Public Servants who work

Today we recognise those public servants who give us an idea of how government services should work.

I called the Traffic Management Branch, San Fernando on July 15 to ask for assistance in making my community safer. Moody Stewart Street is being converted into a business district and no one in the City Corporation could tell me if these buildings are assessed for business use. There is parking on both sides of the street and no provision for pedestrians. Motorists use the back streets to avoid traffic on Royal Road. They break the no-entry on Torrance Street, as do many of the customers of R&Z Electrical.

The street corners are marked with paint to indicate the number of accidents that have occurred. One would think that if these accidents are reported to the police, some action would have been taken.

I spoke to Ms. Denille Bessor, at Traffic Management, who told me that I could come in and discuss the matter with them. Before I had a chance to do that, the Department took its own action and on Monday, July 20, workers were busy painting stop signs all around the community. I called Ms. Bessor to thank her and she informed me that although I had not visited, the department checked the problem and acted immediately.

I now want to tell my readers in Marabella that the Councillor who told them there was a shortage of paint so the road signs could not be painted, could well be mistaken. And today I want to thank Ms Bessor and all other members of her department for their initiative and the example they are setting as public servants.

I want to recognise also the efforts of Mr. John Barnard, of the Sanitation Department of the San Fernando City Corporation, who is always willing to respond to calls for help. Mr. Alexander from the yard at Carib Street sent a crew within minutes to cut the branches of a tree hanging across the street. There is a lesson here for some of the folks at City Hall. I approached Mr. Glasgow for information. I was pleased with his general attitude and I don't believe Mr.Glasgow spends his day in an air-conditioned office.

Very soon, I will be telling you the story of an encounter at the City Assessor's department and why I think that there is need for some human relations training at the Ivory Tower.

Letter to Gail Merhair

Dear Gail,

I know you will not be offended if I call you Gail. I do so the same way I call Prime Minister Patrick Manning "Patos" After all he is my representative. I live in San Fernando East.

Now that you have both decided who my councillor should be for the next year, I feel even more comfortable calling you by your first name. I decided on this blog long before you put your name into our history books. I visited the Mayor of San Fernando and told him what I was doing and drew his attention to several irregularities.

I have no interest in contesting an election, so why am I doing this? A former councillor was telling a member of the San Fernando City Corporation in my presence that Councillors cannot really change anything. I was horrified, to say the least. And here I will tell you a little story.

In 1977 Gertrude Kirton was the Mayor of San Fernando. She was a humble woman who worked hard and worked her way up to head the Borough Council. You will notice that I used the word "worked" twice in that sentence.

I was part of a group called San Fernando Citizens Action Committee chaired by James Lee Wah. If you have never heard of James Lee Wah, google his name and you will see a record of a really committed man who never made it to the Senate. I also worked at the Express San Fernando Bureau.

This group fought hard for a link road to Gulf City and an end to quarrying on the San Fernando Hill, among other things. We got the link road but the Hill issue was stonier. One day I went to San Fernando Hill with a small group that included photographer Mungal Chattergoon. It was a Wednesday, middle of the school week. We saw several boys of primary school age bathing in a huge pond of dirty water. When I say huge, I don't mean like the Ste. Madeleine pond, but something about 100 feet long.

That story appeared the next day, the same day as the statutory meeting. Mayor Kirton referred to the newspaper article and ordered City Engineer Vasco Loreille and Superintendent Fitzroy Fahey to organise the documents to stop quarrying on the San Fernando Hill immediately. Many other people have claimed that they stopped quarrying on the Hill, because Mayor Kirton was not around to challenge them. I have never been to the Hill since then.

So today I want you to read the blog headlined "Who is the Contractor Now?" to get an idea of the runaway corruption that you have supported. But that is not all you have supported.

In seven years, I have never seen my Councillor, Wendy Gibbs. I called City Hall for her on one occasion and was told that she was in the USA. On another occasion I used up $11 B-mobile airtime waiting for her to come to the phone. She never came.

When I could not get her to clean the bus stop where a vagrant slept and schoolchildren waited in the morning, I paid to do it myself. I walked to Traffic Management Branch in blazing sunshine (only half mile away) to ask Mr. Ganpat to paint the zebra crossing and put markings by the traffic light. I call Mr. John Barnard at Sanitation very often to make sure the garbage contractors do their work properly and treat people in my community with respect.

