I first used the phrase “panyard model” in a column published on 1 February 2007 entitled Restating the Case for Pan.  That was 16 years ago. With acknowledgement to the earlier seminal advocacy of Lloyd Best for schools in pan, I hope that readers will permit me to take some …

As was widely expected, the local government elections (LGE) resulted in a repeat of the control of the 14 local government bodies being split 7-7 between the PNM and UNC. Crumbs of votes were sprinkled on the minor parties. We have reconfirmed our propensity to condemn ourselves to continued political …

A large crowd, of which I was a part, attended the celebration of the United Nations’ declaration of 11 August as World Steelband Day, at an event in Times Square, New York last Friday. Under the auspices of the Consulate General of Trinidad and Tobago, New York, the event was …

From time to time, politicians say things with which we can agree in principle.  However, we are regularly disappointed when there is little or no implementation, or only a few moves are made for flash and for the glorification of the politicians and their satellites. Last week I described the …

Last week, there was high level recognition of the relevance of the steelband movement to sustainable development goals, even though our governments have not published implementable policies for the mutual and sustainable benefit of communities and steelpan music participants—such as players, arrangers, tuners and tutors. By a resolution passed on …

The latest responses of the current Government and the Commissioner of Police to the crippling wave of murder and violent crime are the lame products of two decades of denial and a current desperation to say anything that will deflect the pressing questions about crime. The hard but unpleasant truth …

Why has the perception of improper influence changed?  The main character in the recent television series The Diplomat asserts that “we exist in a marketplace of favours”. However, our marketplace is more tangled up than that. Last week’s column examined the recent recusals of two judges on account of family …

In what circumstances should the public become concerned about the appearance of potentially improper influence or access? This is the “how it go look” dilemma and it has been a significant part of the news cycle for the past fortnight. The dilemma arose first in the form of family connections …

There are three shocking characteristics displayed by some of our rulers and their satellites whom we have had to endure during the last two decades. These are disrespect for accountability, scorn for ordinary people and an absence of humanity. Last week, these characteristics combined in a manner as cruel as …

Pan music has always said to me “let me love you” and I have responded “I will love you for a thousand years”. Last Sunday, in the Savannah, the melodic single pan bands performing in Pan Down Memory Lane category preceded Pan in the 21st Century and lyrics like those …

In November 2022, part of the Manzanilla-Mayaro road—the once scenic route along the east coast “through the coconuts”—collapsed.  Part of it reportedly collapsed before, in 2014. In that same year, a commentary by Rajiv Jalim, described as a climate change advocate from Trinidad and Tobago, analysed coastal erosion on that …

There is a new example of political truth being stranger than fiction. It is that it takes two very wobbly Attorneys General to make a distrusted Opposition look good. When it was not trying to pretend that the outcome of the recent case in the Privy Council (the PC) was …