Tag Archives: corruption

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 …

“[…] There is no greater example of our misapplication of the national watchword, tolerance, than the way we treat Yasin Abu Bakr… He hosts press conferences, and participates in national discussions as if he is qualified or worthy. He is not. His very presence at the table is an insult …

Trinidad and Tobago did not buy ‘cat in bag’ when we hired Mr Gary Griffith. We knew full well what to expect.  In October 2015, then Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon reported on his predecessor’s bid to purchase armoured vehicles for the police service:  ‘Unknown to the PS and …

1959: Then Minister of Home Affairs Patrick Solomon removed his stepson from the Woodbrook Police Station. 2002: Late Prime Minister Patrick Manning phoned the Marabella Police Station where his driver was being held. 2018: former Minister of Public Utilities Robert Le Hunte has an altercation with a police officer for …

“[…] ‘No, no. Everybody going. My friend took her mother and they give him a vaccine one time and he young’… ‘I just take a chance when they set up in the paddock in the Savanna and it was around 5 in the afternoon and they just take my whole …

Mr James Chang Kit resigned his post on 4 January, in reaction to what’s happening at the Office of Procurement Regulation. I think it is immaterial that he did so three weeks before his term expired.   When should he have done it? The bill was proclaimed on 27 December 2020. As if …

Politicians and their satellites do not always practise abstinence from corruption.  If persons populating our institutions abstain, without credible cause, from the limited opportunities to act as checks and balances, we can expect no change in the rate at which the corrupt will abscond unjustly enriched. Last week, amidst public …

“[…] The proposal to amend the act by making the procurement by ‘public bodies or state-controlled enterprises of legal services; financial services; accounting and audit services; medical services; or such other services as the minister may, by order, determine […] subject to negative resolution of Parliament’ exempt from the requirements …

If we are interested in an equitable and just society, we have to be interested in governance which begins with having a shared vision of the future based on common values and aspirations.  Ideally, when citizens are engaged in developing that vision, they feel committed to its realisation. The last …

Malaysia are many thousands of miles away but share many similarities with Trinidad and Tobago. They beat us to independent status by five years, adopted the Westminster system of governance and enjoyed key financial growth through industrialisation. They are divided along ethnic lines and as such practice race-based politics. They …

“[…] How many business people can write an honest account explaining their rags to riches story, or share a history that can serve as a roadmap for others? “If any of them opt for the challenge they would have to omit the bribes and protection money they pay, the tax …

It’s been more than 15 years since the Piarco Airport corruption scandal, and the once high-flyer Renee Pierre is before the court to answer three corruption charges. My late mother from behind–the–bridge used to say: “Friends will carry you, but they won’t bring you back.” This is still stellar advice—especially …