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“If we’re serious about reducing the foreign exchange drain, why not temporarily ban the use of alcohol at all government functions and on all government premises including the Diplomatic Centre and President’s House?”
The following Letter to the Editor was submitted to Wired868 by Dennise Demming, the former TIDCO chairperson:
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/TTFA)
There was a time, not so long ago when the only juices you could enjoy at President’s House were sorrel juice, grapefruit juice, mauby, star apple juice and any juice that could be made using local fruits. I am told the fruits also came from the gardens on the premises.
That was a period when the office still held some awe and mystique.
Today, “the Hassanalis”—the late Noor Hassanali and his wife Zalayhar—are still spoken of in glowing tones as part of the good ole days. Because, while they were in office, the serving of home made juice at President’s House was seen as disruptive.
Fast forward to today and the Office has its own wine label at the expense of the citizens. There is inconsistency in the messaging here. On one hand we are saying that there is need for austerity while, on the other, we commission a private label wine for the President’s House.
The recent budget announced an increase in the sin taxes—meaning alcohol and tobacco—which is a good initiative. But if we are aiming to change the alcohol palette of the Trinbagonian, it didn’t go far enough.
(Copyright Office of the President)
It should really have been a one hundred percent charge for all imported alcohol.
If we’re serious about reducing the foreign exchange drain, why not temporarily ban the use of alcohol at all government functions and on all government premises including the Diplomatic Centre and President’s House?
At least we could implement this tax while the country moves towards economic stability. An old saying comes to mind: “People do what you do and not what you say.”
There is a tremendous move to authenticity in today’s world and people are looking for behaviour which they can pattern. They do not respond to instruction.
If you want to call out the best of others you have to be the best you possible. If we want the population to understand the dire straights we are in, then our actions must be consistent.
The focus at the moment is on the Presidential label for his special wine but it is only a matter of time before someone leaks the bill for the Diplomat Centre and Household.
(Copyright Caribbean and Co)
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So stopping them from using funds to purchase drinking alco is gonna help in sending the foreign drain in the right direction? Of all the things we could cut back on this is seen as a serious option? I’m clearly still sleeping and I’m dreaming …..
we they could drink local rum….like puncheon or vat. ent
And Babash ……Lol. that is true local….
Okay world. There is a local distillery called House of Angostura which bottles a wide array of universally taste friendly spirits and sumptuous cocktails. So, government should buy local and serve locally brewed drinks at functions. Further, Angostura is a significant generator of foreign exchange to this country’s treasury. So…
Both of them go die drunkards
This is what politicians fight like dogs for to live it up!! And laugh at the voters when they are screaming Kamala!! Keith!!!! Umbert!!! Patrick!!!, Indian!! African!!!!
Hassanali was the most conservative preso ever,u’d not dare defile by consuming alcohol at the palace; he saved our country $m.during his tenure. Maybe this policy shiuld be adoptet
Taxpayers should not be responsible for any head of govt vacation and grocery expense we need to put legislation in place to do like the US and only pay for state functions not personal expensed that is what they are getting a salary for
No or did it and he was a far better president
Try blaming touching or grabbing a minister’s wife private parts on sorrel and see what happens . It also goes both ways eh , but the men paid the secure the families cant say anything when the misses pass and grab when no one is watching . LOL !
BUT WHEN HASSANALI WAS THERE
NO ALCO WAS. SERVED
ITS USED AS A SLIPWAY FUH CORRUPT DEALS
REMAS PARDNER GETTING THE CONTRACT
Juice Bars are the trend now…
It will be good to get our local fruits and the farmers ah bligh….
No need to ban. Make them pay like the rest of us. Just don’t use tax payer dollar to sponsor your/ their events… simple.
Alcohol drink-up a lot of foreign exchange, and those who contribute to that should not participate in this conversation. Lets be a bit objective in our analysis, and use similar data from the former President.. alcohol bill vs alcohol bill….
Sorrell could wine!
they tief mih idea…i want compensation…
What is wrong with you people? The government heads are all saints.. only Kamla does drink
At the Hilton Hotel in 2006 I made this call at the last local government consultations and there was silence in the room. Hmmmmm I wonder if we are becoming more aware of ourselves now. Or am I 10 years ahead of time?
