Tag Archives: Raffique Shah

COP, Elections, General T&T, Parliament, People's Partnership, Politics, UNC

Big win, bigger expectations

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Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, Minister of Works & Transport Jack Warner, Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, Minister of Public Utilities Emmanuel George and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the People's Partnership's Victory Celebration - June, 18, 2010
Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, Minister of Works & Transport Jack Warner, Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, Minister of Public Utilities Emmanuel George and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the People's Partnership's Victory Celebration - June, 18, 2010
By Raffique Shah
August 01, 2010

THE People’s Partnership has stamped its authority to govern the country over the next five years by convincingly winning two elections in as many months. Now, its leadership must be sensitive to the high expectations among a polls-drunk populace that was summoned to vote in six elections in ten years. The new Government faces the onerous task of governing a nation that can at times be overly demanding, somewhat fickle, and quick to condemn.
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COP, Crime in T&T, Finance, General T&T, Law, People's Partnership, Politics, Security, Violence

1990 Enquiry: Exercise in Futility

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Abu BakrI DO not know how Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her Cabinet arrived at a decision to appoint a Commission of Enquiry into the attempted coup of 1990. I suspect the hype that always surrounds the anniversary date of the Muslimeen assault on the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) government may have prompted the PM and her colleagues to attempt to “put this matter to rest for once and for all”. It certainly was not part of the People’s Partnership manifesto or 120-day action plan.
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Culture, Finance, General T&T, Politics

Poverty Facts and Fiction

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By Raffique Shah
July 18, 2010

PovertyEVERY time I hear someone parrot poverty numbers in my Trinidad and Tobago, I wince. Politicians, and many ordinary citizens, often accept as the “gospel truth” the amount of people in this country said to be living “below the absolute poverty line”, defined as US$1 a day. The estimated numbers range from 10 per cent to 20 per cent of the population, which suggests there are between 130,000 and 260,000 desperately poor people in our midst living on less than TT$6.37 a day. That’s around $190 a month.
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corruption, Crime in T&T, General T&T, International, Law, People's Partnership, Politics, USA

Injustice Sows Seeds of Terrorism

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This picture shows a portion of the barrier being built by Israel in the West Bank. This part is in Abu Dis, close to the eastern part of Jerusalem.
This picture shows a portion of the barrier being built by Israel in the West Bank. This is close to the eastern part of Jerusalem.
By Raffique Shah
July 11, 2010

THOSE among us who keep abreast of international developments will have noted huge protest demonstrations in Israel most of last week. This kind of action is unusual. Small numbers of Israelis who oppose their government’s policies towards the Palestinians and atrocities committed by their military, hardly come out in the open for fear of their lives and liberty. Last week’s protests were not only big, but apparently supported by the state apparatus.
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General T&T, Law, Passed on

‘Desi’ Allum: patriarch and patriot

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Desmond Allum
Desmond Allum
By Raffique Shah
June 20, 2010

MY mother takes a seat in the limited space available in court. It is early June, 1970, and the preliminary inquiry into the charge of treason gets underway. She looks at her 24-year-old son sitting in the dock alongside 60-odd soldiers. A stern-looking Magistrate Roopchandsingh sits on the Bench, and Attorney General Karl Hudson-Phillips leads a formidable, impressive-looking prosecution team. Like other parents and families of the accused, she is nervous, worried.
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General T&T, Media, People's Partnership, Politics

Good start, some missteps

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Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar with Govt Ministers
PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar with Govt Ministers
By Raffique Shah
June 06, 2010

THE People’s Partnership will hardly enjoy a honeymoon period in government. Because its predecessors were so delinquent in addressing real problems affecting citizens, the people are crying out for relief from the ills that affect them. Many voted for the People’s Partnership out of sheer frustration over the way ex-prime minister Manning and his key ministers treated their concerns with contempt.
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COP, Elections, Finance, General T&T, NJAC, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

Imperatives: social equity, diversified economy

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PM Patrick Manning and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar
PNM Patrick Manning vs UNC Kamla Persad-Bissessar
By Raffique Shah
Sunday, May 16th 2010

WITH one week to go before ‘decision day’, the two parties contesting the general election are locked in a tight race. Whatever the pollsters may say—I expect some of their findings will be published today—I do not see either the PNM or the People’s Partnership (PP) gaining a significant majority that will enable the winner to govern the country comfortably.
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COP, Crime in T&T, Elections, General T&T, Media, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

Crime fighting out of focus

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UNC/COP and PNM Supporters
UNC/COP and PNM Supporters
By Raffique Shah
May 09, 2010

Contrary to what over-exuberant party fanatics trumpet during and after mass meetings, crowd-attendance at most of these seasonal gatherings has been disappointing. At Couva last Thursday, for example, I arrived at the People’s Partnership (PP) in time to hear Rudy Moonilal (I believe) and Jack Warner refer to the ‘8,000 people gathered here tonight’. If there were 3,000 persons, the PP could count itself lucky.
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Complaints, Elections, General T&T, Law, Letters, PNM, Politics, UNC

Response to Raffique’s “Election Errors”

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Herbert VolneyEDITOR: I am not affiliated to any political party in Trinidad and Tobago. However, after reading some of the blogs I felt compelled to respond to one in particular. Since space is at a minimum, I am forced to discuss parts, not all, of the article entitled “Tragedy of election errors.”

Raffique Shah, in his article, quoted the Law Association president, Martin Daly, who stated that “the swift descent of a sitting judge into the arena of competitive politics inevitably raises a concern in people’s minds about the judiciary harbouring persons with political ambition.”
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Elections, NJAC, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

Tragedy of election errors

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By Raffique Shah
May 02, 2010

National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) leader Makandal DaagaHAROLD Wilson, Prime Minister of Britain (1964-76), is credited with the adage, ‘A week is a long time in politics.’ In Trinidad and Tobago, it seems that a day in elections campaigning can trigger changes that would eternally haunt one contestant or other. I had planned to write about platform promises by both major parties, whether or not they are empty rhetoric or offer practical solutions to the myriad problems that face the citizenry. In other words, they can talk and promise, but can they deliver?
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