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  • 1 year ago
This country recorded 400 murders, with the shooting deaths of a young girl and her father

The Caribbean Examinations Council expressed concern over Math scores

and dengue deaths rose to eleven
Transcript
00:00Good evening and welcome to the past seven days on six.
00:20I am Vanessa Cutting.
00:22As what made the news this past week, this country recorded 400 murders with the shooting
00:28The Caribbean Examinations Council expressed concern over math scores and dengue deaths
00:34rose to 11.
00:36As per usual, if it was happening, it was on six.
00:39Let's get right into it.
00:42The country reached the 400-murder mark in just 234 days after the double murder of five-year-old
00:49Anika Guerra and her father Enrico Guerra in Moruga last week, leaving the country shocked
00:55and traumatized.
00:58Andy Guerra couldn't articulate his grief in words, as his friend Francis Paul gave
01:03comfort to him at his son's mini-mart in St. Mary's Village, Moruga today.
01:08Hours before, Guerra's son Enrico and his five-year-old granddaughter were at the mercy
01:14of an unrelenting gunman who chased him into his business place at Enrico's corner mart
01:19and pumped several bullets into him, and his daughter was also inside.
01:24Investigators say the prison attack happened around 9.45 last night, while Guerra was standing
01:29outside his business place speaking with another man.
01:33Gunmen walking along the street shot at the men, as Guerra took refuge in a shop in order
01:38to evade his attackers.
01:40However, one of the men followed him into the shop, where his five-year-old daughter
01:43was having her hair combed by her mother and opened fire.
01:48Guerra was shot multiple times in his head and back, as well as his daughter, who sustained
01:53gunshot wounds to her head, back and arm.
01:57While her father was pronounced dead on the scene, the child was rushed to the Princess
02:00Tongue District Health Facility, where she passed away half an hour later.
02:06Francis Paul, a close friend of the family and a community activist who spoke on their
02:10behalf, described these killings as cold and unsympathetic.
02:24Paul, also visibly hurt by the killings, said the community, and by extension, citizens
02:44of this country, do not feel safe anymore, and wondered if Commissioner of Police Eula
02:49Hillwood Christopher, or Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hines, could tangibly
02:54empathise with the average citizen, as violent crime continues to be a concern.
03:19Senior homicide investigators say, based on their information, Guerra was an upstanding
03:36businessman in the area and had no criminal record, and was also not involved in any illegal
03:41activity, nor were there any threats to his family.
03:44However, senior homicide sources believe the shooting may be tied to an incident that occurred
03:49recently in the area, in which a well-known gang leader may have been involved, which
03:54potentially contained CCTV footage.
03:58Police say they are exploring these theories, but have not been able to establish a solid
04:01motive for the killing just yet.
04:03MP for Moruga Tableland, Michelle Benjamin, in a media release sent out this morning,
04:08said she was, quote, sad and heartbroken by the tragic and senseless killings, close quote,
04:13of the father and daughter in the area, and sent her sympathies and prayers to the family.
04:19Benjamin also said in a release that there was, open quote, a growing and alarming trend
04:24that we have been witnessing in our community.
04:26Moruga Tableland, once a peaceful and close-knit area, has become a battleground for violent
04:32crime, close quote.
04:34Benjamin called on both Ministers Hines and Scotland in the Ministry of National Security
04:39to take immediate and decisive action to address the rampant crime in Moruga Tableland.
04:44Mark Besant, well days after the murders, a man who members of the community and by
04:50extension the police alleged may have had a hand in the hit, spoke exclusively to TV6
04:57senior multimedia investigative journalist and producer Mark Besant.
05:01Shumba James denied calling any hit on the life of Gwara, and said, despite his known
05:07status to the police, he was willing to help them find the actual perpetrators.
05:13I have never ordered no hit on Enrico's life, nothing like that, and then no that too, because
05:21what sense is it making, for what?
05:23Shumba James, a man with a criminal history and supposedly one of the most feared men
05:27in Moruga, distanced himself from having any involvement in the killing of Enrico Gwara
05:32and his five-year-old daughter, Anika.
