PP - Scrapbook

GOVT 3021 – PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSIS 

Ronald Jaikaran – 813004251 

Jessica Vincent – 04717789 

Brendon Prince – 812004375 

Josanne Teelucksingh – 810005378 

Levi Horsford – 812000809

PUBLIC POLICY CYCLE 

Venus, (2011) defined public policies as an attempt by the government to address a public issue. 

‘‘The government, whether it is city, state, or federal, develops public policy in terms of laws, 

regulations, decisions, and actions’’ (Venus , 2011 p.1). 

‘‘The policy process defines how the multitudes of demands are translated into the outputs that 

meet these demands’’ (Stewart, 1998, p 106). In this regards, the policy process by this definition 

articulates the approaches, systems and mechanisms that delimits how demands expressed in the 

form of needs and aspiration of citizens would be satisfied through public or private 

interventionism. The policy process is subsequently not an action confined to the public sector 

only but to organizations and institutions not under the umbrella of the government. 

Policy Making Cycle therefore can be defined as the process the government or an institution goes 

through after considering all political and social factors in coming out with a policy or public 

policy. The stages of this cycle are: 

 

 

 

 

 

Agenda Setting 

Policy Formulation 

Decision Making 

Implementation 

Policy Evaluation 

This scrap book would highlight the stages of the policy cycle identified above through real life 

situations occurring in Trinidad and Tobago as reported by the local press. 

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AGENDA-SETTING 

Agenda-Setting is the shaping of Public Opinion by utilizing the Mass Media (McCombs and Shaw 

1972). The power of the news media is to influence a nation’s agenda, and to focus public attention 

on a few key public issues. Not only do people acquire factual information about public affairs 

from the news media, readers and viewers also learn how much importance to attach to a topic on 

the basis of the emphasis placed on it in the news. The news media can set the agenda for the 

public’s attention to that small group of issues around which public opinion forms. 

These public issues, reflected on and interpreted by the media compete to be placed on the policy 

planning of the government. 

According to Kingdom (1984), “The agenda as I conceive of it, is a list of subjects or problems to 

which government officials, and the people outside of government closely associated with those 

officials, are paying some serious attention at any time….Out of the set of all conceivable subjects 

or problems to which officials could be paying attention, they do in fact seriously attend to some 

rather than other. So the agenda-setting process narrows this set of conceivable subjects to the set 

that actually becomes the focus of attention.” 

Article #1 

Ram 

Ramesh leads Gasparillo residents in road protest 

By Cecily Asson 

Newsday: Sunday, December 6 2009 

Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, centre, stands with residents protesting poor road 

conditions and lack of drainage in the San Fabian Rd, Gasparillo 

A backhoe accompanied by trucks loaded with material yesterday rolled into San Fabian 

Road, Gasparillo yesterday to begin road repairs. This even as Member of Parliament for 

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Tabaquite Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj led scores of his angry constituents armed with 

placards along the same road in a quiet demonstration for better roads, water and drainage. 

Maharaj, however, said he was not impressed with the actions of the authorities saying that they 

only reacted “this morning” because they became aware of the protest through public 

advertisements and sent in the truck. He asked: “Why didn’t they do it all the time?” 

Maharaj added: “I don’t know if it is a few loads to fool the people, but I won’t be satisfied until 

the road and the drainage and the water are properly fixed, the landslip and the people whose 

homes have been lost (from it), they should get compensation. 

They have to have retaining walls to prevent their homes from being destroyed – after waiting for 

40 years they are entitled to better treatment than a flag pole.”Yesterday morning at about 10 am, 

Maharaj met with several disgruntled residents who live at San Fabian Road. 

Armed with placards against Prime Minster Patrick Manning and Opposition Leader Basdeo 

Panday, they took their MP through the road identifying problems as they walked along the 

deteriorating roadway. 

Maharaj told Newsday: “The San Fabian road is in a terrible condition. I have begged Mr Manning 

to fix it, I’ve begged Mr (Colm) Imbert (Works Minister) to fix it. 

“I’ve raised the issue in the Parliament and I’ve been given the assurance that it will be fixed, and 

these people have been wanting help for the last 40 years.” 

Maharaj added that because of poor road conditions, ambulances and taxi drivers do not enter the 

area while school children encounter problems to go to school. He said there was no water in the 

taps and lashed out at what he said was too much neglect in rural areas. 

“What I have told them this morning is that when I become leader of the United National Congress 

(UNC) and when I win the General Elections, the policy of the new government will be different 

because we would emphasise not only urban development and continued urban development, but 

there will be great rural development in Trinidad and Tobago.” Maharaj said the plight of the 

neglected people in the country has encouraged him to challenge Opposition Leader Basdeo 

Panday for the leadership of the UNC. 

“These are some of the things that have inspired me — when I go around and I see the need for 

change this has given me a new zeal to be able to contest the election for political leader in order 

to make a difference. I ask them to go and get their forms to ensure that I become leader of the 

UNC.” 

Upon the arrival of the backhoe and trucks, residents began shouting “dey fraid Ramesh”, and “is 

the fastest we ever see the road fix” while others said “is Ramesh for Prime Minister.” One of the 

workers later identified the company as Talco Contractors of Piarco. 

Page 4 of 48

Article #2 

La Brea in smelter protest 

'Plant will bring jobs, progress' 

Newsday: Published on Sep 16, 2010, 11:47 pm AST 

SINCE the aluminium smelter project at Union Village, La Brea, has been discontinued there has 

been a decrease in employment for the residents of La Brea, according to a group of La Brea 

residents. 

They claim that the building of the smelter plant proposed under the former People's National 

Movement (PNM) government, would have proven to be an asset to the people of La Brea and the 

country as a whole. 

The residents, who staged a protest during the opening of the new law term yesterday, came to 

Port of Spain to highlight their issue. 

Approximately 30 of them, bearing placards, gathered at Woodford Square, Port of Spain, in 

protest of the discontinuation of the project. 

One of the placards read: "This is a Government of the people. How come no consultation before 

no smelter?" while another read: "Aluminium smelter plus La Brea equals progress for T&T". 

Ezra Vaughn said she believed the smelter project should continue as it has already started. 

"We are saying that there must be development for the people of La Brea. The smelter plants are 

already there, the foundation is there. A billion dollars has already been spent, and we saying we 

want the smelter now because we want development in La Brea," she said. 

Errol Joseph, another supporter of the building of the smelter, said Alutrint has become a part of 

the lives of the people of La Brea. 

"Alutrint was not just involved in smelter business. They had been involved in the cultural aspects 

and sporting aspects. 

"Even with the schools in La Brea they have assisted in different activities. The smelter would 

have been to the betterment to the whole of the south west peninsula, but most importantly it would 

create employment for us. 

"They say it is dangerous for us, but what about the foods we eat? What about smoking? 

Everything is bad for us. Too much water is bad for us, because if you drink too much you can 

drown yourself. Why don't they stop that?" he said. 

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Article #3 

11 oil spills in 10 days 

By SEAN DOUGLAS 

Newsday: Tuesday, December 31 2013 

LAST Sunday night, Petrotrin found yet another oil leak which it said it now has under control, 

chairman Lindsay Gillette disclosed yesterday even as he wryly remarked that 11 oil leaks within 

ten days is a lot of oil leaks and is “unusual, alarming and unprecedented”. 

The latest leak was found at the Trinity Platform in the Brighton Marine Field, said Gillette, 

assuring it is now “under control”. 

“There was actually one more leak discovered on Sunday at 6 pm on the Trinity Platform in the 

Brighton Marine Field,” said Gillette. 

Gillette and Petrotrin president Khalid Hassanali yesterday held a news briefing at Petrotrin’s 

office at Queen’s Park West, Port-of-Spain, where they assured that the firm has done everything 

possible to clean up the spill including helping affected residents and the environment, utilising 

the help of both local persons from the community and foreign experts from the US and UK. 

“The whole situation is absolutely under control, and we’ll have a full clean-up within two weeks,” 

said Gillette. British and American consultants would stay for as long as needed, he added. 

Hassanali said four oil-spills were with regard to a joint venture between Petrotrin and Trinity 

Exploration and Production, one involved a joint-venture of Petrotrin and Neal and Massy Energy 

Resources Limited, while the rest were sole Petrotrin operations. Samples of contaminant oil have 

been sent abroad for their source to be identified, but the holiday season has delayed the lab results, 

he said. 

He said the cost so far of the clean-up is $5 million, and within two weeks would be at 99 percent 

completion of all “heavy” cleaning up, to be followed up by some lighter cleaning-up. 

In giving their list of leak sites, Petrotrin denied any liability by any defective equipment. Gillette 

could think of no reason why anyone would want to sabotage Petrotrin, although Hassanali said 

incidents of theft had occurred in the past over Petrotrin’s vast marine acreage which is quite hard 

to secure. One such theft of pipeline has resulted in the leakage of oil which had cost Petrotrin $1 

million to clean up, said Hassanali. 

He named at least two sites where the oil-leaks had been caused by apparently unusual turns-ofevents, 

including Rancho Quemado where two plugs were missing each of which could only be 

loosened by a four-inch wrench, saying, “That speaks loudly”, and the Riser Platform Five at Point 

Fortin which had a heavy spray of oil despite no sign of any corrosion in the pipeline. 

Page 6 of 48

Asked if there had been interference at the sites of the oil spills, Hassanali replied, “It would appear 

so.” Hassanali said in its enquiries into the cause of the oil spills, Petrotrin is “following certain 

leads” which it would not yet disclose. Hassanali said there has been “tremendous progress” in 

remedying the situation at Coffeee Beach, saying residents there are now comfortable. He admitted 

that any firm in this situation would be concerned about its international reputation, but said what 

is really important is how one responds to the crisis. 

