Guest Columns

I remember a family friend saying to me, when I first expressed my interest in electoral politics, that I should follow one important rule: “A closed mouth gathers no feet.” There was no confusion about what this meant as there is no shortage of examples of our politicians tripping over …

I can still remember the accolades coming in from many quarters for the impressive PNM candidate for Tobago West in the 2015 General Election. I refer, of course, to Shamfa Cudjoe. It took one short month in office for the newly appointed Minister of Tourism to declare to the Parliament …

Government last week announced a decision to dissolve the Tourism Development Company (TDC) and replace it with two, maybe three agencies. It is unclear, to me at least, what the government might have in mind with this move. Minister Shamfa Cudjoe’s announcement made me remember a line from the Eagles’ …

“We are still grappling with—and even clueless about—how to curb the high crime situation in the wider society. Any wonder the violent behaviour is mirrored in our schools? “And let us not stick our head in the sand because these pupils live in the communities and maybe even repeatedly interface …

“It’s curious he made no mention of The Diaries of Abbe Armand Masse, the French Catholic priest who on 30 April 1881 wrote that the marchers often ‘amuse themselves in a more or less noisy fashion but peace is not compromised’ but that year ‘by a sort of bravado, the …

“Is it that the ole mas is dying out on its own or is it an assisted ‘death’? “A long-running sentiment among ole masqueraders—including those from a band I am currently writing a book on—is that there have been influential people in the San Fernando City Corporation who became displeased …

“… In the fight against a few semi-literate street criminals, the police have thrown their hands in the air as acknowledged by the Ag CoP… One wonders if the season has anything to do with his hands going up in the air. “But as we celebrate next week’s festivities, I guarantee …

Corporal punishment was removed from schools over 15 years ago and there seemed to be a strong moral argument to abolish “violence” against children. But should that not mean young people—at least below the ages of 23—ought to be significantly less violent? Whether or not you believe that abolishing corporal punishment was the just …

“You, sir, are in the sunset of your career; you are in a position to set the stage for the greatest show on earth. Not Carnival but an island of innovation. “Dr [Keith] Rowley, we are in a lot of trouble and we need you to become the leader you …

“If 63-plus murders, combined with a number of persons missing, in a population of 1.4M does not constitute a crisis—as understood by your goodly self as head of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS)—what does? “What will it take to recognise that this nation is in crisis? Would 100 …

“For the TTPS to waddle into 2017 expecting that the murder rate will suddenly change simply on the grounds that the calendar did, is as naive and reckless as those who relied on ‘prayer’ as the best crime plan; even setting aside a day exclusively for this purpose.” The following …

“As citizens, we have been gun-whipped, shell-shock and shellacked into submission by these ‘monsters’, who roam night and day seeking out their next victim. They have shattered our once peaceful existence and turned us into persons who are distrustful, skeptical and paranoid.” The following Letter to the Editor on Trinidad …