Moontown

Wayne Bowman wayne.bowman@trinidadexpress.com

Tourism Minister Rupert Griffith yesterday described himself as a breath of fresh air to the local tourism industry.

He was addressed stakeholders at the opening of a get-to-know session titled A Conversation on Tourism at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Port of Spain.

Stakeholders of the tourism industry were invited to present ideas and proposals to Griffith and Minister in the Ministry, Delmon Dexter Baker, who also spoke at the event.

’I come before you today as a breath of fresh air in tourism and as someone with a commitment to developing the beautiful twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. I stand here today, with my colleague minister, proud to be a part of a new government, which is committed to effecting change and indeed to making tourism an important platform through which we will create sustainable employment opportunities for all our people,’ said Griffith.

The two presentation sessions were closed to the media, but a list of organisations scheduled to make presentations before Griffith and Baker included the Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Association,

In-Coming Tour Operators Association, Zoological Society, Chaguaramas Development Authority, Turtle Village Trust, Nature Seekers and Yacht Services Association.

Griffith told the stakeholders he was committed to working closely with them all and will deliver every promise he has and will make along the way.

The Minister also assured that the tourism sectors in both Trinidad and Tobago will receive his equal and full attention as he and the team at the ministry work towards exploiting every possible resource and converting it to revenue for the country.

’It is a well known and undisputable fact that tourism, both locally and internationally, is a powerful catalyst for economic growth and diversification, job creation and poverty alleviation. The future of our tourism is in the most capable hands possible. It is in the hands of all of us, the people, united in our effort to show the world the best we can be. I sincerely believe that we are on the crossroads to put our industry on a new path in terms of expansion and growth,’ Griffith said.

Roger Seepersad

West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson is looking to build on the positives coming out of the 5-0 one-day international series defeat to South Africa and says his players are eager to demonstrate they are making strides forward.

’We want to come out and show that we are progressing, we are learning and some of the senior guys that did not perform in the one-day series will want to come out and make amends,’ Gibson told the media during the team’s training session at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain yesterday in preparation for the first Digicel Test against South Africa, bowling off tomorrow at the same venue.

’Shiv (Chanderpaul) is still one of the best Test batsmen in the world and Chris (Gayle) will obviously want to make amends for his one-day form,’ Gibson said.

He added: ’The focus has been great. The practice has been great and things have gone quite well, so we are all building towards Thursday. We are looking towards coming out and setting the tone for what should be a very tough Test series.’

The coach did not want to dwell on the negatives of the recent ODI series defeat, instead focussing on the positives.

HAVING FUN: West Indies skipper Chris Gayle, right, leads his team in a warm-up drill during their training session at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain yesterday. West Indies take on South Africa in the first Digicel Test which bowls off tomorrow at the same venue. Pacers Ravi Rampaul, fifth from right, and Nelon Pascal, second from left, will both be vying for a spot in the final XI, while Brendan Nash, left, returns to the line-up following a good West Indies “A” tour of Bangladesh. -Photo: ANISTO ALVES

’We kept creating opportunities to win and, like we said, we could have won but we were not strong enough at that moment and that is what we are working towards.’

He explained that in the one-day matches, the home team created winning situations four times but they failed to pull off the victory.

’The team, at the moment, as we all know, is not a confident team, but it is a team that is working very hard-I can assure you of that-and we just need to regain that winning feeling,’ said Gibson and he hopes the players coming in from the winning West Indies A team (Brendan Nash, Shane Shillingord, Nelon Pascal, Travis Dowlin and Darren Bravo) can make a difference.

’We have a few new faces in the squad and we will obviously try to move on from the one-day series as quickly as possible. We are preparing now for Test cricket and the focus is to stay out there and bat.

’And even though we lost that series the mood has always been that we are building towards something and the mood in the camp is pretty good so far,’ the former England bowling coach noted.

Adrian Barath was spotted training with the team and Gibson seemed optimistic about his recovery in time to play a part in the three-Test series.

When asked about Barath’s participation in the training sessions, Gibson said: ’We needed to get an update on his recovery and obviously we are here in Trinidad so it seemed to be a good idea to get him in and around the squad and see how he is moving.

’It is good to see him. He is moving better than the reports we have seen suggested so there is a good chance that we might see him before the series is finished, but he still has some work to do yet before he regains full fitness,’ he added.

Speaking about the development of West Indies cricket, Gibson believes they are heading in the right direction with the High Performance Centre and the A-team tours.

’A-team tours are vitally important. It gives you an opportunity to play high intensity cricket and it always puts you in the frame for Test cricket.

’Players need to be playing as much cricket as they can and the A-team tours coming back into West Indies cricket is a good thing,’ he said.

’The signs are good off the field with the A-team tours and the High Performance Centre, we just need to make sure that we are making strides on the field as well and even though we did not have a very good one-day series, I think we are building towards something and this is just the first small step towards that,’ the coach concluded. (Trinidad Express)

Carolyn Kissoon South Bureau

Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley was summoned to San Fernando last night by the party faithful who wanted to know how he could undo the political damage done in the May 24 election licking.