Petrotrin health, safety and environment (HSE) manager, Sham Deyal, said the oil spills had hurt 

only one bird which had been helped back to health at a wildlife centre, plus a few catfish, 

otherwise having “very minimal impact on wildlife and fisheries”. 

Rough seas are helping disperse the oil, he said, which he noted is a natural not synthetic substance, 

as are the substances used to clean-up the spill including a soya-bean derivative and the very 

absorbent peat-moss. 

Of the 25 Coffee Beach residents seeking medical help over the weekend, 24 had been discharged, 

with just one retained at Point Fortin Hospital for a pre-existing asthma condition, said Deyal. 

Replying to a Newsday query, Hassanali said the oil spills would not make Petrotrin stop its 

seismic surveys, saying such exploration is needed so as to boost production in the industry that 

annually produces as much as $5 billion in taxes to the Treasury. 

Fishermen yesterday called on Petrotrin to halt plans for “seismic bombings” in the Gulf of Paria 

in light of the oil spills. Fishermen previously protested the “bombings” saying it would affect the 

fish stock. Petrotrin had countered technology that uses sound and not explosives would be used 

for the seismic survey due to begin in January. 

Article #4 

Ganja and Colonialism 

 

Published on Mar 6, 2014, 7:10 pm AST 

Page 7 of 48

The ongoing Caribbean discussion on the decriminalisation of marijuana provides a telling but sad 

example of “policy capture” by external interests over decision-making in our Caribbean. 

Particularly worrying about the sudden wave of open debate and free exploration of the potential 

and possibilities of marijuana is the fact that it has arrived, not on the basis of our own indigenous 

reflection on the issue, but simply because the United States has undertaken a policy shift on the 

matter. 

As a result, our so-called sovereign governments which conduct their business with their eyes 

firmly fixed on their northern masters, rather than with their fingers on the domestic pulse, are now 

scrambling to adjust their thinking to conform to the new signal of US acceptability. 

While the usual conservative detractors will make their expected reactionary noises about adopting 

a “realistic” stance about what the Caribbean can do, when one thinks of the tremendous 

expenditure borne by our countries in the policing of ganja laws, the untold suffering of countless 

working-class youth and their families due to their incarceration for legal violations, and the loss 

of revenue from the failure even to undertake the most sanitised and controlled research and 

experimentation into marijuana and its uses, the full cost of our policy dependency is brought 

home. 

A thoroughly decolonised marijuana policy for the Caribbean, one not dependent for its impetus 

and legitimacy on external powers, would have been guided by the comparative advantage of the 

Caribbean in marijuana production, the close identification of significant segments of the 

population with the plant for cultural and religious reasons, the need for income diversification in 

an increasingly challenging economic environment and the need to uncover the research and 

commercial potential of all the plant, animal and marine life which is our natural inheritance. 

None of this is meant to ignore the political difficulties associated with acting against the interest 

of a powerful hegemon. 

However, neo-colonial governments like ours tend to put more limits on their room for action than 

exist in actuality. 

While for political reasons we might have been forced to maintain the ban on marijuana use for 

recreational purposes, there was nothing stopping the establishment of centres for marijuana 

research, where the medicinal and economic value of marijuana could have been researched under 

controlled and state-regulated environments. 

Indeed, while like good sheep we were busy policing externally imposed criminalisation, our 

masters were busy researching the “dangerous” substance to the point of having erased any of our 

natural advantages, allowing them to lift the ban at a point where our ability to “catch up” has been 

negated. 

Any hopes of overcoming colonialism in the formulation of future marijuana policy, however, 

are dashed by the domination of the debate by religious interests. It should be led by science, not 

prejudice 

Page 8 of 48

Article #5 

What's Our Carnival Policy? 

 

Published on Feb 18, 2011, 11:43 pm AST 

With such a richly diverse cultural heritage one would think Trinidad and Tobago would have 

long ago established a State Policy for Culture and the Carnival Arts. That, however, is only now 

being set in place by the Peoples Partnership Government after years of pleading for such by 

people involved in the cultural as well as the arts and entertainment sectors. 

The Department of Creative & Festival Arts of the University of the West Indies on February 11 

held the inaugural symposium of its Th?nk Tank series at the Centre for Language Learning 

Auditorium UWI, St Augustine. The day's theme was; Carnival, Multiculturalism and State 

Policy and among the panelists were Peter Minshall, Dr Pat Bishop, Dr Suzanne Burke, Marcia 

Riley and Peter Scoon. 

One of the sessions in the daylong symposium was titled Carnival and Multiculturalism 

Development. Here the panel explored whether or not Carnival could be used as a catalyst for 

developing a National Cultural Policy that is underpinned by the concepts of diversity and social 

inclusion. Dr Bishop took the lead here, opening her presentation stating, "I have nothing 

interesting to say," causing light laughter to erupt from the audience that consisted of players in 

the cultural and Carnival arenas. 

Bishop went on to say that everyone knows that when it comes to Carnival in Trinidad and 

Tobago the, "French claim it. The Africans counterclaim it and the contemporary Carnival is not 

as creative as it was. The music is louder, faster and it is more intensely marketed." 

Bishop went on to say that today, in the midst of the continued commercialisation of Carnival we 

see panmen who are begging for more money to play in Panorama being shot and killed in "the 

blood rituals of the gang bang masquerade". 

Page 9 of 48

Bishop said it seems that today the pan is, at best, in danger. Meanwhile, Bishop went on, men 

who used to make mas are now hustling a, "CECEP wuk," what with so many bands opting to 

import parts of and in some cases even entire costumes from China and India. 

Bishop said typically a policy is a principle or a role, which guides decisions with the intention 

of achieveing rational outcomes. She said policy, however, does not describe what is actually 

done, but simply provides a sort of mapped out method on how one can proceed. 

"Policy deals with the whats and the whys and the hows we do it, but not with the doing itself. 

Now this is very inelegant language, but I really want to make myself clear. A policy may be 

described as being a statement of intent and it may arise out of or be applied to individuals, 

organisations or institutions. 

"For example if under a policy about music now for Carnival and we wanted to understand that 

Carnival is to make money. We have to have plenty people. We have to have a big truck with a 

lot of loud sound systems on it, a little pan rack would not work. The policy would give rise to 

the big truck and against the small pan rack. On the other hand as we pursue the big truck we 

have to remember that the EMA (Environmental Management Agancy) has policies as well 

regarding the levels of noise. So Carnival music like everything else involves a contest for 

space," Bishop said. 

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FORMULATION 

Analysis and politics determines how the agenda item is translated into an authoritative decision: 

a law, rule or regulation, administrative order, or resolution. Within this stage, the development of 

different alternative courses of action for dealing with the identified public problem are derived. 

These alternatives may be in the form of proposals /action plans, executive orders, court decisions 

and some legislative acts. These alternatives are usually designed by bureaucrats within the public 

service (usually those in the civil service). 

Article #1 

Sunday, September 18, 2016 

Trinidad & Tobago Guardian Online 

Garcia wants new dress code for teachers 

Charles Kong Soo 

Published: 

Sunday, September 18, 2016 

Education Minister Anthony Garcia is holding talks with the T&T Unified Teachers’ Association 

(TTUTA) to address the dress code of teachers. 

This was announced by chairman of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Franklin Khan 

yesterday at a media conference after the party held its General Council meeting at Balisier House. 

Khan said: “The minister did indicate that he is in some sensitive discussions with TTUTA as it 

relates to the dress code of teachers. There was a time when I went in primary schools and every 

teacher had a tie and now the dress code has deteriorated. 

“We cast no aspersions on anybody but anyone who wants to be fair will have to admit that the 

dress code of teachers has deteriorated significantly. 

“And if they have to provide the status of role models to young students and malleable minds, 

something has to be done to address this issue.” 

He said Garcia was in discussion with TTUTA and also the National Parent Teacher Association 

and the matter will be dealt with frontally to a large extent in the coming months. 

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Khan said these were some of the subtle signals they can send to society to make the transformation 

because the lack of discipline in this country was rooted in many issues. 

He said the focus now has to be on primary and secondary schools in a serious way and to leave 

no stone unturned in getting the product of the country's education system to be of a superior 

quality. 

He added that on Tuesday, the party is expected to host an indoor public meeting at the Mt D’Or 

Community Centre and among those scheduled to speak are Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and 

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi. 

Article #2 

Home » News » Chief Parliamentary 

Counsel blows whistle on Whistleblower 

bill 

Chief Parliamentary Counsel blows whistle on Whistleblower bill 

By Andre Bagoo Saturday, March 26 2016 

IAN MACINTYRE, the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, has issued legal advice to 

Parliament stating the much-touted Whistleblower Bill — designed to protect persons who 

come forward with information on corruption — is likely to be struck down by a court of 

law as it sanctions criminal acts in the name of justice. 

The bill was tabled in Parliament last November and referred to a Joint Select Committee (JSC) 

for further examination. In January, Macintyre was asked by the JSC to submit a written opinion 

with respect to the constitutionality and retrospective application of the bill. 

His legal advice was released last week Friday with the publication of the committee’s second 

interim report. 

“To the extent that clause 17(1) tolerates the commission of criminal offences for the purposes of 

acquiring and disclosing personal or confidential information, the Bill is not be reasonably 

justifiable in a democratic country and may be struck down by the courts under section 13(1) of 

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the Constitution even if it is passed with a special majority,” Macintyre states in his legal 

opinion, which is attached as an appendix to the committee’s report. 

The Chief Parliamentary Counsel — whose remit includes advising the Attorney General on the 

constitutionality of legislation — finds that the bill as currently formulated would require a 

special majority, meaning its successful passage would depend on the Opposition. 

