Tag Archives: governance

It now seems incontrovertible that Greenvale Park Development, La Horquetta, should not have been built at all. The disastrous flood risk that materialised to the material and psychological damage to the residents—now facing the further risk of flood-borne diseases—was the proverbial disaster waiting to happen. Several reports in the media …

“Be it Petrotrin, Roodal Moonilal’s Keith Rowley allegations, religious organisations seeking to deny persons their rights on the basis of their sexual orientation or just for not belonging to one belief-group or another, the Chief Justice and the Law Association, and the habitual venom of social media. “[…] It can …

It did not take long for a compere to call last Sunday morning to say: “page 27 Express ringing so many bells for us. Look, just what you have been saying.” I turned to the page as he was speaking. There I saw a report that the Barbados Minister of …

When the 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit in mid-August this year, many were in shock; some even thought it was the end. Warnings of raging tropical storms/hurricanes largely go unnoticed in sweet T&T. Instead, we bring out the rum, puncheon and babash. Recall the road to Manzanilla was cut off not …

It’s five degrees and blustery in Brooklyn this morning and this warm-blooded Trini is cold and freezing. But as I scan the headlines, the temperature is hot and sweltering in St Augustine as UWI students responded to the lack of safety and security on the campus in the wake of …

“Inequality begets further inequality as the elites furiously kick down the ladder by which they ascended, only lowering it to bring up their friends, families and allies. This happens everywhere but we may be more keenly aware here because of the political rivalry and our multi-ethnic makeup… “Jared Diamond, in …

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. …

Two weeks ago, I asserted that the proposed closure of the Petrotrin refinery was a socio-economic earthquake attributable to the State enterprise fault line that runs right through our economy. That earthquake has produced its tsunami. It is a tsunami of grief. The question is this: Do we understand that …

I’m a “glass half-full” kind of person, which is why I see the Petrotrin closure as an opportunity for inspired leadership on one hand, and the transformation of our people on the other. Leadership and transformation both require a willingness to change the way we see things. The behaviourists talk …

“The workers must not however be the only or even the first victims of the collapse and closure of the refinery. “We, the taxpayers need reassurance that the architects of this financial disaster are made to pay a price commensurate with the scale of their failures—be they directors or Cabinet …

“Unite to move country forward,” so said our President Paula-Mae Weekes in her maiden Independence Day message; and in the midst of the closure of Petrotrin’s 100-year-old refinery in Point-a-Pierre, we have no choice but to answer the call as suggested by the President for a unified Trinidad and Tobago. …

It has now been more than a week since it was announced publicly that Petrotrin’s refinery would be closed down. We have been bombarded by information which can be classified as facts, alternative facts and outright fake news. Interpretation of this information has been shrouded in hues of red and …