By Richardson Dhalai
January 11, 2016 – newsday.co.tt
THE succesfully lobbied to “Axe the Tax” now Congress of the People political leader Prakash Ramadar is warning that the proposed Property Tax of the current People’s National Movement administration can transform an inheritance to a “debt burden.” Ramadhar was speaking at the COP’s first post-national council press conference for 2016 at the party’s Operations Centre in Charlieville.
According to the COP leader the honeymoon period for the Keith Rowley administration was over and warned that the coming year could be a challenging one for citizens.
“This year ahead of us, from all indications appear to be a very challenging one, not just to the relation in the upsurge of crime that we have seen recently but certainly the uncertainty of our economic future and the measures that have been indicated by our government to deal with some of the financial and economic shortfalls,” Ramadhar said.
“This property tax has the effect that you may have a property burden with such taxation that instead of leaving an inheritance for your children, you leave a debt,” he said.
“The honeymoon is now over and this government must take responsibility because we, all of us, paid the price on election day for all the things that you said were wrong about the past government,” he said.
Ramadhar added that if there was corruption during the People’s Partnership’s administration, then the State’s institutions had a duty to investigate and prosecute those who may have been involved.
“The blame game of putting things on the last administration has to stop. It has to come to an end. You are in government today.
You have the cooperation of the Congress of the People to do the things that will lift this nation, but we are committed equally to say when things are wrong as we have in the past and to help find solutions as we go forward,” he added.
At yesterday’s council meeting, the party’s members discussed the return of the Property Tax and the uncertainty surrounding its implementation.
The COP’s general secretary, Clyde Weatherhead, pointed out several discrepancies. He noted that while government was advising citizens to pay the old Land and Building taxes while the Property Tax regime was being finalised, this could be troublesome since the old form of taxes had been abolished in 2009.
“The only existing property tax or tax on property in Trinidad and Tobago is the property tax under the Property Tax Act 2009,” Weatherhead said, adding, “The Land and Buildings tax was abolished by the repeal of the Land and Building tax Act.” “Land and Building taxes no longer exist,” he said.
“The Property tax was never collected in 2009. When the law was passed, there were issues about the valuation and as there has never been an agreement within the circles of government on the real basis of the valuation to be done,” he said.
“The property tax was never actually implemented, in 2011. It was suspended because the intention was to have it reviewed,” he added.
He said the COP would be going out into the communities to solicit views from citizens on the Property Tax and make the necessary proposals for amendments to the legislation.
“We want to see how we can ensure that people’s right to their property is protected and an awesome burden is not placed on people on top of the fact that we facing increases in prices due to reduction in gasoline subsidy, and now intention of increasing water rates, electricity rates and others. And with the removal of VAT (Value Added Tax), we may be facing increases in the prices in food as well,’ Weatherhead said.
Meanwhile, Ramadhar said there had not been any further negotiations between the member political parties which had comprised the People’s Partnership Administration since the 2015 General Election and noted that the COP was an independent party which was seeking to grow its membership.
“That arrangement for the People’s Partnership for the 2010 to 2015, there have been no further negotiations after the elections.
We continue to work together with all who are interested in the development of the nation but the COP stands as an independent party as it always had,’ Ramadhar said.
However Ramadhar noted that the COP was intent on national development and had already spoken to the Attorney General and Minister of National Security on plans to propel the nation forward.
Folks despite what the COP leader is saying the PNM will implement the property tax. In developed nations there are property taxes, however, that tax never goes into the general fund where it could be disbursed for anything. The property tax collected stays in the municipality where it funds schools, fire services, roads, parks, garbage collection and municipal government. Everyone pays except churches or places of religious gathering.
What the COP leader must do since he has fought the introduction of property tax is ensure that the property tax does not go into the General Fund where the PNM pork barreling businesses get to eat, drink and make merry while communities fall into horrible states of disrepair. Yes, previous PNM administration punished UNC areas starved them of funding. This tax should remain and be spent where it is collected. There is a legal case for this otherwise it should not be name property tax but rather the Imbert Tax. Property tax is what it name states to enhance your property by provision of goods and services.