However, even if a three-fifths majority is obtained, the legislation could still be deemed illegal 

because it may be disproportionate to its aims, or, simply put, it may go too far given the 

objective it is meant to serve. 

Macintyre states, “the Bill permits personal and confidential information to be obtained in 

contravention of the criminal law and protects persons who obtain and disclose such information 

from criminal liability. This means, for example, that the Bill protects a person who unlawfully 

obtains personal information by hacking an individual’s computer system or email account and 

discloses such information.” The Chief Parliamentary Counsel continues, “It is questionable 

whether such disrespect for the private and family life of the individual which tolerates the 

commission of criminal offences is proportionate to the desirability, in the public interest, of 

combating corruption and other wrongdoings and is therefore reasonably justifiable in a society 

that has a proper respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual. 

It is submitted that in this regard, the Bill fails the proportionality test and is not reasonably 

justifiable in a democratic society.” On the fact that the bill proposes to prevent employers from 

taking action against whistleblowers who commit crimes, Macintyre states, “clauses 16 and 

17(1) infringe the right of the individual to the protection of the law enshrined in section 4(b) of 

the Constitution by removing the rights of persons to initiate judicial proceedings and 

administrative action to determine their rights. These clauses also abrogate section 5(2)(e) and 

(h) of the Constitution.” However the senior counsel advises that the retrospective application of 

the bill to instances of corruption that occured prior to the enactment of the legislation would be 

found valid. 

The second interim reports also notes the concerns of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service 

and the Integrity Commission on some aspects of the bill as formulated, specifically a provision 

which allows reporting of corruption to be done orally, without a formal written complaint. 

The Committee has asked for — and received — more time to complete its work and is moving 

to retain external experts to examine all of the issues that have been raised as well as submissions 

from stakeholder groups. A new deadline of April 29 has been set. 

As recently as this month, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley stated the Government hopes to pass 

legislation to protect whistle-blowers within the year. 

Page 13 of 48

Article #3 

Tuesday, June 18, 2016 


Imbert persuades Government to stay its hand on Dog Bill 

Published: 

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 

Government yesterday agreed to suggestions by PNM MP Colm Imbert to defer conclusion on 

legislation for control of dogs until both sides collaboratively worked out “loopholes” in the bill. 

The bill, which seeks to ensure responsible dog ownership management, carries large fines and 

jail terms for some offences. The bill specifically targets owners of the Pitbull, Japanese Tosa and 

Fila Brasilero—to be known as Class A dogs. A fine of $200,000 and ten years in jail will be the 

penalty for the owner of a pit bull or other dangerous dog which mauls a victim to death when the 

new Dogs Control Bill 2013 is approved by Parliament. 

Imbert, speaking in yesterday’s Parliament debate on the bill, said several times he had no problem 

with this particular piece of legislation, “The pitbulls I’m familiar with—I don’t trust them,” 

Imbert added. He said the Opposition was totally supportive of the bill and was willing to work 

with Government to improve what he said were many loopholes and problems in it. He suggested 

Government hold off on further debate and on the committee stage of finalising the bill and further 

debate. Agreeing, House Leader Roodal Moonilal subsequently said the House would meet again 

Friday on the bill. Imbert, who lead the Opposition’s arguments on the bill, said aspects did not 

work and could have serious consequences for dog owners because certain conditions were not 

properly defined by the legal draftsmen. 

He read out several reports of dog attacks in the UK—and one recent T&T case in which a Los 

Iros man was beaten by a dangerous dog owner—to illustrate his contentions. Some of the UK 

reports involved cases of attacks by dogs on people who had not provoked the dogs or with whom 

the dogs were familiar. He said the bill, as formulated, could also cause problems in T&T for a 

dangerous dog owner who invited someone they knew to their house and be attacked by the dog. 

Imbert also warned against allowing dangerous dogs to be in the hands of dangerous people, such 

as people with a criminal or violent background. 

Page 14 of 48

Imbert noted UK laws which were amended in the last couple years to ensure dog owners were fit 

and proper enough to keep dangerous dogs. There was immediate strong agreement with this by 

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan who said it was a worthy, interesting point and an amendment 

would be made to the bill to ensure this condition was met, such as by asking dog owners to have 

a certificate of good character from the police for instance. Imbert also said the bill needed to apply 

to dogs which were out of control not, simply “out of control in a public place,” as the bill stated. 

Imbert noted the recent case of Justice Minister Christlyn Moore’s Rottweillier which had attacked 

the police. 

Article #4 

Thursday, November 24, 2016 

Transforming the Public Service 

 

Published on Jun 11, 2011, 11:34 pm AST 

The Public Service has recently been under a great deal of scrutiny. In part, this is because of 

concerns about the remuneration package which was recently negotiated on its behalf by Public 

Services Association (PSA) president Watson Duke. During the negotiations, much was said 

about the economic plight of public sector workers as to whether or not the wages which they 

earn and the other conditions of service were adequate, given the inflationary tendencies in the 

economy. Little was said about whether the civil service was delivering services in a manner that 

met the legitimate expectations of the public which had been led to believe that they were on the 

road to becoming a developed state; whatever that meant. 

There were other lenses through which it was possible to get a glimpse of what was taking place 

in the service. I refer here to the meeting which was held on May 25 to launch the Government's 

Green Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service Through Renewal and Modernisation 

and the meeting which was held on April 29 between the Joint Select Committee of Parliament 

(JSC) and the Public Service Commission (PSC). 

Page 15 of 48

The Government members of the JSC were hugely critical of the PSC for what it characterised as 

its "do-nothing, care-nothing attitude". MP Chandresh Sharma complained to the PSC that 

"something is wrong. You come here with the same plan every year and sit here and crystallise 

nothing". Health Minister Therese Baptiste-Cornelis also accused the PSC of doing little to 

improve the functioning of the Public Service. 

The PSC's response was to say that it was being asked to account for matters that were not within 

its purview and for which it could not be held responsible. As a Commission, they are 

responsible for appointments, promotions, transfers, discipline and removal from office. They 

can, however, only deal with what they get from the executive-the Ministry of Public 

Administration—the Permanent Secretaries, the Personnel Department and the Director of Public 

Administration. 

One of the concerns expressed by Sharma was that the PSC was not filling the thousands of 

vacancies that exist in the Public Service. Estimates are at times in excess of 10,000. It is said 

that there were more than 5,000 posts in the Public Service held by persons on contract. There 

were also complaints that there were over 3,000 in the Regional Health Authorities alone. 

Several reasons were offered for this phenomenon. It was explained that although there were 

indeed many vacancies, there were not sufficient qualified persons available to fill the positions. 

This is particularly so in the Ministry of Health and in the Regional Health Authorities. As the 

chairman of the PSC said in a full-page ad, seven out of ten persons who apply to join the service 

were underqualified. 

It is also said to be the case that many qualified individuals avoid joining the service because the 

remuneration and compensation package was grossly inadequate. Qualified persons preferred to 

accept jobs on a contractual basis rather than lock themselves into low-paying permanent jobs. 

Many people prefer to work on contract for a while and move on. Others assumed that their 

contracts would be routinely renewed. 

It is also said that while there are many new posts to be filled, they require new technological 

knowledge based skills. It is said that there is serious delay in determining and scripting the 

terms and conditions that apply to such jobs. The old terms are obsolete and irrelevant to the new 

environment. The result is that the posts are either not filled or someone is hired on contract on a 

project by project basis. 

It is important to note that this phenomenon of unfilled vacancies is regional in scope. Very 

often, it is not possible to locate anyone with the basic training in certain technical fields to train, 

much less to fill the post. Many who have the skills or the capacity to acquire them opt to 

migrate or to join the private sector in search of better remuneration and quality of life. Recent 

studies have shown that the region loses tertiary-trained personnel as fast as it trains them and at 

great expense. World Bank data (1992) indicate that Jamaica loses 85 per cent of its university 

Page 16 of 48

graduates, Guyana 89 per cent, and Trinidad and Tobago, 79 per cent. 

Some, however, define the problem solely in political terms. It is said that the politicians want to 

have a say about who fills the post, and prefer to hire cronies and co-ethnics on contract rather 

than have them go through the bureaucratic hoop which cuts them out of the recruitment chain. 

At times so it is said, the politicians make it clear they do not want the person who was 

recommended for the job. The established post is frozen and the preferred appointee is hired on 

contract. This was said to be true of the PNM as it is now true of the People's Partnership. 

Some accuse the politicians of wanting to destroy the neutral professional public service that is 

expected to serve whichever party is in power and replace it with a more politically pliable and 

compatible instrument. Many politicians indeed complain that the Public Service Commission 

(PSC) is a colonial relic which has outlived its purpose and that its status or its legitimacy needs 

to be reappraised. It is seen as a constraint on ministerial performance, and freedom to choose 

their own staff. What, they ask, does ministerial responsibility mean if ministers are not free to 

recruit their own staff? 

Those who want to retain the PSC argue that there is a danger that the Westminster-type neutral 

public service will become transformed into an American style spoils system, with all that goes 

with such a system, particularly in a plural society. It was recently alleged that over 10,000 

contract workers were fired in what has been described as political cleansing. The Leader of the 

Opposition, Dr Keith Rowley, specifically alleged that some 2,075 officers have had their 

contracts terminated, and that 1,112 of these were not renewed. He also referred to Governmentprovided 

data which indicated that of the 4,749 unexpired contracts in the service, 3,746 would 

not be renewed As Rowley complained, "these are not political appointees; it is political 

victimisation of innocent people. No government should treat with its citizens in this way". 

The PSA has also been critical of the dismissals, but has blamed the PNM government for 

having caused or contributed to the problem. Mr Clyde Weatherhead, a former president of the 

PSA, asserted that "it was the PNM that had decimated the civil service, reducing it to a 

wasteland." Weatherhead charged that some one third of the Public Service had been transferred 

to the Regional Health Authorities (RHA). 

