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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 16, 2014
Kartel’s defence wants Govt. paying $37m to cross-examine expert rent for empty building
Jamaica Gleaner - Justice Lennox Campbell has directed lead prosecutor Jeremy Taylor in the Vybz Kartel murder trial to make available to the court the handwriting expert William Smiley, who had looked at certain documents, one of which is a letter that defence lawyers are contending was written by the prosecution’s main witness to Public Defender Earl Witter. Defence lawyer Tom Tavares-Finson, in making the request, said his intelligence revealed that it was a Mr Smiley who had examined the documents. He said he had earlier asked for a copy of the report, but the prosecution failed to give it to him. Taylor said he had discussions with Tavares-Finson and had told him that there was no report. He said he had given TavaresFinson the name of the expert before the Christmas break for him to utilise the expert. He said Smiley did not write a report because the prosecution did not pursue it. “The prosecution told this court that Smiley examined the document, spent half an hour, and abandoned it,” Tavares-Finson responded. He said he wanted a statement from Smiley as to the reason for abandoning the examination. Justice Campbell then ordered Taylor to get a statement from Smiley as to his involvement with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the matter. Retired Senior Superintendent of Police
Carl Major, who is a handwriting expert, was cross-examined Friday by Taylor and will be further cross-examined tomorrow. Major, who was called by the defence, had testified that the letter that was sent to the public defender was written and signed by the prosecution’s main witness. The witness has denied writing or signing the letter. Major said he made his comparisons with the photocopy statements bearing some 33 signatures of the witness and the writings and signature on the letter. Major was asked to outline the variations in the signatures and he referred to some outstanding similarities. Taylor, in questioning Major about the ‘h’ in the documents, said some of them were fat, while those on the letter seemed to be suffering from some famine. The judge, in explaining the question to the witness, remarked: “Counsel is saying one is overweight and one meagre.” Major said he agreed with Taylor, but went on to explain that was called natural variations, but it was the same person who wrote them. The Crown is alleging that Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, entertainer Shawn Campbell, popularly known as Shawn Storm, Kahira Jones, Shane Williams and Andre St John murdered Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams on August 16, 2011. He was allegedly beaten to death over two missing guns.
Trinidad Express Government has been paying tens of millions—somewhere between over $28 million to $37 million—for an unoccupied building. Since 2010, Government has been paying the hefty sum of $8.2 million annually for renting a building located at 1 Alexandra Street, which it has never occupied. In addition to this, Government has been paying $927,360 per year for security. Local Government Minister Marlene Coudray in the House of Representatives Friday stated Government pays a monthly rent of $690,000, which adds up to $8.2 million a year for the building. This has been paid since October 2010. “This sum was paid for the financial years ended September 2011, September 2012 and September 2013,” she said. The minister stressed the rental started on this building in 2009. If one includes rental payment and security for the year 2009, it means the taxpayer has paid around $37 million in total. The rent has been paid to NJ Nahous while the security fees have been paid to Professional Protection Training Services, Coudray said. Coudray was responding to the question filed by Arouca/Maloney MP Alicia Hospedales which asked her to state whether any buildings were being rented by the Ministry of Local Government which were not being utilised and the money paid in relation to such building since 2010 to the present. Coudray gave figures which she said were from October 2010 but she
Marlene Coudray pointed out that the rental “started on this building in the year 2009”. Asked by Hospedales why the facility has not been utilised for the last four years, Coudray said: “Mr Speaker, this question is a new one and I would need to check the records to determine.” The building was originally earmarked for the Ministry of Local Government at the time when Hazel Manning was the minister. The rental contract was signed under the People’s National Movement government which lost the 2010 election shortly afterward. Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley Friday described the issue as “ a big scandal”, saying the key issue was why has the Government left this building empty for four years. “So because the PNM rented the building, whether they liked the rate or not, they refused to occupy the building and has been paying for an empty building,” he said. Rowley said the issue which this Government had was not the building, but the outfitting of it. The tenant has
to outfit the building to suit itself, he said. Rowley claimed Government wanted to give the contract to outfit the building to a preferred bidder. “And when the public servants would not agree to it, they refused to outfit the building,” Rowley said. “So here it is, a building that the Government is renting at a humongous price is left under-utilised because the outfitting did not go to a favoured person and they decide to leave it unoccupied,” the Opposition Leader said. “The building is being paid for and is lying empty, collecting spiders and all because they could not award the contract to their selected contractor,” he claimed. Former minister, Jack Warner, during a debate had said Nidco in 2009 had wanted to move into the building and had paid a 10 per cent downpayment in March 2009 of $334,000 to Faris Al-Rawi (in his capacity as a attorney for the owner). However, the money was returned because the Ministry of Local Government was to be allotted the building, Warner said.
Regional governments urged to honour commitment to free movement
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC Household domestics and artisans from five Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries will today engage in their latest efforts to get regional governments to honour their rights to freedom of movement, granted them more than five years ago. The domestics and artisans from Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, and Barbados will participate in a region-wide town hall meeting, to be broadcast on the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) international channel, Caribvision. Organisations representing these workers will join with the regional civil society umbrella, the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), in telling of their struggle to move freely and legally under the CARICOM Single Market (CSME), one week before CARICOM leaders meet for their midterm summit in St Vincent. The CPDC said it is concerned that since the respective decisions of CARICOM leaders
in 2007 and 2009 to allow for the free movement of artisans and household domestics within the region, member states have not succeeded in implementing the necessary procedures to give effect to their rights. CPDC Executive Coordinator Shantal Munro-Knight said the town hall meeting is expected to capture the growing frustration of many artisans and domestics that no one can say for certain when the necessary processes will be in place to give effect to their rights. “It’s time CARICOM governments act now with concrete steps towards fulfilling the fiveyear-old commitment to allow artisans and domestic workers to join artistes, graduates, intellectuals, media workers, musicians, sportspersons, holders of associate degrees, teachers and nurses in moving for employment purposes without the need to obtain a work permits in under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME),” she said.