By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 11, 2007
The University of the West Indies (UWI) at St. Augustine has awarded Miss Camini Maharj a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) degree for a position she does not hold and in a field that does not exist. UWI’s website describes Miss Marajh as an “investigations editor” and tells us that she is worthy of one of the most coveted awards any recognized university can confer because she “has reported in depth,” not necessarily with distinction, “on a wide range of issues, including crime, the legislature, and the environment in Trinidad and Tobago” over the years.
Continue reading Dr. Camini Marajh, D.Litt?
The burly Laventille-born entertainer, real name Rohan Richards, is sitting atop the European Club Music Charts this week following the release of a reworked version of his 2007 Carnival hit single “What I Want” in France last month.
Everyone expects the Government to do something to mitigate food prices. It’s true that governments are elected to office to attend to the basic needs of the people-food, water, shelter, health services and so on. But who says that governments have the answers to all our problems? In the case of food security, no government, from the PNM back in 1956 to the PNM of today, seems to have grasped the fundamentals of the post-colonial dilemma.
Government is considering outlawing the use of cellphones by motorists, a distraction which in the United States is said to cause 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in road accidents each year.
I am not a man given to violence nor am I the fanatical follower of any particular religion which advocate cutting off the hands of thieves. However, the more I learn about what appears to be endemic corruption in T&T, massive budget overruns and the widespread breach of public trust, the more I am convinced that there is some merit to this form of punishment. Without appearing to break bread with what some may consider barbarians, I could willingly support the law which states that, “If the right hand offend you, cut it off”. Not to punish poor people who steal to feed hungry children in the cornucopia that is T&T. Not even as punishment for the drug or chemically addicted who are compelled to steal to feed the insatiable cravings of the monkeys on their backs. Such people are desperately in need of professional help and social intervention.
There have been many complaints over the years from the public that the medical fraternity discriminates against Africans who seek to become doctors. The response was a generalization that Africans were not applying themselves for entry into the medical fraternity. Many of us knew that was not true, but those in charge did not feel inclined to investigate the racism in many of the learning institutions, including the University of the West Indies. Now that Professor Bartholomew appears to be making a similar claim, suddenly it is being taken seriously.
In a strongly-worded letter to Minister Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education and copied to the Prime Minister, Patrick Manning; John Rahael, Minister of Health; and the Dean of the Medical Faculty, Dr Phyllis Pitt-Miller; Prof Courtenay Bartholomew, Emeritus Professor Medicine (UWI), has criticised the admissions policy of students for entry into medical school in Mt Hope.