Many Civil Service positions had also been excised from the establishment in the wake of the 

creation of the Special Purpose Companies which the PNM Government had created to 

undertake developmental functions in the public sector. The PNM was accused of having 

"destroyed the very notion of a professional career civil service." 

Weatherhead complained that contract employees had no job security or the constitutional 

protection of the Public Service Commission. They were also at a disadvantage in accessing 

mortgages to purchase homes, vehicles or to educate their children. Banks did not lend money to 

employees who had three-year contracts and no guarantee of renewal. 

Page 17 of 48

This dualism in the status of public servants is clearly one that has to be addressed, since it must 

have consequences for efficiency, productivity, and job and institutional loyalty. One assumes 

that this matter would be thoroughly discussed as the Ministry of Public Administration seeks to 

transform its recently launched Green Paper into a White Paper, and eventually into public 

policy. 

Article #5 


Green paper on minerals policy out for comment 

Published: 

Monday, December 1, 2014 

The Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs has put out for public comment a Green Paper on a 

Minerals Policy for T&T. It is intended to serve as a guide for national discussion and debate. 

The document seeks to outline a future direction for the minerals sector and chart a course 

forward which will enable it to become more efficient, effective and operate within a 

comprehensive regulatory framework consistent with existing legislation. 

The sector supports construction and is an important component of the supply side of the 

economy. One of the fundamental issues affecting it is the scourge of illegal mining (quarrying), 

especially on State lands, which in many instances has resulted in detrimental impacts upon the 

environment and the quality of life of the citizens of this country. 

A national minerals policy will ensure that the country is better able to harness optimal value 

from the use of its mineral resources. 

Welcome to Breaking News Trinidad and Tobago 

Thursday, November 24 2016 @ 05:09 PM AST 

Trinidad and Tobago to finally regulate its minerals sector 

Thursday, October 25 2012 @ 06:00 AM AST 

Contributed by: AleemKhan 

Views: 1,981 

Page 18 of 48

Minerals is one aspect of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs that we do not hear much 

about, Minister Kevin Ramnarine has said. In the year 2000 the then Government of the day 

which was a UNC administration passed an Act called the Mineral’s Act. "To date 12 years later, 

there have been no regulations for that Act. No regulations to mirror that Act. I wish to announce 

that the mineral regulations have been completed and are currently before the Cabinet and 

eventually will be made law," he said. 

"One of the troubling aspects of that sector, which I will talk a bit more about in the Finance Bill 

whenever that debates comes, is the lack of regulation in that sector," he said. At the ministry, he 

said a draft Green Paper on energy policy has been completed. He said he expects to make it 

public as a Green Paper by the end of the year after two public consultations. 

The Ministry also intends to revise the local content policy on energy, the minister said. "In 

Ghana, they have introduced a local content Bill before their Parliament," he said. 

He also said it is the intention of his ministry to go out for a request for proposal through the 

National Energy Corporation for a new natural gas master plan. 

The following economic minerals are located in Trinidad and Tobago: 

Andesite - Tobago. This rock type is part of the Bacolet Formation, which includes according to 

Maxwell (1948) "interbedded tuffs, tuff breccias and agglomerates and some intercalated flows". 

The two largest quarries in Tobago are sited in andesitic rocks of the Bacolet Formation. These 

Page 19 of 48

are: Green Hill Quarry and Studley Park. 

Argillite - A siliceous siltstone which outcrops in Southern Trinidad. 

Chromium - Tobago. 

Clay - Trinidad and Tobago. In Trinidad, clay is the most abundant and extensively utilized nonpetroleum 

raw material. Localities include Longdenville, Wallerfield (near Arima), Valencia- 

Quare River area, Mayo, Carlsen Field, Guatapajaro Road 4 miles south of Cumuto, Arima- 

Blanchisseuse Road, San Rafael, Central Trinidad, Plaisance Industrial Estate - Pointe-a-Pierre, 

Winfield Scotts Quarry, Tobago at Rocky Bay, Old Government Stock Farm and Bishops High 

School. 

Copper - Tobago 

Fluorspar - Gaspar Grande Island 

Graphite - St Joseph 

Gypsum - Agostini Street and Champs Fleurs 

Iron - Maracas Valley 

Limestone - Northern Range 

Porcellanite and uncalcined clays and sands 

Sand and Gravel (Natural aggregate) 

Quartz gravel 

Sandstone (in photo above) 

DECISION MAKING 

Within this stage, there is lots of scrutinisations and debates about the alternative courses of action 

to solve the identified problems. This stage mainly involves the legislative body of government 

who make up the parliament of the country. After all the debating and scrutinisation of all the 

alternatives, the alternative course of action for dealing with the identified public problem is 

Page 20 of 48

identified and selected within this stage. This is sometimes through a general consensus among 

members of parliament or most times by voting within parliament. In some cases, the general 

public is involved within these selections of alternative courses through the media, but sometimes 

their voices are hardly heard. However, they still play their parts during implementation. 

There is then the development of support for a specific proposal/action plan so that the policy can 

be legitimized or authorized. The proposal/action plan will contain full details about the whole 

policy, how it should be implemented and the parties that need to be involved in implementing the 

policy. It also includes a detailed budget for implementing the policy. Usually, the selection of this 

course of action is done by individuals who may not have full knowledge of the issue on the ground 

or sometimes may have some personal/political interest within the identified alternatives. 

Article #1 

Govt to make decision on gay and 

lesbian marriages 

Published on May 10, 2012, 11:00 pm AST 

GOVERNMENT is currently looking into the issue of gay and lesbian marriages and a decision 

will be made public at some point, said Foreign Affairs and Communications Minister Suruj 

Rambachan. 

Page 21 of 48

"It is a matter being discussed by the Government at the moment and I'm sure that sooner or later 

you will be provided by a policy decision on such matters," he said. 

He was speaking yesterday at the post-Cabinet media briefing held at the Office of the Prime 

Minister, St Clair. His statements were in response to a question about this Government's policy 

on same-sex marriage in light of the recent announcement by US President Barack Obama that 

he was in support of it, the first sitting president to do so. Same-sex marriage is legal in some US 

states but is not legal in Trinidad and Tobago. 

Colin Robinson of the Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) said 

yesterday that his group applauded Obama's statement that the gay and lesbian community 

should be allowed to marry like everyone else. 

IDAHO is celebrated by more than 50 countries around the world and it is the date which marks 

the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness by the World Health Organisation 

(WHO). 

In an interview with the Express yesterday, Robinson said, "I applaud President Obama for what 

he said because he framed it in a context of equality and what's fascinating to me even though 

marriage is not on CAISO's advocacy agenda is appears that the leaders in our hemisphere and 

especially Jamaican Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller are taking locally appropriate 

leadership steps on equality and citizenship and for gay and lesbian people." 

He said that he hoped Obama would not pay a political price for his stance, adding that Obama's 

statement made political sense and, "we are hoping that our Prime Minister, Kamla Persad- 

Bissessar takes locally appropriate steps as well." 

"On Friday, we will ask the Prime Minister to take a leadership action on this issue as the gay 

and lesbian community are not covered by the Equal Opportunity Act. In fact we are written out 

of it because sexual orientation is totally not covered." 

Robinson added, "We are a secular state. We are not Iran. We are not under Sharia law." 

He added that over the years opinions and traditions have changed. 

"At one time, we never used to play soca during Lent but now it is all over the place right 

through the year," said Robinson. 

Page 22 of 48

Article #2 

Evidence-based decision making 

Published on Sep 26, 2016, 12:55 am AST 

Dennis Webster 

How do you know you are getting the very best care possible? In order to be credible, healthcare 

professionals must demonstrate effective integration of evidence including research findings into 

their clinical decision-making. Evidence-based decision making has been described as “the 

conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in helping individual patients 

make decisions about their care in light of their own personal values and beliefs”. It is an approach 

to decision making in which the clinician uses the best current information available in 

consultation with you the patient to decide which management option suits you best. 

The core principles of this approach include: 

• Being careful and thorough. 

• Being up front, open and transparent 

• Using good judgment and basic common sense. 

You’ve probably heard a lot about something called “best practice”. Best practice refers to a 

technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to reliably lead to a 

desired result. In the case of your health it should translate into a high quality standard of care. 

Governments are responsible for making policy decisions to improve the quality of life for 

individuals and the population. Using a scientific approach to investigate all available research 

data can lead to policy decisions that are more effective in achieving desired outcomes as decisions 

are based on accurate and meaningful information. 

Page 23 of 48

Evidence-based decision making requires a systematic and rational approach to researching and 

analysing available evidence to inform the policy-making process. 

This process helps people make well informed decisions about policies, programmes and projects 

by putting the best available results from research at the heart of policy development and 

implementation. 

Cancer, for example, is a devastating illness that is increasing in incidence in Trinidad and Tobago. 

Although there have been significant advances that have reduced cancer deaths, pain, and suffering 

in the past 30 years in developed countries, unfortunately many of these advances are not available 

to patients in Trinidad and Tobago, and cancer treatment outcomes in our twin republic are far 

below the standards that exist in developed countries such as the USA, Canada and Western 

Europe. Guidelines that are generally regarded as standard in certain health conditions are not 

followed in this country. Scientists today for example are recommending the use of risk assessment 

tools to find deadly prostate cancer. Healthcare providers in this country who are involved in 

cancer risk assessment should be using the same proven formulas. In this way each citizen is 

afforded and equal place to start their health assessment using a clinically tested system. Most of 

the assessment tools presently available require about 6-7 bits of information that can be easily 

collected electronically and stored safely. This can reduce the chance of unnecessary paper reports 

going missing. A pilot project using such an approach can be easily established at one of our 

Regional Health Authorities. Food for thought. 

