‘Like stick break in yuh ears’ is one of our colloquial expressions, frequently addressed to the stubborn. The admonition can have a contemptuous tone, but our rulers have used it with reference to those who persist in gathering in defiance of coronavirus regulations and common sense. We can use it …
Read More »Dr Rowley spent night at hospital, due to undergo tests this morning
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley remained hospitalised at the West Shore Medical Hospital this morning after feeling unwell yesterday afternoon, according to a release today from the Office of the Prime Minister. Rowley was said to have had ‘a comfortable night’ and ‘will have medical tests conducted this morning’. The …
Read More »Daly Bread: Abstinence, abstention and absconding; sold short by procurement vote
Politicians and their satellites do not always practise abstinence from corruption. If persons populating our institutions abstain, without credible cause, from the limited opportunities to act as checks and balances, we can expect no change in the rate at which the corrupt will abscond unjustly enriched. Last week, amidst public …
Read More »Dr Farrell: No Sacred Cows revisited; understanding the PNM’s assault on Central Bank
“[…] The PNM administration seems allergic to institutions which are independent within the executive and run by unelected persons. “It is clearly one of the reasons for the pre-emptive assault on the Office of the Procurement Regulator rendering it a eunuch, so that the hands of elected ministers will not …
Read More »‘Dangerous to the extreme!’ MSJ points to ‘disturbing’ amendments proposed for Public Procurement Act
“[…] The proposal to amend the act by making the procurement by ‘public bodies or state-controlled enterprises of legal services; financial services; accounting and audit services; medical services; or such other services as the minister may, by order, determine […] subject to negative resolution of Parliament’ exempt from the requirements …
Read More »‘Charity begins at home!’ PNM NWL defends treatment of Venezuelans, accuses Opposition of ‘political trafficking’
“[…] Charity begins at home and regardless of our race, religion or political persuasion, we must love this island we call home, more than any hidden corrupt political agenda. “[…] Only persons void of vision and completely driven by a cultic obsession for power will suggest that the government should …
Read More »Demming: Transforming a ‘toilet’: POS rejuvenation must also address social problems
After 58 years of leadership in both parliamentary and mayoral elections, and 16 or 17 development plans, it has been decreed that the city of Port of Spain will finally be transformed into a shiny new metropolis in north Trinidad. It is a welcomed announcement, but like other similar declarations, …
Read More »Demming: 23% of T&T supports government; but here’s how to increase participation
I can blame Covid-19 for feeling stuck, but that would not be entirely honest. That feeling of ‘stuck-ness’ has been happening for a while and Covid-19 has only made it more intense. My observation of Parliament, via the Parliament Channel, often evokes the thought that I have heard this before; …
Read More »Is it me that has ‘faux concerns’? George Jr fires back, insists govt letting businesses down
“[…] We simply cannot continue like this without a massive fiscal intervention. My interviews last week were designed to get this message over to the policy makers and to the public. “Unfortunately the message seems to have been either misinterpreted or misunderstood as being hostile… And [Noble Philip] says it …
Read More »Noble: A week of misinformation; how Chamber, UK MP and anonymous tweets added to ‘noise’
There appears to be broad agreement that the economic challenges, in the wake of Covid-19, are enormous. Facing a precipitous export earnings decline of 41% (roughly $10B in the last year), we should all be thinking about how to navigate the future: how to make the most of what we …
Read More »Daly Bread: Accountability without insult—can minister Browne be the ‘new normal’
The reported threat posed to Trinidad and Tobago by the floating storage offshore vessel, the Nabarima, moored in nearby Venezuelan waters has been of concern for nearly two months. The Nabarima contains over one million barrels of crude oil, in storage on it. The vessels’ condition was reported on internationally …
Read More »NJAC: Budget shows Dr Rowley has abdicated responsibility for citizens to ‘rich elites’
“[…] Lacking in creative ideas or solutions, the government has decided to accelerate the process of privatisation and free itself of responsibility for the people’s welfare, wherever it can. “In NJAC’s estimation, what needs to be understood is that with privatisation, there are certain core concepts such as trimming the …
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