17 January

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Unpaid allowances, unused leave: Ex-diplomat seeks $250,000 from State

A retired diplomat has successfully pursued his lawsuit against the State over $250,000 in unpaid salary allowances and unused vacation leave. Guardian Media understands that lawyers representing former ambassador Anthony Edghill filed the lawsuit against the Office of the Attorney General last year. In September, High Court Judge Avason Quinlan-Williams issued directions for Edghill’s attorneys to file submissions and for the State to file its defence. Edghill’s lawyers Martin George and Sara Martinez then filed for a default judgment after State attorneys missed their deadline for filing their defence. While Quinlan-Williams upheld the application for default judgment on December 30, Edghill could not immediately...

17 January

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Royal Caribbean cruise gets mixed reviews from Tobago stakeholders

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in Newspaper Articles, Tobago Business Chamber

Tobago stakeholders have mixed views about the decision of Royal Caribbean International cruise lines to include Trinidad and Tobago as one of its destinations in the 2021/2022 season. While some welcomed the move, others were sceptical given the country’s challenges to contain the spread of covid19. Tobago Chamber president Martin George said although the organisation is always eager and willing to welcome cruise ships, “we have to question and wonder at this point in time, if all the necessary safety protocols are in place to really allow the docking of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in TT.” He added: “If it is that...

13 January

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Tobago Chalkie, THA feud over $153k ‘compensation’ land

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in Newspaper Articles

Alex “Tobago Chalkie” Gift has threatened the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) with legal action over access to a parcel of land at the Shirvan Road Development. Gift was one of the residents affected by the ANR Robinson International Airport expansion project. Gift said he was offered the land by the THA as part of the compensation package after his land was acquired by the State for the airport expansion project. He maintains that he was given permission to begin construction on the land since September last year by an agent/servant of the Airport Relocation Committee (ARC) and did so. He said...

13 January

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Former Crown Point resident threatens THA with legal action

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in Newspaper Articles

Alex Gift, a former resident of Gaskin Bay Road, Bon Accord, has sent a pre-action protocol letter to the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), giving the State seven days to respond or face legal action. Gift, alias Tobago Chalkie, began constructing a house at the Shirvan Land Development on THA's lands allocated for resettlement of residents affected by the ANR Robinson airport expansion project. The letter dated January 12th, 2021, sent by Gift's lawyer Martin George and Company, accuses the THA of strong-arming Gift by blocking access to his construction. It says Gift had received only a $700,000 payment as settlement for his...

11 January

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Tobago Chamber: New ferries will increase domestic travel

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in Newspaper Articles

The Tobago Business Chamber is hoping the addition of the APT James and Buccoo Reef to the seabridge will boost consumer confidence. The APT James arrived in TT on Friday and the Buccoo Reef is expected at the end of the month. The chamber’s president Martin George said on Saturday passengers should have easy access to the fast ferries. “We look forward to what we have always referred to as the double redundancy,” he said in a WhatsApp voice note. “In other words, we want a situation to be such that anyone can wake up any morning and simply head down to either of...

09 January

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Trinidad: Doctor fired for creating panic

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in Newspaper Articles

The day before she was fired as Scarborough General Hospital’s Medical Chief of Staff, Dr Rufaro Celestine sent a legal letter to the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA), questioning the conduct of the authority’s CEO Sheldon Cyrus in relation to an e-mail she had written, two weeks ago, expressing concern about the shortage of medical staff at the hospital. In the e-mail which was leaked on social media, Celestine suggested the hospital should be placed in emergency mode as a result of the lack of specialist doctors. The former medical chief of staff, through her attorneys, Martin George & Co, sent a...

07 January

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Medical Board: Sawh probe in lawyers’ hands

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in Newspaper Articles

HEAD of the Council of the Medical Board Dr Lesley-Ann Roberts says the investigation into complaints about Dr Avinash Sawh’s viral rant is in the hands of the board's lawyers. In November, a leaked recording of the San Fernando-based doctor’s conversation with an employee went viral on social media. He was heard boasting that he was a multi-millionaire, calling the police “paupers, dunce, uneducated” and using derogatory ethnic terms. He apologised a week later after heavy backlash on social media, and a doctor, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, an actor, and two others wrote to the Medical Board asking for an investigation into...

06 January

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Attorney for ‘racist doctor’ eyes judicial review, wants dismissal of complaints

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in Newspaper Articles

The TT Medical Board is expected to respond on January 18 to attorney Martin George who has called for the dismissal of five complaints against his client, controversial doctor Avinash Sawh. And the Board will also reply to George’s claim that it “went outside of its remit and invited complaints” against Sawh. The information is contained in letters passing recently between attorney Rajiv Persad acting for the Medical Board and George. Sawh shot into the spotlight in October last year following a social media recording in which he verbally abused a female employee and also used racist language. This caused a national outcry...

04 January

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‘Stranded nationals have no solid case against State’

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in Newspaper Articles

At the height of the global pandemic, approximately 91 per cent of countries had border closures, according to the US-based, Pew Research Centre. Entering 2021, T&T remains one of three Caribbean territories whose borders remain closed–the others being Monsteratt and the Cayman Islands. Closed since March 23, the Government maintains that the border closure is an important tool in controlling the spread of COVID-19, in turn, limiting the chances of the healthcare system becoming overwhelmed. While there have been calls by some for the borders to be reopened, virologist Dr Cristopher Oura, in an interview with Guardian Media last Tuesday, supported the...

04 January

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Dr Sawh: Board biased

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in Newspaper Articles

DR AVINASH SAWH, who is accused of uttering racist slurs, has sent another pre-action protocol letter to the Medical Board of Trinidad and Tobago, this time accusing the board of being 'tainted with bias' against him. He said, because of this, it may no longer be possible for him to have a fair hearing before the board. Sawh alleged that the board has been reaching out to people to file complaints against him, which is outside of its remit. He has given the board one week to respond. Sawh wrote the board on Tuesday, through his attorney Martin George. In the letter, George pointed...