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00:00:00 Good morning. I am Ansel Gibbs with the news update. A man is dead following a police-involved
00:00:11 shooting in Cuva. It happened on Thursday afternoon. Investigators say officers were
00:00:17 on patrol when they saw two men brandishing guns running along the road. One of the gunmen
00:00:23 allegedly shot at the police. Officers retained fire, hitting one of the suspects. The other
00:00:29 suspect escaped. Seventy Venezuelans detained at the Chagaramas heliport are expected to
00:00:37 know their fate today. Justice Ricky Rahim will preside over their judicial review application.
00:00:44 Attorneys are seeking leave for the court to judicially review the state's failure to
00:00:49 release the applicants pending the outcome of their claim for refugee or asylum seeker
00:00:54 status with the United Nations. The court is also expected to judicially review the
00:01:01 continued detention of the migrants at the heliport.
00:01:06 And in the weather forecast, sunny periods will be interrupted by occasional showers
00:01:10 across the islands. A few showers will become heavy and thundery, especially during the
00:01:16 late morning to mid-afternoon period. Gusty winds and street flooding may occur in the
00:01:22 event of heavy showers or thunderstorms. If you're heading offshore, look out for waves
00:01:26 approaching two metres in open waters and below one metre in sheltered areas.
00:01:37 Safe staffing is a heartbeat of healthcare. It ensures that the patient receives the attention
00:01:44 and expertise they deserve. TTRNA calls on the Minister of Health to implement minimum
00:01:50 nurse-to-patient ratio and to regulate ambulances used by all RHAs.
00:01:57 Calling all nurses and midwifery personnel to Portisbine General Hospital on Friday,
00:02:02 4th of August at 9am.
00:02:06 This feels unpleasantly familiar. What happened last time? You don't want to know.
00:02:31 Everyone can relax. This place? Meg proof.
00:02:34 Head to the trench.
00:02:37 The Trinidad Express predict and win promotion. Just look for the entry form in your copy of the Express and fill it out by predicting the score of the team that bats first for any one of the four stated TKR matches. Submit your entry form in any one of three easy ways, via email or in person at Portisbine or San Fernando branches, or even virtually using the Trinidad Express e-paper. Entries with the nearest prediction to the actual score wins tickets to TKR home matches. It's that simple.
00:03:04 So don't wait. Pick up a copy of the Trinidad Express newspapers. Anyone can be a winner.
00:03:12 See Press for details. Promotion approved by the NLCB.
00:03:16 The following is a paid political advertisement.
00:03:21 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40.
00:03:36 That was a paid political advertisement.
00:03:40 And good morning.
00:04:04 Good morning. I'm Marlon Hopkins and welcome to the morning edition. It's Friday, 4th, August 2023. Did I say it's Friday? Yes, it is Friday. What a week we have had. It would seem that that the weeks have become very, very, very, very.
00:04:18 I don't know. I'm longer and a lot of work that way that we that we have to do during the week. So it's always good to kind of relax on a Friday.
00:04:29 It's not time as yet for us to relax here. All right. So we have two hours with you this morning. Remember that we are going to be discussing CPL at around 730 this morning.
00:04:38 So we have James Saunders. So be prepared for that. That is always interesting. Cricket is always interesting.
00:04:45 The West Indies had a I'm seeing I was watching the news last night and they had a victory. So, you know, good morning to members of the West Indies team.
00:04:55 And apparently things may be shifting. I don't know if I'm being too optimistic, but we'll see how things go. Yeah. Let's check out the Daily Express.
00:05:02 Let's see what's on the front page today. Kamala stands firm. I apologize to absolutely no one for saying to light up criminals who are invading homes.
00:05:13 And, of course, this what would you call it? This freak accident yesterday in on the Saddle Road in Maraval, where what we're seeing here, one of these TNT poles, light poles falling on this vehicle.
00:05:31 I know that there was another picture of a tree of a very large tree falling also on the vehicle. But from what I understand is that the occupant or the occupants of the vehicle, they would have come out.
00:05:47 Let me see. Yeah, they would have come out with. You see, boy. Well, nothing very serious from what I'm seeing here.
00:05:59 Yeah. So good news for them. Let's check out what's happening on the back page. Cricket. West Indies. Get it right. Yeah.
00:06:07 Powles men win hard fought first T20. All right. So that's good news for the West Indies.
00:06:16 Wouldn't you say it's time to remind you about Trinbago, a nice feature to participate?
00:06:19 What's up your videos to seven, three, seven, three, seven, seven, eight.
00:06:23 Displaying the beauty, talent and uniqueness of Trinbago. Here's this image from our very good friend, Shanice Charles.
00:06:31 Shanice, good morning. And always thank you very much for the photographs that you continue to send to us.
00:06:38 Right. And it's an invitation for more and more people, our viewers out there to send more of these videos and pictures to us because we really do appreciate it.
00:06:48 You know what? I'm also going to do it, as I say at the beginning of the program every day, a special good morning to the wider world.
00:06:58 You know, so we are going to have to set up some mechanism for you, whether it's an email address, whether it's a Twitter account, something so that you would be able to participate and have a word with us on a daily basis,
00:07:11 because it would be interesting to know, you know, where we are touching, where our tentacles have spread.
00:07:18 All right. So it's going to be a very interesting program today. So we are going to a very short break. We'll be right back.
00:07:25 The Prime Minister's Best Village Trophy competition has prided itself on creating the space for talent.
00:07:46 The addition of diverse segments, including the Clean and Beautify, Village Olympics, Queen Competition and the non-competitive Junior Best Village have led to citizens getting their starts and honing their crafts.
00:07:58 Many have gone on to do great things locally and internationally. Cultural icons Marshall Montano and Singing Sandra, Calypsonian Karen Ashey, netballer Marcia Dimsoy, Parag Queen Daisy Vosier and sprinter Ian Morris are just a few who have been part of the Best Village experience.
00:08:15 In giving citizens the avenue to pursue their dreams, the Prime Minister's Best Village Trophy competition has remained true to its mission of empowering our people.
00:08:25 As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, the number of opportunities created, careers boosted and lives changed through participation remains impactful.
00:08:35 Simplify and secure your life with unique products from Victory Trading. The very best in commercial aluminum roll-up doors, commercial canvas high-speed doors, barrier arms, weatherproof outdoor motorized blinds, specialty garage doors, window shutters and much more.
00:08:59 Victory Trading Limited, LP 109 Warehouse #4, Monroe Road, Canopia. Check us out at VictoryTradingLTD.com or call 693-1936.
00:09:11 Dr. Abubolz Mautley, Chimere, Canada.
00:09:14 Chimere was started by my mom. There are almost 200 different shades of melanin in the world. Our products have been made for all these different sub-ranges of people. That's what we have that many other products don't.
00:09:26 Bear witness to the biggest hits.
00:09:30 The CPL returns to TV6 August 16th to September 24th. Be watching.
00:09:43 [Engine revving]
00:09:46 It's not a thrill when your speed can kill.
00:10:11 [Music]
00:10:29 Alright, so welcome back everyone. We do appreciate you joining us this morning. So we're just about 10 days now to the August 14th local government election. So a number of issues are being raised on the political platform. So we do have with us this morning political analyst Dr. Shane Mohamed. Dr. Mohamed, good morning.
00:10:50 Good morning Marlon, how are you?
00:10:52 I'm good and always good to have you here Dr. Mohamed. Let's speak about the messages that we have been seeing on the political platform. And the United National Congress has one message. Of course the People's National Movement has another message. But are these messages resonating you think with the electorate? What's your synopsis of things?
00:11:19 So as far as my analysis and my observance of the messages, the PNM has a message of local government reform, local government reform, local government reform.
00:11:33 Nothing is wrong with local government reform. The question that I have to ask is have we discussed what exactly is local government reform to the extent that John Public understands exactly what they're voting for.
00:11:51 And the answer to that, the long and short answer to that is no. Because there's mention of local government reform on the platform, but discussion is not to the extent where politicians are taking it as an opportunity to educate effectively and efficiently the population as to what exactly is local government reform
00:12:20 going to look like. So that, I mean, taken into consideration you have two months of campaigning for local government. By now, everyone from the age of 18 years and over, or even from under 18 years and over, should have a complete understanding of what does local government reform mean and how will it operate in a new revised system.
00:12:45 So the answer to that is the communication is very poor. The articulation is not there. The education aspect of politics is missing from that dialogue.
00:12:58 On the other hand, you have the opposition with a unique selling point, as you like to see in the world of business studies, for a stand your ground. Now, if persons haven't taken into consideration the stand your ground message, there are two messages coming out of stand your ground that can be interpreted.
00:13:19 One, the political stand your ground, which is to encourage people to stand your ground against the PNM and to encourage people to come out and vote on election day in favor of the United National Congress. That's the first unique selling point of stand your ground.
00:13:36 And obviously, the second unique selling point on the stand your ground is as it pertains to the fight against crime. Not many people will understand how I have just described stand your ground from a unique selling point from a business perspective and from a political perspective.
00:13:56 And people have only seen stand your ground from the perspective of the fight crime. At the end of the day, they're also saying that this is the prelude to the 2025 general election.
00:14:13 And I am very doubtful that the United National Congress can sustain its alliance all the way to 2025 because of the creature that is the United National Congress.
00:14:35 Explain that to us.
00:14:37 It's very simple. The United National Congress has struggled over the last couple of years to ensure that it coalesced its own members and its quote unquote detractors and dissidents, much less to be able to sustain an alliance that includes a very powerful former chairman, which is Mr. Warner, and a very popular former national security minister, which is Gary Griffin.
00:15:06 And given the political culture that has been perpetuated by the political leader of the UNC, where closing ranks has been the modus operandi and exclusion has been the modus operandi,
00:15:24 there are many pieces within the UNC that are very uncomfortable and not very pleased by the fact that the inclusion of Mr. Warner means that there's going to be a certain level of structure, processes, procedures, shifting.
00:15:47 People may lose portfolios. People may lose their pecking order because there's a system by which we do these things and by which political organizations are supposed to operate.
00:16:01 And as bad as the governance of the People's National Movement may be, the operations of the People's National Movement is one that has sustained itself since 1956.
00:16:12 Do you think that people have bought into the putting together of this accommodation between Mr. Warner and Mr. Griffith's party?
00:16:27 Because history will tell us, and if you go through the newspaper from some years ago, you would see that Mrs. Possad Bissessa, there were issues with these gentlemen in particular.
00:16:43 Of course, Mr. Warner resigned as National Security Minister because of the whole FIFA imbroglio. And then you have a situation where Mr. Griffith is in the newspaper some years ago saying that he was fired.
00:16:58 So there is a history with these three individuals. It could be a situation of three Borat can't live in one hole, right?
00:17:11 So you think that the electorate has bought into this and have said to themselves, look, this could work this time around.
00:17:24 Well, there are mixed reactions on the ground. And the mixed reactions – let's start with Mr. Warner to start with.
00:17:33 I have said in the past in previous interviews, and I will say it here again on TV6, that Mrs. Possad Bissessa said something very interesting.
00:17:45 And I will go as far as saying it's very double – I'm trying not to use the word hypocritical, but more to use the word double standard.
00:18:06 And that's the issue that I have with Mrs. Possad Bissessa, the double standard. In 2013 when Mr. Warner got embroiled in this issue with FIFA, it was no different then to as it is now.
00:18:26 It's been 10 years. And he knows, and he continues to say, that he knows that he has nothing to answer to. He will win his matter.
