Morning Edition: 15th August 2024

CCNTV6

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Transcript

00:00:00Yes, we do need some hot music, right, on this cold day in Trinidad and Tobago, alright?

00:00:18So a very special good morning, Trinidad and Tobago, the rest of the world, I'm Marlon

00:00:21Hopkins, and as always, welcome to The Morning Edition.

00:00:24It's Thursday, 15th August, thank you very much for joining us this morning.

00:00:28As I look at that date, I'm just thinking just a few weeks to the beginning of the new

00:00:33school term, so I know that hopefully the children are very excited to get back to work,

00:00:39right?

00:00:40And you know, you have to buy the school books and the school bag and the shoes and, you

00:00:46know, everything to get them prepared for the new school term.

00:00:49I know a number of them have been involving themselves in all sorts of activities, creative

00:00:58ones, some of them spending time on the beaches and so on, so, you know, we just have a few

00:01:03weeks again, as I said.

00:01:04So let's go out there and be safe and do everything in moderation, alright?

00:01:10What a day it was yesterday, right?

00:01:12Let's tell you what happened yesterday.

00:01:13Well, you found out what happened last night in the news, right?

00:01:16But we are going to reiterate what happened yesterday, alright?

00:01:18So let's check out the Daily Express.

00:01:20On the front page today, cops killed six after bandits terrorized pensioner for 20 minutes.

00:01:28Pleaded with intruders, stroke survivor Edward Taylor was unable to fight back when three

00:01:32criminals broke into his home at daybreak yesterday, alright?

00:01:37So gunmen who attacked ailing pensioner among six shot dead by cops.

00:01:42I thought they would kill me.

00:01:44Sixty-eight-year-old Edward Taylor, enfeebled by three strokes and a heart condition, could

00:01:49do nothing when gunmen broke into his home and terrorized him at daybreak yesterday.

00:01:54Less than six hours later, the men who allegedly robbed him were among six people killed by

00:01:59police at a crime hideout not far away.

00:02:02Now, Taylor, a pensioner, said three men entered his home with guns, asking for gold and cash

00:02:08around 6.15 yesterday morning, 6.15, you know, right?

00:02:14His wife died a year ago and Taylor lives alone in Otis Lane, Calcutta, number two in

00:02:20Freeport, alright?

00:02:22So we're moving on.

00:02:25Woman chased, run over with car, killed by ex.

00:02:28Kiefer Wilson was run over and killed by a car driven by an ex-boyfriend after she was

00:02:33struck with a wheel spanner on Tuesday night.

00:02:36Wilson attempted to run away following the attack with a spanner, but the perpetrator

00:02:40pursued her in his car and slammed the vehicle into her.

00:02:44She died at the scene.

00:02:46Shazara Sankar yesterday told reporters about her sister, who was also called Deanne, was

00:02:51in a relationship with the man, but had since brought it to an end.

00:02:56Let's look at some sport now.

00:02:59Shamar Temptation, West Indies consider Pacer Joseph a test series decider.

00:03:04Fast bowler Shamar Joseph could play his first test match in his homeland, Guyana, today

00:03:09when the West Indies face South Africa in the second test at Providence starting at

00:03:1310 a.m.

00:03:15The captain Craig Brathwaite confirmed that the Windies' fastest bowler Joseph is vying

00:03:22for selection, having not played in the drawn first test played at the Queen's Park Oval

00:03:28in Port-au-Spain.

00:03:29You know, when it comes to Brathwaite and Braithwaite and Brathwaite, you know, sometimes

00:03:34you have to think which one it is to say, right?

00:03:38You know that, right?

00:03:39Yeah?

00:03:40You have to be very, very careful, you know?

00:03:45So, and of course, this is cricket season, right?

00:03:49So we are going to be focusing at the end of our program on the WCPL, right?

00:03:54So that's fast approaching, okay?

00:03:57So it's time to remind you about Trinbago Unice feature.

00:03:59Remember to participate.

00:04:00Yeah?

00:04:01I have the right hand this morning.

00:04:02No.

00:04:03Yeah.

00:04:04Trinbago Unice at tb6tnt.com, right?

00:04:09So we do appreciate all of the images that you do send to us.

00:04:12Yeah?

00:04:13Look at this lovely picture.

00:04:14It reminds us, it reminds me of our colleagues, it's from Anjali.

00:04:18Well, all right, I dedicate this to studio, the studio staff this morning.

00:04:23This is how you all behave, you know?

00:04:27Yeah?

00:04:29Not necessarily so close to one another, right?

00:04:32Let me rephrase that, right?

00:04:36So not necessarily so close, right?

00:04:38But I'm talking about the loving atmosphere.

00:04:41You know?

00:04:43Come on, let's, you know, you're all corrupt, too corrupt up here, all right?

00:04:48So you have your coffee, your tea, get something to eat and come back, all right?

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00:06:07and Pennywise nationwide.

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00:06:48and Pennywise nationwide.

00:06:50Maybe you could afford to pay up to $22,500 in fines and lose your license permanently.

00:07:18No?

00:07:19Then don't drink and drive.

00:07:22A message from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.

00:07:40Alright, so welcome back everyone.

00:07:41So the news headlines are telling the entire story this morning, right?

00:07:45Look at this, right?

00:07:48Cops kill six.

00:07:49Now this follows an incident in which a pensioner was terrorized at his Freeport home yesterday.

00:07:54Up to this time, only one of the alleged bandits has been positively identified as Kevon St. Bernard.

00:08:00So we are going to be discussing this and a number of other issues related to crime this morning.

00:08:06On the line, we do have Vivek Charan, Chairman of the Confederation of Regional Business Chambers,

00:08:10and a little later we are going to be joined by Mr. Ricardo Mohamed, Vice Chairman of the Chamber.

00:08:16Vivek Charan, good morning. Thank you very much for joining us.

00:08:20Good morning, Marlon. Thanks for having me on this morning.

00:08:22Of course.

00:08:23Well, as I said yesterday, you had this situation where the police were forced to kill six persons,

00:08:30six bandits who terrorized an elderly gentleman at his home.

00:08:35Of course, over the past few weeks, a number of things have happened in Trinidad and Tobago as it relates to crime.

00:08:43Of course, we do have a new, a brand new minister in the Ministry of National Security.

00:08:48He has been touring Tobago.

00:08:50He has been giving assurances that, look, the authorities are going to do something about crime.

00:08:55Of course, also members of the business community, they are complaining about extortion.

00:09:00So a number of issues to deal with this morning, Mr. Charan, but let's deal with this situation yesterday.

00:09:06What's your perspective on it?

00:09:09This particular situation with the cops shooting six people, you know, it goes towards the idea that we're in a war, Marlon,

00:09:22and there's a lot at stake in this war.

00:09:24And the reality is there are people out there with guns, and they're driving around from place to place.

00:09:31They're actively targeting a very wide and very broad spectrum of people in Trinidad and Tobago.

00:09:38So what we're seeing now is we're seeing people targeted from one end of the spectrum.

00:09:45Let's say one end of the financial spectrum, if we can.

00:09:48Vendors, you know, doubles people.

00:09:52And then we're seeing it all up on the other end.

00:09:55We're seeing contractors.

00:09:56We're seeing people who have brick-and-mortar stores like supermarkets, Chinese restaurants, many small types,

00:10:05small and medium types of business as well, too, that have to deal with armed burglary in daylight hours at times.

00:10:11And then in the middle there, we're seeing incidences of kidnappings that are happening over time.

00:10:17We're seeing the continued home invasions.

00:10:21And we're also seeing, you know, gang warfare playing off in between there.

00:10:26So the criminals seem to be actually quite busy.

00:10:28But what we actually have here from the perspective of, let's say, the police or one of national security,

00:10:35is we're seeing that criminal activity has gotten quite broad and quite diverse.

00:10:41We can't say that, you know, if you have that the wealthy alone are being targeted

00:10:47or these certain sectors of society are being targeted.

00:10:50What we're seeing is we're seeing that across the board where opportunities, whatever the opportunities are,

00:10:57we're seeing criminals hunting for a stream of income.

00:11:00We're seeing criminals hunting people, Trinidadians and Tobegonians now, for a stream of income.

00:11:08And so I think things have become much more dire.

00:11:11So what we see yesterday in this confrontation between the police and these alleged bandits,

00:11:17you know, that actually shows, you know, what is the reality of the situation out there.

00:11:24All right. So we do have Mr. Mohamed, Ricardo Mohamed,

00:11:27vice chairman of the Confederation of Regional Chambers.

00:11:30Mr. Mohamed, thank you very much for joining us this morning.

00:11:34Good morning.

00:11:35Yeah. Do you have a perspective on yesterday's events?

00:11:40I have to agree with my chairman, Mr. Charan.

00:11:43Really and truly, Trinidad has really lost its way.

00:11:48Everyone in society has been looking at what is happening with regards to crime in this country.

00:11:54We know that there is significant economic hardships that could be a driving factor towards these levels of crime.

00:12:02It's rather sad to see that six persons have to get shot by police for whatever reason

00:12:08or whatever the events have transpired and that we had to lose six human beings yesterday in one incident.

00:12:15Trinidad was such a beautiful, lovely country and that was prospering well.

00:12:20And so we have to look at what are the triggers really that are allowing these persons to commit such crimes.

00:12:29Yes. And as Vivek said, it's very diverse.

00:12:32It's not just your average businessman, but now you have the vendors on the streets,

00:12:37the doubles vendors and market vendors and so on being extorted.

00:12:41So we really have to engage.

00:12:46I mean, we have engaged government several times.

00:12:49We have had a significant number of talks.

00:12:52We have shared ideas.

00:12:54It's really time for action now.

00:12:56We cannot, as a people of this country, continue to live under these circumstances and conditions.

00:13:03You know, Mr. Charan, I don't know if you saw it and Mr. Muhammad, yesterday there was a video on social media.

00:13:12And what it showed, we did show it on the news last evening,

00:13:16and it showed what appeared to be a businessman at his business place being beaten and being kicked

00:13:26and being stamped upon on the floor of his business place while it was being robbed.

00:13:33There were two gunmen.

