Monthly Archives: August 2019

General T&T, PNM, Politics

Great Is the PNM…

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 30, 2019

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeIt used to be that you couldn’t beat the PNM when it came to election strategy and election campaigning. We may have to reconsider this truism. This time the PNM might be sleep-walking into an unpleasant election defeat.

The Marlene accident has put a dent into the party’s façade that will be difficult to repair given the party’s hallowed precept, “Morality in public affairs.” Marlene was an accident that was waiting to happen. It makes little sense trying to transfer the responsibility of her indiscretions (or so it seems) to the Manning administration so as to let the present leadership off the political hook.
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General T&T, Oil and Gas, PNM, Politics, Recession

Oil in turmoil

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By Raffique Shah
August 29, 2019

Raffique ShahI had planned to write a column sometime before the 2019-2020 Budget presentation on the successor-companies to State-owned oil giant Petrotrin, seeking to have the Minister of Energy and/or Corporation Sole (the Minister of Finance) inform the public of their progress or regress or stagnation. I thought that in the spirit of transparency, especially after citizens were stunned when we were told in 2017 or thereabout that the one-time pillar of the national economy was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and mired in multi-billion-dollar debts, we the public should know early o’clock if the new enterprises were faring any better.
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corruption, Court, Crime in T&T, General T&T, PNM, Politics, UNC

Least of the looters

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By Raffique Shah
August 20, 2019

Raffique ShahIf the arrest of ex-Minister Marlene McDonald, and her indictment on fraud and misbehaviour in public office charges did anything for the morale of citizens, it was to restore confidence in some investigative units of the Police Service, and underscore the independence of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, International, Racism Watch, Recession, Syria, USA

Turmoil in the global village

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By Raffique Shah
August 14, 2019

Raffique ShahIt’s so easy for us to be so overwhelmed by our own mess—and there’s more than enough sewage there to drown us all—that we are unmindful of what’s happening in the wider world, developments that could impact our small island state negatively.

When the fallout from certain actions by powerful leaders hit us in the face with a bang, we will come awake startled, crying out: Oh Jeezanages! I was watching Marlene McDonald and her gang…ah didn’t see that bolt from Donald Trump (or Xi Jinping or Boris Johnson or Vladimir Putin) coming this way!
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General T&T, Politics, Recession

Staying Woke!

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 14, 2019

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeLast week I urged the government to suspend or postpone the construction of the Toco-Manzanilla Highway. I drew on Lord Maynard Keynes to emphasize that an economist must possess several gifts (mathematics, history, philosophy) and “must study the present in light of the past for the purposes of the future.” This implies that development consists of more than building roads, particularly if citizens are unable to walk or ride on them in relative safety.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Race and Identity, Racism Watch

One step away from Hell

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By Raffique Shah
August 09, 2019

Raffique ShahStirring racial tensions during the run-up to major elections in Trinidad and Tobago is an appeal to primal ethnic instincts as old as when adult franchise was first granted to what was then a British crown colony back in 1946 when I was born. And I dare say it’s as ancient and decrepit as I am today, so much so that it should have long been buried or consigned to the dustbin of history.
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Crime in T&T, General T&T, Law, Media, PNM, Politics, Race and Identity

The Road Make to Walk…

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 06, 2019

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeLast Sunday, four of the five Sunday columnists of this newspaper wrote about the crime problem that confronts the nation. The Sunday Guardian also published a long investigative piece on the subject. On Monday, Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon talked about the pervasiveness of crime and concluded that ours is “a culture of disrespect.” At a fundamental level, it is more an economic-philosophical than a moral question. Left unattended and incorrectly analyzed, it will lead to greater degeneracy.
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Africa, General T&T, Race and Identity, Racism Watch

Abolition of Slavery — Economic/Political Aspects

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By Dr Kwame Nantambu
Published: August 06, 2019

Dr. Kwame NantambuThis article was written before August 01, 2019

As Emancipation Day approaches, it is indeed apropos to delineate the economic and political aspects of the abolition of slavery, albeit the European enslavement of African people or MAAFA— the “great disaster.”
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Africa, General T&T, International, PNM, Politics, Race and Identity

CLR James: man without honour in his own country

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By Raffique Shah
August 02, 2019

Raffique ShahA tragedy of our times is the absolute ignorance of the vast majority of our population of the nation’s history. And for once I cannot blame this void on information technology, on the electronic devices that most young people and many mature ones are glued to, in most instances day and night.
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