Morning Edition: 09th October 2023

CCNTV6

Watch Morning Edition: 09th October 2023 - CCNTV6 on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00:00 ♪ Like yourself, like yourself ♪

00:00:03 ♪ So you could jump up and do your own dance ♪

00:00:05 ♪ And go and have fun with my life, yeah ♪

00:00:07 ♪ And if you feel so wild and everybody inside, yeah ♪

00:00:10 ♪ Like yourself, like yourself ♪

00:00:12 - Somebody's in a party mood, thank you very much studio.

00:00:14 It's, what a way to begin the week,

00:00:17 and show that to people.

00:00:18 It's Monday, 9th October, 2023,

00:00:21 and thank you very much for joining us.

00:00:23 You're hearing me?

00:00:26 Actually, actually, you're not hearing me.

00:00:29 You know why?

00:00:30 Because I don't have on my mic.

00:00:34 So now I do.

00:00:35 (laughs)

00:00:37 Apparently it's gonna be a week like that.

00:00:39 So a very special good morning to you.

00:00:42 Let's check out what's happening

00:00:43 in the Daily Express for you today.

00:00:46 All right, so on the front page,

00:00:48 frustrated residents without water supply,

00:00:50 suffering in Cedrus,

00:00:53 pipes dry residents of Granville, Cedrus,

00:00:55 show their empty barrel and buckets

00:00:57 as they protest a lack of water in their village yesterday.

00:01:00 They said they have been without a supply

00:01:02 for the past 10 days.

00:01:05 And let's check out some sport now.

00:01:06 Silver lining, Carter ends Berlin World Cup leg

00:01:10 with best showing.

00:01:11 Dylan Carter improved on his bronze medal effort

00:01:14 on Saturday with silver yesterday

00:01:16 as the first leg of the World Aquatics

00:01:19 2023 World Cup series ended in Berlin in Germany.

00:01:23 So that's some of the stories

00:01:25 we're making the Daily Express for today.

00:01:28 It's time to remind you about Trinbago, your nice feature.

00:01:30 Remember to participate, WhatsApp your videos

00:01:32 and images to 737-3778.

00:01:36 We do have this for you.

00:01:38 All right, a beautiful picture.

00:01:44 Studio, what do we call that?

00:01:45 (laughs)

00:01:50 A bird.

00:01:51 I call it, huh?

00:01:55 A Sikiye bird.

00:01:56 It looks like one of those,

00:01:58 yeah, that's a local term.

00:02:02 It looks like one of those Sikiye figs, huh?

00:02:05 Or bananas, wouldn't you say the size?

00:02:08 Yeah, all right, Sikiye bird.

00:02:11 All right, so thank you very much

00:02:12 to the person who would have sent that to us.

00:02:14 And remember to send your name

00:02:16 so that we can say a very special good morning to you.

00:02:19 We do have a lot for you on the program today.

00:02:22 We are going to kick off our program today

00:02:23 with that situation in Seadress

00:02:26 where the residents are protesting for water.

00:02:27 We're coming back.

00:02:28 ♪ You don't try to stop me by even so, no, say ♪

00:02:31 ♪ You do what you want, I do what I like ♪

00:02:34 ♪ You will never get no share ♪

00:02:36 ♪ 'Cause when it comes to party, I am such a man ♪

00:02:39 ♪ And I know when we come to party, we don't have a plan ♪

00:02:42 ♪ You don't tell me why not who I want you ♪

00:02:44 ♪ But why not who you like, baby ♪

00:02:46 ♪ We doing me a thing ♪

00:02:47 ♪ So when you're ready ♪

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00:04:57 (upbeat music)

00:05:00 (upbeat music)

00:05:12 (upbeat music)

00:05:15 (upbeat music)

00:05:18 - And I think that more and more,

00:05:43 that song is becoming very, very true.

00:05:46 I think that may be the first time

00:05:48 we are seeing so many incidents of communities

00:05:51 not having water, more so this year.

00:05:54 I don't know if it is because of the weather,

00:05:56 I just don't know.

00:05:57 But yesterday, residents of Cedrus,

00:06:01 they would have embarked on protest.

00:06:03 Let me just give you a little bit of the story here.

00:06:05 Residents of Sifu Trace in Granville, Cedrus,

00:06:08 yesterday protested in front of the water provider,

00:06:12 Wassers Granville, a water treatment plant

00:06:15 located near their homes.

00:06:17 The facility is there to process water

00:06:19 to allow for clean water to reach residents' homes.

00:06:22 But they said they have been without water

00:06:24 for the past 10 days.

00:06:26 We do have on the line this morning,

00:06:27 Councillor for Cedrus, Shankar Tilak Singh.

00:06:30 Mr. Tilak Singh, good morning.

00:06:31 - Good morning, Marlon.

00:06:33 Good morning to you, Steshan.

00:06:34 Good morning to you, Antirigo.

00:06:36 - Yes.

00:06:37 Mr. Tilak Singh, what can you tell us this morning?

00:06:40 Is the protest going to continue this morning?

00:06:42 - Well, based on residents' actions into Saturday evening

00:06:47 and to yesterday morning,

00:06:50 I believe that if they don't get at least a limited supply

00:06:55 or a regular supply, actions will continue.

00:06:58 That's the voice of the residents themselves

00:07:01 that have been affected with this situation

00:07:04 for a lack of water supply.

00:07:09 - Councillor, we're seeing in the newspaper this morning

00:07:11 that over the past 10 days, you all have not had any water.

00:07:15 What has life been for the residents in Cedrus

00:07:19 over the past 10 days?

00:07:21 - Well, Marlon, this goes back not only for 10 days.

00:07:26 This situation that we experience

00:07:28 in the Cedrus district, various parts, like Ikakas,

00:07:31 I will talk a little bit on Ikakas.

00:07:34 Ikakas has been out of a water supply

00:07:37 for the past maybe six years in certain areas.

00:07:42 I'm talking about a pipe-borne supply.

00:07:44 Areas like Lala Road, Beloit trees,

00:07:47 and surrounding areas on the low end

00:07:50 of the electoral district.

00:07:53 In terms of Bamboo Village in Cedrus,

00:07:56 they are also without some, sometimes six months

00:07:59 without supply for a ton and other areas.

00:08:03 So in between the 2016 to date,

00:08:08 what actually transpired is that we moved,

00:08:12 the district was moved from in some areas,

00:08:14 24/7, 12 hours supply to now a barrel

00:08:19 and bucket truck-borne supply.

00:08:21 And that is the issue that alarmed the residents

00:08:25 and frustrate the residents, I see,

00:08:27 in terms of taking the actions that they took

00:08:30 between Saturday and into Sunday morning.

00:08:35 - Well, Councillor, I don't know if a lot of people

00:08:37 can really understand what you have told us.

00:08:40 If you're telling us that residents have been

00:08:43 without this pipe-borne supply of water

00:08:45 for the past six years, we are wondering

00:08:49 how are people cleaning, cooking,

00:08:53 going to work, going to school?

00:08:56 What sort of life is that?

00:08:58 How are they able to live a comfortable life without water?

00:09:03 - Right, and that's the issue we have to deal

00:09:07 with this morning because Inikakas,

00:09:09 they're actually digging wells.

00:09:11 And you would have seen some of the stories

00:09:15 in the national media before this protest

00:09:19 in the Granville residence and all from the

00:09:23 surrounding village that come out on Sunday morning

00:09:27 into Saturday evening into Sunday morning.

00:09:29 I will talk about the frustration in the Inikakas area.

00:09:33 Inikakas, actually, they are digging wells

00:09:36 and using well water, all right,

00:09:38 because Inikakas is on the sea level.

00:09:41 Once you dig under three feet, you get some sort

00:09:44 of clean, maybe salt water coming up.

00:09:48 So they're using that to wash and clean their homes.

00:09:52 They have to buy water from private water trucking.

00:09:58 And also ensure that they pay the water rates

00:10:02 and have updated bill so that they could send to WASA

00:10:07 to get a truck one supply, right?

00:10:09 And that truck one supply is limited

00:10:11 to at least one 400 gallon per house.

00:10:14 So the water is even rationed more

00:10:17 in terms of for those residents.

00:10:19 And you know, it's a fishing village.

00:10:21 Through all the pandemic, there was an issue.

00:10:24 When come to close to the elections recently,

00:10:27 what actually happened in all area,

00:10:29 they were receiving unlimited supply.

00:10:32 Inikakas still did not get their supply.

00:10:35 And the upper part of Inikakas,

00:10:37 which would be closer to Fallotan village,

00:10:40 they were getting maybe a two hours or four hours supply.

00:10:43 And the residents, tell you this now,

00:10:47 the residents in Granville, they also started

00:10:50 to be put on a schedule, which they accepted the schedule

00:10:54 that at least some part of the day,

00:10:56 they would get maybe four hours,

00:10:58 maybe six hours supply, right?

00:11:01 And they would be comfortable knowingfully

00:11:03 while they're making a sacrifice,

00:11:05 that some of the water that WASA provide,

00:11:09 that their friends and family in the lower end

00:11:11 of the district will get a supply.

00:11:14 When they realize that they are making the sacrifice,

00:11:17 however, the water is not reaching

00:11:20 to the lower end of the carcass

00:11:21 and they end up in a similar situation.

00:11:23 So we find ourselves in a situation where,

00:11:25 that you are sacrificing your 10 days

00:11:27 and your 15 days on the schedule,

00:11:30 and still it is not making an impact

00:11:33 to reach the fullest end or the high points

00:11:36 in the district.

00:11:38 - What has the response of WASA been, Councillor?

00:11:42 - Well, up till Friday evening,

00:11:47 when residents met with me and I explained the situation,

00:11:49 I have regular contact with senior officials in WASA.

00:11:54 And it's the same story they keep telling you over and over,

00:11:59 that they're having problems at the plan,

00:12:01 the pressures are low,

00:12:03 the throughput in the Granville treatment plan,

00:12:06 it's low for reasons as they have two wells off,

00:12:12 well 17 and well nine,

00:12:15 continue to be tripping due to TNTEC issue,

00:12:17 low voltage within the district,

00:12:20 that every time from the evening into midnight,

00:12:24 the regular portfolios in those areas due to low voltage.

00:12:29 The distribution plan is another area that has questions

00:12:35 in terms of how they operate with the distribution plan,

00:12:40 that has not been effective.

00:12:44 In effects to have a regular checks on the valves

00:12:48 and trimming of the valves

00:12:49 so that the lower end will receive a supply.

00:12:51 So those are some of the things they keep telling you,

00:12:54 which does not make sense to the residents,

00:12:56 because I mean, being 24/7,

00:12:59 just 24/7, you don't have a water supply.

00:13:03 You could imagine the frustration of these residents

00:13:06 within the area.

00:13:08 There are some parts of the district

00:13:10 that your neighbor has water and you don't have water

00:13:13 for reason unknown.

00:13:15 So WASA keep making excuse of why the district

00:13:20 has not been balanced with at least a reasonable

00:13:24 pipe on supply until the situation rectified.

00:13:28 Giving you some history of the grand plan,

00:13:30 the grand plan at presently is doing

00:13:32 approximately 800 million gallons a day.

00:13:36 The correct to bring it up to throughput

00:13:38 is almost 1.2 million gallons per day.

00:13:41 There were no infrastructure development

00:13:44 over the eight years on the plan itself

00:13:48 in terms of well restoration.

00:13:51 Back in 2016, 17 under minister Lahunt,

00:13:55 they promised to drill four additional wells.

00:13:59 One well came on to stream

00:14:02 and the others was supposed to be rehabilitated,

00:14:05 walkovers and so on.

00:14:06 That was not done.

00:14:08 The plant itself, if you look at the plant,

00:14:10 it is very dilapidated in terms of the surroundings

00:14:15 and the at least the infrastructure for the wells and so on.

00:14:19 So these are issues that will contribute

00:14:22 to the lack of water within the area.

00:14:26 In addition, WASA took a decision to swing

00:14:29 at least four wells that was supplying the Granville plant

00:14:33 to the Chatham plant.

00:14:34 And that did over to well for the residents.

00:14:40 They still sacrifice knowing that, okay,

00:14:42 the Boudram trace area will compromise,

00:14:44 Point Cocoa village was compromised for supply.

00:14:47 These are areas that are very close

00:14:49 to the Granville plant.

00:14:50 They swing that supply to Chatham

00:14:54 with the intention to give back those areas

00:14:57 a regular supply.

