spoke of the “historic”
importance of the merger, which
combines car companies that
helped write the industrial histo-
ries of the United States, France
and Italy. Tavares will run the
new company, while Elkann stays
on as chairman.
The only real hurdle left to clos-
ing the deal is listing shares of the
new company, to be called Stel-
lantis. The companies expect it to
be finalized Jan. 16, with shares in
the combined company trading
on Jan. 18 in Milan and Paris and
Jan. 19 on the New York Stock Ex-
change. Fiat Chrysler shares were
up 0.2% in New York on Monday
at $18.13, while Peugeot rose 1.7%
to 22.75 euros.
Fiat Chrysler announced Mon
built on the promise of cost sav-
ings in the capital-hungry indus-
try during a technological shift
to electrified powertrains and
autonomous driving. But what
remains to be seen is if it will be
able to preserve jobs and heritage
brands in a global market still suf-
fering from the pandemic.
“Together we will be stronger
than individually,″ Tavares told
a virtual gathering of sharehold-
ers. “The two companies are in
good health. These two compa-
nies have strong positions in their
markets.”
The new company will put
together French mass-market
CEO of PSA Groupe Carlos Tavares arrives for the presentation of the carmakers Peugeot and Citroen,
company’s 2019 full year results in Rueil-Malmaison, west of Paris, on top-selling Jeep, and Italian lux-
February 26, 2020. Fiat Chrysler Shareholders of Fiat Chrysler and France’s ury and sports brands Maserati
PSA Group met yesterday to vote on a merger that will create the world’s and Alfa Romeo - pooling brands
fourth-largest automaker. The new company called Stellantis will be run by with histories spanning from 75 to
PSA CEO Carlos Tavares, who is known for cutting vehicles or ventures that over 120 years with strong emo-
don’t make money. PICTURE MICHEL EULER tional pull in their home markets.
day that its stockholders as of capacity to produce 8.7 million “We are living through a pro-
Jan. 15 will get a special cash pay- cars a year, behind Volkswagen, found era of change in our in-
ment worth 1.84 euros ($2.26) per Toyota and Renault-Nissan, and dustry,” said Elkann, heir to the
common share after the merger create 5 billion euros in annual Fiat-founding Agnelli family and
closes. The payments will cost 2.9 savings. Fiat Chrysler’s biggest share-
billion euros ($3.56 billion). The marriage of the Ital- holder. “We believe that the com-
The new company will have the ian-American and French rivals is ing decade will redefine mobility
as we know it.”
While the tie-up is billed as a
merger of equals, the power ad-
vantage goes to PSA, with Tavares
running Stellantis and holding the
tie-breaking vote on the 11-seat
board. Tavares is set to take con-
trol of the company early this year,
possibly by the end of January.
Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley
will head North American oper-
ations, which is key to Tavares’
long-time goal of getting a US foot-
hold for the French carmaker he
has run since 2014, and the clear
money-maker for Fiat Chrysler.
Manley said about 40 per cent
of the savings will come from
combining platforms, the under-
pinnings of vehicles, and engines
and transmissions. Another 35
per cent of the savings will come
from joint purchasing, especially
with electric and high tech com-
ponents, he said, while 7 per cent
will come from sales, general and
administrative cost savings.
The companies will get the rest
of the savings from optimising
other areas including logistics,
supply chain, quality and parts
sales, he said.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt 17
Guardian
Trinidad & Tobago
President Donald Trump
boards Air Force One at Palm
Beach International Airport,

World
Thursday, December 31,
2020, in West Palm Beach,
Florida. Trump is returning
to Washington after visiting
his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Digest
force
Quote of the day
Q
““Trumpism
Trru
forrcee because
fo b
is going to be a major
he’s both a cause and
Trump presses
d
ssymptom
ymp
lleaves
of our division. And he
eavee behind him a legacy of real
isstrru real divisions, Americans
distrust,
rreally
eallyy not trusting one another, not
Georgia’s official
ra adio
radio
Ch ha
trusting institutions.”

Charlie Sykes, a conservative talk

o host-turned-Trump critic who
to ‘find’ him votes
WASHINGTON—President Don- said. “Because we won the state.” tions in Georgia that will determine
b emo
bemoaned Trump’s efforts to de-le-
ald Trump pressured Georgia’s Georgia counted its votes three political control of the US Senate.
ggitimise
ittim
m Biden’s election. Sykes sees
Republican secretary of state to times before certifying Biden’s win The president used the hour-
tthehe p o
potential for long-term damage
“find” enough votes to overturn Joe by a 11,779 margin, Raffensperger long conversation to tick through a
to o tru u in fundamental Democratic
trust
Biden’s win in the state’s presiden- noted. “President Trump, we’ve had list of claims about the election in
iinstitutions.
nstiit Trump has repeatedly
tial election, repeatedly citing dis- several lawsuits, and we’ve had to Georgia, including that hundreds
b lam
m his defeat on widespread
blamed
proven claims of fraud and raising respond in court to the lawsuits and of thousands of ballots mysteriously
vo oteer fraud, despite the consensus
voter
the prospect of a “criminal offense” the contentions,” he said on the call. appeared in Fulton County, which
o
off no on
nonpartisan election officials that
if officials did not change the vote We don’t agree that you have won.” includes Atlanta. Officials have said
there wasn’t any.
count, according to a recording of Audio snippets of the conversa- there is no evidence of that happen-
the conversation. tion were first posted online by The ing.
The phone call with Secretary of Washington Post. The Associated The Georgia officials on the call
State Brad Raffensperger on Satur- Press obtained the full audio of are heard repeatedly pushing back
day was the latest step in an unprec- Trump’s conversation with Georgia against the president’s assertions,
edented effort by a sitting president officials from a person on the call. telling him that he’s relying on de-
to press a state official to reverse the The AP has a policy of not ampli- bunked theories and, in one case,
outcome of a free and fair election fying disinformation and unproven selectively edited video.
that he lost. The president, who has allegations. The AP plans to post “It was pretty obvious pretty early
refused to accept his loss to Dem- the full audio as it annotates a tran- on that we’d debunked every one of
ocratic president-elect Biden, re- script with fact check material. those theories early on,” Raffen-
peatedly argued that Raffensperger Trump’s renewed intervention sperger told ABC’s “Good Morning
could change the certified results. and the persistent and unfounded America” on Monday, “but Pres-
“All I want to do is this. I just claims of fraud come nearly two ident Trump continues to believe
want to find 11,780 votes, which weeks before he leaves office and them.”
is one more than we have,” Trump two days before twin runoff elec- (AP)

