Caribbean Times 30th Issue - Monday 7th November 2016

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10 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g Monday 7th November 2016 T&T government goes after officials under past administration PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Government has initiated legal action against nine former officials of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) on allegations of corruption during their tenure. Speaking with the T&T Guardian hours after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley revealed that the lawsuit had been filed on Wednesday afternoon, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said it was the first to arise out of extensive audits and investigations ordered by the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government after assuming office in September last year. “In this particular matter, there are nine defendants, including public officials and persons who have had control of certain entities of the State,” Al-Rawi said. “The nature of matters surround the core of corruption, unjust enrichment, the breach of certain duties but it is squarely designed to tackle corruption, mismanagement and to ask people to account for what they have done.” While Al-Rawi repeatedly said he could not reveal the parties named in the lawsuit and the wrongdoing they are alleged to have committed as the case was at a sensitive stage, the T&T Guardian understands it involves former officials of HDC, a state-run company which falls under the Ministry of Housing. “You would know that some time ago I also made a commitment not to do what my predecessors had done, which is to give chapter and verse and campaigning in relation to litigation really because we are adamant that due process ought to be followed and that the courts will be the ultimate arbiter of the matters which are under investigation,” Al-Rawi said. Though he was tightlipped on the issue, Al-Rawi did admit the lawsuit was a multi-million-dollar claim. Al-Rawi also said the same approach used in the KINGSTON, Jamaica – Release them! That’s the demand of Jamaican parliamentarians who have argued that mentally ill inmates being kept in prison is “an absolute disgrace”. Currently, they are 127 mentally ill inmates in custody and unfit to plead. The inmates, who are housed separately at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston and the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre, are separated from the general population of more than 3,000. “It is an absolute disgrace! This can’t wait on reform! It is an indictment against us. Yes, it has been there for years, and we know in the ministry that this is how it has been, and yet it has always been on the back burner and nobody has brought it forward,” said Marisa Dalrymple Philibert, member of parliament for Trelawny Southern. Philibert was one of the members of Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) who expressed outrage after Ina Hunter, commissioner of corrections, revealed on Wednesday that “several” mentally ill inmates had been incarcerated for more than a decade. “Those that are unfit to plea would not have got a determinate sentence, and they would have had to attain a mental state where they can deliver themselves in the court,” Hunter said, noting that the Department of Correctional Services cannot release inmates, and the lack of family support makes it even more difficult. “They would be taken back to court, case would apply to officials of his Government, in the event they were similarly accused of corrupt activities. He also expressed optimism over the Government’s chances of succeeding in the case. “I can tell you that we are absolutely certain and very confident in what we have brought in the courts already. We are also very confident that the other matters we have in gear will be managed very shortly,” he said. In addition to the civil claim, Al-Rawi revealed that criminal prosecutions may also arise from the Government’s investigations. (Trinidad Guardian) Jamaican parliamentarians want mentally ill released from prison and a determination could be made to send them home, but there’s no family support in many instances,” she added. Hunter said that treatment has been limited and the authorities have been looking for alternative accommodation. Mikael Phillips, the Manchester North Western representative, said at least a temporary solution needs to be found now. “They should not be in institutions such as the two large ones – even if there is something done temporarily – but they ought not to be in our prison systems as is now. Even the resources just to deal with their mental state within the system are not being dealt with as they ought to be,” he said. (Adapted from the Jamaica Gleaner)
Monday 7th November 2016 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 11 Thursday’s Sudoku Solution S U D O K U CROSSWORD Across 1. Thick slice 5. Avian dwelling 9. Cut 14. Angel’s aura 15. Range part 16. Mea ____ 17. Penance 19. Lethargic 20. Procure 21. Animal fat 22. Graduate’s reward 23. Water whirl 24. Card game 25. Senator ____ Kennedy 26. Unsophisticated 29. Baldwin and Guinness 31. Commands 33. Investigate 37. Grace closing 38. Strong string 40. Only 41. Excessive emotion 43. Instruction 45. Breaks sharply 46. Convenes 47. Crash into 50. Expire 51. Coasted 53. Rouse 55. Owl call 56. Mountain pass 59. Heavenly dish 60. Astrological forcast 62. Previous 63. Fortas and Lincoln 64. Aid and ____ 65. Benches 66. Additional 67. Ocean current Down 1. Kind of carpet 2. Behind schedule 3. Great deal (2 wds.) 4. ____ voyage! 5. Wanderer 6. Each 7. Export 8. Blasting substance (abbr.) 9. Physics, e.g. 10. Respiratory organ 11. Warn 12. Shopping binge 13. Loathed 18. Church official 22. Truck fuel 23. Incidents 24. Singer ____ Campbell 26. Ark builder 27. Military branch 28. The ____ of March 29. Diva’s offerings 30. Talked back 32. Stress 34. Thorny bloom 35. Curdle 36. Female birds 39. Rub dry 42. Makes beloved 44. Sends forth 47. Highway exits 48. In the know 49. Craze 51. More painful 52. Unattached 54. Rope fastening 55. Tramp 56. Asian desert 57. Copied 58. Singer ____ Seeger 60. Deli meat 61. Puma, e.g.
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Caribbean Times 30th Issue - Monday 7th November 2016

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