Express Editorial
May 11, 2015 – trinidadexpress.com
It is not enough for Finance Minister Larry Howai to say that he expects all of the $60 million stolen from the National Energy Corporation’s account at First Citizens to be recovered. What is needed is prosecution of those who stole the money and full accountability from officials of the two State enterprises who were entrusted with managing the $60 million in public funds.
Continue reading Questions about that $60m theft
By Raffique Shah
May 03, 2015
One year ago, in this space, I wrote a column headlined “Dana’s Death in Vain”. It was written exactly one week after the popular, respected senior counsel Dana Seetahal was shot to death in what everyone who had his or her say, described as a “well-executed assassination”.
As the anniversary of her death passes without anyone being arrested or charged for her murder, I re-read that column.
Continue reading A horror story
By Raffique Shah
April 19, 2015
On the morning of Monday, March 23, when I became aware of the massive traffic gridlocks in several strategic arteries across the country occasioned by the police purportedly conducting legitimate roadblocks, my immediate reaction was, “This is mutiny!”
Later that evening, when television footage showed police officers of varying ranks holding tens of thousands of law-abiding motorists and commuters hostage, trapped in scorching heat and toxic exhaust fumes with no chance to escape, I thought that by the following morning I would wake up to hear that scores of police officers had been suspended from duty pending investigations into their misconduct.
Continue reading Police Mutiny
Express Editorial
April 03, 2015 – trinidadexpress.com
For reasons best known to itself, the ruling People’s Partnership has continued to defend its disgraced MP Vernella Alleyne-Toppin.
Not only have Government spokespersons tried to spin Ms Alleyne-Toppin’s crassness into a social concern message about rape, but UNC hacks on social media continue her denigrating diatribe against Opposition Leader Keith Rowley. But what could the UNC-led coalition hope to achieve by this? The widespread public condemnation has clearly harmed the Partnership’s image, including its trump card, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who will no doubt suffer a drop in approval ratings by her refusal to remove the Tobago East MP from her entirely inappropriate post in the Ministry of the Peolpe and Social Development.
Continue reading Citizens have risen above politicians
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
March 27, 2015
Ever since Rodney Charles sent out his memo of instructions to his UNC colleagues they have been trying to depict Dr. Keith Rowley as big, black bad animal; a beast unbecoming of the office of prime minister. The present version of this attack started when Dr. Rowley took a wine, on carnival day, on an Indian woman. Many UNC politicians saw this act as verging on the sacrilegious. Now, they have sunken to the lowest of the low. They have branded Dr. Rowley and his descendants (that is, his children and his children’s children) as the products of rape.
Continue reading South of de Caroni
THE WOMEN’S League of the Peoples National Movement has mounted a strong defence of party political Leader Dr Keith Rowley, describing the claims made against him in the Parliament by Government Minister Vernella Allene-Toppin as vile and repulsive. It a statement issued on Thursday, the Women’s League called on citizens to express disgust over the statements made by Alleyne-Toppin. The following is the full statement.
Continue reading PNM: Vernella’s “rape” claim against Rowley vile and repulsive
By Raffique Shah
March 08, 2015
The bell has rung, the gates are open and the campaign for general elections 2015 is underway. Over the next six months, political parties that matter and those that don’t will spend an estimated $300 million in a frenetic bid to be elected or re-elected to power. The stakes are high: by the end of this fiscal year, the incumbent administration will have spent $337 billion during its five years in office.
Continue reading Buying and selling government
By Michael Harris
March 09, 2015 – trinidadexpress.com
I must confess that I was taken completely by surprise with the news reports last week confirming that the police had received “voluminous” information from Internet service provider Google on the emailgate issue and that the alleged e-mails in the matter were being analysed to determine their authenticity.
Continue reading The spectre of emailgate
By Julien Neaves
February 22, 2015 – newsday.co.tt
WITH Caribbean neighbour Jamaica making moves to decriminalise marijuana University of the West Indies (UWI) Professor Emeritus Kenneth Ramchand is renewing his calls for marijuana to be decriminalised in Trinidad and Tobago for medicinal purposes.
In January this year the Jamaican Government tabled the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, 2015 in that country’s Senate to decriminalise marijuana for medicinal, religious and personal use.
Continue reading Decriminalise it
February 19, 2015 – trinidadexpress.com
Kennya Cordner, star striker for the national women’s football team, appeared in the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday charged with using annoying language to provoke a police officer to commit a breach of the peace.
The charge alleges that on Carnival Monday night, Cordner was outside Ma Pau on Ariapita Avenue when the music was shut off abruptly and she allegedly called out to some police officers nearby, asking why the music was stopped and complaining that they could not even wine on the police.
Continue reading Footballer charged with breaching peace