Tag Archives: public sector

Recently I witnessed an act of discrimination at the Ministry of Legal Affairs. Two people were not allowed to enter the building because of their dress. One was wearing mid-calf jeans and the other had jeans with horizontal tears. In my own case I was only allowed in because I …

After digesting Gregory Aboud’s insightful commentary in the Trinidad Express, it behooves me to offer a retort. His “Silence of The Elites” piece is chicanery masked as concern for country and changing the status quo. Aboud may genuinely believe that he is offering a compelling and emphatic critique of his …

It has now been more than a week since it was announced publicly that Petrotrin’s refinery would be closed down. We have been bombarded by information which can be classified as facts, alternative facts and outright fake news. Interpretation of this information has been shrouded in hues of red and …

Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith could face scrutiny over his role in what was effectively a sexual harassment case at his ministry. Documents, audio recordings and witness accounts provided to Wired868 point to a clear pattern of inappropriate behaviour by the Diego Martin Central MP. Smith, ably …

“This Company has been spinning top in mud since the investigation into the eight people—who were sent on administrative leave—began… “Since [those suspensions] it is as if the heads currently running the Company do not give a damn about the staff!” The following letter, which was copied to Sport Minister …

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is still being commended by some for taking decisive action in firing Ms Marlene McDonald for a second time. If Dr Rowley had any appreciation for the philosophy that “politicians serve their party best when they put their country first”, Ms McDonald would not have …

Last week’s column raised the issue whether each of the two main political parties are captive to the power wielded by wealthy businessmen. I did so in the light of Mario Sabga-Aboud’s boast about the power that his community had. I also made sure to include in my inquiry the …

Natasha Barrow, formerly the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs’ Permanent Secretary and Sport Minister Darryl Smith’s personal travel agent, is on the move in the first notable fall-out at the MoSYA after last month’s infamous Tobago splurge at the Magdalena. Barrow authorised a TT$92,000 bill for 12 ministry officials—including Sport …

Once in a store in Canada, I saw a sign that read, “Customer service is not a department…it’s an attitude.” In Trinidad and Tobago, we have a serious problem as it relates to the attitudes of people who have to deal with customers and clients. For years, people have complained …

Two Tuesdays ago at a meeting in Mt D’or, Minister of Finance Colm Imbert boasted that there were only two people who knew the contents of the budget, the Prime Minister and himself. The subsequent applause for this revelation is symptomatic of the nature of our state. We are accepting …

“Indeed, the government has to find ways to generate some savings, but wholesale attrition of state-owned entities cannot be a forward-looking strategy. “Especially when looking at them from a profit-loss point of view loses a sense of how some of them may contribute to our recovery and our economic prosperity.” …