An evidence-based approach to decision making has gained momentum in recent years. This has 

to be adopted locally if we are to provide optimal care to our citizens. How do you feel about the 

care you are presently receiving? Not sure what the standard of care is for your situation? Call or 

send me an e-mail. 

Dennis Webster is an oncology trained nurse and cancer consultant with over 20 years healthcare 

experience. He has a keen interest in Men’s Health with a focus on prostate disease, prostate cancer 

and prostate cancer risk assessment. This Information is intended to be used as general information 

only and should not replace consultation with healthcare professionals. Consult a qualified 

healthcare professional before making medical decisions or if you have questions about your 

individual medical situation. 

Page 24 of 48

Article #3 

Govt moves against hillside houses 

 

Published on Feb 9, 2012, 10:04 pm AST 

Construction of houses above 300 feet on the hillsides in the Northern Range is now prohibited. 

In a move designed to regulate hillside development and conserve the Northern Range as well as 

other parts of the country, Cabinet agreed yesterday to approve certain guidelines for hillside 

development of the Northern Range. 

Planning Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie said all areas above 700 feet or 250 metre contour as well as 

areas between 300 to 700 feet (with land classification between Grades 5 to 7) would now 

remain under "forest cover". Areas between 300 to 700 feet with land classification between 

Grades 1 to 5 would be devoted to agriculture, he said. 

Speaking at yesterday's post-Cabinet news conference, Tewarie said buildings constructed 

outside of this policy would only be retained "provided that they conform with approval 

requirements". But such developments would not be allowed to expand, he said. 

"Unauthorised developments" which were constructed outside of this new policy will have to be 

inspected, evaluated and a determination made, as to whether these buildings should be 

regularised ("that is to stay") or whether people would be asked to relocate. This decision would 

no doubt put all squatter homes built on the hillsides at risk as well as high income homes which 

do not meet Town and Country Planning guidelines. 

"If (Town and Country Planning) permission was granted (for construction) and they are already 

there, we would try as far as possible to accommodate; if there are adjustments that might be 

necessary we would advise them (the owners) of it and try to enforce it. If there are unplanned, 

Page 25 of 48

unauthorised developments we would have to make hard decisions about that," he said. 

He stressed Government would execute this policy "not in any way that is oppressive or would 

make it hard on the population", but it would insist on enforcement of good practice. "Education, 

consultation and engagement, talking things through, would be Government's approach, he said. 

Tewarie said the determination on whether such developments would remain or be relocated 

would be guided by health, safety, environmental or aqua protection and regeneration concerns. 

Tewarie said while Government was alert to the possibility there might be a politicisation of the 

process in terms of any opposition to the idea, it also felt the recent floods had given people a 

sense and understanding the denuding of the hillsides should not continue or be allowed to 

escalate. "We feel that the climate is better now in terms of environmental consciousness and 

that people have a general sense that there is something called the greater good and sometimes a 

small sacrifice can make a big difference," he said. 

Asked whether Government would be assisting financially persons who have to be relocated, 

Tewarie said Government had taken a decision in principle and now had to have a strategy and 

consultative approach to make those things possible. "And to the extent that that is necessary we 

would begin the process," he added. 

The Minister said Government planned to bring the Planning bill and to have a Land Use Policy 

and Physical Development plan for the whole country. "But while that is happening, we don't 

want to have a situation while Rome is burning," he said 

Article #4 

Here’s the revised foreign used car 

policy 

Page 26 of 48

Published on Jan 15, 2016, 11:37 am AST 

The Revised Policy on the Foreign Used Car Industry was approved on Thursday by the 

Cabinet,and Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon disclosed the details on Friday in 

Port of Spain. 

The revisions are: 

1. the age limit of gasoline powered foreign used cars which are allowed for importation be revised 

to four (4) years from the existing six (6) years with immediate effect; 

2. the current age limit of three (3) years for diesel powered cars and four (4) years for CNG 

powered cars which are allowed for importation be maintained; 

3. individuals be allowed to import foreign used right-hand drive cars for personal use once every 

four (4) years instead of once every three (3) years. The age limit of such cars imported for personal 

use will now also be four (4) years; 

4. the Ministry of Trade and Industry will temporarily suspend the application process for any new 

person or business seeking to register as a Foreign Used Car Dealer at the Trade Licence Unit 

(TLU) as at Thursday 14th January 2016. 

The Ministry is currently undertaking a comprehensive review and audit of the existing Policy and 

Procedures to Regulate the Right-Hand Drive Foreign Used Car Industry in Trinidad and Tobago. 

The review will include discussions with all relevant stakeholders. Following the conclusion of 

this review by 31 March 2016, a subsequent submission will be made to the Cabinet on a revised 

Policy for the period 2016-2020 for its consideration. 

Page 27 of 48

The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago acknowledges the significant 

contributions the Foreign Used Car Industry has made to the level of economic activity in the 

country since its inception in the early 1990’s. 

In particular, the Industry has positively impacted the economy via increases in employment and 

income generation, as well as, having made vehicle ownership affordable for many lower and 

middle income families. 

Moreover, the importation of foreign used cars has also contributed considerably to the growth 

and development of a number of related downstream activities in the Industry, including 

servicing and repair of cars, trading of spare parts and tyres, tint and graphics and the supply of 

ancillary accessories for cars such as alarms, audio systems, customizing and auto body works. 

Highlighting some of the challenges which were considerations in the Government’s decision, 

the Minister cited: 

1. The increase in traffic congestion on the nation’s roadways; 

2. Foreign exchange leakages as the Foreign Used Car Industry is comprised of net importers; 

3. Safety and environmental protection considerations for the citizens and the environment. 

4. Irregularities associated with the operation of the Foreign Used Car Industry in Trinidad and 

Tobago. 

Letters informing ALL Active registered Dealers of their quota allocations will be available for 

collection at our Trade Licence Unit – No. 42 Tenth Avenue, Barataria on Monday 18th January, 

2016. 

Page 28 of 48

Article #5 

Post Cabinet Press Briefing - 

Announced Changes To GATE 

Programme 

August 3, 2016: The Honourable Anthony Garcia, Minister of Education, addressed members of 

the media during a special Post Cabinet Press Briefing today (Wednesday 3rd August, 2016) at 

the Office of the Prime Minister, St. Clair, Port of Spain. 

The Cabinet held a special sitting to discuss the 

recommendations of the task force mandated to review 

the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) 

programme. 

Some of the decisions taken are as follows: 

• Effective August 2016, students presently enrolled will continue to receive funding for their 

entire programme; 

• Students registered to begin programmes in 2016, will receive funding for the academic year 

2016-2017; 

• Effective for the academic year 2017-2018 and beyond, a means test will be used; 

• Effective August 2017, students whose household income falls under $10,000.00 per month 

will be eligible for full funding; 

• Students whose household income is above $10,000.00 will be required to pay 25% of tuition 

fees; 

Page 29 of 48

• Where the household income is above $20,000.00 per month students will be required to pay 

50% of tuition fees; 

• Effective August 2017, funding for post graduate degrees will be available to students whose 

programmes are in alignment with the countries development needs; 

• Only institutions and programmes accredited by the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and 

Tobago (ACTT) will be funded; 

• Effective August 2016, student should only be funded for one undergraduate and one post 

graduate programme; 

• Continuing students will be allowed to complete post graduate programmes for which funding 

had previously been approved; 

• Effective August 2016, the loan ceiling for students at local institutions will be raised will be 

raised to $35,000.00 annually; 

• The loan ceiling for students at regional institutions will remain at $75,000.00 annually; 

• The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (GORTT) will review its policies 

with respect to being the sole guarantor of loans and the subsidisation of interest rates; 

• Effective August 2016, persons over the age of 50 years old will no longer be eligible for 

GATE funding; 

• Continuing students over the age of 50 years old enrolled in undergraduate programmes will be 

granted funding to complete their programme; 

• Effective August 2017, students enrolled in medical programmes in regional campuses of UWI 

that are offered at the St Augustine campus will only be funded to the equivalent level of funding 

at the St Augustine campus; 

Page 30 of 48

• Effective August 2016, the GORTT will discontinue funding of new students in the medical 

programme at the St George’s University in Grenada; 

• The GORTT will consider additional funding options including offering education saving 

bonds; 

• The GORTT will establish a National Education Savings Fund - Private sector organisations 

will be encouraged via tax incentives to make fund contributions on behalf of the children of 

their employees or to engage in other philanthropic initiatives that build the fund; 

• The GORTT will consider fiscal incentives to insurance companies and credit unions to invest 

in the development of education savings products. 

IMPLEMENTATION 

“This is what happens between the establishment of an apparent intention on the part of 

government to do something or to stop doing something, and the ultimate impact in the world of 

action” (O’Toole, 2000). This stage is basically political and administrative action or the stage of 

execution and enforcement of a policy by the responsible institutions and organizations that are 

often, but not always, part of the public sector. 

Article #1 

Health Ministry finalising 

NCD policy 

Anna-Lisa Paul 

Published: 

Monday, July 25, 2016 

Page 31 of 48

Speaking at the opening of the T&T 

Medical Association’s (TTMA) 22nd 

Annual Medical Research Conference at 

the Trinidad Hilton and Conference 

Centre yesterday, Deyalsingh promised to 

ensure that T&T attains developed 

country status by reducing mortality and 

morbidity rates in various areas. 

