Category Archives: PNM

Trade Union Leaders Need to Chill

By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
November 01, 2010

PSA ProtestLess than one year has elapsed and now one sees that trade union leaders and others are pointing their acerbic artillery at the newly-elected People’s Partnership (PP) government. Indeed, such action is totally unwarranted, unwise and un-Trinbagonian, to say the least.

The powers that be in these unions/associations need to realize and understand very clearly that the mammoth, outstanding sums of money owed to them are the wicked/vindictive legacy of the former PNM government under Patrick Manning.
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Riding into the valley of death

By Raffique Shah
October 31, 2010

Raffique ShahTHERE are few reasons why the People’s Partnership Government should portray itself as a victim of circumstances the way the NAR did in 1986. Back then, Ray Robinson and his “party of parties” inherited an almost empty treasury. The George Chambers government had faced declining oil prices from OPEC-driven “highs” in 1973-77 to “lows” by the time Chambers assumed power in 1981.
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Making UTT a National University

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 27, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI am sure that Sat Maharaj’s would say that ah follow fashion. However, the truth is that his recent discussion of UTT, its academic standards and it place in the society reminded me of questions I raised two years ago when Ghana’s former President John Kufoor visited Trinidad and I made an address in his presence. Just for the record, my speech can be found on trinicenter.com on August 6 2008. My interest in this matter goes back a long way. This contribution only adds to Sat’s concerns. At least, there are some things on which we agree.
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Wanted: A ghost whisperer

By Michael Harris
October 25, 2010 – trinidadexpress.com

Patrick ManningA spectre is haunting the PNM and unless that party can discover within its ranks a person, or persons, versed in the rites and rituals of political exorcism, it is likely to stay in its present state of limbo for a long time to come, incapable of undertaking the vital task of critical self-assessment without which it could never begin the task of reconstruction. The spectre has a name. Its name is Patrick Manning.
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Leveraging Incompetence

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 14, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI am sure that People’s Partnership took a long time to select the three hundred persons they elected to the various state enterprises, statutory bodies, regional health authorities and key ambassadorial positions. In making her selection, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar enunciated two broad principles: a determination to make the correct choices and no one could sit on more than one board.
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Financial advice from ‘Layman Brother’

By Raffique Shah
October 03, 2010

TrinidadiansI HAVE never seen a million dollars in my life. The only time I gaped at big money—was it US$20 million?—was when the then high-flying “Sir” Allen Stanford stormed the hallowed Lord’s cricket ground in London, bearing 20-20 prize money in what appeared to be a huge casket. Most appropriate, in hindsight, since shortly thereafter “Sir Allen” ended up in leg-irons in some US jail that may yet prove to be his final resting place.
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Govt to get OPV $B refund

Scarborough CG 51 vessel at BAE Systems' shipyard on the Clyde River in Glasgow, Scotland
Scarborough CG 51 vessel at BAE Systems' shipyard
on the Clyde River in Glasgow, Scotland
By Nalinee Seelal
September 30, 2010 – newsday.co.tt

PRIME MINISTER Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday confirmed Government has cancelled a deal with a Scotland-based shipbuilding company BAE Systems for the acquisition of three off-shore patrol vessels, ordered by the then PNM government at a cost of TT$1.5 billion.
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NOT A PENNY MORE!

By Michael Harris
September 27, 2010

CLICO BailoutOne of the things which I tried to do as a parent was to inculcate in my son the knowledge that to be an adult meant being prepared to accept responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions. This, after all, is one key thing which separates adulthood from childhood. When you are a child it is assumed that you cannot be held entirely responsible for your actions and your parents or guardians are assumed to accept that responsibility in your stead. When you become an adult the responsibility is all yours.
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A house fit for a chief

By Anika Gumbs-Sandiford
September 26, 2010

Chief Justice Ivor ArchieThe million-dollar sale of the official Chief Justice residence more than a decade ago has come back to haunt the State. The decision has left taxpayers digging deep into their pockets forking out more than $54,000 a month to afford the super-grade housing a Chief Justice is entitled to. So, why was the home of the nation’s third highest office holder sold and not renovated? This is the burning unanswered question on the lips of many. Comprising 44,943 square feet of land (more than one acre) and located in the affluent neighbourhood of St Clair, the sprawling property was auctioned off for a bid of $7,001,000 just three days before Christmas in 1997. Real estate agent and chartered surveyor Afra Raymond valued the opulent property in today’s market at a whopping $31 million.
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