00:13:36And as the video went on, you started to see where the businessman was injured and you saw blood on the floor of the business place.

00:13:47And I raised that to ask you all this morning.

00:13:52When you see things like that, that people who own businesses, they are being treated in this way,

00:14:00and for the reason because they own a business and people are going into businesses, beating and robbing people,

00:14:08what sort of impact does it have on you as a businessman and you think on the entire business community?

00:14:19People are dealing with a lot of fear, Marlon. People are dealing with a lot of fear.

00:14:26And that fear, you know, it affects people in many ways.

00:14:32Anxiety, frustration, anger, many things like that.

00:14:36And one of the things that we have to bear in mind is that violence,

00:14:41violence is one of the main characteristics of criminal interactions with the citizens of our country.

00:14:50And we see this violence happening now. You know, we see this violence happening.

00:14:54I've come on and I've said this many times before. We see this violence happening in home invasions.

00:15:00It is one of the key characteristics of a home invasion.

00:15:04It always includes violence towards male members of the family.

00:15:08We see this violence as happening with regard to armed burglaries, armed robberies, I should say.

00:15:15Exactly what you've seen before. That video we've seen yesterday is one of many.

00:15:20There have been many that have been posted.

00:15:22I remember others of, you know, bandits robbing supermarkets and hitting, you know, elderly persons and hitting, you know, different people and so on.

00:15:32We also see, you know, we read many papers about older people, pensioners being targets and being targets of convenience and targets of opportunity for people.

00:15:44There was also a video of an older gentleman sitting in a car talking about how they were terrorized for two hours and it took his TV.

00:15:52I mean, that was, I mean, that's heartbreaking. It's terrible. It's terrible because who is safe, Marlon?

00:15:58You tell me who is safe. If there were people who thought we were safe and that this is not going to affect us, well, now surely we realize that that's not true.

00:16:07Surely we realize that the criminals themselves have organized themselves as such or they feel so emboldened that they can attack anybody they want in this society.

00:16:18Anybody. And they don't really care whether you have or whether you don't have.

00:16:23And that's the key thing, you know, they don't care whether you have or whether you don't have.

00:16:27Because it seems that in addition to robbing somebody, robbing somebody of their possessions, of the things they have worked for, that it is also almost an invitation for them to visit violence upon the people.

00:16:41Because I can't understand if you're coming to rob people or to get money or to take things that don't belong to you, whatever it may be, then why always there's this incidence of brutality?

00:16:55Why always there's this incidence of almost torture? You're holding a family, you're holding people, you're holding a married couple, you're holding grandparents in a home, terrorizing them for two hours.

00:17:09How are you getting fun out of that? I don't understand. But imagine how that affects other people in our society when we have to hear about it and then we're thinking, you know, we could be next.

00:17:23And that seems to be the reality. Who knows who's going to be next? The police isn't going to know who's going to be next. I don't know who's going to be next.

00:17:31It could very well be me or you or anybody else, God forbid. But the reality is that it is happening. And then when these situations occur, like yesterday, and then there's a confrontation that happens with the police, and it leads to the death of six individuals.

00:17:48You have only one end, this is spread all over social media, and it is actually greeted on social media, you know, in a sense of success on the police side. Right? And then there's the other aspect of that where for other people, it's not a sign of success, it's a sign of the police, you know, the police overstepping and the police shooting all these people.

00:18:08And what does it mean? And there's a sense of anxiety and fear on that part as well, too. But in reality, as a society, we're fed up of the crime situation. We're not fed up necessarily of the government or the police and stuff like that. We're fed up of the criminals always winning. And we're fed up of the criminals visiting violence upon us for no good reason at all.

00:18:32Yeah. Mr. Muhammad, let's look a little bit about the police's response. Because recently, of course, the police would have met with the prime minister, and the prime minister at that time would have told members of the police service that he expected an increase in mobile patrols, an increase, a general increase in security.

00:18:55At that time, senior police officers would have said, well, here's what, there is going to be a consistent presence of the police across the country. That is what they had promised. Of course, in the weeks following that, we are still seeing where crimes are being perpetrated against citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.

00:19:17So, Mr. Muhammad, as you look at these assurances from the police, and you look at the mechanisms that they have put in place, how do you rate them?

00:19:29Well, that's a very good question. How do we rate the TTPS? From time to time, we hear on media, the members, senior members of the TTPS saying that they have a crime solvency rate, depending on whatever field of crime, of low percentage.

00:19:56You hear things like 18%, 20%, 22%, and that they have made progress from, I don't know, 18% to 25%. Really and truly, we cannot expect that to be numbers or percentages that we as a public have to accept.

00:20:16You go to school and you make 20% in a subject. It's a failing grade. So right now, the TTPS, when they come outside and they say, we have made improvements and we are now doing 20-something percent or 30% in solving crimes or getting convictions, is that really an achievement? And the answer is no.

00:20:38So we have to ask the second question. There are good members of the TTPS and sometimes we may have communication with them because we ourselves may sit on the police station councils and we get involved in meetings. We are always trying to help our communities.

00:20:53Why it is that we as businessmen have to take all this time, go to station council meetings, have these group meetings to help us solve crime when we are not seeing any results? And the position is, one, we have heard a lot of complaints from officers that they don't get enough resources. They always have issues with vehicles.

00:21:14They have issues with basic administrative stuff. For example, a photocopier machine. Many times we hear that they don't have a photocopier machine or they may not have ink. There are many, many, many different factors.

00:21:44Do they have the right resources in the specific areas? Do they have enough human resources to execute their plans? And many times we would hear, as you said earlier, that we would hear about more patrols and more patrols and more visibility. But really that has not impacted the level of crime.

00:22:04So why are we not hearing of specific strategic plans, specialized roadblocks, specialized surveillances, use of drones to gain information? There are so many new technologies. They may need to probably get more involved in AI to actually help them solve some of these crimes.

00:22:24So where are we going as a country? We have to wonder, does this country or does the government have the political will to give the necessary infrastructure and then manage that infrastructure in terms of being results-oriented and results-driven?

00:22:40Yeah. Gentlemen, please hold the line with us. We are going to a very short break, everybody. We're coming back.

00:22:46Hello. I'm doing names over here. It's so easy to swap that.

00:23:08Now I'm going to do the other side.

00:23:20And that's how you do names over here.

00:23:38So regardless of the size of your business, the choice is clear.

00:23:56News delivers results.

00:24:09The current infrastructure for cyclists, I believe we can do a lot better.

00:24:20So what is needed in Trinidad and Tobago or in the Caribbean for encouraging sustainable transport?

00:24:30Pedestrians and cyclists form an integral part of traffic, not just vehicles, but persons along a public roadway.

00:24:40One of the main reasons I also commute the way that I do is because of traffic.

00:24:49We all need to all go where we have to go and we all have a destiny.

00:25:10All right. So welcome back, everyone.

00:25:11So we are continuing this discussion with members of the business community, Re Crime in Trinidad and Tobago.

00:25:17And we do have on the line. He is still with us.

00:25:20Mr. Vivek Charan, chairman of the Confederation of Regional Business Chambers, and also Ricardo Mohamed, vice chairman of the chamber.

00:25:28Mr. Charan, earlier this week and maybe over just over a week now, we have been hearing more and more reports of extortion being reported by members of the business community.

00:25:42Earlier this week, we had we were told about the situation in Tunapuna.

00:25:48Also, the minister in the Ministry of National Security, Keith Scotland, would have visited the Chagones chamber, would have had talks with them.

00:25:56He gave assurances that this whole issue of extortion is going to be dealt with.

00:26:02How do you feel as to what the minister has said and how serious is the situation re extortion?

00:26:10First of all, the situation extortion is very, very serious.

00:26:13It is indeed extremely serious.

00:26:15And most of it is still hidden because most people are still living in fear of it.

00:26:21So we have to give credit to those individuals who have been courageous enough.

00:26:26So actually, when they have been in a situation where they are dealing with extortion, they have been courageous enough to go to the police, make reports, and also sometimes to share on social media, which that guy did the other day, the $75,000 situation.

00:26:44And that in itself has brought a lot of, let's say, clarity, one to the situation.

00:26:50But it's also been verifiable.

00:26:53So before this thing really happened, extortion wasn't taken seriously by the police.

00:27:00It was about really somebody call you and tell you, give them $50,000 and you're really going to give them that sort of scenario.

00:27:10But now, given the fact that extortion is always backed up with threats, and sometimes these threats are real.

00:27:18Sometimes you get visited by men with guns.

00:27:20Sometimes men will drive by the home or the area and fire shots in the air and stuff like that, which happens.

00:27:26And we've seen some of that on social media as well.

00:27:30And the reality is, given the level of violence and given how easy it is for people to drive around and shoot at people and often murder people, the reality is that the police themselves have begun to take threats of extortion very seriously.

00:27:47It has also been alleged that when there was a kidnapping involving a doubles person, that extortion was also part of that scene as well.

00:27:58So definitely, I believe the police have really been taking it seriously.

00:28:02But there are two parts of that.

00:28:04One is that if you are a victim of extortion, it is extremely important at first instance to contact the police.

00:28:10Very, very important.

00:28:12The second thing is never pay anything.

00:28:14Never agree to meet anybody.

00:28:17If somebody says, well, you know, you need to meet us, so-and-so, we're going to discuss it, or whatever, you never do anything like that.

00:28:24First thing you need to do is call the police and let them know what is happening and stay calm.

00:28:29And it's good that we've reached a situation where the police are actually dealing with these things and that it's actually taken precedence.

00:28:40But the reality is sometimes when it happens, well, it happens a bit too late.

00:28:46Because being in this thing for a while and having met with many of the commissioners of police, the police often deal with statistics.

00:28:54And often all crimes start with a few occurrences.

00:28:57So many years ago, when home invasion started to raise their head and we had a meeting with one of the commissioner police,

00:29:06they had said that statistically there was not enough home invasions happening for that to be a priority compared to gang warfare.

00:29:16And now we see that over the years, right, that has really become much, much more.

00:29:21And the same thing has happened with extortion.

