So the Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley has dissolved parliament and called for general elections. On 10 August, our nations go to the polls to determine who will govern us for the next five-year period. While the pending election should provoke excitement nationwide, at least one individual may be feeling …
Read More »‘Shameful, reprehensible, misogynistic, attack on women!’ Smith investigator slams Rowley and Faris
“The very public and pejorative characterisation of the report as ‘unusable’, and words to the effect that the methodology used by the Committee resulted in the denial of natural justice, callously sacrificed the professional credibility, competence, and reputation of anyone who served on the Committee, including myself. With every public …
Read More »Daly Bread: Salmon letters, red and yellow ducks; how shaky defences of public officials hurts T&T
Last Sunday, I was examining the two legal processes to which MP Darryl Smith has been subject because the public is confused why these processes have revealed so little about the alleged sexual harassment. The industrial court proceedings were cloaked by a non-disclosure agreement signed by the employee who claimed …
Read More »Daly Bread: Will the Smith ship sink? What went wrong with the Darryl Smith sexual harassment investigation?
The public is thoroughly confused by the torrent of words wetting us down about Darryl Smith, member of parliament for Diego Martin Central, a safe PNM seat. What are the issues and what were the roles of the various high persons who had conduct of the main issue? The main …
Read More »Noble: Powerful men, vulnerable women: exposing sexual harassers
‘Haters gonna hate’ is the thought that comes to mind as the opportunistic warriors of both political parties spar over the Darryl Smith sex scandal. They do not spend a moment to ensure that our women are protected and to voice disgust at the cavalier use of the continued suffering …
Read More »Demming: Atone for your intemperance with sexual harassment legislation, Mr PM
Twenty-six years ago, Radhica Saith published a book titled Why Not a Woman? It paid tribute to more than 100 women in Trinidad who had been making a difference in various spheres of life. One of the women featured at the time was former government minister and mother of our …
Read More »Demming: Do the right thing for T&T’s harassed women and release the Darryl Smith report, Mr PM
On 9 April 2018, I blogged: “How would things have been different for the minister of sports had the GOTT implemented a sexual harassment policy throughout all state enterprises and ministries and piloted relevant legislation? Women’s rights are human rights and once again this government is failing us.” Eighteen months …
Read More »Fixin’ T&T: Dr Rowley, taxpayers deserve to know contents of ‘Darryl Smith report’
“No, Dr [Keith] Rowley, the ‘Smith Report’ must be made public. Taxpayers’ money [is] involved.” The following press statement was issued by civic watch group, Fixin’ T&T, in response to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s decision not to release independent report on MP and former Sport Minister Darryl Smith, who …
Read More »Dear Editor: Is Rowley hiding Smith sexual harassment report so disgraced MP qualifies for pension?
“It is certain that both [Darryl] Smith and the Prime Minister are aware that once the issue is postponed sufficiently, and this disgraced legislator is allowed to remain in office for five unbroken years, he will automatically qualify for a Pension paid for by the taxpayers of approximately $8,900 per …
Read More »Dear Editor: Where is the Darryl Smith Report? Rowley administration hypocritical on sexual harassment
“What can be taking the [Dr Keith] Rowley Administration almost a year to deal with the contents with an already completed report [on former Sport Minister Darryl Smith]? “Why the hesitancy by Prime Minister Rowley to make public the committee report?” The following Letter to the Editor on the government’s …
Read More »Not Condemning: Legislation alone will not stop sexual predators in their tracks
It is not enough to promise, as the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GoRTT) has just done, sexual harassment legislation; legislation alone will certainly not solve the problem and not simply because in Trinidad and Tobago the effective law is what you can get away with. Between now and when …
Read More »Daly Bread: Life in the never-ending movie; a bizarre political week in T&T
Scenes in the public life in Trinidad and Tobago have become so unreal that I have been listening to Brother Valentino’s “Life is a stage” to re-digest his opinion that in Trinidad and Tobago we live in a never-ending movie in which we all have a role to play. Ministers …
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