00:18:35 And that he said on different interview platforms that the issue with the United States has to do with the fact that he did not vote in their favor to host the FIFA World Cup.
00:18:48 And he's paying the price for that. He's also gone on to say that he's gone to so many different countries in his lifetime that there's no need for him to travel at this age. And he's comfortable here.
00:19:01 The question is, Mrs. Possad Bissessa said a couple of days ago that as far as she's concerned, Mr. Warner is innocent until proven guilty.
00:19:10 What changed in the last 10 years? Was he not innocent until proven guilty 10 years ago and even up to today? So that's one.
00:19:20 Two, he should have never left the UNC as the UNC chairman, nor as a member of the cabinet, given Mr. Warner's contribution to Mrs. Possad's elevation to political leader and his contribution in the partnership in ensuring that the partnership secured a victory in very key seats where the partnership was struggling during the campaign.
00:19:49 Furthermore, upon his departure in 2013, the United National Congress began to crumble in its political structure as a party. And obviously you saw what the results were in 2015 in the elections.
00:20:04 As for Mr. Griffith, Mr. Griffith served as advisor to the Prime Minister on national security issues. He then went on to become a minister of national security. Mrs. Griffith was an excellent minister of communications who should have never been out of the government either because she brought a certain level of eloquence and sophistication for a young woman in the Senate.
00:20:28 And she added to the flavor and to the diversity of the government. And it was unfortunate that she also lost her space in the administration.
00:20:38 So they were three contributors and positive, brought positive attributes to the partnership at the time. Ten years after, I don't know if the population does not trust Mrs. Possad's successor and the UNC apparatus.
00:21:00 Not Mr. Griffith and not Mr. Warner because Mr. Warner has gone as far as dissolving his political party to ensure that he re-engages with the United National Congress in the long run.
00:21:13 I am not sure that the persons within the United National Congress have an appreciation for Mr. Warner's history within the UNC and the contribution he's made to its success over the years.
00:21:25 How does that trickle down into the population? I think that the UNC has reinvigorated its traditional voters. I'm not sure for the local government election they've convinced the swing voters just yet.
00:21:42 Let's speak a little bit about statements that the opposition leader would have said over the past few days. Of course she would have been speaking about crime and she would have spoken about light them up.
00:21:54 When she's speaking about people invading your homes, empty the entire clip, the whole clip. So she has been under fire over the past few days in some quarters.
00:22:07 I'm seeing this morning where she's saying she's standing her ground, she's saying she's not apologizing to absolutely no one for saying to light up criminals who are invading homes.
00:22:18 Last evening there was a political meeting where she's saying this and I'm quoting her, "They didn't like me saying draw your license firearm and light them up, empty the clip.
00:22:30 So I wouldn't say that tonight, I will tell you in Trinidad language. After the UNC wins the next general election and changes the laws, when criminals invade your home, what are you going to do with your license firearm?
00:22:45 You have to load up the mattock and cock it and knock it on them and then knock it again as the criminals come through the door. Knock it on them again and again."
00:22:59 The words there of the opposition leader.
00:23:08 I would like to know if the UNC, the political, I would like to know if the opposition leader is a gang leader.
00:23:21 And I would like to know what is the name of her gang because any right-thinking citizen, any educated, informed, and I will use the word informed,
00:23:33 any informed member of the public cannot be happy by the fact that the political leader and the opposition leader and the person who is aspiring to be the next prime minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is using Trinidad language.
00:23:51 Dr. Mohamed, just allow me to intervene because while we were listening to the opposition leader, she was speaking about creating or speaking the language of young people and that is why she decided to speak in this way.
00:24:09 Marlon, which young people in this day and age is using Trinidad language about load up the mattock?
00:24:19 I will say a few words about it. Load up the mattock is disgusting. It is uneducated. It is unintelligent. It is unattractive. It is disheartening. It is also infuriating because that is what we want as a nation.
00:24:41 That is what we want to encourage as a nation for young people to be using. Load up the mattock. When automatic guns in this country are illegal, does Mrs. Bessarbi Sessa did not realize that or does Nourad as someone as a prime minister rightfully said who sat at the head of the National Security Council?
00:24:57 Empty the clip was just one step and I think people would have laughed off the empty the clip. But when they say load up the mattock, what are you encouraging in this country? War? Anarchy? People to become innocent, law-abiding citizens to engage in illegal activities?
00:25:17 The question that we should be asking ourselves and we should be petitioning the administration and the government to do is to take a serious approach to how we deal with the issuance of firearm user license.
00:25:35 And why is it that firearm user license, the process for firearm user license has stolen, has become highly bureaucratic, has become such a pain in the neck for innocent, law-abiding citizens to access that one.
00:25:50 Two, how many persons are aptly qualified within the Forensic Science Center as it pertains to ballistics and how they go about ballistics testing?
00:26:03 Three, why is it when a licensed firearm user fires that weapon against somebody who has entered into their premises or has threatened their life and the lives of their family?
00:26:20 Why is it when the firearm is taken from the user by the police service, why does the service take so long to return the firearm to the user?
00:26:34 Because at the end of the day, you are leaving the user without a license to defend themselves, which they have earned because of training and all of the processes that they have gone through.
00:26:47 Should we also not look at, and Mrs. Bissette prides herself in being a senior counsel, as a lawyer and somebody who has admitted on the platform she loves the law and the practice of the law, etc., etc.
00:27:03 Should she not be proposing an amendment that defines defense as it pertains to a firearm user license defending oneself against an intruder?
00:27:16 Should she not also be speaking to the public about how to use the firearm to defend themselves as it pertains to whether the person is coming at them with a gun as it pertains to a cutlass?
00:27:32 Because the law will tell you that if somebody is coming to you with a gun, you meet them with the same level of force.
00:27:39 But if somebody is coming to you with a cutlass, you have the right to fire the gun, but not necessarily to kill them, but to disable them.
00:27:49 But Dr. Mohamed, I get the feeling that you believe that these recent statements of the opposition leader are far worse than what she would have said before.
00:28:00 But Marlon, when you start talking about load up the mattock and empty the clip.
00:28:07 Empty the clip, okay, we will let that pass.
00:28:10 But when you talk about load up the mattock, right, and you're talking about truly bad language, you really think that young people are going to come out and vote in a local government election in 2023?
00:28:20 I am going to be very – there is such a high level of apathy against the UNC and the People's National Movement collectively in this country because of things that could have been done and should have been done and was not done by Mrs. Faisal Bisseta.
00:28:36 Because she was too caught up in populism and too caught up in weaving a web of cabalism that she did not fulfill her mandate as Prime Minister.
00:28:45 She did not even have the ability to win the general elections in 2020, which was hers to win, which she unfortunately callously lost.
00:28:54 And you are coming to tell the people of Trinidad and Tobago now in 2020, about 2025, and we don't know what – Batil Pandey has said a day in politics is like a lifetime.
00:29:06 We have almost two years and a half to go before the next general election.
00:29:10 Any number could play, and Mrs. Faisal Bisseta is talking about when they form the next government.
00:29:16 Why is it Mrs. Faisal Bisseta is not telling the population that she wants to sit down and have bipartisan discussions with the government on how we can move forward to improve the lives of citizens in this country,
00:29:27 and how we can improve crime and fight against crime, and how we can place the population on a footing of defense where they can effectively defend themselves?
00:29:40 Why are we not having that discussion?
00:29:42 She's saying, "I'm standing my ground for the ordinary citizen of Trinidad and Tobago."
00:29:46 She says, "I promise you the first pieces of legislation I will bring to Parliament when the UNC returns to government will be the 'stand your ground' laws and changes to make access to legal firearms easier."
00:30:02 And let's focus on these statements just a little bit, because I know – go ahead.
00:30:08 Let me ask you this. What does Mrs. Faisal Bisseta therefore propose between now and 2025 if she gets into government for every right-thinking, normal, law-abiding citizen who does not have access to a firearm in the meantime?
00:30:31 What does she propose? What has she proposed to the government that is a workable solution to support the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago in defending themselves against crime?
00:30:49 I suspect in recent times she has been speaking about this "stand your ground" law, which just incidentally the government, the Prime Minister has thrown that out.
00:30:59 Has dismissed.
00:31:00 I suspect there has to be a different discussion now.
00:31:03 But there's also the castle principle. There's the castle principle where when a man enters into your private property, you have the right to defend your property, your life, and your family.
00:31:16 And that's different from "stand your ground." "Stand your ground" means that if a man is in the road coming at you, you can stand your ground and you have the right to fight that individual,
00:31:28 which is totally different from the castle principle, which says that you have the right to defend your family and your home.
00:31:35 How you defend your family and your home, whether it is with a bat, whether it is with a two-by-four, whether it is by a gun if you are in the possession of a licensed firearm,
00:31:49 whether it is with a cutlass, say something as it pertains to how do you propose that people defend themselves.
00:31:56 So I will also say this. She is playing upon the emotions of a very frustrated population.
00:32:03 And our population is frustrated with crime. And people are going to – they are those that are saying that we like the discussion, we like the conversation,
00:32:12 we like how the lady is talking. But liking what the lady is talking and the reality and practicality of what she's saying is two different things.
00:32:22 So – We need to be fair to the population in that regard.
00:32:26 All right. So according to the opposition leader, she is proposing stand your ground laws, home invasion laws, increased legal gun ownership,
00:32:35 restructuring of the Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Defense, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in policing,
00:32:45 review, pretrial detention and bail reform. But what is also interesting is that she is also suggesting five minimum security detention centers
00:32:55 based in South Central, Northeast and Tobago, yeah, with work released during the day and detention after work hours.
00:33:04 Marlon, she is repeating her 2020 manifesto. And we are not talking about local government here.
00:33:13 We are talking about national issues so that both political parties are taking the opportunity to discuss national issues in a local government election campaign.
00:33:27 And you are giving people, especially traditional voters, false hope that you somehow is guaranteed to win the next general election.
00:33:37 But Dr. Muhammad, do you think that the electorate is really interested in the issues?
00:33:42 They are interested in the Bacchanal and the Pekong and this one corrupt and that one corrupt.
00:33:49 I don't even think that the population is interested in that. I don't think the population is even interested in, interested anymore.
00:33:56 The wider population of which I believe there are greater numbers of young people, young professionals, middle class and floating voters are greater than traditional voters.
00:34:08 And I am saying that we will see that in on the 14th of August.
00:34:13 You will see, I mean, in 2020, in 2019, the voter turnout was 34.34 percent. And that was on the cusp of a general election in 2020.
00:34:26 So therefore, people were minded to go out and vote and start the whole idea of the and the whole motion and turning the wheels towards effecting some level of political change
00:34:41 with the hope of changing the administration in 2020. But there is no election that is imminent until 2025.
00:34:49 And therefore, you are giving what Mrs. Musabi Sasa is talking is about promises that she hopes to deliver when or if she wins the next election.
00:35:02 She first has to manage her own party and sustain her alliance before she can win any election going forward.
00:35:07 So don't give Trinidad and Tobago false hope. Give them realistic promises that you and a corporation and a councillor can deliver to them in the short term and long term plan.
00:35:22 Yeah. And period. Yeah. Dr. Muhammad, as I said, only about 10 days again before the local government election.
00:35:29 How do you see things playing up, playing out as we move forward to August 14th?
00:35:37 It's a very interesting election because of the apathy that exists between both political parties.
00:35:42 That's one with the inclusion of Mr. Warner and Mr. Griffith within the UNC.
00:35:48 Given the way that they are configured in regard to how they are going to be fighting the elections,
00:35:53 it's going to be very interesting to see the impact that the NTA especially makes with regard to the seats that they are contesting in the various corporations.