00:29:23Now, I have to say that the way the police deal with things, the police are under a lot of pressure.

00:29:29I actually have seen the police driving up and down.

00:29:32They're very visible in vehicles now. They're often parked on the side of the road, on the highways.

00:29:39I see them driving up and down the bus route a lot of the times.

00:29:43So they are wrong.

00:29:45The issue here is in any war, as we know, the soldiers are told where to go, where to fight and what to do.

00:29:56And it is similar in the police service also in this war we have against crime.

00:30:01And the people who tell them where to go and what to do and how to do it are the leaders.

00:30:06The generals, the leaders, the commissioner of police or whoever.

00:30:10And that is why it is critical that before we start to lay blame or before we start to blame the entire police service,

00:30:19who, as I said, are under tremendous pressure, that we also have to take into account the leadership behind this.

00:30:26And the leadership behind this are the people who are right now dealing in the TTPs and those other bodies

00:30:34that are determining what our current crime strategy is.

00:30:39So when we look at the effects or when we look at the results,

00:30:44the results of what is happening now with crime and effectiveness as a police

00:30:50ultimately has to be laid at the feet of those who are leading this thing.

00:30:55And those who are making the strategic plans that the police have to act upon.

00:31:01Mr. Mohammed, how has the issue of extortion been impacting your colleagues?

00:31:07Well, as Mr. Charan has said, it is really becoming out of control.

00:31:14We do hear of incidences across the board.

00:31:18We do have business colleagues who are affected and we really need to have some sort of strategy implemented for this.

00:31:25So I think moving forward, apart from all the patrols that we are seeing, we need to see more increased joint patrols.

00:31:33We have to see more intelligence planning with regards to these criminals.

00:31:40Also, we have to look at training for officers, specialized skills training, sharing of best practices from different departments.

00:31:49All of these things will play a part.

00:31:51For example, if we have a foreigner who could come down to Trinidad, visit all the gangs, know where they are,

00:32:00then why can't the TTPs do the same?

00:32:02We have to ask that question.

00:32:04What is it? Do they know? Some of them, are they accepting what's happening?

00:32:10The reality of the situation is this must stop.

00:32:14The business community, we can only prepare as much as we can.

00:32:20Each and every one of us would have engaged in some sort of self-defense practice,

00:32:25whether it's reinforcement of doors or dogs or getting our FULs.

00:32:31We have serious concerns.

00:32:33Many businessmen who have applied for FULs are still waiting and that is also a serious concern

00:32:39because sometimes we feel like we don't have the right to protect ourselves.

00:32:44That is a major concern.

00:32:46I think each and every one of us should have that right to protect ourselves.

00:32:50We should see more joint patrols because if sometimes the complaint is that they don't have a lot of staff within the TTPs,

00:33:02then let's use the resources that we have to help engage in a better crime fight and practice.

00:33:09Yeah, all right.

00:33:11Mr. Charan, well, one of the major announcements or one of the major components,

00:33:22I think it is safe to say in government's arsenal to peg back against the criminals

00:33:30is the announcement over the past few weeks where you had the appointment of Keith Scotland as minister in the Ministry of National Security.

00:33:39Of course, his responsibility involves the police service and other things that the prime minister has mandated him to do.

00:33:53How do you feel about this appointment?

00:34:00We've seen Mr. Scotland out and about.

00:34:03I honestly believe that Mr. Scotland has really been appointed simply because from the public perspective,

00:34:10over time, given the growth of crime, given how we've seen crime broaden, become more diverse,

00:34:16given many of the incidents that have been occurring, that people have lost confidence and faith in the sitting minister of national security.

00:34:25I think generally we can agree to that.

00:34:28And they have lost faith in the man, not perhaps because he's actually working hard behind the scenes, but really because the results are not there.

00:34:35And really because when they have expected the sitting minister to come out and back for them,

00:34:42when they have expected the sitting minister to come out and say, I have a control of this. I'm here with you guys.

00:34:48This is what we're doing. The minister has largely been absent.

00:34:51He stayed pretty much behind the scenes.

00:34:54And so now we have the appointment of an individual who is not behind the scenes.

00:34:59We have the appointment of an individual that publicly has been going out and he's being seen and he's been speaking to communities and going to business chambers and that sort of thing.

00:35:13And that is not unlike what the minister, the sitting minister of national security had done in the early days.

00:35:21But given time and given the lack of results, largely measured by how much this crime situation has grown and snowballed into currently,

00:35:33I feel that one of the reasons for Mr. Scotland coming on board is that of public perception and to have a bit of confidence.

00:35:44What I would hope and what we would hope as business people is not happening is that, you know, there is no idea.

00:35:53You know, how do you negotiate with terrorists? How do you negotiate with criminals?

00:35:59How do you go there and negotiate a ceasefire?

00:36:03You know, in terms of gang warfare and stuff like that.

00:36:07I hope that what is happening, because it's been said, it's been said, you know, in conversations nationally on WhatsApp and so on,

00:36:15that the citizenry or the people feel or hope that this is not, you know, meeting communities and meeting gang members and so on, if that were to occur.

00:36:25It's not about appeasement. It's not about speaking to them to calm the situation.

00:36:31What do people want? A final solution.

00:36:33Often final solutions are what happened when it culminated with six people being shot yesterday.

00:36:40A final solution is that a lid is not put on things for it to bubble over sometime again in the near future.

00:36:49So what we're looking for is final solutions.

00:36:52And if this new appointment of Mr. Scotland can bring final solutions to this situation, final measurable solutions,

00:37:00where we can see, in fact, that things have been quieting down, that there are less of these incidents happening, then that would be a good thing.

00:37:08Yeah.

00:37:09But the amorous nature of this crime thing, Marlon, is that where on one end it seems to be contained, on the other end, right, it seems to blossom.

00:37:19And that's what we're seeing with the extortions and stuff. And that's why we're seeing that people, let's say, on the financially lower end of the spectrum, are now being targeted.

00:37:30Yes, gentlemen. Well, unfortunately, we have run out of time, but it's always a pleasure speaking with you, gentlemen.

00:37:36Thank you very much for your perspectives this morning. And I'm sure that we will speak again in the near future.

00:37:43Bye for now, gentlemen. Be safe.

00:37:46Thank you.

00:37:47All right. So we are going to have a short break, everybody. We're coming back.

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00:39:36All right, everybody. So welcome back.

00:39:38So we are again speaking about the Agri Expo, right?

00:39:42So we do have online this morning Riyad Mohamed, Lead Agricultural Consultant.

00:39:47And we do have Alpha Sanon, CEO of Y Farm.

00:39:51Gentlemen, good morning. Thank you very much for joining us.

00:39:55Hi, good morning.

00:39:56Good morning, Marlon, and to all the viewers and audience in Antobago.

00:39:59Yeah, gentlemen, very good to have you all this morning.

00:40:03Well, Riyad, let's begin with you.

00:40:05Let's speak a little bit about the Agri Expo.

00:40:10OK, great.

00:40:11So as a private sector representative, what I see the Agri Expo as is a massive and great integrator.

00:40:19What does that really mean?

00:40:21Now, when we say agriculture, we have many facets of agriculture.

00:40:25We have crop production, livestock production, apiculture, aquaculture, protected agricultural systems, integrated farming systems.

00:40:34And then we have different pieces that integrate within those individual operations, meaning we practice sustainable consumption, circular economy.

00:40:47It's tied into logistics and supply chain and even supply chain.

00:40:51So what we are trying to do in the Expo for the farm to table is really link the farmer to the distributor wholesaler, to the consumer, to the agriprocessor,

00:41:05so that everybody could get actually a bird's eye view of what really takes place to make safe and nutritious food.

00:41:13Yeah.

00:41:14Yeah.

00:41:15Alpha, let's talk about Y Farm's participation in the Agri Expo.

00:41:21So definitely Y Farm would be there again for the second time around.

00:41:26Y Farm is that entity that works with children and young people.

00:41:30So our role at the Expo in following the theme of the Expo, which is farm to table, revolutionizing the local food supply chain.

00:41:38We want the opportunity to show young people who come out there, to show the kids who come out there, what does farm to table mean?

00:41:45How is it important to them?

00:41:46Where can they, as a youth, fit within the agricultural value chain?

00:41:50So we will be using our comic books, our cartoons, we will have Agri Man on display, our superhero character,

00:41:57to show all our videos that could allow young people to really take up that opportunity and how they fit within the agricultural value chain and be inspired.

00:42:06So our comic books highlight different stories about different activities in agriculture, food and nutrition security,

00:42:14being able to really take the young persons from farm to table, from understanding how do you go from the cocoa bean to the chocolate bar?

00:42:23So people could be inspired in identifying themselves in the agricultural value chain.

00:42:30Alpha is speaking about comic books. Alpha, comic books you're speaking about, you know, what would have inspired this?

00:42:38Well, yeah, that's trying to identify what are some new innovative ways to be able to reach young people in agriculture.

00:42:48You know, we always say that young people are not interested in agriculture.

00:42:52I mean, I don't believe that because myself as a youth, Riyadh as a youth, you know,

00:42:56we've been interested in agriculture ever since, you know, growing up.

00:43:00But being able to find ways and means, innovative approaches to reach them.

00:43:06How do you use what they use, what they look at and put agriculture in it to be able to teach them?

00:43:12Exactly. Yeah. Go ahead, Riyadh.

00:43:15Riyadh, but I get the feeling that the Agri Expo, it's sort of like a one stop shop, right?

00:43:22Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. So farmers could come and sell their agricultural produce.

00:43:27People who want to go into value processing could come and learn about yogurt making or ice cream making and see wines, see different types of preservation methods.

00:43:37And you see the good thing about these Agri Expos and this massive one in Trinidad and Tobago hosted by the Minister of Agriculture is that we get all of the players in one location for a three day period.

00:43:50Meaning that we get investors, we get finances, we get the ADB, we get ICA, we get CARDI, we get MALF.

00:43:57All right. So all of these big players are there to support us private sector business owners to grow businesses in and out of Trinidad and Tobago.

00:44:06For example, many farmers have questions. How do I grow cantaloupe in Trinidad and Tobago? How do I grow honeydew melons?