Allyuh want rowdy to drop down and dead or what???
Yeah Alco prices raise!!!!
Great idea! …. Or run a cash bar at gov’t functions. Let the dignitaries pay for their own booze & caviar….and no refunds through state enterprise expense accounts.
Alcohol flowed during the tenure of Prof. Maxwell Richards, despite the country experiencing a serious decline in revenues. In 2009, Ministries were asked to cut spending by PM Manning, even copying paper was difficult to get in a particular Ministry. One can remember the ‘winning President’ with glass in hand, enjoying his many parties.
Yet where was the outcry? Where were the calls to cut alcoholic beverages? During the 1980s, this country experienced severe financial hardship, to the extent that we could not afford apples and grapes, yet up the time of Sir Ellis Clarke demiting Office on March 13, 1987, Scotch was the ‘order of the day’, yet no complaints.
Consistency is important.
I think they can make do with sorrel.
They have to make sacrifices too like the rest of us…..good suggestion.
Absolutely right. All elected officials and public figures should lead by example in all aspects…. Behavior in public, unnecessary use of escort vehicles and other privileges, and yes, belt tightening if you are asking the public to do the same, even if you can afford to do otherwise.
A slightly different twist and I think Mrs Demming alluded to it. Why do we tell children they shouldn’t be drinking alcohol? But they see adults enjoying themselves with it. We know it as social drinking, so nothing wrong with it. But it sends a message of do as I say not as I do. And of course it is worse when people who are in public office doing what you tell a child not to do. Remember the front page picture after independence with Mrs Carmona with champagne? It was a big joke that when Robinson became president, that the bar came back because the Hassanalis were Muslim. Just saying…
No alcohol was served during Mr. Hasanali tenure as president and no foreign heads of government complained as far as I’m aware, so why that large amount is being spent on such luxuries at a “tightening of belts” time is ludicrous. While some sector of the society have to make out with the little they have, The President projects a false image that “all’s well with the economy” as they sip thousand dollar wine, as though to say “To arse with all you, I in this for the perks” and you really want me and my household to respect that kind of asinine behavior?
Use local fruits T&T is blessed with fruits. The extravagance by those in high office is because its’ not their money, but taxpayers. immoral and unethical behaviour by so many people in this country.
Mayors Augustus, Mootoo, Achong and I, along with our wives, were invited to discussions and dinner by late Prez Hassanali and his wfe Zalayhar. After discussion on municipal affairs, we were treated to a sumptuous dinner, no meat, and juice made from passion fruit, which her excellency informed the wives, she grew at President’s House.
Especially with the provisions in relation to breath analyser.
Wherever there’s Alcohol served, expect dotish behaviour. They go hand in hand.
Get in line: alcohol; non-alcohol.
this is what I said or maybe White Oak
Over 700,000 vehicles on the road continue to suffocate us via carbon monoxide emissions..I wish alcohol could have been a source of fuel for vehicles..
agree with Ms demming, let foreigners taste our local wines
Drunk with alcho or drunk with fame. As long as cameras there people will still show up.
I am not necessarily in agreement with a ban….but i am very clear that foreign alcohol should not be served at government functions….and by functions i would suggest be based receptions for foreign dignitaries….wouldnt agree with govt sponsoring alcohol for employee functions or social functions
yeah…serve vat and black label!
And babash…..and local fruit wine.
Fin yeah boy!!
What an awesome idea. Too bad it’s not about what we can do for our country but what our country can do for us. I would love to see our politicians setting the example but…well…you know.
Nigel Noel, Amery Browne isn’t muslim… So I’m still not quite following your stance on this.
This story was in 2008:
“Citizens should reduce their Christmas spending on alcohol and cigarettes, much as the Social Development Ministry has cut alcohol from its Christmas party in its “belt tightening” plan, Social Development Minister Amery Browne said yesterday.”
http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2008-12-05/news5.html
This isn’t to say that the recent wine purchase was ok.
Lasana Liburd – with all due respect, this is a nonsense. Let’s start with the premise that if we are serious, somebody else has to do something. Nothing will improve if we act as though no change or sacrifice is required of us to improve our situation.