00:14:59 They too are suffering

00:15:00 and they are complaining at the same time

00:15:02 because those wells supposed to be swing

00:15:04 to the Granville plant

00:15:05 so that they could get a regular water supply.

00:15:08 - How many people have been impacted?

00:15:10 - The entire district,

00:15:12 which is comprised close to between 10 to 12,000 residents.

00:15:16 - Yes, but councillor, some people may say,

00:15:19 is this the only option that residents feel

00:15:22 that they do have?

00:15:24 Fiery protests, of course,

00:15:26 this is going to cause some inconvenience

00:15:28 for other residents of their community

00:15:31 if they have to go to work or they have to go to school.

00:15:36 And residents are frustrated.

00:15:39 We understand when we have these conversation,

00:15:43 as we are seeing this morning,

00:15:46 WASA immediately sent out a bulletin

00:15:48 in terms of an interim schedule

00:15:50 that has not anchored too well

00:15:53 because they didn't see the areas of Ikakas,

00:15:57 Fullerton, Bonas and so on receiving a supply.

00:16:02 Some of the areas were not even put on that schedule.

00:16:04 The objective is communication

00:16:06 and effective communication with the action behind

00:16:10 in terms of having the product available.

00:16:12 I, through my office, continue to lobby

00:16:17 and also communicate with WASA.

00:16:19 We created even a chat site

00:16:22 and included with permissions

00:16:24 from the various officials from WASA

00:16:27 to include some of the managers and so on

00:16:31 so that residents could communicate directly

00:16:34 because the communications is

00:16:35 when you try to get into WASA to send a request

00:16:40 or if my report of a boosted mean,

00:16:43 that has failed miserably within the district.

00:16:47 So we communicated directly using this chat site

00:16:50 and to date, we haven't seen an improvement.

00:16:55 And this morning, we are seeing on the,

00:16:58 highlighted in the national media

00:17:00 and hope that the Minister of Public Utilities

00:17:03 take note and have, take the necessary action

00:17:07 in terms of upgrading the Granville water treatment plan

00:17:12 and have an effective distribution plan

00:17:15 for the residents in the electoral district of Cedras.

00:17:19 - And you know, Councillor, in everything,

00:17:20 there is always these allegations, claims, talk of politics.

00:17:25 And there are some people this morning who are saying

00:17:29 that the protest by the residents is politically motivated.

00:17:33 - Well, I'm very sad to hear that some persons

00:17:39 are saying this because I want to ask those individual

00:17:44 to come down to Ikakas and overnight for three days

00:17:47 or three nights and see and experience the hardship

00:17:52 that you would experience for 24 hours

00:17:54 without a water supply.

00:17:57 Think about if you don't have a water supply,

00:18:00 a pipe one supply for the period of at least three months

00:18:05 or if my electricity supply is interrupt so regularly

00:18:09 within your area, how much inconvenience

00:18:12 and you have to pay for that commodity

00:18:15 if you receive it or you didn't receive it.

00:18:17 That's a question.

00:18:18 And if there is politics there, right?

00:18:20 I would ask those individual to actually think,

00:18:23 rethink their position because from where I sit,

00:18:27 right, I experienced that while every single day

00:18:31 with my budgets and it is so saddening

00:18:35 when people could hold you and cry, right?

00:18:38 And beg you for a truck one water supply

00:18:42 in the various areas.

00:18:43 When you have physically challenged person

00:18:47 who don't even have a party card, right?

00:18:50 To call your office and actually, you know,

00:18:54 plead to you saying that they don't even have water

00:18:57 to actually drink.

00:18:58 And then the quality of the water that they will get,

00:19:01 they only could use it for like flushing toilets

00:19:04 or even probably wash it.

00:19:06 They can't even wash the toilet,

00:19:07 but it's settled to actually get

00:19:09 because it is so contaminated that you can't even drink it.

00:19:12 So you have to buy drinking water.

00:19:15 You have to buy water for your washing and so on.

00:19:19 And if that is politics, Marlon,

00:19:22 then something wrong with our society today

00:19:26 because water is life.

00:19:29 And I shouldn't see red or yellow

00:19:31 when it comes to our water supply, right?

00:19:35 And it is totally wrong for an individual

00:19:40 to think that when you take the actions that you take

00:19:43 or residents take over the weekend

00:19:45 and probably continue to take over the next couple of weeks

00:19:48 in terms of ensuring that their standard of living

00:19:52 in terms of basic necessity is being provided

00:19:55 by a government who are in power

00:19:57 and who has the necessary authority

00:20:00 to put the financial resources in rural communities

00:20:04 such as mines to have a proper pipe on water supply

00:20:09 and a proper electricity supply.

00:20:11 - Councillor, we're seeing where the operations of a school

00:20:15 were affected on Friday.

00:20:17 I understand it is one school.

00:20:19 Do you expect that, well, the name of the school is not here

00:20:26 but do you expect the operations of that school

00:20:29 and maybe other schools in the area to be affected today?

00:20:32 - Well, it all depends.

00:20:35 I got report that the Granville RC was affected

00:20:38 and if they didn't get any supply as of last night,

00:20:43 it will probably continue to be out.

00:20:45 We already have challenges in the carcass government school

00:20:48 and to extend some of the,

00:20:51 we get reports from the Fullerton RC school.

00:20:54 Those are the schools that they pay close attention

00:20:57 in terms of a truck one supply.

00:20:59 The principal normally calls my office

00:21:02 and we try to see if we could get a pipe once.

00:21:04 But the health centers is one that is concerning

00:21:07 the health center in the carcass

00:21:09 and also other public buildings

00:21:12 and services that we have to service.

00:21:14 And that is also a challenge

00:21:16 because when these principals and officials

00:21:21 call for a supply,

00:21:24 we have to provide it through the SIPA regional corporation

00:21:26 where we are already strapped for our resources

00:21:29 in terms of our water trucking system

00:21:32 that is on the most of the time the trucks are under repair

00:21:36 or actually lays with other agencies

00:21:39 to see if we could get a supply

00:21:41 to have the service continue, especially our schools.

00:21:45 So, it is also a challenge there

00:21:47 in terms of our financial resources

00:21:49 to have truck one supply

00:21:50 within the district of how our children in school

00:21:53 both in and also to at least help the other institution,

00:21:58 the medical institutions and so on,

00:22:00 or three centers to have their water supply

00:22:03 to continue the service that they provide.

00:22:05 - Yeah, councilor, if you would allow me to just quote

00:22:07 the chief executive officer of WASA yesterday,

00:22:11 excuse me, yesterday when he was told about the situation,

00:22:14 Kelvin Romaine, he told reporters,

00:22:15 "It was an unfortunate situation."

00:22:18 He said, "Grandville, which is in an area

00:22:21 "in the vicinity of Icacos was in need of water.

00:22:24 "We shifted some to Icacos.

00:22:26 "We sent some water from Sifu Trace, Granville.

00:22:29 "It has a 24/7 water supply.

00:22:32 "We empathize with our customers.

00:22:35 "Water is life," he said.

00:22:38 And I agree with what Mr. Romaine is actually saying,

00:22:42 but Mr. Romaine didn't understand the geographic location

00:22:46 and the system of WASA within the district.

00:22:50 Because if he had understand that,

00:22:52 okay, you are shifting a supply from one area for 10 days

00:22:56 and another area picked up,

00:22:57 any reasonable thinking individual will say,

00:23:00 "Okay, we are satisfied that the Icacos,

00:23:03 "Bilwa Trace, other areas, Bamboo and so on

00:23:07 "did get a supply and they would be happy."

00:23:11 In terms of effective communication,

00:23:14 only when this protest kicking,

00:23:17 Mr. Romaine came out and made a statement.

00:23:20 All the other time that communicating with Mr. Romaine,

00:23:22 we have a problem, we want to deal with the problem,

00:23:24 how are we going to deal with the problem?

00:23:26 You came down before the election,

00:23:28 had a meeting with the residents in Icacos

00:23:31 and promised them that you are going to give them

00:23:33 a regular water supply.

00:23:35 Water never came, the pipe continued to run dry.

00:23:39 So if Mr. Romaine is seriously,

00:23:41 they have effective communication, positive action,

00:23:46 in terms of getting water to the various district

00:23:50 within as fast as possible based on WASA promises.

00:23:54 So, make an excuse and don't have the supply

00:23:59 in the areas that is needed,

00:24:02 in terms of putting the resources.

00:24:03 He came and met the system,

00:24:05 he came and the CEO before had this challenge.

00:24:09 And that is, I think it was Mr.,

00:24:11 I can't remember the guy, Mr. Poon King,

00:24:13 I think it was, come up straight up.

00:24:16 When Minister Lahunt was in office, this issue was there.

00:24:21 We communicated to him and saying that the plant

00:24:23 need to be upgraded with the additional wells.

00:24:26 They took some action and promised certain things

00:24:29 in terms of well rehabilitation

00:24:30 and to increase the throughput of the plant

00:24:32 and also effective distribution.

00:24:35 It's nothing has changed in the electoral district.

00:24:38 The same, they keep saying that there are major projects

00:24:40 that use enough water and so on

00:24:42 within the electoral district.

00:24:44 It remains after the last local election,

00:24:47 we would have had the same amount of residents

00:24:50 in the electoral district.

00:24:51 Check the building inspectorate office,

00:24:54 the report remained the same.

00:24:56 One or two additional houses would not be a great demand

00:24:59 on the system.

00:25:01 And in 2015, we had a 24/7, 12-hour supply

00:25:05 from within the Granville Treatment Plant,

00:25:07 satisfying the needs of the residents.

00:25:10 What has changed?

00:25:11 Management has changed.

00:25:13 They changed the other workers who actually reside.

00:25:18 They are now bringing in people from outside

00:25:22 who don't understand the system.

00:25:24 You have people who supposed to be working within the area

00:25:27 who are being moved out of the area

00:25:29 who understand the system.

00:25:30 These are things that the WASA administration

00:25:33 has to look at the plant

00:25:34 and bringing these people back in the system.

00:25:36 2016, '17, I worked with WASA officials,

00:25:41 a manager and also one of the operators,

00:25:46 and we repaired, identified almost 60 something leaks.

00:25:50 It was rectified.

00:25:52 And water with the property,

00:25:55 having these two individuals working in the area

00:25:59 who belongs to the area, who understand the area,

00:26:02 we would have get water straight down to the carcass area.

00:26:05 - So, Councillor-

00:26:06 - Right.

00:26:07 As soon as we got that system up and running,

00:26:09 they removed those two individuals

00:26:10 and replaced them with people from outside

00:26:12 who does not understand that whole process.

00:26:15 So, if you were talking politics,

00:26:18 we need to remove the politics from the WASA administration

00:26:21 and deal with issues that we would have results

00:26:25 in terms of getting water to the ARP.

00:26:26 - So, Councillor, is it safe to say,

00:26:28 or do you know if there is any improvement

00:26:31 from yesterday to last night, to into this morning?

00:26:34 Is it that residents of Ikakos,

00:26:37 they are still suffering from dry taps?

00:26:40 - Well, up to the last night,

00:26:42 around 11 o'clock on our communication chat site,

00:26:46 residents are saying that they never receive any supply

00:26:50 from WASA.

00:26:54 Last night, I think in the Sifu trees,

00:26:57 they got for approximately about two hours

00:26:59 on the low points and the high points did not pick up.

00:27:03 I saw some reports from the Bamboo area,

00:27:05 Fullerton, the lower Columbus Bay area,

00:27:08 they didn't pick up a supply.

00:27:10 So, where the supply is at this point in time,

00:27:15 only WASA could say,

00:27:16 and the residents is saying that

00:27:18 they did not pick up a supply in certain areas.

00:27:20 - Just have about one minute again, Councillor.

00:27:23 What's the next step?

00:27:26 - Well, I wait on the residents

00:27:29 in terms of whatever actions that they carry out

00:27:31 in terms of effective communication.

00:27:33 I also wait on WASA official to actually come down

00:27:36 and communicate effectively to the residents,

00:27:39 helping them understand what WASA is doing

00:27:41 and trying to see the best in terms of resolve this issue.

00:27:45 I hope to see effective from the minister

00:27:49 in terms of I hear about Chatham plan upgrade,

00:27:52 they had nothing in the budget

00:27:54 for the Granville water treatment plant

00:27:56 in terms of what they are trying to do.

00:28:01 The only thing I am seeing effective communication

00:28:04 or trying to see the achievement in the public utilities

00:28:06 under to provide water is water harvesting.