00:44:14So they want to maybe grow food in a safe and nutritious way, meaning that they want to use green agro input supplies.

00:44:21And you have a lot of these supply chemical companies now turning to the more biological and OMRI certified stuff.

00:44:29So that's where I see we educating each other at the same time.

00:44:33And the good thing about these Expos is that it brings the farmers, the senior farmers with all that wealth of knowledge and experience to meet and greet us and to share with us all that they have learned in terms of techniques.

00:44:46We get the academics on board, meaning that remember some things are published at the university level, but with the farmers and food producers, their techniques have never been truly published.

00:44:57But guess what? We have an opportunity to learn from them. And that's why I always respect the senior farmers of the country.

00:45:03And, you know, Alpha, I like the excitement that Riyad is speaking with. Right, Alpha?

00:45:10Because I think for so long, Alpha, you had one sort of view of agriculture when there are so many sides of agriculture and so many opportunities.

00:45:24Re-agriculture. I mean, if we speak about agriculture, we always speak about pimento and hot peppers and shadow benny, you know, things like that.

00:45:32But there are so many different areas now. Re-agriculture. Speak to that for us, Alpha.

00:45:41Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I mean, what we have to start thinking about, the mindset about is that the amount of varying facets it takes to get food from the farm gate to the man's plate, you know, that entire chain there is agriculture.

00:45:59And for so long, you know, we have thought that agriculture, it just stops right at the farm gate, but it goes way beyond that.

00:46:08And of course, in this age with technology now, as Riyad said before, we have hydroponics, we have aquaponics, you know, we have all these technological things as well that youth is very much interested in as well to get them excited in it.

00:46:22And being able to take the cocoa bean to the chocolate bar is an entire process by itself that young people could find their space inside of there. I may not want to be a cocoa farmer, but I could be a chocolate maker. You are very important as well.

00:46:40I may not want to be a chocolate maker, but I could be somebody who is setting cocoa seedlings, you know, to get plants, you know. So all of this is what we'll see at the Expanse.

00:46:51I'll tell what Riyad said as well. There's also a business-to-business seminar that will happen simultaneously throughout Saturday and Sunday where different experts would come at a room at the Queen's Park Savannah and be able to have sessions with young persons, persons in business, persons who want to start, persons who want to grow their business.

00:47:11Different things about unlocking your potential, funding opportunities to export your products, how do you receive grants, how do you develop a start-up business in agriculture. So all of this is happening simultaneously at the Expo.

00:47:25Exactly. Riyad, the way that Alpha has put this, I even feel I'm coming down to the AgriExpo, you know. But Riyad, agriculture is seen as hard work. So speak to that for me. Speak to that, speak about the viability of the sector too.

00:47:49All right. So agriculture, in my personal experience over the last 17 years, has been a commercial producer. Now, people think agriculture is not a full-time job. In my view, it is. Just like you want to make money being, you know, any of the other service providers, agriculture too is a full-time job, so you need to put effort, do a proper business plan, track your spending, manage your cash flow statements.

00:48:19Understand your accounting, understand the legal aspects of agriculture. Remember, agriculture is not just a science, but it's also a business. And operating within each and every country, we must understand the laws that govern the business or the running of our business.

00:48:33So agriculture, for me, it's not really hard. You need to learn, educate yourself, and partner with the people that simply know a bit more than you in a certain area or sector. And that's what I learned. I literally learned from all the senior farmers who I've met, from the Ministry of Agriculture, on the ASTT boards years ago, on the fields in Orange Grove, in Ziparia, all of those places, I would have gathered knowledge, information, and technique and skills.

00:49:03So I would not say that agriculture isn't hard. But there are ways to ensure that the job gets easier over time. And the good thing about technology and information sharing, right now you have an overload of information sharing. So we really have to screen through. You know, long ago, maybe two or three decades ago, it was a scarcity of information. Now it's not, that's not the issue.

00:49:26We have to filter out which information is relevant to the crops and livestock that we want to grow here, the products we want to create here. And that's how we start to learn and train ourselves. It's not as simple as just getting a university degree on the theoretical side, which makes you certified. But experience is, I would say, equal or even more important than the field of agriculture.

00:49:50That's why I have a lot of internships, programs running on, you know, teaching all of these youths and even the senior farmers, hey, just to join a simple Zoom meeting, just to do up a business plan template, you know, to get loans from the EDB or Republic Bank, all of the services I offer as a consultancy agency. But I mean, my journey in agriculture has always been exciting.

00:50:11Alpha and I, strangely, went to the same mosque in Ziparia, went to the same high school in Ziparia as well, branched off in various parts of life. And I think we are almost the same age, Alpha, maybe just a year older than me, if so much. And we have achieved a lot as young people pioneering farriculture in Trinidad and Tobago and in Caricom.

00:50:33Alpha, so the AgriExpo is for everyone?

00:50:36AgriExpo is for everyone, from the kids to the granny to the auntie to everybody. Come on down. There's something for everyone. There is a specialized kids area. There's a petting zoo. There's machinery, you know, the agri processors, agri MSCs. So we have something for everybody to be able to come on down, be inspired, be influenced, be motivated.

00:51:02You know, I'll definitely take the opportunity to run through the details about then. Right. So the Expo begins on Friday the 16th, which I believe, which is tomorrow, Friday at 11 a.m. and goes to 10 p.m.

00:51:20And then it continues on Saturday and Sunday. It begins at 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Queen's Park, Savannah. You cannot miss it. As soon as you enter, you'll see the action. And trust me, last time around 2022 for the first Expo that we hosted for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, we were over 30,000 participants.

00:51:41People came out in their numbers, you know, you swear was so come on up with something going on in the Queen's Park, Savannah. But it was the AgriExpo. And this time around, of course, you know, coming back out with a bang and bigger and even better. Something for everybody. There's giveaways. There's a livestock competition as well, too.

00:52:03You know, where people will be able to who brought their animals to the Expo to win big prizes, who have the best, the best breed of goat, the best sheep, the best cow, you know, and these are exciting things to just be able to inspire people on way. Them animals, what I have, I can start to rear them better, I can start to do a better job with them. I'm going to start a herd or something, you know.

00:52:23So there's money involved in agriculture and it's time that the country understands this, you know. And as Riyadh said, education is the key in training. But I mean, going to the universities, yes, but it's being on the ground and working and talking to other farmers. There's nothing better than a farmer field school where a senior farmer passing on that knowledge to you and mentoring you in the practices and all the things that they went through.

00:52:49So, yes, the Expo is a family affair. People, you have to come out to participate. Farm the table.

00:52:56Gentlemen, we have run out of time, but thank you very much. And gentlemen, you two are very good ambassadors for the agriculture sector. As I say, I feel excited and I think I'm going to attend, right? But thank you again for speaking with us this morning. It was a pleasure speaking with you all. And again, take care, gentlemen. Bye for now.

00:53:19All right. So we are going to very shortly.

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01:01:45The letter of the day is you for understanding.

01:02:01All right. So welcome back, everyone.

01:02:04So have you ever heard of Trinbago Lingo?

01:02:07All right. So after today, you are going to be hearing a little more about it.

01:02:12All right. So we do have the founder of the company, Trinbago Lingo, Michael Woods Patino.

01:02:18He's here with us this morning and he's going to tell us everything about Trinbago Lingo.

01:02:23Michael, good morning. Thank you very much for coming this morning.

01:02:26All right. So let's get right into it. Tell us about Trinbago Lingo.

01:02:28Right. So in this sense, Trinbago Lingo encapsulates our colloquial scenes.

01:02:35So when we speak, our dialect is used within our community, within our, as you would say, expression literature.

01:02:44We normally would want to express ourselves in this day and age without any shape or form.

01:02:52In this sense, our colloquial scenes are, you would say, ostracized in our communities.

01:02:59So we use our colloquial scenes on a day to day basis where we would want not only the younger generations,

01:03:09but the older generations to actually bring forth and educate the masses.

01:03:14So that is the whole gist of Trinbago Lingo.

01:03:17Yeah. All right. Just to tell you, so Michael has a degree.

01:03:21It's from UWE and it's in Spanish and linguistics.

01:03:26Michael, but why do you think that there is a need, there is a benefit,

01:03:33there is a value for this dialect to be passed on from one generation to the next generation?

01:03:39Because as you know, and as you would have said, our dialect is being,

01:03:46it is not supported in the way that it should be supported.

01:03:52People are quick to tell you, hey, stop speaking like that. You're speaking badly.

01:03:56So it is frowned upon.

01:03:58That's correct.

01:04:00Why do you think that there was a need for it to be supported and exposed and respected in the way that it should be respected?

01:04:07So in this sense, why I would look at it is that, for example, Audre,

01:04:16most of the children these days watch TV shows that are mostly Americanized or Westernized, right?

01:04:23Right. A lot of them have accents.

01:04:25Exactly. Exactly. So this is also a term where you will look at the colloquial scenes

01:04:33that will encapsulate and bring forth the knowledge and the situational aspect

01:04:39where children and older generations could bring it back because it is, as I would look at it, dying in a sense.

01:04:47Most people would look at this term as dying languages.

01:04:52Yes.

01:04:54For instance, we could look at our French Creole. Before anything in general,

01:04:57we used to actually speak French Creole within our native island right here.

01:05:03That is slowly dying. Right now, it's actually being revitalized by Mr. Namdi Hodge, thankfully.

01:05:11But within the areas of Trinidad and Tobago, let me just say Paramin, let me just say Cedrus, let me just say Lupino.

01:05:19This is a dying language. It needs to be revitalized.

01:05:22Yeah.

01:05:23So looking at the term of our Trinidadian English Creole, this is important.

01:05:30We could actually express and actually bring forth education and also bring to light the new age of art and expression with our colloquial scenes.

01:05:43All right. So back to Trinbago Lingo. It's a company, but where can people access information?

01:05:53A website, a Facebook page, social media?

01:05:56So yes, we are on social media, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.

01:06:03Soon, I will be creating a website so people can actually read the information that I do post on my social media pages, whether it be Instagram.

