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 …
Read More »‘Should PolSC have been left in the dark?’ President says Merit List for CoP was received and ‘withdrawn almost immediately’
“[…] 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that an Order of Merit List in respect of the commissioner of police was delivered on 11 August 2021 to the OTP and withdrawn almost immediately thereafter that day.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 …
Read More »Noble: Fixing our ‘superfluous’ mess; how the Judiciary, President, and Prime Minister stood up
Within the last two years, the world has had two pivotal moments: the arrival of Covid-19 and the development of the vaccine. The virus started small but has taken lives and wrecked economies, changing the way we live forever. Even though ‘Operation Warp Speed’ delivered vaccines way ahead of schedule …
Read More »Daly Bread: Concerns remain over Al-Rawi’s half-Nelson and the Office of the President
Who aborted the process for the appointment of a substantive commissioner of police and why? Is the unprecedented situation of the top leadership positions in the Police Service now being vacant the outcome of the President’s acts and omissions concerning the merit list which the Police Service Commission had settled, …
Read More »No, Faris, ‘superfluous’ is NOT a compliment; Live Wire picks up the pieces after GG judgment
This week, Trinidad and Tobago witnessed a breathtaking lack of administrative foresight accompanied by a paralysed executive branch with a side order of absent checks and balances. The outcome? Pandemonium in one of the most respected offices of the land, with citizens left feeling uncertain and disoriented while media reports …
Read More »Daly: Prime Minister’s duty to ‘inform’ does not excuse PolSC Chair meeting or alleged instructions
Recent reference has been made to the Prime Minister’s constitutional duty to keep the President of the Republic informed of the state of affairs in Trinidad and Tobago in purported answer to public concern about an alleged meeting between an unnamed public official and the then Chair of the Police …
Read More »‘Boorish, petulant, distasteful and demeaning!’ Robinson-Regis asks Nakhid to resign, UNC Senator hits back
Minister of Planning and Development Camille Robinson-Regis: “[…] Senator Nakhid’s instrument of appointment was given under the hand of the President who is the head of the Republic, yet he has chosen to attack with such venom and vitriol, and for that alone, he should demonstrate at least a modicum …
Read More »Noble: The PolSC’s Game of Thrones—as fingers point at Bliss, what of Kawalsingh’s conduct?
The Bible has remarkable insights into power politics: indeed, the popular series Games of Thrones may have drawn inspiration from it. We are witnessing the intrigues and drama of local politics as two powerful tribes—kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and honest men—play a deadly, internecine game for control. …
Read More »Daly Bread: Who is guarding the public interest, as public offices fall prey to political interference?
It is well known that in a functioning democracy checks and balances to guard against abuses of power are required in the public interest. In addition to the separation of the respective powers of the political executive (principally the Cabinet), the legislature and the judiciary, there are additional constitutional provisions …
Read More »‘Do the right thing please!’ Daly knocks ‘silence’ from President’s House over PolSC collapse
It is not surprising that this government, which has lost its way in a fog of authoritarianism, believes that it can dismiss the collapse of the Police Service Commission (the PolSC) as a trivial event for which it is not obliged to account. However, what does the President of the …
Read More »Daly Bread: Bliss’ secret meeting may have destroyed last trace of confidence in PolSC
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. …
Read More »Noble: Faced with ‘a right-wing coup’ involving the PolSC, the CoP and the AG, someone had to act
The drama surrounding the contract of the Commissioner of Police reveals our nation’s values, tests the strength of the commitment we make to our institutions, and shapes the character of our country. We take our democracy for granted and point to the 1990 attempted coup as a sure sign of …
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