This week I am returning to the recent Court of Appeal declaration that it was a breach of the constitutional rights of two citizens of Trinidad and Tobago (the Applicants), who were denied re-entry into Trinidad and Tobago when the borders were closed during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the material …
Read More »Daly Bread: Gopaul v Seepaul—T&T needs effective consequence management
Recently, the Attorney General, Senator John Jeremie SC, announced that the State had decided to discontinue an appeal against a High Court judgment in which the Court condemned the forcible retrieval of a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago from Barbados, by Trinidad and Tobago law enforcement, in circumstances where he …
Read More »Daly Bread: Two Miles of ‘Roy’ Regis and DJ Pelau
Co-incidentally with the event described below, drawing talent from the diaspora has been in the news. The Government has passed legislation to allow persons to obtain Trinidad and Tobago citizenship through a grandparent who was a citizen at time of the applicant’s birth. The immediate benefit of this legislation is …
Read More »Daly Bread: The need for the pan drum; and what T&T is missing with cancelled parade
I expect that my disappointment at the cancellation of today’s Independence Day military parade, in which the Defence Force is joined by other agencies of our protective services, will be mitigated by my attendance at Saturday night’s Brooklyn Panorama. Today, instead of exchanging Independence greetings on Tragarete Road, in the …
Read More »Daly Bread: T&T must press on with New York pan business and commercialisation of steelpan
World Steelpan Day falls in August, which was a month designated as Steelpan Month in Trinidad and Tobago some time before the United Nations proclamation of that special day in 2023. Do these August activities, including the annual event at Times Square—as enjoyable as they are—in reality do anything for …
Read More »Daly Bread: Legislative trees, shrivelling fruit—T&T must move from ‘commemoration to completion’
As I have made plain, I value the commentaries contained in letters to the editor. Last week I quoted the contribution of Anthony Bennett of San Fernando with regard to the lack of accountability permeating the state enterprise culture. I did so in the course of a commentary following the …
Read More »Daly Bread: Making sport with our money—state enterprise system remains “fertile ground for mismanagement”
In these weekly columns I have pursued certain matters that the leaders whom we elect by means of general elections are simply not willing to confront. Unhelpfully, many other significant leaderships in the nation are generally content only to mouth platitudes about ‘partnering’ and ‘welcoming’ as they sway with the …
Read More »Daly Bread: Crunch time! Can UNC Gov’t transform T&T from “get-away” place for criminals?
In the recent past, governments both of the United National Congress (UNC) and of the Peoples National Movement (PNM) have had the then president of the Republic proclaim states of emergency said to be directed at the level of violent criminal activity. The dates of the proclamations were respectively 21 …
Read More »Daly Bread: T&T must avoid ‘democratic backsliding’, in face of a three-fifths majority
Against the background of recent attacks on the Independent senators, I outlined last week the two constraints on three-fifths special majority legislative power contained in our Constitution. I conclude the examination of these constraints this week. First, however, I pursue the question why such constraints are necessary. Next week, I …
Read More »Daly Bread: The justification for ‘Independent’ senators and special majority constraints
Several readers have pressed me to say how I felt on the merits of the Prime Minister’s Pension (Amendment) Bill, which was passed by a special majority and took away from Stuart Young SC MP a very substantial pension. Young would have had this pension even though he held the …
Read More »Daly Bread: A time to stand firm—Independent senators must stay true to conscience
I have re-examined the long-standing perils of our manipulable state enterprise system, focusing last week on how inadequately prepared we are for oversight in terms of appropriately trained personnel and available or reliable data. This week I wish to emphasise that it was into that same manipulable environment that the …
Read More »Daly Bread: The problem with governments’ management of state boards
Integrity, accountability, financial prudence and consequence management are not simply partisan political issues. They relate to the socio-economic health and well-being of our country and are or should be of concern to the wider public. Moreover, indifference to these issues undermines trust and confidence that the country’s resources are being …
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