By Sean Douglas
Thursday, April 30 2009
PRIME Minister Patrick Manning said the Fifth Summit of the Americas is earning TT and Caricom more respect and foreign investment. Addressing the 20th anniversary celebration ceremony of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) on Tuesday, at the Diplomatic Centre, he boasted: “There can be no doubt about the gains to our country and the region from this undertaking. Tourist arrivals will increase and it will certainly be much easier to market our region as a single tourism destination.”
The business community in the Americas, he said, is now more than ever aware of investment opportunities in TT and Caricom. “And the flow of investment will certainly grow.”
The PM said the Summit has led to locals acquiring new skills in hosting international events. “The region and its peoples have been promoted and have gained a new respect in the international community,” he said.
He recalled Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper saying Caribbean leaders had brought reason and calm to the Summit when it was expected to be contentious.
“Prime Minister (Stephen) Harper of Canada captured this when he said that Caribbean leaders were very instrumental in bringing reason and calm to a Summit which was expected to generate heated contention,” said Manning.
http://www.newsday.co.tt/politics/0,99332.html
Our empty runways
I left Trinidad the morning the Summit of the Americas ended. In the wee hours I set off to catch an early flight and so avoid the inevitable chaos on the roads as thousands of foreign diplomats, technocrats, journalists, leaders and visitors, who had talked themselves out at the Waterfront, would be eager to depart TT’s shores. It was a good move. Dawn had just broken but Piarco was bustling, as if the sun had never set on the day before.
News:
WHO: Global epidemic very likely
Govt seeks more control of CL group
Duprey, Karen in showdown:
Government is expected to put its demands in writing for a greater say in the management control of the troubled CL Financial Group on the table today.
Jack, Ramesh face disciplinary action
…as Kamla heads team to unite opposition forces
Bodies everywhere
The body count rose again yesterday, with reports early in the morning that police shot dead two gang leaders in Diego Martin and a man had been found hanging in a cell at the Central Police Station in Port-of-Spain. By late evening, a woman’s body was found in bushes near the St Ann’s River.
Govt seeks new top cop
AS the country’s murder toll continues to rise, Government begins the search for a new Commissioner of Police (CoP) when it lays three orders in the House of Representatives tomorrow at 1.30 pm.
SAUTT unlawful
THERE is no law which constitutes the Special Anti-Crime Unit (SAUTT), former chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) Kenneth Lalla SC, said yesterday…
Right example
If the Government of Trinidad and Tobago does not obey the law of the land, why should citizens be expected to?
Relatives want probe into ‘suicide’ prisoner
Woman found dead down St Ann’s precipice
Mom cries foul in prisoner’s death
Three suspects held in Sean Francis killing
Police mix-up: family finds Lena’s body
FOR the past six months, the family of Lena Johnson had been searching for her, believing that she had gone missing. Little did they know she had been dead all along.
Private funeral for ‘Bill’
…a gang believed to be responsible for a suspected arson attack in Beetham Gardens, sparked by the mysterious disappearance of four illegal guns, is believed to have fatally shot Francis.
Leah’s disappearance linked to serial killing
A 27-YEAR-OLD woman of Felicity, who police believe is one half of a couple who kidnapped and killed several young females in central Trinidad was arrested at her home yesterday and a quantity of jewelry seized.
Dookeran accuses PM of ‘prostituting office
Max Knocks UNC
President on Integrity Commission
President George Maxwell Richards says “it is regrettable” that the facts surrounding the length of time it took for the appointment of new members to the Integrity Commission are being “misrepresented to the media by persons who ought to know better”.
New Integrity Commission Friday
PRESIDENT George Maxwell Richards will at 9.30 am tomorrow swear in the new members of the Integrity Commission, according to a statement from President’s House yesterday.
Prove the Summit benefits you claim!
Minister of Trade and Industry, Mariano Browne and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning, keep insisting that the Summit was beneficial, what and where are the benefits? They are talking and talking and talking but not offering anything of substance that we can rely on or trust!
What the public can expect now is to hear this government claiming that you won’t see the benefits now, it takes time! Time is the cover they will now hide under till the end of time itself!
The government will attempt to put a spin on the issue until the public forgets about it, and knowing how peoples’ minds work, it will be forgotten soon and the government will be off the hook.
It is now up to the journalist and citizens of TT to keep the pressure on the government to show concrete proof that this Summit was indeed beneficial. We must not let the government off the hook, be it a week, a month or a year and beyond, we must keep at them and not allow them to deceive us, ever again!