00:36:03 So my eyes are in my eyes are right now focused on Sandy Grandy, San Fernando, Arima and Diggle Martin.
00:36:14 Those are the spaces that I want to see that are most interested because I am not too sure that things are going to change as it pertains to San Juan Lavant Hill.
00:36:27 And it's left to be seen if there's any impact, which there might be along the corridor in terms of Tunapuna P.R. Cook.
00:36:36 Yeah. Dr. Muhammad, it's always a pleasure speaking with you. Thank you very much for speaking with us this morning, sir.
00:36:42 Thank you so very much for having me, Marlon. Have a good day.
00:36:45 You too, sir. Bye for now. So it's time for another break.
00:36:48 We do have this update for you from the Beetham Highway.
00:36:51 And it's a good morning for a drive, you know, a good morning to come down into Port of Spain.
00:36:56 We're coming back.
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00:39:57 All right, we're taking things down a little bit.
00:40:00 We're stepping away from the politics a little bit, all right?
00:40:03 So joining us live on set now is Miss Denise Ferguson,
00:40:06 Executive Manager, Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation, CARERI.
00:40:11 And she's here to discuss CARERI's third call for proposals for grant funding.
00:40:17 Miss Ferguson, thank you very much for coming this morning.
00:40:20 Good morning and thank you for having me.
00:40:22 Yeah. Well, Miss Ferguson, let's speak about this program.
00:40:26 So CARERI is the executing agency for an innovation project called Shaping the Future of Innovation.
00:40:32 The partners are the Ministry of Planning and Development, the EU and the IDB Lab.
00:40:38 What it does is they have put in $60 million to give grants to small, medium enterprises,
00:40:48 as well as some large firms to be able to implement innovative projects within Trinidad and Tobago
00:40:55 with the hope of raising our innovation profile as well as productivity, profitability,
00:41:04 and really probably getting some new firms out there, the small firms, getting them ready for that next step.
00:41:11 Yeah. When you speak about innovative projects, what are we speaking about specifically?
00:41:17 So the project needs to be innovative with respect to technology readiness level, preferably level seven.
00:41:26 And that was something that was developed by NASA in the 1970s, and the EU uses it in the Horizon 2020.
00:41:33 And so it says that the prototype that you have developed must have already been validated,
00:41:41 and it is ready for commercialization. So it cannot just be an idea in your head.
00:41:45 It must be ready, proven to be commercialized within the shortest possible time.
00:41:51 Yeah. So therefore, Miss Ferguson, we are really speaking about specific companies.
00:41:57 Is it businesses that are involved in technology?
00:42:05 No, it's not, because innovation is not only product innovation.
00:42:09 Yes.
00:42:10 It's service innovation. It's process innovation. So a new way of doing things, a new type of service.
00:42:18 And of course, innovation is not invention, so it doesn't have to be new to the world.
00:42:22 It just has to be new to the company and, of course, a certain part of Trinidad and Tobago.
00:42:27 Yeah. But do you think that, let's say, small companies would be able to tap into this program?
00:42:34 Well, it's interesting that you would ask that.
00:42:36 Yes.
00:42:37 Because this is our third call. So the first two calls, we had over 200 small firms applying with fantastic, great, innovative ideas.
00:42:48 To date, we have given out 34 grants, and only three have been large firms.
00:42:56 So 31 has been SMEs.
00:43:00 So therefore, judging from what you're saying, innovation seems to be alive and well in Trinidad and Tobago?
00:43:06 It definitely is. And what this project is showing is exactly that.
00:43:11 And what it's doing is giving some seed funding to jumpstart these small firms
00:43:17 so they can be the future large firms of tomorrow.
00:43:20 Yeah. When we speak about seed funding, is there a particular amount we're speaking about?
00:43:26 Yes. So for SMEs, they cannot get over $75,000 U.S.
00:43:33 For large firms, $250,000 U.S.
00:43:37 And there is a category that's specific to this call tree called inclusive innovation,
00:43:42 and it could be both SME or large, and that is $500,000 U.S., up to.
00:43:47 But Ms. Ferguson, you're giving away a lot of money.
00:43:50 [Laughter]
00:43:53 So is it that the program is already underway? Has it been launched already? Can persons still register for it?
00:44:03 Yes, it is. So the actual program was launched in November 2021, but we are having a number of calls.
00:44:10 So we are in our third call. That call is currently out.
00:44:14 In fact, next week, the 10th of August, we'll be having an information session.
00:44:19 So we encourage people to go to the Careers web page and register for that session.
00:44:24 And the third call will close on the 30th of August.
00:44:28 We will have another call, but of course, if you do not get through in one call, you can reapply to another call.
00:44:35 So we do encourage individuals to apply now.
00:44:38 Let's get a little more in depth, if we can, in the criteria, because, yes, you're speaking about small firms, medium, large firms.
00:44:51 You're also speaking about that the service or the product should already be there.
00:45:01 And it should be an item where it has already been tested.
00:45:11 Yes. Right. But let's speak about, because I suspect persons, people who may be viewing us right now may want further information.
00:45:23 So I'm trying to really boil it down and to speak a little more about the criteria and the business or businesses that persons should be involved in or businesses that career would want to be a part of the program.
00:45:45 So the program caters for all sectors except the oil and gas sector, because we want to also look at diversification.
00:45:53 So criteria for businesses themselves, they must be registered in Trinidad and Tobago for at least three years.
00:46:02 They must have all of their taxes and financial statements up to date.
00:46:08 They could be a limited liability company. They could be sole trader. They could be partnership.
00:46:13 They could be NGOs. So that doesn't limit them.
00:46:17 Yeah. When we get into the innovation, it does need to have a prototype, at least that you are willing and it is ready to be commercialized.
00:46:31 And so maybe it's something they developed or developing and they just need to get some new parts or they need to get it into a particular market.
00:46:41 They need some more market surveys. There's something, of course, you need funding to get it out there.
00:46:47 So it's already established. They know about it. This project also allows for technical advice.
00:46:54 So we do offer so we don't just give you the money and then walk away.
00:46:58 We give you a lot of technical advice as well.
00:47:01 One in the application process to help you give the best application that you can.
00:47:06 And of course, after to ensure that the project is implemented within the time and of course, within the budget.
00:47:14 Of course. So let's speak now that I have registered with Kareeri, with the program.
00:47:23 I have submitted my prototype to you.
00:47:27 So let's speak about that process now. What is the process? How long is the process?
00:47:33 Let's say before people receive their funding.
00:47:37 Right. So you register via online portal. So it's not done manually.
00:47:42 So everything is uploaded onto a portal at the Kareeri website.
00:47:47 Once it closes on the 30th of August, the evaluators and its independent evaluators, we have some industry technical experts.
00:47:56 So if it is a agriculture project, then an expert in agriculture will look at it.
00:48:01 If it's a creative project, the same thing, education, etc.
00:48:05 It will take about one month for the evaluation to be totally completed.
00:48:10 And that's the first stage. Those individuals who score an average will move to the second stage.
00:48:18 Where they now have to develop an implementation plan and a full budget.
00:48:22 They need to show us. So the first step is just a concept. It's not a lot.
00:48:27 You just need to tell us about your business. Tell us about the project.
00:48:32 The second step goes a lot deeper into the actual implementation of the project,
00:48:37 because we need to see that you are able to implement this project within the project period.
00:48:44 And the project ends 2024, at the end of 2024, as well as a budget.
00:48:50 I should note that for SMEs, they would be required to put 25% counterpart funding,
00:48:57 and for large, 50% counterpart funding.
00:49:00 The money doesn't come to us, but in the budget, they need to show where they will be putting some money into this project.
00:49:08 After they do that, this is now within the second stage, for another month again, the evaluators go ahead and they evaluate.
00:49:18 And we also do have foreign evaluators to ensure that the very best projects get through.
00:49:25 After that, it then goes to the committee, and the winners are announced.
00:49:32 So before the end of the year, winners will be announced, contracts will be signed,
00:49:38 and then early next year, grants will be distributed.
00:49:42 Right. And you're saying, but that is not the end of the process.
00:49:46 Of course, there's going to be constant monitoring of the business,
00:49:51 and if Kareeri needs to provide help to the awardees, if I can put it that way, there's going to be help, constant help from Kareeri.
00:50:02 Yes, of course, because first of all, the grant isn't distributed 100% up front.
00:50:07 It's going to be based on milestones.
00:50:09 So you're going to get a certain amount up front, then you have to do milestones, you have to do your procurement plan,
00:50:14 you're reporting, once that is validated, it's been done, then another portion of the grant, and then the final payment thereafter.
00:50:23 Yeah. It sounds like a rigid process, Ms. Ferguson, but I suspect it's all a part of the plan for the business to succeed.
00:50:34 It is, and so while it is rigid in terms of us ensuring that we have all of the I's dotted and T's crossed, if you could say,
00:50:44 it is also not a difficult process for the firms.
00:50:49 If you would ask the 35 firms that have, 34 firms that have received funding so far, they will let you know that we have been there,
00:50:57 we have helped them, we have held their hands in certain aspects to ensure that they follow the procedures that are required,
00:51:05 because of course we need to follow the IDB procurement rules, and especially now with the procurement legislation.
00:51:12 So there's a number of things to follow, but you have a number of handbooks, and they are guided along the way.
00:51:18 Let's speak a little bit about these 35 firms.
00:51:23 Have they been doing well? Have they been thriving?
00:51:28 Have they remained in the particular industries or sectors that they received the funding for?
00:51:36 Definitely. We have been making site visits to a number of these firms, looking at the equipment that they have designed
00:51:44 and the equipment that they have bought to improve their process or their product,
00:51:50 and a lot of them are doing really, really great.
00:51:53 We have some individuals who are transforming plastic into lumber for low-cost housing, benches,
00:52:02 it's more sturdy, and of course it cleans up the environment.
00:52:06 We have individuals who are looking in the creative sector to develop IT for playing pan for the aged, so bringing them in.
00:52:18 We have individuals who are doing healthcare.
00:52:22 We also have people who have taken our Trinitario chocolate, and they are now perfecting it so that they can send it abroad,
00:52:31 and of course bringing a lot of foreign exchange that's needed. So they are doing well.
00:52:37 But I think, you know, some of the things that you're telling us here this morning,
00:52:41 some people may say, "Well, I didn't know that Cariri does all of those things."
00:52:48 If you could touch a little bit on that for us, that a person may have an idea and may be wondering how do they pursue that idea.
00:53:00 So what types of services, if you can briefly tell us about the services that Cariri would provide?
00:53:08 So Cariri has three locations. The first location at the U.E. St. Augustine really deals with a lot of analytical work,
00:53:16 so analytical chemistry, petroleum chemistry, calibration, also food and general microbiology.
00:53:23 So we do a lot of testing of a lot of material, a lot of food to help people get their products in the supermarket, etc.
00:53:30 Then we have another facility at McCoyer. They also do a lot of testing, but it's a lot of material testing,
00:53:37 so a lot of concrete and steel, asphalt, asbestos, etc. Destructive and non-destructive testing.
00:53:44 Also air testing against the EME pollution rules.
00:53:49 At our Freeport facility, which we opened in 2013 specifically to go into the innovation and entrepreneurship development,
00:53:58 in fact, it's called the Center for Enterprise Development, we have a lot of entrepreneurial services and programs.
00:54:06 One such program is called the Idea Advisory Service.
00:54:10 This program was fashioned after the Danish Technological Institute program that they have in Denmark.
