Moontown

The Medical Research Foundation (MRF) of Trinidad and Tobago is now the largest research and treatment centre in the Commonwealth Caribbean.

In a recent statement, the MRF said it recently registered its 5,000th patient, adding, “This is by far the largest HIV/AIDS research and treatment centre in the Commonwealth Caribbean. In fact, its patient load is almost as large as that of Johns Hopkins Hospital AIDS Centre in the United States.”

It added, “Of the 5,000 patients to date, there are 2,057 males and a slight excess of females, 2,251. Three hundred and thirty six patients are aged 10-20 years and 2,712 are between 31-40 years. Notably, as many as 339 patients are between 51-60 years, 78 between 61-70 years and as many as 11 patients are aged 71-80/.”

The facility’s director, Prof Courtenay Bartholomew, attributed the success to his dedicated staff. The MRF has a full time staff of 22, including four doctors, six nurses, a nurse/counsellor, social worker, nurse adherence officer and two pharmacists.

Bartholomew was quoted in the statement as saying “…we have the best staff possible and Mr Nicholas George of the Central Stores Department of the Ministry of Health always ensured that there is never, ever a shortage of drugs.”

He said the MRF continues to enjoy success in treating HIV/AIDS patients and recent studies done by a biostatistician abroad have shown that the HIV/AIDS mortality rate of the MRF in Trinidad and Tobago is approaching that of first-world treatment centres in North America and Europe.

Joel Julien jjulien@trinidadexpress.com

acting CoP: James Philbert

UNDER the stewardship of acting top cop James Philbert more than 650 murders have been committed, statistics have shown.

Philbert, who has been acting as this country’s Police Commissioner for the past 15 months, took over the reins of this country’s Police Service after the surprise resignation of then top cop, Trevor Paul, on June 27 last year.

Paul’s departure from office came at a time when the Police Service Commission’s (PSC) search for the country’s next top cop was in progress.

And as such Philbert, the most senior officer in the Service, was appointed by the PSC to act in the top cop role, to fill the void left by Paul.

Philbert was later left in charge of the reins of the Police Service after controversy surrounded the appointment of ACP Stephen Williams, who was deemed the rightful heir to the CoP throne following the PSC selection process.

When Philbert took over as CoP on July 5 last year, the murder toll in this country stood at 269.

For the remainder of that year some 281 more murders were committed, which resulted in the year 2008 ending with a record high of 550 murders.

And for this year, some 374 murders have been recorded so far, according to Express statistics.

According to these figures some 655 murders have been committed during the 437 days that Philbert has been in charge of local law enforcement.

Fifteen people are murdered every ten days, according to these statistics.

With this deadly trend, it is quite possible that this year’s murder toll will end somewhere in the same region as last year’s record tally.

Last year there were 377 murders as compared to the 374 recorded so far this year.

In 2007 where the murder toll narrowly missed the once inconceivable 400 mark, there were some 237 murders for a similar period, statistics have shown.

Since his appointment to the position of acting CoP, Philbert has been given two six-month extensions in his tenure.

The first six-month extension granted to Philbert came on December 3 last year in an effort to allow the Government enough time to bring proper legislation to the Parliament.

And on May 22, Philbert was again granted another six-month extension by the PSC.

Anna Ramdass aramdass@trinidadexpress.com

ROWLEY RAGES: Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley reacts during his contribution to yesterday’s 2009/2010 budget debate at the Red House. -Photo: CURTIS CHASE

The anger of Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley filled the Parliament Chamber yesterday as he slammed a move to increase property taxes, saying the people of this country are now being forced to pay for Government’s squaundermania which he tried in vain to prevent but was stopped by Prime Minister Patrick Manning.

Referring to the proposed three per cent property tax, Rowley charged:

“I tell you one thing, I am mad as hell about this. You know why?…Because I tried to prevent it…When I tried to prevent this I had my character called into question in this House and asked to account for money that was never missing. And that was done by the head of the Government, my Government. Mr Speaker, I have made no bones about the fact that I am PNM and I will remain PNM…I have no where to go.”