05:35The two were shot dead at Gwara's corner mart at Pui Junction in St. Mary's Village, Moruga,
05:40on Tuesday night after a masked gunman chased him into his business place and shot him multiple
05:45times, as well as his daughter.
05:47James, speaking in his first ever interview with the media, didn't deny his criminal past
05:52or the fact that he was well known to the police, but said, contrary to other media
05:56reports, he never made an attempt to extort Gwara or his family.
06:00The guy who died, I show, I never went by he, or send somebody by he, and tell he that
06:07he have to pay money for what, for what, pay money for what, it make no sense to me, right?
06:14But as I say again, it's a bacchanal, and the bacchanal cause it, with a certain TV
06:19show host who is behind, and I will say it publicly because I have information.
06:26In fact, James said his common law wife, Alana Duncan, was one of the three people
06:30killed by police in Moruga in 2011, along with Abigail Johnson and Keron Eccles, and
06:36the Gwara family had been a pillar of support for him, and to this day, he's grateful for
06:40their assistance in championing the call for justice, even though the police officers were
06:45later acquitted of the murder charges in 2023.
06:48What Hespa done for me, I will say for me, right, it sometimes hold very close to my
06:54heart to what she, to what she, to what she, I hold something very close to my heart to
06:58what she, and if I get opportunity to go and tell she, thanks, but today I would like to
07:03tell she, thanks, on air.
07:06James said that he felt a target was on his back, and the allegations of ordering the
07:11hit on Gero, pertaining to possible CCCTV footage, is far from the truth.
07:16I never ask for no footage, I don't if anybody are wrong, when we ask him if he have footage,
07:23but I to say, I went and ask him for footage, or I send a message and ask him for footage,
07:27I never did that, that's what I show about.
07:31He even denied allegations that he had been responsible for the death of his brother,
07:36Omar Gill, who was shot dead in April this year, along with Brandon Sinat, not far from
07:40his home in Simon Trees, Moruga.
07:43It hurt me, right, why it hurt me, because it was rumours spreading in the air.
07:50Some say I did it, and they said, and I'm quoting from what sources would have said,
07:57and of course, you always have to verify information, things will be said, you can't verify that,
08:01you can't rely on one person, but they said, quote-unquote, that you all had a falling
08:07out over AK-47, a firearm, you could clarify that, and what others would have been saying,
08:14and what you knew, really happened.
08:15Well, I can't say nothing on AK-47, because only AK-47 I know, it might be in the book
08:20of Psalms, right, it might be Psalm 1, it might be Psalm 5.
08:25Many in the underworld and the community have said that nothing is done without his say.
08:30He denied that he was a hitman for hire, or had an iron grip on the Moruga community.
08:35Do you control this area?
08:37Is this your area?
08:38I can't say control this area, I cannot say control this area.
08:41What I would try to do for this area, is to always try to see, well, if writing has
08:45been done.
08:46Example, let's we say a contractor come up in this area up here, to do our work, I then
08:52may say, one or two people might be going and look for work.
08:56Sometimes maybe a hundred person go and look for work, they can't hire a hundred person,
08:59and they might want to hire 20 person, and the next 80 person may come back and ask.
09:03Sometime, sometime, I'll be honest, sometime, somebody may reach out to me and say, well,
09:10how I could help this situation?
09:12James said he's willing to help the Gera family bring the real perpetrators of this crime
09:16to justice, once given the chance, even if it means he has to die in the process.
09:21I'm willing to work to bring the perpetrator to justice, and when I'm willing to work,
09:28I would like to see the commissioner of police, the minister of national security, people
09:32in high authority, to come and speak to me.
09:36Meanwhile, police say they are yet to ascertain a motive for Gera's killing, and have not
09:40held any suspects.
09:41Mark Basant, TV6 News.
09:45We had a quick break.
09:46We'll have more news when we return.
09:55Welcome back.
