Tag Archives: T&T Govt

General T&T, Politics

Find—Not Seek

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
November 22, 2021

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeDuring my late teens, I was a passionate consumer and participant of the wisdom that was dispensed, free of charge, at the University of Woodford Square. I remember the atheistic comments that erupted from John Craig’s mouth and I was afraid of and for him. How could someone so blatantly berate a God who controlled our destiny and even knew that we would bounce our feet before it happened? Although these discourses and diatribes were conducted in a sarcastic manner, they were always humorous, non-threatening, and tolerant.
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General T&T, Oil and Gas, PNM, Politics

Afterword on ALNG Train I

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By Raffique Shah
November 22, 2021

Raffique ShahMaybe the headline of my column today should read instead, ‘Thanks, PM, for standing up for TT against immense odds’, which would surely incur the ire of a large number of citizens of this country who, I am convinced, bow their heads in hypocritical reverence every night when they communicate with their Gods, beseeching Her to cast failure after failure on the incumbent PNM government. Their bitter hatred for Keith Rowley is all that matters. It’s more than enough reason to create chaos, confusion and collapse, blame for which can be heaped on the said Rowley.
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COVID-19, Elections, General T&T, Health, PNM, Politics, Tobago

Odd SoE decision

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Express Editorial
November 15, 2021 – trinidadexpress.com

PM Dr Keith RowleyGiven the Prime Minister’s statement that he had no intention of seeking an extension of the state of emergency when it came to a natural end at month-end, we, too, are taken aback by his decision to end the SoE on Wednesday, 12 days ahead if its scheduled end.
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General T&T, Parliament, PNM, Politics, UNC

Patriots, assemble!

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By Raffique Shah
November 01, 2021

Raffique ShahHow many of you remember the video posted on one of the social media networks in which a girl, looking no more than 15 or so years old, standing before her smartphone’s camera, put an expletives-­laden cussing on the then-prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar?

Many people recoiled in horror: no, this could not be happening in this God-fearing country, some screamed. Others thought the girl was merely registering her displeasure with the Prime Minister and her government, so what?
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General T&T, Parliament, PNM, Politics, UNC

Ramesh: Speaker upheld the Constitution

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Ramesh: Speaker upheld the Constitution during motion on President

By Renuka Singh
October 26 2021 – guardian.co.tt

Ramesh Lawrence MaharajSenior Counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj has defended House Speaker Brigid Annisette-George’s handling of last Thursday’s motion by the Opposition to remove President Paula-Mae Weekes.

While the Opposition clamoured for the motion to be debated and attacked Annissette-George for refusing to allow it, Maharaj said the Constitution does not allow for a debate until the matter is passed by a two-thirds majority of the Electoral College.
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Court, General T&T, Parliament, PNM, Politics

Has the People’s Lawyer lost his way?

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 18, 2021

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeWhen the Opposition gave notice last week that it intended to file a vote of no confidence in Faris Al-Rawi, it was another sequel in an ongoing battle to get rid of one of the most inefficient attorneys general our country has ever known.

After he filed the motion against Al-Rawi, San Juan/Barataria MP Saddam Hosein noted: “We have seen six consecutive years of legislative incompetence and legislative insanity. And now the icing on the cake is the particular 2021 Order… which attempted to change the law for the appointment of a Commissioner of Police,” (Express, October 1)
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Court, General T&T, Parliament, Politics

There is no crisis

12 Comments

By Raffique Shah
October 18, 2021

Raffique ShahIt saddens me to write what I am about to, but it’s harsh reality that we must face and fight, or, if we are the unpatriotic cowards many believe we are, then we might consider joining millions of others across the world who abandon all hope in their native lands and become refugees, moving like nomads anywhere the wind and fellow-refugees take them.
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Crime in T&T, Finance, General T&T, Parliament, PNM, Politics, Recession, UNC

We Ent Wukking Anyhow

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 11, 2021

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeKaren Tesheira, in an insightful presentation on the budget 2022 statement, said, “A budget is far more than a number of figures cobbled together. It speaks to the government priorities, its values, its vision and its imperatives—in other words, its strategic plan for its citizenry.”

She titled her remarks “Government for the Rich and Powerful”, and reminded us of one of the main conclusions in the European Bank’s “Economic Inclusion Strategy [EIS]” (2017–2021): “The opening up of economic opportunities to previously under-served social groups is integral to achieving a transition towards sustainable market economies.” (Express, October 6)
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Health, Politics

Dr Rowley’s war fatigue

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By Raffique Shah
October 11, 2021

Raffique ShahWhen generations ahead of us evolve many years hence, and scientists in their labs or students in their classrooms look back at us, at the problems we faced and how we addressed them, I fear they won’t be charitable in their evaluations of their ancestors of Trinidad and Tobago. I can see them spending long hours in laboratories analyzing fossilized brains and associated DNA particles and still being stumped by our quantum leaps in science, but simultaneously, and incomprehensibly, we could not solve simple problems such as stimulating productivity among a few million people, or use pre-school-level math to track and capture a few thousand thieves who robbed us blindly, siphoning large sums of public money and stashing it in their private acquisitions or bank accounts, and escape prosecution and punishment in their lifetimes, as well as their heirs and successors’ who enjoyed opulence while the salt of the earth and their wretched offspring sucked salt, quite literally.
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corruption, General T&T, Opposition Party, PNM, Politics

Eroding Public Confidence in Our Institutions

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 04, 2021

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI was trying my best to stay out of de commess until someone sent me a Facebook post that read: “That’s Faris’s Porsche that Roger has been driving around over the past two years.” The post also showed a photograph of the SUV number plate attached as well as a “Title of Certification.” Quickly thereafter the Express reported: “There have been suggestions of a link between Al-Rawi, [Roger] Kawalsingh, and Gary Griffith and on investigation that this alleged link has compromised the work of PolSC [Police Service Commission].”
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