“Folks despite what the COP leader is saying the PNM will implement the property tax. In developed nations there are property taxes, however, that tax never goes into the general fund where it could be disbursed for anything. The property tax collected stays in the municipality where it funds schools, fire services, roads, parks, garbage collection and municipal government. “……….
Excellent point Mamoo! But guess what you are missing:
Who provides the road access to these lucrative houses the UNC people are building? Who provide the water to these lucrative homes? Who provide the electricity to these lucrative homes? Who provides the and makes provision for the disposition of sewer waste? Who is responsible for the general services provided? I think you know the answer to that. The money to provide all come from the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Do you mean that the home owner should get all that tax free? All he has to do is build a huge compound as the one built by one your PPP government minister in Gulf View and don’t pay one penny of taxes? Let us bring sanity to this argument, do you REALLY believe that government should be taken advantage of like this?
Again Mamoo, you stated ” The property tax collected stays in the municipality where it funds schools, fire services, roads, parks, garbage collection and municipal government.”
Great point! but you have to follow the politics to its intended purpose. What did the Prime Minister say about the municipal arrangements in his budget presentation speech? I am absolutely sure YOU WOULD NOT REMEMBER! Let me enlighten you, he said, under his administration the budget will cater for local government to take care of its municipal needs without the heavy handed intervention of the Minister of Finance. IS THAT TRUE OR AM I LYING? So, tell me Mamoo, where is the municipality going to get that money from in this new arrangement? It is one thing to criticize but another to be truthful in your presentation. That is exactly what the Primer Minister is saying. Criticism if you must, but don’t mislead. As far as Prakash Ramadhar is concerned he speaks on both sides of his mouth. On one hand he is berating the government for imposing the property tax and on the other he is paying quite handsomely for for a small unit of space (a condo in Broward County) in Florida.
With a space of less than 1,500 square feet of space, he is paying (for the year 2015) $2,889.37 in property taxes. HE is doing it with a smile on his face because he enjoys living in the Runaway Bay Section of the city with a good view from the seventh floor. Let me state that he is taxed , not on the full value of the property (meaning what he would get if he sells). His taxed value is currently
$142,920. For that, when he sends money from Trinidad to pay his taxes in Florida, he would have to send $18,520.86(TTD). This is what he pays for less than 1,500 square feet of (air space – 7th floor). So, when he gets into Parliament and pretends that the government is being insensitive, he very well knows better and is in fact pretending he does not know the value of property taxes.
He is a liar just as the rest of the PPP crew.
Much more can be said about this but I will leave it to that for now….
Kian what you are say irrelevant to the topic being discussed. You would get a “d” in university for writing such gibberish. Please Winnie and Yoruba are terrible as is… Let’s engage our minds on topic.
Mamoo, I am sure you don’t want to go down that road of educational grading. The point I am making is one that commonly goes over the heads of people who lacks rationality (or should I say reasonableness). Here, a member of Parliament – Prakash Ramadhar, is making a point against the property tax. 999.9% of the countries in this world that we live in Pay Property Tax. For whatever reason, Kamla and her PPP gang suggests that paying of property taxes is a bad thing.
Among those making that argument is Ramadhgar himself.
I am showing where he, Ramadhar have absolutely no problem paying property taxes in another jurisdiction without any problems whatsoever. Not only is he paying it. He is paying at a much higher rate than the one he wants to legislate against. How does that make my topic irrelevant? What I am showing is that Ramadhar is a hypocrite. If he does not believe in taxation of property why does he go and buy where he has to pay property taxes? This is the gist of my argument and it is my hope that you can follow that argument also.
There is going to be property tax because the Syria/black bourgouise class in charge. Nothing Ramadhar says is going to change that, hypocrite or not…
I visited my home town in south Trinidad after 20 years and things were more or less the same as I left it 20 years ago. Water is provided four days a week now instead of one or two, the cemetery is dilapidated, the slush from the drains is dragged to the sidewalk and there was an awful smell, potholes galore, even the simple concept of building shaded taxi stands don’t seem to have occurred to anyone. Gosh Trinidad in not florida. Anyone who thinks it is should visit the “traces” in south Trinidad where people OWN lagoon land and where they invested their life earnings to “fill” the land and build homes with no help from the government. My childhoods was mud, mosquito, lagoon and bush but my grandparents left a fews plots of land for their children.