00:54:18 And what it does is, yes, you have an idea, you do not know anything about it, and it's free, by the way.
00:54:25 You call us, we are then going to validate the idea for you, not for proof of idea,
00:54:32 because any idea could have a proof, but for proof of business.
00:54:36 And we do this by running you through a program, and again I said it's free,
00:54:40 which involves market validation, financials, including IP, because IP is very critical once you have a new idea.
00:54:50 Should it be validated? And of course, sometimes we need to help individuals pivot.
00:54:55 So those individuals who do not make it through the SDFOI program because their idea may have not been ready,
00:55:04 we are introducing them to this IAS project, where they could come and refine the idea and go back.
00:55:11 And I should note there are a couple of individuals who went to the first call and did not make it.
00:55:19 They refined their idea, they submitted it and called to, and they did get through.
00:55:24 And is this IAS service provided, let's say, throughout the year?
00:55:29 Yes.
00:55:30 It is, and you're saying it is free?
00:55:32 It is free. Just go to the Careers Resource website and sign up.
00:55:36 Ms. Ferguson, we are coming to the end of our discussion for this morning.
00:55:45 Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about the program or the services provided by Careers Resource?
00:55:51 So we certainly want to encourage individuals to apply. Innovation is truly alive in Trinidad and Tobago.
00:55:58 We understand that small firms are able to help bolster the economy of any nation like Trinidad and Tobago.
00:56:06 So go to our website, career.com, look at the innovation page and apply.
00:56:13 If you have any questions, do let us know. And on the 10th of August, join us for our information session.
00:56:20 Ms. Ferguson, it was really a pleasure speaking with you this morning.
00:56:22 I think that sometimes when people want to get into business, some people just don't know the route to take.
00:56:30 And hopefully the information that you have given us this morning has provided that information to a lot of people.
00:56:35 So we do appreciate you coming here this morning. Thank you very much for that.
00:56:38 Thank you for having me.
00:56:39 Yes. Okay, so we are going to a very quick break, and we do have the 7 o'clock news for you. We're coming back.
00:56:45 [Music]
00:57:02 Come out and support your community as the Prime Minister's Best Village Trophy competition concludes with three major events.
00:57:08 First, pageant hopefuls grace the stage in the Lawrenry Bay Self-Expression and Talent Final at Sapa on Saturday, 19th August.
00:57:15 The action starts at 6 p.m. Then on Sunday, 20th August at 6 p.m., community athletes will take to the field at the Haisley Crawford Stadium
00:57:23 in the finals of the exciting Village Olympics competition.
00:57:26 And on Saturday, 26th August at Napa from 6 p.m., the curtain comes down with Le Grand's Affair, where the overall winners will claim their titles.
00:57:34 All events are free with tickets available at the door. So come out and support your community in the Prime Minister's Best Village Trophy competition, celebrating 60 years.
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00:58:47 [Music]
00:58:57 No, son, no!
00:58:59 [Music]
00:59:07 Please, no!
00:59:09 [Music]
00:59:14 [Crying]
00:59:18 [Music]
00:59:26 [Music]
00:59:37 Good morning. I am Ansel Gibbs with a news update.
00:59:42 A man is dead following a police-involved shooting in Cuva.
00:59:46 It happened on Thursday afternoon.
00:59:49 Investigators say officers were on patrol when they saw two men brandishing guns running along the road.
00:59:56 One of the gunmen allegedly shot at the police.
00:59:59 Officers retained fire, hitting one of the suspects.
01:00:03 The other suspect escaped.
01:00:06 Seventy Venezuelans detained at the Chagarramas heliport are expected to know their fate today.
01:00:13 Justice Ricky Rahim will preside over their judicial review application.
01:00:18 Attorneys are seeking leave for the court to judicially review the state's failure to release the applicants pending the outcome of their claim for refugee or asylum seeker status with the United Nations.
01:00:31 The court is also expected to judicially review the continued detention of the migrants at the heliport.
01:00:38 And in the weather forecast, sunny periods will be interrupted by occasional showers across the islands.
01:00:46 A few showers will become heavy and thundery, especially during the late morning to mid-afternoon period.
01:00:53 Gusty winds and street flooding may occur in the event of heavy showers or thunderstorms.
01:00:58 If you're heading offshore, look out for waves approaching 2 metres in open waters and below 1 metre in sheltered areas.
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01:01:55 Defining.
01:01:57 Big. Gonna go all the way.
01:02:00 Calling with this man, a hundred of 70 balls.
01:02:06 Devastating. And there it is, the important breakthrough.
01:02:10 Look at him! There's the salute!
01:02:12 Delightful.
01:02:14 There it is, there it is.
01:02:17 Baron Poillard.
01:02:19 Wow!
01:02:21 Relive the greatest CBL matches of all time.
01:02:26 CBL Classics, exclusively on CCN-TV6.
01:02:36 [Music]
01:02:40 [Music]
01:02:43 [Music]
01:02:52 [Music]
01:03:03 [Music]
01:03:06 The Cura and the Coastal Empowerment Ministries International of 27 McDonnell Street, Cura, Trinidad, West Philly
01:03:20 presents Empowerment Through the World.
01:03:23 Come with us as we affect humanity with the life-transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
01:03:30 We invite you to sit with us and be glad.
01:03:33 [Music]
01:03:42 It's Friday, a beautiful Friday in Trinidad and Tobago.
01:03:58 So here's what now, we're opening up the lines to you, you know.
01:04:01 You're calling us on 623-1711, the extension is 1995.
01:04:06 We don't have a lot of time this morning.
01:04:08 Remember, James Saunders, he comes in at half past seven on the dot today to speak about CPL.
01:04:16 So he has a lot in store for you.
01:04:18 And you know James, James comes with a lot of energy.
01:04:21 So look out for that at 730.
01:04:23 We do have another interview for you later on this morning after they have your say.
01:04:29 So please call us now.
01:04:30 You're calling us on 623-1711.
01:04:33 The extension is 1995.
01:04:36 It's a good, it's a good day and a good time to speak with us.
01:04:40 We have had a very, very long week.
01:04:43 A number of things have happened in Trinidad and Tobago.
01:04:46 Some major developments have happened politically in this country.
01:04:50 So it would be good to hear some of your comments, your views.
01:04:55 Just remember, let's keep it respectful.
01:05:00 Yeah, that's all I'm going to ask.
01:05:02 I'm not going to tell you what to say, but keep it respectful.
01:05:05 We do have a call.
01:05:06 Good morning, caller.
01:05:08 Caller, you're there?
01:05:13 All right, that call has dropped.
01:05:15 So you're calling us on 623-1711.
01:05:17 The extension is 1995.
01:05:22 Yeah, so please call us now.
01:05:24 We do have a call.
01:05:25 Good morning, caller.
01:05:28 Caller, you're hearing me?
01:05:31 Yes, morning.
01:05:32 Yes, good morning.
01:05:33 Go ahead.
01:05:34 Yes.
01:05:37 Mala Namaste.
01:05:39 Good morning.
01:05:40 Caller, turn down the volume on your television set.
01:05:42 Turn down the volume.
01:05:43 That is going to confuse you.
01:05:45 All right, come back to us.
01:05:47 Go ahead, sir.
01:05:50 Yeah, Mala, I must say you do a very good job.
01:05:54 I'm impressed with how you conduct your interviews.
01:05:58 Thank you, sir.
01:06:00 My only issue is with this thing with the, you know, stand your ground.
01:06:09 I would like to say that -- I mean, I understand what you're trying to do,
01:06:14 and I know what you're portraying.
01:06:15 It might not be the best way, but I understand what you're trying to do.
01:06:19 And I think my only question to you, honestly speaking,
01:06:24 and this might be a controversial question, is, you know,
01:06:30 the whole issue with how Overshore E was removed.
01:06:35 And I know you probably cannot answer,
01:06:37 but I think that's my only issue at this point in time.
01:06:41 I think the final was not dealt with properly.
01:06:44 All right, well, here's what.
01:06:47 There is no controversy concerning that.
01:06:52 That's one.
01:06:55 As I've said, and I said it the last time, that she's still with us in the newsroom.
01:07:03 Okay?
01:07:04 And that's all I'm really willing to say.
01:07:08 If management feels that they need to say more,
01:07:12 well, then management will have to take that decision.
01:07:15 But what I will say that there was no malintent in anything,
01:07:19 or it was not any sort of malicious exercise.
01:07:24 That's all I'm going to say.
01:07:26 Yeah?
01:07:27 Let's take another call.
01:07:28 Good morning, caller.
01:07:29 Good morning, Mr. Marlon.
01:07:30 Yes.
01:07:32 Very pleased to see you, and I also like how your career works.
01:07:36 You're sure very well.
01:07:39 I just want to make one comment.
01:07:41 Concerning the political stances you had this morning on TV,
01:07:46 I find that every time he's on air with anybody,
01:07:49 he always goes off on the opposition leader.
01:07:53 And I think he has a beef with them,
01:07:55 because I think they didn't take him on in the party and whatnot.
01:08:00 And listening to him, I think anybody could be a political scientist.
01:08:03 That is what he has become.
01:08:07 And he proclaims that he's very --
01:08:11 always against whatever the opposition leader says and whatnot.
01:08:16 I am no person who follows any party diehard like that,
01:08:21 but the point about it is that there are things that he says that make sense.
01:08:25 He contradicts the therapeutic crime tradition,
01:08:27 and I mean he's proposing something that hasn't become law yet.
01:08:31 So it has to become law if and when she gets in.
01:08:34 And people are thinking, "It doesn't mean that they can just go and write now and all that sort of stuff."
01:08:38 That's not the case.
01:08:39 Law has to be put in place, the right people have to give me permits and everything else.
01:08:44 So that I thank you.
01:08:47 All right.
01:08:48 I don't know that Dr. Shane Muhammad needs my help to defend him,
01:08:51 but what I will say is that he's very passionate when it comes to what he does.
01:08:57 And to me, judging from our interviews over the past few months,
01:09:02 he has really commented on all of the political parties.
01:09:10 And to be honest, he shares out some blues sometimes,
01:09:15 but I think that it has been on a level playing field.
01:09:19 Let's take another call.
01:09:21 Good morning, caller.
01:09:22 Good morning.
01:09:23 Yes, sir.
01:09:24 This is the wrong law that they're bringing in here.
01:09:28 That's a dangerous law they have in Florida that they're trying to get rid of.
01:09:32 Because that's a racial law where if you put a black man in, knock on the door, and they'll kill him.
01:09:38 They're trying to give you that law.
01:09:40 That law is not a good law.
01:09:42 It's not a good law at all, at all, at all.
01:09:45 This is the wrong law.
01:09:46 And I'm sorry to see women in country rich because a corrupt, disrespectful government come,
01:09:52 disrespectful government gone.
01:09:54 So it is, and that will continue until some stranger has to come from outer space to correct that,
01:10:03 because corruption is disrespectful in this country.
01:10:06 Remember, the foreigners get jailed in the airport, not the locals get jailed.
01:10:11 That is killing children, everyone.
01:10:13 Thank you.
01:10:14 All right.
01:10:15 So let's speak about this stand your ground.
01:10:18 It's a proposal.
01:10:19 It's a suggestion.
01:10:21 It is nothing that is in law.
01:10:23 It is a proposal.
01:10:25 It is a suggestion of the opposition leader.
01:10:28 She says when she gets into office, that is something that she will be pursuing.
01:10:36 So let's put it on the table that that is not law.
01:10:41 Yeah?
01:10:42 Let's take another call.