The UK has ramped up a nationwide inoculation programme of the Pfizer

and German biotechnology company BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine.
UK first in world to start using
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine
LONDON—The UK on Monday
became the first nation in the world
to start using the COVID-19 vaccine
developed by Oxford University and
drugmaker AstraZeneca, ramping
up a nationwide inoculation pro-
gramme as rising infection rates are
putting an unprecedented strain on
British hospitals.
Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old dial-
ysis patient, received the first shot at
7.30 am at Oxford University Hos-
pital.
“The nurses, doctors and staff
today have all been brilliant, and
I can now really look forward to
celebrating my 48th wedding anni-
versary with my wife, Shirley, later
this year,” Pinker said in a statement
released by the National Health Ser-
vice.
The rollout of the new vaccine
comes at a crucial moment for UK
authorities, who are battling a surge
in infections blamed on a new virus
variant that authorities have said
is much more contagious. Prime
Minister Boris Johnson, who an-
PICTURE AP
nounced a wave of tight restrictions
the weekend before Christmas, says
even tougher regulations will be an-
nounced soon.
The UK is in the midst of an acute
outbreak, recording more than
50,000 new coronavirus infections a
day over the past six days. On Sun-
day, it notched up another 54,990
cases and 454 more virus-related
deaths to take its confirmed pan-
demic death toll total to over 75,000,
one of the worst in Europe. Some
areas northeast of London have in-
fection rates of over 1,000 cases per
100,000 people.
“If you look at the numbers,
there’s no question we will have to
take tougher measures and we will
be announcing those in due course,”
Johnson said Monday.
Britain has secured the rights to
100 million doses of the Oxford-As-
traZeneca vaccine, which is cheaper
and easier to use than some of its ri-
vals. In particular, it doesn’t require
the super-cold storage needed for
the Pfizer vaccine. (AP)
Republicans condemn ‘scheme’
to undo election for Trump
WASHINGTON —The unprece-
dented Republican effort to over-
turn the presidential election has
been condemned by an outpouring
of current and former GOP officials
warning the effort to sow doubt in
Joe Biden’s win and keep President
Donald Trump in office is under-
mining Americans’ faith in democ-
racy.
Trump has enlisted support from
a dozen Republican senators and
up to 100 House Republicans to
challenge the Electoral College vote
when Congress convenes in a joint
session to confirm President-elect
Joe Biden’s 306-232 win. A coalition of senators and senators-elect have pledged to reject the results.
With Biden set to be inaugurated and his allies have filed challenging group of 10 senators, including Re-
January 20, Trump is intensifying ef- election results, nearly all have been publicans Susan Collins of Maine,
forts to prevent the traditional trans- dismissed or dropped. He’s also lost Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cas-
fer of power, ripping the party apart. twice at the US Supreme Court. sidy of Louisiana and Mitt Romney
Despite Trump’s claims of voter On a call disclosed Sunday, Trump of Utah.
fraud, state officials have insisted can be heard pressuring Georgia of- The senators wrote that further
the elections ran smoothly and there ficials to “find” him more votes. attempts to cast doubt on the elec-
was no evidence of fraud or other But some senior lawmakers, in- tion are “contrary to the clearly ex-
problems that would change the cluding prominent Republicans, are pressed will of the American people
outcome. The states have certified pushing back. and only serve to undermine Amer-
their results as fair and valid. Of the “The 2020 election is over,” said a icans’ confidence in the already de-
more than 50 lawsuits the president statement Sunday from a bipartisan termined election results.” (AP)
 18
Guardian
Trinidad & Tobago
en
Español
el digesto
Venezuela retoma cuarentena radical bajo el método 7+7 plus. Los
diferentes terminales terrestres del país se encuentran cerrados y la
actividad comercial se mantendrá hasta la 1 pm.
Venezuela retoma cuarentena
radical bajo el método 7 7 plus
CARACAS—A partir de este lunes
4 de Enero Venezuela retoma la
cuarentena radical bajo el método
7+7 Plus a fin de cortar las cadenas
de transmisión y bajar las cifras de
contagio por COVID-19, según in-
formó la vicepresidenta ejecutiva
Delcy Rodríguez.
A través de su cuenta en la red
social Twiiter Rodríguez informó
“reanudamos el exitoso esquema
7+7 Plus con el inicio de la cuaren-
tena radical en todo el país hasta el
Falleció niña que se encontraba
entre las víctimas de la explosión
de bombonas gas en Monagas
CARACAS—Una niña que se en-
contraba junto a su madre du-
rante la explosión de bombonas
de gas que se registró en Monagas
el pasado 28 de diciembre, falleció
este lunes 4 de enero producto de
las heridas que sufrió en el inci-
dente.
“Ha fallecido la niña que acom-
pañaba de la mano a su madre el 28
de diciembre en Caño de los Becer-
ros cuando explotaron bombonas
de gas. No hay palabras para conso-
lar”, informó en Twitter la diputada
María Hernández Del Castillo.
La menor de edad es la segunda
víctima que muere luego del sini-
estro en el que salieron lesionadas
47 personas, entre ellas 9 niños.
El pasado 1° de enero se informó
del fallecimiento de Laura Figuera,
de 28 años de edad, quien se encon-
traba internada en el hospital Ma-
nuel Núñez Tovar de Maturín.
10 de enero, tal como lo dijo el presi-
dente Nicolás Maduro es importante
mantener las medidas de prevención
para evitar rebrotes de COVID-10.
Cabe destacar que los diferentes
terminales terrestres del país se en-
cuentran cerrados al igual que el
transporte para las rutas interurba-
nas y la actividad comercial man-
tendrá su restricción a partir de la
1:00 de la tarde. Las actividades de
los sectores priorizados continuaran
con normalidad. —EL UNIVERSAL
Se pudo conocer que la fallecida
era una de las personas que se en-
contraban en primera fila cuando
Pdvsa Gas Comunal descargaba las
bombonas frente a una vivienda,
que al poco tiempo explotaron.
Familiares de las víctimas de la
explosión de gas han denunciado
que los centros de salud donde se
encuentran internadas las víctimas
no disponen de los medicamentos
adecuados para curarlos, y otros
insumos básicos que necesitan a
diario.
La ONG Caritas Venezuela se en-
cuentra recibiendo donaciones en
la iglesia de la parroquia Las Cocui-
zas para ayudar a las personas que
aún permanecen internadas.“Se
requieren gasas, antibióticos, mos-
quiteros y cremas de quemaduras”,
indicó la parlamentaria Hernández
Del Castillo.
—EL NACIONAL
En cada una de las audiencias que se están
celebrando en los diversos Circuitos Judiciales
penales del país se vienen cumpliendo todos los
protocolos especiales de bioseguridad e higiene.
Tribunales de Caracas celebraron
audiencias preliminares
CARACAS—Cumpliendo con las
políticas impulsadas por el pres-
idente del Tribunal Supremo de
Justicia (TSJ), magistrado Maikel
Moreno, para seguir garantizando
el acceso a la justicia de los ciu-
dadanos de la nación, los Tribu-
nales de 1°, 5°, 23°, 40° de Control
del Circuito Judicial Penal del Área
Metropolitana de Caracas, cele-
braron 48 audiencias preliminares,
bajo el cumplimiento de los mecan-
Maduro: Vacuna no puede ser objeto del
mercantilismo y capitalismo salvaje
CARACAS—El presidente Nicolás
Maduro denunció este domingo en
cadena nacional la guerra política
que se ha orquestado en contra de la
vacuna del COVID-19.
“Denuncio esta guerra política.
La vacuna tiene que responder a la
accesibilidad, que sea de dominio
publico, y no se está cumpliendo
con eso,” dijo el mandatario en el
marco de un balance acerca del
COVID-19.
Maduro, también aseveró que
se ha exacerbado la guerra en el
Socías López: Apertura económica en Venezuela se
cruza con exigencias de mayores libertades de Biden
Tomás Socías López reveló a través
de un informe las alternativas que
llevará a cabo el Gobierno Nacional
y los efectos que podrían tener sobre
las actividades económicas y políti-
cas del país. A partir del documento
Económico, Político e Internacional
del analista, surge la interrogante
sobre la posibilidad de cambios len-
tos, pero importantes en las áreas
económicas y políticas del Ejecutivo
venezolano y de Estados Unidos.
En tal sentido, exhibió aperturas
económicas y políticas que asumirá
el gobierno del presidente Nicolás
Maduro de cara al 2021, y que se cru-
zarán con las políticas que el electo
presidente de Estados Unidos, Joe
Biden, tiene en el tintero para Ven-
ezuela, según fuentes del Ejecutivo y
Washington.
Detalló que el entorno contem-
pla “una ligera apertura, buscando
ismos de bioseguridad acordes a lo
establecido en el Estado de Alarma
por el COVID-19.
Producto de estas audiencias
donde fueron presentados 68 ci-
udadanos privados de libertad y
ante la admisión de los hechos de
48 detenidos, acordaron medidas
cautelares sustitutivas de libertad,
privativas de libertad y privativas
de libertad con pase a juicio.
En cada una de las audiencias que
mundo de mercantilizar la cura de la
pandemia. “¿Tienen los pueblos del
sur de África acceso a esta vacuna?
Es una gran pregunta que hacemos
desde Venezuela,” cuestionó el Ejec-
utivo, quien resaltó el rechazo del
uso geopolítico hacia la vacuna.
“La vacuna no puede ser objeto
del mercantilismo y capitalismo sal-
vaje,” agregó.
Además, denunció que tanto
Reino Unido como los Estados
Unidos han congelado los recursos
para acceder a la vacuna. “Hemos
medidas que mejoren la economía”
entre ellas, “dolarización del 85% en
el primer trimestre”. Lo que, de acu-
erdo a sus datos, estaría combinado
con “aperturas y facilidades para las
transacciones bancarias en moneda
extranjera, sin desaparecer el bolívar,
y con más penetración de otras
monedas como el Euro y el Peso Co-
lombiano, además del Real Brasilero,
así como el impulso que tendrán el
Petro y las Cripto Monedas”.
A propósito del manejo del Ejec-
utivo Nacional, Socías indicó que
también se ha planteado “una mayor
apertura financiera e inmobiliaria
hacia sectores privados y de ajustes
en las empresas del Estado hasta lle-
gar a acuerdos para la gerencia con la
privada como los casos en desarrollo
de Agropatria y Lácteos Los Andes,
entre 50 adicionales en negociación”.
Además del establecimiento de
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
se están celebrando en los diversos
Circuitos Judiciales penales del país
se vienen cumpliendo todos los
protocolos especiales de biosegu-
ridad e higiene establecidos en las
seis resoluciones aprobadas por la
Sala Plena del Tribunal Supremo de
Justicia, como consecuencia de la
cuarentena ordenada por el Ejecu-
tivo Nacional a raíz de la pandemia
por el COVID-19.
—EL UNIVERSAL
reclamado para que nos den los re-
cursos y se han negado,” dijo.
Por otra parte, el primer manda-
tario recordó que el país firmó un
contrato con Rusia para adquirir su
vacuna, la Sputnik V. “Esta semana
firmamos un contrato con Rusia
para la compra de 10 millones de
vacunas, la cual será distribuida en
el primer trimestre del año.”
Asimismo, aseguró que tanto su
hijo como su hermana mayor ya se
aplicaron la Sputnik V.
—EL NACIONAL
concesiones de servicios, como por
ejemplo en telecomunicaciones para
optimizar frecuencias de bandas y ta-
rifas para estimular las inversiones y
recaudar ingresos, como se ha venido
estableciendo en los sectores públi-
cos y privados, entre ellas el aseo,
Saime, peajes, notarías y más de 100
sectores.
Entre las áreas con mayor aper-
tura y participación destacan: ca-
bleras, telefonía, aseo, agua, luz, gas,
petróleo, obras públicas, peajes, aer-
opuertos, viviendas, carreteras, dig-
italización de impuestos entre otros
80 Sectores.
Sobre las políticas de Biden re-
specto a Venezuela, desde Washing-
ton Socías da la primicia y maneja
la información que ya se reunieron
y que van 3 encuentros privados en
Estados Unidos y otro en el país.
—EL UNIVERSAL
 20 rec
Junior Bisnath
Embassy of Japan: Official Car for
Sale
Mitsubishi RHD 2009 Minibus
Request for Submission of Offers
Mileage 117,295 km
Dealer Maintained
Please send to:
shenelle.storey@po.mofa.go.jp
Subject Line: Offer of Purchase for Minibus
Deadline: 13th January 2021.
For further information:
Embassy of Japan: 628-5991
Shenelle (ext 213), Khadija (ext 211)
or check
https://www.facebook.com/JapanEmbTT/
ONLY SERIOUS OFFERS WILL BE
ACKNOWLEDGED.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
Some of the KaisoKah Moko
Jumbies during rehearsal recently.
Jerusalama T&T style
INNIS FRANCIS
innis_francis@yahoo.com KaisoKah MokoJumbies leader Junior
Bisnath and stilt walker Koyode Duval.
The Jerusalema challenge, inspired by the PICTURES INNIS FRANCIS
hit song released 13 months ago, has been
taken up by many groups around the world.
There is now a T&T version of the dance
challenge to the upbeat gospel-influenced
house song made popular by South African
DJ and record producer Kgaogelo Moagi,
popularly called Master KG and vocalist
Nomcebo.
The KaisoKah Moko Jumbies led by Jun-
ior Bisnath recently released a four minutes
video on social media. Bisnath said he was
encouraged to take up the challenge by Ab-
igail Hadeed of Splice Studio in Maraval and
Dr Robert Lee.
“It was Dr Lee who initiated for the Moko
Jumbies to do the challenge because no-
body else did in Trinidad. We spent six
weeks putting it together and we decided
to launch it on New Year’s day, simply to
start the year with positive vibes. It is a
scared dance celebrating life, and it unites
the world,” Bisnath said.
For the production, the dancers were
dressed in black and white costumes with
face masks in the colours of the T&T flag
Bisnath said: “We had 20 dancers—15 on
stilts and five on the ground, ages range be-
tween nine to 55 years-old. This will bring
awareness and enhance tourism to Trin-
idad and Tobago. We want the world to
know that we are not just calypso and soca,
but stilt walking also.”
Hadeed said she was looking for crea-
tive ways to encourage the population and
when she first heard the song and saw the
dance she felt it inspired hope and resil-
ience.
“We thought of what we could do to make
our version different. We thought the Ka-
sioKah Moko Jumbies would do justice and
give the children an opportunity to have an
end of year brightness. Dr Lee raised funds
through private entities for the project, to
offset the cost for costumes, transport, food
and stipend for their efforts. And this was
accomplished,” she said.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
Senate race thrusts ‘Black
America’s church’ into spotlight
ATLANTA—For decades, the red-
bricked Gothic Revival church
where the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr. once preached has been a
monument to the history of Black
Americans’ fight for civil rights
and the legacy of an activist icon.
It took a high-stakes Senate
race and a Trump-era cultural
debate to thrust Ebenezer Baptist
Church into the center of the cur-
rent political debate.
Its senior pastor, the Rev.
Raphael Warnock, is running
for the Senate in one of two run-
off elections that could decide
which party ultimately controls
Congress in the first years of the
incoming administration of Pres-
ident-elect Joe Biden. But War-
nock’s preaching has become a
focal point in the debate about
race and justice in the election.
His opponent, Republican in-
cumbent Kelly Loeffler, has run
attack ads using snippets of ser-
mons Warnock preached from
Ebenezer’s pulpit to accuse him
of being a far left, radical social-
ist who doesn’t support police
officers or military service mem-
bers.
For King’s former church, the
intense spotlight isn’t new. Its
6,000 members are accustomed
to standing-room only Sunday
services, due in large part to the
out-of-town visitors who flocked
to the church. Still, Loeffler’s crit-
icisms have renewed attention on
a pillar of Black life in Atlanta and
a tradition of political activism it
represents.
“The Republican attack is not
just against Warnock, it’s against
the Black church and the Black re-
ligious experience,” said the Rev.
Timothy McDonald III, pastor of
First Iconium Baptist Church in
Atlanta who served as assistant
pastor of Ebenezer from 1978 to
1984.
McDonald describes Warnock’s
views as consistent with the
church’s opposition to racism,
police brutality, poverty and
militarism. Loeffler’s attacks in-
clude selectively edited portions
of Warnock’s sermon in which
he decries “police power show-
ing up in a kind of gangster and
thug mentality,” as a criticism of
law enforcement practices that
have historically driven a wedge
In this Sunday January 18, 2009 file photo, Rev. Raphael Warnock. PICTURE AP
between departments and Black
residents.
“I don’t care what you think
about Warnock,” he said. “We’ve
got to defend our church, our
preaching, or prophetic tradition,
our community involvement and
engagement. We’re going to de-
fend that.”
Ebenezer is “Black America’s
church,” McDonald added. ”It’s
bigger than any individual.”
Loeffler has responded, saying
in a tweet last month that she
isn’t attacking the Black church.
“We simply exposed your record
in your own words,” she wrote in
a reply to Warnock.
Commonly referred to as
“Martin Luther King’s church,”
Ebenezer sits in the middle of a
national park dedicated to the
civil rights icon’s life and legacy,
attracting hundreds of thousands
of visitors and tourists annu-
ally. Warnock’s leadership at the
church is his chief credential, a
position so prestigious some note
the U.S. Senate is a step down.
Warnock has continued to
preach as he campaigns for office
—albeit pre-recorded in an empty
sanctuary, due to the pandemic.
In a message delivered Sunday,
Warnock seemed to allude to the
runoff, telling viewers that they
are “on the verge of victory” in
their lives, if they accept that God
has already equipped them with
the ability to win against their ad-
versaries.
“When God is with you, you
can defeat giants,” said Warnock,
who ended the early morning
service by also encouraging Geor-
gians to vote today.
“It’s so very important that
your voice be heard in this de-
fining moment in our country,”
he said. “I would not be so pre-
sumptuous as to tell you who to
vote for.”
The church has kept some dis-
tance from Warnock’s bid. Eben-
ezer declined interview requests
for members of the pastoral staff.
Instead, it issued a statement de-
tailing its public ministry, includ-
ing social services for the poor,
elderly and formerly incarcerated
people and more recently, free
COVID-19 testing and flu shots.
“Ebenezer Baptist Church
embodies the mission of Jesus
Christ, through acts of service
that strive to feed the poor, liber-
ate the oppressed, welcome the
stranger, clothe the naked, and
visit those who are sick or impris-
oned,” the church said in a state-
ment emailed to the AP.
Since before the abolition of
slavery, the Black church has
played a role in brokering con-
gregants’ relationship to polit-
ical power. It’s not uncommon
for politicians, most often Dem-
ocrats, to campaign from Black
church pulpits. But it’s still rela-
tively rare for church leaders to
cross over into public office.
If he were elected, Warnock
would be sworn into a small
group of other ministers who
have served in Congress, in-
cluding at least one other Black
pastor, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of
Missouri.
Within the last year, Ebenezer
has been part of a few major na-
tional news events.
It hosted the funeral of Ray-
shard Brooks, a Black man fatally
shot in the back by Atlanta police
in June, amid nationwide protests
over George Floyd’s death at the
rec 21
hands of Minneapolis police in
late May.
Warnock was an officiant for
that service, and for the late July
funeral of civil rights icon and At-
lanta congressman John Lewis,
who was an Ebenezer member.
“This church is situated at the
heart of Atlanta and it’s leader-
ship has always opened its doors
to the community,” said Daunta
Long, pastor of Seed Planters
Church of God In Christ in Mc-
Donough, about 40 miles south-
east of the city.
Balancing pastoral duties and a
national public profile is a com-
mon source of tension, noted
McDonald, the former assistant
pastor. The Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr. was not present for the
voting rights march now known
as Bloody Sunday because he was
expected to preach at Ebenezer
for communion Sunday, the first
sabbath of the month, according
to Clayborne Carson, the histo-
rian who maintains King’s papers
at Stanford University.
Ebenezer was founded in 1886.
Its second pastor, the Rev. Adam
Daniel Williams, brought on his
son-in-law, Martin Luther King.
Sr, as assistant pastor in 1927. His
son, King Jr., co-pastored from
1960 to 1968.
The elder King, who served as
pastor of Ebenezer for more than
40 years, continued in leadership
after his son’s assassination in
Memphis in 1968. The Rev. Joseph
Roberts, Jr. became Ebenezer’s
fourth pastor after King. Sr.’s re-
tirement in 1975.
Warnock, who is Ebenezer’s
fifth pastor in more than 130
years, was selected as Roberts’s
successor in 2005.
Ebenezer’s members, many
who support Warnock’s candi-
dacy, say they worry about losing
his leadership.
“People love him as their pas-
tor,” said Xernona Clayton, 90, a
King family confidante and mem-
ber of the church since 1963. “I
think selfishly they don’t want to
lose him. They want the best of
two areas: good representation in
the political arena and a pastor in
the pulpit.”
“I’d imagine both of those jobs
would be full-time,” she added.
(AP)
 22 rec
MF Doom ‘You’ll Never Walk
dies at 49
LOS ANGELES—MF Doom, a masked rapper
who awed hip-hop fans and fellow musicians
with intricate wordplay, has died. He was 49.
Alone’ singer dies at 78
The British-born rapper rarely appeared in LONDON—Gerry Marsden, lead singer
public in recent years without his signature of the 1960s British group Gerry and the
mask, modeled after the Marvel Comics vil- Pacemakers that had such hits as “Ferry
lain Doctor Doom. His death was confirmed Cross the Mersey” and the song that be-
Thursday by Doom’s representative, Richie came the anthem of Liverpool Football
Abbott. Jasmine Dumile said in a statement Club, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” has
that her husband—whose real name is Daniel died. He was 78.
Dumile—died October 31. His family said that Marsden died
Sunday “after a short illness in no way
The cause of death has not been released.
connected with COVID-19” and that his
Jasmine Dumile posted a photo of the rap-
wife, daughters and grandchildren are
per and a heartfelt message on his Instagram
“devastated.”
pag e. She called him the “greatest husband”
His friend Pete Price said on Instagram
and father and thanked him for showing her after speaking to Marsden’s family that
how not to be “afraid to love.” (AP) the singer died after a short illness re-
lated to a heart infection.
“I’m sending all the love in the world
to (his wife) Pauline and his family,” he
said. “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Marsden was the lead singer of the
band that found fame in the Merseybeat
scene in the 1960s. Though another
Liverpool band—The Beatles—reached
superstardom, Gerry and the Pacemak-
ers will always have a place in the city’s
consciousness because of “You’ll Never
7KH5HSXEOLFRI7ULQLGDGDQG7REDJR Walk Alone.”
,17+(+,*+&28572)-867,&(
&ODLP1R&9 “I thought what a beautiful song. I’m
%HWZHHQ
$*5,&8/785$/'(9(/230(17%$1.2)75,1,'$'$1'72%$*2
going to tell my band we’re going to play
&ODLPDQW that song,” Marsden told The Associated
$QG
7+(1$5,9$$48$)$50&203$1</,0,7(' Press in 2018 when recalling the first
)LUVW'HIHQGDQW
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12/$13$5$'$,6(
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$QG
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7KLUG'HIHQGDQW Walk Alone.’”
72*(5$5':((.(6DQG&+(5</'8%2,6:((.(6ERWKRI1R5HVHUYH5RDG Marsden is best known for his band’s
+RPH)DUPV&KLQ&KLQ5RDG&XQXSLD
7$.( 127,&( WKDW E\ D 1RWLFH RI$SSOLFDWLRQ IRU 6XPPRQV IRU 6DOH DQG 6XSSRUWLQJ rendition of the song from “Carousel,”
&9 DQ DFWLRQ ZDV
which was a 1945 Rodgers and Hammer-
&ODLPDQW$*5,&8/785$/'(9(/230(17%$1.2)75,1,'$'$1'72%$*2D
stein musical that became a feature film
in 1956. The Pacemakers’ cover version
\RXWKHIROORZLQJ was released in October 1963 and be-
$1'7+(&/$,0$17&/$,06
This April 20, 2009 file photo shows Gerry
Marsden on board the Mersey ferry.
PICTURE AP
British singles chart.
It was adopted by fans of the soc-
cer club Liverpool and is sung with
spine-tingling passion before each home
game of the 19-time English champion
—before coronavirus restrictions meant
many matches being played in empty
stadiums.
The song’s lyrics, showcasing unity
and perseverance through adversity
—including “When you walk through
a storm, Hold your head up high, And
don’t be afraid of the dark”—have been
a rallying cry for the Liverpool faithful
and the song’s title are on the Liverpool
club crest.
The song has also been adopted by
supporters of Scotland’s Celtic and Ger-
many’s Borussia Dortmund.
Liverpool tweeted alongside a video
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
voice “accompanied our biggest nights”
and that his ”anthem bonded players,
staff and fans around the world, helping
create something truly special.”
The song was embraced during the
outset of the coronavirus pandemic last
spring when a cover of the song, which
featured World War II veteran Tom
Moore, reached number one. Moore had
captivated the British public by walking
100 laps of his garden in England in the
run-up to his 100th birthday in April to
raise some 33 million pounds ($40 mil-
lion) for the National Health Service.
The Cavern Club in Liverpool, the
music venue which was the venue for
many of The Beatles’ early gigs, de-
scribed Marsden as a “legend” and a
“very good friend.”
In 1962, Beatles manager Brian Epstein
signed up the band and their first three
releases reached No. 1 in 1963—“How
Do You Do It?” and “I Like It” as well
as “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Later hits
included “Ferry Cross the Mersey,” and
“Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying.”
The group split in 1967 and Marsden
pursued a solo career before reforming
the bank a few years later.
Paul McCartney from The Beatles said
Marsden was “a mate from our early
days in Liverpool” and that his group
were “our biggest rivals” on the local
scene.
“His unforgettable performances of
‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and ‘Ferry
Cross the Mersey’ remain in many peo-
ple’s hearts as reminders of a joyful time
in British music,” he said.
Marsden is survived by his wife Paul-
ine, whom he married in 1965. The cou-
L³$//$1'6,1*8/$5WKDWFHUWDLQSLHFHRUSDUFHORIODQGVLWXDWHLQWKH:DUGRI came the band’s third No. 1 hit on the of the fans in full voice that Marsden’s ple had two daughters.
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32,17 7:2 648$5( 0(75( EH WKH VDPH PRUH RU OHVV EHLQJ SRUWLRQ RI WKH