For the sake of clarity, paying of property taxes in Trinidad and Tobago IS THE LAW. It has always been the law and facing the reality of the state of affairs that the Kamla led PP government left us in, it has to be a source of revenue for the government to function with some sense of fairness and sensibility. The NO TAX phenomenon has many dark sides to the political intent on axing it. The benefactors of that intent are not the poor lagoon farmer struggling with mosquito and bush. For the moment lets just say this: those who have access to land records, transfer of properties, gaining lands on the fly, and the owners of mansions are most heartened and welcomed if they ax the tax.
Nuff said.
Yoruba, Kian & Neal, “EXMaha” = Expatriate MahaSabha !!
This onenhas joined the fray to inject the same nasty stink propaganda that poor living conditions = PNM neglected Indians….Notice that he/she doesn’t say so explicity but the key words “lagoon”…please remember that this “foe” (casts-mind) NEVER comes from ‘The Front’ but either the ‘side’ or Preferably From BEHIND (Knife/Wolf) NONE of the conditions you described even comes CLOSE to the SLUMS of North East-West Trinidad and i’m being direct African Areas…BUTTTTTTTTTT only Non-Rawans could possibly feel pain & suffer…or…Rawans SUPPOSED to suffer for their ‘Blackness” eh?? SICKKKKKKKKK!
BUTTTTTTTTTT, Let me address this issue of “traces” and the Indian areas that are often cited as examples of aneglect from PNM…it is a DECEPTION!! Raiding the Barn & crying “WOLF WOLF!” At the same time!…….There is a very deep, ingrained CULTURE Of State & Private(African) Land Theft amongst the Indian Community in T&T, and it started with the Buyover of Tate & Lyle (Sugar Company) Which was losing $$$$$ and in an Effort to prevent INDIAN masses from being out of work (just like Cepep/Dewd etc) Dr. Eric Williams BOUGHT the unprofitable business from TATE & LYLE & made it a Government (State) Company Hence the RE-Name CARONI 1975 LTD. Now, The younger generation would not know this but, before Tate & Lyle was sold, it was in the Hands of Whites & THAT company had the most feared Police protection in the Land…NOBODY could even steal a single stalk of Land without being arrested & charged,BUTTTTTTT, in 1975 things changed…because of it was now government (non white) owned the Dynamic changed….and we know the “hostile & recalictrant” (DLP) was/is towards PNM (african headed) governance. And since the abolition of slavery Africans were ‘legally’ FORCED to leave these lands and form overcrowded, landless communities in the nort west/north east….sooo from when they arrived in 1845 until 1917 as an ethnic grouo INDIANS spent generations in & around the Vast land resources we now refer to as “caroni land”….soooo when these lands became under government control i 1975 Many indians Knew where all the land that was behind prying eyes of the public (africans/major roadways) and started ‘Appropriating’ LARGE QUANTITIES/Huge Acreages Of Land i.e. STEALJNG…and since they did it as a community or those who did it wouldn’t be reported many years would pass and they would LIE and say it was ‘passed’ to them…NOW…many africans (still to this day) are very ignorant of this CULTURE & how Easy it was over the decades to manipulate the law & steal Land…I grew up witnessing these things
e.g, I knew a Hundu Family and the Father, spent MANY years building his home on squatted land(this isn’t even my point)..he built it up to a 2nd floor home (this was a novelty back then) Then he had recently retired, when his son got married and do you know what he gave the couple as a ‘gift’ (Dowry)?? He packed up his stuff & moved to another plot of state land and suatted There with NO electricity or running water!!…Don’t understand what the gift was as yet??? HE GAVE THEM HIS ENTIRE HOME AND LAND (State Land Eh)….soooo he gave away state land as a gift (dowry) to one child and squatted on another plot of state land (stole it)…After he died, the house thzt he died in on his knew stolen plot, was passed to the faily, soooo, Today his great
