Recent events in Trinidad and Tobago like the closing of Petrotrin and many other examples have signalled that we are in crisis. For some, we are seeing a crisis of leadership, for others, we are seeing a crisis of governance. It is hard to deny that our future is uncertain. …
Read More »TTOC Conference: Gopee-Scoon points to sport entrepreneurial fund; urges innovative thinking
“The business of sport […] offers a myriad of entrepreneurial possibilities. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GORTT) clearly understands this reality and has invested heavily in sport infrastructure to build capacity in the local sport industry. “[…] In order to encourage entrepreneurship and stimulate enterprise development, the Government in …
Read More »Not condemning: Can our country contrive to convert cannabis cultivation into hard cash?
“Police burned millions of dollars worth of marijuana plants,” announced a newspaper headline last week, not for the first time. Not for the first time, we dismissed the story simply as the drug rings at it again and went on with our business and our lives. But what if we …
Read More »Dr Farrell: Why I quit EDAB; Gov’t was too slow and not using enough of our ideas
“There remains a large volume of work which is incomplete for lack of resources and I am acutely aware that several persons remain disappointed with the lack of progress on their ideas and proposals. “[…] My own expectations of high-level engagement followed by swift implementation on these and other policy …
Read More »Daly Bread: Musicians on the Titanic; looking at Trinbagonian response to our crises
In 1912, the Titanic began its maiden voyage across the Atlantic from England to New York. The ship was thought to be unsinkable—as though God was not only a Trini but was also the Titanic’s owner. Four days into its voyage, the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank with loss …
Read More »Dear editor: Our budgets lack originality and our Finance Ministers don’t understand ‘diversification’
I stopped watching many TV shows and movies a long time ago because they have apparently run out of ideas and are in the habit of using old shows and scripts—that worked sometime in the past—to see if they would work now. I am now convinced that I should also …
Read More »SALAAM: Attitude lessons for T&T: seeing tomorrow’s salvation in today’s customer service
Once in a store in Canada, I saw a sign that read, “Customer service is not a department…it’s an attitude.” In Trinidad and Tobago, we have a serious problem as it relates to the attitudes of people who have to deal with customers and clients. For years, people have complained …
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