00:28:10 That is rainwater that you are telling people,

00:28:12 the residents of this country,

00:28:15 that to put your barrel on that spot

00:28:17 and collect your water,

00:28:17 and that is what you would have to use

00:28:19 and you would have to pay for that.

00:28:22 While the other private water companies

00:28:26 are making millions of dollars on residents.

00:28:28 So I am saying that we need to have an effective plan

00:28:32 in water to produce water.

00:28:34 We are sitting on the largest aquifer in the country,

00:28:38 which is the Irene aquifer.

00:28:40 So it is just the will of putting the infrastructure

00:28:44 in place and providing water or producing water

00:28:48 for the various treatment plants.

00:28:50 So that at least we could send and have a 24/7

00:28:54 or a 24/7 water supply to our residents.

00:28:57 I hope the minister take this into consideration.

00:29:01 He had been sitting there for quite a while

00:29:03 and which through all this country,

00:29:06 there's a deteriorating very fastly

00:29:09 in terms of our water supply throughout various parts

00:29:12 of the Southern land and also the Southwest peninsula.

00:29:16 I hope that the effective training and development

00:29:20 of our South official in terms of leak repairs,

00:29:23 if they are using, I don't know if it's substandard equipment

00:29:29 or parts to repair this main,

00:29:31 but it comes as a recurring decimal

00:29:33 that you would see those leaks repair today

00:29:36 and tomorrow it's back on.

00:29:38 Just yesterday I passed through the Southern Mineral

00:29:41 to San Fernando and there is a number of leaks

00:29:44 that just continue to pop up.

00:29:45 And these are things that we pay close attention to

00:29:50 in terms of what is happening to the Seven Seas plant,

00:29:54 the Salinitian plant that was in point for 10 to assist

00:29:58 in boosting the water supply.

00:30:00 So when you look at the three areas of water supply,

00:30:04 the Seven Seas plant in point for 10,

00:30:06 the Chatham water treatment plant,

00:30:07 the Granville water treatment plant,

00:30:09 as there was no work over the past eight years

00:30:12 in terms of well rehabilitation

00:30:15 and improving the capacity of these plants

00:30:18 to have effective pipe one supply

00:30:21 to ease the strain of the residents,

00:30:23 which is a essential area that we accommodated

00:30:27 that we will beg for as we continue to see what we can do.

00:30:32 Residents, as I said, there we are waiting

00:30:35 for a response from WASA and see how best we can go forward.

00:30:39 - Councillor, thank you very much for highlighting

00:30:41 the plea of the residents this morning.

00:30:44 We do appreciate it.

00:30:45 Thank you very much again.

00:30:47 - Thank you, Marlon.

00:30:48 Thank you again for having me on your program.

00:30:50 And as we look forward to see how best we can make

00:30:52 this country a better and safer country.

00:30:55 - All right, bye for now.

00:30:56 So it's time for a quick break.

00:30:57 We are coming back.

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00:33:13 (upbeat music)

00:33:15 - All right, so welcome back everyone.

00:33:26 So Barbados is to host the Caribbean Digital Summit

00:33:31 and ICT week that happens from the 16th of October

00:33:36 to the 20th.

00:33:38 And we do have on the line this morning,

00:33:40 Michelle Garcia, Marketing and Communication Specialist,

00:33:43 Caribbean Telecommunications Union.

00:33:45 And we also have Mr. Iman Sheehy,

00:33:48 Director, Public Sector Cloud Carib.

00:33:51 Michelle, good morning.

00:33:52 Let's begin with you.

00:33:53 - Good morning, Marlon.

00:33:55 - Yes, could you please tell us about the Digital Summit

00:33:57 and ICT week?

00:34:00 - Sure, thank you for the opportunity

00:34:03 to be on the program this morning.

00:34:04 And I bring greetings on behalf of our Secretary General,

00:34:08 Mr. Rodney Taylor.

00:34:09 Now, before I dive into what the event is all about,

00:34:13 I just wanna provide a brief background

00:34:15 on what we do at the CGU.

00:34:17 So we're an intergovernmental organization

00:34:20 that was established by CARICOM.

00:34:23 And our purpose is to foster the coordination of policy,

00:34:26 ICT standards, and the general development of ICT

00:34:31 in the CARICOM region.

00:34:33 We are comprised of 20 member states,

00:34:36 and this also includes non-CARICOM states.

00:34:39 And we are unique in that our membership

00:34:43 also comprise the private sector, governmental agencies,

00:34:47 and civil society organizations.

00:34:49 Now, from 16th to 20th October,

00:34:54 the CGU will be hosting CGU ICT Week 2023.

00:34:58 And this will be held under the auspices

00:35:01 of the government of Barbados.

00:35:03 And it is also hosted in collaboration

00:35:06 with the Global Government Forum,

00:35:08 who will host their Caribbean Digital Summit

00:35:11 on Monday and Tuesday.

00:35:13 And at CGU, we will host our ICT Week

00:35:15 from Wednesday to Friday.

00:35:18 This event will take place at the Acre Beach Hotel

00:35:21 and Spa in Barbados.

00:35:24 Now, during ICT Week,

00:35:26 we will be hosting two statutory meetings,

00:35:29 which are the General Conference of Ministers.

00:35:32 And the General Conference of Ministers

00:35:34 is the supreme body of the CTU,

00:35:37 comprising member states,

00:35:40 representatives who are responsible for ICT.

00:35:43 And I'm pleased to inform

00:35:44 that the Honorable Minister Hasselbacchus,

00:35:47 he is the president of the CTU.

00:35:50 We will also convene our Executive Council Meeting,

00:35:54 which comprises member states,

00:35:55 permanent secretaries and technical officers

00:35:58 who are responsible for ICT.

00:36:01 Now, during our meetings,

00:36:02 the statutory meetings to be exact,

00:36:04 we will review our activities for the last year

00:36:08 and plan our work for the next year.

00:36:11 It is also an opportunity to engage

00:36:13 with our wider stakeholders.

00:36:15 So what we do, we host other events

00:36:19 around our statutory meetings.

00:36:21 And there are a few events I'd like to get into this morning.

00:36:26 So we will host the Ministerial Seminar,

00:36:29 which will take place on Thursday, 19th October,

00:36:32 where we engage with governments

00:36:34 and our private sector members.

00:36:36 And we will address issues relevant to the region.

00:36:40 So during the seminar, under the theme,

00:36:42 Embracing a Digital Caribbean,

00:36:45 Opportunities for Growth and Innovation,

00:36:48 we will examine ICT trends in the international landscape

00:36:52 and how it will impact our region.

00:36:55 We also look at cloud services.

00:36:57 Now, Iman is here on the call this morning,

00:36:59 and he can elaborate more on this topic.

00:37:02 And we also look at discussing artificial intelligence,

00:37:06 the importance of modernizing the postal service

00:37:09 to member states and cybersecurity.

00:37:12 And as we know, Marlon,

00:37:14 you know, government ministers and policy makers

00:37:17 who are responsible for ICT,

00:37:19 they will be addressing these issues

00:37:21 because we are aware of certain cyber attacks

00:37:24 that took place in the region recently.

00:37:26 - Yeah, Michelle, if you'd allow me,

00:37:28 let's bring in Mr. Sheehy here.

00:37:31 Mr. Sheehy, good morning again.

00:37:32 Please tell us about your participation

00:37:34 during these few days of discussions.

00:37:38 - Well, as a commercial company, private sector,

00:37:42 our role is to hopefully inform,

00:37:46 particularly government ministers and the public sector

00:37:49 about cloud computing and cybersecurity issues

00:37:54 that we are involved with on a day-to-day basis.

00:37:57 So we see the CTU as an opportunity

00:37:59 to obviously speak directly to all of these

00:38:02 government ministers and senior civil servants

00:38:05 and to hopefully impact the policies of the region

00:38:10 through the work that we do as a managed services company.

00:38:14 I think one of the topics that's really,

00:38:18 we've been focused on over the last number of years

00:38:20 is sovereign cloud.

00:38:22 And that is the concept of putting cloud infrastructure

00:38:26 in the region, as opposed to having it outside the region.

00:38:29 And I think we all know about the Googles

00:38:32 and Microsoft, Azure, and these entities.

00:38:35 Their infrastructure is not in the Caribbean.

00:38:37 It's in North America, it's in Europe, et cetera.

00:38:40 And we are trying to promote this concept

00:38:42 of having sovereign cloud, self-reliance, mitigating risk.

00:38:47 We have quite a volatile geopolitical situation

00:38:50 at the moment and having infrastructure

00:38:53 and having services embedded in each jurisdiction

00:38:58 in the Caribbean is something we consider to be

00:39:01 something that we should be aiming for

00:39:05 as mitigating against external forces

00:39:11 and building our own capacity

00:39:13 and building innovation through these services.

00:39:15 So our participation in the CTU event

00:39:20 is to be able to elaborate these issues

00:39:24 directly to ministers and senior civil servants

00:39:27 who are the policy makers in the region.

00:39:29 - Yeah, Michelle, some people may ask, why now?

00:39:32 Why is this the most opportune time

00:39:35 to have such discussions?

00:39:39 - Because, Marlon, we are addressing global issues

00:39:42 that are a priority to our region.

00:39:47 AI within the last year,

00:39:51 AI has taken the forefront of technology.

00:39:54 We need to understand how we can leverage AI in the region.

00:39:58 We are looking at modernizing the postal services sector

00:40:02 in this region so that we can develop

00:40:05 our e-commerce platforms.

00:40:07 We can develop the movement of goods in the region

00:40:12 so that it will attract more businesses

00:40:17 to our members, to our citizens.

00:40:19 So this is an opportune time to discuss these issues.

00:40:23 Cyber security, as I mentioned earlier,

00:40:25 there have been a lot of cyber attacks

00:40:27 on governments in the region.

00:40:29 And as governments have migrated to more online services,

00:40:35 the attacks have increased.

00:40:37 So we bring together the governments and the private sector

00:40:41 who will work together to mitigate some of these issues.

00:40:45 - Yeah, Mr. Sheehy, two questions for you.

00:40:49 How are we doing in the Caribbean when it comes to ICT?

00:40:53 And what are some of the major challenges still

00:40:57 in the Caribbean?

00:40:58 - I think it's, I would say it's a bit of a mixed bag

00:41:04 between countries in the Caribbean.

00:41:07 There are some, if I talk particularly

00:41:09 on the public sector side of things,

00:41:11 I think there are some countries who get it

00:41:13 and are moving forward pretty quickly,

00:41:16 particularly on issues like data privacy.

00:41:19 That's become a kind of a hot topic in the region.

00:41:21 And we know that there are certain countries

00:41:23 have implemented GDPR type legislation for data privacy.

00:41:28 But what would have been, from our perspective,

00:41:31 very useful would have been to have a global GDPR

00:41:35 or data privacy legislation at the level of CARICOM

00:41:38 or indeed at the level of CTU,

00:41:41 because it is a cost for companies operating

00:41:44 in individual markets, whether that's, let's say Jamaica,

00:41:48 Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana,

00:41:50 because they have slightly different nuances

00:41:53 in their privacy legislation.

00:41:55 That creates a problem for us

00:41:57 that we have to examine each national legislation

00:42:00 and ensure that we are compliant

00:42:02 with data privacy legislation.

00:42:04 So that's one area.

00:42:06 I think the second point would be,

00:42:08 particularly in the area of government,

00:42:10 having an understanding really of what cloud services

00:42:14 and managed services are.

00:42:15 Now, Michelle talked about cybersecurity

00:42:19 and issues like cybersecurity,

00:42:21 they're not something you don't just put a firewall in place

00:42:25 and say, okay, I'm now cybersecure.

00:42:27 There are whole sets of procedures and standards

00:42:30 and certifications that are required.

00:42:33 24/7 monitoring, for example, is something,

00:42:35 it's no longer a kind of a nine to five job

00:42:37 when people can shut up shop in the evening time

00:42:39 and go home and think nothing will happen.

00:42:41 So there's a whole change of dynamic.

00:42:43 And I think there's still a lot of work to be done

00:42:46 for the policy makers to understand the world of ICT

00:42:51 and the impact and to change their approach

00:42:54 to having a 24/7, 365 day a week approach

00:42:59 and to not just talking about cybersecurity

00:43:02 and saying we'll do certain things,

00:43:04 but also implementing is the key here,

00:43:08 implementing the policies and standards,

00:43:10 the global standards to protect infrastructure

00:43:13 and to protect data.