grandchildren live in the SECOND house he built (Kamla/suruj) gave them lights & newly paved roads….while African people along the east west corridor waiting decades for a landless HDC house ir spending their meagre earnings in rent (also no land) THIS IS INJUSTICE….this is just ONE story that i have shared…..another thing about Indians is that they don’t merely squat out of desperation as Africans do…but with an intention to use the land to START BUSINESSES…Do you have any IDEA how many WEALTHY INDIAN BUSINESSMEN stole land in the past 5 years,3 months??? ACRES…and it was in sync with their politician facilitators……Multi Millionaires steaing land that they could pay for…..but it didn’t start 5 years ago it merely experienced exponential growth….let me share some of the techniques that are used that require community as a whole involvement…..i know of a family(Hindu/Indian) that spent many years at address (A) but deliberatley formally listed their address as where their stolen acres were (B)….could you guess WHY?? So in the future (change in administration) they simply say “look, this is our land, we have our bills/mail sent there to prove it”….unlike formal communities in the city, one could merely deceive the lone postal worker that the their actial address is where to deliver the mail, but all the while buolding a legal ruse over a generation to present to ‘the system’ as ‘proof’ of ownership…..another one is where if a certain amount of people ‘bare witness’ that it is in fact your land, then it is….basically, the law when it was written, didn’t cater for an entire community willing to LIE on behalf of a member….but with a well organized criminal minded community it works JUST FINE…and there are many of them….You see the drug trade in T&T? ? You see the murder rate s among african people?? And how little monetary/soxial gain they receive?? There Re entire comminties in Many port areas, where EVERYONE is involved…grandmother, aunt, uncle…ALL the neighbours take part….but there are no murders in THEIR communities…they are ‘wholesalers’ ‘distributers’…they distribute to OTHER (communities)…their children go to Harvard, yale, own hardwares & a plethora of businesses in the Non oil & gas sector….I close with my original tied in pount….Many Indians consider squatting as a culture to advance their political (Settlement Colonialism) and financial Ambitions….they squat, plant & wIt then buil businesses…Then Complajn that PNM didn’t build roads & neglected them,….they created these slums…deliberatelt..and expect to extort infrastructure from the ‘rawN’ government….all those guyanese indians who snuk in from NAR & UNC’s two twrms….WHERE do you think they reside?…..take a drive in the rural areas (off the main roads)….that is their little secret….go deep inside tthe rural areas and squat!….within a generation or two….a UNC stronghold & business centre selling used car parts etc…sound familiar?? A friend told me in 2012 he visited a lumber yard in South T&T(off Debe)….you had to look for this….no police station etc….squatted land but a Lumber Business(exports for major $$$$$) & guess what…..13+ guyanese Indian Workers who got silent went he arrived…and they did not look too comfortable around him….THIS IS INJUSTICE! …When Indians boast of haveing 100’s of acres ‘passed on’….i take it with a grain of salt…Not that all Indians do it, but it is a conspicuously RAMPANT CULTURE among them…there Re many legal loopholes and tricks that have been mastered since 1975 that has seen a hemorrhaging of state land into the Hands of the Indian community….this is all BESIDE what they benefitted from as payment formindentureship in lieu of returning to India…the white colonials essentially gave them a lucrative incentive to stay & Battle ex-slaves who the colonists hated!
OPEN YOUR EYES!
I was involved in a “Squatter identification” project with the last administration. The following was discovered:
-Squatters do NOT pay property taxes even though they enjoy all the benefits from the state such as solid waste disposal, road repair, water, electricity etc.
-It was found that about 50% of squatters live in Laventille, Morvant, La Brea, Train Line , Diego Martin (parts), Moruga (parts),Pt. Fortin and do not pat property taxes. Some properties are worth upwards of 2 million dollars.
-People fron above named areas (those not squatting) pay rent as little as $64/ month for an apartment and the HDC maintains these dwellings.
-More areas were identified but stats. were not available..
_Conclusion: the property tax, although essential to a country, in T&T, is geared to be imposed on selected people and party supporters. Equity is lacking!
