Tag Archives: Politics

General T&T, Law, Opposition Party, PNM, Politics, UNC

Guarding Our Laws

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
February 26, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIn 2011, shortly after the People’s Partnership was installed as a government, the GOPIO asked me to give a lecture on multiculturalism. I emphasized that Trinidad and Tobago will never reach its full potential unless all of us—black, white, Indian and African, protestant and Hindu—accepted our past as our national patrimony. Therefore, I was pleased when, Kamla Persad Bissessar, in her response to Faris Al-Rawi’s attempt to do away with the three-fifths requirement for the passage of certain legislation, recognized that our Independence constitution “was evolutionary and was the result of hard fought negotiations at Marlborough House by our forefathers.”
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Murder, Parliament, PNM, UNC, Violence

Speaker: Astronomical Murders are a Routine Matter of State

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By Stephen Kangal
February 04, 2017

Stephen KangalAfter two presiding officers of the The Parliament had twice previously turned down Opposition -introduced adjournment motions classifying the current crime pandemic holding all T&T to ransom and under siege as a definite and urgent matter (DMUPI) that has evoked widespread and enormous public concern and exponentially increasing outcry, it was devastating and politically incorrect to hear The Honourable Speaker of the House, Mrs Brigid Annisette-George once again, on Friday , without convincing but artificial rhyme or reason, deny an urgent motion on the current murder rate moved by the MP for Pointe-a-Pierre, Dr. David Lee.
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Finance, General T&T, International, PNM, Politics, UNC, USA

Can FATCA Pass the International Jurisprudence Test?

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By Stephen Kangal
January 29, 2017

Stephen KangalThere was a quite visible and audible dearth in the House possessive of the requisite international relations expertise to analyze and dissect the internationally illegal imposition of US- domestic FATCA on T&T from a foreign policy/international law perspective.

That important dimension after T&T has been an active international relations participant for 55 years of statehood/UN multilateral diplomacy/foreign policy-making is a blemish on our international image, national pride and reputation.
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Gender, General T&T, PNM, Politics, UNC

Kamla’s Equivocation

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By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 29, 2017

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeOn Wednesday 18th January the Senate passed the Miscellaneous Provisions (Marriage) or the Child Marriage Bill (2016) that prohibits twelve-year-old girls from getting married. It did so with the notable abstention of the UNC-led Opposition. Put simply, as Jennifer Baptiste Primus suggests, this bill prevents “hard-back men” from clambering over young girls to satisfy their lust.

Enter Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Q.C. She is one of the country’s more distinguished lawyers. I don’t know how she conducts herself in court but one presumes it is befitting of her status. Language and the manipulation of language are at the heart of her profession which allows her to say things without regard of their consequences or truth content. It is almost as though she (or any lawyer) can use words to serve any purpose they deem necessary.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Murder, PNM, Politics, Violence

Edge of Anarchy

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By Raffique Shah
January 24, 2017

Raffique ShahThe spontaneous eruption of a community close to the Maracas-St Joseph Police Station last week, which was triggered by the gunning-down of two men of dubious repute almost on the doorstep of the station, illustrates how this society has drifted to the edge of anarchy.

According to news reports, one of the men had reported to the station at around 3.30 pm as required by the terms of his bail for gun-related charges. The other had accompanied him. Seconds after they exited the station, six gunmen attacked their vehicle killing them.
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General T&T, PNM, Politics, UNC, USA

Reducing the Parliament to a Circus

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By Stephen Kangal
January 20, 2017

Stephen KangalAs a dedicated viewer of the Parliamentary Channel I am disappointed and indeed saddened to witness the proceedings of the honourable and hallowed House under the Rowley Administration being reduced and relegated retrogressively to that of a circus full of clowns, lacking in seriousness, displaying wanton disrespect and being adjourned prematurely, frequently and in a hurry in spite of the outstanding matters listed on the Order Paper.

It appears as if they, that is the Government side are either going through a period of forced detention in Parliament, having other more important matters to conduct outside of the House or adjourning early for an after- work Friday lime on Ariapita Avenue. This is how the people’s business is being subordinated by those pretenders who sold themselves as being red and ready but after sixteen months in office have showed no credible signs of real performance even after two retreats and no war on the criminals.
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Business, Finance, General T&T, Recession

We must do, or die like stray dogs

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By Raffique Shah
January 11, 2017

Raffique ShahIf fantasy could be magically transformed into reality, as Dictator-General of Trinidad and Tobago, I would harness the approximately $10 billion per year that is wasted on cigarettes, alcohol and gambling and put that money to productive use.

But then I’d be a dead dictator before I could even proclaim the prohibitions, since I verily believe that 90-plus per cent of my countrymen smoke, drink alcohol or gamble, and many of them engage in all three vices.
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Crime in T&T, Finance, General T&T, Recession

A decisive year ahead

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By Raffique Shah
January 04, 2017

Raffique ShahIF asked what is the number one problem facing the nation as we enter 2017, the overwhelming majority respondents would say violent crimes, especially murders. My beleaguered fellow citizens, having survived another bloody year during which killers showed utter contempt for law and order, see a slide into anarchy looming large.

But I submit that the perilous state of the economy is the biggest threat to national stability, and the Government’s apparent inability to formulate strategies and plans to resuscitate it is the gravest danger the country faces.
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General T&T, PNM, Politics, Schools

A Brek-UP, Brek-DOWN Society

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By Dr. Selwyn Cudjoe
January 01, 2016

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeWHEN I was a boy I wanted to go to Queen’s Royal College (QRC), not because of its academic standing but because I loved the khaki jackets its cadets wore.

I thought it was cool as I imagined myself in that uniform.

Years later I learned about its academic excellence when Eric Williams returned to Trinidad as one of its most famous graduates.
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Finance, General T&T, International, USA

Factoring the Costs of FATCA Compliance into the Debate

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By Stephen Kangal
December 30, 2016

Stephen KangalIt would appear inevitable that T&T will, in the face of a doomsday scenario, be forced to become FATCA-compliant in the shortest possible time according to the shifting deadlines unilaterally issued by the IRS/Treasury Department. But in quantifying the current and future costs of FATCA compliance one must go beyond the costs to be incurred by individuals, companies, local banks and other financial institutions and the potential loss of their billion-dollar profit margins.
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