Tag Archives: corruption

A year or two before former Prime Minister Patrick Manning passed away, I wrote an article stating—among many other things—that Manning no longer held any relevance for politics in Trinidad and Tobago. Of course multiple queries followed from readers. I did not explain myself then as I found the statement …

When Abraham Lincoln said that you could not fool all of the people all of the time, he could not have known that information technology would come to bear heavily on both the ability (fake news) and inability (investigative reporting) of the powerful to fool the people. Lincoln would be …

Ex-Defence Force star Josimar Belgrave is one of two former soldiers who were charged with a combined 162 fraud and corruption matters in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Belgrave, a private, and Jason Richards, a lance corporal, were accused of stealing TT$1.4 million from the State by fraudulent means between …

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 …

It is Day Seven of Hurricane A&V: a low pressure weather system which has struck Trinidad and Tobago with little warning and savage repercussions after Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar read from a leaked Petrotrin audit report. In its wake, Mr Live Wire reports, is mayhem and confusion: Tanty Kamla fraid …

Monday was the anniversary of that infamous jailbreak, two years ago, and I should originally have submitted this piece to be published on that day. But I think that it’s better if it appears today, between that 24 July anniversary and the anniversary of another infamous episode in this country’s …

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is still being commended by some for taking decisive action in firing Ms Marlene McDonald for a second time. If Dr Rowley had any appreciation for the philosophy that “politicians serve their party best when they put their country first”, Ms McDonald would not have …

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 …

The David John-Williams-led Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) has been accused of trying to mislead the High Court after allegedly submitting inaccurate information in a sworn affidavit. In a court matter which involves former FIFA referee and ex-head of the local refereeing department, Ramesh Ramdhan, the TTFA—through their attorneys …

“The disproportionate prosecution of working class criminals ultimately serves to maintain ruling-class power and to reinforce ruling class ideology—thus performing ‘ideological functions’ for the ruling class.” Orson Rogers considers potential flaws in the way that Trinidad and Tobago deals with crime: As an armchair crime watcher and based on considerable …

The gathering storm is a Churchill phrase. Winston Churchill used it as the title for the first volume of his massive six-volume history of World War Two. The historical account is given from his perspective as a discredited politician who saw that Germany would re-arm and go to war but …

“If I were to tell you that the Town and Country Planning Division (TCPD) is perhaps the most critical state agency in addressing [your daily life], most of you would probably chuckle disdainfully or shrug your shoulders with indifference. “Town and who?” And the funny—or tragic—thing is we’d both be …