Secondly, banning alcohol from State functions won’t make any significant difference to our import bill. Consider the volume of alcohol we consume as a society at Carnival and Christmas time.
The article should have talked about changing our consumption patterns. Bypass the KFC and Starbucks in favour of our local firms. Forget the apples and grapes. If we not willing to make those changes, we not serious about anything at all.
Excerpt from 2008 Guardian article: Citizens should reduce their Christmas spending on alcohol and cigarettes, much as the Social Development Ministry has cut alcohol from its Christmas party in its “belt tightening” plan, Social Development Minister Amery Browne said yesterday.
http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2008-12-05/news5.html
I see nothing wrong with doing it, even if it is symbolic. It might save us as much money as the 7 percent tax on online shopping.
I don’t if I’m agreeing for the reason given in the column. But I still think it is a good idea.
Online shopping tax will raise revenue, not curb expenditure.
Fair point. But I think alcohol could be considered frivolous in the circumstances. Nice to have but unnecessary.
Maybe make it strictly local alcohol.
My point was that we the people have to change our consumption patterns to make a difference.
On a point of principle, I don’t accept that change is restricted to the people. The PM and President are people too. They are people that we collectively have put in a particular position for our benefit.
We should all sacrifice.
Call it symbolic or what you will.
The article misses the point only because the sin tax was not meant to save foreign exchange but to earn revenue. Otherwise they would simply have increased taxes on foreign liquor and cigarettes. The government wants you to buy more alcohol and cigarettes to realize its budget revenue projection
I love sorrel.
Ay, ay, ay! Hold up, hold up!
Are you suggesting that the “we” who “are saying that there is need for austerity” are one and the same as the “we” who “commission a private label wine for the President’s House”? As far as I am aware, that commissioning took place unbeknownst to all but two or three of “we,” not including Auditor General Majid Ali and vlogger/blogger Rhoda Bharath.
Allyuh real good, oui!
I think moderation is the key here we’ve had past PM’s and Presidents who enjoyed and served alco…but now is not longtime….and certainly in the case of the current President’s House…the concept of “manage it accordingly” may not be achieveable unfortunately
Sorry now saw Nigel’s query…..the reason was religious because they are Muslim. Instead of the alco they served a refreshing fruit drink made of five-finger which was grown on the grounds of President’s House, people used to complain sotto voce but drank it anyway as it was quite delicious. I believe that people who have the Treasury’s purse at their command can choose to make a difference with how that money is disposed, this is their chance to make a positive difference, think for a moment if the money saved on not buying alco for functions was consciously directed to the needy among us what a difference it would make, It’s not mandatory that guests at thesefunctions should be served, these functions are for a few hours anyway, how much scotch, wine or rum they want to drink, if the belt has to be tightened let it be done in a way that can really make a difference and let the drinkers stay home and drink, they should not be on the road anyway
Deborah, you will prise that drink out of Nigel’s hands when he is cold and stiff himself I think! Lol
Let me try this again, I agree with the idea of reducing the budget for hosting of functions……instead of simply say “ban alco” (then all of a sudden caviar on the menu and the bill is the same) reduce the budget by 15/20% (or whatever makes sense) and let the PM/President’s house manage it accordingly.
Ok. There is some merit to that Nigel. That is if you plan to prompt them to pay caviar. Lol. Fair point.
Wasn’t the President’s budget reduced?!
Judy-ann Stewart…it was. But I was wondering what expenses come under this budget besides recurrent expenditure. His staff is not large compared to, say, Min of Agri etc but this office gets a not insignificant sum. Not sure if IC expenses also fall under his office. And from what I have been reading (or not seeing) there have not been a lot of official functions hosted at his new/temp residence so…does the office also have to rent venues for functions?
Diplomatic centre maybe?!
Serve local rum then!
That would be better. And it would be the only compromise worth considering for me.
Mr Powers is given Rum and Whiskey bad named with his behavior
I think saving money is more than just something to complain about. So I’m happy to disagree with you on that.
Lasana Liburd its the norm (except as we have discussed in countries where alcohol is illegal). If we think that the PM/President is spending two much on hosting official functions then impose/reduce their budget for same and let it be better managed……..but a call for alcohol to be banned at official functions is just “finding something to complain about”