Dante anniversary opens with virtual exhibit

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)285+81'5('$1'1,1(7<6(9(1
32,1721(648$5(0(75(6EHWKHVDPHPRUHRUOHVVEHLQJSRUWLRQRIWKHODUJHU MILAN—Florence’s Uffizi Gallery is mak-
1RUWKE\D5RDG5HVHUYH ing available for viewing online 88 rarely
FLUFOHDQGRQWKH:HVW
6RXWK (DVWE\/RW1RLQD displayed drawings of Dante’s “Divine
Comedy” to mark the 700th anniversary
WKHUHRQDV/RW1RLQDFLUFOH´EHVROGSXUVXVDQWWRWKH5HPHGLHVRI&UHGLWRUV$FW
in 2021 of the Italian poet’s death.
%(62/'38568$17727+(5(0(',(62)&5(',7256$&7
:KLFKVDLGODQGVDUHMRLQWO\RZQHGE\WKH7KLUG'HIHQGDQWQDPHO\*HUDUG:HHNHVDQG The virtual show of high-resolution
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$1'$/62 7$.( 127,&( images of works by the 16th-Century
'HYLQGUD5DPSHUVDGRUGHUHGWKDW Renaissance artist Federico Zuccari will
be accessible from Friday “for free, any
hour of the day, for everyone,” said Uffizi
director Eike Schmidt.
The drawings illustrate Dante’s mas-
    &
terpiece, “The Divine Comedy,” an epic
poem in three parts recounting a pil-
grim’s travels through hell, purgatory
and heaven.
)7KHFRVWVRIWKLVDSSOLFDWLRQEHFRVWVLQWKHFDXVH
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birth, he died and was buried in the city
<280$<$/622%7$,1&23,(6RIWKH1RWLFHRI$SSOLFDWLRQIRU6XPPRQVIRU6DOH
of Ravenna, a three-time ancient capital
located in the region of Emilia-Romagna.
The pencil-and-ink drawings are in This image made available on Thursday, December 31, 2020, shows Ulisse and Diomede,
WWODZFRXUWVRUJ contrasting shades of black and red. the fraudulent advisors, one of the original 88 drawings that went with Dante Alighieri’s
$1')857+(57$.(127,&(7+$7,1'()$8/7 They were completed during Zuccari’s Divine Comedy by artist Federico Zuccari. PICTURE AP
WKH&RXUWPD\SURFHHGLQ\RXUDEVHQFHDQGPDNHDQ\RUGHULWFRQVLGHUVDSSURSULDWH stay in Spain from 1586 to 1588, and be-
and for a specialized exhibit about Dante the stars again), a reference to the cele-
came part of the Uffizi collection in 1738.
in Abruzzo in 1993. brated last line of Dante’s “Inferno.”
The drawings have only been publicly
The drawings were originally bound Schmidt said the drawings are a “great
displayed twice previously, and then
in a volume, with each illustration oppo- resource” for Dante scholars and stu-
only a selection, owing to their fragility:
site the corresponding verse in Dante’s dents, as well as “anyone who likes to be
in Florence in 1865 to mark the 600th
epic poem. The texts and scholarly com- inspired by Dante’s pursuit of knowledge
anniversary of Dante’s birth and coincid-
ment will also be included in the virtual and virtue.”
ing with Italy’s unification as a nation,
show, titled “A riveder le stelle,” (to see (AP)
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt 23

Three medical innovations

you probably missed in 2020
As we plan for 2021, we also
recollect on the tumultuous year
of 2020. From a health perspec-
tive, it has been one turned up-
side down with a deadly global
pandemic reorienting how we live
our lives and relate to others. The
COVID-19 pandemic has justifiably
dominated headlines and atten-
tion from media, policymakers,
and health officials alike.
While it is clearly the defining
public health, cultural, economic,
even political event of the year,
the pandemic shouldn’t obscure
the fact that 2020 was also a time
of great medical innovation. The
medical community made note-
worthy advances throughout
2020 even amid the COVID-19
pandemic.
From breakthroughs in oncol-
ogy, gene therapies, and heart
health, to the development of
COVID-19 vaccines that are now
being administered around the
world, there is a lot that the medi-
cal community can be proud of in
2020.

1. Oncology advancements:
Preventive techniques to
targeted therapies
“2020 has been a year that’s
seen cancer research push for-
ward on multiple fronts” shares
Dr Benjamin Neel, PhD, director
of the Cancer Center at NY Univer-
sity.
He shared technologies are in
development for early detection of
cancer by way of blood tests. “It’s
been known for quite some time
that tumors release DNA into the
bloodstream, we have technology
developing from the standpoint of
monitoring tumors, conducting
sensitive tests for tumors, for tests
for recurrence of cancers and pro-
tein-based tests,” Dr Neel shared.
He also cited technology that
modulates the regulatory DNA
sequence patterns, which refers
to the part of the DNA molecule
that can change the way a gene
expresses itself in a living thing,
to pinpoint when methylation pat-
terns might point to the develop-
ment of cancer.
2. Breakthroughs in heart
disease
Recently, the American Heart