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, right, speaks with 

Dr Solaiman Juman during the Ministry of Health's 

seminar, Health in All Policies A Golden Investments, at 

the Trinidad Hilton and conference centre. PHOTO: 

ABRAHAM DIAZ 

A national policy on non-communicable 

diseases (NCD) will be introduced within 

the next two weeks, Health Minister 

Terrence Deyalsingh said yesterday. It 

will be based on an examination of 

factors creating inequity throughout the 

health system, he said, adding that it was 

unfortunate that the disadvantaged and 

vulnerable are often the ones who carry 

the heaviest burden. 

The minister said the Government is 

taking a stance against health threats such 

as cardio-vascular diseases, diabetes, 

hypertension and cancers but admitted that 

people in the lower strata who are too busy 

trying to survive on a daily basis are the 

most affected. He said constraints such as 

a lack of time, education, finances and a 

general inclination to lead unhealthy lives 

are among the impediments they face. 

Deyalsingh said achievable targets have 

been set and depend on policy 

implementation as this was the first time 

T&T will have legislation to aid the 

process. 

The minister said it is costly for 

taxpayers to continue to provide 

treatment for people suffering with 

NCDs, with approximately $136,000 

spent to provide dialysis per patient per 

year. This was a drain on the Treasury, he 

said, and the time has come to reverse the 

dependency syndrome. 

President of the T&T Medical 

Association, Dr Stacey Chamely, 

underscored the importance of 

transforming lives before they reached 

the stage of becoming a burden to their 

family and the State. She said this year's 

conference had been broadened to include 

legislative, political and civil society 

input. 

Claiming that it is an overwhelming 

burden already, Chamely said the 

situation with people suffering with 

NCDs is expected to become six times 

worse by 2020. She said this group of 

people also experience the highest 

mortality rates and agreed with 

Deyalsingh that the top ten causes of 

death all fell under the 12 social 

determinants of health, with the top four 

listed as cardio-vascular, diabetes, 

hypertension and mental illness. 

President of the World Medical 

Association, Prof Michael Marmot, said 

every person should have the best start in 

life in terms of early childhood care, 

education, health, living accommodations 

and working conditions. 

Page 32 of 48

“Everyone should have the minimum 

income necessary for a healthy life. If 

you haven’t got enough money to feed 

your children, you can’t have a healthy 

life or eat healthy food,” he said. 

On the issue of smoking, he said one had 

to ask what made it so popular and 

common among people occupying the 

lower economic stratas. 

Article #2 

Trinidad Government and 

UNICEF to sign joint 

strategy for children 

Sustainable Development’s Conference 

Room on January 14 at 10 a.m. 

The document is in line with national 

priorities for children outlined in the 

Medium-Term Policy Framework (2011- 

2014) and National Strategic Plan for 

Child Development (2012-2016) and 

within the UN Development Assistance 

Framework (2014-2015). 

Caption: Minister of Planning and 

Sustainable Development Dr. the 

Honourable Bhoendradatt Tewarie will 

sign the MoU on behalf of the 

Government of Trinidad and Tobago (file 

photo) 

January 9, 2014: The Government of 

Trinidad and Tobago and the United 

Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will 

sign a four-year work plan designed to 

positively impact on the lives of girls and 

boys in the twin-island republic. 

The strategic work plan which was 

developed through a national level 

consultative process with government 

ministries, departments and UN agencies 

working for children in Trinidad and 

Tobago will be signed during a ceremony 

at the Ministry of Planning and 

Minister of Planning and Sustainable 

Development Hon. Bhoendradatt Tewarie 

will initial on behalf of Government, 

while UNICEF Representative for the 

Eastern Caribbean Area Khin-Sandi Lwin 

will sign on behalf of the agency. 

Minister of Gender, Youth and Child 

Development Hon. Clifton De Coteau 

will also deliver remarks. 

The strategy is divided into five focus 

areas: Data for evidence-based policy 

making for girls and boys; Child Rights, 

policies and budgets for girls and boys; 

Child Protection; Communication for 

Development addressing social norms 

and supporting child protection 

programming; and Education and Early 

Childhood Development. 

The Trinidad and Tobago strategic work 

plan will be implemented by Government 

in partnership with UNICEF as part of 

the organisation’s 2012-2016 programme 

with countries in the Eastern Caribbean 

area. 

Page 33 of 48

The Ministry of Planning and Sustainable 

Development will coordinate planning 

and implementation reviews in 

conjunction with the implementing 

ministries and with UN System efforts in 

Trinidad and Tobago. 

The signing ceremony will take place on 

January 14 at the La Lune Room, Eric 

Williams Financial Complex, 

Independence Square, POS 

Article #3 

PoS traffic plan extends 

to St James 

Western Main Road to go one-way 

as... 

Published: 

Saturday, July 14, 2012 

Maraval Parkway yesterday, in 

preparation for the new traffic scheme to 

be implemented on Monday. PHOTO: 

DION ROACH 

The new traffic plan for west Port-of- 

Spain will be extended to St James, as the 

Western Main Road through St James 

will now be westbound. From midnight 

tomorrow, the use of Tragarete Road, 

Ariapita Avenue and the Western Main 

Road will be optimised to bring about 

more traffic mobility and less congestion, 

said director of highways Roger Ganesh. 

This lies at the heart of the traffic 

management plan for Woodbrook and St 

James, he said. Ganesh expressed 

confidence yesterday that the plan would 

be successful. However, he predicted 

teething problems on Monday, continuing 

on Tuesday. Ganesh said some physical 

changes could not take place until very 

late on Sunday night. 

A Ministry of Works crew erects a dualcarriageway 

sign outside the Hasely 

Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, on the 

These include reconfiguring traffic lights 

and putting up new signs. “I am pretty 

confident we have everything in place. 

Page 34 of 48

“We cannot make some changes until 

very late Sunday night because to do so 

before would be dangerous to the 

motoring public. We don’t want to 

confuse people,” Ganesh added. He said 

during the course of yesterday, new signs 

were being installed. 

“But we have placed black tape on them 

until late Sunday. “We cannot remove the 

tape before the plan kicks in, to avoid 

chaos.” He said arrows were also being 

placed at Tragarete Road, Ariapita 

Avenue and along the Western Main 

Road to direct drivers. The plan, which 

will be on trial for three months, was 

timed to be implemented at the start of 

the July/August vacation. 

“I already foresee teething problems on 

the first and second day, but we decided 

to implement the plan when school 

closed, to minimise confusion and to deal 

with all other issues which may arise as a 

result,” Ganesh said. He also predicted 

further tweaking of the proposal to make 

it more effective and efficient. “I already 

see that we have to put in place some new 

legal orders to change some aspects of 

the plan.” 

“This tells me that he has not 

familiarised himself with it, and I also 

urge other people to do so as soon as 

possible.” The major concern, he said, 

was that there was not enough 

consultation with residents, business 

people and various stakeholders before 

the decision was made to implement the 

plan. 

Saying people would always be 

apprehensive about change, Lee Sing was 

nonetheless optimistic the plan would 

work. “I think the response depends 

largely on T&T, but I have tremendous 

faith and confidence in our people.” He 

said people should not be too quick to 

criticise, condemn and complain. “Just 

try and understand what is taking place,” 

Lee Sing added. 

An increased sensitisation drive is 

expected to take place over the weekend, 

an official from the Works Ministry said 

yesterday. Flyers and maps of the 

proposal will be distributed in 

Woodbrook and St James and inserts will 

also be placed in various newspapers, the 

official added. Senior officials from the 

ministry also met at length yesterday to 

discuss final arrangements. 

For things to really run smoothly, 

however, depends on the co-operation of 

drivers, Port-of-Spain Mayor Louis Lee 

Sing said yesterday. Like Ganesh, Lee 

Sing predicted initial challenges. Urging 

the public to familiarise themselves with 

the plan on the Works Ministry’s Web 

site, Lee Sing said, “I got a call from a 

man who said he was concerned about the 

new traffic proposal. 

Page 35 of 48

Article #4 

$83M FOR SCHOOL 

LAPTOPS 

By LARA PICKFORD-GORDON Thursday, August 26 2010 

click on pic to zoom in 

« prev photo next photo » 

EIGHTY-THREE MILLION dollars. 

That’s the amount the Government will 

spend to purchase 20,400 laptop 

computers, Education Minister Dr Tim 

Gopeesingh revealed yesterday. US 

information technology manufacturer 

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has been awarded 

the $83 million contract to provide laptops 

to all Secondary Entrance Assessment 

(SEA) students entering secondary school 

in the new school term beginning in 

September. 

Distribution of 20,400 computers has been 

projected to start at the middle of September 

for 17,270 SEA pupils and teachers, who are 

to receive training. Negotiations are currently 

taking place with HP to finalise the contract 

by the end of this week. 

“The Ministry has placed specific emphasis 

on ensuring the technical relevance and 

applicability of the machines particularly as 

the laptops are expected to serve students for 

multiple years,” Gopeesingh said at a media 

briefing at his ministry’s Alexandra Street, St 

Clair 

office. 

The computers will have “enhanced 

specifications” to increase performance, 

connectivity and energy efficiency. These 

are: faster processing speeds, improved 

wireless capability, bluetooth connectivity, 

larger internal storage, faster hard drive 

speed, extended battery life, Microsoft Office 

Home and Student 2007 and Learning 

Essentials 2.0 for Microsoft Office. There are 

133 schools and 18 private schools with 

internet connectivity and the ministry plans to 

increase the bandwidth from 3G (gigabytes) 

to 5G. 

Gopeesingh said the comments of the public 

have been noted and steps taken to ensure 

protection and maintenance of the computers. 

The ministry is negotiating extended 

warranties and additional security features 

including Computrace, “which allows for 

tracking and recovery of lost or stolen 

laptops”. Students will receive “carry cases” 

for storage and to secure their computers 

while in transit. 

