A case of racially-charged ‘offensive behaviour’ filed by TV6 journalist Kejan Haynes against then Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) political leader Phillip Edward Alexander will be referred to a Tribunal for adjudication, after the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) rejected Alexander’s defence and a conciliatory meeting between the two parties failed to …
Read More »Nakhid: ‘The streets are talking; fire next time!’ Why the political class should be afraid
Symbolic of the moral and ethical wasteland that we as a nation have become is the apparent dearth of flourishing fruits and natural habitat, which we once enjoyed and ravished with impish delight. Do mangoes, avocados, pommerac, plum and cherries grow in abundance as in days gone by? We, meaning …
Read More »Noble: Is education still the path to social mobility?
In his 2007 work Categorically Unequal, sociologist Douglas Massey argues ‘education is the most important resource in today’s knowledge-based economy’. It is, therefore, not surprising to witness the passionate debate on this topic and to read the very different views of Mr Fitzgerald Hinds (Express, 2 February) and Mrs Kamla …
Read More »Demming: What if Tribe ran the country? T&T needs leaders with grit and imagination
Another Carnival is here again, and we are seeing examples of excellence in performance, delivery and customer service. If these things work in one area of society, why is the performance in other areas so dismal? The answer lies in the proliferation of square pegs in round holes. Visit Rosalino …
Read More »Killing ants with sledgehammers: the problem with Interception of Communications amendments
On 4 February 2020, the Attorney General introduced the Interception of Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (the ‘Bill’) in the Senate. The Bill has noble intentions, but as we all know the road to hell is paved with such intentions. The Bill seeks to amend the Interception of Communications Act by …
Read More »Noble: From Dr Williams’ education dream to nightmarish inequalities; what went wrong?
In August 1962, the first Common Entrance group entered secondary schools and heard Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams say: “… you carry the future of Trinidad and Tobago in your school bag.” At QRC, there was a boy from Rio Claro, another from Princes Town (now president of the Old …
Read More »Noble: Bourse’s brazen defence after FCB IPO scandal
As a young boy, my mother taught me ‘to quit while ahead’. Her context was if you kept talking after you missed a ‘cut tail’ she would look at you and ask: “You really want something?” Every Trinidadian child knows that is the point to shut up. No more complaining …
Read More »Demming: What steel bands can teach us about goals, leadership and teamwork
I have been mulling over the lessons of the panyard experience and continue to feel that the panyards are on to some yet unexplored management concept in the way they organise themselves for Carnival. Mind you, there are as many systems as there are bands, but what is common is …
Read More »Noble: Three women in the headlines tell us what’s wrong with T&T
Three women snatched the headlines this last weekend: President Paula-Mae Weekes, TTMA president Franka Costelloe-Mackenzie and UNC ‘One Corridor’ coordinator, Jearlean John. Reflections on their contributions tell us what is wrong with our nation. President Weekes, at the Red House, cautioned us all that ‘neither the government nor the opposition …
Read More »Demming: Presidential ‘boof’ not enough to change MPs
A ‘boof’ from your ‘tantie’ will sting, but it will not necessarily lead to any improvement of the undesirable behaviour it was aimed to correct. At the opening of the refurbished parliament building, called ‘The Red House’ for over a century, our president, Paula-Mae Weekes, fondly re-named ‘Auntie/Tantie President’, ‘pelt …
Read More »Noble: ‘Big business’ can be a partner against crime; and here is how
The Chamber of Commerce spoke out this week as the nation grapples with the crime situation, defining it as a ‘crisis’ for which we do not have ‘the luxury of time’. The Chamber advanced possible solutions, including the need for foreign help since the TTPS appeared not to have the …
Read More »Demming: Time to vote for newbie politicians; T&T leaders fail to get things done
Like most of Trinidad and Tobago, I am not looking forward to the upcoming election (a.k.a. silly) season with the current offerings. The PNM and the UNC or its derivatives have ruled this country since independence and the problems of underdevelopment persist. Citizens need to escape the never-ending abusive cycle …
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