00:43:14 So there are two or three things that I would say

00:43:17 are still lacking in general across the region.

00:43:20 But of course, as I said at the start,

00:43:22 it depends on which country you go to.

00:43:23 Some are getting it and some are still lagging behind.

00:43:26 And that's where we need to get this message out.

00:43:28 And that's why CTU, ICT week is important

00:43:32 from our point of view to get that message

00:43:34 across to governments.

00:43:36 - Michelle, because of the work that organizations

00:43:40 such as yours has been doing in the region,

00:43:43 you feel that people, more and more people

00:43:46 are coming on board and are embracing

00:43:51 what the gospel has really been from organizations

00:43:56 such as yours when it comes to ICT standards and so on?

00:44:00 - Marlon, I would agree with Iman.

00:44:06 More people are coming on board,

00:44:08 more governments are coming on board,

00:44:11 but we are at different stages of development.

00:44:14 And that is due to the different challenges

00:44:17 we face as small island developing states.

00:44:20 So for example, some countries that are hit by disasters,

00:44:25 their focus would be on rebuilding their countries.

00:44:30 So ICT or acceleration of digital transmission

00:44:34 may not be a priority as rebuilding a country.

00:44:38 So yes, governments are getting it, people are getting it,

00:44:42 but sometimes due to our challenges,

00:44:45 it may stymie the rate and our progress of development.

00:44:50 - Yeah, Michelle, I know that you have,

00:44:53 you were touching on some of the topics

00:44:56 that are going to be discussed at the event,

00:45:00 and also how do people register for it?

00:45:03 - Okay, so I invite everyone to visit www.ctu.int.

00:45:09 Now, all the events are not open to the public.

00:45:12 There are some closed events,

00:45:14 but the open events are the ministerial seminar

00:45:16 where we address these issues.

00:45:19 And the youth forum, so I invite the youth to register

00:45:24 to attend the youth forum.

00:45:25 It's a hybrid format, so persons can attend remotely

00:45:29 if they cannot make it to Barbados, www.ctu.int.

00:45:34 - Yeah, Mr. Sheehy, you feel that some of us still

00:45:39 in the Caribbean, mainly businesses really,

00:45:43 that they do not really see, some businesses

00:45:47 do not see the benefit of better ICT standards.

00:45:52 And it is because of that,

00:45:55 they are a bit hesitant to embrace it,

00:45:59 not really understanding that there are wider opportunities

00:46:03 out there for business.

00:46:06 And that is because some people do not want to embrace it

00:46:12 in the way that it should be embraced.

00:46:16 - Well, I think that there's two issues here.

00:46:19 One is that in the region, we see that ICT,

00:46:24 if we talk to commercial companies or even governments,

00:46:28 there is this view that when we mentioned ICT,

00:46:32 oh, you need to talk to our IT guy.

00:46:34 And that approach needs to shift.

00:46:37 ICT now should become an organizational policy matter.

00:46:41 It should be involving the CEOs

00:46:44 and the finance officers and not just the ICT people.

00:46:47 So that's one thing.

00:46:50 And I think that's something that still has a way to go.

00:46:54 This understanding that ICT is now an integral part

00:46:57 of business process, whether that's a commercial company

00:47:00 or that's a public sector organization.

00:47:03 So I think that that is something

00:47:05 that we are still grappling with

00:47:07 to get people to understand this.

00:47:09 And again, when I mentioned earlier

00:47:11 about data privacy legislation, for example,

00:47:14 across the region, it's no longer a matter

00:47:16 of the people responsible directly for ICT,

00:47:20 that they're on the hook if there's a data breach.

00:47:23 The legislation now says that as a data controller,

00:47:27 in other words, you're gathering data

00:47:28 for a particular business reason,

00:47:30 it's your organization and the CEOs

00:47:33 are on the hook for data breaches.

00:47:34 So things like this that need to be understood better,

00:47:37 and there is still a bit of a lag on that aspect of ICT.

00:47:43 And the other point I would say on a policy level,

00:47:46 generally across the region, the region has to decide,

00:47:49 'cause we hear a lot of people talking about,

00:47:51 oh, we're gonna innovate,

00:47:53 we're moving to the digital economy,

00:47:55 all of these, like, say nice buzzwords,

00:47:57 but what does that mean?

00:47:59 Are we still gonna be a consumer

00:48:01 of other people's ICT environments,

00:48:05 whether it's the Googles or the Microsofts of this world,

00:48:08 are we gonna be innovators inside the region itself?

00:48:11 And to be innovators,

00:48:12 it means we have to put infrastructure in place,

00:48:14 we have to understand the issues of cybersecurity,

00:48:16 we have to implement international standards and procedures

00:48:20 to attract external business into the region

00:48:23 and to innovate as a consequence of our own,

00:48:26 let's say, implementation of our own environments

00:48:29 across the region.

00:48:30 So there are the two things I would say

00:48:32 are the issues that we have to grapple with at the moment.

00:48:34 - Yeah, Michel, earlier you mentioned a youth forum

00:48:37 and you mentioned some other groups

00:48:39 that you think that would be interested

00:48:42 in the digital summit and ICT week,

00:48:46 but is this summit and the ICT week for everyone?

00:48:51 Can everyone benefit from it?

00:48:53 - Everyone can benefit from it

00:48:57 as these matters affect us as citizens,

00:49:01 but I would encourage the youth, yes,

00:49:04 to take part in the youth forum,

00:49:05 get involved because we are trying to shape

00:49:08 the future leaders of tomorrow.

00:49:10 We need to pass on the battle,

00:49:12 so they need to run with the torch.

00:49:15 Also, we encourage policy makers,

00:49:20 government officials, technocrats,

00:49:23 who are responsible for ICT to take part in these events.

00:49:27 Now, as I mentioned, the only two events

00:49:31 that can take part in the ministerial forum

00:49:33 where they can join the discussions on AI,

00:49:37 cybersecurity, modernizing the postal sector,

00:49:41 and others, and cloud services that can be provided.

00:49:46 - Yeah, so at the end of the week,

00:49:51 this information that has been compiled,

00:49:54 what is going to be done with it?

00:49:55 - Well, at the end of the week,

00:49:58 governments, they move one step closer

00:50:02 to implementing policies,

00:50:06 to integrating ICT policies in the region

00:50:11 that will be down to the benefit of our citizens.

00:50:14 - Yeah, Michelle, just give us

00:50:15 the registration information again

00:50:17 before you leave us this morning.

00:50:19 - So I invite everyone to visit www.ctu.int,

00:50:24 and on our website, you will see our flyer, ICT week,

00:50:29 and I invite you to register to join the open sessions.

00:50:34 - Yeah, Michelle Garcia and Mr. Iman Shehi,

00:50:37 thank you very much for speaking with us this morning.

00:50:40 - Thank you very much.

00:50:41 - Thank you very much.

00:50:42 - So bye for now.

00:50:43 So we do have a very quick break for you,

00:50:45 and we are also going to take our seven o'clock news headlines.

00:50:48 We're coming back after.

00:50:49 ♪ This jungle be irie ♪

00:50:54 ♪ Is one love so feel free ♪

00:50:57 ♪ For we are the people of the Caribbean ♪

00:51:01 ♪ Showing that we don't want no basin plan ♪

00:51:06 ♪ A Caribbean connection ♪

00:51:10 ♪ A regional vibration ♪

00:51:14 ♪ I say we jam in ♪

00:51:16 ♪ To the songs of the Caribbean ♪

00:51:18 ♪ We groovin' to Calypso and ♪

00:51:25 - When disaster strike beyond the capacity

00:51:28 of the 14 regional corporations or TEMA,

00:51:31 the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management

00:51:34 immediately shifts from monitoring and supporting

00:51:37 through the activation

00:51:38 of the National Emergency Operations Center.

00:51:41 As Trinidad and Tobago's

00:51:42 Strategic Disaster Coordinating Agency,

00:51:45 the ODPM steps in to coordinate our national resources.

00:51:49 Together, we utilize an all of society approach

00:51:53 to save lives and bring relief to our citizens,

00:51:56 visitors, and our Caribbean neighbors

00:51:59 to build a more resilient Trinidad and Tobago and region.

00:52:04 The ODPM coordinates resources during national disasters.

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00:52:36 - Join our culinary journey

00:52:42 as Fatima Old Boys Association presents

00:52:45 Fatima Food Fest, Oktoberfest, Saturday, 14th, October.

00:52:48 100 top chefs showcasing an array of food and desserts

00:52:52 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. with an open bar

00:52:54 and live entertainment until 11 p.m.

00:52:57 Tickets are $400 all-inclusive

00:52:59 with all proceeds supporting education at Fatima College.

00:53:02 Get yours at the Great Pocket Store at Fatima College

00:53:05 or any former committee member.

00:53:07 Children-friendly, so bring the whole family.

00:53:09 For details, call 628-4735.

00:53:11 - The Trinidad Express e-paper is rated triple A,

00:53:17 adaptable, accessible, and available.

00:53:20 Download it for all your Android or iOS devices

00:53:23 and enjoy bonus pictures and video with select stories.

00:53:27 Get news, sports, weather, lifestyle articles, and more.

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00:53:48 Subscribe through the Android or iOS App Store

00:53:51 or visit digital.trinidadexpress.com today.

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00:54:03 (upbeat music)

00:54:08 - Good morning.

00:54:13 I am Renessa Cutting with your TV6 News update.

00:54:17 President of the Fire Service Association, Leo Ramkissoun,

00:54:20 says officers are disappointed that there was no mention

00:54:24 in budget 2024 of equipping the service

00:54:27 with much needed appliances and other resources.

00:54:31 Ramkissoun notes that 13 people have died in fires

00:54:34 for the year thus far and says,

00:54:37 while he cannot state that these deaths were caused

00:54:39 by the inability of the fire service

00:54:42 to respond in a timely fashion,

00:54:44 the response has at times been hindered

00:54:47 by a lack of appliances and other issues.

00:54:50 - We have at least five fire stations right now

00:54:54 without a fire truck.

00:54:55 You have Belmont fire station with no fire truck,

00:54:57 Woodbrook station with no fire truck,

00:54:59 Mover fire station with no fire truck.

00:55:02 You have Santa Cruz fire station with no fire truck.

00:55:07 Puna Puna station has no truck at this time.

00:55:10 These stations appear to be without a fire truck

00:55:14 on a permanent basis because there is no ability

00:55:19 for the service to place a truck there right now.

00:55:22 And further, further, because of the shortage of trucks,

00:55:26 from time to time when other stations' trucks

00:55:29 become defective and has to undergo repairs,

00:55:32 for any period of time, those stations also

00:55:35 are without a truck intermittently.

00:55:38 - The labor movement says the budget for 2024

00:55:44 is woefully short in meeting the needs

00:55:47 of people of lower income, and it sees the $3 per hour

00:55:51 increase in the minimum wage as a blatant insult to workers.

00:55:56 In a release issued on Sunday by the joint trade union

00:55:58 movement, the National Trade Union Center

00:56:01 and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs,

00:56:06 the labor leaders are disputing the minister's figure

00:56:08 of 196,000 persons working for minimum wage.

00:56:13 They say it is more in the vicinity of 450,000 persons.

00:56:19 The budget debate continues this morning

00:56:22 in the House of Representatives at 10 AM.

00:56:24 Andhuasa wants its customers to pay their arrears,

00:56:31 which now total roughly $600 million,

00:56:35 even if they do not always receive a water supply.

00:56:39 The authority says the money is needed to improve its service.

00:56:43 On Sunday, it said, customers in parts of northeast Trinidad

00:56:47 can expect to see a reduction in their supply

00:56:51 due to falling water levels at the Hollis Dam.

00:56:54 And now for a look at the weather forecast.

00:57:02 Generally, sunny conditions are to be interrupted at times

00:57:05 by partly cloudy conditions and showers,

00:57:08 mainly during the afternoon period.

00:57:11 There is the low to medium chance of isolated thunderstorm

00:57:14 activity.

00:57:15 You can't expect a mostly fair night.

00:57:18 Temperatures are expected to hit 34 degrees Celsius in Trinidad

00:57:23 and 33 degrees Celsius in Tobago.

00:57:25 The moment my children came into my life,

00:57:34 I do everything I can for them to live healthy,

00:57:37 enjoyable lives.

00:57:38 Nature's Way's Alive Kids Gummies are multivitamin gummies

00:57:42 meant to support the development of children's bodies.

