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Archives 2017
- Reading for pleasure and knowledge December 31, 2017
- "I'll share with you a personal secret...I. Don't. Like. Pone!" said Malcolm Jones, emphasising every word he uttered. I couldn't believe what he revealed: a Trinidadian who did not like pone, that cassava sweetbread whose taste and texture are sinfully irresistible to natives of this country?
- Peace unto all-at least for the Christmas December 20, 2017
- "I'll share with you a personal secret...I. Don't. Like. Pone!" said Malcolm Jones, emphasising every word he uttered. I couldn't believe what he revealed: a Trinidadian who did not like pone, that cassava sweetbread whose taste and texture are sinfully irresistible to natives of this country?
- Sunset or sunrise, no support from Kamla December 13, 2017
- If there was anything shocking about the opposition United National Congress members voting to scuttle the so-called anti-gang legislation in Parliament last week, it was the seemingly shocked expressions on the faces of the Prime Minister, the Attorney General and other members of government.
- Riding a wave of discontent December 06, 2017
- Many people, among them the anointed political pundits, seem to think that the widespread discontent among large sections of the population over what they see as lame governance by the Keith Rowley-led administration, and a depressed economy that shows no sign of recovery, could erupt into a violent political upheaval such as this country has experienced on several occasions in its pre- and post-colonial history.
- A time to kill November 30, 2017
- I am not optimistic over the Prime Minister's promise to citizens that the near-riot that erupted for the umpteenth time last week in the Beetham community will not occur again.
- Only in Trinidad November 23, 2017
- Until such time as persons in public life who are criminally responsible for stealing from the public purse, or for abusing their powers to enable their friends or associates to unfairly, maybe even illegally, acquire state lands or subsidised housing...
- Sexual misconduct haunts public figures November 16, 2017
- Amidst an avalanche of allegations of sexual misconduct against a phalanx of prominent men, mostly in the USA, but also in other developed countries, one can anticipate a similar surge here in Trinidad and Tobago, although our litigation procedures are more constrained, some might argue restrictive, than in those jurisdictions.
- No scruples, no consciences November 09, 2017
- Two Thursdays ago, at around 11 a.m., one of my brothers was robbed at gunpoint as he pulled up at the entrance to his home off Beaucarro Road. He had returned from First Citizens Bank in Couva where he had withdrawn a few thousand dollars to pay farmers who supply him with hot peppers.
- Fall of giants-but there is hope November 03, 2017
- A friend of mine, a Queen's Royal College alumnus, no less, and an Afro-Trini, which is relevant only because of the theme of the discussion we had, having scanned the list of the 389 national scholarship winners
- Let casino workers plant peas in Cumuto October 26, 2017
- It says so much about this country, about the national psyche, when, in the wake of a budget that will impact the cost of living almost across the board, reducing people's purchasing power, the most vociferous protests are coming from gambling establishments that add nothing productive to the economy
- Considering a new commissioner October 19, 2017
- The last hope we have for reining in runaway crime in this country lies with a leader yet unknown, the man or woman who will be recommended by the Police Service Commission to be named Commissioner of Police, subject to approval by Parliament.
- Every Trini wants to go to heaven October 11, 2017
- As I digested details of Government's 2017-2018 Budget and monitored the furore that followed its presentation, I kept hearing "in mih head", somewhat like calypsonian Shadow and his "Bassman from hell", the lyrics of a song that was popular about ten years ago, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die (to get there)."
- A happy wonderer October 04, 2017
- When you have lived as long as I have, and for most of your adult life you have had an interest in politics and affairs of state to the extent that you actually pay attention the annual Budget presentation by the Minister of Finance...
- Public transportation a priority September 27, 2017
- I continue to focus on issues pertinent to the economy, to chastise the Keith Rowley-led administration for using the slump in the energy sector, hence plummeting government revenues, to moan and complain and blame for their inactivity, rather than being bold and innovative, grabbing opportunities that require little by way of capital investments, but which might yield rich returns.
- Grab Gulf coast opportunities September 20, 2017
- The suggestion I made last week to phase out the Port of Port of Spain (PPOS) as a cargo port and expand the Port of Point Lisas (PPL) to become the main such facility in the country, generated much interest and discussion.
- Beyond the ferries fiasco September 14, 2017
- The sittings of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament that is probing the procurement process of two ferries, maybe three, were broadcast live on television and are said to have displaced the leading "soaps" in popularity among television and radio audiences.
- Remembering Malcolm Jones August 10, 2017
- "I'll share with you a personal secret...I. Don't. Like. Pone!" said Malcolm Jones, emphasising every word he uttered. I couldn't believe what he revealed: a Trinidadian who did not like pone, that cassava sweetbread whose taste and texture are sinfully irresistible to natives of this country?
- Why I chose a private hospital August 2, 2017
- I declared a personal health crisis at 2 a.m. two Wednesdays ago, informing my family that I needed to be taken to a hospital for emergency treatment for possible pneumonia or threat thereof.
- Lost generations amidst free education July 12, 2016
- And we wonder why, in this land of plenty, we are seeing increasing numbers of young delinquents who invariably, in their middle to latter years, become dependent on the State for all their needs and much of their wants...
