By Raffique Shah
March 09, 2008
When the furore over government owning an executive jet first erupted last year, I was among the very few persons who saw nothing wrong with it, and I wrote as much. I argued then that the Prime Minister could be likened to the CEO of an oil rich country, except that his responsibilities were far greater, and that right here in Trinidad and Tobago there were several conglomerates that owned such aircraft. Indeed, across the world, most governments own, or have assigned to them, aircraft ranging from small executive jets to huge jumbo-jets.
Continue reading Against public opinion
In 1980 when Peter Minshall was about to bring out Danse Macabre, David Picou, a good friend of Ken Morris, took Morris a sketch from Minshall and asked him to see what he could do with it. That suggestion led to the production a section in Minshall’s band that reflected Morris’s artistry as a copper worker. These sections which never exceeded sixteen pieces became a significant part of Minshall’s carnival productions during the 1980s including Danse Macabre (1980), Jungle Fever (1981); River (1983); River Gods (1984) and Golden Calalbash (1985).
ABOUT two weeks ago, a downright dangerous incident occurred offshore Claxton Bay, not far from where I live. Peter Vine, a UWI lecturer and environmental activist, was among a group of fishermen and nearby residents, protesting preliminary works being conducted by agents of the NEC in preparation for the reclamation of some 255 hectares of coastal land for the establishment of an industrial port.
LAST week, in another curious twist to Government’s off-and-on position on the $2 billion annual fuels subsidy, Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Mariano Browne, confirmed that it’s up for review. He gave no time-line for the exercise nor did he hint at the percentage being considered. These, I presume, will come after discussion and hopefully careful consideration of the implications, more so the impact on inflation.
Recently, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Keith Rowley hinted that the Government may soon need to reconsider its $2 billion a year fuel subsidy. Reaction among the population ranged from grumbling to expressions of outrage, so much so that another minister denied any such move was being considered. I beg to differ. The Government must not only cut back on certain subsidies it doles out, but it must determine where cuts are justified and where it needs to enhance state assistance.
The caption in the business section of the Trinidad Guardian 24/01/08 read, “Petro-Canada excited over T&T gas find”. The article referred to the recent discovery of between 0.6 – 1.3 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. I’m not a geologist, but that strikes me as a significant amount of natural gas regardless of how it is measured. Petro-Canada is reported to have said that the local gas discovery is among the “more significant” of its international exploration successes. What’s more, this find is the first of a four well program and according to company officials, “…the discovery validates our exploration model and further success on the block could lead to a material development”. I am not sure what the term “material development” means but I am willing to wager a bet that the mother load is yet to be discovered.
The relentless, insatiable and unmitigated fixation harboured by PM Manning in scraping the barrel for even the most tendentious and lack of a prime facie basis for wanting to disgrace and impeach former CJ Sharma as well as the rapidity of the process to effect the current appointment (done deal?) must surely lead citizens to inquire whether that whole sordid unnecessary chapter that blemished our political history in perpetuity was not a deliberately orchestrated political conspiracy engineered to remove CJ Sharma and enthrone Mr. Justice Ivor Archie in the first place.