I thought that you were doing fine until – you mentioned the word ‘equity’. I woke up from my slumber to start taking notes. I notice that there is a large squatting village, in the neighborhood of the Yoruba/St Madeline area. My guess is that you Bowe is well aware of it but you purposely neglected to mention it. Reason? Those you mentioned are all ‘PNM’ areas so in your mind or portrayal of your sense of non-tax payment, is the reality that ‘PNM’ people don’t pay any taxes, they only want UNC to pay! Aint it so Bowe? One of the most misused words emanating form the UNC is the word ‘equity’. When inis used by the UNC minded person it connotes something other than the real meaning of the word, which is the equality of opportunities.
The UNC mind is always perverting the word to mean something else. There is nothing in the comments written by Bowe that can be equated to the meaning of ‘equity’. I fail to see how that fits into the argument of the property tax. The government has stated time and again, it will undergo the task of identifying every single property. Those with a name to them will be taxed in accordance with the formula stated by the Finance Minister. The properties that cannot be identified will of course have to be flagged for
another kind of exercise. nIt is as plain and simple as that.
Kian, “BOWE” erred in typing his name, he meant to type BHOE…when reading these caste-minded contributions, look out for key words like “Last (UNCOPP) Administration” “Squatter Identification”=scouring every inch of land in T&T,with land surveyors from France, with the express purpose of “appropriating” any & every prime lot of land into the coffers of…in order of preference & trickle down social model as follows:
(1) Light skin Hindus
(2) Dark Skin Hindus
(3) White In-Laws
(4) Presbyterians
(5) Striaght Haired Muslims
(6) Almost white Africans
(7) Dark skinned bumsee licking party(UNCOPP) hacks
BHOE (mispelled as BOWE) exposed a subsection of KAMLAmatics i.e. KAMLAtistics…how come he arrived at the magical 50%?? Why not 51% or 52% 47% squatters in African Areas?? BHOE wants to ‘share’ the blame on Africans BUTTTTTTTTTT, Africans in This HEMISPHERE did not ‘migrate’, but were Human Trafficking Victims, who were then forced to work for Hundreds of years FOR FREE, as apposed to Indentured Labourers (Portugese, Chinese THEN Indians), who were WILLINGLY MIGRATED to T&T, to escape caste persecution (their religion)!
Upon the abolition of slavery in 1834, Africans were FORCED to leave their lands that they cultivated, because of the then, NEWLY, MALICIOUSLY INVENTED ‘Squatter Laws’ by the colonial government.This forced Africand to leave their lands of birth, crops etc. And flee to the North West-North East corridor in cramped, landless conditions. ALSO, to add insult to injury, William Hardin Burnley (Tacarigua), the most educated & influential Slaveowner in T&T at the time insisted, against the recommendations of the other colonists, to import labour from INDIA, because, he noted that indians were driven by their CASTE PREJUDICES (Brahminism/’Hinduism’ i.e. an obsession with
skin colour & status) and he also noted that as a consequence, these Indian Labourers would NEVER UNITE with Africans, but rather, as he also noted, they would “stand aloof” of them (SCORN, SUPERIORITY COMPLEX)!
ALSo, to add insult to injury, how did the colonists FUND the Importation of Indians (Boat fees etc.) ?? They TAXED Africans!!..not only in T&T..Jamaica also (among others)…Sooooo Africans were NEVER PAID for hundreds of years of Labour or compensated for the Horrors of being LEGALLY less than 3/5 of a human being. BUTTTTTTTTTT, Indian Labourers were PAID Workers & compensated with LAND as an incentive to stay in T&T and side with the white, former Slave Masters against African progress..
“Squatting” cannot be JUSTIFIABLY or ACCURATELY applied to the cramped, landless, desperate, inter-generztional conditions of Africans in “PNM” areas or anywhere else. INDIAN squatting(as a group) has always been, and continues to be a Deliberate act of “Settlement Colonialism”, Entrepreneurship & Politcal Hedgemony (Look up settlement colonialism)…Whether it is admited or not,Africans (slaves) Indiams (Paid, scab labour) are two completely different experiences that predictably spawned two completely different lineages of existence. Africans cannot squat if the land was owed to them in the first place!