00:57:45 They come in delicious fruit flavors

00:57:47 and contain natural fruit-based pectin.

00:57:50 This means that if I am looking for an alternative

00:57:52 to animal-based gelatin for personal reasons,

00:57:54 they are the best choice for my little ones.

00:57:56 Choose Alive Kids Gummies by Nature's Way for your children

00:58:00 because they deserve it.

00:58:02 Calling steel pan enthusiasts from around the globe,

00:58:06 the patrons of the Arts Foundation,

00:58:08 in collaboration with the University of Trinidad and

00:58:11 Tobago, presents the 13th edition of its artistic bursary

00:58:15 2023.

00:58:17 This is your opportunity to pursue tertiary-level study

00:58:20 in the steel pan at the world's premier steel pan

00:58:23 academy, the University of Trinidad and Tobago.

00:58:27 The top three finalists will share the US $10,000

00:58:30 in prize money that will go towards accommodation,

00:58:34 course materials, travel, and other related expenses

00:58:37 of the pan fellowship diploma or bachelor of fine arts degree.

00:58:42 Be fully immersed in the culture, geography,

00:58:45 and history of the birthplace of the steel pan.

00:58:48 The final round will be a globally televised live

00:58:52 audience event.

00:58:53 For more information, visit patronstt.com/bursary.

00:58:59 Applications close on 31st October, 2023.

00:59:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:59:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:59:10 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:59:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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00:59:21 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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00:59:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:59:31 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:59:34 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:59:37 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:59:40 [SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:59:43 [SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:59:46 [SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:59:47 [SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:59:48 Shut up!

00:59:49 I've had enough of all of you.

00:59:51 You ungrateful--

00:59:52 I've had enough of you.

00:59:53 You took us from our countries, and the boss

00:59:55 pretends I was working day and night like slaves,

00:59:58 and expect us to be grateful?

01:00:00 [SPEAKING SPANISH]

01:00:03 [SPEAKING SPANISH]

01:00:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]

01:00:09 [MUSIC PLAYING]

01:00:11 Just allow us to leave, please.

01:00:14 Give us our passports.

01:00:15 Allow us to leave.

01:00:17 You can feel our things are free to leave.

01:00:20 If you step one foot out of here,

01:00:25 I will cede that immigration sends you back to whatever hell

01:00:30 you came from.

01:00:33 If you know of or suspect human trafficking activity,

01:00:36 call the counter-trafficking hotline at 800-4CTU,

01:00:40 or 800-4288.

01:00:42 Human trafficking is a crime.

01:00:44 Identify it.

01:00:45 Report it.

01:00:46 Stop it.

01:00:48 A message from the counter-trafficking unit

01:00:50 of the Ministry of National Security.

01:00:53 [MUSIC PLAYING]

01:00:56 If Trinidad is a boat, I'm going to sail on it, sink or float.

01:01:04 And welcome back.

01:01:08 And a very special good morning to the mighty trini

01:01:10 who always use the program.

01:01:11 So a very special good morning to you.

01:01:14 So MyCare Optical is celebrating its five-year anniversary.

01:01:18 And here with us this morning is head optometrist, Folade

01:01:23 Sandy.

01:01:24 Folade, thank you very much for coming this morning.

01:01:26 Thank you very much for having us here today.

01:01:30 I'm very happy to share the amount of news

01:01:32 that we have here today for MyCare Optical.

01:01:35 So this month, we are celebrating, yes,

01:01:38 our anniversary.

01:01:39 But we are also celebrating World Sight Day.

01:01:42 Now, World Sight Day is celebrated every year

01:01:45 around the world.

01:01:46 And this year's theme is loving your eyes at work.

01:01:50 Now, this theme is very important to us

01:01:53 because it synergizes with everything

01:01:55 that MyCare Optical is known about,

01:01:57 which is providing individualized eye care.

01:02:00 So this month, we have lots of activities

01:02:03 planned surrounding both the anniversary and World Sight Day.

01:02:07 Yeah.

01:02:08 And Folade, let's speak a little bit

01:02:10 before we get into the talk about the celebrations

01:02:14 and observances.

01:02:15 But let's speak a little bit about the ailments

01:02:18 that you have been seeing read the eye.

01:02:21 What sort of ailments have people been coming

01:02:24 to your organization about?

01:02:27 So yes, we do have persons coming in

01:02:29 with cataract and glaucoma.

01:02:31 However, recently, we have seen a surge

01:02:35 in the amount of persons who have myopia, or what is also

01:02:39 known as short-sightedness.

01:02:41 So this is very important for us because we

01:02:43 are smack in the middle of what we call a myopia pandemic.

01:02:48 And it's actually triggered by the amount of time

01:02:51 that we spend on digital devices,

01:02:53 such as our phone screens and our laptop screens.

01:02:56 So that's why it's very important

01:02:59 that we look at the theme of World Sight Day, which

01:03:01 is loving your eyes at work.

01:03:03 Because our job now is to understand exactly what

01:03:07 are the environmental factors that can actually

01:03:10 cause your eyes to deteriorate.

01:03:13 For example, you might be an accountant

01:03:15 and you are spending eight hours a day on the computer screen.

01:03:19 You may be getting digital eye strain.

01:03:21 But also, you can look at your task and your surroundings

01:03:25 and you can actually see how it can affect you.

01:03:29 And often, as well in children, how

01:03:31 they can also become more short-sighted because

01:03:34 of the activities that they are doing as well.

01:03:36 Yeah.

01:03:37 Have you been also seeing an increase

01:03:39 in cases among children?

01:03:41 Because I've been looking at the children when I go out

01:03:45 and I'm seeing children walking with their parents and so on.

01:03:48 And I'm seeing a lot of them with glasses.

01:03:50 Yeah.

01:03:51 So we are seeing an increased number

01:03:53 of cases with children needing glasses

01:03:56 and also an increase in the severity as well.

01:03:58 I can give you one example.

01:03:59 Yes.

01:04:00 So right after the restrictions were lifted from COVID,

01:04:04 as you know, all our children were on devices,

01:04:06 doing online time as well.

01:04:09 One of the first children I saw, or one of the first child

01:04:12 I saw was a young little girl.

01:04:13 She was only five years old.

01:04:15 And her prescription was huge.

01:04:18 I can give you an amount.

01:04:20 It's minus eight.

01:04:21 For those of you who keep an eye on prescriptions,

01:04:23 it was minus eight.

01:04:25 And she came for the first time needing glasses.

01:04:28 That impacted me a lot because without even doing a study,

01:04:33 you can actually see that a lot of children

01:04:36 needed urgent eye care in the form of glasses or contact

01:04:40 lenses.

01:04:41 Yeah.

01:04:43 But is there any--

01:04:46 all right, this is the question.

01:04:49 How do people realize if they need glasses or not?

01:04:55 I know for me, I was telling Folade,

01:05:00 I was having a discussion with a partner a few years ago.

01:05:03 And there was this billboard.

01:05:05 And he was seeing it.

01:05:06 I couldn't see it.

01:05:07 And he took off his glasses and gave it to me.

01:05:10 And I saw everything just appeared on that billboard.

01:05:14 Because I suspect you have a lot of people out there.

01:05:18 They are not-- they just don't know that they need glasses.

01:05:21 Yes, and that's a very important thing to note.

01:05:25 A lot of persons would only realize

01:05:27 that they need eye care if someone points it out

01:05:30 or if it's too late.

01:05:31 Yes.

01:05:32 OK?

01:05:33 So for example, you might be in class.

01:05:35 And you're realizing that you're writing everything wrong

01:05:39 on the board.

01:05:40 But you might subconsciously think

01:05:42 that you're not good enough, when in actuality, it

01:05:45 might be that you actually need a pair of glasses.

01:05:48 Similarly, you might be at work.

01:05:51 And everyone else is meeting their quota.

01:05:54 And you can't seem to hit your targets.

01:05:57 For example, you might have to probably enter 100 names

01:06:01 on an Excel spreadsheet.

01:06:02 Yes.

01:06:03 And you can't get that done.

01:06:04 You're probably getting 50, because your eyes are tired.

01:06:07 It's itchy.

01:06:07 It's burning.

01:06:08 You probably need glasses.

01:06:10 There are a lot of things that surround us

01:06:12 that would actually impact our vision and our performance.

01:06:16 So this is why it's important to focus on loving your eyes at

01:06:19 work, so that we can get maximum efficiency and productivity

01:06:24 from healthy vision and healthy sight.

01:06:27 Let's get back to the children, the four and the five-year-olds.

01:06:32 How do parents detect if something is wrong?

01:06:36 OK, great.

01:06:38 So at home, parents may often look at their child's homework.

01:06:43 Yes.

01:06:44 Right?

01:06:44 And the child may be able to see their homework, their books,

01:06:47 because it's close to them.

01:06:49 One thing that a parent can do is they can actually

01:06:51 take it further away.

01:06:52 So get charts, get a blackboard, a little whiteboard,

01:06:55 and see if it is that when they are writing

01:06:57 on that particular chart, if they

01:06:59 are getting any visual problems.

01:07:01 Because that's one of the ways that teachers detect

01:07:03 that children have problems.

01:07:05 It's when they sit in the classroom

01:07:06 and they can't see the blackboard.

01:07:08 Also, children may be rubbing their eyes.

01:07:11 That's a sign of vision problems,

01:07:13 because rubbing your eyes is actually

01:07:15 linked to a specific condition called astigmatism.

01:07:21 Another thing that children may do, they may have a head tilt.

01:07:25 They may close one eye to try to focus better.

01:07:27 All of those are subtle signs that children

01:07:29 may need intervention.

01:07:31 All right.

01:07:32 Vlade, let's speak a little bit about the observances

01:07:37 and your anniversary.

01:07:39 Yeah, definitely.

01:07:40 So on Wednesday the 11th is actually

01:07:43 my care's optical anniversary.

01:07:45 However, whole month long, we are

01:07:47 having tons of experiences for the general public.

01:07:51 They can look at our social media pages,

01:07:54 which is Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok

01:07:56 to get more information.

01:07:57 However, we are also celebrating the opening of our Eastgate

01:08:02 location, that's in Twin City.

01:08:04 And on the 27th to the 28th, we have exciting activities

01:08:10 for the public itself.

01:08:12 So we'll be having events such as giveaways, performances

01:08:18 by special artists.

01:08:20 We would have grand sales where they can

01:08:22 get huge discounts on frames.

01:08:24 I know everyone is looking at that.

01:08:26 But most importantly, we would have a conversation

01:08:28 with the public to inform them of how they can actually

01:08:32 protect their eyes at the workplace.

01:08:34 So whether they be a construction worker,

01:08:36 they may be in the media like yourself,

01:08:39 they may be in arts, how can you protect your eyes

01:08:42 to ensure that you get the best efficiency

01:08:44 and also protect your health so that you

01:08:46 can have lovely, healthy vision for years to come?

01:08:50 Lovely, healthy vision.

01:08:51 Boy, we're coming up, Valady.

01:08:55 When you are in the work environment,

01:08:58 let's say an office environment, usually some employers

01:09:04 would buy these screen protectors.

01:09:06 Do they work?

01:09:07 Yes, they do.

01:09:09 However, I would often tell persons

01:09:12 they need to understand each device's limitations.

01:09:16 So a screen protector, what it will do,

01:09:20 it would reduce the amount of light

01:09:22 that is coming to your eyes.

01:09:23 However, it won't be a cure-all.

01:09:26 Some people would buy certain screen protectors or even

01:09:29 certain tins for their glasses and think

01:09:32 that it would cure everything.

01:09:34 However, we have to look at certain things

01:09:37 at looking at our devices.

01:09:38 Just because it's close to us, we will be getting eye strain.

01:09:42 If it is that you have an existing condition,

01:09:45 for example, a small amount of astigmatism,

01:09:47 you'd also be getting eye strain as well.

01:09:50 If you have dry eyes, that would add to the scenario.

01:09:53 So having a screen protector is just one aspect.

01:09:57 We now need to look at the whole picture

01:09:59 and understand exactly how we can protect the eyes.

01:10:03 Yeah.

01:10:04 Folade, I'm just thinking how do we maneuver

01:10:08 in this type of environment?

01:10:10 Because all of us, we have phones, we have computers.

01:10:15 So yes, although we want to follow some of the tips

01:10:18 that you have given us, but it's going to be a bit difficult.

01:10:21 Yeah, definitely.

01:10:22 So that's why we're here, so that we'll

01:10:24 be able to recommend the right products and services for you.

