It is well known that in a functioning democracy checks and balances to guard against abuses of power are required in the public interest. In addition to the separation of the respective powers of the political executive (principally the Cabinet), the legislature and the judiciary, there are additional constitutional provisions …

It is not surprising that this government, which has lost its way in a fog of authoritarianism, believes that it can dismiss the collapse of the Police Service Commission (the PolSC) as a trivial event for which it is not obliged to account. However, what does the President of the …

On 22 September 2021, it became public knowledge that former member of the Police Service Commission (PolSC) and attorney-at-law, Roger Kawalsingh, had made a serious allegation of a secret approach to the Chair of the PolSC regarding the appointment of a Commissioner of Police (CoP) and outgoing CoP, Gary Griffith. …

It is clear to many of us that both the approach made to the Chair of the Police Service Commission by an unnamed public official and her subsequent actions were questionable and probably involved breaches of the Constitution. Admirably, she has resigned. She is due our gratitude and thanks for …

If any of the emails, releases and obviously planted stories circulating within the last 36 hours have any substratum of fact, then the fact of interference in the selection process for a new commissioner of police and now apparent interference in the attempts to settle the attendant litigation seem confirmed. …

The manipulations of the appointment of a commissioner of police (CoP) consequent upon the expiry of the term of office of Gary Griffith are now out in the open and in the court. The court may provide such enlightenment as may be necessary concerning the character of employment governed by …

In Smoke and Mirrors, Demi Lovato doubts her lover and asks: “Now that I see you clearer, I wonder, was I really happy? Now that I see you clearer, was it just smoke and mirrors?” An eighteenth century smartman is credited with the first use of a light projector to …

The Delta variant is a rapid-fire version of the Covid-19 virus. It is capable of killing many and killing quickly. There are also a growing number of pediatric cases—children having been spared from the original virus. Two weeks ago the New York Times reported that ‘one in five ICUs (intensive …

Our governance arrangements and political style have left us in an uncomfortable void. Our country is not nearly as well managed as we could make it. We have not employed an enlightened combination of the country’s resources, citizen commitment and fairness. There are not many countries that have achieved satisfactory …

The words of Kahlil Gibran in The Prophet inspire generations of readers all over the world. In the words of an Oxford University lecturer, the book ‘serves various occasions or big moments in one’s life’. I have so far escaped the worst of the deprivations of the pandemic. My pandemic …

Commentators and editorial writers have already assessed that the showing of our Trinidad and Tobago athletes at the recent concluded Tokyo Olympic Games was poor and below the medal standard that we have achieved in every Olympics since Barcelona 1992. Ironically, at the previous Tokyo Olympics in 1964, our then …

There is a dreary monotone in government communications about the pandemic, provoking comments to the effect that the government’s messaging is running out of steam and repetitive and some personages are overexposed. Imaginative strategies to encourage vaccination and the maintenance of mask wearing are urgently needed, particularly in view of …