By Raffique Shah
July 08, 2007
Everyone expects the Government to do something to mitigate food prices. It’s true that governments are elected to office to attend to the basic needs of the people-food, water, shelter, health services and so on. But who says that governments have the answers to all our problems? In the case of food security, no government, from the PNM back in 1956 to the PNM of today, seems to have grasped the fundamentals of the post-colonial dilemma.
Continue reading Revamp food production, resuscitate local fruit
Government is considering outlawing the use of cellphones by motorists, a distraction which in the United States is said to cause 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in road accidents each year.
I am not a man given to violence nor am I the fanatical follower of any particular religion which advocate cutting off the hands of thieves. However, the more I learn about what appears to be endemic corruption in T&T, massive budget overruns and the widespread breach of public trust, the more I am convinced that there is some merit to this form of punishment. Without appearing to break bread with what some may consider barbarians, I could willingly support the law which states that, “If the right hand offend you, cut it off”. Not to punish poor people who steal to feed hungry children in the cornucopia that is T&T. Not even as punishment for the drug or chemically addicted who are compelled to steal to feed the insatiable cravings of the monkeys on their backs. Such people are desperately in need of professional help and social intervention.
There have been many complaints over the years from the public that the medical fraternity discriminates against Africans who seek to become doctors. The response was a generalization that Africans were not applying themselves for entry into the medical fraternity. Many of us knew that was not true, but those in charge did not feel inclined to investigate the racism in many of the learning institutions, including the University of the West Indies. Now that Professor Bartholomew appears to be making a similar claim, suddenly it is being taken seriously.
In a strongly-worded letter to Minister Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education and copied to the Prime Minister, Patrick Manning; John Rahael, Minister of Health; and the Dean of the Medical Faculty, Dr Phyllis Pitt-Miller; Prof Courtenay Bartholomew, Emeritus Professor Medicine (UWI), has criticised the admissions policy of students for entry into medical school in Mt Hope.
The Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) is drafting two disciplinary charges of misconduct to be served on Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls no less than 12 days from now.