01:10:43 Good morning, caller.
01:10:44 Good morning, Marlon.
01:10:45 Yes.
01:10:46 Doing a good job.
01:10:48 And the caller before says, you know, it seems to me when, when you interviewed Dr. Rowley,
01:10:58 you were treating him like a puppy.
01:11:00 Oh, really?
01:11:01 I looked at you this morning and you were tearing up what Mrs. Bassadvi says.
01:11:05 I said, why don't you tear up what Dr. Rowley says sometimes?
01:11:09 I look forward to when you do that.
01:11:12 Tear up what he says.
01:11:14 And there's so many scripts that you could get.
01:11:16 So many.
01:11:17 Every time you tear it up and get one of, get she in or get one of them fellows who is political scientist.
01:11:23 Well, you would, you would remember.
01:11:25 To be passionate because you are passionate, she is passionate and all of us passionate, you know, partner.
01:11:30 I would remember on the day that I was introduced, that I was interviewing Dr. Rowley, that I was, I, we focused on a number of things.
01:11:39 We focused on crime.
01:11:40 We focused on the economy.
01:11:41 We focused on the, on the, on the refinery.
01:11:44 So there were a number of issues that we spoke about on that day.
01:11:50 We did get people to chime in.
01:11:53 In fact, was it the next day that we got the union to speak about, about the proposal that was sent to the government and the prime minister saying, well, look, maybe it's a time for us to sit down.
01:12:06 Yeah, but you mentioned the point what I was saying.
01:12:08 Go ahead.
01:12:09 You treated him like a puppy.
01:12:12 This fellow is the most aggressive, abrasive.
01:12:15 And when he speaks on any platform, you know how to push Dr. Rowley's buttons.
01:12:21 You know how to tell him.
01:12:23 Well, I don't know.
01:12:24 I don't know that anyone, I don't know that anyone would have treated the prime minister as a puppy.
01:12:30 But I watched this morning with aggression when he was reading and he was smoking on your face.
01:12:35 I was doing all of that?
01:12:36 And he was going to get Dr. Sheen.
01:12:37 Yeah, he was going to antagonize him because he have a beef with the, with the UNC.
01:12:41 And what I'm trying to do is nobody used to do it every morning.
01:12:48 And it is my land.
01:12:49 Is this what it's crying, crying, crying is one of the problems for getting economy and the roads and the potholes and and customer service.
01:12:58 And let me ask you something.
01:13:00 Let me ask you something, because we're having a discussion.
01:13:02 All right.
01:13:03 We're having a discussion.
01:13:04 Do you do?
01:13:08 Are you familiar with me?
01:13:10 You're familiar with me.
01:13:12 You're familiar.
01:13:14 You're familiar with you're familiar with the afternoon program.
01:13:17 Hold on.
01:13:18 You're familiar with the afternoon program.
01:13:19 I don't watch the program at all.
01:13:21 You don't watch it.
01:13:22 You don't watch it.
01:13:23 Well, I think that you need.
01:13:25 I think that you need to watch it.
01:13:27 It changed in that political sense.
01:13:29 Right.
01:13:30 I think that you need to watch it because you see, you see, sometimes we need to we need to see the the entire picture.
01:13:38 And let me let me just speak a little bit about that, because I want to and I want to clear the no, no producer.
01:13:44 Hold on.
01:13:45 Let me speak.
01:13:46 Let me speak, because we have been doing the afternoon program for about nine years now.
01:13:52 We hold on.
01:13:54 Let me speak.
01:13:55 We have been doing the program for about nine years.
01:13:58 It has spanned two governments.
01:14:00 And because of the nature of the program and because that we're speaking about crime every day and we asking the authorities to do more about crime.
01:14:11 How do you think that that program is going to be seen?
01:14:13 All right.
01:14:14 Again, this has spanned both governments.
01:14:17 Right.
01:14:18 But because of the nature of the program, it could be seen as a certain way.
01:14:21 Right.
01:14:22 You know, so my point is, is that we we we do share all the criticism sometimes.
01:14:29 Right.
01:14:30 But I think that we have been fair.
01:14:32 OK, let's take another call.
01:14:34 Good morning, caller.
01:14:36 Hi.
01:14:37 Good morning.
01:14:38 Yes.
01:14:39 Morning to you, Marlon and to Trinidad and Tobago.
01:14:42 That last caller, obviously living on the rock.
01:14:48 Callers and listeners have to understand that there's a difference between commenting on what the general public says about either leader or if you are conducting an interview.
01:15:00 It's very different.
01:15:02 Kamala Pesanto can object herself to an interview.
01:15:07 And of course, then our listeners would hear what she has to offer.
01:15:11 OK, thank you.
01:15:13 You see, but you see everything in Trinidad and Tobago, we always have to put a color on it.
01:15:20 We always have to put whether it is green, blue, red, yellow, you know, so people in Trinidad and Tobago cannot speak freely anymore.
01:15:30 It's always you, you, you affiliated with this one, you're affiliated with that one.
01:15:35 And I don't know that that that we members of the media, when we are doing our jobs, we need to do it.
01:15:43 We need to do it freely and we need to do it in a neutral way.
01:15:47 Everything doesn't have to be about color.
01:15:49 You know, let's take another call.
01:15:51 Good morning, caller.
01:15:53 The caller is gone.
01:15:55 Yeah.
01:15:56 So, you know, and I think that has it is that that what has been holding us back, you know, Trinidad and Tobago.
01:16:04 And Adam producer, hold on.
01:16:06 Allow me to speak.
01:16:07 All right.
01:16:09 So, I mean, we have to move from a state of of Trinidad and Tobago being a place of potential and moving and realizing that potential.
01:16:21 Yeah.
01:16:23 And it is it is the politics really that has been holding us back for years.
01:16:27 You know, we need to stop seeing things through jaundiced eyes.
01:16:31 We thank you to all of our callers. Right.
01:16:34 That's the way that I get on on the tape.
01:16:36 You want me to get on. So in the morning. Right.
01:16:38 So here's what we're going to break.
01:16:40 We're coming back.
01:16:43 I.
01:16:46 I.
01:16:49 You promise.
01:16:52 I.
01:16:55 I.
01:16:58 I.
01:17:01 I.
01:17:04 I.
01:17:07 I.
01:17:10 I.
01:17:13 I.
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01:19:18 - All right, so welcome back.
01:19:23 All right, so reports that sewage overflowed
01:19:26 from potholes into the capital city yesterday
01:19:29 are a cause for concern.
01:19:30 So today we are joined by president of the Downtown Owners
01:19:34 and Merchants Association, Mr. Gregory Abood.
01:19:37 Mr. Abood, thank you very much for joining us this morning.
01:19:40 - Yes, thank you very much, good morning.
01:19:43 - Yeah, well, Mr. Abood, the last time
01:19:44 that you were here, we were speaking about water.
01:19:48 Today we are speaking about sewage,
01:19:50 in some cases running through the streets of Port of Spain.
01:19:55 Mr. Abood, it speaks about the poor infrastructure,
01:20:00 the aged infrastructure in Port of Spain.
01:20:03 - Yes, I mean, I accepted your kind invitation
01:20:10 to speak this morning only because to be on your program
01:20:14 with your views and so on,
01:20:15 only because I believe that it's all that I can do
01:20:20 is to continue to shine a light on the difficulties
01:20:24 that are created by this governance model that we have,
01:20:27 which really lets everybody off the hook.
01:20:30 I mean, if you were living in another society
01:20:33 in which you had a constitution
01:20:35 that required accountability
01:20:37 and in which people could be held accountable
01:20:39 for doing their job or for not doing it,
01:20:42 because don't forget that the flip side
01:20:45 of holding people accountable for not doing their job
01:20:50 is to hold them in high esteem for doing their job
01:20:53 so that something would happen in the system
01:20:56 that doesn't happen here,
01:20:57 which is that people who do actually do the work
01:21:00 get promoted, which is something that doesn't happen here.
01:21:03 I'm repeating that for emphasis.
01:21:05 The fact is that a great majority of the promotions
01:21:08 that take place in all of the services
01:21:11 and every time a government changes,
01:21:13 it happens over and over again,
01:21:15 that is that friends and family get ignored
01:21:19 and people who actually do any work don't.
01:21:21 And that is why in the system, you have these feelings.
01:21:25 This current feeling is not new.
01:21:27 We have had the sewer overflow before.
01:21:30 It is currently not overflowing by the way.
01:21:33 All of the manholes are dry and the streets are clean
01:21:36 and have been washed down.
01:21:37 But we did have a very bad episode earlier in the week.
01:21:41 And it comes from another unfortunate circumstance.
01:21:45 And that circumstance is that incorrectly,
01:21:49 a lot of the water waste from the buildings
01:21:53 is being put into the sewer system.
01:21:55 So when there's heavy rainfall,
01:21:57 waste water from the rooftops of the buildings,
01:22:01 which is really rainwater,
01:22:02 you shouldn't call it waste water,
01:22:04 that is comingling with the sewer
01:22:09 in the lines which are underground
01:22:11 and causing those lines to be incapable
01:22:14 of dealing with the volume.
01:22:19 And then the problem at the Beetham Waste Water Plant
01:22:22 exacerbated that and you had this massive overflow occurring
01:22:26 straight across Porter's Bean from Independence Square
01:22:30 all the way across to the cathedral.
01:22:32 And I mean, what can we say about that?
01:22:35 It's bad management of the building process.
01:22:41 Many of the buildings are built without planning permission
01:22:44 from Town and Country Planning.
01:22:46 Many of them are unsupervised
01:22:49 by the Porter's Bean City Council.
01:22:52 In fact, in some cases, the building inspectors
01:22:55 are the persons themselves who are building the buildings
01:22:59 or helping the owners to build.
01:23:03 I mean, when that is done within reason, it's fine.
01:23:06 But when the building code is floated,
01:23:09 when the engineering code is not adhered to,
01:23:12 and when certainly waste water is mixing with rainwater,
01:23:16 then we pay a price for the lack of oversight.
01:23:18 - But Mr. Abud, from what you're telling us this morning,
01:23:22 that's a mammoth task to fix, you know,
01:23:26 because you're talking about a problem
01:23:28 that stems from years ago,
01:23:32 and you're talking about a permanent structure in place now.
01:23:36 - Yes. Well, no, I mean, it's not very difficult
01:23:39 to disconnect rainwater from the sewer system.
01:23:42 That's not very difficult to do.
01:23:44 Neither is it always the case that the sewer overflows
01:23:48 because when the wastewater plant in Betham is working,
01:23:53 it usually is able to deal with the capacity
01:23:55 of those lines at all times.
01:23:58 But there is also another issue which arises,
01:24:00 which is that the sewer lines in the city of Port of Spain
01:24:04 were put down by the British government
01:24:07 when we were still a colony,
01:24:09 and they are only eight inches in diameter.
01:24:11 This is the underground sewer line,
01:24:14 and therefore it is incapable of dealing
01:24:16 with the load that we put into it.
01:24:19 And there is other issues there.
01:24:21 There are other problems there.
01:24:26 I mean, I don't want to put a cat amongst the pigeons,
01:24:29 but the fire hydrant system
01:24:31 is almost completely collapsed as well,
01:24:35 which is another issue,
01:24:38 which we can't get to the bottom of who owns that system.
01:24:41 Is it the fire service or is it WASA?
01:24:44 They keep pointing fingers at each other.
01:24:46 - But, Mr. Abood, that poses a risk if there's a fire.
