Category Archives: People’s Partnership

Wage Rage

Newsday Editorial
October 28 2010 – newsday.co.tt

President of the PSA Watson DukeANY responsible person is likely to be torn in his sentiment towards the wage talks between the Government and the Public Services Association (PSA) for members of the Public Service.

On one hand the Government’s offer of 0-0-1 percent for the past three years respectively is quite startling, alarming and really impractical for workers who have seen no freeze in the prices they daily face over the same three-year period.
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Making UTT a National University

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 27, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI am sure that Sat Maharaj’s would say that ah follow fashion. However, the truth is that his recent discussion of UTT, its academic standards and it place in the society reminded me of questions I raised two years ago when Ghana’s former President John Kufoor visited Trinidad and I made an address in his presence. Just for the record, my speech can be found on trinicenter.com on August 6 2008. My interest in this matter goes back a long way. This contribution only adds to Sat’s concerns. At least, there are some things on which we agree.
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Clico Policyholders: Pay Us 40% Upfront

By Lara Pickford-Gordon
October 25 2010 – newsday.co.tt

CLICO BailoutClico policyholders want 40 percent of their investment in the Colonial Life Insurance Company Ltd “up front” and the balance paid off in government bonds. Persons who wish to liquidate their bonds should be free to do so and there will be no “middle man.”

This proposal has been put to the Government and was yesterday endorsed by scores of policyholders attending a meeting at Woodford Square, Port-of-Spain to get an update on negotiations between their representatives and the government inter-ministerial team headed by Agriculture Minister Vasant Bharath.
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Corridors of power living hell

By Raffique Shah
October 23, 2010

Raffique ShahI HAVE never been close to the corridors of power, except on occasions when those on high invited me to some meeting or social function. Regarding the latter, I should add that I have grown so asocial over the years, some people think I’ve become anti-social. I enjoy good company and great conversation. Having attended some of these social activities, I have found the same people there; they invariably get drunk the way “ignorant” Trinis do at rum shops, and they behave little different to boisterous bar flies.
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Connecting our Foreign Policy with the Diaspora

By Stephen Kangal
October 21, 2010

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-BissessarPrime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar and her itinerant Foreign Minister Suruj Rambachan have both been extolling the important benefits of establishing closer functional links with our diaspora based in metropolitan Caribbean enclaves in North America and Europe as the rationale for radically reforming the priorities of our foreign policy. In fact both now have a shared political/administrative responsibility for the conceptualization and conduct of our foreign policy.
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Partnership leaders must smoke ‘peace pipe’ now

By Raffique Shah
October 16, 2010

Raffique ShahA brief story in the Express last week caught my attention. The report spoke of serious differences between two organisations purporting to represent nationals of this country who have indigenous blood flowing in their arteries.

The first contentious issue is a claim that one group represents only Amerindian descendants who are Catholics. The other was the timing of the “smoke ceremony to the spirits”. One group swears it should be before dawn. The other went ahead “smoking” at 7 a.m.
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Leveraging Incompetence

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 14, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI am sure that People’s Partnership took a long time to select the three hundred persons they elected to the various state enterprises, statutory bodies, regional health authorities and key ambassadorial positions. In making her selection, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar enunciated two broad principles: a determination to make the correct choices and no one could sit on more than one board.
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PM orders review of $47M airports contract

By Corey Connelly
October 10 2010 – newsday.co.tt

Jack WarnerPrime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar last evening signalled her Government’s intention to review the $47 million public contract awarded to a Central company for lighting projects at the Piarco International Airport.
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Ish and Steve to be extradited to the US

By Nalinee Seelal and Corey Connelly
October 10 2010 – newsday.co.tt

Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve FergusonAfter weeks of speculation, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan yesterday signed an extradition order granting the United States Government the permission to extradite businessmen Steve Ferguson and Ishwar Galbaransingh to the United States to answer fraud charges.
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PM’s statement on Clico

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-BissessarPRIME MINISTER Kamla Persad-Bisssessar announced that Government will establish a commission of inquiry to find who and what were responsible for the fiasco at CL Financial subsidiaries Clico, British American and Clico Investment Bank. Below is the Prime Minister’s full statement in the House of Representatives on Friday:
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