“ALSO, to add insult to injury, William Hardin Burnley (Tacarigua), the most educated & influential Slaveowner in T&T at the time insisted, against the recommendations of the other colonists, to import labour from INDIA, because, he noted that indians were driven by their CASTE PREJUDICES (Brahminism/’Hinduism’ i.e. an obsession with”
Winnie you sound more like a professor whose racist writings we are all familiar with. The word Tacarigua gave me such an impression. Also the type of historical notes can only come from someone who did or teaches Africana Studies. Hmmmm, interesting.
“We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the tone of voice in which it has been expressed is unsympathetic to us.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
“Winnie you sound more like a professor whose racist writings we are all familiar with. The word Tacarigua gave me such an impression. Also the type of historical notes can only come from someone who did or teaches Africana Studies. Hmmmm..”
Mamboo
If this is the case Mamboo, so what? I say about ‘darn’ time , a few of our intellectuals wake up, smell de T&T Toco/ Tobago produced chocolate ,and start addressing , pressing socio- economic -com political problems ,that impact negatively African folks , and by extension, our nation asa whole.
You tribal bums have been doing that for quite some time, ennnt?
Smelling only de Starbucks, and Canadian Cafe,and English tea , while doing everything possible to destroy your Pais.
Thank you very much for your prudent ,digital advocacy efforts Sister Alyssa. Perhaps one of the sharpest , intellectually stimulating / refreshing minds ,I have had the good fortune to view, since driving on dis here Information highway, some 8 anos agora.
Sadly , we stuck with too many ‘cultural imbecilic creatures ,’claiming to be learned citizens , who are too foolish to recognize , that our T&T will never elevate , to achieve, that coveted , authentic, ‘Sustainable Development’ status , as long as the majority of our respective folks , remain stuck in that proverbial bottomless pit /quagmire of social despair.
Yes Mamboo,I am indeed referring to brainwashed , now DESPERATE Black/Brown Afro-Trinis, and their equally Brown/Black dirt poor , ketch tail ,misguided , exploitable Indo – Trini cousins- excluded by self aggrandizing elites ,on both sides of the so called Socio-political divide.
Unfortunately , there are those ‘self serving, neo tribal , greedy, me me , gime , gime , dog with ahhh bone , country haters ,’like yourself- if not a frictional character, as I suspect, of both yourself , and twin TMan- who naively think, that because someone like the astute Sistaz A, is prepared to highlight ,in as cogent a manner – the plight of historically neglected Afro Trinis, it’s because she must be a racist. What folly!
Let me guess, you and kind , did not have a problem , when Pat Chookolingo, decided that main stream media (dominated then ,by Express, Guardian, TTT, Radio Trinidad/ 610 ) was ingnoring his people, and so , with the help of an unemployable , then social pariah ,in Sandhurst trained-Coup School military elite , Ex Lt. Raffique Shah, and surprise / surprise ,an eccentric Rastaman journalist , called Kieth Shepherd, presented the Bomb, Blast ,and Mirror,to rectify what he deemed as bias, subjective ,and untenable journalistic anomalies, did you?
You did not deem it racist , when a two bit actor , and sub par lawyer, name Basdeo Panday , returned from his studies in England, and wormed his way into the Trade Union Movement , while leading Sugar workers to fame, land , and political glory , via de ULF/UNC, all the while ,riding the backs of poor Indo Trinis Hindus / Muslims, using his pal Sat Maraj , and similar other phonies,both corporate , and civic , to achieve his and family narrow ends,si?
Yeah we know , it’s never racist when African blokes such as our local Surge Knights, Makandal Dagga, Winston Peters , Lennox Phillips- aka Yasin Abu Bakr , Wade -MBA-Mark, clueless PP, National Security Brigadier John Sandy ,Culture Vulture Winston Peters- aka Gypsy, Kamla’s nephew in law ,Marshall Montano, one time -UNC’s hero / Queen Maker-Jack-FIFA- Warner, Tobago Duckman-Jack, Tobago- East -anti Rowley -Vanilla ,and Errol-anti labor PP- grateful -National medal recipient -Mc Cloud , sold their ugly souls, to de tribe , for a few pittances, hmmmm? We know for a fact, who were the cyber clowns , who jumped to de high heavens , when that intellectual relic Dr Selwyn Ryan , gabbed his final 30 pieces of silver , to throw all African youths , and by extension his entire race under the symbolic bus , with the idiotic claims that Soca music , was the sole cause of criminality among such young people.