09:56The Ministry of Health reported two more dengue deaths last week, bringing the total number
10:01of deaths in TNT attributed to the dengue hemorrhagic fever for the year thus far to
10:0711.
10:08The number of laboratory-confirmed cases remained at 911 on Saturday.
10:13Dr Ravi Lalla, medical chief of staff at the Coover Hospital, explained that the severe
10:20cases and deaths generally occur in those who present to the health system late.
10:25Most of the cases that we have that are sicker are those patients who tend to present to
10:31us a lot later.
10:32So maybe you were at home battling it on your own, or maybe you were seeing someone privately
10:38but they may not necessarily have all of the resources available in their office such
10:45as we would have.
10:47And so my one thing would be to try and urge people to come early for symptom screening.
10:52The early screening facility at the Coover Hospital is open seven days a week from 8am
10:57to 6pm.
10:58We started the early symptom screening dengue unit in Coover, and the aim here is to bring
11:06people in early, so that from early you can start to manage them, you can start to test
11:12them and bring them back for a lot of reviews, and in so doing prevent somebody from deteriorating
11:17later on.
11:18And as it relates to monkeypox, Health Minister Terence Yarlsing said the TNT is well poised
11:24to deal with any case that may pop up, as 40 isolation spots have been designated across
11:30the country.
11:31There are vaccines, and protocols have already been established.
11:37In other news, it may be business as usual, but the state through the Port of Spain Infrastructure
11:42Company has re-entered and reclaimed the popular invaders-based cinema complex known as Movie
11:48Town.
11:49However, last week, parties remained a tight lift over what specific breach of contract
11:54may have spurred the action.
11:57But unexpected, that's how tenants of Movie Town described the actions of bailiffs this
12:02afternoon.
12:03Part of the incident, caught on this eyewitness camera, shows a not-too-pleasant interaction
12:09at Invaders Bay.
12:11The Port of Spain Infrastructure Company, Postenco, issued a statement as the news started
12:17to spread across social media platforms like Wildfire, explaining that it exercised its
12:22right of re-entry and has taken possession of the premises leased to Trinidad and Tobago
12:28Commercial Development Company Limited, known as Movie Town.
12:33The statement reads, quote, The re-entry exercise was undertaken as a consequence of breaches
12:38of the terms and conditions of the existing deed of lease between Postenco and the TCDC.
12:48Without going into details on the breaches, it says discussions had been ongoing for several
12:53years in a quote-unquote effort to avoid today's outcome.
12:58But those discussions, it says, did not see any resolve.
13:03The company says it sought to conduct today's exercise in a peaceful manner which would
13:07have been least disruptive to tenants.
13:11It also gives an assurance to all concerned that the matter will receive the sensitivity
13:16required.
13:17TV6 acquired a copy of the notice sent out to tenants.
13:21It informs them that the Port of Spain Infrastructure Company Limited is the owner of the premises
13:26they occupy.
13:28The lease with the TCDC, it explains, has come to an end and, quote, any arrangements
13:34which you had with TCDC has also come to an end.
13:39It is therefore necessary that new arrangements should be made out to ensure that you continue
13:45an occupation of the premises without any interruption, end quote.
13:50The statement further informs tenants that all rent is now to be remitted to Postenco
13:56with immediate effect.
13:58We contacted the chairman of Movietown, Derek Chin, who explained that he's out of the country.
14:03He directed us to his attorney, Andrea Rudder, who declined comment.
14:08In May, the media reported that Chin owes the Board of Inland Revenue some $93 million.
14:16In Movietown, a major cinema chain and TNT has established an outlet in Guyana.
14:20And in June, Chin told media he had his eyes set on a Jamaica location by year's end.
14:28And in case you are wondering about the Port of Spain Infrastructure Company, according
14:33to the Port Authority's website, the company plays a strategic role of port landlord, managing
14:39the Port Authority's 151 hectares of real estate and creating opportunities through
14:46port infrastructure development and maintenance to boost cargo activity and the inter-island
14:52ferry service, which is operated on behalf of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
14:58Additionally, the company provides ancillary services of towage, harbour management and
15:03cruise ship terminal operations.