01:10:28 At MyCare Optical, we have a wide range of products.

01:10:31 So if you do wear glasses, we have a wide range of,

01:10:36 you can say, coatings for your glasses

01:10:37 so that you can protect your eyes from the screens.

01:10:40 If you do not wear glasses, we are very happy

01:10:42 because we would also give you tips and techniques,

01:10:44 such as eye exercises, so that you'll

01:10:47 be able to get more efficiency from your eyes.

01:10:50 So the main thing is that you need to understand

01:10:53 it's not a cure all, meaning that one piece of advice

01:10:57 wouldn't work for everyone.

01:10:58 We have to look at each individual

01:11:01 and tailor the advice to suit each individual needs.

01:11:06 Yeah.

01:11:07 And it is not-- because I know that how we are in this

01:11:11 country, that from a very young age,

01:11:14 we want to take off our glasses and put it on our children

01:11:18 for them to see, although they may not need glasses.

01:11:22 But that sort of practice, it is not a good practice.

01:11:26 Definitely not, because if you do not

01:11:28 prescribe the right eye wear, you can actually

01:11:30 harm a young child's eye.

01:11:32 So you need to get exactly what you need,

01:11:35 not too much, not too little.

01:11:37 Yeah.

01:11:38 Sometimes you might think that the problem is glasses,

01:11:41 and it's not glasses at all.

01:11:44 So this is why you need to do the comprehensive evaluation.

01:11:47 We need to check to see, OK, what is the issue?

01:11:51 Is it that, again, they have dry eyes is a very common thing?

01:11:54 Is it allergies?

01:11:56 Do they have what we call astringent

01:11:58 or saturn in the eye?

01:12:01 What do they need to get the best out of their vision?

01:12:04 Yeah.

01:12:05 You know, you're speaking about eye strain.

01:12:08 What exactly is eye strain?

01:12:10 OK.

01:12:11 Eye strain.

01:12:12 OK, great.

01:12:12 That's a lovely question, because eye strain, yes,

01:12:15 you have the physical feeling of it,

01:12:18 but it's also very psychological as well.

01:12:21 So eye strain may feel like headaches in your eye.

01:12:25 It may feel like tension, but it definitely

01:12:29 feels like something is wrong with your vision.

01:12:32 So that's where the psychological component

01:12:34 comes in.

01:12:35 Sometimes you might be seeing a task,

01:12:38 but it's just not looking quite crisp.

01:12:41 Or even if it's crisp, it's not in the way

01:12:43 that it would present itself for you to have comfort.

01:12:48 So basically, eye strain is when your eyes are not comfortable,

01:12:52 simply put.

01:12:53 Yeah.

01:12:54 Palade, anything you'd like to tell us before you leave us

01:12:56 this morning?

01:12:58 Yes, which is that you can definitely

01:13:00 look at our Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok pages.

01:13:03 We have tons of information for the general public

01:13:07 in terms of protecting their eyes.

01:13:09 And furthermore, be sure to visit us at our Eastgate branch

01:13:14 on the 27th to the 29th.

01:13:16 You can hear lots of information,

01:13:18 and you'll have special prizes.

01:13:20 You'll also have a lot of different discounts

01:13:23 there as well.

01:13:24 Yeah.

01:13:24 Palade, thank you very much.

01:13:26 Thank you for the tips that you gave me too.

01:13:28 Yeah.

01:13:28 Yeah?

01:13:28 [LAUGHTER]

01:13:29 I'm always happy to share these tips with everyone.

01:13:32 Thank you again.

01:13:33 So we are going to a very short break.

01:13:35 We're coming back.

01:13:36 Thank you.

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01:16:17 (upbeat music)

01:16:20 - All right, so welcome back everyone.

01:16:31 We only got the ba ba da ba da ba on that song, right?

01:16:34 That sounds like an interesting song.

01:16:35 You'll have to, hopefully we could play sometime

01:16:37 during the program today, all right?

01:16:40 So welcome back.

01:16:41 So we are now chatting with former head

01:16:42 of the Farmers Union, Shiraz Khan,

01:16:44 to get his perspective on the recently

01:16:47 presented national budget.

01:16:49 Shiraz, good morning.

01:16:51 - Good morning, my brother.

01:16:52 How are you this morning?

01:16:53 - I good, well, hopefully you're in a better mood

01:16:55 this morning, because I suspect, look at his face.

01:17:00 I suspect that you all got a lot of money

01:17:04 in the budget, Shiraz.

01:17:06 - Do you think so, Mala?

01:17:07 - Well, I don't know, you have to tell me.

01:17:09 - Well, the thing about it is that we have been getting

01:17:12 a slight increase, slight increase,

01:17:14 but I'm wondering to what means does it end up

01:17:19 for all of us, because what happening is that

01:17:21 if in the beginning of the state,

01:17:24 better the budget, right?

01:17:25 And I can't go through all because the time is limited.

01:17:27 Food imports per annum have been escalating,

01:17:32 reaching over five billion in 2019 to 2021,

01:17:37 with 7.3 billion in 2022, Mala.

01:17:41 So that tells you, while you might hear the old talk

01:17:44 about money and so on, right?

01:17:45 That tells you that our food import bill

01:17:49 went up by $2.3 billion in 2022.

01:17:54 And I am telling you in 2023,

01:17:56 we're going to get higher than that,

01:17:58 because what happened is that a lot of the talks

01:18:02 in the budget has not been fruitful.

01:18:05 I use the word fruitful because agriculture, right?

01:18:10 And we have not seen that because if what you are saying

01:18:13 about we're giving, we're training young people,

01:18:15 661 in the last three years, and you're doing all of that,

01:18:20 but yet in your statement, you are saying that

01:18:24 your food import bill went up by 2.3 billion.

01:18:27 Something is not, how do people say,

01:18:31 it's a connecting, something is connecting.

01:18:34 - But Shiraz, if we're speaking about the food import bill,

01:18:38 doesn't that speak about what we like

01:18:41 in Trinidad and Tobago?

01:18:42 We prefer the potato chips from abroad

01:18:45 rather than cassava chips and plantain chips

01:18:48 and dashi chips.

01:18:50 We want to eat foreign things.

01:18:51 We like things like hummus and thing, you know, Shiraz.

01:18:54 And feta cheese.

01:18:55 - I agree with you, I agree with you.

01:18:57 I'm happy that you say that,

01:18:58 because it tells me that our difficulty

01:19:03 in accessing foreign exchange for the importers

01:19:06 has not been difficult.

01:19:08 It's only been small men and small people.

01:19:10 When we have to import anything,

01:19:12 we have to go and line up and only get 100 US dollars.

01:19:15 So if that is the way that it's going,

01:19:18 I could understand why Binzi Samaru,

01:19:20 Dr. Professor Binzi Samaru died, bless his soul,

01:19:24 that he said that is a cartel that run in the agriculture.

01:19:27 But I want to deal with something in the agriculture, right?

01:19:31 - Go ahead.

01:19:31 - If in the last three years, we have trained 661 people,

01:19:37 now if you go back three years from this year,

01:19:39 you're talking about 2020, right?

01:19:41 So it started in 2021.

01:19:43 How come with all of that training

01:19:45 and all of that grant that has gone out,

01:19:48 we still ended up with that $2.3 billion?

01:19:51 This is not my figure.

01:19:53 This is printed in the Gazette from the budget statement.

01:19:56 Right?

01:19:57 And then in the next verse he said,

01:19:59 "Food security is on high on our agenda.

01:20:01 We are doubling our efforts to change the dynamics

01:20:05 of the sector, making agriculture sector tax-free."

01:20:09 Marlon, I mean, as we had to continue talking about that.

01:20:13 Right?

01:20:14 In 2022, we are given $1.259 billion,

01:20:19 with 300 million going

01:20:21 in the private public sector investment program.

01:20:25 So that leaves the Ministry of Agriculture

01:20:27 with $959 billion,

01:20:30 .9, .959 billion, right?

01:20:34 And then in 2023, we come and they give us 1.042 billion,

01:20:39 but the budget is at $1.442 billion

01:20:45 as allocated to agriculture.

01:20:47 And he said in his budget statement

01:20:48 that 400 million will be going into the same projects.

01:20:53 Now, Marlon, I asked you the question, right?

01:20:56 If it is that we have to be doubling our effort

01:21:00 in agriculture production,

01:21:02 and you have an increase in 2022, right?

01:21:07 Of that amount, $2.3 billion in importation.

01:21:11 What do we expect for this fiscal year

01:21:15 that ended in September?

01:21:17 Right?

01:21:18 So what I'm saying, Marlon,

01:21:19 is that if we are redoubling our effort,

01:21:22 the budget doesn't tell me that.

01:21:24 The budget doesn't give me the fact that,

01:21:26 okay, we are doubling our effort

01:21:28 and we will continue to improve agriculture.

01:21:31 Marlon, I am saying that if it is that,

01:21:34 and I think we had a discussion earlier on,

01:21:36 just before the-

01:21:38 - Just before the budget.

01:21:40 - Budget, and that, when I told you that,

01:21:42 we've seen the figures of the importation of the meat

01:21:46 that was going up.

01:21:48 It went up by almost 20, 40 metric tons.

01:21:51 So you expect that $7.2 billion.

01:21:54 And I don't have the booklet, the economic outlook.

01:21:59 We don't get those booklets and they get,

01:22:00 the yellow booklet and the bad chart

01:22:02 they gave us for the budget.

01:22:04 It show a decline of almost an average

01:22:07 between 1.5 to 1.9,

01:22:10 a decline in agriculture production of every year.

01:22:14 I didn't have it.

01:22:15 Thanks to Comrade Abdullah,

01:22:18 that he had it and he shared it with me.

01:22:20 Right?

01:22:21 But the thing about it is that if we have a decline

01:22:24 with all that we are doing,

01:22:25 something is fundamentally wrong

01:22:28 in how we go about doing it.

01:22:30 Because last year,

01:22:32 I can't remember who the host was for the budget debate.

01:22:35 When Dr. Marlene Adds debated the issue

01:22:40 of what the prime minister said

01:22:42 that agriculture is basically private sector driven.

01:22:46 And I am saying is that if you have a system

01:22:50 where you have a public sector incentive driven

01:22:54 and you're training all these young people

01:22:56 that get into agriculture for the three years

01:22:58 and you have not grown up,

01:23:00 what about the existing farmers?

01:23:02 What about the livestock farmers?

01:23:04 Because in this budget,

01:23:05 nothing was mentioned about the livestock farmers.

01:23:08 - But Shiraz, wouldn't you and farmers,

01:23:12 livestock farmers benefit from some of these grants

01:23:15 and some of the funding?

01:23:16 - We can't.

01:23:19 - Why is that?

01:23:20 - I am not a registered farmer.

01:23:23 We have to have land tenure.

01:23:26 Because you can know how long we are on that issue.

01:23:29 You know how long we have been on that issue.

01:23:31 Because if you are not registered,

01:23:36 and as the figures go,

01:23:37 it's 80% more of those farmers are not registered,

01:23:41 we can't access the flood grant,

01:23:44 we can't access no grant.

01:23:46 So we are not the ones until that they come

01:23:50 with this robust land lease program

01:23:56 that regularization so that we can go forward.

01:24:00 Because we cannot,

01:24:01 most of the people cannot get this grant.

01:24:03 Now here what happening, right?

01:24:05 Some of the farmers got some of the grant,

01:24:08 but there was a lot of other farmers,

01:24:10 other people who were not farmers got the grant

01:24:13 and expected to get into agriculture.

01:24:15 I know a guy, he got the grant,

01:24:18 he bought some animals, they stole his animals,

01:24:21 he bought some more, they stole it.

01:24:23 So how do you get, if you don't put in

01:24:26 necessary infrastructure and implement

01:24:31 and enter the protection of the agriculture sector,

01:24:34 how do you increase your production?

01:24:36 How do you get--

01:24:38 - Shiraz, hold on.

01:24:39 Let's speak about this land tenure issue,

01:24:41 because we have spoken about it in the past.

01:24:43 But I don't think that we ever spoke about

01:24:46 how many farmers need this sort of regularization

01:24:51 so that they can benefit from the funds

01:24:55 that government is allocating every year.

01:24:58 How many farmers are we speaking about?

01:25:02 - 80% of the vegetable and livestock farmers production.

01:25:06 Those were the figures given to Prime Minister

01:25:09 Clarence Rambarat when he was in office.