01:24:49 - Well, no, because what they do
01:24:52 is they have all these tankers on standby,
01:24:55 which have been created to help
01:24:57 with the people who don't have water,
01:25:00 and those are rushed to the scene of wherever the event is.
01:25:03 But yes, it is an issue.
01:25:07 I can tell you from my junior days
01:25:10 that when you filled out an insurance form
01:25:12 in the 1970s and '80s,
01:25:15 a question on the form was,
01:25:17 how close are your premises to a fire hydrant?
01:25:22 You know, that question used to be asked.
01:25:24 That question is no longer asked.
01:25:26 What proximity are your premises to a fire hydrant?
01:25:29 That's not asked.
01:25:31 Yes, of course we have infrastructure problems.
01:25:33 Of course we do.
01:25:34 We have added far more development than infrastructure,
01:25:37 as you know, and as a taxi driver told me yesterday,
01:25:42 not yesterday, actually, last week,
01:25:44 took a taxi up Henry Street,
01:25:47 and the driver said to me,
01:25:48 he said, "You know, Mr. Abood,
01:25:50 "I don't have no big university education,
01:25:52 "and I am no doctor this and doctor that,
01:25:55 "but it seems to me that what we should do
01:25:58 "is to build the water lines, build the roads,
01:26:01 "run the electricity, and then build the houses."
01:26:05 But what we just do, he said to me,
01:26:08 "We build the houses,
01:26:09 "and then after we just look to find a way
01:26:11 "to get the electricity and the water,
01:26:13 "and the roads to service the houses."
01:26:15 - Yeah, so we kind of back to front.
01:26:16 - It's a such a intelligent comment.
01:26:18 Sorry?
01:26:19 - I said, we kind of back to front.
01:26:22 Well, you see, the houses are one for a better word.
01:26:25 The houses are sexy.
01:26:27 You could stand by,
01:26:28 and you could shake hands and hand over keys,
01:26:31 in whichever color of the day is the government of the day,
01:26:35 and say that you are a benevolent government
01:26:38 that cares about people and gives out keys to people,
01:26:40 and so on.
01:26:41 Mind you, there are people in that queue
01:26:43 for 20 years waiting on a house,
01:26:45 many of whom, you know, probably will never get one.
01:26:49 And there are people in the queue who get one
01:26:50 because of other needs and other connections,
01:26:54 being connected to somebody that you know,
01:26:57 or having somebody in the process that knows you,
01:27:00 or somebody in the process
01:27:01 knows of your political affiliation, or things like that.
01:27:05 I mean, not as the sadness of that issue,
01:27:08 as you mentioned, the housing,
01:27:09 but the taxi driver is right.
01:27:12 Yeah, it is back to front,
01:27:14 but we've been doing that for a long time.
01:27:16 We could change it.
01:27:17 I mean, we could change it.
01:27:20 We have a lot of greatness among us.
01:27:22 We have a lot of bright young people who love this country.
01:27:25 We have a lot of older people.
01:27:27 I don't want to count myself among them yet,
01:27:29 but I certainly am getting very close
01:27:31 to being considered old and useless.
01:27:35 - Not useless, Mr. Abu, not useless.
01:27:39 - Well, I don't know.
01:27:40 You know, after you've been singing on stage for so long,
01:27:45 there's so many wonderful things that you want to hear.
01:27:48 You want to hear their voices.
01:27:50 And which is really part of the problem.
01:27:53 There are very few voices, and this is another issue.
01:27:57 In addition to the management model of our constitution,
01:28:06 which has eradicated accountability,
01:28:10 and which has made it possible, almost anything to happen.
01:28:15 I mean, I heard the prime minister speaking
01:28:18 about Trinidad being a real place.
01:28:20 And I know I am sort of on the fence in that regard,
01:28:25 Trinidad not being a real place.
01:28:27 Trinidad is not a real place, some people say.
01:28:31 And I feel it for the prime minister
01:28:33 to stand up for our country and say, we are a real place.
01:28:37 I do.
01:28:38 But I also feel that the prime minister
01:28:40 has to come to terms with the fact
01:28:42 that a lot of things are happening here,
01:28:43 which is simply unreal.
01:28:45 I mean, let us take, for example, the question of the guns,
01:28:50 which is everybody's talking about.
01:28:53 And the parliamentary subcommittee
01:28:56 is grilling the customs controller
01:29:01 about what percentage of the containers
01:29:04 are being scanned on the port.
01:29:06 It's a big issue.
01:29:07 And it's hurt us badly, by the way,
01:29:09 because a container of school uniform,
01:29:13 which emanates in Taipei, Taiwan,
01:29:15 is being delayed on the port because it has to be scanned.
01:29:19 Meanwhile, the AR-15s are not coming from Taiwan.
01:29:24 In fact, there is no source in Asia
01:29:28 that is supplying us with guns.
01:29:31 Our milk powder coming from Ireland
01:29:33 does not contain ammunition in it.
01:29:36 It's coming from Ireland, for goodness sake.
01:29:38 You have to start examining and scanning containers
01:29:42 coming from the United States,
01:29:44 barrels coming from the United States,
01:29:47 containers coming from Mexico and Colombia and so on.
01:29:50 - Mr. Abood. - You want to use
01:29:50 your resources.
01:29:51 - Mr. Abood, you know, every time we speak,
01:29:53 you accuse me of cutting you off.
01:29:56 Mr. Abood, unfortunately, we have run out of time.
01:30:00 - No, but I want to make one point to you.
01:30:01 - Well, you have 30 seconds.
01:30:02 - One point to you on the question,
01:30:04 is Trinidad a real place?
01:30:06 I stand in defense of this country being a real place,
01:30:09 but I want to ask you, is it not unreal to you
01:30:12 that at murder scenes, we are finding ammunition,
01:30:17 which is branded Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force,
01:30:20 tons of ammunition, and ammunition, TTPS,
01:30:24 spent shells at the murder scenes
01:30:27 that come from the official agencies
01:30:29 of law and order in this country.
01:30:30 - Mr. Abood, we will have to--
01:30:32 - Does that seem unreal to you?
01:30:33 - We will have to continue our discussion at another time,
01:30:36 but as always, thank you very much for joining us.
01:30:38 Mr. Abood, James Saunders is here.
01:30:41 He has some CPL sports for you.
01:30:42 So stay with us, sir.
01:30:44 Until next time, Mr. Abood.
01:30:45 - Well, I'm very happy about the performance.
01:30:47 I loved the T20 yesterday.
01:30:49 (laughing)
01:30:50 Of the Western, no, I'm serious.
01:30:52 - Yeah.
01:30:53 - That is the, hardly anybody understands
01:30:56 what a great part the outcome of these Western,
01:30:59 these matches have on the spirit of our people.
01:31:02 - Mr. Abood.
01:31:02 - And how much it means to us.
01:31:04 - Have a good day, have a weekend.
01:31:05 - Thank you.
01:31:06 - Have a good weekend, we will speak again.
01:31:07 Bye for now.
01:31:08 Yeah, James Saunders comes up next.
01:31:09 - Best wishes, thank you.
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01:34:07 - Oh, you caught me just as I was having my coffee
01:34:18 this morning.
01:34:19 It's only cricket fans that get me out of bed this early.
01:34:21 Good morning, cricket fans.
01:34:23 I hope that you have your pads on
01:34:25 because tell you what,
01:34:26 the next 30 minutes will be packed with CPL action
01:34:29 as we come down to the start of the hero CPL
01:34:31 and the women's CPL.
01:34:33 Well, would you believe it?
01:34:34 We are just 12 days away from the start of action
01:34:37 which begins in St. Lucia.
01:34:39 Well, that's where the tournament will begin on August 16th.
01:34:42 Well, the good news that I have
01:34:43 is that some of the CPL players,
01:34:46 well, they warmed up with a win for the West Indies
01:34:49 as Talawas batsman, Ravman Pawel,
01:34:51 he top scored at 48 runs to lead the West Indies
01:34:54 to a four run win over India in the first of five T20 matches
01:34:59 of the regional team, they were able to score 149 for six
01:35:04 in their 20 overs with TK Arabata,
01:35:06 Nicholas Puran smashing 41.
01:35:08 India, well, they could only reply with 145 for nine
01:35:13 at the Brand Lara Stadium
01:35:14 as the Windies struck first blood.
01:35:17 And I think that deserves a round of applause
01:35:20 for the West Indies
01:35:21 and all the West Indies fans at home are applauding.
01:35:24 I heard Mr. Abud earlier talking to Marlon Hopkinson
01:35:27 and he was certainly delighted with the win
01:35:30 for the West Indies and of course, some of the CPL players.
01:35:32 Well, speaking of which,
01:35:33 the competition's most successful team, the Knight Riders,
01:35:37 the Chinmego Knight Riders,
01:35:38 well, they are preparing for the competition
01:35:40 and one of their main men, Andre Russell,
01:35:43 has been seen in the nets looking as dangerous as ever
01:35:47 ahead of the competition.
01:35:48 Well, we do have a sneak peek of Andre Russell's raw power.
01:35:53 Have a look.
01:35:55 Well, guess what?
01:35:56 I'm gonna save that for later on in the show.
01:35:58 All right, time now to look back
01:36:01 at a classic power hitting battle
01:36:04 between TK Arabata's Brendan McCollum
01:36:08 and Rakim Cornwall, who did it better?
01:36:12 We're getting set to go to that in just a second.
01:36:16 But in the meantime, as we get set and we wait for that,
01:36:19 we ask if you can give us a call
01:36:22 and the numbers are on the screen.
01:36:24 But first we will take a break and come back
01:36:26 and we've got more CPL action.
01:36:28 Keep it right here.
01:36:28 It is the ball them out cricket show.
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01:37:34 battle it out in the race for glory.
01:37:36 Get your tickets now at cplt20.com or at the box office.
01:37:44 Join the party, experience cricket played louder.
01:37:51 (upbeat music)
01:37:53 - Beyond the tape weekdays at 5.30 PM.
01:38:19 (soft music)
01:38:21 - Hello, I'm Peter.
01:38:23 An Englishman living in Trinidad for many, many years.
01:38:26 I've come to love this country
01:38:27 because of the warm hearted people,
01:38:29 a diverse culture, fantastic food
01:38:32 and of course the great weather.
01:38:34 A few years ago I came across Habitat
01:38:36 and boy oh boy, this is what the country needs.
01:38:38 At Habitat they work alongside families
01:38:40 and give them a better life,
01:38:41 providing more opportunities for families,
01:38:43 especially the children.
01:38:45 If each one of us does the same,
01:38:47 then all our actions will add up to create major changes.
01:38:49 I work with Habitat for Humanity
01:38:51 to make small but significant actions
01:38:53 which contribute to the life I have come to love
01:38:55 in Trinidad and Tobago.
01:38:57 Help build a home and a home means an awful lot.
01:39:00 A house is not a home, a home is a home.
01:39:02 It's where the heart is.
01:39:04 So come with me and let's make it happen.
01:39:06 (soft music)
01:39:08,
01:39:11 - Well, what an appropriate song
01:39:33 as we look back at the West Indies win
01:39:36 yesterday against India in the first of five
01:39:38 T20 internationals at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
01:39:42 Teams have some good luck in Brian Lara,
01:39:44 although the ODI series,
01:39:45 that might've been another story.
01:39:47 Well, since we enjoyed it so much,
01:39:49 let's take a look back at the performance.
01:39:51 Rav Manpowel, of course, was the top scorer
01:39:53 with Nicholas Puran also scoring 41 runs.
01:39:56 Both players of course will be involved
01:39:58 in the CPL action come August 16.