I am certain they are all sitting down and waiting for us to forget about this Summit, so they will not have to account for it. Don’t let that happen TT, shame on us if we do.
This Summit was too costly, while nothing meaningful is being accomplished to alleviate the day to day cries of our citizens.
There is no real proof that the hosting of these Summits brought any real short or long term benefits to the nations who hosted it before. Anything from our government to the contrary is deceitful.
The people must prove to the government, and themselves, that we are not a third world people, sitting silently while our third world government destroy and squander our future with their fantasy island thinking.
The government talks a lot, but offer no proof of benefits, not only with the Summit but in many other areas of governance. Something this government has become notorious for.
“It is now up to the journalist and citizens of TT to keep the pressure on the government to show concrete proof that this Summit was indeed beneficial.” What exactly are you asking David? You are certainly correct in saying that the Summit was costly. The government and advisors knows it, and most of the public are also aware. Here is news for you however, they are going to host the next 53 nations Commonwealth Summit in November regardless I believe . This is is expected to cost perhaps twice the amount money as this summit,and no one seems capable of stopping them.
Where does that leave us unable to perform a miracle and field a ticket to remove them from office by then? What is your end game – to use a chess analogy ?
Of course one is justified in keeping the power brokers collective hands to the fire ,but let’s also make an effort to step up the game . I for one made a pledge to avoid these prolonged debates about the merit or demerits of a particular policy ,as it advance no real developmental agenda for our people and nation that I am concern about.http://www.thecommonwealth.org/news/181046/300608chogm.htm What’s your thoughts on that subject ?
I would believe that the next step is to pressure the government to show the same amount of attention to areas further from the capital. If there was a five mile perimeter around the foreign representatives during the summit for example, now that boundary should be expanded and maintained for all citizens. The next step is to urge the government to build upon what it started so that more Trinibagonians can benefit.
Very laudable ,and I am in total agreement with your suggestions. Let’s see how we can do it Curtis ,Neal, and David ,while perched behind our computers in safe havens millions of mile away .
In my now found uplifting persona , I am going to curb my sarcasm for a while, and give you a practical task to work on , so as to get a feel as to your reasoning cousin C , and push the discussion along.
Let say that you as well as many others in your close social circles are disgusted with the slow pace of concrete immigration reform by the Canadian government . Likewise ,your next door neighbors, PTA President , and a few work colleagues are perturb by the paltry efforts that respective Canadian governments have pursued since independence towards indigenous Native Indians , as far as compensations for what they consider as past borderline genocidal acts , and wanton discriminations . What effective strategies do you propose to pursue in an effort to move forward and pressure for real changes ?
Neal, so you like what is going on in our country, man open your eyes man…see through the lies…
Remember, YOU TOO ARE A KEYBOARD WARRIOR as you sit behind your desk in your home or your work or where you are. Did you see anything good come out of the summit – maybe a nice wall?
Let the truth be told, people are not happy my friend and what are you doing to help it, support the current government, maybe you are getting something on the side that the rest of us may not know of hmm?
http://guardian.co.tt/news/general/2009/03/15/beetham-residents-working-dvd-expose-neglect
Very well Nate. I totally agree with you and will cease to be PNM party hack that you claimed that I am. How ludicrous!
Let me see , what are the prices today for one of those NJAC African prison gab outfits favored by Makandal Daaga your esteemed progressive political leader?
Nate Olumwale, the people of my country were the ones that voted repeatedly since 1962 ,and gave the PNM the mandate to rule them as they wish. Come next elections, if the “people are people are not happy” with the government’s stewardships, then they’ll do what is necessary again via the ballot box to replace them. Good luck with your political adventurism my friend.
I wonder what’s the price for land in St. Lucia ? Got to leave these nut case Trinis alone. You can bet that most could care less if ‘Good Friday falls on a Monday,’ for all their pretense of outrage .
Our premier Mr.Manning is just looking out for himself. He know is very unpopular with the Trinidadina public. Toursim will never blossom in Trinidad unless the crime rate take a downturn. Hosting the Fifth Summer of the Americas was just a stunt. Its great we have World leaders visiting, but how can we gain international attention if our own government is corrupt. Mr.Manning just has a way of getting attention off him. In order for Trinidad to aquire a permanant place on the international community, we need major changes. Lets start at looking at our government for answers, this method might get them to do a little thinking. We have to re-claim our title, “The Athens of the Carribbean”.