Last year, during the budget debate Rowley had raised concern publicly about the practices of UDeCOTT under the chairmanship of Calder Hart.

Manning, in response, said there was some $10 million missing from the Cleaver Heights housing project, and questioned the former Housing Minister where the money gone.

Rowley was fired from the Cabinet, in April last year, after he raised similar queries about another UDeCOTT project.

“We have to digest that in the context that the money done. We are now talking about raising revenue by taxation, churup, churup, household by household. Land and building taxes, cigarette taxes, rum taxes as revenue-raising measures,” said Rowley.

Noting that pensioners who own property in Diego Martin and Woodbrook and people who are striving to make ends meet will have to pay increased taxes, Rowley roared, “We are now called upon to pay from our pockets for the fun and games that was had by others.”

Rowley, speaking on the ongoing budget debate at the Parliament, outlined a number of million and billion- dollar mega projects which were exorbitantly over budget.

He said he knows what were the problems at UDeCOTT but questioned what were the problems at State- owned Petrotrin where projects were draining financial resources.

Quoting from budget documents, Rowley pointed out that a programme of projects at this company increased from $3.3 billion to $9.3 billion.

Rowley further revealed how Government wasted money to the tune of some $100 million in the Legal Affairs Tower and Chancery Lane projects.

He said a $368 million contract was given to a contractor even through another contractor bid $60 million less.

During the Uff Commission of Enquiry it was revealed that this same contractor allegedly had family ties to UDeCOTT chairman.

Rowley added that the contractor who was rejected in the Legal Affairs Tower project was awarded the Chancery Lane project, where he bid $45 million more than others. He said this project is now $181 million more than the original estimate of $477 million.

Rowley also noted the expenditure at the Academy for Performing Arts in Port of Spain was over-budged. He said Manning misled the House when he said the project cost some US$60 million.

He said this “galvanise mausoleum”, according to documents submitted in the Uff enquiry, cost $441 million with a projected completion of $468 million.

Asserting that silence was not an option for him, he thundered, “I can tell you without fear of contradiction every statement about these projects being within budget and within time, every one is a wrong statement.”

Rowley stressed the need for Government to review its priorities and put the needs of the people first. He said in his own constituency people are without water, schools and a sporting centre that has long been promised.

“It is my view because of the general circumstances, international and local, 2010 will be a difficult year for the people of Trinidad and Tobago. It will be a difficult year for the Government…I don’t think we should be fooling ourselves. We are not alone on this planet we are in difficult times but before you can agree to take medicine you have to agree that you are sick and if you keep saying that I am not sick then you won’t take the medicine that is required,” said Rowley.

Juhel Browne jbrowne@trinidadexpress.com

A must-read: Opposition MP Subhas Panday displays yesterday’s Express front page during the budget debate at the Red House, Port of Spain -Photo: CURTIS CHASE

Opposition MP Subhas Panday has warned Prime Minister Patrick Manning that the “institutions of this country are standing up” against him.

Panday did so last evening while contributing to the House of Representatives 2009/2010 Budget debate at the Red House, Port of Spain, as he said that the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) had so much confidence in Acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Carla Brown-Antoine’s abilities that they decided to elevate her to the post of High Court Judge, even though she had not been fully confirmed as the DPP.

Panday also made his comments just three days after Justice Rajendra Narine ordered that Jamaat al Muslimeen leader Imam Yasin Abu Bakr’s affidavit which claims he had struck a deal with Manning during the 2002 general election campaign be forwarded to the Acting Director of Public Prosecutions and Acting Police Commissioner.

“Prime Minister, take notice, take notice, the institutions are standing up against you. Madam Deputy Speaker, this Prime Minister want to keep everybody acting so he can have them on a string,” Panday said.

Panday questioned the motive behind the non appointment of a substantive Director of Public Prosecutions, Commissioner of Police and Chief Parliamentary Counsel.

“We ask the Prime Minister, we ask the PNM, why are you not appointing those important offices in the country why and the answer has to be Madam Deputy Speaker is that they really do not intend to have judicial system and the administration of justice working,” Panday said.