01:40:01 Let's take a look back now at some of the action.
01:40:03 The West Indies defeating India.
01:40:05 You heard correctly.
01:40:06 West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first
01:40:10 in the first T20 against India.
01:40:13 Brandon King made 28 runs,
01:40:15 Kyle May has added one,
01:40:17 while Johnson Charles joined them in the pavilion.
01:40:20 Rav Manpowel and Puran gave the Windies
01:40:22 a much needed partnership.
01:40:23 - Powell gives Kuldeep the charge.
01:40:25 - Puran's innings came to a close on 41
01:40:31 as the Windies reached 96.
01:40:33 - It's in the air, Fielder has to judge it.
01:40:36 And I think he just about takes it.
01:40:38 - Powell continued to muscle the ball to the fence
01:40:41 for his top score of 48 of 32 balls.
01:40:44 Shimron Hetmaya got out before the end
01:40:47 as West Indies rallied to 149 for six of 20 overs.
01:40:52 India were hoping to get a better start than the Windies.
01:40:55 Key to the Windies' victory
01:40:57 was getting the wicket of Ishan Kishan,
01:40:59 but they got Shubman Gill earlier.
01:41:04 And they would get Kishan with a score on 28
01:41:06 of the bowling of Obed McCoy.
01:41:08 Surya Kumar Yadav and Tilak Varma
01:41:12 tried to bring the attack to the Windies.
01:41:15 In the 10th over, Yadav had to go for 21,
01:41:18 a brilliant catch from Hetmaya.
01:41:20 Still though, India continued to go after the bowling,
01:41:24 but when Varma got out for 39,
01:41:26 they needed to rethink their strategy.
01:41:29 That proved a difficult task
01:41:31 for Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson.
01:41:34 Jason Hornell was good at tightening the screws.
01:41:37 And the visitors were feeling the pressure,
01:41:41 Mears with the run out.
01:41:42 With 37 needed of 29 balls,
01:41:46 the equation was possible for both teams.
01:41:49 However, the Windies were already in the field.
01:41:51 - On target for Mario Strikes.
01:42:03 Fingers and maroon colors moving towards
01:42:07 the man from Burbis.
01:42:09 - It came down to the final over
01:42:11 and Romario Shepard was ready to control his nerves.
01:42:14 Shepard preventing the sixth of the last ball.
01:42:18 India closing on 145 for nine in 20 overs.
01:42:22 West Indies win by four runs.
01:42:24 Sergio Dufo, TV6.
01:42:25 - Well, what a better alarm clock than that
01:42:32 on a Friday morning, seeing the West Indies win.
01:42:34 Romario Shepard, of course,
01:42:36 Ghana Amazon Warriors,
01:42:37 Nicholas Puran, of course,
01:42:39 Chumbago Knight Riders,
01:42:40 and that Ravman Powell for the Jamaica Tallowers.
01:42:43 I hope that whoever's listening from the
01:42:45 Chumbago Knight Riders can
01:42:47 try to get Ravman Powell to cross the fence.
01:42:49 I know many folks are trying to get it right.
01:42:51 Now the number is on the screen.
01:42:53 Give me a call.
01:42:54 I've got a caller who's already in,
01:42:56 he's out of bed and he's quite excited
01:42:58 to talk about the West Indies.
01:42:59 Good morning to you, caller.
01:43:01 - Good morning, James.
01:43:02 - How are you doing?
01:43:03 - I am fit to play with some isolated showers.
01:43:06 - No, I love, I love your energy this morning.
01:43:08 And you know, that sort of happens
01:43:10 when West Indies win, isn't it?
01:43:12 - Of course, of course.
01:43:13 But let me tell you one thing.
01:43:14 When you put number on the screen
01:43:15 and I can't see it, it's a problem for me.
01:43:17 - Oh boy.
01:43:18 (laughing)
01:43:19 - And you know who you're talking with, right?
01:43:21 - Yes, yes, Mouwani Pesad, is it?
01:43:23 - Boy, let me tell you,
01:43:24 that was a great game yesterday.
01:43:26 At the start of the last over,
01:43:29 it could have gone anywhere.
01:43:31 You know?
01:43:32 I was a little disappointed in Romario.
01:43:35 First two overs, where he gave away 20 runs.
01:43:38 But he held his nerves at the end.
01:43:41 And of course, the team gave him the support
01:43:44 so that it was a good finish.
01:43:46 Winning by four runs the first game,
01:43:49 it was indeed exciting.
01:43:50 That is what I will describe as cricket, lovely cricket.
01:43:54 - Yeah, certainly.
01:43:55 And Romario Shepard warming up just ahead of the CPL.
01:43:58 Of course, the Amazon Warriors,
01:44:00 they've been bridesmaids for so long.
01:44:02 But his dead ball performance yesterday
01:44:05 certainly gives some hope, in fact,
01:44:07 to the Amazon Warriors, doesn't it?
01:44:09 Mouwani?
01:44:14 All right, it seems that we have lost Mouwani Pesad.
01:44:17 Of course, you can give us a call.
01:44:19 The number is on your screen.
01:44:21 Give us a call.
01:44:22 Let's talk about the cricket that we saw yesterday.
01:44:25 West Indies beating India in the last T20,
01:44:30 or the first of the five T20 internationals.
01:44:34 And what a moment for the West Indies team.
01:44:37 Very overjoyed, of course.
01:44:39 Ravman Powell with what a performance from him.
01:44:41 Top scoring for the West Indies.
01:44:43 Also, Nicholas Puran getting into form.
01:44:45 What do you think about the form of Nicholas Puran?
01:44:46 Give me a call right now.
01:44:48 As the numbers are on the screen,
01:44:51 let's talk about the West Indies cricket.
01:44:53 And with me on the line,
01:44:57 what I'm gonna do right now,
01:44:58 I'm gonna bring in a gentleman.
01:45:00 Of course, he's no stranger to cricket in the Caribbean.
01:45:04 He is one of the commentators for the CPLV radio broadcast,
01:45:07 and he's also a big part of the Queen's Spark
01:45:10 over Mr. Colin Murray's underline.
01:45:12 Good morning, Colin.
01:45:13 Colin, Colin, are you there with us this morning?
01:45:20 Well, we're getting set to bring in Colin Murray.
01:45:26 It seems that he can't hear us at the moment,
01:45:28 but we will continue to try to connect with Colin Murray,
01:45:32 who of course is a big part of the Queen's Spark.
01:45:35 But we do wanna talk about the Queen's Spark Oval
01:45:37 being one of the meccas of cricket
01:45:39 in Trinidad and Tobago since 1954.
01:45:43 That's when the oval was first started,
01:45:46 and well, it certainly has been a mecca.
01:45:48 So we're gonna take a pause, and when we come back,
01:45:50 we will have Mr. Colin Murray with us here
01:45:53 on the "Bolder Mode" cricket show.
01:45:55 (silence)
01:45:57 (upbeat music)
01:46:08 Hi, Colin, can you hear me?
01:46:24 Are you hearing me?
01:46:25 (upbeat music)
01:46:32 (silence)
01:47:00 Well, welcome back to the "Bolder Mode" cricket show,
01:47:03 and we do have with us on the line this morning,
01:47:06 Mr. Colin Murray,
01:47:07 of the chairman of the Queen's Spark Cricket Club,
01:47:10 who is with us this morning.
01:47:11 Good morning, Colin.
01:47:12 - Morning, James, and morning to all your viewers.
01:47:16 - Colin, I know it is always difficult.
01:47:18 I always have to bribe you every morning.
01:47:20 I try to get you out of bed early,
01:47:22 but I'm quite pleased
01:47:24 that you took up my invitation this morning.
01:47:26 - Well, yeah, you know, this is,
01:47:28 is the moon out, sir?
01:47:30 Is the moon up?
01:47:31 Is the moon out?
01:47:31 Because it's once in a blue moon.
01:47:33 - It's long gone.
01:47:35 The sun is up, man, this morning, my friend.
01:47:37 (laughing)
01:47:39 - Let me just correct, I'm not SEC chairman, please.
01:47:41 I don't want to be elevated of Queen's Park.
01:47:43 I am just the simple little honorary secretary.
01:47:47 - Honorary secretary of the Queen's Park, over.
01:47:50 You're such a humble man,
01:47:51 and we always appreciate your humility.
01:47:54 Now, Colin, let's start with the good news.
01:47:56 Of course, I was speaking earlier
01:47:58 about the West Indies winning
01:48:00 the first T20 International against India.
01:48:04 I listened to a recent interview,
01:48:06 wow, you talking about the West Indies team,
01:48:08 and you mentioned that one day Mexico
01:48:10 might even be able to challenge us in T20 cricket.
01:48:13 I think you've got to eat your words this morning, though.
01:48:16 - Well, actually, no, I would not eat my words,
01:48:19 because I did say that that is the format
01:48:24 I think we would be most competitive.
01:48:26 I did something yesterday,
01:48:29 and I did say that is the most competitive format for us,
01:48:35 with Puranbhak, with Hetmaia,
01:48:38 you know, with Obed McCoy.
01:48:43 I thought we had a decent enough chance.
01:48:46 And then, of course, you have a young Indian team.
01:48:48 They're well-oiled, but they're a young Indian team
01:48:50 under Pandeya, who is, you know, he's new to the captaincy.
01:48:55 They had a couple of new players in Kumar,
01:48:58 even though he did well in the Tess and the ODIs.
01:49:00 He was also very much, he's also very new to the format.
01:49:05 So, you know, I expected a pretty competitive game.
01:49:09 And give West Indies credit, I thought they bowled well.
01:49:11 To defend the 151, Jason Holder,
01:49:15 bowled really, best I've seen him bowl for a long while
01:49:19 in all the formats.
01:49:21 Obed McCoy, as I said, he came back,
01:49:23 he did well. Akhil Hussain, it was back.
01:49:26 I can't understand why he was left out of the ODI series.
01:49:31 He did well.
01:49:33 I was a little disappointed, too,
01:49:36 that Moti wasn't included.
01:49:37 I thought Moti did well in the ODIs,
01:49:40 and he was unlucky not to be included in the T20.
01:49:43 And I thought if Moti was there together with Akhil Hussain,
01:49:46 they would have really created more problems.
01:49:48 But, you know, having said all of that,
01:49:50 the team that was selected eventually,
01:49:53 did very well.
01:49:54 I expect to see Shea Hope somewhere along the line,
01:49:58 get a game.
01:49:59 I think he's going to add a little bit of stability
01:50:01 and a little bit of sense to that batting order.
01:50:05 Especially if he comes in at number three.
01:50:08 Johnson Charles got the opportunity yesterday,
01:50:11 but he is, unfortunately, he's hit or miss.
01:50:14 One day Johnson Charles will light the stadium afire,
01:50:17 and the next couple of times,
01:50:19 he better he doesn't turn up to bat.
01:50:21 You know, so all in all,
01:50:23 I expected a very good competitive game.
01:50:26 You know, if you asked me if I would have gone
01:50:31 taking that $5 you once gave me out of my pocket
01:50:34 to go and put a little wager,
01:50:36 no, I would not have done that.
01:50:38 I would have been very guarded,
01:50:40 but I did expect a competitive game, and kudos.
01:50:43 Now, India, they have to play catch up.
01:50:47 And I think, you know, going to Guyana,
01:50:49 the next couple of games should be very, very interesting indeed.
01:50:53 I like the approach of Nicholas Puran.
01:50:55 I think he's, you know,
01:50:57 I hate to say things too quickly about players,
01:51:01 but in my view, he is, he's starting to mature.