Association released its own list of

FYQFSUT

innovations in medical treatments.
American Heart Association Pres-

FTQFDJBMMZ
XJUI
B
HSFBUFS

ident Dr Mitchell S V Elkind, MS,
FAAN, FAHA, shared, “All of these
advances over the past year reflect
connections between seemingly
disparate areas of medicine and
the fact that we are most success-
ful when we break down the barri-
ers between fields.”
When asked if there was one
particular heart health innova-
tion that stood out the most to
him, Elkind said that what reso-
nated with him was something
not tied to “fancy medications
or groundbreaking research.” He
emphasised, “In order to tackle
an issue as wide ranging as heart
disease, for instance, it takes an
interdisciplinary, comprehensive
approach.”
“We also learned more this
year about the unexpected ways
in which medicines designed to
treat diabetes, the sodium glu-
cose transporter 2 inhibitors, help
patients with heart failure, even
those without diabetes,” he added.
“An analysis of people from
across the US showed that rates of
blood pressure spikes have been
increasing in the US, after almost
two decades of better control.
High blood pressure is one of the
most important and easily treated
risk factors for stroke and heart
disease, and so this backsliding is
especially alarming,” he added.
Smartphone connected
Pacemaker Devices
Implantable devices like pace-
makers and defibrillators deliver
electrical impulses to the heart
muscle chambers to contract and
pump blood to the body. They are
used to prevent or correct arrhyth-
mias, heartbeats that are uneven,
too slow or too fast. Remote moni-
toring of these devices is an essen-
tial part of care.
Traditionally, remote moni-
toring of this device takes place
through a bed-side console that
transmits the pacemaker or de-
fibrillator data to the physician.
Though millions of patients have
pacemakers and defibrillators,
many lack a basic understanding
of the device or how it functions
and adherence to remote monitor-
ing has been suboptimal.
Bluetooth-enabled pacemaker
devices can remedy these issues
of disconnection between patients
and their cardiac treatment. Used
in conjunction with a mobile app,
these connected devices allow
patients greater insight into the
health data from the pacemakers
and transmit the health informa-
tion to their physicians.
3. A blood test for
Alzheimer’s disease
This year, a possible break-
through in Alzheimer’s disease
research and treatment came in
the form of a blood test that can
diagnose this progressive form of
dementia.
There are as many as five million
persons living with Alzheimer’s
disease in the US, farless for the
total globally, a number that will
likely triple by 2060, according
to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC).
While the news is huge, the test
is still in the trial phase. If ulti-
mately approved, a simple test for
the condition would be a game
changer.
A look to the future:
Telemedicine
The COVID-19 pandemic saw an
increased adoption of telemedical
practices as clinicians needed to
conduct patient visits online. An
increasingly virtual care model
and increased consumer adoption
came by way of fundamental shifts
in policy at both the government
and provider level.
Since March 2020, the US state
and federal regulators have moved
quickly to reduce barriers to tele-
health, understanding that these
new tools can speed access to care
while protecting healthcare work-
ers and community members.
These measures opened the flood-
gates for telehealth, allowing for
new programmes and the expan-
sion of existing networks.
t
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JUT
DVSUBJO
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XFMDPNF

are looking to a more hopeful
ZFBS
utilisation of Telemedicine.
 24 health
Your health resolutions for 2021
—Ready, reboot, recommit
HEALTH PLUS MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT
The new year is an ideal time to set new
health resolutions, but for many of us,
sticking to those resolutions are troubled
by fears and challenges. However, we are
fortunate that science is on our side, shed-
ding essential hacks on how to turn a goal
into action and ensuring triumph. It comes
down to one word: Schedules.
One thing is certain: “When your sched-
ule changes, you can lose the regular self-
care routines that kept you active, eating
right, and managing stress, habits we need
to maintain in fighting disease,” says Dr
Monique Tello, Harvard Health.
Before COVID-19, the pattern of daily life
was fairly regular. Dreary for many, but reg-
ular. Then the pandemic inserted irregular-
ities into our daily schedules and countless
persons are still trying to adjust. Addition-
ally, we add new year resolutions, which
many struggle to maintain. In fact, research
from University of Pennsylvania states,
“After the first week of the new year, just
77 per cent of resolution makers are still on
track, and after six months, only about 40
per cent will have stayed the course.”
Why do new year resolutions fail?
Why is keeping a commitment to better
health so tough? Researchers have identi-
fied several culprits such as setting a goal
that’s too vague (I’m going to get in shape,
I’m going to manage my stress) or having
unrealistic expectations (lose 30 pounds by
March 1st).
Essentially, it is easy to change your atti-
tude but difficult to change your behaviour.
Outsmarting the odds, means under-
standing your schedule and setting doable
goals (go from couch to a 5K, not a triathlon
just yet) and then breaking them down into
reasonable steps.
Sleep schedules
An inconsistent sleep schedule throws off
your circadian rhythm, the body’s internal
clock. If you go to bed before your circadian
sleep time, you will have difficulty falling
asleep. Stay up too late, and you will likely
wake up before you are fully refreshed.
Either way, an irregular schedule leads to
difficulty getting sufficient sleep, causing
chronic sleep deprivation, mood and crit-
ical thinking problems, and an increased
risk for heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Meal schedules
Circadian rhythm also affects hunger
and metabolism, your body’s process of
expending energy and burning calories.
Changes in schedules, ignoring your cir-
cadian rhythm, and you could experience
more hunger and slower your metabolism,
impairing the ability to burn calories.
Being at home all the time can disrupt
daily meal schedules, particularly for work-
ing people. “When you’re home, you’re
closer to the kitchen and it’s easy to get a
snack. Eating throughout the day means
your blood sugar levels and insulin will be
up all the time, and it’s impossible for the
body to burn fat. That can lead to weight
gain. You need periods of time when you’re
not eating to allow your body to burn fat
stores,” Dr Tello says.
Exercise schedules
Exercise habits often fall by the wayside
when schedule changes. With work-from-
home schedules being utilised more, your
routine may have been disrupted and you
may not form a new one yet. One result:
“We’ve been seeing more people complain-
ing of back pain and pain radiating down
the leg,” Dr Tello says. “It’s from too much
sitting and improper posture, which leads
to weak core muscles and pain. Too much
sitting is linked to premature death.”
Medication schedules
A change in your activities may affect
your ability to stick to a medication sched-
ule. But sometimes skipping even one dose
poses health risks. For example, if you have
Parkinson’s disease and forget to take your
pill, you may experience muscle freezing
and be unable to move.
Relaxation schedules
Downtime is often lost with changes in
work or family responsibilities. But down-
time is considered a necessary part of self-
care. Doing activities that keep you centred
helps ward off stress. “Stress creates a
cascade of events in the body leading to
inflammation, high blood sugar and high
blood pressure. It can lead to cardiovascu-
lar disease and depression and other men-
tal health disorders,” Dr Tello notes.
What can you do?
Take action when you recognise imbal-
ances in your schedule.
1. Reset your sleep.
You sleep best when the time you sleep
matches your circadian rhythm. Some peo-
ple are born night owls, and others are born
early risers. Figure out which you are, then
go to sleep and wake up at the same time
every day so it works with your rhythm.
Keep the focus on quality sleep, at least six
to eight hours to feel rebooted.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
A regular wake time and exposure to
morning sunlight will help your body ad-
just. At night, turn off electronic screens at
least 60 to 90 minutes before bedtime, light
from monitors and devices can disrupt your
circadian rhythm.
2. Reboot your diet—Don’t focus on
subtracting food.
Instead of making an ‘I want to lose
weight’ pledge, try ‘I’m going to put more
fruits and vegetables on my plate’ adjusting
your internal narrative, so the resolution is
a positive action that you can perform over
and over. When it’s an addition instead of
a takeaway, you’re more likely to repeat
it until the action becomes an automatic
habit.
Plan for snack attacks
The hours between mid-afternoon and
dinner time are when cravings kick in hard.
As part of your meal schedules, before
leaving for work, pack a 200-calorie pro-
tein-complex carb snack. Think: hummus
and pita chips or almonds and a banana.
Then, when the ‘snack jones’ strikes, you
will have a go-to treat to avoid unhealthy
snacking.
3. Recommit to an exercise regimen.
Having activity scheduled into your day
will make you more likely to do it. You don’t
have to go to a gym. Try a home workout
video, go for a walk, take regular activity
breaks, or get a standing desk if you work
from home.
Bite size goals—Take it a week at a time
It’s easier to make a plan to go running
three times this week than vow to run three
times a week indefinitely. Make your fitness
goals achievable week by week rather than
so far-reaching, you’ll have more success,
and that in itself is motivating.
Finally, stress!
One big problem with making stress re-
duction your new year’s resolution is that
it’s so abstract. However, a solid stress man-
agement regimen is essential, setting spe-
cific goals and being intentional with them.
It can be meditation, yoga, sitting outside
in nature, or anything that helps you dis-
connect from stressful events or activities,
pause, and reflect. It should be something
you do daily, even just for 10 minutes. Be-
fore you know it, it will become a habit!
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GuardianHealthPlus2020@gmail.com.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
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PICTURE AP
Italian Pinocchio takes
the puppet to its roots
The latest cinematic rendering of
Pinocchio, from Italian director
Matteo Garrone, is informed
not by the friendly 1940 Walt
Disney retelling, but the original
source material. Carlo Collodi’s
1883 novel The Adventures of
Pinocchio is a much darker affair
than the song-filled animated
version and Garrone’s film is also
a more intense experience, even
if he too has softened some of
Collodi’s edges. The result may
not be suitable for all children,
but it is a strange, visionary
and enchanting old-world fairy
tale that any fan of Guillermo
del Toro’s films or Wolfgang
Petersen’s The NeverEnding
Story should give a chance.
It’s unfortunate, though
understandable, that the Italian
film has been dubbed into
English for its North American
theatrical release, making it
slightly annoying for adults but
ultimately more accessible to
children. The best you can do
under these circumstances is to
just try to ignore it because, for
now, it’s the only way you can
experience it in the US.
Blending realism and fantasy,
Garrone’s film takes us back to
an impoverished Tuscany where
Roberto Benigni as Geppetto
sculpts a young boy puppet
out of an enchanted piece of
wood and begs it to come to
life. He’s desperate for a son
and overcome with joy when
he gets what he wished for. But
Pinocchio, played by Federico
Ielapi, does not emerge grateful:
He is restless and naughty, which
is partly naivete and partly
mischievousness. It’s not too
long before his disobedience
finds him far away from home in

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characters who he is too trusting
of. And Pinocchio must embark
on a dangerous and epic odyssey
to try to find his way back to
COMIC RELIEF
AND CROSSWORDS
26 29
quik flix 25
Geppetto and safety.
This Pinocchio is perhaps one
of the more realistic depictions
of what a wooden puppet that’s
come to life might look like. His
look is almost identical to Enrico
Mazzanti’s original drawings
and translated to this live-action
film through a combination of
computer graphics and makeup
from Mark Coulier, the Oscar-
winning makeup artist behind
The Grand Budapest Hotel. It
is a remarkable achievement in
special effects.
The production design is
equally noteworthy, from
Geppetto’s workshop to the
stunning home of the blue-
haired fairy who watches over
Pinocchio. Although the naturally
beautiful Italian landscapes
threaten to upstage a lot of the
work. Benigni is also particularly
strong in the film, although his
screen time is brief and just at the
beginning and end.
Pinocchio was never my
favourite as a child and I’m
probably not alone but there is
an obvious continuing appeal
to the story and its lessons.
And although the world was
not lacking for Pinocchio
adaptations, there are still many
more to come. Soon we’ll have
a Robert Zemeckis version with
Tom Hanks on Disney+ and a
Guillermo del Toro stop-motion
animated one on Netflix with
Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton
and Cate Blanchett. Before we’re
overwhelmed by such starry fare
and accessible fare, however,
you might also make time for this
one too. It has the makings of a
stealth classic.
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CONTRACT BRIDGE
26 comic relief

BIZZARRO PEANUTS MARVIN HEART OF THE CITY BLONDIE

BY TOM ARMSTRONG BY MARK TATULLI BY DEAN YOUNG
guardian.co.tt
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt comic relief 27
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Shake off the past and
bounce into the future with optimism. It’s time
to let go of dead weight and replace it with
Eugenia stamina and the desire to sign up for a new
adventure. Release any doubt you have and
Last concentrate on reality and what you can do
to better your life. Trust facts and experts, not
hearsay and speculative offers.
PROS & CONS

Horoscope
BIRTHDAY BABY You are energetic, practical and
determined. You are smart and engaging.
YOUR NUMBERS 8, 15, 21, 24, 29, 35, 44.
CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY
January Jones, 43; Bradley Cooper, 46; Carrie Ann Inaba, 53; Diane Keaton, 75.

Aries
March 21-April 19
3 STARS Channel your energy into
gaining access to information that will
help you navigate your way to a better
place or position. A positive change in
a meaningful relationship will unfold.
When in doubt, ask questions. Romance
BY JOHNNY SCOTT
Libra
Sept 23-October 22
3 STARS Emotional issues will surface if
you get into a discussion with some-
one demanding. Take a step back and
consider what you want. Don’t give in
to someone or agree to something that
may cost you financially. Work hard to

is favoured. maintain good health.

Taurus Scorpio
DILBERT

April 20-May 20 October 23-Nov 21

3 STARS Temptation to join someone’s
team instead of leading the way will
hold you back. Believe in your ability to
get things done on your own. What you
end up producing will far exceed what
you can gain being someone’s lackey.
Gemini
May 21-June 20
BY MARK TATULLI
3 STARS Reconnect with people you
miss. The suggestions you receive will
help you perform your best. Uncertainty
regarding a friend or relative will make
you think about your future and the life-
style changes that will lead to positive
results.
Sagittarius
Nov 22-December 21

5 STARS Someone will let you down

if you are too trusting. If you want
something done, be prepared to do it
yourself. An unexpected change will
lead to uncertainty. Be creative when
.LIO
4 STARS You’ll discover an innovative
way to use your skills. Making minor
adjustments will put you in the running
for a position that has plenty of room for

it comes to investments, contracts and growth and financial gain. Romance is

joint ventures. apparent, but so is deception. Proceed
with caution.
Cancer
June 21-July 22 Capricorn
December 22-Jan 19
2 STARS An opportunity will require
your undivided attention and discipline 2 STARS Keep your distance; abide by
if you want to make a profit. Home the rules to avoid repercussions. Look
improvements will pay off and at every angle of a situation before con-
NON SEQUITUR

encourage you to do the work yourself sidering the best way to maintain your
to save money. Get along with others, position without offending someone
and you will make progress. who doesn’t share your beliefs.

Leo Aquarius
July 23-Aug 22 January 20-Feb 18

4 STARS Curb spending habits. Someone
will blame you if something goes wrong.
Be upfront and protect your reputation.
Facts matter, and sticking to the truth
will benefit you in the end. A physical
challenge will help ease stress. 4 stars
5 STARS Look for unique investments
that will build equity. Accommodating
others may be a nice gesture, but don’t
let anyone take advantage of you. Shar-
ing something special with someone
you love is favoured.