01:06:12I'm also on WhatsApp Business, so you can actually contact me there with the number 4685204.

01:06:19And we can actually have a conversation about our colloquial scenes.

01:06:24Yeah. All right. So give me a vision here because it's the vision I'm looking for.

01:06:31So for the person who is looking at us right now, if I'm interested, when you get your website and so on.

01:06:38So I go up on the website. What do I see?

01:06:41On the website. Sooner or later, you will also see, you will see shirts, you will see pants, you will see hats.

01:06:49You will also see the meaning towards the word, which I guess you took the time to read.

01:06:54So the first, I would say, the first word that I came out with was mamagai.

01:07:01Right. Yeah.

01:07:02Which also means to tease someone by flattery.

01:07:08Right. And as you can see, it is also expressed within the phonetic transcription where it has the full stress, the second stress.

01:07:16And well, the death tongue and the mummified tongues. So mamagai.

01:07:21Right. And while the artwork behind it, as you would see, there's a hibiscus.

01:07:26One is dying. One is actually alive. And then it has the theatrical mass that we can look at.

01:07:34It all plays part to the hummingbird.

01:07:39Sorry. Right.

01:07:41It all plays a part with the hummingbird, as you can clearly see.

01:07:44Which is our, you would say the land of the hummingbird, Trinidad and Tobago.

01:07:47The steel plant that has just recently been, you would say, our national instrument after all these years.

01:07:56And it hasn't been a part of it.

01:07:58And the date our, well, the business has been established, which was this year, May the 7th, 2024.

01:08:07All right. So, yes.

01:08:08So, in the very near future, if I want to know, for someone searching and I want to say, I want to find the meaning of your fast, so I could look for your fast on it.

01:08:21Yes. Sooner or later, there will be an app that I am trying to produce, sooner rather than later, to actually encapsulate our colloquial series.

01:08:30But this sounds like a lot of work to me.

01:08:33It is a lot of work.

01:08:34You have to hire staff, you have to hire members of your family, your mummy and your sister and your father and everybody and your grandfather, everybody, right?

01:08:41Yes, it is actually a lot of work and is a lot of research.

01:08:44But with God, everything is possible.

01:08:47Yeah. Yeah. All right.

01:08:49So, is there an opportunity for people to get any of your jerseys and merchandise right now?

01:08:56Yes, right now. Well, currently, I am in the process of printing.

01:09:00It is actually almost completed.

01:09:02I have started off with 20 shirts.

01:09:04Right.

01:09:06Being honest, the first 20 is already gone.

01:09:08Really? What? I better invest in this business, boy. Go ahead, boy, Michael.

01:09:12But I am already putting in the next order for the other 30 prints.

01:09:17Yes. And sooner rather than later, you will see me also at UWE to do the cultural affairs from the 9th to the 13th of September.

01:09:29Yes.

01:09:30So, I get the feeling that when it comes to the culture and when it comes to passing on the culture, as I said earlier, from generation to generation, that you are all in.

01:09:45Correct.

01:09:47Right? And what I would want to say about that, I think it is heartening to me that a young person, what is your age?

01:09:5725.

01:09:58That a person at 25, they see the value in culture.

01:10:04They see the value in the way that we walk and we talk and our mannerisms.

01:10:09There is value in all of that.

01:10:11That is correct.

01:10:13Because I think that there may be a lot of people at your age that they just do not know.

01:10:18That is correct.

01:10:20So, how I suspect this is another avenue to get more and more young people involved and to know.

01:10:26That is correct.

01:10:28Michael, everybody here now.

01:10:30Yes, through the technological age.

01:10:32And I think that the history is being lost somewhere along the way.

01:10:37Alright, so anything else you would like to tell us before you leave us this morning?

01:10:41So, I would love to say thanks to God firstly.

01:10:45I would also like to thank a graphic designer who helped me with this artwork.

01:10:51I would love to thank my parents, my sister.

01:10:55Shout them out. Shout them out by name.

01:10:56Shout them out by name, man.

01:10:58Gerard Lee Yip Ying, my graphic artist.

01:11:01Keisha Witts-Petino, Lena Petino, Ashley Witts-Petino.

01:11:04That is my family. My mom, dad and sister.

01:11:07Also, Kelsey Suba, which is the fiance of Gerard Lee Yip Ying.

01:11:11Also, I want to shout out Delano Brewster who helped me along the way with the conversation that we had.

01:11:17And also Karen Luke.

01:11:19Alright. Michael, we wish you all the best.

01:11:21Thank you so much.

01:11:22And we hope to see the website and all the social media mechanisms so that we can soon tap into the information, right?

01:11:37Yes.

01:11:39And when that time comes, I'm going to challenge you now, Michael, and go up on the page and see what you can find there, right?

01:11:46But it was a pleasure speaking with you this morning.

01:11:48Thank you so much.

01:11:50How do people get onto you again?

01:11:52Facebook, Trinbago Lingo.

01:11:54WhatsApp Business 4685204.

01:11:57And TikTok, Trinbago Lingo.

01:12:00Alright, Michael. All the best.

01:12:02Thank you so much, sir.

01:12:04We are going to a very short break. We're coming back, everybody.

01:12:22And now, with our new improved search engine, buyers can find your ad by category, by keyword, or even using the features of the item for sale.

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01:12:54Consider it sold.

01:12:56We all need to share the road.

01:12:59If you hit a cyclist on the road, you're going to be prosecuted.

01:13:04It's as if two cars hit each other.

01:13:12Slavery. A terrible time in our history.

01:13:16The kidnapping, buying and selling of people for profit.

01:13:20The exploitation of another human being.

01:13:23It still exists today.

01:13:25It has a new name.

01:13:27Human trafficking.

01:13:29Anyone can be a victim.

01:13:31There is forced labor.

01:13:33Sexual exploitation.

01:13:35And domestic servitude.

01:13:39Human trafficking is a worldwide problem and an emerging concern for us here in Trinidad and Tobago.

01:13:46If you know of or suspect human trafficking activity, call the Counter-Trafficking Hotline at 800-4CTU or 800-4288.

01:13:56Human trafficking is a crime.

01:13:59Identify it. Report it. Stop it.

01:14:02A message from the Counter-Trafficking Unit of the Ministry of National Security.

01:14:15Do you remember when we fell in love?

01:14:20I remember, don't worry.

01:14:24Do you remember how it all began?

01:14:29How could I ever forget? It's the first time.

01:14:33Do you remember if I could be there to call you in the air?

01:14:38Call you in the air.

01:14:40Call you in the air tonight.

01:14:45Do you remember when we fell in love?

01:14:51Do you remember how it all began?

01:14:56Do you remember when we fell in love?

01:15:00Do you remember how it all began?

01:15:05Do you remember how it all began?

01:15:13I have rights.

01:15:15I have rights.

01:15:17You have rights.

01:15:19We all have rights.

01:15:21He has rights.

01:15:23She has rights.

01:15:25All children have rights.

01:15:29My parents and my guardians should know all my rights.

01:15:33Our government should ensure that we enjoy our rights.

01:15:37Children have rights.

01:15:4630-30

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01:17:3430-30

01:17:36What's happening inside is that ever so often

01:17:39when we get a little space on somebody's program,

01:17:43you sing about one song, if possible, two.

01:17:45In this situation, we thought that we

01:17:48try to extend and give the audience a little snippet

01:17:52of our repertoire.

01:17:53That is the word?

01:17:54It's repertoire.

01:17:54It's repertoire or reservoir.

01:17:55Which one is it?

01:17:56No, no, no, no, reservoir.

01:17:57What is it?

01:17:59Because there's still plenty in it.

01:18:00A reservoir of your repertoire.

01:18:02All right, beautiful.

01:18:03Oh, yeah, yeah.

01:18:03Put it that way.

01:18:04Beautiful.

01:18:05So that's the whole exercise.

01:18:06So that every segment of the show,

01:18:09the particular artist who is on stage at a particular time

01:18:12will be given at least about four songs

01:18:15that you will be able to appreciate.

01:18:16And variation, of course, in terms

01:18:19of over the period, what they have done,

01:18:21and that kind of thing.

01:18:22Yeah.

01:18:23Well, Hamidullah has brought this for me here, all right?

01:18:29And it has 16 songs on this.

01:18:33Hamidullah, where can members of the public get this?

01:18:36Well, 760-2882, that is my number.

01:18:40You call me at any time, any hour.

01:18:42And also, I must advise that I have a courier service that

01:18:45is delivered.

01:18:47OK.

01:18:48All right.

01:18:50So let's get back to some of the songs

01:18:54that you all are going to be performing.

01:18:58Because we're talking about Three Kings and the Queen.

01:19:01Of course, you would be known for a certain type of songs.

01:19:06Ras Commander, too, he's performing.

01:19:08And you have Lady Adana and Kinty.

01:19:12Right.

01:19:12So it's going to be a mix of colorful songs.

01:19:15Yes.

01:19:15Different moods, different feel, different spirit

01:19:17coming at you all the time.

01:19:19All in all, it's about being entertaining.

01:19:21Entertainment is the best.

01:19:23Because we also observe, too, that the entertaining aspect

01:19:27of Karate has gone out.

01:19:28We get so serious now, you know?

01:19:31And we want to return to that entertainment feeling

01:19:34and give you the opportunity to laugh and enjoy yourself, too,

01:19:36and look and see.

01:19:37Well, look, that's how it used to be, that kind of thing.

01:19:39Right.

01:19:40Yeah.

01:19:40But why at this time of the year?

01:19:43Well, at this time of the year, what happened, really,

01:19:45is that normally, we would have gone down in the Kaiseri,

01:19:47Shimonjo, Tuku would have coming up in October.

01:19:50And over the last period, we have been doing that.

01:19:53But we are going only now to Port of Spain.

01:19:56Right.

01:19:56And we thought that, you know what happened?

01:19:58That we don't go down in the Shimonjo.

01:19:59Let's spread it out.

01:20:00And let's come south.

01:20:01Because San Fernando has been very, very nice to us.

01:20:04In fact, most of our base, all of our base is in San Fernando.

01:20:07And then the people in San Fernando started to complain.

