By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe July 30, 2018 “Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not.” — Jeremiah 5:21 Any party that has any pretensions to be relevant to its people needs to take time out to listen to what they are … Continue reading Open Yo’ Eyes & Ears, PNM…
By Raffique Shah July 25, 2018 I pity the poor bugger who finds favour with both government and opposition parties to be appointed the new Commissioner of Police. If that wretched soul happens to be Captain Gary Grffith as reported in the Sunday Express, then I’ll do something I’ve not done in 50-odd years: I’ll … Continue reading Looking for a commissioner or a “Bobolee”?
By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe July 4, 2018 PART 5 I have rarely received so many responses to my articles as those I received about my previous column. Once I had the temerity to describe the business activities of the Syrian-Lebanese community I opened up a whole batchak nest unleashing the deadly fury that such … Continue reading Preparing the Way for Kamla – Pt 5
By Raffique Shah June 15, 2018 Oftentimes, civic and professional organisations that stay aloof of the political mud-wrestling that has long been the dominant feature of our parliamentary system, provide citizens with greater clarity on legislation that impact our lives than our warring politicians do. Such is the case with the controversial Property Tax Act … Continue reading Valuation Division off on wrong foot
By Raffique Shah June 07, 2018 I was about to write a column on my concerns with the Valuation Division of the Ministry of Finance, which plays a critical role in the implementation of the new Property Tax, when I read the lead story in the Sunday Express that pertained to a number of “hanky-panky” … Continue reading Go after State lands thieves
By Danielle Frederick May 22, 2018 One would have hoped that a nation such as ours, created from genocide and enslavement, one which has felt the destructive, manipulative forces of colonialism would want to raise its voice clearly against war, oppression, exploitation of human beings and anything that threatens humanity. Alas not. The Trinidad and … Continue reading As Israel murder Palestinians, where are we?
By Tyehimba Salandy May 20, 2018 Ten years ago, British ‘royalty’, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited the Caribbean and locals prostrated before them. Local leaders made arrangements for them to play the Steelpan and the sacred Rastafarian Nyabinghi drums. Leslie from Africaspeaks.com wrote an insightful article titled Royal Visit Highlights Lingering Colonialism that … Continue reading The British Royal Wedding, Feelgoodism and the Colonial Jumbie
By Raffique Shah May 01, 2018 Sometime in or around 1990, a large number of mostly Indo-Trinidadians, variously estimated at between 10,000 and 15,000, fled this country for Canada, and successfully exploited that country’s liberal immigration laws pertaining to refugee status and asylum, claiming political or racial persecution in Trinidad and Tobago. The “refugees”, who … Continue reading We must manage migration
By Stephen Kangal April 28, 2018 Were the 1.3 million people domiciled in Trinidad to continue and persist in their laid-back complacent mode it could be a case of the unilateral, Tobago -centred and driven large scale amendment of the 1976 Republican Constitution using the back door provided by the Tobago Self-Government Bill No 5 … Continue reading Tobago Self Government Bill To Amend Constitution by the Back Door
By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe April 16, 2018 “The dicta coming out of Puttaswamy emphasized the fact that sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy which is inextricably linked to human dignity.” —Justice Devindra Rampersad A nation is a strange phenomenon. It takes many strands to make it whole. When so many things are … Continue reading The Soul of the Nation