The current Government, having voted in Parliament for the appointment of Gary Griffith as commissioner of police (CoP) on the occasion of his first appointment, clearly no longer wished to have him returned to that office. This should not have been a problem. Griffith had been appointed on a fixed-term …
Read More »“Irrational, erratic, disrespectful, accusatory and unreliable!” Dr Rowley’s alleged issues with then CoP Griffith
“[…] I consider your correspondence a threat and as such since you refuse to be guided and assisted and advised, I am to advise you that I will report this matter to the Minister and the Commission for their urgent attention. “You are now a person out of control and …
Read More »Kangalee: Dr Rowley’s bluff has failed, and he’s struggling to hold off dissent in his own party
“[…] Pushing his deadline back to 17 February in the hope that his under-fire Attorney General comes up with some legislative arrangement that could pass muster won’t change the price of coconut water. It gives the forces opposed to his policy more time to mobilise. “[…] Most importantly, though, …
Read More »‘Downright dangerous!’ MSJ condemns Jacob’s explanation for use of tear gas on protesters
“[…] What is also of extreme concern was the statement made by more than one senior police officer, including by the CoP (Ag) McDonald Jacob, that the tear gas was used shortly after protesters started chanting ‘Rowley must go’. “Mr Jacob surmised that this chant could have been the precursor …
Read More »Dear Editor: Prime Minister is feeling strain of bungled public sector vaccination drive
“[…] The Prime Minister was forced to concede defeat on his ‘mandatory/safe zones’ initiatives for the public sector. Not only was that completely bungled by his Attorney General-turned-Minister of Labour, recently turned Minister of Marine Affairs, but the labour movements called his bluff. “He now has to move his deadline …
Read More »Demming: Minister West’s persistence with dress code in govt bldgs betrays colonial hang-ups
Minister of Public Administration Ms Allyson West is reported as saying that Government has more important issues to deal with than a dress code. Of course you do, Minister West. Therein lies the problem. It is a problem of politicians losing touch with the needs of ordinary folks and forgetting …
Read More »MSJ: The PNM and UNC have ‘colluded’ to kill Bill to regulate campaign financing
“[…] The MSJ condemns the PNM and UNC, as they have in effect colluded to kill the The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill. “[…] If it ever becomes law, it would require political parties to be registered similarly to companies and mandate that parties present audited financial statements and …
Read More »Daly Bread: The AG’s dodgy sea legs make his Govt stumble over Ocean Pelican
The People’s National Movement (PNM) campaigned obsessively in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections on the issue of the suitability of Watson Duke for office, and lost comprehensively. Days later, it began trying to discredit the winning party by reference to Duke’s alleged conflicts of interest. The court …
Read More »New PSA president urges workers to ‘reject outright’ Govt vaccination policy
New Public Services Association (PSA) president Leroy Baptiste made his first public statement today, three days after taking office, and it was a call for workers to ‘reject outright the Government’s coercive attempt to force vaccination on the citizenry’. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced on 18 December that, to …
Read More »Demming: Thanks for transparency, Imbert; now we need repercussions for Scoon party boat
‘When the lights go on, the cockroaches scatter’, is what popped into my mind when I read about the Ministers of Finance, Health and Trade and Industry, the Attorney General and the Adrian Scoon party boat issue. A special restaurant licence was issued to businessman Scoon without the approval of …
Read More »Daly Bread: Unending questions, unfinished business
We begin 2022 in the midst of times of intense uncertainty, at least equal to that of wartime but probably bigger because every country in the world is simultaneously a theatre of upheaval. Moreover, the uncertainty is not just a generalised one about the future; it is an uncertainty about …
Read More »Noble: Bringing it home—the cost of dodgy protests and political own goals
The problem is not the dragging of the coffin—as loathsome as that may be. The problem is not the use of coarse language and the electrifying of the voter base. The problem is the ongoing corrosion of our society, where boorish folk and screaming bullies are greeted as heroes by …
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