01:20:09Oh, no, no, we need to only give you that.

01:20:11So we said, all right, we can bring this one.

01:20:13And we bring it up, give yourself a space to breathe.

01:20:15And also bearing in mind that it's independence, too.

01:20:19So we want to give a gift to the nation, too.

01:20:21All right.

01:20:22Where can people get the tickets?

01:20:23Well, at Sion's Bar and Atelier by the park,

01:20:28all two co-offices, and also at Hamidula, 7602882.

01:20:34What's the cost?

01:20:36Well, cheap enough.

01:20:38Small money, $150 for a ticket.

01:20:41Yeah.

01:20:42And it's three kings and a queen.

01:20:44So you're paying $150 for three kings and a queen.

01:20:46Can you imagine that?

01:20:47Yeah.

01:20:48And if you are going to behave, we

01:20:50might train our co-juster, too.

01:20:52Yeah.

01:20:52And a repertoire of songs, you know.

01:20:55Yeah.

01:20:56Anything else, Hamidula?

01:20:57Anything you want to tell us before you leave us

01:20:58this morning?

01:20:59Yeah, well, I want to advise the people to come early.

01:21:01Because for starters, too, there's limited seating capacity.

01:21:05We want to make sure we're starting on time.

01:21:07We don't care whether one or two people sit down.

01:21:09We're starting on time.

01:21:10Yeah.

01:21:11Not Trinidad time.

01:21:12Not Trinidad time.

01:21:12The ambience is nice.

01:21:15Parking, your vehicle very secured.

01:21:18We have a nice stock bar.

01:21:19And of course, things to go with it.

01:21:21And prepare yourself for a very encouraging and entertaining

01:21:25show.

01:21:26Yeah, Hamidula, it's always good to speak with you, man.

01:21:28Yeah, man.

01:21:28Thank you very much.

01:21:29And we wish you all the best for your event.

01:21:32Remember that Hamidula has these on sale.

01:21:36Give us your contact again.

01:21:38760-2882.

01:21:40All right, Hamidula.

01:21:41And before I go to it, Mr. Mayfairdon also

01:21:44mentioned one John Barry, who has been very instrumental

01:21:47behind the scenes, helping to put this program together.

01:21:49I want to say to Barry and for the world to hear,

01:21:52thank you very much, John Barry, for your support.

01:21:54Yeah.

01:21:55All right, Hamidula.

01:21:55All the best.

01:21:56Thank you.

01:21:56Thank you very much.

01:21:57We are going to a very short break, everybody.

01:21:58We're coming back.

01:21:59I really miss you when you went away.

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01:22:54Hi, my name is Elena.

01:23:20It's actually not my real name.

01:23:23You don't really care, do you?

01:23:26All you care about is once you pay your money to my boss

01:23:29that I look pretty, smell nice, smile for you,

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01:23:41What you don't see or know is that I don't get any part

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01:24:04I am a victim of human trafficking.

01:24:07Please, por favor, help me.

01:24:12What you can't see from this image is a man lying in a pool of blood

01:24:15in his living room.

01:24:17He was shot dead a short while ago

01:24:20as two bandits tried to rob him and his family.

01:24:23What you can't hear is his wife crying inconsolably.

01:24:28What you don't know is that his four-year-old daughter

01:24:31is standing looking at her father, confused, begging him to wake up.

01:24:35Can you imagine what would have happened if he hadn't been shot?

01:24:39Can you imagine what this wife and child are going through

01:24:42and what they will have to go through?

01:24:44They try to process what has happened.

01:24:46How can we begin to help?

01:24:49We can start right here at the Victim and Witness Support Unit.

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01:25:01this unit gives victims and witnesses hope to cope.

01:25:05We are the Victim and Witness Support Unit.

01:25:08Bridging the service gap between the victims, witnesses, and the police.

01:25:20This segment is brought to you by Republic Bank,

01:25:23title sponsor and official bank of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League.

01:25:29All right. So, welcome back, everyone.

01:25:31So, it's time for our CPL segment and more so the WCPL segment.

01:25:38We do have on the line this morning a cricket broadcaster,

01:25:41John Ramsingh, who is joining us from Guyana.

01:25:44John, thank you very much for joining us this morning.

01:25:48Hey, no problem at all. It's always a pleasure.

01:25:51Yeah. It's good to speak with you.

01:25:53Well, John, let's begin this way.

01:25:57When we speak about WCPL,

01:26:00what do you think that fans can expect this time around?

01:26:04I'll tell you what.

01:26:05Since the inception of WCPL a few years ago,

01:26:10actually, I had a trial series in San Diego,

01:26:12and it was played alongside the men,

01:26:15I remember very well, at the Brunella Cricket Academy.

01:26:17And you can see the interest there from especially the women cricketers.

01:26:23They really want to be part of what was then called the biggest party in sports,

01:26:27and to have their part of it now segmented,

01:26:31and now perhaps maybe a standalone event,

01:26:35it goes to show that since then the interest was high.

01:26:38So now, when it actually had the third edition of it,

01:26:42we see that not only that the international women are lining up

01:26:46to play in the Massey Women's CPL,

01:26:48but also the regional ladies,

01:26:51they're now up in their game, so to speak.

01:26:54Because a few years ago when they started,

01:26:56some of the persons were pretty much new to the circuit,

01:26:59but had that ability to really go out.

01:27:02But now with the exposure after two seasons,

01:27:05we can see sports like Kaj Nabi from Guyana de Orondo,

01:27:09Cherianne Fraser as well, the left-arm Seema,

01:27:12really putting up their hands high,

01:27:14and making it, especially on the international scene, consistently.

01:27:18So what it has done for them is that given the exposure,

01:27:21and to some extent that confidence

01:27:23that they can compete on the international scene,

01:27:25and that overall augurs well for Western East Cricket,

01:27:28because their women are getting the exposure

01:27:31to really develop themselves

01:27:32and better Western East Cricket as a whole.

01:27:35Yeah, and John, let's speak a little more about that,

01:27:37because you have been there from the inception of this.

01:27:40Let's talk about some of the developments

01:27:42you have seen over the years.

01:27:45Yeah, one of the things for sure is that

01:27:48the ability to compile innings and to close out matches,

01:27:52because sometimes you see some of these women

01:27:54are thrown at some situations,

01:27:57and not necessarily knowing what role they're expected to play.

01:28:00But you see that maturity coming after a few seasons,

01:28:03and having been around the seasoned professionals,

01:28:06you know, not only Stephanie Fraser,

01:28:08or Hayley Matthews, right,

01:28:10but the other girls that come from around the world,

01:28:13like Sophie Devine, and the champion Ishmael,

01:28:17you know, Sriyanka Patel,

01:28:19who was there last season for the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

01:28:21So with these forces coming in,

01:28:23giving the locals or the regional players,

01:28:25not only the international kind of like advice,

01:28:29but also the know-how,

01:28:31how to win matches, how to close out matches,

01:28:33how to play your role to perfection.

01:28:35So what you find now is that these girls

01:28:37are better able now to be more responsible

01:28:41in whichever team they are.

01:28:43And one of the things I like about this tournament,

01:28:45I want to add,

01:28:46is that the talent has been shifted around.

01:28:50Not finding the same persons

01:28:52playing three consistent seasons with one franchise,

01:28:56they're moving around because that's how it is.

01:28:57You want to test your ability

01:28:59to adapt to different conditions,

01:29:00and to adapt to different scenarios as well

01:29:03with these players.

01:29:04So it's something that I like about the women's tournament.

01:29:07It's not necessarily competing with our men's,

01:29:10but it's giving the women the opportunity

01:29:12to also show that they can play similar roles.

01:29:16Yeah.

01:29:16And let's talk about,

01:29:18a little bit about the support of the fan base,

01:29:21because I suspect when it first started,

01:29:24we were accustomed to the men's game.

01:29:27And I suspect people in the Caribbean

01:29:29and other parts of the world

01:29:31didn't know how they would really feel

01:29:33about women playing cricket.

01:29:36Let's speak a little bit about that fan base.

01:29:38Have you seen it grown?

01:29:40And have we seen,

01:29:41and can we say that we have seen at these women's matches,

01:29:45the passion and excitement

01:29:47that we would see at the men's game?

01:29:50Strange enough,

01:29:51when this first experiment started,

01:29:54I was not happy at all

01:29:55with the timings of the women's matches.

01:29:58They were given 10 a.m. in the morning,

01:30:002 p.m. in the afternoon,

01:30:02and way too early before the 7 p.m.

01:30:05to show a piece by the men.

01:30:07And I felt that was not necessarily

01:30:08going to increase fan base.

01:30:10But to my surprise,

01:30:12I saw that when the tournament

01:30:14was moved around the Caribbean,

01:30:16in Barbados and so on,

01:30:17we saw people coming out

01:30:20to look at a women's event.

01:30:22Not necessarily in large numbers like the men,

01:30:25but they were very much up there

01:30:28in terms of their numbers.

01:30:29And that was encouraging.

01:30:30And it was a different type of audience.

01:30:32You'll find, of course,

01:30:33courses who are willing to watch

01:30:35both men and women would stay on.

01:30:37But just for the women,

01:30:38you'll find that a lot of courses were coming out

01:30:41because maybe of the interest in the women

01:30:44that are playing, family-related or whatnot,

01:30:47or just the interest in Western.

01:30:49These women's cricket are

01:30:51because of the franchise kind of setup.

01:30:54The international women,

01:30:55because not only the Australians were around,

01:30:58the English women were around,

01:31:00we saw the Kiwis as well,

01:31:02but the Indians came into the women's CPL last year.

01:31:05And they also brought in,

01:31:07because that following of Indian cricket,

01:31:09they brought the horses to the game.

01:31:12And it definitely will be something

01:31:14that other women who are not accustomed

01:31:16to playing in front of huge crowds,

01:31:18something that they can now become accustomed to

01:31:20because crowds came out last year.

01:31:21And I'm expecting a similar event this year

01:31:24once the timing continues to be right.