Rowley said he was invited to the city hall auditorium ’but I don’t know what it’s about’.

The invitation came from party members in the San Fernando East, San Fernando West and Pointe-a-Pierre constituencies, which were PNM controlled until the election. But not all stayed when Rowley began speaking. Only former prime minister Patrick Manning held on to his San Fernando East seat. Neither Manning, nor Pointe-a-Pierre candidate Christine Kangaloo attended.

The San Fernando West loser Junia Regrello was at last night’s meeting.

Also at the meeting was Tina Gronlund-Nunez, former minister in the Ministry of Housing and campaign manager of Manning.

faithful gather: Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley waves to PNM supporters upon arrival at City Hall, San Fernando for yesterday’s meeting with party groups from Pointe-a-Pierre, San Fernando East and West constituencies. -Photo: DEXTER PHILIP

Rowley showed up at around 5.30 p.m. to find more than 200 supporters crowding the auditorium.

He declined to speak with members of the media, who were first invited to sit in on the meeting, but then told to leave by an official.

Rowley was appointed Opposition Leader last Friday after gaining the support of the other elected PNM Members of Parliament.

Last night he addressed party members for more than half an hour, before fielding questions.

He was asked how he intended to strengthen the party now that Manning had resigned as political leader. Rowley was heard telling people ’an organisation is only as good as the people who run it’.

Rowley said that in September 2007, he was a minister when ’certain people in this organisation were conspiring with the Integrity Commission to remove me from office at a high cost’.

He said that the issue of Jack Warner’s dual role as Cabinet Minister and Fifa vice-president was a matter not being addressed by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar or Attorney General Anand Ramlogan.

He said both were ’playing the fool, pretending not to know the code of conduct of Parliamentarians as it relates to Jack Warner’. He said it appeared that Warner was in charge of the administration.

During Rowley’s address, several people walked out in apparent anger.

One woman was heard saying ’ He (Rowley) is not the political leader. He is a candidate for political leader. Let him ask who inside there has a party card. I have a party card. I am a financial member. This is not what I came here for’. (Trinidad Express)

Akile Simon akile.simon@trinidadexpress.com

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has called on the Integrity Commission and the police to move with great dispatch and exercise their powers to protect the assets at the controversial church at the Heights of Guanapo in Arima.

Ramlogan made the call last night following reports that equipment and material were being removed from the site.

According to Ramlogan, the Integrity Commission and the police have the power to ensure that the scene is not tampered with and evidence which could hamper the investigations is not removed.

Even though the Attorney General’s office is not involved in the probe, Ramlogan said the assets may very well belong to the State and action ought to be taken to ensure the compound receives adequate protection.

Meanwhile, a relative of Pastor Juliana Pena is calling on her to come forward and clear the air surrounding the church since the issue itself has had a negative effect on family members.

The plea was made yesterday by a relative who asked that she not be identified by name because the scandal has caused their family great embarrassment.

The woman said it was the first time any of Pena’s relatives was speaking with the media in relation to the incident.

’Relatives tried to contact her even during the time when the whole situation was taking place, but we never got on to her. We then heard she was out of the country. We don’t even know where she is right now.’

According to the woman, Pena lived in secrecy and always kept away from other family members.

’She kept her life very, very private and very, very secret. Unless she invites you to her home, she’s not the type that you can just go and visit, so you understand why we don’t really know anything about her.

’We didn’t even know that she was building a church in Guanapo and we didn’t even have a clue that she was close to Mr Manning. We really in the dark because we just didn’t know a thing. If there is something that needs to be cleared up then she should do just that. Somebody, even a member of her church, should have come out and said something regarding the issue,’ the woman added.

Pena has three children who live in the United States. One of her daughters, the Express understands, came to Trinidad a few weeks ago.

The relative also disclosed that members of their family were in the process of constructing a Baptist church near their home in Brazil Village, but made it clear the Government had nothing to do with their church.

’Not at all. That is our own hard-earned money that is being used to build that church and no assistance from the Government was given,’ the relative said.

-Anna Ramdass

Expect new faces in the PNM Opposition Senate line up, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday.

Rowley will officially be occupying the Opposition Leader’s office on Charles Street, Port of Spain, today.

His first official move as Opposition Leader is to name six senators to occupy the Opposition benches.

Rowley is expected to name and introduce these six senators today at a press briefing at the Opposition Leader’s office at 10.30 a.m.

’You will see new faces and some experienced faces,’ Rowley told the Express yesterday by phone. A source said some of the old faces that may resurface are former Arima MP Pennelope Beckles, former minister in the ministry of finance, Christine Sahadeo, as well as former minister in the ministry of national security, Fitzgerald Hinds.

Rowley confirmed yesterday that one of the six senators will be a Tobago representative.

He reiterated that as Opposition Leader he and his team will be focused on safeguarding the public’s interest.

The Parliament will officially be convened on June 18.