I am telling you only so much in this letter, but this site will continue to update you on all the problems you decided my community should face, because you did not want to thwart the government in punishing us. You decided that the barrel covering the hole outside of the house of Mr. Gregory Caesar over the last two years should stay there for another year at least. And if you vote the same way next year, who knows....

And Gail, I want to share a little something with you. When I undertake to do something, especially if I am paid, I try to do it properly. I read and plan and put my whole self into it. I don't just open my mouth.

One last thing, when I first googled your name last week, there were five attempts. This weekend they had crossed the 200 mark. So people are getting to know you, I must say.

So you take care and make a diffference in the Senate.

Sincerely

Zorina Shah

Gail Merhair chooses my Councillor

Senator Gail Merhair had saddled me with Councillor Wendy Gibbs for another year. While I look after the needs of my community for free, Wendy Gibbs will collect a fat salary from taxpayers. Read my letter to Senator Merhair this week.

Picture tells it all!

Who is this man?

You have seen him in the picture in the previous post on the San Fernando City Corporation project at 366 Sixth Street, Marabella. His name is Randolph Patrick and he is believed to be an environmental worker in the company Marryshow Maintenance Services Limited.

He is also an employee of Hasoma Company Limited and is present on the worksite once work is in progress. Councillor Jennifer Marryshow is a shareholder of Marryshow Maintenance Services Limited and a Director of Hasoma Company Limited. The Registered Offices for both companies share her home address at 3 Theresa Street, Marabella. Read more...

So who is the contractor now?

This picture was taken at 366 Sixth Street, Battoo Avenue, Marabella, a contract awarded by the San Fernando City Corporation to Hasoma Company Limited

Marabella residents are calling on the City's Chief Executive Officer, Marlene Coudray, to explain the award of a contract by the San Fernando City Corporation to an elected member of the Council.

Residents were first alerted when, over the last six weeks they saw Councillor Jennifer Marryshow, the member for Marabella West supervising the project at Sixth Street, Battoo Avenue, which is in the Marabella East district represented by Deputy Mayor Malaika Blair.

This coincided with the presence of a worker on the project, Randolph Patrick, who is also a CEPEP employee in a company owned jointly by Councillor Marryshow and Marabella businessman Allen Campbelle. Materials for the project were delivered by the CEPEP Company's truck driver Sonny Baksh early in the morning while the company was engaged in environmental work all around the Marabella West area. It is also believed that Baksh is on CEPEP's payroll but I was unable to confirm this.

The Engineering Department of the Corporation told us that Hasoma Company Limited and Kerwin Belfon were the two contractors building a drain around 366 Sixth Street which will take water from the drains in the community into the Marabella River.

When we checked the records of the company at the Companies Registry, it was discovered that the company was indeed incorporated in 2005 by Jason Bobb, whose address is the same as Councillor Marryshow’s, 3 Theresa Street, Marabella. This is also the registered address of the company. Mr. Bobb is believed to have been the common-law spouse of Miss Marryshow

In 2008, Councillor Marryshow was named a director of Hasoma in a notice of change of directors. No annual returns have been filed since incorporation, so there is no record of shareholders, but a source close to Councillor Marryshow told us that the power in Hasoma is wielded by Marryshow.

Contacted yesterday, Mr. Campbelle said he is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the CEPEP company Marryshow Maintenance Services, but to the best of his knowledge be believes Mr. Patrick to be on the CEPEP payroll. He was later able to confirm that when he drove by the construction site, Mr. Patrick was there at the same time his CEPEP work gang was engaged in environmental work. SPACEAGE also spoke to an official at CEPEP, Chaguanas who promised to let us know if Mr. Patrick's name was on their payroll for those days. He said that CEPEP is a regular on-going programme and the workers remain on their payroll unless they are removed by the contractor. He also said that NIS is paid for those workers so it is easy to trace who the employer is.