01:31:26And you know, John,

01:31:27you spoke about some of the popular names

01:31:29in women's cricket,

01:31:31most of the WCPL,

01:31:33but I want to speak a little bit about

01:31:34the quality and the experience

01:31:37of the ladies who are playing in the WCPL.

01:31:43Ah, so you mentioned, yeah.

01:31:44So some of the names, like I said,

01:31:46our Caribbean girls,

01:31:48Hayley Matthews has been very outstanding,

01:31:50consistently at the top of the order

01:31:52for her franchise,

01:31:54similar to the former West Indies captain,

01:31:56Stephanie Taylor, right?

01:31:58So these girls,

01:31:59with their international experience

01:32:01and their flair of Caribbean cricket,

01:32:03they tend to be the ones that are,

01:32:05you know, the go-to players and so on.

01:32:06But when you throw in the mix,

01:32:08what's like Sonny Luce,

01:32:11Marzana Kapp and the likes,

01:32:13the international flavors, right?

01:32:15When you bring in those,

01:32:16the Shabna Ismail,

01:32:17I guess Sriyanka Patel and those,

01:32:20right, the quality is there.

01:32:21Some of the local persons,

01:32:23they perhaps would be happy

01:32:25to just look at their teammates

01:32:27go out there and do their thing.

01:32:28Like last year, Sophie Divine

01:32:30was really outstanding for the guy

01:32:32and Amazon Warriors women.

01:32:34And it's a person like those

01:32:35that not only brought popularity to the game,

01:32:38but also give the local women

01:32:40the opportunity as well

01:32:42to see these women in action,

01:32:45share dressing room,

01:32:46listen to their ideas and so on

01:32:49in that dressing room.

01:32:50And when they go to that field,

01:32:52listen to how they would approach

01:32:53situations and so on.

01:32:55So the big names are in the Caribbean,

01:32:57but they're also lining up for women's CPL.

01:33:00And the product now,

01:33:01because it's getting better every season,

01:33:04is attracting even more quality women,

01:33:07all right?

01:33:08And that is something that as a Caribbean,

01:33:11perhaps we can see a nation,

01:33:13the entire region can be proud to say

01:33:15that we're having this product as well,

01:33:17that is now of international magnitude

01:33:20to really not only bring international,

01:33:22but you can see sponsors will also

01:33:24be gravitating to it

01:33:25just to get themselves aligned with it.

01:33:27So it's pretty much a win-win situation all around.

01:33:29Yeah.

01:33:30And how do you feel about the expansion of the league?

01:33:33Because since the WCPL and CPL,

01:33:37since we have been speaking about that,

01:33:39there has been a suggestion that

01:33:43there is still need for more teams to be involved

01:33:48and an expansion of the entire system,

01:33:53if I can put it that way.

01:33:55What's your thoughts on that?

01:33:58I always want for expansion,

01:34:01but I know there's something called

01:34:02dollars and cents value, all right?

01:34:04So the reality might be different

01:34:07from perhaps our emotions.

01:34:09And while you may want to say

01:34:10that some of the nations in the Caribbean

01:34:12deserve a franchise,

01:34:14some people are even thinking places like Suriname,

01:34:17because if you want to develop cricket in the Americas,

01:34:20you can perhaps bring in a Suriname franchise,

01:34:23bring in a North America franchise,

01:34:25and you'll see that expansion.

01:34:27But especially for women's game,

01:34:30I really want to go back to the women's game.

01:34:32It's something I've been following closely

01:34:34since 2002, all right?

01:34:36So with the women's game, three teams,

01:34:41we have some of the players that are going to be around,

01:34:44but not necessarily getting exposure, right?

01:34:47Some person I would say,

01:34:48like our left-arm spinner from Guyana,

01:34:52Schultz, KC Schultz has been around,

01:34:55actually Munisar as well coming through the system.

01:34:57They have been around,

01:34:58but because they're in a system

01:35:00where the other players

01:35:01are maybe a bit more experienced than them,

01:35:03they're not getting the opportunity.

01:35:05So let's say a fourth franchise come on board now.

01:35:09These young French players

01:35:11perhaps will be the ones

01:35:11that will take the mantle in that franchise

01:35:14and will get more opportunities.

01:35:16So what I'm saying is that

01:35:17I would love to have an expansion,

01:35:18especially in the women's segment of it,

01:35:20where the pool becomes broader.

01:35:23So we have more women playing the cricket.

01:35:25And then of course, in management,

01:35:28four teams, somehow it's kind of better

01:35:30to manage than three.

01:35:31You know, it seems a bit easier.

01:35:33But like I said, that's something different

01:35:35in terms of how they would manage that.

01:35:37I would love to see the expansion.

01:35:38In terms of the men's, two more teams,

01:35:40I don't think it will hurt.

01:35:41But then you look at the number of franchise

01:35:44tournaments that are being played.

01:35:46So once there's an expansion

01:35:47to eight teams in the men's segment,

01:35:50it means that will be a longer window period.

01:35:52And it also means that players

01:35:54will now have to choose

01:35:55whether they want to stay on for the entire period,

01:35:57play half of it, you know.

01:35:59So it's a lot to consider

01:36:01when you look at an expansion.

01:36:03And that's why this year,

01:36:04there's not going to be a Jamaica Talawas,

01:36:06but it's going to be an Antigua and Barbuda Falcons.

01:36:08No increase in terms of numbers,

01:36:11but a new franchise will be taken,

01:36:13will be coming in this time around.

01:36:16So I guess if there was room for expansion,

01:36:18they might have brought in a new franchise

01:36:20in addition to the previous franchise.

01:36:22But I guess expansion to some people

01:36:26means different things.

01:36:27Yeah.

01:36:28John, please stay with us.

01:36:29We are going to a very short break, everybody.

01:36:30We're coming back.

01:36:34It's that time again.

01:36:36The biggest party of sports is back.

01:36:39The defending champion is back.

01:36:42TKI!

01:37:03We're all in!

01:37:09We're all in!

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01:39:40Everybody, welcome back.

01:39:42So we are continuing our discussion on the WCPL.

01:39:46And of course, we do have on the line,

01:39:48John Ramsing, cricket broadcaster.

01:39:51John, so the preparations have begun by the teams.

01:39:56The teams have begun coming together.

01:39:59There's going to be a gelling process.

01:40:01As you look at this entire process

01:40:04and you look at the teams,

01:40:07as we say in Trinidad and Tobago,

01:40:09who do you, which team you think

01:40:11is going to give some trouble this year?

01:40:13When it performance-wise,

01:40:15who should we be looking at?

01:40:19There are a lot of persons

01:40:22that have been around the circuit

01:40:23with points to prove.

01:40:25And one such person I always like to look at,

01:40:27right, is Deandra Dutton.

01:40:30Deandra Dutton from Barbados.

01:40:32She has been playing around the world,

01:40:34dominating different franchise teams and tournaments.

01:40:37She has been lining up for the Trinbigo Knight Riders women

01:40:41with exceptional performances and so on,

01:40:43even leading them to a title

01:40:45two seasons back.

01:40:46So it's that type of person

01:40:48you'd want to look at, right,

01:40:49that will really come out and dominate.

01:40:51She's not playing internationals anymore.

01:40:53She has retired.

01:40:55But it's someone who,

01:40:57because there's nothing to prove, basically,

01:40:59in terms of moving on to the next level,

01:41:01will want to come and dominate

01:41:03and show that she's very capable

01:41:05to dominate a tournament

01:41:06stacked with international players.

01:41:08But then we look at players

01:41:10like Trinidad and Tobago's very own,

01:41:13Parishma Ramharak.

01:41:14Now that Anissa Mohamed is not going to partake

01:41:17further in terms of international tournaments

01:41:20for the Westernies,

01:41:21she'll want to come and really put her hands up

01:41:23to say that she's now the leading off-spinner

01:41:26for Westernies women

01:41:27because this young,

01:41:30this young Ines in Munisar

01:41:32who's also competing for that off-spinning role

01:41:35in that Westernies lineup.

01:41:37So the competition will be high among players

01:41:40and they'll really want to individually

01:41:43put in good performance for themselves and team.

01:41:45And then you look at Chloe Tryon,

01:41:48Erin Burns,

01:41:49those international players

01:41:51that are not only dominating leagues,

01:41:55but also in their own domestic tournaments at home,

01:41:58really want to show

01:41:59that they can also dominate their tournaments,

01:42:01dominate tournaments,

01:42:02that they can really let teams

01:42:05that they're looking to get into

01:42:07see their potential

01:42:08and know what they're about,

01:42:10and so on.

01:42:10Our very own Hayley Matthews,

01:42:13Chamari Atapatu from Sri Lanka,

01:42:16two top all-rounders in the world,

01:42:18Stephanie Taylor.

01:42:19So with these all-rounders now in the same tournament,

01:42:23it's a lot of egos there as well.

01:42:25Who will be the top performer at the end of it all?

01:42:28So these are some of the competitions

01:42:30and some of the contests within the contest

01:42:32that you can look at from the big names.

01:42:35And sometimes the pressure will tell,

01:42:37but who can absorb the pressure more

01:42:39will come out on top.

01:42:40Shabnil Ismail,

01:42:41the fastest ball in the tournament last year,

01:42:44dominating the Patas.

01:42:46She wants to maintain a tag

01:42:48of the fastest ball in the tournament.

01:42:50And things like that can pique

01:42:54others to really come hard.

01:42:56So we look at the international players

01:42:57who are really coming out,

01:42:58looking to dominate and so on.

01:43:00And what I've been seeing there

01:43:01is that the talent have been spread

01:43:03throughout the three franchise teams.

01:43:05So whoever will win this year,

01:43:07trust me,

01:43:07will be deserving victors.

01:43:09Yeah.

01:43:09Let's talk a little bit about the...

01:43:13Would you like to see the return

01:43:15of the tournament known as V60,

01:43:18which is a T10 competition.

01:43:21That's the curtain raiser for the WCPL.

01:43:23What's your view on that?

01:43:26V60 was played two seasons ago

01:43:29in St. Kitts and Nevis at Warner Park.

01:43:32I felt it was a good experiment.

01:43:34The players gravitated to it.

01:43:36Chris Gale was the ambassador.

