Daly Bread: Lingering credibility questions; gov’t ‘trying to control media narrative’

When is an exemption to closed borders not an exemption after the borders are closed? I will return to this riddle, but let me first note that the limited testing for Covid-19 has been expanded in obvious response to queries about its previous deficiencies.

There was room to acknowledge that the Ministry of Health’s strategy to manage Covid-19 within infrastructure separate from the established hospital system seemed sound so far. However, apparent provisional success does not come with an immunity from full disclosure and accountability.

Photo: (From left) Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, National Security Minister Stuart Young and Communications Minister Donna Cox.

Regrettably, material full disclosure and accountability have suffered. The first death of a patient has revealed a serious kink in the updates and commentaries that the Ministry of Health was giving us. It seems that this patient was never accounted for in the statistics that were repeatedly updated about the number of cases and the sequence in which they were discovered.

Incisive questions from the experienced Ria Taitt, of the Trinidad Express, concerning the time lines of the onset of this patient’s disease and his subsequent death were crudely interrupted and then shut down in disregard of public interest considerations. Such interventions may suggest cover-up.

Ministers and other officials ought to restrain themselves from wishing to control what appears in the media. The truth and the fullness of their disclosures must be under constant scrutiny even when something is touted as going well.

The government’s performances at the media conferences last week were diminished by an authoritarian mindset, and lingering credibility questions. This was exemplified by not treating with the facts of the case that led sadly to the first death and by the puzzling students issue.

Minister of National Security, Stuart Young, had vehemently insisted that the decision to close the borders at midnight on last Sunday was firm and without exception and he made no mention of bringing home students from Barbados and Jamaica. Yet, lo and behold, the Prime Minister announced that students from Barbados and Jamaica would be brought home. That is the context in which the riddle arose.

Photo: National Security Minister and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and MP Stuart Young (right) has a word with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
(Copyright Trinidad Newsday)

The next day Minister Young, his previous assertions having been undermined, asserted that those students coming in was not an exemption. It was he said ‘always part of the process’. I will leave it to readers to figure out how the decision arising out of that process was not the creation of an exemption.

The moment we have to parse the words the government uses, credibility sinks. It is reminiscent of President Clinton’s notorious answer about his relationship with his intern: ‘It depends on what the meaning of the word is is’.

The moment also that we are set discussing whether students should come in as opposed to other citizens in Margarita, Barbados and Suriname, we get into a discussion with subjective moral overtones—made more full of thorns by Minster Young’s melodramatic disclosure that a citizen currently in Venezuela has the benefit of resident status there.

If resident status in another country is a demerit when the Government is making a policy decision then plenty Trinis, who are normally resident here, are in trouble.

The government later changed its tune. While appearing to presume to give directions to the Courts to whom the Barbados group might turn, Minister Young conceded that if the citizens in Barbados present themselves here they will be put into quarantine.

Photo: A hospital braces for Covid-19 cases.

Here is the next potential non-disclosure: Have the students already come in after the deadline or when are they coming? What are the quarantine arrangements? An undisclosed operation would not be acceptable.

It is also troubling that Minister Young should find it ‘disappointing’ that the media should have reported the concerns expressed by nationals who cannot return home because the borders have been closed.

There are arguments on both sides of the issue whether our borders can be abruptly closed to nationals with threats of no exemption. Democracy and freedom of speech require that they should be ventilated in the media.

Paraphrasing my quotes from Sparrow published in last Sunday’s column, those damn citizens are entitled to bark.

Meanwhile I am trusting that there will be no election spending mixed up inside the financial assistance measures.

More from Wired868
Daly Bread: Game of blood; T&T needs empirical data on blood collection

Obtaining blood when persons need it can be a harrowing experience.  Very recently, I felt it vicariously while a comrade Read more

More transmissible, not necessarily more severe; new Covid-19 strain, JN.1, reaches T&T

Trinidad and Tobago recorded its first case of new Covid-19 variant, JN.1, according to Carpha today. At present, global health Read more

Daly Bread: Health pomposities—serve and save, don’t hector

The administration of many ministries of government is in continuous decline, while the politicians have wasted tons of money and Read more

Daly Bread: The disconnect between Pan and our development goals

Last week, there was high level recognition of the relevance of the steelband movement to sustainable development goals, even though Read more

Daly Bread: Contrasts of moonlight and misery; the trouble with Manzanilla-Mayaro

In November 2022, part of the Manzanilla-Mayaro road—the once scenic route along the east coast “through the coconuts”—collapsed.  Part of Read more

Vaneisa: Flooding, drought, earthquakes, war… no wonder we struggle with mental health

A friend messaged me a couple of days ago to say that her doctor had put her on anti-anxiety meds Read more

About Martin Daly

Martin G Daly SC is a prominent attorney-at-law. He is a former Independent Senator and past president of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago. He is chairman of the Pat Bishop Foundation and a steelpan music enthusiast.

Check Also

Daly Bread: Practiced detachment from the killings

Last week’s column was forced to return to what I assert is the government’s unwillingness …

3 comments

  1. Some fact-checking needs to be done as I remember hearing Minister Young advise us/the public during one of the daily COVID-19 media briefing when they also discussed other folks eg Barbados wanting to come in, after the borders are closed. He noted discussions were also underway with UWI and governments as Jamaica, Barbados etc wanted their students flown out of Trinidad just as ours wanted to return – all of this to no doubt occur after the borders are closed. As such, the students coming in is not a surprise but rather an update.

  2. That is exactly what is going on……’⁸election spending mixed up inside the financial assistance measures’

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.