At present there is an acting Police Commissioner, James Philbert, and the existing acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Carla Brown-Antoine, is soon to leave that office to take up an appointment as a High Court Judge on Thursday.

There is no permanent Chief Parliamentary Counsel or Solicitor General.

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (Reuters) — The Cayman Islands government will present a revenue plan to Britain this week to seek approval for the British overseas territory to borrow $372 million to help plug a widening government operating deficit.

The Cayman Islands, a beach-lined Caribbean territory that is domicile to most of the world’s hedge funds, faces ballooning debt caused by overspending on public infrastructure projects, and the global financial crisis that has sapped revenues.

The territory of around 50,000 inhabitants is predominantly self-governing but needs the British government’s permission if it increases borrowings above a certain threshold.

The Cayman Islands government has already secured lenders for the $372 million it seeks to borrow.

Leader of Government Business McKeeva Bush

Cayman Islands’ top elected official Leader of Government Business McKeeva Bush is to meet British officials in London on Thursday to convince them the plan to boost government revenues and cut spending is viable.

“I am hopeful. I don’t think the UK will disagree with our proposal,” Bush said on Sunday.

Last month, British authorities told the islands’ leaders to come up with a realistic revenue plan, saying the territory should not rely on trust fund income or its traditional offshore tax haven image for its economic survival.

But the Caymans’ latest revenue plan will not include sales taxes, property taxes or across-the-board income taxes, as had been suggested by top officials of Britain’s Foreign Office.

Bush said the plan would, however, propose a 2 percent hike in import duties, and the increase or establishment of other fees, including a possible community service fee.

Details of this fee were not finalized, though the idea would be to have a fixed fee for all Cayman Islands residents, based on their ability to pay. “Everyone working in Cayman is going to have to contribute,” Bush said.

Nearly all of the Caymans’ consumer goods are imported, and the import duty collection system is already in place. To offset the impact of the increase in import duties, Bush said the territory’s garbage collection fees would be eliminated.

Unless actions are taken, the Cayman government’s operating deficit is expected to reach nearly $155 million by the end of the territory’s financial year on June 30th, 2010.

Bush said the government also proposed imposing some new fees and raising others. This included creating a fee for registering trademarks and patents and increasing fees for passports, planning applications and nightclub licenses.

In addition, as an immediate deficit-reducing step, the Caymans government said on Friday it was considering reducing by 2 percent for the rest of the financial year the salaries of most civil servants earning more than $3,571 per month.

Although he didn’t use the word “tax,” Bush agreed the Caymans needed to expand its revenue base. “I believe the UK is being realistic … We do not have a manufacturing base or natural resources. If we don’t have a sustainable revenue base, we are putting ourselves in jeopardy,” he said.

Overseas territories such as the Cayman Islands have suffered from increasing pressure from G20 governments which have vowed to crack down on so-called “tax-havens.”

Cayman finance officials said income from hedge funds on the islands has dropped by up to 40 percent, bringing it to levels similar to those seen in 2005. This has led to many offshore locations reviewing their long-term business models.

In a move that put pressure on offshore finance jurisdictions, Switzerland agreed last month to hand over details of some 4,450 UBS AG bank accounts to US tax investigators to head off a legal summons.

Residents of the Cayman Islands have never paid income tax, sales tax or regular property taxes. Instead, the government has collected revenue through import duties, one-time taxes payable on property transfers and various fees, on work permits for foreign labor, company fees and professional fees.

The Italian, family-owned line is bringing the elegant MSC Poesia to Fort Lauderdale for a season featuring itineraries of 3-, 5-, 7-, 8- and 10-nights throughout the Caribbean and to Bermuda during the winter season before returning to Europe in spring 2010.

MSC Poesia features 1,275 staterooms, of which 80% are outside staterooms and 65% have a balcony. There will be 2 pools and 4 hot tubs, a 13,000-square-foot spa, and four restaurants, including a Sushi Bar themed restaurant.

MSC Poesia will arrive in Fort Lauderdale Nov. 10, after a 17-night transatlantic journey from Venice.