“[…] The now-infamous Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), exposed thanks to Afra Raymond’s successful legal challenge, showed a lopsided agreement. The state was to fund and build the resort on public land. “In turn, Sandals would enjoy sweeping concessions—tax holidays, duty-free status, unlimited work permits for foreigners, and no obligations to …
Read More »Dear Editor: Tobago remains colonised by Trinidad; and Sandals could have been the game changer
“Unless and until Tobagonians, at a deep psychological level, understand that they have been colonised by Trinidad for over one hundred years and continue to be so colonised; until they understand, at a deep intellectual level, that the country, Trinidad and Tobago, is a legal and political construct and any …
Read More »Daly Bread: Tobago a la carte; how the ‘Sister Isle’ was nearly carved up over dinner
Our neighbour Venezuela and our own Tobago both remain in the news. The outcomes of their politics and ours will affect our quests for Dragon gas and ‘brands’ hotel rooms respectively. Common sense will have already told readers, even though we must try, how little influence Trinidad and Tobago and …
Read More »Noble: How Lok Jack ‘pulled a Kanye’ and hijacked national discussion on Sandals
In a move that beats US rapper Kanye West’s 2009 snatching of Taylor Swift’s mic at the VMA, Arthur Lok Jack—the surprise discussant at last Wednesday’s UWI’s event—hijacked what ought to have been a significant national conversation about foreign direct investment. Taking more than thirty minutes, Lok Jack berated the …
Read More »Dear Editor: If Lok Jack loves Trinidad farmers so much, why doesn’t ABIL employ them?
“Has [Arthur Lok Jack’s Associated Brands Group of Companies or] ABIL ever supported farmers in Trinidad and Tobago to cultivate and supply sugar for its snacks, corn for its flakes, coconut for its cream filling and shortcake, and rice for its rice crisps? “Has ABIL ever supported farmers in the …
Read More »Daly Bread: Beads, beaches and business risk; why Sandals didn’t fit Trinidad and Tobago
As is well known, Manhattan, New York City—home of Wall Street and some of the most expensive real estate in the world—is an island. The Dutch bought it in 1626 from the First Peoples who were the occupiers at the time. It is uncertain what or how the Dutch paid …
Read More »Shhhhhh! The stony shell of silence that surrounds Sandals’ entry into the sister isle
With the support of my colleagues from Disclosure Today, I have been conducting research into the underlying commercial arrangements for the State-owned hotels in T&T. Those are the decisive details which drive projects of this nature and from which the substantial public benefits ought to flow. The unhelpful responses from …
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