Tag Archives: Office of the President

George Washington Carver was born into conditions of slavery but nevertheless became a prominent agricultural scientist and innovator in crop farming. I mention him in the context of our leaders masking reality with excuses.   Carver stated his view in a single sentence: ‘Ninety-nine per cent of failures come from …

Two weeks ago, the President of the Republic in her words ‘spoke to the issue of the substantive appointment of commissioner of police’ and confirmed that ‘an order of merit list was delivered on 11 August 2021 to the OTP and withdrawn almost immediately’. OTP is a reference to the …

Many readers will recall the political controversies in which President Anthony Carmona, the immediate predecessor of our current president, was involved—arising out of the purported exercise of powers that he thought he had. As a result, citizens hoped that the presidency would return to calmer waters, not made turbulent by …

“[…] Senator [Anthony] Vieira fails to realise the irony and hypocrisy of such a blanket statement against unnamed members of the Opposition, effectively against all of us. And if Senator Vieira does not immediately withdraw this statement—which implicates myself and other senators, who made no such remarks—the Senator will be …

“[…] Some commentators are suggesting that there should have been a debate so that answers to questions that the public have could have been obtained. We disagree. “[…] Neither the President nor the former Chair of the PolSC sits in the Parliament so that, given what we’ve heard in the …

The swearing of an oath by our presidents is an expression of a specific intention to others. It is not limited to the moment when the person articulates the words. It commits to act in a certain way in the future.  This action is a deliberate exercise of one’s free …

“[…] I confirm that an Order of Merit List in respect of the commissioner of police was delivered on 11 August 2021 to the OTP and withdrawn almost immediately thereafter that day. I therefore had no list from which a notification could issue. “[…] If there exists apparently credible information …

On 22 September 2021, it became public knowledge that former member of the Police Service Commission (PolSC) and attorney-at-law, Roger Kawalsingh, had made a serious allegation of a secret approach to the Chair of the PolSC regarding the appointment of a Commissioner of Police (CoP) and outgoing CoP, Gary Griffith. …

It is clear to many of us that both the approach made to the Chair of the Police Service Commission by an unnamed public official and her subsequent actions were questionable and probably involved breaches of the Constitution. Admirably, she has resigned. She is due our gratitude and thanks for …

“For the President to issue a Policy that restricts livestreaming, broadcasting and publication of her name and image without permission is a direct threat to freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Unlike those constitutionally entrenched rights, there is no constitutional protection for the President’s name and image.” The …

“The Office of the President therefore advises members of the public—inclusive of advertisers, promoters, event organisers, publishers, broadcasters, practitioners and users of traditional and digital media, and all others whose functions may come into contact with the Office and/or person of the President—to refrain from use of the President’s image, …

President of the Republic, Paula-Mae Weekes, recently gave two interviews to Hema Ramkissoon of Guardian Media and Ria Taitt of the Trinidad Express. These interviews have raised interesting issues about the constitutional powers of and limitations on the office of the President. The Express, somewhat kindly, stated that President Weekes ‘has …