View Point

In a recent high court ruling, Justice Vasheist Kokaram dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA). The teachers asserted that the marking of school-based assessments (SBAs) for the CSEC and CAPE examinations did not fall under their contractual obligations. The following Letter to the …

Plural societies, such as ours, are prone to tensions and to pretend that it is a new thing is folly. What is new is the disrespectful disagreement we now witness as we moved from social polarisation (living in different communities) to issue polarisation (where we cannot agree on the essentials …

Hurray … election goodies have begun. The income tax amnesty has been extended to September 30th. But like an ungrateful voter, my response is a big steups. Unless the extension of time is accompanied by the release of refund cheques, we are all in the same place. The tax amnesty …

It is fundamental that citizens are entitled to understand and, if appropriate, criticise decisions made by the Government or public authorities; and also to be fully informed about the involvement and role played by the key decision-makers, whether Ministers or Cabinet appointees to Boards. This fundamental right is confirmed in …

The unravelling of the contract between the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and Chinese construction company, Gezhou­ba Group In­ter­na­tion­al En­gi­neer­ing Co Ltd (CG­GC), is so close to the fourth anniversary of PNM’s 2015 election victory because it represents the collapse of a significant plank upon which the Keith Rowley-led administration placed …

Prior to the 1990s, the Jamaican business community lived a split life: families in Florida with a commuting businessman. That model did not work—investment plunged, making the businesses uncompetitive. By 1992, their dollar was reeling, causing much concern about social and economic stability. Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart then stepped up with …

When our politicians fail us, rather than responding on the issues, they commonly pursue attacks on critics and angry dismissals of so-called negativity. They are however so blinded by their own rhetoric and the flattery of their satellites that they do not know where to look for—let alone properly to …

John Lennon, the Beatle, in 1965, wrote these haunting lyrics: “You better run for your life if you can, little girl / Hide your head in the sand, little girl / Catch you with another man / That’s the end, little girl / Well, you know that I’m a wicked …

“Fanywa has courageously resolved not to pay the fine or to allow others to pay it for her. She has refused to appeal the case declaring that she is prepared to go to jail on the principle that ‘Caribbean people have already paid enough for the crimes committed by Christopher …

Sedition, careful, careful how you talking … hey hey! Sedition, careful, careful whey you walking Incompetent idiots have genuine patriots Always under escort in the sedition court. The Mighty Sparrow (Sedition) The Sedition Act, used recently to charge Watson Duke (and earlier Michael Seales and Abu Bakr), is a dangerous …

As violent crime continues to overwhelm us, I noted last week the prime minister’s apparent adoption of the concept of violence as ‘a public health issue’ and his intention (unnecessarily as we shall see) to seek the assistance of a foreign expert on the subject. The concept has been around …

“MATT sees the Act as potentially criminalising journalists, media houses, public interest activists, trade unionists, artists, bloggers and assorted social media commentators. “[…] We view current activation of certain provisions of the Sedition Act as, disturbingly, another effort by the State to constrain fundamental rights of free speech and press freedom…” The …