Just wonder what the glorified Professor Emeritus would claim , contributed to this high, uncanny predilection, for suicides, and white color banditry, by folks that looks like his political benefactor Kamla, and her mentors Baz, and Sat,… ummmmmmm?
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-03-25/ryan-crime-report-soca-music-breeding-criminals
Tell you what folks . My former Sociology , and Pol Sci Professors , would all get heart attacks , if someone as respected as this Ryan character , was a colleague , and worst yet ,came to such an erroneous conclusion – but not in our T&T, where anything goes , especially when it can lead to further subjugation of a people.
Where was that fraud call Dr. Ramesh Deosoran? Yep, silent as a mouse , just like the militaristic joker Griffith ,and his clueless , morally repugnant wife , before they both fell from grace , once they no longer served any useful purpose , to Kamla , and her Cabal.
We get it Mamboo, racism can only be conjured up in ‘you alze’ twisted minds, when someone , has the audacity to speak up on behalf of a neglect people. put differently. If someone of African persuasion , or otherwise ,has the temerity ,to highlight the social realities of Indo Trinis, but refuses to use the same ridiculous talking points , favored by you, Tman, Intricate, Trini Rawoils,or the myriad of similar braying cyber donkeys , then such person, or persons , must of necessity be racist. Did I get that right?
In contrast , we the more responsible blokes , that make up TriniCenter Nation ,don’t roll like that . As neo -Humanist – social progressive patriots, our styles may differ , but close observations of our seeming ramblings/ rants , and misguided machinations ,would indicate to others with a moral conscience ,( and something more than a standard 1 education )otherwise.
Exploitation, injustice, and beat down of the weak , by power mongrels , have no place in our society, and we will do whatever it takes , to expose the characters who think it should.
Yeah Basdeo, we know your favorite mantra “politics has a morality all of it’s own.” Let’s see how , unlike globally admired ,Tobago born Statesman ANR Robinson , how the world at large view you, upon your death , most likely from sclerosis of the liver , which brought on a stroke, en route to trying to topple your protege Kamla, as UNC head, in support of that still politically naive daughter Malika -Benizia / Inderi- Panday.
Hypocrisy is not our hallmark, and so we look with derision at deadbeat dads, who indulges in child neglect ,and domestic violence in all forms , be they Pundit MP Sharma, esposo of late TV Journalist Marcia Henville, or a pedophile / abusive prison officer hombre of the late Sherry Ann Scheran , who though initially ,became so distraught at loosing her more financially stable breadwinner , she eventually committed suicide ,to deal with her overwhelming guilt, for not taking more decisive actions , when she had a chance so to do, that might have protected her traumatized young delicate daughter, Mohini Ganase.
As folks die daily on our streets ,many due to drunken driving , we get outrage when politicians use tax payers dollars, to help stash $400,000 worth of grog ,in de PM’s residence , so as to satisfy the culturally driven , insatiable taste ,of their alcoholic, party supporting cronies- in possession of chauffeurs , that can drive dem home , in their drunken stupors.
In like manner , we are disgusted , when Afro Kinky head grandmothers , can senselessly die on our highways , as an out of control kids of de tribe , ladened with alcohol in his blood stream , can while driving papa purchased Mercedes Benz , refuse to stop,so as to ever render assistance,then run home , to get his lawyer , returned 3 hours later, fail a breathalyzer test , and yet ,have Ag Commissioner of Police , and unscrupulous media editors protection , a la concealment of his name , from an already outraged family / and exasperated public.
Sorry PP MP Colin Patrap, as Junior Minister , in of all places , le Ministry of National Security , your conduct too ,was disgraceful , and so was that coward of an Acting Police Commissioner Williams , who left his wife in her lonely bed , to come down to an opaque police station , to wipe your still drunken ,sniveling nose , and beg one of Kamla’s ag Sergeant SRP officers , not to charge you for failing breathalyzer test- most normal citizens ,would not have escaped from, or rather , be so fortunate to receive deferential treatment .. after de fact.