Virgo Pisces
August 23-Sept 22 Feb 19-March 20
3 STARS You’ll encounter problems if you 3 STARS Reach out to people who share
SIX CHIX

don’t take care of yourself and the ones
you love. Problems will arise if honesty
is lacking. Engage in projects that will
improve your workspace. Fitness and
proper diet are encouraged.
your vision. Working in conjunction with
others will help you gain support as
well as confidence. Inside information
will come your way, but before you take
action, consider the risk involved.
 28 Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt

Daily puzzles
CROSSWORD 29557 ACROSS
1 Strongly criticise a course of action taken by SUDOKU
team’s leader (6)
4 Rogue’s unlimited guarantee – be taken in (8)
10 Clean axe (5)
11 Sluggish? Teach girl exercises (9)
12 Bird’s extremely sharp weapon (7)
13 As one new service in heart of Greece (2,5)
14 What may be said of chess film? (4,3,3,4)
17 Fat: felt anxious, terribly uncertain as to what
should be done (2,1,5,2,4)
21 Certainly relieved, ultimately, after home covered
(7)
23 Once viewed old things in another way (2,5)
24 Aim to include Italian individual in act, without
the help of others (2,2,5)
25 Keen on catching start of record, the first few
bars (5)
26 Lead’s initial approach, first time away in play (8)
27 Fuel supplied by dear character endlessly (6)
DOWN
1 One who judges fools accordingly, right? (8)
2 Boy following sailor wearing waterproof stuff (9)
3 Floor show act dancing round naked (7)
5 Similarly, purchase an identical disc on the phone
(2,3,4,5)
6 Do Parma when travelling? It’s a plan for the
future (4,3)
7 Protection regularly taken by American soldiers (5)
8 Difficult problem? Student’s lost heart (6)
9 Pipe to be attached to both taps? Can’t decide WORD WARP
(4,3,3,4)
15 Reptile having a breather after climbing a rocky
peak (9)
16 Exploit unusually large survey of voters (4,4)
18 Cato, say, first to recognise advantage being
in group (7)
19 Joyful number hugging remainder heading off
(7)
20 Roman poet’s verse, one girl translated (6)
22 Sketch includes river border (5)

QUICKIE CROSSWORD 29557 ACROSS

1 Quill user’s accessory; pedantic (7)
5 Hint (4)
7 Colander (5)
8 Give an account of (6)
10 Full of activity (4)
11 Traveller (8)
13 Strong effect (6)
14 Provocation (3,3)
17 Model (8) WORD SCRAMBLER
19 In addition (4)
21 Hinder (6)
22 Spacious (5)
23 Cautious (4) S A R O N G
24 Ornamental staff (7)
TODAY'S WORD: SARONG
DOWN HOW many words can you make from the word SARONG?
You have 15 minutes to find as many as possible. Words must be
1 Drunkenness (10) at least three letters. Plurals and multiple forms of the same
2 Lively party (5-2) verb are acceptable, but proper nouns and hyphenated words
3 Finished; more than (4)
4 Usual (6) are not allowed.
5 Loss of nerve (4,4)
6 Absolute (5) 15 words - good
9 Cave dweller (10) 22 words - great
12 Room attached to a kitchen (8) 30 words or more - fantastic
15 Dismiss from consideration (4,3)
16 Tension; emphasise (6) YESTERDAY’S WORD: ERASER: are, ares, ear, ears, ease,
18 Venomous snake (5) era, eras, erase, ere, err, errs, rare, rase, rear,
20 Genuine (4) rears, sea, sear, see, seer, sera, sere.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt 29

Daily puzzles
MINUTE MAZE WORD WISE

TELEPHEME

A Mind-reader

B Photographic lens

C A telephone mes-
sage

C
Answer:

CROSSWORD SOLUTION 29556

YESTERDAY’S SUDOKU SOLUTION QUICKIE CROSSWORD SOLUTION 29556

Across: 1 Jib, 3 Booty, (Djibouti) 6 Wow, 8 Nudge, 9 Noodles, 10 T-bone steak,
12 Nit, 15 Ruth, 17 Trio, 18 Hum, 22 Bedraggled, 25 Own goal, 26 China, 27
Fop, 28 Recap, 29 Nil.
Down: 1 Juncture, 2 Badmouth, 3 Brewer, 4 Ornate, 5 Yeoman, 6 Well, 7 Wish,
11 Kit, 13 Trillion, 14 Cold call, 16 Hub, 19 Memoir, 20 Frolic, 21 Eggcup, 23
Hoof, 24 Snap.
 30 Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt

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34 Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt

CRICKET LEAD STORY

Guardian
Trinidad & Tobago

India, Australia
The players and staff The Tokyo Olympics hit
all test negative
Sports for COVID-19
Both the teams, their support staff
the 200-days-to-go mark
national government Saturday to

Digest
Today’s
stories in
capsule
Quote of the day
“And then he just
choked. It’s just
incredible. We’ve
seen Steph do so
many things here
over the years, so
many amazing
nights at Oracle and
now here at Chase.
It’s just a privilege
to coach him, it
really is.”
—Steve Kerr, the coach
of the Golden State
Warriors said the team’s
win over Portland
Trailblazers 137-122 on
Sunday night.
Having an event?
Contact us @ GML Sports
225-4465, ext 2038,
2071-75, 4161, 4179,
4228, 4367
email:
gmsports@guardian.co.tt
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& CNC3 facebook page
index
Sports Opinion.......... 35
Horse Racing ............. 36
NBA............................ 37
Cricket ...................... 39
and the match officials for the
ongoing Test series between India
and Australia have tested negative
for COVID-19. The tests were
administered on Sunday and the
results received today (Monday), the
day the teams are scheduled to travel
from Melbourne to Sydney for the
third Test of the series that stands
level at 1-1 after the Boxing Day Test.
The SCG Test will be played in
front of 25% capacity crowds after a
COVID-19 outbreak which began
in the northern beaches region of
Sydney and has since spread to
other parts of the city almost forced
Cricket Australia to take the New
Year’s fixture out of its traditional
home. This will involve a hectic
process of refunding and reticketing
with only three days to go to the
Test.
“In response to the public health
situation in New South Wales, we
are working closely with Venues
NSW and NSW Health to put
appropriate biosecurity measures
in place for our staff, players, match
officials, broadcasters and fans to
ensure we play the third Test at the
SCG safely,” CA’s interim CEO Nick
Hockley said. “Reducing the capacity
of the venue is crucial in achieving
social-distancing requirements, and
we sincerely thank ticket-holders
for their patience, as we process
refunds today, reconfigure the SCG
seating plan to deliver these social-
distancing measures and go back on
sale.”
The teams’ negative tests were
also significant given the possible
biosecurity bubble breach by five
India players, which is still being
investigated. On January 1, a video
on Twitter seemed to show the five
players dining at an indoors venue in
Melbourne. The person who posted
the video also tweeted that he paid
for their meals unbeknownst to the
players and was rewarded with a hug
by Rishabh Pant once his act came to
be known, a claim the person later
retracted. The five players - Pant,
new vice-captain Rohit Sharma,
Shubhman Gill, Navdeep Saini
and Prithvi Shaw - were placed
in isolation, away from the rest of
the contingent, pending further
investigation.
CRICKET
Moeen Ali
TOKYO — Tick-Tock-Tick.
The countdown clock for the
postponed Tokyo Olympics hit 200 days
to go on Monday.
Tick-Tock-Tick.
Also on Monday, Japanese Prime
Minister Yoshihide Suga said he would
consider calling a state of emergency as
new coronavirus cases surge to record
numbers in Tokyo and neighbouring
prefectures. Japan has never had a
lockdown for COVID-19, attempting to
juggle the economy and health risks.
Tick-Tock-Tick.
It’s nearing deadline time for Tokyo
Olympic organizers, the International
Olympic Committee, and various
Japanese government entities as they try
to pull off the Games in the middle of a
pandemic.
Officials have promised to announce
concrete plans early in the new year
about how to get 15,000 Olympic and
Paralympic athletes into Japan; about
the safety of the Athletes Village, and
hundreds of thousands of fans, media,
judges, officials, broadcasters and VIPs.
The new year is here.
Suga pledged again to hold the
Olympics, saying it would be “proof that
Washington Football Team’s Cam Sims (89) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles’
Blake Countess (33) during the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday in
Philadelphia. The Eagles won 20-14.
Moeen Ali has tested positive for
COVID-19 on arrival in Sri Lanka
England’s touring party landed in Sri
Lanka on Sunday, ahead of their two-
Test series and were tested on arrival.
Although the ECB initially reported
that all results were negative, it has
subsequently transpired that while
the lateral flow test - the quicker
version of the test which takes only
30-minutes or so to complete - was
negative, the more accurate PCR test,
which takes longer to analyse and
was also carried out at the airport,
was positive.
The ECB have also confirmed
Olympic rings near the New National
Stadium in Tokyo on March 14 last
year. PICTURE AP
people have overcome the coronavirus.”
And he said vaccine approval would
be speeded up by a month so that
vaccinations could begin in February
instead of March.
Japan has attributed more than
3,400 deaths to COVID-19, modest by
global standards for a country of 125
million, but worrying as new cases rise
quickly. A poll last month by national
broadcaster NHK show 63% want the
Olympics postponed or cancelled.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and the
governors of Saitama, Chiba and
Kanagawa prefectures asked the
PHOTO
OF THE
DAY
PICTURE AP
the result is not a false positive,
though Moeen is understood to be
asymptomatic at this stage.
He will be required to undergo
a 10-day period of self-isolation,
in line with the Sri Lankan
government’s quarantine protocols.
England are currently staying in
Hambantota, but are due to move
to Galle on January 10 ahead of the
first Test. Ali will be driven to new
accommodation, a private hotel not
in use by the rest of the team, in
Galle on Tuesday, January 5.
declare the state of emergency after the
capital saw a daily record of 1,337 new
cases on New Year’s Eve. That marked a
jump of almost 400 in just a few days.
Yoshiro Mori, the president of the
organizing committee and a former
prime minister, again ruled out
any cancellation of the games in an
interview several days ago with the
Nikkan Sports newspaper. He was asked
when a decision would come about
having local fans or fans from abroad.
“Sometime from March through
May,” he replied. “The final deadline
for a decision would be May, but it may
come sooner.”
Any reduction in fans will hit the
organizing committee budget. Tokyo
has budgeted $800 million for ticket
sales, and any shortfall will have to be
made up by government entities, which
are footing most of the Olympic bills.
The official budget for the Tokyo
Olympics was increased last month to
$15.4 billion, an increase of $2.8 billion
because of the delay. However, several
government audits the last few years
suggest the real number is about $25
billiion. (AP)
HORSE RACING
Joseph wins
US$75 000
Limehouse race
HALLANDALE BEACH, Florida –
Barbadian trainer Saffie Joseph Jr
extended his success at Gulfstream Park
when his favourite Drain the Clock
crushed the three-year-olds to win
the US$75 000 Limehouse Stakes on
Saturday’s 11-race card.
Barbadian trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.
With Edgard Zayas in the saddle, the
Slam Dunk Racing-owned chestnut colt
crushed the seven-horse field by over 7
lengths to return a time of one minute,
10.11 seconds going six furlongs at the
southeastern United States racing oval.
“It was really impressive. He
impressed me today,” Joseph said
afterwards.
“He was always highly thought of.
He was impressive in his debut. His
second win was more workmanlike than
impressive. Last time, it was a bit of a
mishap. We got him back today and he
showed up.” (CMC)
Barbadian trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
Adopting to the sisu philosophy
How to be a force for good
in a world turned upside
down by the unprecedented
COVID-19 pandemic. For
those who have lost family
members and friends, or have
had to battle through illness,
loss of jobs and careers, en-
tire industries have been dec-
imated. How do you keep a
crushing loss from crushing
you? How do you dig deep
and tap into hidden reserves
of inner strength you never
knew you had? I first heard
the word sisu in 2006 - while
reading for an executive mas-
ters degree in sport manage-
ment- from a classmate from
Finland but to be honest, at
that time I didn’t give sisu any
particular study. According to
Wikipedia Sisu is a Finnish
concept described as stoic
determination, the tenacity
of purpose, grit, bravery, re-
silience, and hardiness and is
held by Finns themselves to
express their national char-
acter.
It derives from the Finn-
ish root word sisus meaning
‘inner’ or ‘inside’. It’s a cul-
tural construct that dates
back hundreds of years is
age-old and is said to define
the character of the citizens
of the small nordic country of
Finland.
According to various
Google search references
Carter nabs second SwimSwam
‘Male Athlete of the Year’ award
NIGEL SIMON
nigel.simon@guardian.co.tt
T&T swimmer, Dylan Carter
capped off a coronavirus-hit
2020 season by being voted
as the 2020 Central Amer-
ican and Caribbean (CAC)
SwimSwam ‘Male Athlete of
the Year” awardee last month.
It was the second time
Carter copped the award after
doing so in 2018, becoming
the second T&T swimmer to
do so behind Olympic and
World Championship medal
winner, George Bovell III, who
took the award in 2014.
This after Carter, a former
University of Southern Cal-
ifornia ‘Trojans’ swim team
proved to be a force for his
team LA Current during the
second International Swim
League which was held in
a ‘bubble’ at the 25m short
course pool in Duna, Hungary
during October and Novem-
ber.
Late in the season, with a fi-
nals playoff berth on the line,
the 24-year-old Carter who
turns 25 on January 30 ex-
ploded at the regular-season
finale, going 50.11 seconds in
-Emilia Lahti has devoted
her life to promoting under-
standing of the concept of
sisu. She asked herself after
going through extremely dif-
ficult times herself- How do
humans persevere in the face
of extreme adversity? Being
from Finland, she recalled
the Finnish concept of Sisu
and started exploring it. Sisu
refers to extraordinary deter-
mination and resoluteness
in the face of extreme adver-
sity. It is said to be a life phi-
losophy that can strengthen
one’s resolve when tackling
extremely challenging tasks
or tasks that might seem to be
beyond one’s capacity.
Lahti posits that “A person
with an action mindset will
(1) sign up for a seemingly im-
the 100 metres (short course
meter) backstroke to help his
team to a 1-2 finish.
Known more for his butter-
fly and freestyle events, Carter
continued to surge in back-
stroke, going 23.28 seconds,
23.93 seconds, and 24.99 sec-
onds in the 50m backstroke
skin race to complete a 1-2
sweep for LA.
Carter would ultimately set
T&T records in the 100m back-
strokes (49.91), 100m freestyle
(46.56) and 100 butterfly
(50.70) events this ISL season,
possible task (2), stand up for
what is right despite poten-
tial harm or even danger (3),
persevere against all possible
odds, and (4) hold on to the
slimmest thread of hope and
start anew from scratch”.
Sisu as a concept of posi-
tive psychology is said to be
closely related to grit, or pas-
sion and perseverance over a
long periods.
COVID-19 is the biggest
threat seen in this lifetime to
both global healthcare sys-
tems and our economy. In
the search for a way of coping
and a structure of how to rise
above COVID -19 adversities,
the Finnish mindset and con-
cept of Sisu are worth explor-
ing and learning more about.
Dr Safeeya Mohammed, the
chief executive officer (CEO)
of SISU Global Wellness in-
troduced to Trinidad and
Tobago the concept of SISU
and developed a holistic well-
ness, well being, resilience
and mindfulness programme
that embodies and embraces
positive sisu. In these difficult
times embracing your inner
sisu may make a positive dif-
ference.
For further information,
SISU Global Wellness is on
Facebook.
Last week in my remarks
during the historic virtual
26th TTOC annual awards
leaving him with seven na-
tional records in short course
metros, and nine more in long
course metres.
A Commonwealth Games
medal winner, the first-ever
for T&T in the sport of swim-
ming at the last edition held
on the Gold Coast in Australia,
Carter hit double-digit scor-
ing in two separate matches,
cracking the top 150 in “Most
Valuable Player” scoring
across the entire league for
the season. His LA Current
team wound up in the league
ceremony. Two sentences
referenced Finland origi-
nated word, Finnish cultural
construct and mentality.
Therefore, the proper ac-
knowledgement was afforded
to the origin of the word sisu.
References to the word resil-
ience were made by all pre-
senters. The TTOC has not
undertaken any obligation
to promote, or credit third
parties individually or com-
mercially within its marquee
event.
In 2021, if we want to reach
the peak of our powers we
have to adapt the no fear fac-
tor. Your dreams are only as
big as your vision so strive
for being the best version of
yourself. Ignore the doubters.
If you have a dream don’t let
anyone tell you that you can’t
do it. You have to have a sin-
gle-minded focus on achiev-
ing your dreams.
COVID-19 or no COVID-
19 back yourself, go big, go
brave, go all in and Be a game-
changer.
“I use to love to hear the
anthem play, go onto the po-
dium and see your flag raised,
I loved all of that.” - Roger Gib-
bon.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The views expressed by the
writer are not necessarily those
of the TTOC or TTCGA.
T&T swimmer Dylan Carter.
final, taking fourth overall.
Previous Winners:
2014 Swammy – George Bovell,
T&T
2015 Swammy – (Vacant –
combined South American & CAC
Award, Thiago Pereira of Brazil
won)
2016 Swammy – Marcelo Acosta, El
Salvador
2017 Swammy – Mauro Castillo-
Luna, Mexico
2018 Swammy – Dylan Carter, T&T
2019 Swammy – Ricardo Vargas,
Mexico
2020 Swammy – Dylan Carter, T&T
sports 35
Portugal-based T&T men’s volleyballer Marc-
Anthony Honore
Honore’s SL Benfica
improve to 3-0
in the title playoffs
Portugal-based T&T volleyballer, Marc-An-
thony Honore and his SL Benfica are well on the
way to retaining the Portugal Men’s A-1 Division
title after starting the final round with a 3-0 re-
cord before the break for the Christmas holidays.
Multiple times winners of the domestic league
and Super Cup crowns, SL Benfica swept past
Sporting CP 25-22, 25-20, 28-26; Viana 25-20,
25-22, 25-14 and Esmoriz GC 25-15, 25-22, 25-18,
three of their main rivals for a perfect 3-0 mark
and nine points on the eight-team table, three
ahead of SC Espinho and Esmoriz while AJF Bas-
tardo has three points from one match played.
The quartet of Sporting CP (0-2), Viana (0-2),
Castelo de Maia (0-1) and Caldas (0-2) are yet to
pick up a win in the championship final rounds.
Honore and his team-mates will resume action
on January 18 versus Caldsa before facing SC Es-
pinho ( January 23), Castelo de Maia ( January 24)
and AJF Bastardo ( January 27) to end the first
round.
Before the start of the finals series, SL Benfica,
ended the shortened regular-season with a per-
fect 13-0 record and 39 points, nine clear of
Sporting CP and Viana, (10-2) who both had a
match in hand.
The other qualifiers to the eight-team Cham-
pionship Round-Robin series from the 15-team
league were Esmoriz GC (8-2), AJF Bastardo (7-
3), Caldas (6-6), SC Espinho (6-3), and Castelo
de Maia (5-7) with 27, 22, 21, 18, 17 and 17 points
respectively.
Combing the aborted 2019/2020 season due
to the coronavirus pandemic, Benfica has now
gone 40 domestic matches in the league without
defeat after ending last year with a 24-0 win-loss
league record.
So far this season, Benfica have already lifted
the Portugal Super Cup for a third straight sea-
son.
This after they swept SC Espinho in straight
sets, 25-16, 25-17, 25-21 on November 4.
The win marked the tenth time Benfica had
lifted the Super Cup trophy, the most in the his-
tory of the competition.
On the European scale, Benfica was halted at
the quarterfinal stage of the CEV Challenge Cup
after going under to Turkey’s Halkbank, 25-21,
18-26, 16-25, 21-25.
Over in Turkey in the Women’s Volleyball
Championship, senior women’s national team
middle-blocker, Sinead Jack-Kisal and Iilbank en-
dured a two-match losing streak for the Christ-
mas weekend.
Ilbank went under to league-leaders Vakifbank
20-25, 12-25, 19-25 on December 22, and three
days later they were humbled by fourth-placed
Eczacibasi 14-25, 22-25, 20-25.
The back-to-back defeats for Ilbank ended a
run of three wins in four matches, and left the
club 13th on the 15-club table with a 6-17 record
and 17 points, one ahead of Can Genclik Kale
Spor (5-18) while Besiktas (1-22) and Beylikduzu
Voleybol Ihtisas (0-23) occupy the three bottom
positions with 16, three and zero points respec-
tively.
 36 sports Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt

Jeffrey Ross
Selections
Lingfield,
10.10 La Tihaty;
Ludlow
Wolverhampton,
1.10 Heer We Go Again
(e.w)
3.10 Radrizzani.

SELECTIONS
‘Tahity’ to
improve and gain
winning brackets
Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand,
our esteemed ‘Golden couple’ on the
English racing scene last year, when the
irrepressible ‘pocket rocket’ was voted
‘Sportswoman of 2020’ on the back of a
career-best total of a staggering 151 win-
ners, are engaged to be married; they
have been together since meeting up as
junior teenagers at a pony club about
ten years ago. Absolutely marvellous
and this column sends sincere congrat-
ulations.
Wonderful news to emerge from the
gloom and SAD winter days which are
currently extremely cold and likely to
get worse, given we’ve been warned ‘the
beast from the east’ is due to return this
month; three years ago it was bone-chill-
ing but I still wrapped up warm and
went for long walks, forbidden now due
to total lockdown against the dreaded
killer Coronavirus disease.
It’s a bad time with Covid-19 causing
EASY WINNER abandonments and strict regulations
in the Premier Football league which is
Four-year-old, Chester Roberts also beleaguered by racist organisations
trained Manos Ariba with springing up and getting a foothold
Champion jockey Brian world-wide; we have never encountered
Boodramsingh astride easing to racism to the tenth degree during the
victory, ahead of Proud Vanessa, last thirty years, entailing more than ten
the Harold Chadee trained with long visits to the Caribbean island(s) of
champion apprentice Kimal Trinidad & Tobago, where I purchased
Santo, to win Race 4 at Santa land and property.
Rosa Park Arima on Boxing Day. It feels uncomfortable and recent
PICTURES RALPH BANWARIE bulletins from Trinidadian-born broad-
caster Rishi Persad’s ‘steering group of
diversity in racing’ have made my blood
boil; two letters (one twitter!) asking for
details of individual, transparent experi-
ences were totally ignored by him and I
fear such people will get a ‘cold shoul-
der’ in racecourse press rooms which
one frequented contentedly for decades.
WINNERS Even ‘oppressed’ multi-millionaires,
Michael ‘Whispering Death’ Holding,
Dr Altman Ragoobarsingh, second from left, his World Champions, Lewis Hamilton and
daughter Sarah Ragoobarsingh (Standing next Anthony Joshua, are continually on our
to the horse), Chester Roberts, trainer, right, TV screens preaching about injustice
and Joseph Caton, the groom and friends in the and equalisation, causing unrest. What
Winner’s Circle at Santa Rosa Park Arima after is their ultimate objective?
the horse won Race 4 on New Years Day. Anyway horse-racing ‘behind closed
doors’ continues today on Wolverhamp-

