Category Archives: General T&T

Elections, General T&T

Young’s leadership, trauma, and the politics of bullying

Leave a comment

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
April 05, 2025

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeWhen serving as prime minister, Patrick Manning rendered two insightful judgments on the former Leader of Our Grief and Sorrow. He said: “When he cannot have his way, Mr Speaker, his method is to bully you…We do not tolerate bullying in the secondary school system…The minute you oppose my good friend, he gets very, very angry. And if you oppose him strongly, he becomes a raging bull.”
Continue reading Young’s leadership, trauma, and the politics of bullying →

Elections, General T&T

Gimmicks vs governance

Leave a comment

By Raffique Shah
April 05, 2025

Raffique ShahDiscomfiture was writ large on the face of Prime Minister Stuart Young, SC, as he engaged in what many a Trinidadian would term “gimmickry”, serving the people their wants and not necessarily their needs.

At a public meeting in San Fernando he felt compelled to respond to the UNC’s bulging bag of election promises to the electorate. The UNC leadership knows well that the cost of implementing a slew of tax-breaks, increased salaries and services to the people and the host of other “goodies” they appear to be drawing from a magician’s hat, will be prohibitive. They are not practical, given the fall in revenues from our main goods and services. But, audiences at their meetings react to their offers like children at a party when the piñata bursts.
Continue reading Gimmicks vs governance →

General T&T

Discarded human beings

Leave a comment

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
March 22, 2025

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOn Tuesday about 1.20 p.m. I went to First Citizens bank in Tunapuna to transact some business. I wanted to find out my balance and the last deposits and withdrawals that I made. I am aware that if I had Internet banking I could have conducted that exercise from the comfort of my home.

On my way to the bank I saw an old woman, struggling with her walker, and her two assistants—they turned out to be her grandchildren—helping her up the steps. She went into the bank, took a number, sat down and waited to be served by the tellers.
Continue reading Discarded human beings →

Elections, General T&T

Elections free from fear

Leave a comment

By Raffique Shah
March 29, 2025

Raffique ShahMany people in this rainbow country do not know how lucky we are to have so many citizens of so many ethnicities, religions, cultures and varying mixes who could have given us reasons to fight wars of one kind or another, and destroy the dream of most citizens who want only for us to dwell in harmony, respect each other and share the national pie in an equitable manner.
Continue reading Elections free from fear →

General T&T, PNM, Politics

PNM leaps ahead

Leave a comment

By Raffique Shah
March 22, 2025

Raffique ShahWhen the history of politics in Trinidad and Tobago is written, those who are shaping our future and those who are making our history will be alarmed at how easily an epoch was erased, how a new era almost slid past the hands of historians, with hardly a note written about it. Not even the men and women who were reshaping our history were aware of this momentous change, focused as they were on winning an election.
Continue reading PNM leaps ahead →

General T&T

Cooked coo coo and Obeah obsessions

Leave a comment

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
March 15, 2025

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn the end, it comes down to the total miscalculation of a man who talks about responsibility but is averse to planning for the future. He never examines any issue facing the country deeply enough. Now, he insists “our coo coo will be cooked if the Dragon gas deal with Venezuela goes sour”. He even asked his fellow citizens “to send your telepathic power to overcome the negative nonsense about the failure of the Dragon deal”. (Express, March 11.)
Continue reading Cooked coo coo and Obeah obsessions →

Elections, General T&T, PNM

A new-faced PNM?

Leave a comment

By Raffique Shah
March 15, 2025

Raffique ShahI imagine by the time readers get through today’s column, the People’s National Movement (PNM) will have completed its processes and revealed its full slate of candidates minus Dr Keith Rowley, who, as far as I can translate what is happening, will not be prime minister but will remain political leader of the party.

Yeah, I know: I’ve just burdened you with a long-winded sentence; bear in mind that the narrative reflects what is actually happening on the ground. So, if people are confused by what is happening, hopefully they will not be confused by my writing.
Continue reading A new-faced PNM? →

Elections, General T&T, Oil and Gas, PNM

PNM’s obtuse rationalisations

Leave a comment

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
March 08, 2025

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeBlissfully, the Leader of Our Grief and Sorrow will soon relieve us of our miseries. Unfortunately, he leaves his clones behind who know not what they say or do. Chief among them are Faris Al-Rawi, a former attorney general, and Stuart Young, our first unelected prime minister.

Al-Rawi complimented the Leader recently for “his policy initiatives and actions, which he said were critical in stabilising the oil and gas sector in Trinidad and Tobago. He also complimented Young for his measured approach to the imminent change in leadership”. (Express, February 27.) I am not sure what that last sentence means.
Continue reading PNM’s obtuse rationalisations →

Culture, General T&T

A good year for calypso

Leave a comment

By Raffique Shah
March 08, 2025

Raffique ShahThis has been a bumper year for Carnival-related cultural art forms. I have no authority, nor do I have any qualifications to intervene in any debate or discussion on how 2025 matches up with 1962, 1964, and so many other occasions when our calypsonians gave us songs that were timeless. I most definitely will steer clear of engaging in any debate with Dr Hollis Liverpool, The Mighty Chalkdust, a calypso legend, four or five times over during his lifetime.
Continue reading A good year for calypso →