The Corporation said its process for prequalification and the award of contracts is simple. First the Chief Executive Officer is informed and the engineering department supplies a prequalification form to get details of the applicant for scrutiny. All contracts are awarded through a tenders committee. This means that all parties would have known that the company is linked to Miss Marryshow because of her address and Mr. Bobb, who we are told, all officials are familiar with.

Asked if they were aware that Councillor Marryshow has an interest in Hasoma, the Deputy CEO Ragoobar said that there was nothing wrong with a Councillor getting a contract. He said that anybody could form a company and tender for a contract.

I have news for Mr. Ragoobar, a senior public servant! The Central Tenders Board Act states very specifically that no government employee, elected official, spouse, child could be awarded a government contract. These conditions apply to contracts awarded by the Central Tenders Board, the Special Ministerial Tenders Committee and the local tenders committees at the Municipal Corporations.

Councillor Marryshow has not been answering her cell phone and we are told that she does to respond to numbers that she does not recognise. Tough luck for constituents who may need her urgently.

We have informed Mr. Ragoobar that we will make a request for information from the Council for all contracts awarded to Hasoma since its incorporation and the value of those contracts. So Look out for that information.

Police Planning

Friday, May 29th...that's around month end right? Saturday, May 30th, that's a public holiday, Indian Arrival Day. So then the weekend could easily be called a holiday weekend.

To recap... month end, holiday weekend...plenty commercial activity, traffic, the works.

So on this busy Friday morning, this is what is happening in SanFernando. Students of Vistabella Presbyterian School circle the San Fernando Hill on a walkathon. The route.... Circular Road to Mon Repos traffic light, Royal Road, along Coffee Street, Harris Promenade, High Street, (yes High Street!), Pointe -a-Pierre Road back to the School.

This walkathon is escorted by a police vehicle. The students are chanting "Go Green!"

Now if you have ever seen Vistabella Presbyterian School, it is a blue concrete block with not a sign of green. But they are teaching us about green. Yes they are!

The question is, however, how do the police ever come up with permission for these events on days such as these? The long lines of bumper to bumper traffic are more likely to make people "See Red" than "Go Green".

What this tells us is that there is need for the police to understand this City. I'll share a few anecdotes with you so you will know how the service works.

1. I once flagged down a police vehicle on Cipero Street near Republic Bank to show them that the bank's customers preferred to park on the pavement than the bank's parking lot. Pedestrians were forced to walk in the street to accommodate these customers. The policeman looked at the vehicles on the pavement and said "I don't see a No Parking sign there?"

2. I called Mon Repos Police to ask for an officer to speak to the students of Mon Repos R.C. School about their behaviour on the streets. The police station is 300 feet away from the school. And the officer...clearly his head is in the clouds... "I didn't know there is a school there..."

3. I called again to let the police know that someone was tying nylon wire across the streets at night. Cars caught in the web had to stop to cut the line. The policeman's offering.."Why would they want to do that?"

Happy policing!!!

Fr. Michel celebrates a double

This weekend marks a double celebration for Catholic priest Fr. Michel de Verteuil.

On June 5, Fr. Michel celebrates his 80th birthday and this coincides with the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

A member of the Holy Ghost Congregation, he is now based at the Fatima Community, Fatima College, Mucurapo Road, Port of Spain. Fr. Michel distinguished himself as a leader when he was Rector of the Seminary of St. John Vianney and the Ugandan Martyrs at Mount St. Benedict in the 1960s and 1970s. Among his prized students are Fr. Clyde Harvey, Fr. Christian Pereira and Ronald Tagallie who is no longer a priest.

He was recognised internationally for his teachings using the Lectio Divina Method of Meditation, (easily googled) and travelled far and wide to share his knowledge. He established the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre at the Chaplaincy in St. Augustine. For years the Centre served as the backbone for outreach and teaching in the Catholic Church. Every year in the first week of August, hundreds of parish activists and parish council members came together at Mount St. Benedict for Liturgy School.

Many young people rallied around Fr. Michel, a fine mind and leading thinker in the local Church.

In the 1990s, Fr. Michel took over the editorship of the Catholic News and transformed it from a drab publication to a modern newspaper. He served as editor until he resigned four years ago.

Congratulations to Fr. Michel for the wonderful work he has done in all the rural communities around Trinidad and Tobago.