Rowley said in his capacity as Opposition Leader he will be dealing with management issues and will also begin consultations to prepare for an early budget which Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has promised. (Trinidad Express)

Anna Ramdass anna.ramdass@trinidadexpress.com

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has blanked today’s Caricom meeting with United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, in Barbados because she felt it would be an insult to the people who elected her to travel without taking the parliamentary oath.

Persad-Bissessar gave this explanation yesterday in response to criticism from Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley who said the Prime Minister’s failure to attend today’s meeting was ’a dereliction of duty’.

’I was of the view that we have not been sworn into the Parliament and it is the people who elected us to represent them there. It would be offensive to the people to travel to represent them without taking the oath in the Parliament,’ said Persad-Bissessar in a brief interview with the Express yesterday by phone.

She said therefore a policy decision had been taken that no minister would embark on foreign travel on behalf of the people of this country, until Parliament is convened on June 18.

Persad-Bissessar said that technocrats will represent this country at the Caricom meeting and apologies were extended to Clinton and other heads for her absence.

CONTROVERSIAL DECISION: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. -Photo: ANISTO ALVES

She added that Caricom was informed that a new government was elected and a decision was taken that there would be no foreign travel until the parliamentary oath is taken.

’We meant no disrespect to anyone,’ stressed Persad-Bissessar, adding that she also did not want to offend the democratic transition taking place.

Rowley however believes that Persad-Bissessar missed out on a golden opportunity for this country.

’The meeting with Hillary Clinton is a major issue to us in the Caribbean. The fact that there was an election and the Government changed cannot interfere with that, we still have a Government,’ Rowley told the Express by phone.

’The Government so doesn’t understand its role that she as Prime Minister is saying I am not going to this most important meeting, with this most important trading partner because I have not taken an oath in Parliament. Somebody must tell Kamla she is not the Prime Minister in the Parliament which is the legislator, she is the Prime Minister of the executive, she has taken an oath at Knowsley and that oath is good enough, she is now the Prime Minister,’ he added.

Rowley said Persad-Bissessar has said that no minister will embark on foreign travel until the Parliament is convened but he pointed out Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner was in South Africa.

’So apparently this Prime Minister has no control over Jack Warner so whatever edict she gave applies to other ministers but it does not apply to Jack Warner … so while she as Prime Minister is failing to go to conduct our business with Hillary Clinton in Barbados, Jack Warner has gone off to conduct FIFA’s business in South Africa,’ said Rowley.

’To pass up on the opportunity to talk to Hillary Clinton on a serious matter of interest to us in Trinidad and Tobago is a dereliction of duty. … So Hillary Clinton comes to Caricom to talk to Caricom leaders and Trinidad and Tobago sends technocrats,’ said Rowley.

Warner, a vice-president of FIFA, is in South Africa to attend to business relating to the opening of 2010 World Cup on Friday.

Western Air, which made its inaugural flight to Jamaica two months ago, has now added Montego Bay to its destinations and is slated to fly into the Sangster International Airport there every day starting on Friday.

The Bahamas-based service started daily flights from Nassau to Kingston after Air Jamaica, now owned by Trinidad’s Caribbean Airlines, suspended the route.

Western Air said it is extending an introductory price of US$320 round-trip plus taxes for the daily Montego Bay flights.

Along with the additional route, Western Air has also signed what it described in a statement as a multi-million-dollar purchase agreement to acquire three additional aircraft.

Company chief executive officer, Martin Rolle said Tuesday that the new SAAB 340 B model aircraft, are “better suited for the new Jamaica routes in particular, as a result of their ability to carry a thousand more pounds, higher cruising speed and overall better performance.”

Later model saab

The SAAB 340 B, he said, is an advancement and later model of the SAAB 340 A that the company currently operates on its Kingston route. Delivery of the new aircraft is expected between 60 and 90 days.

The size of the investment for this route was not disclosed, but Western Air was said to have pumped about US$108,000 (J$9.5 million) into the Kingston service.

According to Rolle, the company has also invested US$4 million in constructing a new terminal and maintenance facility at the Grand Bahama International Airport with the opening scheduled for the end of summer this year.

Upon completion, the facility will serve as the airline’s northern hub and will facilitate the launch of Western Air’s expansion into the Jamaica, South Florida and Northern Bahamas market.

Ticketing agents for Western Air are listed as Jamaica Dispatch Services at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and major travel agencies in Jamaica and The Bahamas.

Flights from Nassau to Montego Bay are slated to depart Nassau at 9:30 a.m., with scheduled arrival into Montego Bay at 10:30 a.m. The airline’s flights will be departing Montego Bay at 11:30 a.m., with scheduled arrival into Nassau at 2:30 p.m.

Passengers travelling to and from Jamaica may connect to other destinations in The Bahamas, the statement said. Western Air also flies from Nassau daily to major Bahamian destinations, such as, Freeport, Marsh Harbour, Exuma, Congo Town, San Andros and Bimini. (Jamaica Gleaner)

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