“[…] We had fun doing Zoom meetings in our boxer shorts, out of sight of the camera; but some realised that they’d mostly prefer to do work stuff from an office. In long pants, preferably. “Some missed the water cooler moments, where they could talk about what Ian Alleyne had …
Read More »Orin: The daily Great Trek; on T&T’s traffic woes and decentralisation of workplaces
“[…] There are no economic findings that I’m aware of, on how much the country loses by having a significant proportion of its workforce stuck in traffic every day. But there’s widespread recognition that there’s an economic cost, and that it’s probably a steep one. “For much of the past …
Read More »Salaah: Piarco solar panel system must not be ‘one-off’ in T&T’s move towards renewable energy
“[…] According to an article in Renewable Energy World, ‘there are about 217 days of sunshine a year in the Caribbean’—making countries in our region ideal for using and investing in renewable energy. “[…] For instance, when there is disruption or interruption in electricity, traffic lights on our nation’s highways and …
Read More »Vaneisa: The uncaring voice of silence—what is the point of the EMA?
For decades, the approach and departure of festive occasions—Carnival, Independence Day, Divali, Christmas, Old Year’s Night—have elicited desperate missives. Complaints about unbearable levels of noise from unrelenting sound systems and fireworks have poured out to the impervious Environmental Management Authority (EMA). Nothing’s changed. On its website, the EMA describes four …
Read More »Dear Editor: Who will investigate ‘squatter kingpins’ who are making millions at State’s expense?
“[…] It is alleged that a new type of squatting has emerged in Trinidad and Tobago that is really geared towards land grabbing. “They are now known as the land-grabbing ‘kingpins,’ who end up owning prime land all over this country in key spots, for financial gain and not because …
Read More »Public Utilities Minister: T&TEC, IPPs and ODPM failed during islandwide power blackout
“[…] The Committee identified several weaknesses in the management of the response, including ineffective communication with the public, with heavy reliance on the internet and social media which was negatively impacted by the blackout; the absence of the involvement of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management; the lack of …
Read More »Demming: Please, PNM, we need an efficient transportation system if we are to move forward
Public transportation is a quality-of-life issue. Sometime in 2015, this statement caught my attention and gave me hope that Trinidad and Tobago was finally beginning to take action to bring our country out of the doldrums of the 20th Century. Seven years later, transportation continues to be chaotic, dangerous, and …
Read More »Early Bird: By the sweat of Cepep’s brow, we shall eat zaboca… or maybe not!
Planting fruit trees is a great idea. And even better, on public property—if there is buy-in from the community. Former agriculture minister Clarence Rambharat’s hands were probably too full, we now guess, for him to provide direction on that issue. And the new man in there? Well, we’ll have to …
Read More »Demming: We need to fix the system, not subvert it to suit our friends
The perception that if you are within the inner circle of the government, you can get anything you want was solidified in my mind with the recent announcement by the Prime Minister. Clarence Rambharat, former agriculture, lands and fisheries minister, we were told, is coming back into government and will …
Read More »MSJ: Workers and poor people can’t afford to pay more for transport, withdraw fuel hike
“[…] Minister Colm Imbert said that the $1 increase is so that the burden of adjustment can be equally shared between the Government and people. This is utter rubbish. “The real issue is how is the burden of adjustment to be shared between the rich and the poor—between those who …
Read More »Early Bird: Covid, Blaxx, our glee and why we walk on mornings
At 5.15am on this day the Lord has made, Marie Howe’s name tops my inbox. She’s a poet, a completely unfamiliar name. Below hers is Bobby’s. He’s my vaccinated bosom pal with whom I take my fo’daymorning walks. ‘M2 was a secondary contact,’ his brief email says, ‘and now I …
Read More »‘We measure ourselves against intn’l standards’: NGC becomes T&T’s first GRI Community member
The National Gas Company (NGC) has laid claim to being Trinidad and Tobago’s first business to be registered as a member of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Community. GRI is the global standard-bearer for impact reporting and its network comprises over 500 private and public organisations from more than 70 …
Read More »