“[…] What kind of society are we building when the working class is always the first to feel the axe? When institutions are reshaped in silence? When accountability is demanded only of ‘the other side’? “[…] Too often, those who cry foul in opposition grow quiet once in power. Outrage …
Read More »Daly Bread: Crumbled oversight function continues to haunt state enterprises
Last Sunday, I traced the perils of having the state enterprises unrestrained by diligent and timely oversight by the constitutionally established Public Account [Enterprises] Committee (the PA[E]C) and I referred to that committee being handicapped, due to the late submission of annual reports and other financial information to it. The …
Read More »Daly Bread: The problem with governments’ management of state boards
Integrity, accountability, financial prudence and consequence management are not simply partisan political issues. They relate to the socio-economic health and well-being of our country and are or should be of concern to the wider public. Moreover, indifference to these issues undermines trust and confidence that the country’s resources are being …
Read More »Noble: Beware of frenemies—why Labour should be wary of Gov’t union
It is usual for all attention to be put on Tubal Uriah Butler on Labour Day. This year, however, my thoughts were on CLR James, who is arguably our outstanding contribution to political philosophy. In 1962, he wrote an insightful piece called Party Politics in the West Indies, in which …
Read More »MSJ: T&T Labour movement can breathe after Rowley’s relentless attacks
“[…] The 10 years under the Dr Keith Rowley-led PNM saw a vicious attack on the trade union movement and the working class as that government pursued its neo-liberal policies that result in the rich becoming richer, the middle-income struggle to make ends meet, and the poor not able to …
Read More »Dear Editor: Gov’t should encourage local carnival entrepreneurship over cheap imports
“[…] Most carnival costumes (beads, bikinis, feathers, clothes, uniforms, caps, wire bending, etc) are now manufactured in China at reasonable costs—transport included. “We definitely have the skillsets in Trinidad and Tobago to make these simple products. “Pan Trinbago (PTB) and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT) can provide the location, …
Read More »Noble: PNM, quo vadis? Anatomy of T&T’s electoral results
“There are two things that are important in politics,” said Mark Hanna, a 19th-century businessman and political kingmaker in Cleveland, Ohio. “The first is money, and I can’t remember what the second one is.” Pete W Moore, the MA Hanna associate professor of politics at Case Western Reserve University in …
Read More »Dear Editor: Gov’t must clamp down on police refusal to use bodycams, especially in current climate
“[…] When police officers disobey direct orders from superiors to wear body cameras, it is a serious breach of protocol and accountability. “[…] Police hierarchy should disclose when and why officers fail to wear body cams, especially during use-of-force incidents…” The following Letter to the Editor on the importance of …
Read More »Dear Editor: Time for Commonweath Caribbean to prioritise AI governance
“[…] Trinidad and Tobago now joins the United Arab Emirates and Canada as the only countries in the world with government ministries explicitly titled ‘Artificial Intelligence’. “[…] However, such a ministry must not be merely symbolic or otherwise tokenistic. It should be led by professionals with expertise in AI policy, …
Read More »Noble: Trust fund babies chasing the wind—how the PNM still avoids reality
In the run-up to our General Elections, I indicated how the world’s events impact our country and how our method of selecting candidates operates. The notion of a rentier economy (one in which a significant portion of income is derived from owning assets like land, natural resources or financial instruments, …
Read More »Daly Bread: Bouncing divided heads—can T&T prevent itself splitting in two?
The level of divisiveness in our small island nation—about which I gave examples in my recent columns—will undoubtedly compound the difficulty of getting the country as a whole behind the serious fights to survive, which now so starkly face us. It seems to me that, despite the end of the …
Read More »‘Measured, never strident, penetrating in insights’; Dr Farrell honours Justice Adrian Saunders
“[…] Justice Adrian Saunders’ judgments were measured, never strident, insistent on faithfulness to principle, penetrating in their insights, and always grounded in the law as he read it. “[…] He was president of the CCJ when the issue of the outcome of the Guyana election exploded in 2020. This required …
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