When De Mark Buss TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2021 LAST DRAW: MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 ton tapeta and Lingfield where once-
raced, top-rated La Tihaty will be
Marks Times played this year Marks Times played this year tough to beat in a ten-runner Novice
PLAY WHE PICK TWO
10.30am 1pm 4pm 7pm Total 10.30am 1pm 4pm 7pm Total Stakes over seven furlongs of the reliable
01 CENTIPEDE 0 1 0 0 1 19 HORSE 0 0 0 0 0 TODAY’S STAR BETS and durable polytrack.
20 DOG
5 15
02 OLD LADY 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 (Corbeau) Over course and distance a fortnight
03 CARRIAGE 0 0 0 0 0 21 MOUTH 0 0 0 0 0
04 DEAD MAN 0 0 0 0 0 22 RAT 0 0 0 0 0
14 (Money) 8 21 ago La Tihaty was beaten a length
05 PARSON MAN 1 1 0 0 2 23 HOUSE 0 0 0 0 0 18 (Water Boat) under Jack Mitchell by Irish-raider, Hol-
06 BELLY 0 0 1 0 1 24 QUEEN 0 0 0 2 2
27 (Little Snake) 10.30 am 1 (Centipede) 1 pm 35 (Big Snake) 17 31 lie Doyle-ridden Darwell Lion, with 4/7
07 HOG 0 0 0 0 0 25 MOROCOY 1 0 0 0 1 BACKUP MARKS 32
favourite a neck away in a frenetic finish,
08 TIGER 0 0 0 0 0 26 FOWL 0 0 0 0 0
12
5-12-13-20-31-36 achieving a half-decent time-handicap
09 CATTLE 0 0 0 0 0 27 LITTLE SNAKE 1 0 1 0 2
28 RED FISH
Under: (Last Tuesday) mark; improvement is expected because
10 MONKEY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 PREFERRED LINES 10.30 am................. 16-24
11 CORBEAU 0 0 0 0 0 29 OPIUM MAN 0 0 0 0 0 1 pm ....................... 27-20
the Roger Varian-trained colt displayed
27 (Little Snake) 4 pm 24 (Queen) 7 pm 2-5-8-9 inexperience.
12 KING 0 0 0 0 0 30 HOUSE CAT 0 0 0 1 1 4 pm ....................... 31-13
13 CRAPAUD 0 0 0 0 0 31 PARSON WIFE 0 0 0 0 0 PICK FOUR 7 pm ......................... 8-19 Radrizzani, winner over course and
14 MONEY 0 0 0 0 0 32 SHRIMP 0 0 0 0 0 Under: (Last Tuesday) PICK TWO SELECTIONS distance, should supplement those gains
10.30 am 6 8 1 9
15 SICK WOMAN 0 1 0 0 1 33 SPIDER 0 0 0 0 0 10.30 am .............. 3-7-8-4 3-12 17-34 in a Novice Stakes over five furlongs
16 JAMETTE 0 0 0 0 0 34 BLIND MAN 0 0 0 0 0 1 pm 1 pm ............... 5-9-3-1
6 9 4 8 CASH POT around Dunstall Park under Danny Tud-
17 PIGEON 0 0 0 0 0 35 BIG SNAKE 0 0 0 0 0 4 pm ........... 4-9-8-1
18 WATER BOAT 0 0 0 0 0 36 DONKEY 0 0 0 0 0 SELECTIONS hope and I’m expecting Heer We Go
4 pm 9 7 2 1 7 pm .............. 0-1-0-7
5-7-11-14-16 Again to go close in the opening ‘aged’
Play Whe—Under: (Last Tuesday) PICK FOUR SELECTIONS RESULTS handicap over five furlongs.
10.30 am: 23 (House) 1 pm: 29 (Opium Man) 4 pm: 36 (Donkey) 7 pm: 23 (House) 7 pm 9 6 8 3 8-3-6-7 2-3-7-10-14 Mx3 Ludlow was abandoned.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt
James, Davis help Lakers
beat Grizzlies, 108-94
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — LeBron James had 22
points, 13 rebounds and eight assists,
Anthony Davis added 17 points and
nine rebounds and the Los Angeles
Lakers opened a two-game set in Mem-
phis with a 108-94 victory over the Griz-
zlies on Sunday night.
James played within the offense for
the first three quarters, then became
more aggressive to start the fourth,
scoring the Lakers first 10 points of
the period. His 3-pointer with 2:34 left
made it 101-90.
Montrezl Harrell added 16 points and
nine rebounds to help the Lakers win
their third straight.
Kyle Anderson led Memphis with
18 points, and Jonas Valanciunas had
14 points and 10 rebounds. Tyus Jones
also had 14 points, and rookie Des-
mond Bane had 13.
The Lakers led 56-54 at the break
after both teams held advantages of
at least nine points in the first half.
Los Angeles took a 77-75 lead into the
fourth.
The teams will meet again Tuesday
night.
CLIPPERS 112, SUNS 107
PHOENIX — Paul George scored 39
points and Los Angeles held on to beat
Phoenix after nearly blowing a 31-point
lead in a matchup of two of the Western
Conference’s top early season teams.
At 5-2, the Clippers are tied with the
Suns and Los Angeles Lakers for the
West lead.
George was 7 of 10 from 3-point
range and Los Angeles was 17 of 29
overall. Kawhi Leonard added 15
points, but shot 4 of 21 from the field,
and Luke Kennard came off the bench
to add 14 points.
Liverpool stumbles at Southampton
Liverpool’s Premier League title de-
fence suffered a setback as they fell to
a 1-0 defeat at Southampton yesterday.
Danny Ings’ superb second-minute
lob over Reds goalkeeper Alisson, from
a James Ward-Prowse free-kick, settled
the contest against his former club.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side, for
whom this was a second league loss of
the season, remain top of the table on
goal difference but have taken only two
points from the last nine available.
Both Manchester United and Man-
chester City will leapfrog the reigning
champions if they win their games in
hand.
Southampton’s first win in five Pre-
mier League games sees them climb
to sixth.
And the hosts were good value for
their victory, forcing the pace early on
against an unfamiliar Reds backline
containing Jordan Henderson and then
defending resolutely as the visitors
poured forward after the break.
While Liverpool can point to the
huge void at the heart of their defence
and several injured stars, it should also
be acknowledged that Southampton
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) takes a three-point shot over
Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter (11) during the second half of an NBA
basketball game in San Francisco on Sunday. He scored 62 points.
Devin Booker led Phoenix with 25
points, and Deandre Ayton added 24.
Chris Paul, who played six seasons for
the Clippers, had 15 points, nine re-
bounds and six assists. They had won
four in a row and 13 of 14 dating to their
perfect run in the NBA bubble.
CELTICS 122, PISTONS 12O
DETROIT — Jayson Tatum hit a fallaway
as Blake Griffin stumbled with 2.9 sec-
onds left, then tied up the Detroit vet-
eran on the other end to help Boston
beat the Pistons for a weekend split.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 31
points. He hit a late 3-pointer and was
13 of 16 from the field, two nights after
his late miss sealed a loss in the opener
in Detroit. Tatum had 24 points and 12
assists.
Jerami Grant scored 22 points for the
Pistons, his career-best fifth straight
Southampton’s Danny Ings scores his team’s first goal during the English
Premier League football match between Southampton and Liverpool at St
Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, England, yesterday.
began this contest without several key
performers.
Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy’s positive
coronavirus test meant Fraser Forster
came in for a first Premier League
PICTURE AP
game with at least 20.
On Friday night, Detroit beat Boston
96-93 for its only victory of the season.
WIZARDS 123, NETS 122
NEW YORK — Bradley Beal had 27 points,
10 rebounds and the assist on Thomas
Bryant’s go-ahead dunk with 14.9 sec-
onds left, leading Washington past
Brooklyn.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant
missed jumpers on the last possession,
dropping the Nets to 3-4.
Russell Westbrook had 24 points and
10 assists but only five rebounds after
recording triple-doubles in his first
four games with the Wizards. Bryant
finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds
to help Washington win its second
straight after an 0-5 start.
Irving had 30 points and 10 as-
sists, and Durant had 28 points, 11
PICTURE AP
home appearance since December
2017.
And with Jannik Vestergaard, Oriol
Romeu and Che Adams also injured,
Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl
rebounds and seven assists.
NUGGETS 124, TIMBERWOLVES 109
MINNEAPOLIS — Jamal Murray scored a
season-high 36 points, Nikola Jokic had
19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for
his fourth triple-double of the season
and Denver beat Minnesota.
Murray scored 26 points in the first
half, including 16 in the second quarter.
Malik Beasley, the former Denver
draft pick traded to the Timberwolves
last season, scored a season-high 25 for
Minnesota.
The teams will complete home-and
home set Tuesday night in Denver.
JAZZ 130, SPURS 109
SAN ANTONIO — Bojan Bogdanovic
scored 28 points and Utah made a sea-
son-high 21 3-pointers to beat San An-
tonio.
Donovan Mitchell added 22 points
and nine assists in 29 minutes. Utah
was 21 for 41 on 3-pointers compared to
6 for 19 by San Antonio.
Keldon Johnson had 22 points for the
Spurs. San Antonio suffered its fourth
straight loss as well as its largest margin
of defeat.
BULLS 118, MAVERICKS 108
CHICAGO — Zach LaVine had 39 points
and Coby White scored 21 of his 23
points in the second half to lead Chi-
cago past Dallas.
Jalen Brunson, starting in place of the
injured Luka Doncic, had 31 points for
the Mavericks. Doncic sat out because
of a left quadriceps contusion. He was
injured Friday night in the second quar-
ter of a home victory over Miami.
Otto Porter Jr. added 15 for the Bulls.
(AP)
could ill afford to see Moussa Djenepo
limp off after 32 minutes, during which
he had caused Trent Alexander-Arnold
several problems down the left.
Initially, at least, they continued to
play in their normal style, trying to re-
tain possession and work the ball into
promising positions out wide.
Nathan Tella’s curling, right-foot
shot, after Ings had expertly cushioned
the ball into his path, almost brought
the reward of a second goal.
However, after the break, it was
very much rearguard action from the
Saints, with Kyle Walker-Peters, Jan
Bednarek and Jack Stephens making
seven clearances each to repel wave
after wave of Liverpool attacks.
That resilience was underlined by
restricting the Reds to just one shot on
target - a Sadio Mane effort in the 75th
minute.
Rejigged Liverpool fail to spark
Before kick-off at St Mary’s on
Monday, Klopp had said he could be
blamed if the decision to deploy Hen-
derson alongside Fabinho, another
midfielder, in defence did not work.
(BBC Sports)
sports 37
Former T&T women’s football
manager Jinelle James
FIFA targets
Women
football in T&T
WALTER ALIBEY
walter.alibey@guardian.co.tt
Women’s football in T&T has
gained the attention of the sport’s
world governing body- FIFA, Rob-
ert Hadad of the FIFA-appointed
Normalisation Committee said.
Speaking to Guardian Media
Sports on Monday, Hadad said he
has been instructed by FIFA, to
look at women’s football, as there
has been an increased investment
towards it. “FIFA has specifically
said they would really like us fo-
cusing on women’s football. They
have increased their investment
in women’s football and they have
already started speaking to Jinelle
James and hopefully, they will put
a plan in place for women’s foot-
ball as soon as possible.”
Only last year women’s football
provided the lone bright spark for
the country on the field when the
Under-20 women finished in the
quarterfinal round of the CONCA-
CAF Under-20 Championship in
the Dominican Republic in March.
Amidst concerns about the
direction of the sport follow-
ing the election of the William
Wallace-led executive, which re-
placed the David John-Williams
administration on November 24,
2019, the Richard Hood-coached
team provided a smile for all, with
wins against St Kitts/Nevis 6-0
and the Cayman Islands 2-0 in the
group stage, which earned them
a place into the round of 16s, de-
spite a heavy 0-7 defeat by Haiti in
their third group match.
Later the T&T girls confirmed
a place in the quarters with a 5-4
triumph over Puerto Rico from
the penalty spot, after the game
ended 3-3 at the end of regulation
time. They were later booted out
by giants Mexico in a 0-4 loss in
the quarters.
Contacted yesterday, James
who is the Director of Women’s
football described the initiative of
the FIFA as tremendous, saying it
is long overdue.
She said the women’s game has
been growing all over the world,
so to get that additional support
will help local football tremen-
dously.
 38 sports Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt

TTFA settles with Avec Sports
...Hadad: New uniform agreement in the works
WALTER ALIBEY
walter.alibey@guardian.co.tt
Monies owed to UK Sportswear
supplies Avec Sports for a deal
with the embattled T&T Football
Association (TTFA) last year that
was not honoured, has been paid.
Now discussions have started
for a new uniform deal to out-
fit the country’s national teams,
scheduled to come from either
Adidas, Puma, Joma, or a new
company.
The payment of $15,000
pounds by the FIFA-appointed
Normalisation Committee being
led by chairman Robert Hadad,
has now officially relieved the
country’s football administrators
from the burden of another legal
battle to add to the many Hadad
and his committee members that
comprise attorney Judy Daniel
(deputy chairman) and business-
man and former banker Nigel Ro-
mano, have had to cope with.
Then TTFA president William
Wallace and his general secretary
Ramesh Ramdhan had put pen to
paper for a $25-million contract
to outfit all the country’s national
teams, from the junior to the sen-
ior levels, with uniforms.
The other part of the contract
required the football association
to sell some 7, 500 in apparel, to
benefit in part from the sale 80 to
20 per cent respectively, between
them (TTFA) and distributors
Sports & Games.
However, the deal fell flat fol-
lowing a decision by the sport’s
world governing body to replace
the T&TFA with a normalisation
committee on the basis that the
Chairman of FIFA Normalisation
Committee Robert Hadad
Wallace-led executive had placed
local football on the brink of insol-
vency and illiquidity before they
were removed on March 17.
The contract was signed offi-
cially in January 2020, but the
country was expected to benefit
with its first tranch of uniforms
on June 1 last year, a development
that led to legal action by Avec,
as the normalisation committee
refused to continue with that con-
tract and other deals by the Wal-
lace administration.
However, yesterday, Hadad re-
vealed to Guardian Media Sports
that they were officially out of
that deal.”Directly speaking about
Avec, we have already settled with
Avec, we had a settlement figure
from them and we have already
dealt with that issue, so we are
out of the contract with Avec of-
ficially. We settled with Avec for
15,000 pounds to get out of the
contract because obviously, the
implications long-term, would
have been a bit more.”
Meanwhile, with the country’s
senior team set to begin World
Cup and Gold Cup qualifiers in
March, the local football boss has
already begun his search for a uni-
form deal that could come from
either Adidas, Puma, or another
unknown sportswear supplier.
“We are now in the process of
seeking a new uniform contract,
so we have been in discussions
with a few uniform people. We
would all be aware that to get into
a new uniform deal would require
a lot of work and definitely, we’re
looking for money.”
“The TTFA needs some sort of
contribution towards the TTFA
and some sort of uniform deal in
the next two years. I wouldn’t like
us signing anything longer than
two years. One of the companies
is a new one that we are talking
to, one of them is Joma, Joma has
an offer on the table, and we have
reached out to Adidas also.”
“You would be mindful that be-
cause of our low rankings, getting
some of these people to contrib-
ute financially toward the asso-
ciation is where the dilemma is,
so we are working through those
companies right now. We have
also reached out to Puma, I don’t
know where we are at with that
one as yet as we haven’t gotten an
offer on the table as yet. So when
we see the offers we will make a
decision, and we have to make a
decision quickly because we need
the uniforms for March,” Hadad
said.
Shakib to face Windies after recall
DHAKA, Bangladesh – Highly-rated all-
rounder, Shakib-al-Hasan, has been
recalled for the upcoming Test and
one-day series against West Indies,
after serving a one-year ban from in-
ternational cricket.
The 33-year-old was slapped with
a two-year ban in October 2019 for
three breaches of the International
Cricket Council’s anti-corruption
code, when he failed to report ap-
proaches to engage in corrupt con-
duct and was on a one year sentence
that was suspended.
Shakib is one of Bangladesh’s most
successful cricketers and prior to the
ban, served as the country’s Test and
One-Day International captain.
While the ban ended a few months
ago, Bangladesh have not featured in
international cricket because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, and the upcom-
ing tour by West Indies marks the first
taste of action for the south Asian na-
tion since last March.
Shakib is a talented middle order
stroke-maker and an effective left-arm
spinner, who has emerged as one of
Bangladesh’s leading lights.
He averages nearly 40 with the bat
from 56 Tests and has also taken 210
wickets. In ODIs, Shakib has scored
6 323 at an average of almost 38, and
has snared 260 wickets.
His return will be a massive boost
for Bangladesh which is already a for-
midable side on home soil.
He joins the experienced likes of
Tamim Iqbal, Momimul Haque and
Mushfiqur Rahim in the 20-man pro-
vision Test squad.
However, former captain Mashrafe
Mortaza has been omitted from the
24-man provisional ODI squad, with
selectors indicating they were looking
to the future.
West Indies are scheduled to leave
the Caribbean on Friday for the Janu-
ary 20 to February 15 series compris-
ing three ODIs and two Tests.
Shakib-Al-Hasan
BANGLADESH’S
PRELIMINARY SQUADS
ODIs: Tamim Iqbal (capt), Momimul
Haque, Taskin Ahmed, Khaled Ahmed,
Shakib Al Hasan, Hasan Mahmud,
Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mustafizur
Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy
Hassan Miraz, Mohammad Mithun,
Taijul Islam, Liton Das, Nurul Hasan,
Yasir Ali, Shadman Islam, Saif Hassan,
Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed, Ebadot
Hossain
Tests: Momimul Haque, Taskin Ahmed,
Tamim Iqbal, Khaled Ahmed, Shakib
Al Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul
Hossain Shanto, Mustafizur Rahman,
Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hassan Miraz,
Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam, Liton
Das, Nurul Hasan, Yasir Ali, Shadman
Islam, Saif Hassan, Nayeem Hasan, Abu
Jayed, Ebadot Hossain
Bangladesh’s selectors picked a 24-
man preliminary squad for the ODI
series against West Indies later this
month, and the one player they didn’t
pick has become the main talking
point: Mashrafe Mortaza, 37, the coun-
try’s highest wicket-taker in ODIs and
longest-serving captain. This is the
first time Mortaza has been dropped
from the ODI squad since making his
debut in November 2001, though he
has missed a lot of cricket over the
years because of injuries. (CMC)