“More intensive support and maintenance 

service agreements are critical in order to 

ensure on-site technical support”. In addition, 

Information Technology technicians from the 

ministry will be assigned to 151 secondary 

schools. 

Bidding for the laptops closed on July 20 at 

12 and Government selected HP from eight 

companies which submitted bids. 

Gopeesingh said Government was committed 

to providing the computers while ensuring 

the contract served the best interest of the 

country, the welfare of students and gave 

value for money. 

Gopeesingh said the laptop initiative will 

extend beyond facilitating a secondary school 

Page 36 of 48

education but also address the issue of the 

digital divide. Provision of laptops to SEA 

pupils was a major campaign promise of the 

People’s Partnership Government in the run 

up to the May 24 General Election. 

Gopeesingh disclosed that financing for the 

computers was still being worked out by the 

permanent secretaries of the ministries of 

Finance, Education and Public 

Administration. 

After the conference he disclosed that the 

ministry will have to give a down payment on 

the day the contract was signed which may be 

by next Monday. 

“As the computers come into Trinidad and 

the distribution has started we have to give 

the other 60 percent and ten percent will be 

held until the final distribution,” he said. 

There will be a public education campaign to 

deter theft of the laptops. 

“From the time you steal these laptops we 

will have a process of locking off 

connectivity immediately,” he said. Tracer 

markers will be put on the computers to 

locate them. Gopeesingh said security also 

included blocking certain sites from children 

accessing. Asked if the laptop initiative will 

take place next year, Gopeesingh was 

confident the programme will continue. 

Giving the rationale behind the laptop offer, 

he said, “we wanted to give the students the 

ability to have good technology so they could 

start learning from early on.” 

Students will be allowed to take their 

computers home and Gopeesingh said the 

ministry will have to look at what 

arrangement can be made for parents who 

want their children to leave their laptops at 

school. 

Article #5 

New alcohol, tobacco, 

online taxes start today 

Published: 

Thursday, October 20, 2016 

From today, smokers will be paying more 

for their favourite brands of cigarettes. 

The West Indian Tobacco Company 

Limited (Witco) has announced higher 

prices for 12 products, ranging from $15 

for Broadway 10s to $36 for Dunhill 

20s. Prices for du Maurier products now 

cost between $17 and $31. 

This is the result of higher taxes on 

imported and locally manufactured 

alcohol and tobacco products which took 

effect at midnight. The excise duty on 

locally-manufactured tobacco products 

has increased by 15 per cent while on 

alcoholic products it is up by 20 per cent. 

The measures, which were announced in 

the 2017 budget, are expected to net an 

additional $120 million in excise and 

custom duties, $60 million from excise 

duties on locally produced alcohol and 

tobacco and $60 million on customs 

duties on imported alcohol and tobacco 

products. 

In making the announcement in his 

budget presentation, Finance Minister 

Colm Imbert had said it was based on 

concern for the health and well-being of 

citizens. 

Another budget measure that took effect 

at midnight was the seven per cent charge 

on purchases that arrive in T&T through 

the courier companies or directly by 

individuals, via air freight. This measure 

Page 37 of 48

is expected to raise an additional $70 

million in revenue. 

The tax is due and payable at the bonded 

warehouses before clearance of goods or 

directly to Customs in the same way that 

VAT and customs duty are currently 

collected. 

AMCHAM: Online tax unclear 

Meanwhile, AMCHAM T&T is urging 

the Government to rethink its position on 

the implementation of the online 

purchase tax (OPT), which is to be 

applied to all ‘online’ purchases sent via 

air freight. 

In a release last night, AMCHAM said it 

was disappointed there had been no 

consultation with the private sector on 

the matter, either before the 

announcement in the Budget or before 

today’s implementation deadline. 

of the Customs official. It is also unclear 

if medical supplies or lifesaving 

medicines would be considered an ‘online 

purchase’ and would therefore be 

subjected to the OPT.” 

AMCHAM said the lack of clear 

rules/guidelines could further impede the 

country’s competitiveness, and that it is 

important that as laws/guidelines change, 

the environment remain predictable. 

“We are asking that the Government 

engage in meaningful dialogue with 

stakeholders. AMCHAM T&T, through 

its membership, represents more than 

80% of the items brought in via air, and 

we remain ready to meet and work with 

Government on this and other 

initiatives,” it said. 

AMCHAM said the Controller of 

Customs met with the courier and air 

freight companies for a first stakeholders 

meeting yesterday and it was “obvious 

that there is no clear way forward, yet 

the OPT is targeted to be implemented 

within 24 hours.” 

“The OPT (which to our knowledge is yet 

to be proclaimed in law) places the onus 

on the air freight and courier companies, 

and any company bringing in items via 

air to correctly identify which goods are 

for commercial use as opposed to 

personal use. The determination of the 

use of goods bought by a customer is not 

the purview of an air freight or courier 

company,” AMCHAM said. 

“Further, it leaves these companies open 

to possible penalties as a company’s 

interpretation of whether an item attracts 

the OPT may differ to the interpretation 

Page 38 of 48

POLICY EVALUATION 

This is the final stage of the process and it mostly involves the efforts by the government to 

determine whether the policy was effective or not. In other words, the government asks itself based 

on the reactions of the people if the policy worked and if not why did it not work. This is usually 

in the form of audit and accounting units of government determining whether the executive 

agencies, the legislatives, and the courts are in compliance with stature requirement of a policy 

and if they achieved their objectives. However, in some cases when all government institutions 

and agencies have played their parts, the people, who are the main agents of implementation, can 

object the policy by going on riots or demonstrations. This is also a form by which the government 

may also evaluate the policy. 

Article #1 

Digging holes in Govt's policy 

 

 

Published on Jan 28, 2016, 7:21 pm AST 

By Sheldon Waithe 

As the first shovels break dirt in Tarouba, they open up a gaping hole in the policy and logic of a 

Government that claimed to differ from its predecessors, including the worst incarnation of itself. 

Allocating $90 million for the completion of the Tarouba Stadium would be questionable in times 

of good financial health for Trinidad and Tobago; in the current economic scenario, it is downright 

baffling! 

Page 39 of 48

A population being told to tighten its belt, to accept the squeeze caused by VAT adjustments, to 

comprehend that the required austerity means that the pay cheque may be a little late in arriving, 

must shake its collective head as work progresses on the nation's latest white elephant. The 

allocation of the funds provides a worrying question about this Government's ability (or lack 

thereof) to practice what it preaches and its ability to make the correct decisions in the current 

economic climate. 

Article #2 

Sunday, October 30, 2016 

Vision 2030 draft blames Cepep, URP for crime 

Kevin Baldeosingh 

...Vision 2020 ‘failed to deliver’ 

Published: 

Sunday, October 30, 2016 

Patrick Manning 

A draft policy document on the Vision 2030 programme touted by Prime Minister Dr Keith 

Rowley has linked URP and Cepep to crime and corruption. The document, meanwhile, 

reveals that the Vision 2020 programme under the Patrick Manning administration failed to 

achieve most of its goals. 

Titled “National Development Strategy 2016‒2030,” the Vision 2030 draft prepared by the 

Ministry of Planning and Development is one of several key policy documents now before 

Cabinet which have not yet been released to the public. 

In respect to crime, the draft notes, “Historically the response of public policy to the 

inadequate pace of private sector job creation has been to institute ‘make-work’ programmes 

to provide temporary employment.” The negative effects of these programmes, the draft 

says, include dependency, entitlement, and labour shortages. “In addition to these effects, 

these programmes have also been attended by corrupt practices and have been a source of 

income for persons engaged in criminal activity,” the document admits. 

The draft says, “For the last two decades, Trinidad and Tobago has been afflicted by 

unacceptably high rates of serious crimes, particularly murders. While some of the murders 

Page 40 of 48

are linked to domestic violence, the majority are related to gang violence which is in turn 

linked to the movement of drugs and the associated acquisition of firearms.” 

Table One shows the murder totals from 1995 to 2015, which began surging upwards in the 

third year of the Manning regime. In that same year, the budget allocation for URP was 

increased more than threefold to $300 million. The Community-based Environmental 

Protection and Enhancement Programme (Cepep) was established by Cabinet in 2002 with 

an initial allocation of over $378 million. 

The draft says, “The crime detection rate showed little change with 16.8 per cent in 2010 

and 16 per cent in 2014, but improved slightly to 22 per cent in 2015. However, in spite of 

the increased detection, less than a quarter of reported crimes were being solved.” 

The draft also identified child abuse and domestic violence as key areas of concern. “In 

terms of the family, the latest available data revealed that the number of child abuse cases 

declined slightly but remained high at above 4,000 cases, from 4,760 cases during 2007‒ 

2012, to 4,158 cases during 2015‒2016,” the document says. “However, the data on the 

number of Domestic Violence cases were of greatest concern, as the statistic increased by 

an alarming 57 per cent from 70,769 cases during 2006-2007 to 125,166 cases during 2013- 

2014.” 

As part of a crime reduction package, the draft proposes new legislation to tackle corruption, 

including asset forfeiture, whistle blower protection, and Public Procurement and Disposal 

of Public Property Amendment Bill 2015, as well as increased powers for the Police 

Complaints Authority. There are also plans to build a state-of-the-art Forensic Science 

Centre, merge the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau and the Financial Investigations 

Bureau to tackle white-collar crime, and make the Professional Standards Bureau of the 

T&T Police Service (TTPS) into a semi-autonomous agency. 

The draft has not been released to the public. “The document remains in draft form since 

further national consultations on the recommendations and on the proposed priorities, 

strategies and key shifts must be discussed and debated. A National Vision 2030 

Communications Strategy will be developed to solicit the views of citizens and stakeholder 

groups,” says the Planning Ministry. 