01:51:05 You know, his knock yesterday,
01:51:07 even though he started with two blistering sixes,
01:51:10 he played Kuldeep exceedingly well.
01:51:12 He was the danger.
01:51:14 Every ball he was playing on its merit,
01:51:16 he waited basically until they either dropped it short
01:51:18 or pitched it a little too much up to him,
01:51:20 but he was playing good cricketing shots, you know?
01:51:23 So all in all, and with the T20 World Cup next year,
01:51:26 I think now is a good time to see just where we are,
01:51:30 you know, in terms of the kind of players we have.
01:51:33 There's a young man I really like,
01:51:36 and I think I've told you this over the years.
01:51:38 I saw him a couple of years ago.
01:51:40 You have told me that you like me.
01:51:42 You said a young man that you really liked.
01:51:46 I thought you were coming to me.
01:51:47 Besides you, besides you,
01:51:49 Athanaz, Alec Athanaz, you know,
01:51:53 I understand why they don't want to play him.
01:51:56 They want to protect him,
01:51:57 but I think he should really be given the opportunity
01:52:01 at the T20 format to win at number three,
01:52:04 but we'll wait and see how they go.
01:52:06 But you know, it's a really good start.
01:52:08 - Now Colin, you know, so many CPL players
01:52:10 were in action for the West Indies yesterday.
01:52:12 Let's hypothetically paint a situation here.
01:52:16 We've got the CPL playing,
01:52:17 we've got Ravman Paul representing the Tallawas,
01:52:20 Nicholas Puran who stood out yesterday, TKR,
01:52:22 Romario Sheppard is dead ball bowling,
01:52:25 Jason Holder and Barbados, man of the match, 2 for 19.
01:52:30 Who was winning the CPL based on the match yesterday?
01:52:33 If that was a CPL contest with those players taking part,
01:52:37 and of course, we're going to add Johnson Charles
01:52:39 into the mix as well for the St. Lucia Zooks,
01:52:42 St. Lucia Kings rather.
01:52:44 Why are you doing this to me?
01:52:46 - Who was going to win the CPL based on yesterday?
01:52:48 - Why are you asking me these hard, hard questions?
01:52:52 You didn't tell me you were going to ask me
01:52:53 difficult questions.
01:52:55 You said you would come on for a little bit
01:52:57 and it was easy.
01:52:58 - When you've got a brilliant mind,
01:52:59 you've got to pick that mind.
01:53:01 - No, but I'll tell you what,
01:53:03 you know, I enjoyed Romario Sheppard last over
01:53:07 because we've seen Romario Sheppard
01:53:09 over the last few years being absolutely hammered
01:53:13 coming down to the death.
01:53:15 And I've always said that since Dwayne Bravo has retired,
01:53:18 the one thing the West Indies are missing
01:53:21 are death ball bowlers.
01:53:23 And they haven't seemed to have learned from Dwayne Bravo.
01:53:26 Dwayne Bravo, yes, there are times that he went for
01:53:29 whatever in the death overs,
01:53:32 but eight out of 10 times,
01:53:35 his death bowling was absolutely brilliant.
01:53:38 And I was saying that, you know, none of these guys,
01:53:40 the Sheppards, none of them have seemed to have learned
01:53:43 anything from Bravo.
01:53:45 Sheppard yesterday was absolutely brilliant.
01:53:48 Now, now we have to put it also into context.
01:53:51 He was bowling against eight, nine, 10, 11,
01:53:55 but still, you know, he got it right.
01:53:59 He got the Yorkers right.
01:54:00 He got it, the deliveries,
01:54:02 he bowled a little bit quicker than normal.
01:54:05 I thought he did well.
01:54:06 And that, again, augurs well for his franchise
01:54:10 and for West Indies cricket.
01:54:12 - So based on yesterday, you think that,
01:54:14 do you think that Ghana Amazon Warriors
01:54:16 are gonna win the CPL?
01:54:17 If you were to take it out of yesterday.
01:54:18 - I wouldn't say that.
01:54:20 Well, I think at the end of the day,
01:54:21 we have to see all the squads.
01:54:23 You remember, you got a lot of overseas players flying in.
01:54:25 TKR must be in the mix with Puran, with Pollard,
01:54:30 with Bravo, even though they're seeing
01:54:32 the retired kind of thing now.
01:54:35 But, you know, at CPL level,
01:54:37 I think they're going to stand up and be counted.
01:54:41 So, you know, TKR must be in the mix.
01:54:43 Barbados Royals, they would be in the mix.
01:54:47 It's an, you know what, the CPL is nice.
01:54:50 It's open, you know, and for me at this,
01:54:53 until I can see all the squads, right,
01:54:56 because don't forget, you got the overseas players
01:54:58 flying in, it's Rashid Khan, for example.
01:55:00 Is he going to come in?
01:55:01 He had a magnificent spell in the final in Texas.
01:55:04 You know, is he going to come in?
01:55:06 Is he going to play for TKR?
01:55:07 Who is he lining up with?
01:55:08 You know, so you got to wait a little bit
01:55:11 until we can see the overs.
01:55:13 I think they are going to make a big, big difference.
01:55:16 Where do they line up?
01:55:17 You know, and I'm not talking about the,
01:55:20 and no offense, but I'm not talking to the,
01:55:24 about the overseas players that have seen better days
01:55:27 and, you know, kind of have retired for the last two years.
01:55:30 I'm talking about some of the current players.
01:55:32 Yes, they're moving on in age,
01:55:34 but still they're able to perform on the day.
01:55:38 That's the kind of players you're talking about.
01:55:40 Is Colin Munro coming back for TKR?
01:55:43 He hasn't been in the limelight for a little while,
01:55:45 but he's done well over the years for TKR.
01:55:48 Is he going to be lining up with them again?
01:55:50 I haven't really looked at the squads
01:55:53 to see who will win it.
01:55:55 You know, maybe I can answer that question
01:55:57 for you closer to the tournament, James, no doubt.
01:56:00 But at this point in time, it's to me,
01:56:03 I haven't really looked at all the squads to see,
01:56:06 but obviously, you know,
01:56:08 the TKR is going to stand out just for the experience.
01:56:12 I'm glad that you mentioned TKR as well.
01:56:15 And if you have Kuran.
01:56:16 Because of the fact that you've got so many TKR players,
01:56:21 star players, of course, doing bravo.
01:56:24 You've got Kieron Pollard,
01:56:25 who are at the retirement age, you know, of their careers,
01:56:28 the tail end of their careers.
01:56:30 We saw limited action in the IPL.
01:56:32 Some of them, of course, took part in the Major League Cricket,
01:56:35 but are there any concerns from you
01:56:38 that this is a TKR team that might be aging just somewhat?
01:56:41 You know, the only concern I have with the TKR team
01:56:46 is the injuries of late to people,
01:56:49 the older guys, the Pollards, the Bravos,
01:56:52 they seem to be, you know, coming down
01:56:55 with the little niggling injuries.
01:56:58 And I mean, both of them, for example,
01:57:00 started the tournament in the States pretty good,
01:57:03 and then both ended up being injured.
01:57:05 So that must be a worry.
01:57:06 It must be a concern.
01:57:07 I know they train very hard.
01:57:09 I know they train very hard because, obviously,
01:57:12 you know, to keep up with the youngsters at their ages,
01:57:15 they've got to train hard.
01:57:16 And I know they do every time they get the opportunity,
01:57:19 and they're back in Trinidad.
01:57:20 I know they train, they train extremely hard.
01:57:24 So, you know, the thing about the CPL,
01:57:27 it's not an intense tournament per se, like the IPL,
01:57:32 you know, so they will have a little bit more time,
01:57:37 and then I don't think, again, the squads are not as laden,
01:57:43 I should say, with the kind of talent in the CPL
01:57:46 and that type of thing.
01:57:48 So, you know, I think they can hold their own.
01:57:50 I'm not going to be worried about them in an aging squad.
01:57:54 I think TKR will do well.
01:57:57 They've got two games at the Oval.
01:57:58 They've got two games at Lara.
01:58:01 And the crowds here have been absolutely brilliant
01:58:04 for the CPL and for TKR.
01:58:06 I mean, there's no atmosphere in the world.
01:58:09 And yes, I'm going to be biased, and I do apologise for that.
01:58:12 You can be biased in this show, Colin Murray.
01:58:14 You're absolutely free to be biased in this show.
01:58:16 Because you brought me to my next question,
01:58:18 which is the Queen's Park Oval.
01:58:20 What is the preparation like at the Oval?
01:58:22 What sort of wicked can we expect when we come to Trinidad
01:58:25 and we fill up the stands?
01:58:26 What kind of wicked can we find in the middle?
01:58:29 I expect it's going to be, well, firstly,
01:58:32 I was about to say there's absolutely no atmosphere,
01:58:35 like the Queen's Park Oval.
01:58:37 So I expect it to be jam-packed again.
01:58:39 I expect that the wicked...
01:58:41 I expect a lot of runs.
01:58:43 You're going to see a lot of fours.
01:58:44 You're going to see a lot of sixes.
01:58:46 The wicked is going to be absolutely beautiful for batting.
01:58:49 There's going to be no turn.
01:58:51 The ball is going to come through nicely.
01:58:53 And even those who can't bat can close their eyes and hit,
01:58:57 just hit through the line, and that ball is going to fly.
01:58:59 I expect to see a lot of runs.
01:59:00 Hopefully I get a CPL pick then.
01:59:03 You might get a CPL pick as well.
01:59:04 I know you're a good fieldsman.
01:59:07 I know you're a good fieldsman.
01:59:08 You run around the boundary quickly.
01:59:10 Whether you stop the ball is a different story.
01:59:12 But no, I expect it.
01:59:14 I expect good wicked preparations.
01:59:16 Thankfully, we just had the Test match,
01:59:18 so a lot of the preliminary work has been done.
01:59:21 So it's just really now the preparation of the wicked
01:59:25 has already started.
01:59:26 The curator, Sheik Amano, has told me
01:59:29 that it's going to be a bumper of a wicked.
01:59:32 He expects it to be good for batting.
01:59:36 And let's hope in the 20 overs, we get the team--
01:59:39 get whoever bats first gets the 200,
01:59:41 and we should have a real good chase on.
01:59:44 All right, and I hope that I do get good tickets
01:59:46 for good seats at the Oval.
01:59:47 So when I come, I can join you, my friend,
01:59:49 in enjoying the action at the Queen's Park Oval.
01:59:52 I've kept you long enough, Colin Murray.
01:59:54 I know you're-- might be heading back off to bed.
01:59:56 So I must thank you for joining us this morning
01:59:59 on Morning Edition.
02:00:02 OK, James, thanks a lot.
02:00:03 And a great day to you and your viewers.
02:00:06 Thank you so much.
02:00:07 All right, so what a day we had talking cricket.
02:00:10 And it's been quite a while since I've
02:00:11 seen my friend Colin Murray in such a good mood,
02:00:13 and that's what the West Indies does.
02:00:15 So I extend all of that great energy to you, our viewers,
02:00:19 for the rest of the weekend.
02:00:20 Of course, the Commonwealth Youth Games
02:00:22 begins in Trinidad and Tobago today.
02:00:25 So go check that out.
02:00:27 And join us on Monday, where we will be back with some more
02:00:30 ball-them-out cricket show right here.
02:00:32 Don't forget to tune in to EMI Prime this evening
02:00:34 and catch a recap of what you saw today.
02:00:36 Tell a friend as well.
02:00:37 And until later, we say have a good morning.
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