“[…] So, in the opinion of those who signed the [Cabinet sub-committee report on WASA operations]—all of whom are politicians—the problem is WASA’s executives who are not held to account. “So who should hold the executives to account?” The following Letter to the Editor on a Cabinet sub-committee report into …
Read More »Dear Editor: The media must beware of unhelpful ‘post-truths’ about mental health
“[…] I had a problem when she said, ‘No matter how privileged or happy your circumstances are, most humans suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.’ “No degree of latitude from journalistic licence should be allowed about that statement. It is incorrect—not just because I am a psychiatrist saying so…” The following …
Read More »Dr Rowley: ‘T&T recognise our responsibility in transitioning, over reasonable and manageable time, to net zero…’
“[…] Even as a small country with limited resources, we will make every effort to report to the required standard, with some assistance, of course. We expect others to do the same. “[…] Mr President, as an economy largely based on oil and gas and petrochemicals, we in Trinidad and …
Read More »Camille: Gov’t committed to the environment; Kamla should leave climate out of petty politics
“[…] Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, in his address which aired on local news channels in Trinidad and Tobago and is available on the UN’s website, spoke of the need to raise climate change ‘adaptation, ambition and action’ while working for the survival of not just mankind but all species. …
Read More »Dear Editor: Is the Govt too afraid of the Opposition to introduce mandatory vaccines?
“[…] Having apparently exhausted every avenue of encouraging vaccination apart from the obvious one, the official stance appears to be shifting to ‘well, we tried’. “On an intellectual level, I know why this is the most expedient approach… [However] if our Government, elected to lead in the best interests of everyone, …
Read More »MoE: We won’t put children’s education at risk; physical school reopens for ALL forms 4-6 students
Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly announced today that all students from forms four to six ‘and their equivalents’ must resume physical school on Monday 25 October, regardless of vaccination status. Online schooling will be discontinued for such forms from Monday. However, forms one to three will remain online for …
Read More »MoE, TTUTA clash over school for vaccinated students; Gov’t wants more, union wants less
Ministry of Education: ‘[…] After analysis of the physical attendance data for Forms 4-6 students, the Government has proposed the reopening of physical school for all vaccinated secondary students of ages 12-18…’ Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association: ‘[…] The promotion of academic inequity by the MOE through its current …
Read More »MoH attempts to clarify ‘safe zone’ businesses, alcohol consumption still ‘strictly prohibited’
“[…] Owners, Operators and Customers of the above businesses are reminded as follows: The consumption of any food or drink and/or in house dining on the premises of the businesses listed above is permitted only if the businesses meet the requirements of the Safe Zone policy as delineated in Regulation 6 of …
Read More »Best: Picking sense out of MoH nonsense; Dr Fuad Khan’s broadside at Piarco Covid system
“This makes no sense,” Dr Fuad Khan thunders at one point in his latest online sermon. “Whoever did this system is a dunce! Is time to get rid ah dese fools in the Ministry of Health.” It’s not easy to decide which set of fools is more wearisome, harder to …
Read More »Demming: Will Imbert’s bottled water move make T&T the Caribbean’s laughing stock?
A friend from up the Caribbean laughed at me on Monday evening and, unable to find any sensible defence, I was terribly embarrassed. Making bottled water exempt from VAT, she remarked with a loud chuckle, is ‘a level of worldliness which only you Trinis understand’. Eight of our Caribbean neighbours …
Read More »Dear Editor: Months of missed opportunities: how Deyalsingh and his experts dropped the ball
“[…] Evidence suggests a very strong link between Covid-19 and obesity. In March 2021, the Independent, Sky News and Reuters published an article which highlighted that 90% of Covid-19 deaths were in countries with high obesity rates (in 2018, T&T was ranked 6th in childhood obesity in the Caribbean at …
Read More »Afra Raymond returns to Nelson Mandela Park and refuses to play ball with National Trust
Supposedly in response to my own post in these pages on 9 September 2021, the National Trust made an engaging and informative post here on 17 September 2021. The most striking aspect of that reply was that the essential query was not addressed at all. For those who have an …
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