01:25:12 And he said 80% of the farmers have not have land tenure,

01:25:18 has not their leases and regularization.

01:25:21 So that is what we are talking about, 80% of the people.

01:25:25 Majority of the people who goes to the market

01:25:27 and the wholesale market and so on,

01:25:29 they would not be regularized.

01:25:31 The big businessmen who are operating on agriculture,

01:25:36 they would have leases or they would have their deeds for land

01:25:39 who have their own private lands

01:25:41 will be able to access those grants and those incentives

01:25:46 that the Ministry of Agriculture offers.

01:25:49 - But what has been holding back the process?

01:25:52 What has been holding back the process?

01:25:54 - Man, I've been waiting for 24 years for my lease.

01:25:58 I have applied 24 years ago.

01:26:00 And then when Minister Rambarat came,

01:26:03 they couldn't find certain documents.

01:26:05 Last year in 2020, to begin enough last year,

01:26:10 I went and reapplied for my lease.

01:26:12 And majority of the farmers that operated in the Wallerfield,

01:26:17 Cassiefield, Esmeralda, Ture, the Aramgwes area,

01:26:21 the Tunapuna area, Babande, Sandy Grande area,

01:26:25 they are what they call legal squatters.

01:26:29 Right?

01:26:32 - So is that one of the major issues there

01:26:36 that some of the farmers would have gone onto lands

01:26:40 and taken control of the lands?

01:26:44 - No, it is not gone onto the land.

01:26:46 It is not gone onto the land.

01:26:47 - The state lands?

01:26:49 - The state lands, the process was that you get a piece

01:26:53 of land, you go and you apply for it,

01:26:54 and then you put you onto the land.

01:26:56 - Yes.

01:26:57 - Even though the ones that are on the land

01:26:59 are the government putting them to the program.

01:27:02 Because Wallerfield, Cassiefield is not spotting areas

01:27:04 in the sense that you just go and take a piece of land

01:27:07 and spot.

01:27:08 The leases has expired some 20 years, some 30 years now,

01:27:12 and has not been renewed.

01:27:13 So how do you want this thing?

01:27:17 How do you want?

01:27:17 - But I can't understand.

01:27:18 I can't really understand because if you're saying

01:27:22 that some of the farmers, as you're saying,

01:27:27 are legal squatters because they were given the lands

01:27:32 by the state, but just that they don't have the land tenure

01:27:35 and the regularization and so on.

01:27:37 So then in these cases, what is the problem?

01:27:41 - The Ministry of Agriculture, state land department.

01:27:46 Marlon, I got my PTA in 1998.

01:27:49 My probationary temporary agreement.

01:27:53 That is when you go on a piece of land,

01:27:56 they assess you, they see what you're doing,

01:27:58 they give you this PTA, we call it PTA for short.

01:28:00 So when after my year, because that is only for one year,

01:28:04 that is where the document where you could get electricity

01:28:07 and water and get to build your pens and all of that.

01:28:11 So you have that.

01:28:13 Then what happens is you start producing.

01:28:15 You apply it after the year is up.

01:28:18 And then what happens is you're still waiting for it.

01:28:22 And this is what I'm saying.

01:28:23 Sometimes it is not enough.

01:28:26 I know farmers, I know hundreds of farmers.

01:28:29 Every Wednesday, maybe check this around with

01:28:33 and ask him what's going on with my lease, where it is.

01:28:36 Sometimes it takes three years or so to move from Chagwanus

01:28:40 to Currup to the regional office for our area.

01:28:43 And then it might take another three years

01:28:45 to move from Currup to go to Arangwes.

01:28:48 And Marlon, this is the problem we have all,

01:28:51 more than 30 years now.

01:28:53 - Well, for a person such as me, Shiraz,

01:28:58 to me, it looks like an easy process

01:29:04 concerning the regularization of persons.

01:29:06 Especially in cases if persons are on land

01:29:11 for 30 years, 40 years, 50 years.

01:29:15 To me, it's an easy process and an easy task,

01:29:18 but I'm still having difficulty in trying to understand

01:29:22 what is the delay about?

01:29:24 - The delay is not from only farmer side

01:29:27 or the organizations.

01:29:29 The delay is from on the side of the Ministry of Agriculture

01:29:34 or government policy.

01:29:36 Because I think it is more about government policy.

01:29:40 In 2010, we were feeling certain because it was,

01:29:46 and the UNC that we were going,

01:29:48 because they were fighting with us,

01:29:50 Vasant Bharat and Khadija Amin,

01:29:53 and a number of them were fighting with us.

01:29:55 So we feel certain that, okay, in 2010,

01:29:59 we didn't know it was ending 2015,

01:30:03 but we said, okay, we're going to get our leases.

01:30:05 That didn't happen.

01:30:07 In our signing of the agreement with JATOM,

01:30:10 because I'm one of the JATOM members,

01:30:12 who with Dr. Keith Crowley, at then opposition,

01:30:15 said that that will be one of his priority.

01:30:17 Now, I know Minister Clarence Rambran when he was there,

01:30:21 he was working towards that.

01:30:23 A lot of people got letters of offer, right, for a lease.

01:30:28 But where is the lease?

01:30:30 Because that is the point in time

01:30:33 where you can now say that you are going to go to the bank

01:30:37 and get a loan, A, B, you now have a document of security

01:30:41 to go towards the bank.

01:30:43 Now, a person who have private land

01:30:45 don't have that challenge because they have their deed.

01:30:49 Or if it is that your father had a deed

01:30:51 and that you are operating on the land,

01:30:54 your father could now give you a permission to operate,

01:30:59 and you can get your card and get your necessary document

01:31:02 to access the incentive that is offering all the grants.

01:31:07 But you have to understand that the biggest accolade

01:31:12 he is for farmers in this country

01:31:14 is land tenure and predecessing.

01:31:17 - Yeah, well, I know that the--

01:31:18 - And one of the important things also

01:31:22 we have to understand, Marlon,

01:31:24 is that it is not like the people in Wallerfield,

01:31:28 Tulu, Esmeralda, Castlefield, Aranguiz,

01:31:32 and all these places, they have been planting for years.

01:31:35 So it's not about going to see land

01:31:37 and going and occupy.

01:31:39 They were given, the farmers in Tod Road,

01:31:41 were given 50 acres of land.

01:31:44 Understand?

01:31:45 We still waiting.

01:31:45 There were farmers in the Chaguanas area

01:31:48 was given 10 acres of land.

01:31:49 Some people planted it, but there's no lease.

01:31:52 So unless you don't have a document,

01:31:56 you may be able to occupy and get electricity and water,

01:32:00 but you have to be able to go to the bank

01:32:04 to get what you can be living crop to crop.

01:32:07 Otherwise, the food and board bill

01:32:09 would not move downwards from 7.3 billion.

01:32:14 But remember, 7.3 billion is almost a billion US,

01:32:20 a billion plus US that is going out of the country

01:32:23 to bring food into the country.

01:32:25 When, as I could tell you that,

01:32:27 we could cut that bill in a year time by less than 50%

01:32:31 if we have the political will.

01:32:33 Not farmers will, huh?

01:32:34 Political will.

01:32:35 - Well, Shiraz, to me, government has two options.

01:32:38 It's either you regularize people or you shut them down.

01:32:41 But I feel my personal position is,

01:32:45 is that in some cases you can't have people

01:32:49 20, 30 years on a piece of property farming,

01:32:54 and you don't want to regularize them.

01:32:57 Right?

01:32:58 You have the option.

01:32:58 It's either you take them off

01:33:00 or you regularize them, right?

01:33:03 - Yeah, but if you take them off

01:33:04 and you give it to somebody else,

01:33:06 they will have the same problem of regularization

01:33:09 unless it is up, because what happened is that

01:33:11 you're in the news, you're hearing all the farmers

01:33:14 and them complaining about that, and not only me,

01:33:16 but you have a large company got a farm in a repo,

01:33:20 but he got his lease almost immediately.

01:33:23 Right?

01:33:24 So what happened to the other small farmers?

01:33:26 What happened to the other people?

01:33:27 Everybody who got large, large gift of land

01:33:32 to do agriculture, they got their lease.

01:33:35 So why it is that you can't put a stringent measure

01:33:38 in place to get a lease going?

01:33:40 In fact, last year budget, when I was at your station,

01:33:43 I had a conversation with Driver, the president,

01:33:47 I think it's in the Beagle Chamber,

01:33:49 and he said 20, 25 years ago,

01:33:52 he was a contractor in the Ministry of Agriculture

01:33:55 trying to regularize lease for farmers.

01:33:58 So imagine that 25 years ago, he was involved in that.

01:34:03 - And Shiraz, let me just make it clear.

01:34:05 Let me just make it clear, Shiraz,

01:34:07 I never say to shut down farmers.

01:34:08 (laughs)

01:34:09 - No, no, no.

01:34:10 - Just saying the option, right?

01:34:11 - No, what I'm saying is that, okay, I understand.

01:34:14 - I just feel it is a disservice to people

01:34:18 to have them in that state,

01:34:19 if you understand where I'm coming from.

01:34:21 - I quite agree, because if you drive in Wallerfield

01:34:24 and pass, see all the places bushed,

01:34:26 and they say, "Look at them farmers and them.

01:34:28 "They wouldn't want to plant the land,

01:34:30 "they don't clear the bush,

01:34:31 "but they don't have a lease for 20 years."

01:34:34 - Shiraz, we're running out of time,

01:34:36 but I know last time you expressed great concern

01:34:38 about predialarceny.

01:34:41 The finance minister would have mentioned it in the budget,

01:34:45 and he's promising action in that respect.

01:34:49 Are you optimistic?

01:34:51 - Well, I am optimistic,

01:34:52 because I heard it a couple of years ago,

01:34:54 about predialarceny,

01:34:55 what they were going to do with predialarceny and so on.

01:34:57 I am hoping that with the extra,

01:35:00 how much extra million we got this year?

01:35:02 We got, I was, now we get around 42 million extra.

01:35:07 So I am hoping that that is ready

01:35:10 to make a serious effort in creating

01:35:14 a efficient and a very vibrant predialar--

01:35:22 - Ah boy, we have lost Shiraz.

01:35:24 But Shiraz, if you're hearing me, thank you very much.

01:35:27 It's always good speaking to you, Shiraz,

01:35:29 and I'm sure that we are going to speak sometime

01:35:31 in the future again.

01:35:32 So take care.

01:35:33 All right, so we are going to a very short break.

01:35:34 We're coming back.

01:35:35 - Thank you.

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01:37:51 (upbeat music)

01:37:56 (upbeat music)

01:37:58 - All right, so it's your time to talk.

01:38:12 You're calling us on 623-1711.

01:38:14 The extension is 1995.

01:38:16 We just have a few minutes,

01:38:17 so if you call right now, you would be able to get in.

01:38:20 Let me tell you something, yeah?

01:38:22 You know, sometimes you look on the news

01:38:24 and you look on other programs

01:38:25 and you see videos of people shooting in the streets.

01:38:30 Well, let me tell you something, yeah?

01:38:33 I experienced that on the weekend.

01:38:37 So I was out doing an errand,

01:38:41 went into a business place,

01:38:43 and in mere seconds, I heard gunshots.

01:38:47 (imitates gunshots)

01:38:51 And as you look out,

01:38:53 you're seeing people running on the roadway

01:38:56 and young people with guns shooting.

01:39:02 And you have to wonder, I mean, to see it on video,

01:39:06 but to see it in real is a totally different thing,

01:39:10 and that gives you a new perspective on things

01:39:14 as to where we are going,

01:39:18 and is this the type of country we want to be living in,

01:39:23 and why have there not been the results

01:39:26 that we require as citizens, yeah?

01:39:31 And I think that is where the citizens

01:39:33 are going to have to decide at the end of the day

01:39:36 what happens with this situation.

01:39:38 I know that crime talks are coming up,

01:39:40 and I just hope that many of you are paying attention

01:39:45 and will go to your MPs to tell them,

01:39:48 look, this is not the way to live, you know?

01:39:51 Because let me tell you something,

01:39:52 if I could have had an experience like that,

01:39:57 it could happen to you, yeah?

01:39:59 Let's take a call.

01:40:00 Good morning, caller.

01:40:01 - Pleasant morning to you, Mr. Hopkinson.

01:40:05 - Yes.

01:40:06 - Mr. Hopkinson, you just made me change

01:40:11 my entire perspective of what I was about to do.

01:40:15 (laughing)

01:40:16 It was just terrible.