01:43:38And he also played in the tournament.

01:43:41It was a different type of format,

01:43:44a new format.

01:43:45And it was one,

01:43:47it was even shorter,

01:43:48still is even shorter

01:43:49than the traditional T20,

01:43:51which is considered the shortest

01:43:52format of the game.

01:43:53So the T10, I don't mind.

01:43:56However, for me, the planning,

01:43:57the window was wrong.

01:43:59And I would love to see that T10 format,

01:44:02that 60 format move along

01:44:04to the different franchise teams.

01:44:06For example, with now the Falcons

01:44:07coming on board,

01:44:09the Falcons must have a two-weeks

01:44:10period or day about for them

01:44:12to showcase their talent,

01:44:13their local talents to come forward

01:44:15to play the 60.

01:44:17That will do two things.

01:44:19Give their franchise an opportunity

01:44:20to see new players

01:44:22and also give the world to see those players

01:44:24coming out from that area.

01:44:27And you move it around.

01:44:28The Antigua franchise,

01:44:30come around to the St. Lucia franchise,

01:44:33come down to Barbados,

01:44:34Trinidad, Tobago, Guyana,

01:44:35and so on, right?

01:44:37And of course, the Patriots franchise

01:44:39as well in St. Kitts.

01:44:41So while it's a good thing for me,

01:44:43I would love to see it moved

01:44:44around the territories

01:44:45rather than have it in one territory

01:44:47just before the start of CPL.

01:44:49Maybe you start in February

01:44:50in one territory

01:44:51and move around until it's finished

01:44:53before that draft period for CPL,

01:44:55which comes usually around May, June.

01:44:58So at that point,

01:44:59each franchise will have an opportunity

01:45:01to see some new players

01:45:03and the other franchise can see

01:45:05players from the different

01:45:06franchise territories as well.

01:45:07So it's a good idea.

01:45:08Just for me, the last time

01:45:09the timing was wrong.

01:45:10Yeah.

01:45:11Let's talk a little bit about,

01:45:13you spoke about the format earlier

01:45:15and we continue to speak

01:45:17about T20 cricket,

01:45:18which is a faster game,

01:45:20a shorter game and so on.

01:45:21But you know, for the purists

01:45:23in the Caribbean,

01:45:25and I suspect in other parts of the world,

01:45:27when we first started to speak

01:45:29about this format,

01:45:31T20 cricket and so on,

01:45:33you know, they heap a little bit

01:45:34of scorn on it, right?

01:45:36Because we are accustomed

01:45:39to test cricket.

01:45:40So over the years,

01:45:41as you watch the game,

01:45:43CPL, WCPL,

01:45:45do you see more and more interest

01:45:48by us in the Caribbean

01:45:49and other parts of the world?

01:45:51Are we now embracing it

01:45:52and embracing the format?

01:45:57With all the, for me,

01:45:59the hype and the marketing,

01:46:00especially with social media,

01:46:03and then backed up

01:46:04by traditional media,

01:46:05which was the other way

01:46:05around a few seasons ago,

01:46:07because of that hype that you get.

01:46:09And also knowing that

01:46:11you can play domestic cricket

01:46:14or club cricket one day,

01:46:16and then the next week

01:46:17you're playing alongside

01:46:19the international players.

01:46:21That is a push itself.

01:46:22And I've seen renewed interest

01:46:25at various levels.

01:46:26I've traveled the Caribbean

01:46:27and I've seen over the years,

01:46:31traditional net sessions

01:46:32will have the young guys

01:46:34and the older guys.

01:46:36Now I'm seeing

01:46:37the seasoned guys are there,

01:46:40the youngsters who are trying

01:46:41to get into their different sides,

01:46:43but I'm seeing a lot of females

01:46:45lining up as well.

01:46:46And it goes to show

01:46:48that they're also trying

01:46:49to get their game up

01:46:51so that the cameras

01:46:53and whoever else are looking at them

01:46:55can spot them, right?

01:46:57So even our young,

01:46:59on the 19 guys and women,

01:47:01right, they're looking

01:47:02to a franchise tournament

01:47:05because they can launch

01:47:06from that tournament.

01:47:08Put in a few good performers

01:47:09and everyone will be asking

01:47:11who is this person

01:47:12and so on and so forth.

01:47:14And next franchise will snap you up.

01:47:15Your domestic,

01:47:16your international team

01:47:17can snap you up

01:47:18even after playing franchise cricket,

01:47:20right?

01:47:21So once you get in,

01:47:22and that's what persons

01:47:22have been hoping to do,

01:47:24just get one tournament,

01:47:26make themselves a name,

01:47:28a household name,

01:47:30and then take it from there.

01:47:31So yes, you can see

01:47:33the interest is there.

01:47:34And I see this more recently in Ghana.

01:47:37There was a cricket

01:47:40kind of like similar

01:47:41to a franchise format.

01:47:42And lots of the 19 players

01:47:44who were given opportunities there

01:47:46were saying

01:47:47they really want to put

01:47:49in good enough performances

01:47:50to at least be that traveling

01:47:52on the 19 reserve player

01:47:54with the Amazon Warriors side.

01:47:56So already they're looking

01:47:57at franchise cricket

01:47:59to launch their careers.

01:48:01And because of that,

01:48:03competition was high

01:48:04and it all was a common goal.

01:48:06Look at the better themselves

01:48:07for cricket.

01:48:08Yeah, let me ask this question.

01:48:10Some people may see it

01:48:11as a controversial question,

01:48:12but can't we in West Indies cricket

01:48:16learn some things

01:48:18from the way that the CPL is marketed,

01:48:22the way that cricketers

01:48:24are remunerated

01:48:26and a lot of other things,

01:48:28the total organization

01:48:30of the way that CPL is organized?

01:48:32Can we not learn some things

01:48:34in West Indies cricket?

01:48:37I tell you what,

01:48:38I'm sure we all have learned a lot,

01:48:41but there's something

01:48:42called dollars and cents.

01:48:43Yes, the spending power

01:48:45is not there in regional cricket.

01:48:47You know, you can see that persons

01:48:49are getting involved in cricket,

01:48:51but still need that push

01:48:54from corporate society.

01:48:56And even sometimes

01:48:57with corporate countries coming out

01:48:59and corporate entities

01:49:00in their countries,

01:49:01it's still not enough

01:49:02to really bring a tournament

01:49:04to the magnitude,

01:49:05let's say, of a women IPL.

01:49:09But all that's there, you know,

01:49:12so what you need is more finances

01:49:14in Caribbean cricket.

01:49:16And then you can see perhaps

01:49:18an increase in terms

01:49:19of the overall value of cricket.

01:49:22It's there, the push is there,

01:49:23the ability is there,

01:49:25but the reality in terms

01:49:26of getting the money,

01:49:27getting the finances to do it,

01:49:29you know, because you want

01:49:30the stadium to be

01:49:31just like the rest of the world,

01:49:32flashing lights,

01:49:34nice atmosphere and so on.

01:49:36You just don't want to just go

01:49:37a regular stadium,

01:49:39you know, or go to a regular

01:49:40cricket ground.

01:49:41You know, you want to have

01:49:42that kind of stuff,

01:49:43the big theme,

01:49:43that big stage feeling,

01:49:45so to speak.

01:49:46And because of a set of finances,

01:49:48it's just not happening as yet.

01:49:49We've got lots of tournaments

01:49:51in the Caribbean.

01:49:52We're still not necessarily

01:49:53playing at international venues

01:49:55because whether it's available

01:49:56or not, or whether it's a big

01:49:58cost attached to it or not.

01:50:00So you find that a lot of players

01:50:02having to play at some facilities

01:50:04that are not necessarily

01:50:05giving them the best exposure.

01:50:07And that, again, is because

01:50:08of the dollar value,

01:50:09because if you had the money to pay

01:50:11to go to the international venues,

01:50:12you would go.

01:50:13But because, like I said,

01:50:15everything comes back

01:50:16to dollars and cents,

01:50:17because if it doesn't make dollar,

01:50:18if it doesn't make cents,

01:50:19sorry, you do not make the dollars.

01:50:20Yeah, I like how you put that, John.

01:50:25We must go to a very

01:50:26short break again, John.

01:50:27Please hold on to the line.

01:50:28We're coming back, everybody.

01:50:56Second, of course, you can get it.

01:50:58Wash your dryer, wash it,

01:51:00fluff it, spin it, spin it, dry it,

01:51:02clean it, fold it where it's assorted

01:51:05and soak it, rinse it, load it.

01:51:08FDA gonna make you bend it,

01:51:10crush it, toast it.

01:51:12Of course, you can get it.

01:51:23No matter where the game is played,

01:51:25there's somethings you always need.

01:51:27A bat, ball, a wicket

01:51:32and plenty of ice cold refreshment.

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01:53:45All right, everybody.

01:54:09So we are continuing our discussion on the WCPL.

01:54:13Cricket broadcaster, John Ram Singh,

01:54:15remains with us.

01:54:15John, I just have about 30 seconds again,

01:54:18your final comments on the WCPL.

01:54:22Yeah, thank you for having me, first of all.

01:54:24And when it starts, when that tournament begins,

01:54:27because it's one venue that we're having

01:54:29this time around,

01:54:29I expect the competition to be even, to be high.

01:54:32And I would love to see as well crowds coming out.

01:54:36This time around, I might just miss out

01:54:39on the tournament because of a lot of commitments.

01:54:41But however, I will be in Antebago over this weekend.

01:54:44I'll be down in San Fernando

01:54:45for that first ever CrossFit event

01:54:48at Pleasantville Enduro Facility.

01:54:50So while I might miss CPL,

01:54:51I will get to see my second favorite country in the world

01:54:55and also get to see some sports in action

01:54:57in the Peninsular Republic.

01:54:59Thank you for having me, John.

01:55:00John, it was a pleasure speaking with you.

01:55:01Thank you very much for your perspective today.

01:55:03Bye for now.

01:55:05All right, everybody.

01:55:06That's going to be it.

01:55:07See you tomorrow.

01:55:08Bye.

01:55:13Sponsored by the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League.

01:55:38Sponsored by the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League.

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