Martin Daly

Dominica, I am sorry. I choose to say that in the patois of the headline of this column, consistent with the linguistic expression of Dominica’s national motto: Après Bondi, C’est la Ter—After God, it’s the Earth. Now, after Hurricane Maria, Dominica’s beloved Earth is a debris dump—its fertility disrespected by …

One thing that is more fake than fake news is VVIP status in Trinidad and Tobago—but sadly we pay out of the Treasury for the political and social botox that supports the fake status. Within the past fortnight, five Caribbean islands have been devastated and half a dozen others have …

Fifteen years ago, shortly before becoming a columnist—as a guest speaker at an event organised by the late Lloyd Best—I characterised our political contests as a fight for the national cash register. I also asserted that in politics you can lawfully t’ief, based on the way the State enterprise system …

Even as we were crossing Eastern Parkway opposite the Brooklyn Museum there was a brief warning. None of us making our way to Brooklyn Panorama last week Saturday into the grounds of the museum took the warning entirely seriously; but we should have. Two hours later, when we were drenched …

Reaction to last week’s Mayaro resumed column was as I expected. Readers welcomed and want more of “feel good” topics that bring some relief from the anxiety afflicting all but the one percent and the mindless fete people. This column is a postscript, but I must acknowledge reality first. People …

I wrote this column sitting adjacent to Mayaro beach enjoying a slice of the August holidays. It is about two hours  to sunset on as glorious a day as it gets in this piece of paradise. A little earlier in the day I had—unusually for me—a daytime snooze, on the …

The ill winds of deep-seated race and class divisions have blown continuously for more than a decade. Beware of them. Their velocity is increasing. This warning is not new. I wrote it in October last year. At that time I reminded readers that, for more than a decade, I have …

The major business groups last week reportedly temporarily arose from their customary  indifference, alarmed by the prolonged and unrestricted crime spree.  In passing, it should be noted that it is apparently the rising cost of doing business in a crime-ridden environment that has set off the alarm from slumber this …

One of the pillars of the administration of justice is the principle that open justice is fundamental to the rule of law and democratic accountability. That principle reaches its highest expression in judicial review cases and constitutional motions. The whole purpose of such cases is to put the processes by …

The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition seemed to agree at their meeting on Tuesday last that there could not be any constitutionally sound legislative solution to the crisis, which the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) created as a result of its bungled appointment and the subsequent …

In the face of rampant violent crime, last week’s column asserted that it is wholly insufficient to believe, as the Government does, that we could merely rely on the Police Service as currently managed. On that same day, there was a forceful editorial in the Sunday Express newspaper which I …

Last week’s column raised the issue whether each of the two main political parties are captive to the power wielded by wealthy businessmen. I did so in the light of Mario Sabga-Aboud’s boast about the power that his community had. I also made sure to include in my inquiry the …