Tag Archives: Raffique Shah

Finance, General T&T, Labour, People's Partnership, PNM

Jam them!

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By Raffique Shah
August 07, 2011

Raffique ShahTHE trade unions and government have both contributed to messy state of industrial relations that hovers over us all at a time when we should be focussed on climbing out of the economic mess we remain mired in. Gun talk, rather than constructive dialogue, drives the tension to unbearable levels.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad -Bissessar is reported as having told union leaders, when she terminated a meeting with them, “Bring on the national strike!” (or words to that effect). And Ancel Roget, offering little hope of a negotiated settlement, warned the population, “Stock up on candles!”
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General T&T, International

Nurturing an ‘Oslo moment’

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By Raffique Shah
July 30, 2011

Raffique ShahMY instinctive reaction when I first learned of the carnage that Anders Breivik unleashed in Norway was, “He is a very mad man…sick!” I imagine most persons reacted similarly to the terror, the deaths of innocent Norwegians this lone lunatic inflicted within a few hours. Norway is one of the least controversial countries in the world. It is wealthy, it has a near-perfect blend of economic and social policies, and it provides a refuge for less fortunate people from elsewhere in this imperfect world.
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General T&T, International, Race and Identity

Is nationhood an illusion?

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By Raffique Shah
July 24, 2011

Raffique ShahAS the nation prepares for a year of activities to mark our 50th anniversary of independence from Britain in August 2012, people of my generation must be wrestling with a mixture of emotions. There is a sense of pride, of having been there when the Union Jack was lowered for the last time, and the red-white-and-black colours of the new state hoisted atop flagpoles across the country. One had to be there to experience the birth of a nation to understand the pride, the joy, the celebrations. We were part of history, however insignificant we may have been in the hierarchical scheme of things.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Politics, Security, Violence

Wage war to win peace

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By Raffique Shah
July 17, 2011

Raffique Shah“‘Tis strange—but true; for truth is always strange;
Stranger than fiction; if it could be told,
How much would novels gain by the exchange!
How differently the world would men behold!”
(Lord Byron, Don Juan, 1823)

IN Frederick Forsyth’s 2010 novel, Cobra, the central character, Paul Devereaux, a former CIA agent, is tasked by his President (mucho resemblance to Barack Obama) to put an end to the cocaine menace that is strangling America. Devereaux demands, and is given, $2 billion plus a carte blanche instrument of authority to launch his war on the Colombian Cartel and its global tentacles. He hires as his operations officer a former foe, Calvin Dexter, and within one year they put together a powerful machine of personnel and equipment that attacks Don Diego and his overlords with extreme prejudice, as such exercises are described.
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General T&T, International

Toxic mix of ‘bull’ and ‘dotishness’

2 Comments

By Raffique Shah
July 09, 2011

Raffique ShahTHE disaster that engulfed the Chaguaramas Peninsula last Sunday was a classic but toxic mix of skilfully marketed foreign “bull” and unmitigated local “dotishness”. That thousands of Trinidadians would knowingly subject themselves to torture, just to see other equally stupid Trinis “pilot” some crude “craft” that plunges into the sea in seconds, speaks volumes about our collective stupidity.
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General T&T

Accident paralyses country

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By Raffique Shah
June 18, 2011

Raffique ShahI WAS seething with anger last week Tuesday—and I was not even among the tens of thousands of commuters trapped in horrendous traffic jams that paralysed around 25 per cent of Trinidad. One fuel tank wagon overturns close to the Gasparillo/ Petrotrin flyover on the Hochoy Highway and commuters from as far north as the CR Highway intersection, through all of central-south Trinidad, steam in their stalled or slow-moving vehicles for up to seven hours. And we lay claim to being on the brink of developed country status?
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Finance, General T&T, Law, Politics

Delayed justice is a national joke

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By Raffique Shah
June 12, 2011

Raffique ShahCIVIL lawsuits filed by the Central Bank last week against two of the most senior CL Financial directors, elicited scepticism across the country. Lawrence Duprey and Andre Monteil may now face the courts and answer wide-ranging allegations, from fiduciary irresponsibility to misappropriation of funds. The matters are now sub judice, so we cannot discuss them here, or anywhere else in the public domain.
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corruption, General T&T, Politics

Stealing the soul of the nation

26 Comments

By Raffique Shah
Jun 05, 2011

Raffique ShahBRIBERY and corruption are a global phenomena that permeate almost every country in the world. The only variant is the level or intensity of such malpractices, and the amounts of money involved, as they vary from country to country. Forget Transparency International’s Corruption Index, which addresses the perception of corruption, not the reality. Think real. Think Trinidad and Tobago, where from the ordinary citizen seeking to get a driver’s permit or a job, to a big contractor making a legitimate bid for a contract with a government agency.
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General T&T, India, Politics

I arrived in 1946

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By Raffique Shah
May 28, 2011

Raffique ShahWHEN discussions on Indian Arrival Day first surfaced sometime in the 1970s, United Labour Front (ULF) founding ideologue Lennox Pierre insisted that I should intervene in the debate over a public holiday to mark the Indian presence in Trinidad. At the time, the Indian Review Committee, led by Ramdath Jagessar, vociferously argued in favour of marking the arrival of Indian immigrants in 1845.
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General T&T, Parliament, People's Partnership, Politics

Patrick in trouble…again

30 Comments

By Raffique Shah
May 22, 2011

Patrick ManningTHE suspension of ex-prime minister Patrick Manning from the House last week triggered a national debate that is curious, to say the least. I think the penalty imposed on the nation’s longest serving MP was somewhat harsh. But I also hold that Manning is a “harden fella”, not unlike another ex-prime minister, Basdeo Panday, who was also suspended three years ago, but who rushed to Manning’s defence—something I find quite amusing.
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