15:06If the company falls under the Ministry of Works and Transport, Minister Rohan Sinhanan
15:10would only say the matter is being handled between the landlord and tenant and the ministry
15:16is not getting involved at this time.
15:20Patrons meanwhile used online platforms to raise concern about the timing of the incident,
15:25close to the reopening of schools and if that means an all-out closure.
15:30They also wondered about the future of the place where they created many memories and
15:35holds a space in their hearts.
15:37Movietown on its social media page announced to all that they are open and that all their
15:43mall stores are open.
15:47This is the past 7 days on 6, we'll be right back.
15:57Thanks for staying with us.
15:59The results for this year's CXC exams were released this week.
16:03The Ministry of Education said just over 45% of the students who did 5 or more subjects
16:10including Math and English A, got 5 CSEC passes, that's down from just over 51% last year.
16:18For CAPE Unit 1, officials said this year over 96% of written subject entries got acceptable
16:25passes which are grades 1 to 5, while CAPE Unit 2 results showed nearly 94% of subject
16:32entries got acceptable passes.
16:36In response, the Caribbean Examinations Council put a team in place to develop standards for
16:41numeracy and literacy with the incorporation of artificial intelligence.
16:46This as the examining body expressed concern about a decline in scores for mathematics
16:51in particular.
16:52CXC says this is having a negative impact in a number of areas as it called for more
16:58focus in the region on both subject areas.
17:02According to Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Examinations Council
17:06Dr Wayne Wesley, mathematics and English form the foundation on which anything else can
17:12be acquired.
17:13Considering the results for the past 5 years, he says, the region is in a challenging and
17:18serious position when it comes to the performance of students in these two subject areas.
17:24He states that annually, around 79,000 students register for mathematics and about 73,000
17:32register for English.
17:33While the average performance ranks between 79 and 80% for English, it's not the case
17:39with math.
17:40But the average performance of mathematics is about anywhere between 55 to about 59%.
17:51In fact, if we really strictly apply the entire cohort, you're actually about 44%.
18:01This year, the performance in mathematics is a bit lower than last year.
18:09The number of students attaining 5 or more passes is another worrying statistic.
18:13It's about 6% of the entire population of persons registered for the exam getting 5
18:21or more.
18:22When we make the restriction, 5 subjects including mathematics and English, that drops to 4.9%.
18:35CXE says it redounds to around 11,500 students annually who will either not successfully
18:42navigate the university space, or who will be underemployed, or who will have to repeat
18:47the subjects or will not maximize their real potential.
18:51And most importantly, it is having a negative effect on the economic competitiveness of
18:59the region because you're having less students being able to drive the innovation that is
19:05required for the economy to advance and for critical thinking and problem solving attitudes
19:12to be developed.
19:13So we are in a very challenging time that we need to give greater attention to mathematics
19:21and English.
19:22CXE has taken action, which it outlines as only part of the solution.
19:28The Caribbean Examinations Council has already commissioned a team to begin to develop standards
19:34for literacy and numeracy.
19:37And those standards will be used with the incorporation of artificial intelligence for
19:44us to be able to design targeted intervention for the areas and opportunities for development
19:51for these candidates.
19:52CXE calls for further deliberations to find other ways to deal with the math and English
19:57problem.
19:58Meanwhile, Dr. Wesley says the rate of passes in digital subjects is growing, and he expresses
20:04a view that greater results can be attained if students can excel in English and math.
20:10CXE believes that artificial intelligence presents exciting possibilities, aiding millennials
20:16in particular in the learning process.
20:19As an imperative, we are now exploring AI tools to help the system to enhance the teaching
20:30and learning process.
20:31And soon you will be able to share what we have learned and how to deploy for swift and
20:41vast results.
20:43These announcements were made at CXE's 2024 release of results ceremony.
20:48Alysia Boucher, TV6 News.
