View Point

Minister of Social Development and Family Services Senator Donna Cox used Christmas afternoon to share news of her ministry’s new First Responders’ Initiative, during a walkabout in Weekes Trace, San Juan. The First Responders’ Initiative will be formally launched in 2021 and aims to be more proactive in identifying needy …

“[…] It’s difficult for me to understand, much less find justification, for why Jamaica, the sitting chair of the OAS Permanent Council at the time, failed to rule on whether to allow Guaidó’s agent to level unfounded charges directly accusing the T&T government of culpability in the Venezuelan tragedy.  “[…] …

Trinidad Express investigative journalist Denyse Renne has initiated legal action against political blogger Marcia Braveboy for ‘egregious false claims and deliberate inaccuracies’, after an attack on the former’s integrity on social media. Braveboy, in a direct response to the ‘unmasking’ of Express columnist Darryn Boodan as the corporate communications officer …

It is easy to blame public servants’ ‘mistakes’ for an eight-month delay in appointing the Board of the Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission (TTSEC) as reported in a recent newspaper article.  Public servants have become the most recent whipping horse of a government whose inaction contributes to the …

Distrust of politicians and public figures is a mainstay of democratic politics. Trust and distrust go hand in hand.  We have institutions as a check on untrammelled forays by politicians, but we also use public opinion as a brake. The savage lampooning or ‘fatigue’ of the unfortunate George Chambers—‘done see’/‘duncy’—signalled …

“[…] It is Maduro and his backers—not sanctions—who are to blame for the Venezuelan people suffering dire economic, political, and human rights conditions, and have caused millions to flee their homes since he assumed power.  “The Venezuela sanctions program is designed to limit the Maduro regime’s sources of revenue and …

Politicians and their satellites do not always practise abstinence from corruption.  If persons populating our institutions abstain, without credible cause, from the limited opportunities to act as checks and balances, we can expect no change in the rate at which the corrupt will abscond unjustly enriched. Last week, amidst public …

“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong,” — H L Mencken Last month, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley reportedly said ‘tough decisions will have to be made to correct the educational imbalances’, as he anticipated ‘an honest and open discussion’ which would lead …

The following is a press statement from the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) on the passing of NJAC activist Thuku Moheni: The National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) is saddened by the passing of one of its Tobago veterans of the Trinidad & Tobago Revolution of 1970, Brother Thuku Moheni. Brother …

“[…] We advise all, including local do-gooders and the international press and agencies, to cease and desist from encouraging and exposing ordinary Venezuelans to risk their lives in the waters between our two nations. “It might appear to some to be a short journey but these waters are very dangerous…” …

“[…] The PNM administration seems allergic to institutions which are independent within the executive and run by unelected persons.  “It is clearly one of the reasons for the pre-emptive assault on the Office of the Procurement Regulator rendering it a eunuch, so that the hands of elected ministers will not …

Every now and then it feels necessary to step back from the daily bombardment of unpleasant news that can wrench your spirit into a forlorn space. It helps to summon cheerful thoughts that remind us that there is beauty around us, and that life very often goes on inside our …