Monthly Archives: September 2024

Culture, General T&T

Pan and T&T’s coat of arms

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 18, 2024

PART II

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn 1962 when Trinidad and Tobago went into business as a nation, it formed a committee “to select the symbols that would be representative of the people of Trinidad and Tobago”. It produced our coat of arms.

Those representative symbols consisted of a palm tree at the top that was taken from Tobago’s coat of arms (Tobago was annexed to Trinidad in 1889), three gold ships that Columbus is reputed to have used when he visited (or saw the island in 1498), two hummingbirds (Trinidad was sometimes referred to as the “Land of the Hummingbird”), and its motto, “Together we aspire, Together we achieve.”
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General T&T, Politics, UNC

Ignore my advice, MP Paray

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By Raffique Shah
September 18, 2024

Raffique ShahTo listen to MP Rushton Paray tell his story, citizens who have lived through 15 years or more of political machinations will be excused for making out that he believes the hogwash he is spouting.

More than that, he appears to believe we will be convinced his is a political drama unparalleled in the history of the nation. Somebody or bodies should save Mr Paray from making an ox of himself.
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Culture, General T&T

Pan and the coat of arms: the imaginary

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 11, 2024

PART I

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI am always amazed at the presumptions that we, African people, make about the cultures of others and why we feel that they should adopt them as their own.

The Leader of our Grief says that pan, our national instrument, should be placed on our coat of arms because it’s T&T’s cultural gift to the world. Without consulting anyone, he goes to a PNM convention and declares that by Republic Day (September 24) the measure would be brought to the Legislative Council and it would be a done deal.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Politics

Wayy Sah! Ah want dat

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By Raffique Shah
September 11, 2024

Raffique ShahOn the unusual occasion that I venture out of the sanctuary that is my humble home, I would invariably encounter people who ask about my health, a formality they usually dispense with before I can answer them. Two out of three of them would hurriedly shift focus to the subject they likely want to talk about, or likelier give me their opinion: crime.

We all know that crime as an issue did not start yesterday. Sure, it reached crisis proportions a few years ago in this country. But it was always an issue that politicians and citizens who form the electorate can vent their spleen on, and many times cast their votes on.
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General T&T

Duprey and the demise of black business

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 05, 2024

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI was a member of the Central Bank board when Lawrence Duprey’s case came to its attention. Amid the charges and counter charges, it was difficult for the board to obtain CLICO financial records, which would have allowed us to see what was taking place within his company. Aware of its responsibility, the board felt it had to act. It acted, and the rest is history.
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General T&T

Through a schoolboy’s eyes

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By Raffique Shah
September 05, 2024

Raffique ShahIt was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I was determined to make full use of everything I heard, saw and read. By the time Independence Day came around in 1962, I had learnt a whole lot of what it meant.

I did not quite understand some of the terms the politicians and legal professionals used. I knew that as a new nation we were severing ties with Britain, but the extent of that change was clouded by the perceptions and often plain politicking of certain politicians who had their own agendas.
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