20:52Sport is up next, keep it here.
21:01In sport, more changes are coming for the CWI, as cricket West Indies may have a new
21:07vice president from as early as mid-September.
21:10It comes after cricket board vice president Azim Batarat was removed from the post in
21:16light of a recent judicial pronouncement from the High Court of Guyana.
21:20The decision to remove Batarat came earlier this month at a CWI board of directors meeting.
21:26On August 5th, High Court Judge Justice Navendra Singh ordered and declared that the election
21:32of Azim Batarat as vice president of cricket West Indies last year was null and void.
21:38The judge cited that Batarat's election was contrary to the articles of cricket West Indies
21:43and the laws and rules governing elections.
21:47The CWI will now hold fresh elections for the vacant post on September 20th.
21:52Before we go, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley fired back at the opposition for comments
21:58made regarding the inclusion of the steel pan on the coat of arms.
22:01The Prime Minister believes that the national instrument is a symbol of true unity and is
22:06puzzled as to why anyone would think differently.
22:10Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is taking a tune on the opposition leader who said the
22:15replacement of Columbus's three ships with the steel pan on the coat of arms may give
22:21way to divisiveness.
22:22The big issue is the ships that Columbus will lose on our emblem.
22:28That is the important issue.
22:30And of course accusatory, accusing the PNM of using our emblem for political gimmickry.
22:39He explains to his audience in Lahoketa why another instrument cannot be, as some suggest,
22:46our national instrument.
22:47Indigenous, if you go into the Oxford dictionary or any good dictionary, you will see it comes
22:54from the Latin word indigenous.
22:57And it means originating or occurring naturally in a country or region.
23:07And the steel pan is qualified by that description.
23:12It originated here.
23:14The tabla is not an originating instrument here.
23:18It came from India.
23:19Dr Rowley says he is aware of the divisive conversations taking place online.
23:24Go on Facebook, endless race talk, endless race talk, go in the papers, you will see
23:31them sneaking in there trying to send that race talk too.
23:35That steel pan is African and other less descriptive words.
23:39But the PM stands by his position that the steel pan is as national, interracial and
23:45intercultural as any other emblem.
23:49Guinness Cavaliers, led by Bobby Muhammad, is the youngest conventional band panorama
23:55winner, won in 1965 and 1967.
24:01So the youngest person who ever led a band to a panorama victory was an East Indian.
24:06So why are you coming to tell me now that if you name the pan as our national instrument,
24:12it will be divisive because the Indian population will feel as though they are left out.
24:17There is no other true symbol of unity, the PM says, noting that Jit Samaru and the Samaru
24:23family were the resident band at state-owned Hilton Trinidad for 25 years.
24:30Jit Samaru leading renegades won the only hat trick of panorama, they won nine panorama
24:38titles and you want to come and tell me that if we accept steel pan as the national instrument
24:46that excludes the Indian population?
24:50Anybody saying that, either wicked or they're ignorant, they don't know the history of this
24:54country.
24:55He even lists the living icons.
24:58I have not even mentioned yet Exodus, led by Ainsworth Muhammad, taking Exodus to city
25:08after city in Japan, year after year.
25:11Dr. Rowley urges the population to stop listening to misleading voices.
25:16If you don't want to support the PNM, say you don't want to support the PNM, that's
25:20your right.
25:21But don't try to rewrite this country's history and don't listen to anybody in the university
25:26who have done no research and sitting down there talking foolishness.
25:30It is time to come together, he says, and despite hard times, to embrace and celebrate
25:37the good that exists in TNT today.
25:41Steel pan is of this nation, steel pan is ours and we must claim it.
25:47Ravishi Tiwari, Rupnirain, TV6 News.
25:52And that's a wrap on the past seven days on six.
25:54I am Renessa Cutting.
25:55If you didn't catch this segment in its entirety, you can find it on our website, www.tv6tnt.com.
26:05And you can find all these stories and more on the TV6 mobile app.
26:09Thanks for choosing TV6 and do have a great evening.
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