- Has God abandoned this cussed country? July 5, 2017
- I am convinced that God, in whatever manifestation the people of this multi-religious society pray to him, has given up on Trinidad & Tobago. How else can we explain the near-total breakdown of systems that define a functioning nation? The economy is in a mess. Criminals are in control, striking at will.
- A bend in the river July 2, 2017
- In 1950, when I was four years old, my father moved the family from a sugar company cottage in Brechin Castle (now Rivulet Road) to a rented house near the Croisee in Freeport. The house, two bedrooms sitting on stilts about five feet high (I'm writing from childhood memory), was located off a sharp bend in the Freeport River, the main watercourse in what I call Greater Freeport.
Labour Day blues June 28, 2017
I awoke on Labour Day morning to Public Services Association (PSA) president Watson Duke saying in a television interview: Maternity leave? I'm not talking about maternity leave. I am talking about parental leave…two years each for both mother and father…
I arrived by birth May 30, 2017
There was a minority view back in the 1980s/1990s when the lobby for a holiday to mark the presence of Indians in Trinidad & Tobago was loudest, that the termination of indentureship in 1917, not their arrival in 1845, should be celebrated.
- Don't nail judge to race-cross May 30, 2017
- For some time now I have sounded warnings to our tribal leaders, more specifically those in the frontline of the United National Congress, that they are playing with fire by fanning the embers of racial strife that could easily ignite.
- Colm created tax confusion May 30, 2017
- Finance Minister Colm Imbert must shoulder much of the blame for the fiasco that a relatively simple exercise, the submission of information for the valuation of properties across the country, has degenerated into.
- Indian Tribalism May 19, 2017
- For some time now I have sounded warnings to our tribal leaders, more specifically those in the frontline of the United National Congress, that they are playing with fire by fanning the embers of racial strife that could easily ignite.
- The centre must hold May 6, 2017
- For the second consecutive week, I find myself turning to poetry to help me interpret the state of the nation: things are indeed falling apart. The centre seems to have abdicated its authority and responsibilities, collapsing before our eyes.
- Arithmetic lessons for the Finance Minster April 28, 2017
- Trinidad and Tobago is one cantankerous country-we always quarrelling. In fact, we invariably have several quarrels raging at any point in time over issues or personalities such that we go off on tangents, forgetting who or what was in dispute in the first instance.
- A Challenge for Comrade Roget April 16, 2017
- Let it be clear that I am not joining any chorus of condemnation of OWTU president-general Ancel Rouget for his remark on bpTT's decision to have its Angelin gas platform fabricated outside of Trinidad & Tobago, "Take your rig and go!" As a former unionist, I fully understand and accept sloganeering, bravado, and even outrageous statements as legitimate tools of the trade.
- Dillon must win the war-or surrender April 08, 2017
- In case you have not noticed, Trinidad and Tobago is gripped by war. Maybe I should rephrase that: there are several wars raging across the country. I wish I could say "civil war", But there is nothing civil in the barbaric rules of engagement that seem to allow for one side to catch the other off-side and blaze them with bullets, only to have shooters from the home side exact revenge when the opportunity arises.
- Oh, what a country! April 08, 2017
- Permit me to quote from a column I wrote in June last year. It is the first time I'm taking this liberty, but I feel compelled to so do, and I think readers will understand why as I proceed.
- Legalise it! Mar 13, 2017
- Permit me to quote from a column I wrote in June last year. It is the first time I'm taking this liberty, but I feel compelled to so do, and I think readers will understand why as I proceed.
- At 71, a good run Mar 08, 2017
- As I mark 71 years of life today, almost all of them spent in my native land, I reflect on how I have fared, whether I am happy with what my country has done for me, and what I have done for my country. On both counts, I can say I am satisfied. Not fully, mark you.
- Americans' right to revolt Feb 24, 2017
- (WARNING: The contents of this column are meant to inform readers, more so citizens of the USA, of their constitutional rights vis-à-vis those who govern them. They are not intended to incite anyone, anywhere, to take drastic action to remove any leader, even if he (or she) has become a despot...)
- Hail the Queen Feb 24, 2017
- I had planned to write on the resurgence of Calypso Rose since last year, when, having read about her successes in France, I decided to check YouTube to get proof of the pudding, in a manner of speaking.
- Work, don't scratch Jan 31, 2017
- I suppose I have become a cantankerous old geezer as I approach 71, and it shows in my intolerance for what I see as damn foolishness while other folks, many as mature as I am, see nothing wrong with things that irritate me.
- Work, don't scratch Jan 24, 2017
- I suppose I have become a cantankerous old geezer as I approach 71, and it shows in my intolerance for what I see as damn foolishness while other folks, many as mature as I am, see nothing wrong with things that irritate me.
- We must do, or die like stray dogs Jan 11, 2017
- If fantasy could be magically transformed into reality, as Dictator-General of Trinidad and Tobago, I would harness the approximately $10 billion per year that is wasted on cigarettes, alcohol and gambling and put that money to productive use.
- A decisive year ahead Jan 04, 2017
- IF asked what is the number one problem facing the nation as we enter 2017, the overwhelming majority respondents would say violent crimes, especially murders.
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