Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley gave a superficial description of our country’s state of narco-infiltrated crime to the media on Friday last before his melodramatic announcement of his intended resignation from office as prime minister “before the end of the legal limits of this term” and his departure from electoral …
Read More »Daly Bread: Pervading sadness at Morris-Julian’s passing—a role model for party representatives
My intended topic this week was a further examination of the rumblings over leadership succession within the People’s National Movement (PNM), the party currently in government, with the General Elections due no later than November next year. I have been suspicious that the PNM hierarchy wishes to avoid succession to …
Read More »Daly Bread: Uncertainties of Dragon Gas and Diego Martin
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has put his political leadership of the People’s National Movement (PNM) into play, but he did so by ambiguous remarks in the House of Representatives (the House). As a consequence, there have been all kinds of rumblings. Moreover, we are still awaiting “the further positions” …
Read More »Daly Bread: Gov’t and Opposition must level with electorate on impact of expenditure
The next general election at its latest is now one year away. It should be incumbent on the contesting parties to tell us how they will manage the economy so that the country will keep its head above water financially. Cutting government expenditure is one way, but that immediately raises …
Read More »Daly Bread: Champagne taste, mauby pocket—tale of the T&T economy
In August this year, I expressed concern that our country might go broke. A month before, commentators had been calling for an explanation of a withdrawal of TT$1.09 billion from the Heritage and Stabilisation fund. Accountability for the nation’s assets seemed to require specific identification of what aspect of public …
Read More »Daly Bread: T&T politicians should look at differing governance examples
Another big pappy resigned last week but of course that was in foreign. As with lame duck US President Joe Biden, that big pappy too was pushed from within. The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who was the leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, had to resign because an investigation …
Read More »Daly Bread: The PNM’s election year excuse
A second volume of The Daly Commentaries—a selection of these weekly columns from 2016-2023, picking up from my first volume covering 2002 to 2015—has been published. Information about its release concludes this column. During my twenty-two plus years as a columnist, I have had the unstinting support of the Express …
Read More »Daly Bread: Why the PNM’s internal affairs are a matter of public interest
I have examined the surprise announcement that the People’s National Movement (PNM) convention and internal election scheduled for November 17 had been cancelled and the further announcement swiftly, but ambiguously, walking back the cancellation decision. My view remains that any apparent suppression of democracy within the PNM is a matter …
Read More »Daly Bread: PNM’s “ratification” confusion
Dr Eric Williams set the standard for the practice of party politics by the People’s National Movement (PNM), which he founded in 1956. As political leader of the PNM, after successive PNM general election victories, Dr Williams took office in 1962 as the first prime minister of independent Trinidad and …
Read More »Daly Bread: PNM’s impairment of internal democracy could leave T&T worse off
The People’s National Movement (the PNM) tersely announced last week: “The People’s National Movement wishes to advise that its 51st Annual Convention, as well as the internal election, originally scheduled for Sunday 17 November 2024, has been cancelled.” The PNM is currently the party in government having been elected for …
Read More »Daly Bread: Understanding political risk of T&T’s reliance on Venezuela gas
Exposure to assessing business risk, including the political risk of doing business in unstable environments, underlines that political and geo-political risks are volatile factors. When Prime Minister Rowley (the PM) recently exhorted that we “hold the fort”, he reportedly linked “a better position with the energy industry in the second …
Read More »Daly Bread: The Gov’t rests on withered laurels, while public lacks feasible alternative
Resignation from political office is a rare event in our country and I had intended to comment on the significance of the resignation of Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing from the Government bench in the Senate. However, reference to her current courthouse business may bring trouble on this publication. Nevertheless, I can …
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