How Vision 2020 failed 

In the Foreword to the National Strategic Development Plan document, Planning and 

Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis states: “Through the adoption of a 

comprehensive national development planning framework, the National Development 

Strategy, Vision 2030, will lay the foundation and pathway for attaining developed country 

status by the year 2030.” 

According to a survey carried out by Market Opinion and Research International (MORI) 

in 2007, half of the people surveyed felt Vision 2020 would be successful. But, even by that 

year, the programme had already failed to achieve most of its benchmarks, as shown in Box 

One. This despite the fact that the Government was already claiming significant progress. 

And, nine years later, the PNM administration continues to assert that Vision 2020 is a 

Page 41 of 48

esounding success and only the timeline has to be extended, even though its own statistics 

belie this claim. 

Murders 1995-2015 (TABLE 1) 

Year Murders 

1995 122 

1996 107 

1997 101 

1998 97 

1999 93 

2000 120 

2001 151 

2002 171 

2003 229 

2004 261 

2005 386 

2006 371 

2007 391 

2008 547 

2009 506 

2010 473 

2011 343 

2012 383 

2013 407 

2014 403 

2015 420 

Source: TTPS 

Page 42 of 48

Vision 2020 success rate 

Success rate of sample of Vision 2020 projects 

AREA TOTAL GOALS ONGOING/PENDING DEADLINE ATTAINED SUCCESS RATE 

National Security 87 78 9 10% 

Governance 30 26 4 13% 

Infrastructure 77 66 11 14% 

Health 32 29 3 9% 

Source: Draft National Strategic Plan, 2007 

This sample indicates that, contrary to Government claims in 2007, the overall success rate 

of Vision 2020 was a dismal 11 per cent. 

Vision 2020 performance 

In 2016, the Draft Vision 2030 document states that Vision 2020 had “an implementation 

rate of approximately 70 per cent in four years”. But the draft’s own statistics show that 

only 18 per cent of objectives were achieved, and 30 per cent showed no significant 

progress. In respect to goals like “Effective government,” the achievement rate was a dismal 

three per cent; for competitive business, 17 per cent; and for developing innovative people, 

four per cent. (See Box Two.) 

Goal Ongoing % Achieved % Failed % 

Innovation 54% 4% 42% 

Caring Society 48% 31% 21% 

Competitive Business 59% 29% 12% 

Effective Government 59% 3% 38% 

Total 51% 18% 30% 

Source: Ministry of Planning 

Page 43 of 48

Article #3 

Tuesday, February 23, 2016 

PM gives T&T’s education failing grade 

Casandra Thompson–Forbes 

Published: 

Tuesday, February 23, 2016 

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says the education system in T&T is failing students. 

The statement was made at the third leg of the National Consultation on Education held at 

the Magdalena Grande Beach Resort in Tobago yesterday. 

Page 44 of 48

Dr Rowley said the consultations were geared at using the opportunities and information 

derived from the events to examine what the country has been doing. He said the reason for 

such an event and focus is that it is recognised that Trinidad and Tobago was not doing as 

well as it should in the sphere of education, as the country was not training well-rounded 

students. 

“In fact as a person who has benefited from serious public policy on education, who has 

been responsible for a large number of people over a long period of time and who is a citizen 

of this country, I can say to you that it is my view that our education system is failing, in so 

far as what we are really achieving is putting our children through school and not educating 

them,” he said 

He said although billions are being pumped into the education sector, society has only been 

concerned with certification and not education, and the returns are not seen in the human 

resource of the country. 

He said, “If you go a little deeper you will find that that is not in itself a blame-sharing 

thing, but where we came from in the colonial era to be certified in the small numbers was 

to advance in life where opportunity was rare, but then we as a people, an independent 

people, have consistently spent the largest chunk of our budgetary allocation on education 

and education has changed the lives of every family of this country, but the template has 

been one about certification and we have gone completely in the direction where it’s about 

getting a certificate, to the point now they are telling you that they can give you an MBA in 

six months and then you go and roll it out for somebody to employ you, a lot of false papers 

washing in Trinidad and Tobago, with uneducated people, and worse, a lot of money is spent 

on education, but we don’t see commensurately the educated returns for that expenditure” 

he said 

The Prime Minister compared T&T’s educational model which is copied from the British 

system with that of the United States and Canada, noting that all stakeholders are needed to 

assist in the transformation of the education sector 

“The average citizen has to look for more in education, the teachers who teach have to teach 

more than what’s coming for exam and the students who come out from school have to come 

out benefiting from a moulding that sets them on a pathway for life,” he said 

Meanwhile, president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Devanand 

Sinanan believes the education system in the country needs more than tweaking. He said a 

system is needed to cater to the diverse needs of each child despite their socioeconomic 

background. 

He said, “We cannot afford to continue to perpetuate a system that prevents thousands of 

students on an annual basis from becoming decent, productive citizens. Unfortunately, as a 

people, we are very often afraid to think in revolutionary and unorthodox ways, because 

maybe we ourselves are products of an education system that discouraged and in some cases 

killed creativity. It is not surprising that the ideas coming forth thus far only seek to tweak 

the system, rather than promote a total revamping process. 

Page 45 of 48

“We cannot afford to be left with more of the same. Currently it is inadequate, we need 

surgery. 

“We may have equality of opportunity, but we are still striving for equity. 

Article #4 

Farmers displeased with Govt's agri 

plan 

 

 

Published on May 21, 2010, 12:01 am AST 

Updated on Jan 29, 2011, 5:27 pm AST 

The National Foodcrop Farmers Association (NFFA) and its partner organisations in agriculture 

said yesterday they were disappointed with Government's performance and deficiencies in its 

future plans for the farming sector. 

"The failures of the Patrick Manning government and his Ministry of Agriculture are 

multitudinous. For decades, the farming community has been attempting to have input into 

policy formation and implementation with respect to development in agriculture. 

"Successive PNM governments have failed farmers miserably. Sadly, there is no love for us who 

labour on the land," the association said in a statement. 

The group suggested that the rapid rail project was being planned through fertile, working 

farms. 

Page 46 of 48

"The government's position has been one to eradicate small farmers through their policies, while 

pumping millions into large commercial and mega farms which have benefitted only a few 

corporations and are yet to tangibly benefit the national population," the group said. 

Article #5 

Sex education policy failing the 

vulnerable 

 

Published on Sep 26, 2015, 7:37 pm AST 

Those in power must be reminded of the enormous responsibility placed on their shoulders. The 

policy documents that are discussed in pristine conference rooms have the potential to save or 

destroy thousands of lives in our country's classrooms. 

The overall objective of any sex education policy in schools should be to the best interests of the 

student population. The sex education policy in this country must be one that is geared towards 

improving the quality of life of the nation as a whole. 

For too long the lives of our young people have been sacrificed at the altar of political correctness 

and moral ideals that have no grounding in reality. Those who cling to these ideals at the cost of 

human life are guilty of intellectual idolatry. 

Sex education goes far beyond ‘teaching children how to have sex'. It entails informing them of 

their human rights and empowering them to take charge of their reproductive health. It empowers 

young persons to protect themselves from disease and unwanted pregnancy. It will also teach the 

benefits of abstinence and the right of the child to say ‘no' to unwanted sexual advances. 

Most critically, a proper sex education policy will go hand in hand with programmes to help 

children that are being sexually exploited. 

The Organisation for Abused and Battered Individuals has dealt with cases where teenage girls 

were being prostituted by their own parents. Sexual abuse by parents and guardians is common in 

our society. As such any policy that leaves sex education up to the parents will be incapable of 

saving the children trapped in brutal situations like these. 

Page 47 of 48

One quarter of persons living with HIV in Trinidad and Tobago are under the age of 24. One out 

of every eight babies born in this country is born to teenage mothers. This data is indicative of a 

crisis that will have long term effects for our nation as a whole. 

Children who are not exposed to proper sex education grow up to be vulnerable adults. I myself 

have met many women who were sexually assaulted or raped and were not aware that by law a 

crime was committed against their human dignity. Many children who are abused may only learn 

that what is being done to them is wrong years afterward. 

Proper sex education is therefore critical in fighting against sex crimes in our country. How can 

the crime be reported if the victim does not understand that a crime was committed against her? 

How can the victim access proper counselling and healthcare services without proper education? 

A proper sex education policy must address the needs of the victims of sex crimes. Furthermore 

the needs of these victims must be prioritised above the views of the religious oligarchy who may 

disagree with such a policy. Any religious dogma that comes in the way of saving human life must 

be denounced as false religion. 

Defining rape can become highly technical, hence the need for impartial education on the issue. 

To illustrate the point of ‘sex crimes' being fairly technical please read the Sexual Offences Act 

Ch 11: 28. Section 4 (1) which is quoted below. 

4. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person (“the accused”) commits the offence of rape when he has 

sexual intercourse with another person (“the complainant”)— 

(a) without the consent of the complainant where he knows that the complainant does not consent 

to the intercourse or he is reckless as to whether the complainant consents; or 

(b) with the consent of the complainant where the consent— 

(i) is extorted by threat or fear of bodily harm to the complainant or to another; 

(ii) is obtained by personating someone else; 

(iii) is obtained by false or fraudulent representations as to the nature of the intercourse; or 

(iv) is obtained by unlawfully detaining the complainant” 

Unless parents are going to be teaching their children about sex straight from the Sexual Offences 

Act it is likely they will fall short in equipping their children with the required knowledge . 

I am therefore calling on the Minister of Education Anthony Garcia to enter into a referendum 

process with all stakeholders on the issue of sex education. The focus should not be enforcing the 

views of those who are not at risk, but on saving the lives of victims. 

Jonathan Bhagan 

Treasurer and Director of the Organisation for Abused 

and Battered Individual. 

Page 48 of 48

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