01:40:17 I'll tell you this.

01:40:18 Trinidad and Tobago is not a real country,

01:40:23 and I'll tell you why.

01:40:25 If you have surveillance and detection,

01:40:31 we will walk that way.

01:40:34 And I'm saying, since you read my answer,

01:40:41 I think it's time you, Mr. Minister,

01:40:45 do us a favor, go to the Prime Minister

01:40:48 and tell him, look, I can't handle this job anymore.

01:40:52 I think he should stay up and stay up,

01:40:55 because what you did, Mr. Hopkinson,

01:40:59 it is frightening.

01:41:00 You as one of our key journalists

01:41:05 had to run, cover, for a terror.

01:41:10 Mr. Hopkinson, all is not in Trinidad.

01:41:15 Say, don't hang, but, stop up, stop up.

01:41:20 - Caller.

01:41:21 I always thank you for your views,

01:41:23 but you're breaking up so badly,

01:41:25 but I do get the gist of what you're saying.

01:41:28 Yeah, I do get the gist,

01:41:32 but our connection is really, really bad.

01:41:35 And my position is, why is it if I,

01:41:40 and when I say I, you as a citizen,

01:41:43 if you go to the supermarket,

01:41:45 while on the way to the supermarket,

01:41:47 while on the way to the cinema,

01:41:49 while on the way to the green market,

01:41:52 while on the way to the mall,

01:41:54 you have to be like this,

01:41:56 and looking at everyone to see

01:41:59 how, who looking like what,

01:42:03 if they're coming for you and so on.

01:42:04 That is the way that people want to live.

01:42:07 That's crazy, people being shot outside of schools,

01:42:12 gunshots outside of schools, children being shot.

01:42:17 You know, this is, this is,

01:42:19 and you see, it brings me no,

01:42:21 you know, sometimes I wonder if it is because we are so,

01:42:28 because we are in the media,

01:42:30 and we are bombarded,

01:42:32 we are being bombarded with news of this every day,

01:42:34 if the situation is as bad as we think it is,

01:42:38 but we do have another call.

01:42:39 Good morning, caller.

01:42:41 - Good morning, Brother Marlon, how are you?

01:42:43 - I'm good, brother.

01:42:44 - All right.

01:42:45 (speaking in foreign language)

01:42:47 All right.

01:42:48 I'm looking at the situation with Israel and Palestinians.

01:42:54 - Of course.

01:42:55 - And Marlon, we have a situation developing slowly,

01:43:00 similarly here in this country, you know,

01:43:02 because the way this government is treating the big onions,

01:43:07 it's like the big avocado shrimp.

01:43:10 And the way our prime minister is treating with Guyana

01:43:16 and Venezuela, clearly he's siding with Venezuela

01:43:22 because of the drug and what have you.

01:43:26 - Well, I don't know that he's siding with Venezuela.

01:43:29 I think that the relationship that we have with Venezuela,

01:43:33 and you're speaking about the drug and feel,

01:43:36 it's a business arrangement there.

01:43:38 Of course, we have had a good relationship with Venezuela,

01:43:42 but to say he's siding with Venezuela,

01:43:44 I don't know if that is accurate.

01:43:47 - Yeah. - All right.

01:43:48 Well, let me enlighten you a little bit.

01:43:49 - Go ahead.

01:43:50 - Because remember the election

01:43:52 that was recently held in Guyana?

01:43:54 That (speaking in foreign language)

01:43:57 pick up a whip and tell them,

01:44:00 "Hey, we are the Caribbean.

01:44:04 We have to intervene and make things right."

01:44:07 And my brother, Rowley, was kinda resisting that.

01:44:11 You understand?

01:44:14 Like he didn't understand what did he mean

01:44:15 with that carry-on.

01:44:16 You see?

01:44:19 So I hope that shed some light

01:44:21 and he heading down our own path

01:44:23 that we could end up like Israel and the Palestine

01:44:26 right there in the middle.

01:44:29 - All right.

01:44:29 (laughs)

01:44:30 I'm not sure that is going to happen,

01:44:33 but sometimes, boy, my position is

01:44:37 the politicians will be politicians.

01:44:39 This situation that is going on with the prime minister

01:44:41 and Mr. Fahli Agustin,

01:44:43 and politicians will be politicians.

01:44:45 So yes, it is my job to report on politicians and so on,

01:44:50 but I try to stay away from the politics.

01:44:55 That's what I try to do.

01:44:56 Yeah.

01:44:57 You're calling us on 623-1711.

01:44:59 The extension is 1995.

01:45:03 We do have a few more minutes.

01:45:05 Listen, you all heard the clip

01:45:08 from Mr. Leo Ramke soon this morning.

01:45:11 You would have heard it last night on the news

01:45:13 and you would have heard it this morning.

01:45:15 Some of the statements,

01:45:16 and he did say some of that to me a few weeks ago,

01:45:20 but this is absolutely amazing

01:45:23 where major fire stations, they don't have appliances.

01:45:27 So what is going to happen in the case of a fire?

01:45:30 Good morning, caller.

01:45:31 - Hello, good morning.

01:45:33 - Morning.

01:45:33 - Yeah, I'm calling with respect to the budget

01:45:38 and the minister of finance recommending

01:45:42 that they standardize the bus in school.

01:45:44 I believe that is long overdue.

01:45:46 - Right.

01:45:47 - I believe it's long overdue because for far too long,

01:45:50 the whole question of our new textbook has been

01:45:53 what you call organized crime then,

01:45:56 because it's changing one sentence in a book

01:45:58 and saying it's a new textbook and things like that.

01:46:01 The second thing,

01:46:02 with respect to the whole question of the policing

01:46:04 in Trinidad and Tobago,

01:46:06 why it is that even if we have so much crime

01:46:09 that you're not seeing police in strategic areas

01:46:13 all over the country.

01:46:14 If I go to Samoan now,

01:46:15 we're not seeing one single police.

01:46:17 It's only when something happens.

01:46:19 And I believe the time has come when you have to move

01:46:21 the police from inside the station

01:46:23 and put them out on the street.

01:46:24 So everywhere you turn, there will be police,

01:46:27 if it's by the post office, if it's by the bank or whatever,

01:46:30 but there should be police throughout Trinidad and Tobago

01:46:33 that people can see them.

01:46:34 Thank you so much.

01:46:35 - Thank you very much.

01:46:36 I think that's some of the things that you have said.

01:46:38 We have even heard senior police officers say that.

01:46:41 So I'm sure that you have some police officers

01:46:44 who would agree with you this morning.

01:46:45 But again, you really want to have police officers

01:46:49 on every corner.

01:46:50 Again, there's a wider issue to this whole thing.

01:46:55 So I don't know that more police officers,

01:46:58 more police vehicles, you name it,

01:47:02 we have to get into the hearts and minds of people

01:47:06 to transform them.

01:47:07 And that transformation must begin at a very young stage.

01:47:11 As we always say, you can't come at the age of 13, 14, 15,

01:47:15 16, now to take the gun out of the young man's hand.

01:47:19 You know, you had to mold him in a particular way

01:47:23 and guide him in a particular direction

01:47:27 so that he does not take up the gun at a later stage.

01:47:31 We do have another call.

01:47:32 Good morning, caller.

01:47:33 Caller, are you there?

01:47:36 The person hung up.

01:47:38 (laughs)

01:47:39 You're calling 623-1711.

01:47:42 The extension is 1995 studio.

01:47:44 He tells me that the person hung up.

01:47:47 Yeah, hey, look at this beautiful picture there.

01:47:49 Yeah, I'll show you the picture just now.

01:47:52 Caller, good morning.

01:47:53 - Good morning.

01:47:55 - Yes.

01:47:56 - How are you?

01:47:57 - I am good.

01:47:58 - Okay.

01:48:00 - You sound like a principal this morning, boy.

01:48:02 Yes, go ahead.

01:48:03 - I just wanted to speak about what's going on

01:48:07 with the climate change people.

01:48:08 - Yeah.

01:48:09 - You said something about, you know,

01:48:12 if we are to go about the place looking all around our back.

01:48:16 Look, sometime, look at, when I was going to church,

01:48:20 I had to drop out of the corner of Charlotte

01:48:23 and Duke Street

01:48:25 and go across to the Methodist Church on Duke Street.

01:48:31 I was scared for my life just to go those few blocks.

01:48:35 And it's not good for our mental health to be like that.

01:48:40 It's just not good for our mental health.

01:48:42 And I'm a senior citizen.

01:48:43 - Yeah.

01:48:44 - So I just wanted to express that.

01:48:47 - And let me also tell you,

01:48:48 they don't care if you're going to church, you know.

01:48:50 - No.

01:48:52 - They don't care.

01:48:53 They don't care where you're going.

01:48:53 - You said something about looking at,

01:48:55 to see, you know, how people look.

01:48:58 Let me tell you something.

01:48:59 I was feeling more safe of the vagrant I saw lying down

01:49:04 by under a building at the corner of Pembroke Street

01:49:08 than I was at, you know, other people who were in,

01:49:13 you know, three-quarter pants and, you know,

01:49:15 looking cleaner than that.

01:49:17 - Thank you very much, Cola.

01:49:19 You saw the video last week

01:49:21 where young men were dragging a lady

01:49:24 on one of those streets in Port-au-Prince,

01:49:25 she was being robbed.

01:49:27 She did not want to let go her handbag

01:49:29 and she was being dragged like a rag on the pavement.

01:49:34 That's somebody's mother, you know,

01:49:36 and somebody's aunt, you know,

01:49:37 and somebody's grandmother, you know,

01:49:39 and could have been the mother or grandmother

01:49:41 of those gentlemen, you know.

01:49:44 Look at this picture, everybody.

01:49:45 You've seen it?

01:49:47 It's a picture by Ishmael Solandi this morning.

01:49:54 In the shade, a cow relaxes in the shade

01:49:56 under a tree yesterday at the Karenny Cremation Site

01:49:59 in Karenny.

01:50:00 You see how the cow-looking boy,

01:50:02 get your express today to see the cow.

01:50:04 (laughs)

01:50:06 Cow looking healthy, boy.

01:50:07 Cow looking like he have on makeup.

01:50:09 We have our last call.

01:50:11 Good morning, Cola.

01:50:12 Cola, change your direction a little bit

01:50:19 so that we can hear you.

01:50:21 You there?

01:50:23 Nah.

01:50:26 We're having a bad connection there, Cola.

01:50:29 Yeah, we have room for one more call?

01:50:32 No?

01:50:32 All right.

01:50:33 We're gonna do it.

01:50:34 We are going to a break.

01:50:36 We're coming back.

01:50:37 (upbeat music)

01:50:39 (upbeat music)

01:50:42 (upbeat music)

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01:51:46 - Celebrate their lives

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01:51:56 (soft music)

01:51:58 - The 2023 Jazz Concert Series

01:52:03 for the Holy Trinity Cathedral Restoration Project

01:52:06 is going down South.

01:52:07 Saturday, October 21st, 7 p.m. at Sapphire.

01:52:11 South's first lady of jazz, Fonette Bigford,

01:52:13 welcomes steel band virtuoso Dr. Ray Holman,

01:52:17 ace musician, Lestin Paul,

01:52:18 and the legendary Brother Valentino.

01:52:21 Tickets go on sale at the Sapphire Box Office

01:52:23 Thursday, September 28th,

01:52:25 online at suntix.com/events,

01:52:28 or call 288-TIXX,

01:52:31 or Sapphire Box Office, 219-7272, extension 6015.

01:52:36 General seating, 200, VIP, 300.

01:52:40 A night of great music for a great cause.

01:52:43 See you at Sapphire.

01:52:45 (upbeat music)

01:52:49 - Welcome back.

01:52:57 So culture and the arts,

01:52:59 they need more government support.

01:53:01 And just to remind you

01:53:02 that the budget debate continues today,

01:53:04 and we'll have all of that for you

01:53:06 in the 7 o'clock news this evening.

01:53:07 Remember that Emmy Prime comes up at 8.30 this morning,

01:53:11 not this morning, this evening.

01:53:13 I'm still thinking about this morning.

01:53:15 That's gonna do it for me for this morning.

01:53:17 Thank you to all of our callers this morning,

01:53:20 and all of those who appeared on our program today.

01:53:23 Thank you very much.

01:53:24 See you right here tomorrow morning again.

01:53:26 Bye bye, everybody.

01:53:27 (upbeat music)

01:53:29 (upbeat music)

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