Good riddance to you Williams , you have been nada but a sick embarrassment to your race , and profession, for contributing to the low self esteem / moral of your service, as you help advance the cause of de Mamboo’s tribe.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-01-15/police-welfare-boss-wants-top-cop-job
Lo Siento Inspector Anan Ramaser , we ain’t care if you are the Police Welfare boss , with 16 years service , or you possess five post graduate degrees, or glorified legal training , for you won’t be sitting in dat big Commissioner chair.
You can return in in 2 to 3 decades, when your party might have a sniff of political power again. Sadly , you played a not to subtle , and or complicit role in genocidal purges of your service , and worst yet , systematic beat downs, by Kamla , and her UNC dominant PP goons, and for that you must be punished. Oh yes , the repeated death for the chiefly under trained ,mistake oriented , SRP gangs that Kamla push , and you know why.
Their blood is not only on you hands , but Auntie K. As a lawyer yourself , just imaging the outrage in T&T , if Dr Rowley , was to push a governmental initiative, that would ensure , that 50,000 legal aids , with 1 month training at UWI ,get call to the Bar as lawyers , with a view to representing clients , throughout La Trinity.
That was the equivalent which Kamla , and her clueless Ministers of National Security blokes , forced on Williams the coward, or 4 year Ag COP.
Members of my former organization , are the laughing stock of the nation , and si, you are partly responsible.
We are concern about the pathetic state of our immigration laws , overall National Security department , and often neglect economic immigrant rights.
We don’t give a hoot , if they include Dominican , Venezuelan , Columbian ,sexually enticing Chicas, Jamaican , or Guyanese house maids, overworked Chinese construction, Supermarket , and Restaurant cooks, Nigerian/ Ghanaians , Security guards / gas pump handlers.
If you are going to give special treatment to ancestral India Company Expo companies ,and their workers , we want the same treatment for our Latin, and English Caribbean amorous …hemanas, …wink wink…. as you give to the chiefly White , sex starved mujers , who prey on gullible Tobago blokes , with an eye on their land , and or other ….. ummmmm…. assets.
Nuff said.
Let’s forget the distractors people! Create organizations , join in solidarity with those who care , building bridges where applicable , but always with a keen eye on the real prize.
I am speaking about the following:-
1. Fostering political /economic empowerment of the weak and disenfranchise within our society.
2. Furthering equal playing field justice for all.My emphasis – ALL.
3.Pushing security beyond it’s narrow confines of physical, Big guns / tanks etc. The new cat phrase should be HUMAN SECURITY. We in the IR fraternity are quite familiar with it, but since I am not in the mood to school folks at dis time, you can Google it.
The optimist in me says , T&T , can develop sustainably ,beyond what some country haters ,envisage .
Don’t be daunted by the pressing socio – economic times, or worst yet , dem doom and gloom , political , and Trini Corporate -haters , who, we should add, stole , then secretly stashed ,most of our country’s wealth, in foreign / off shore accounts , just for this occasion.
OHHH ,and by the way ,for de record people … it ain’t only dem evil, water down Trini Euro- whites , Syrians , Lebanese, or local Jewish business blokes , as we are now often told , by the tribal minions.
Oh yeah , we have both the human, and si, natural resources ,to withstand this storm.
Frustrated as we can be at times my fellow ‘Humanist,& patriotic progressives ,’ never must be tempted to compromise , when it comes to holding our power brokers – in or out of power-hands to de fire – irrespective of who they are.
Capiche?
Stay vigilant people!
I luv dis land , Y tu?
Those areas have traditionally been squatters paradise. Bowe, it was the UNC who made the effort to regularise these squatters, first started with John Humprey when he was Minister of Housing giving them “certificates of comfort”. Many of these poor folks were abandoned by the PNM who did nothing for them. Of course the Africanas will say like Kian and Winnie it was only Indians squatting. Only one family of ours were squatting. They lived on land own by another family living in England. They were extremely poor however today their children own their properties and are very wealthy. All our clan own property. We did not need NHA because we had enough land for at least 3 generations. Only problem was and still to this day is land dispute. It can turn violent and tear apart families it did my family, however today the younger generation sees things differently. We all get along.