The statement that Trinidadians are undisciplined has never sat comfortably with me. The statement insinuates that we are unable to carefully control the way we work, live, or behave, especially to achieve our goals. My intuition is that, as a people, we do what the system allows and whatever we …

The location of the points of the civil disruption have one thing in common. They have voted solidly for the PNM for the past 29 years but they continue to be socially and economically under-served. The seeds of the discontent were fertilised by the alleged police killing of three men …

There are always unintended consequences of our actions. The big picture lessons of the brouhaha around Gabriel Faria’s WhatsApp message are that the private views of public officials are seen as expressions of the organisation, and that business survival post-Covid-19 requires aggressive strategies by the government. Gabriel Faria spoke his …

When the crowd took a knee and held it in silence for nine minutes, I knew I was amidst a sea of young persons who were sending a message that the time for change is now. The #ttblm movement gathered peacefully in the Queen’s Park Savannah, chanted and spoke their …

Years ago, one of my mentors advised me that as a then public relations professional, I could not separate my private life from my public persona—so I had to be on my guard at all times. There is timeless value in this advice and it is even more important as …

“What is your miracle wish for WASA?” I once asked a former Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) CEO. “To convert my consumers into customers,” was the response. More than 15 years later, another well-wisher bites the dust because of his desire to do the same thing. Both instances occurred under …

After managing the Covid-19 pandemic so well, why did Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley score this own goal with the high-power Venezuela meeting? His team was doing well. Couldn’t his handlers advise him to duck this one and move on to the good news of opening up the country? Instead, …

There is always a gap between perception and reality. Communicators have to operate within that space trying to narrow the gap and strengthen their intended message. The government opted to use moral suasion to get citizens to stay at home, but a drive or walk through neighbourhoods, towns and cities …

Most of us have six unique numbers with which we are identified. They are our Board of Inland Revenue and National Insurance Scheme numbers as well as those found on our birth certificate, identification card, driver’s permit and passport. I posed two questions to my friends in the digital space: …

April 7th marked the 55th month of Trinidad and Tobago being under the leadership of Prime Minister Dr Keith Christopher Rowley and no one could have predicted the current scenario. Not in our wildest dreams did we contemplate that we’d be engaged in a daily tally of deaths versus confirmed …

Imagine the day when the minister of health announces that we have not just flattened, but broken the COVID-19 curve, and no new cases have been reported for the required number of days. For some, it will be a joyous attempt to return to life as we left it before …

Social media lights up every time Dr Michelle Trotman speaks about Covid-19, although she admits that she is not a ‘Facebook person’. The authenticity with which she delivers is endearing at a time when our officials just don’t understand how to engage the population. Dr Trotman spoke to us with …