By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 05, 2026

When the Hon Kamla Persad-Bissessar invited me to be the executive chairman of UTT, she counselled: “Go and educate the young men and women of Trinidad and Tobago about their culture and their history and put UTT’s financial house in order.”

Within a year, the Board of Governors and Prof Rean Maharaj, our acting president, decided to offer a course in the history and culture of T&T. We reduced our operating deficit from $21.2 to $6 million; recovered $36.2 million in outstanding student receivables; and strengthened UTT’s research and commercialisation agenda.
Continue reading UTT’s academic mandate →

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 14, 2026

Gordon Laughlin is appalled by the treatment of the Hadeed family. He writes: “The Hadeed family has been part of Trinidad and Tobago’s business community for generations, creating jobs, investing locally, and building respected brands. Today, they face one of the greatest challenges in their history as the legal process surrounding the state-of-emergency detention continues through the courts” (Express, July 11).
Continue reading When ‘gifts’ of public land ignore reparative justice →

By Raffique Shah
December 06, 2025

If you are a robust 50-something-year-old with no known affliction, which signals that you are a healthy specimen, then you may well be concerned mostly with the cost of living.

You will have noted the runaway prices that affect the average householder by way of increased prices for basic goods and services. You’ll wonder how people who earn less than $10K a month, who are breadwinners to their families, fare in this jungle where the hunt is for lower prices. Not only does every dollar count, but a man or woman will walk the proverbial mile and a half to save $5 on one basic food item such as rice, flour, corned beef, etc. If, however, you are stricken by diseases that are all too familiar-some might say rampant-you will have noted the leap in prices of pharmaceuticals which will have quadrupled over the past year.
Continue reading Cost of dying, high →