“Kill everyone!” was the instruction Dole Chadee gave Joey Ramiah, who then murdered four members of a single family. How could people be so heartless and cold-blooded? It was a long time in coming. Nothing was ever done to dismantle the networks that brought cocaine to our shores since life …
Read More »Noble: When will we hold accountable those “honourable” members who lead?
“When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.” Ecclesiastes 8: 11 Last week’s avalanche of news robs any politician of the right to criticise any citizen for being cynical. It was like a hit parade list of things that can go wrong. The …
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 »Daly Bread: Sandals, smelters and steel orchestras—as music stops, T&T must consider future
Our governance arrangements and political style have left us in an uncomfortable void. Our country is not nearly as well managed as we could make it. We have not employed an enlightened combination of the country’s resources, citizen commitment and fairness. There are not many countries that have achieved satisfactory …
Read More »CEPEP: We reduced workers’ salaries by 33.3% to ensure there’s no job loss
“[…] This decision [to reduce salaries by 33.3%], while contentious, directly protects the welfare of workers as that is the Company’s main priority at this time. This measure will ensure that there is no job loss at CEPEP…” The following press statement on CEPEP’s decision to reduce the salary of …
Read More »T&T’s silent holocaust: From Ceiba to Chaconia—how CEPEP follows ‘Sir’ Woodford’s racist footsteps
In honour of our fifty-eighth Independence anniversary, I visited Woodford Square, aka The People’s University, where seeds of Trinidad and Tobago’s Independence grew. But instead of feeling pride, I felt shame. Twenty tree stumps, envoys of once stately trees, left to rot without love or dignity illuminated Marcus Garvey’s words: …
Read More »Daly bread: Trying a new direction; will Panorama lead by example?
I do not need someone from foreign to tell me that gangsters are fully in charge in many communities, and I dun know that the politicians look the other way and frequently consort with them. It is a reprehensible failure on the part of the elites and belated moaners that …
Read More »Daly Bread: From Bolsonaro to Griffith, are we tackling crime from the wrong end?
Approximately one year ago, shortly after his appointment, Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith likened the criminal elements to ‘cockroaches’ and added that those cockroaches should be ‘crushed’. The Commissioner has company. The following report appeared last week in the UK Guardian newspaper: “Brazil’s far-right President, Jair Bolsonaro, has said he …
Read More »Day in the life of a CEPEP worker: People’s opinions don’t put food in your fridge
“[…] Management issues and problems receiving salaries [caused me to leave my previous jobs to work at CEPEP]. Some employers treat you like dogs, talking to you anyhow, making you work long ridiculous hours for little money. “My last full-time job, I worked for three months as a cleaner without …
Read More »No civility, much hypocrisy; Raffique Shah points at both sides of the House
It would be asking too much of our politicians that they show some humility in their public lives. In fact, it will be true to say that, with precious few exceptions, politicians across the world are egotistical and arrogant—character traits that distinguish them from most ordinary human beings. Lest I …
Read More »