Goolie, Kallicharan, Deyal show up to stake selection claim

GYASI MERRIQUE
gyasi.merrique@cnc3.co.tt
The presence of several senior
T&T cricketers who are all close to
full fitness is enough of a selection
headache for T&T Red Force head
coach David Furlonge. Added to
that dilemma several younger
players continue to acquit them-
selves quite well in the team’s
ongoing trial matches in prepa-
ration for next month’s Regional
Super50 Cup in Antigua and Bar-
buda.
Yesterday at the National Cricket
Centre in Balmain, Couva former
West Indies Under-19 batsmen
Jyd Goolie and Kirstan Kallicha-
ran cracked half-centuries for the
Yannic Cariah XI in a losing effort
against the Kieron Pollard XI in
the first practice match.
Mark Deyal also brought him-
self notice with an all-round Man
of the Match performance that in-
cluded a half-century of his own in
the Pollard XI’s win.
Cariah and company won the
toss and chose to bat, losing a
wicket with just 19 runs on the
board when fast bowler Ravi Ram-
T&T cricketers from left, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Rayad Emrit and Ravi
Rampaul huddle up during the T&T Red Force fifth trial match played at the
National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva yesterday.
paul had Kjorn Ottley caught for
five by Pollard, diving forward at
short extra cover. Rampaul him-
self also took a spectacular catch
at long-off to dismiss Tion Webster
for 25 from the bowling of right-
arm leg break bowler Imran Khan,
PICTURE ANTHONY HARRIS
which left the Cariah XI on 40 for
two.
The Cariah XI could not forge
the type of partnerships they
wanted at the top of their innings
and were soon reduced to 66 for
four until former West Indies U19
teammates Goolie and Kallich-
aran put on 88 runs for the 5th
wicket. The 2016 youth World Cup
winners, each went on to score
half-centuries. Goolie was the first
to be dismissed when he was on
54, bowled by off-spinner Deyal.
His knock included one boundary
and four sixes from 67 balls. Kalli-
charan’s dismissal came when he
was on 57 (seven fours, one six),
caught by Rampaul from Khan’s
bowling again. Following their
departures, none of the last five
Cariah XI batsmen could reach
double-digit scores and they were
dismissed for 195 in 45.5 overs.
Bowling for the Pollard XI, Khan
took four wickets for 40 runs in
9.5 overs and Deyal claimed two
for 34 from ten overs.
The Pollard XI faced a similarly
shaky start in their reply. Fast
bowler Jayden Seales bowled Jer-
emy Solozano for 13 with the score
on 21 in the 9th over and left-
handed spinner Khary Pierre had
Yannick Ottley caught by Bryan
Charles in the next over for the
addition of one run to the Pollard
XI total.
Newly appointed West Indies
SUMMARISED SCORES
Cariah XI - 195 all out (Goolie 54,
Kallicharan 57; Khan 4/40) lost
to Pollard XI - 196/7 (Deyal 57,
Katwaroo 36 n.o; Pierre 3/47) by
three wickets.
stand-in ODI captain Jason Mo-
hammed could only must three
runs before he became the second
wicket in a three-wicket cluster for
Pierre who also dismissed Pollard
for 22 to reduce the Pollard XI to
66 for four.
It would take an enterprising re-
covery launched by Deyal and Ste-
ven Katwaroo to take the Pollard
XI from 82 for five to 157 for six.
Deyal took the lead in that initia-
tive and would count seven fours
and one six in his knock of 57
from 45 balls. They lost his wicket
as well as Khan’s before the end
but reached 196 for seven in 44.3
overs to secure victory by three
wickets. Katwaroo remained not
out on 36, while Deyal was named
man of the match.
The next practice match will to-
morrow.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
guardian.co.tt sports 39

Elgar slams 127 despite

Sri Lanka 4 quick wickets
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Vishwa
Fernando bagged his maiden
five-wicket haul to keep South
Africa down to 302 in the second
session on day two. The hosts,
however, built a lead of 145 and
will be comfortable with the runs
in the bank especially with the
track starting to play tricks with
the odd ball kicking off from the
surface, yesterday.
Sri Lanka, though, didn’t have
the perfect session they were
hoping for as they lost Kusal
Perera early and ended with
16 for 1 on the board. Both Di-
muth Karunaratne and Lahiru
Thirimanne lived dangerously
but managed to escape unhurt
in the nine overs the visitors had
to bat.
The story of the session how-
ever was South Africa’s collapse.
From the comfort of being 218
for 1 in the opening session with
two set batsmen, they ended the
opening session on 256 for 5.
There wasn’t much lower-order
resistance as well as they even-
tually lost their last five wickets
for just 61. Fernando gave the
visitors a breakthrough on the
second ball of the post-Lunch
session as he trapped Wiaan
Mulder in front to bag his sec-
ond wicket.
Keshav Maharaj fell to Asitha
Fernando but the big wicket
came in the 68th over when
Temba Bavuma had a brain
freeze. Vishwa was trying to
bring in all his deliveries from
around the wicket and the right-
hander decided to offer no shot.
Bavuma tried his luck with a
review and failed there as well.
Lungi Ngidi and Lutho Sipamla
scored just 19 for the final wicket
but managed to frustrate Sri
Lanka for 37 deliveries. Vishwa
completed his five-wicket haul
when Sipamla’s outside edge
landed with Dasun Shanaka at
second slip.
Earlier in the opening ses-
sion, Dean Elgar completed his
13th Test ton in the fifth over of
the day and then saw Rassie van
der Dussen complete his fourth
half-century in the next over. Sri
Lanka dished out plenty of scor-
ing deliveries and also dropped
the latter before Dushmantha
Chameera provided the break-
through they were desperate
for. Elgar hung his bat out at a
length delivery and was caught
at slip. From 218 for 1, they soon
went to 218 for 3 with van der
Dussen strangled down the leg
side. Faf du Plessis and Quinton
de Kock too fell soon after as
they hosts nosedived to 241 for
5 before the break.(Cricbuzz)
Brief scores
Sri Lanka 157 (Kusal Perera 60;
Anrich Nortje 6-56) & 16/1 trail South Africa’s batsman Dean Elgar raises his bat and helmet to celebrate
South Africa 302 (Dean Elgar 127; scoring a century during play on the second day of the second cricket test
Vishwa Fernando 5-101) by 129 match against Sri Lanka at Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, South
runs. Africa on Monday, Jan 4, 2021. Elgar scored 127 runs before being dismissed
by Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera. PICTURE AP

Williamson, Nicholls propel

New Zealand with record stand
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP)— Pakistan’s
accurate bowling attack tied down New
Zealand between lunch and tea yesterday
on the second day of the second cricket Test.
Even Kane Williamson, the New Zealand
captain who has had scores of 251 and 129
in his last two innings, was hard-pressed to
accelerate the scoring.
However, Williamson’s brilliant unbeaten
112*, in a record 215-run unbroken part-
nership for the fourth wicket with Henry
Nicholls, laid the groundwork as New
Zealand reduced their deficit to just 11 by
stumps on Day 2 of the Test series decider.
New Zealand added 79 runs for the loss of
Ross Taylor’s wicket in the second session
and was 145-3 at tea. Williamson had scored
40 in 149 minutes, Henry Nicholls scored
25 in 101 minutes and their 50 partnership
spanned 105 deliveries.
A little flourish which brought three
boundaries in the last three overs before tea
bumped the run rate up to 2.8.
The first hour of the middle session pro-
duced only 30 runs from 14 overs as Tay-
lor fell for 12 to the bowling of Mohammad
Abbas and Williamson and Nicholls worked
to staunch the fall of wickets.
New Zealand also lost the wickets of Tom
Blundell and Tom Latham in the half hour
before lunch after the pair had shared a 52-
run opening stand. Taylor’s dismissal left
New Zealand 71-3 and under pressure as it
replied to Pakistan’s first innings of 297.
Nicholls also seemed to have fallen soon
after lunch. When he was 3 and New Zea-
land was 74-3, Nicholls edged a ball from
Shaheen Afridi to wicketkeeper Mohammad
Rizwan.
Nicholls was walking when the television
umpire called the front foot no ball by Af-
ridi, which gave the New Zealander a very
fortunate reprieve.
Naseem Shah later beat Nicholls with
a yorker angled into the batsman which
passed under the bat and grazed the off
stump on the way to Rizwan.
The incidents were reminiscent of the
start of Nicholl’s innings in the second test
against the West Indies this summer when
he was dropped three times on the way to
50 but went on the make 174, a career-best
score.
Even Williamson, imperious in recent
winnings, found batting difficult. The Pa-
kistan bowlers, especially Afridi, generated
pace and hit a relentlessly testing line. They
stifled the back foot shots Nicholls and Wil-
liamson enjoy and worked on a full length
outside off stump which made driving per-
ilous.
Pakistan kept in two gullies at times to
Williamson, who was aware of the danger
and curbed his shot making outside off
stump.
The pitch at Hagley Park mostly has re-
tained its pace from the first day and the
batsmen have been wary of any movement
away from the bat.(Cricbuzz)
Brief scores
New Zealand 286/3 (Kane Williamson
112*, Henry Nicholls 89*; Shaheen Afridi
1-45, Mohammad Abbas 1-37) trail New Zealand captain Kane Williamson celebrates on reaching a century during play on day
Pakistan 297 by 11 runs. two of the second cricket Test between Pakistan and New Zealand at Hagley Oval,
Christchurch, New Zealand, yesterday. He scored an unbeaten 112. PICTURE AP
 Sports Tuesday, January 5, 2021
APPLAUSE

AVEC BAD KIT 38 T&T swimmer, Dylan Carter,

24, capped off a coronavirus-
hit 2020 season by being
voted as the 2020 Central
American and Caribbean (CAC)

DEAL SETTLED
SwimSwam ‘Male Athlete of
the Year” awardee last month.
It was the second time Carter
copped the award after doing
so in 2018, becoming the
second T&T swimmer to do
so behind Olympic and World
Championship medal winner,

...TTFA eyeing Adidas, Puma or Joma

George Bovell III, who took the
award in 2014. See page 35.

PLAIN TALK

“I don’t get frazzled too easily

and am very confident in who I
am as a person. As a basketball
player, there’s not going to be
anything you can say about me
or to me that’s going to affect
that. At the end of the day
that’s how I got here, and I got
a lot of people in my circle that
understand what makes me
tick, and how much I enjoy this
game. I never run from it.”
—Stephen Curry, the Golden
State Warriors point-guard
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ESPN. See page 37.
WEST INDIES TOUR
OF BANGLADESH
January 10: West Indies arrive
January 18: One-Day warm-up
match, BKSP, Savar
January 20: 1st ODI, SBNCS,
Dhaka
January 22: 2nd ODI, SBNCS,
Dhaka
January 25: 3rd ODI, ZACS,
Chattogram
January 28-31: Four-Day
warm-up, MA Aziz Stadium,
Chattogram
TEST MATCH SERIES
February 3-7: 1st Test Match,
ZACS, Chattogram
February 11-15: 2nd Test Match,
SBNCS, Dhaka
ǚǓǨǛǠǙ

ǓǠ
ǗǨǗǠǦ˟
Contact us @ GML Sports
225-4465, ext 2038, 2071-75
MORE RUNS 4161, 4179, 4228, 4367,
email: gmsports@guardian.co.tt
T&T Top-order batsman Tion Webster batting for the Yannic Cariah XI against the Kieron Pollard XI, played a scoring shot during his knock of 25 runs during
the T&T Red Force fifth trial match played at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva yesterday. PICTURE ANTHONY HARRIS
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