Category Archives: Complaints

Complaints, Food, General T&T, People's Partnership, Politics

Day of Destruction

9 Comments

By Burton Sankeralli
April 26, 2011

The MarketPineapple… sweet potato… water melon… pak choi… lettuce… topi tambo… bodi… pumpkin… corn…

On April 25th, 2011, this Day of Destruction, the so-called Peoples’ Partnership government destroyed 175 acres of food crops in two agricultural sites. There are certain actions that come to define a regime, certain events when such a regime loses its fundamental credibility. Such an event may involve bloodshed or it may, on the surface, be largely symbolic or it can involve the killing of crops.
Continue reading Day of Destruction →

Africa, Complaints, General T&T, India, Media, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch, UNC

A full circle

10 Comments

By Raffique Shah
April 23, 2011

Raffique ShahFORTY-ONE years ago, almost to the week, tens of thousands of mainly idealistic young people thought we had killed and buried the “race bogey” in this cussed country. We had grown up knowing that race-tension lay beneath the veneer of peaceful co-existence that those in authority had proclaimed. Too often, we had heard the epithets “nigger” and “coolie” bandied about, suggesting that after almost 150 years of living together in this melting pot, our people of different races and cultures were clinging to prejudices of a distant past.
Continue reading A full circle →

Complaints, corruption, Culture, General T&T, India, People's Partnership, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch

Stop ‘Sampating’ Africans

26 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
April 13, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeSometimes I don’t understand why so many false dichotomies pervade the thinking of my compatriots, Africans as well as Indians. If I write about how East Indians think (I call it an Indian narrative) I am accused of being racist. If I support the aspirations of Africans it suggests I am anti—Indian. If I favor the candidacy of a particular PNM member for the chairmanship of the party, my friends respond that I am out of touch with the thinking of those on the ground and so it goes ad infinitum.
Continue reading Stop ‘Sampating’ Africans →

Complaints, corruption, Culture, General T&T, India, People's Partnership, Politics, Race and Identity, Racism Watch

The Indian Narrative

36 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
April 06, 2011

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThe racial inanity that gushed out of Nizam Mohammed’s heart ought not to be seen as an aberration; the unfortunate comments of an ill-informed man. It can and should be seen as a part of what I call the Indian narrative that informs the behavior of many East Indians in our society; the reflection of a view that lay in abeyance while they were out of political power only to reveal itself once they came into power.
Continue reading The Indian Narrative →

Complaints, General T&T, Health, Politics

Hospitals of Horror

7 Comments

By Raffique Shah
March 27, 2011

Raffique ShahIF DOCTORS in the public health care system feel that they are being unfairly targeted by Government and the public, they need to pause, collectively inhale, and look into the mirror. They should also weed out those in their ranks who have given this once noble profession a bad reputation. Indeed, many senior doctors who have long moved on into lucrative private practice must also shoulder some blame for the ills that bedevil the public health sector today.
Continue reading Hospitals of Horror →

Complaints, Health, Media, People's Partnership, Politics, Protest

Doctors, Nurses Suspended – CEO Fired

21 Comments

5 Doctors Suspended

By Clint Chan Tack
March 15, 2011 – newsday.co.tt

Health CareFIVE DOCTORS and four nurses of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) Department of the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) have been suspended, pending a full investigation into the death of Carapichaima housewife Chrystal Boodoo-Ramsoomair at the maternity ward on Carnival Friday, March 4.
Continue reading Doctors, Nurses Suspended – CEO Fired →

Business, Complaints, General T&T, Law, Politics

A nation of unrealised potential

28 Comments

By Raffique Shah
December 19, 2010

Raffique Shah“Gobar in de mansions, gobar on de ground

“Gobar in de country, gobar in de town…”

(David Rudder, “The Savagery”, 1998)

SOME people who have the power to effect change and the courage to pursue noble goals with great enthusiasm, often find themselves stumped by the savagery they encounter when they tackle seemingly intractable problems. Trinidadians (more so than Tobagonians) are a strange people. We are mostly warm, friendly, helpful, and sometimes generous to a fault.
Continue reading A nation of unrealised potential →

Complaints, Finance, General T&T, Law, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

A Presidential Challenge

11 Comments

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
December 01, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeWhat does the president of a country do when he is asked to break the law? He responds firmly and comes down on the side of the law knowing that political leaders are always more concerned about gaining partisan advantage than respecting the laws they were elected to uphold. The Cabinet of Trinidad and Tobago has sent a letter to the President of the Republic demanding that he revokes the appointments of the non-executive directors of the Central Bank before their respective terms expire.
Continue reading A Presidential Challenge →

Business, Complaints, corruption, General T&T, Law, People's Partnership, Politics

PM orders review of $47M airports contract

8 Comments

By Corey Connelly
October 10 2010 – newsday.co.tt

Jack WarnerPrime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar last evening signalled her Government’s intention to review the $47 million public contract awarded to a Central company for lighting projects at the Piarco International Airport.
Continue reading PM orders review of $47M airports contract →