SOME SIMPLE QUESTIONS THAT BEG SIMPLE ANSWERS

Oh gosh! Is it too much to ask the politicians on ALL sides to just give us the facts and tell us the truth? I've just listened to a rant in Parliament by the erstwhile Minister of Health who did a very good job of attacking the Opposition UNC but failed miserably to answer any of the real questions that plague those of us who would like to know the answers. So, in the (possibly forlorn) hope that maybe ... just maybe ... straight answers could be forthcoming with simple 'yeses" or "nos" wherever applicable, and without obfuscation for the rest, here goes with a list of these questions again:

- Does the Minister of Health acknowledge that testing for the COVID-19 virus is most important?
- If the answer to this question is 'yes', then can the Minister of Health say exactly how many persons have been tested since 1st March, 2020. (And for the record, the question is NOT how many tests have been carried out, but how many persons have been tested? There is a difference.)
- Will the Minister of Health give the exact figures for how many people are reported to have died from pneumonia and other respiratory ailments for the whole of 2019 and 2018?
- Will the Minister of Health say exactly how many people are reported to have died from pneumonia and other respiratory ailments for the period  1st January, 2020 to 31st March, 2020?
- Is the Minister satisfied that sufficient testing for the virus to date has been done?
- Will the Minister of Health say what happened to the reported 4,000 testing kits supposedly sent from China some time ago? Did they arrive? Were they satisfactory? Was/is there any problem with them? Are they ALL in use?
- Does the Minister of Health believe that we have "flattened the curve"? If so, when does the Minister believe that the quarantine can be lifted?
- Does the Minister of Health have any plans for lifting the quarantine?
- If so, what exactly are those plans? (Will it be a gradual lifting or an immediate one?  What exactly are the plans for getting us all back to work?)
- There has been talk of a "second wave" of the virus. Does the Minister of Health consider that this might be a problem? If yes. then what and how exactly does the Minister propose to deal with it?
- Is it true that patients in Couva and Caura suspected of having the virus are being kept in rooms with others? Is this considered best practice?

And for the Minister of National Security:
- Is it true that there was a ship at Pointe-A-Pierre which loaded thousands of gallons of gasoline and took the cargo to Venezuela?
- If it is true, then when did you learn about it?
- Are you aware that the United States has imposed sanctions not only on Venezuela but on any countries that help Venezuela evade those sanctions?
- Is it true that the Chairman of Paria Fuel  is the husband of the Speaker in Trinidad & Tobago? (FYI, that company would have been the one to have provided the gasoline, the subject of this question).
- Did you go out to tender for the two million dollar security contract to three security companies which contract was rescinded after it was announced?
- Did the cancellation of those contracts cost T&T any money?
- Would you kindly explain the thinking behind the awarding of those contracts in the first place and tell us why you felt or believed that it was not appropriate to use the army?
- Is it true that the contracts were only cancelled because of the public furore that arose after they were announced? Or was there another reason for the cancellation? If there was another reason, then what exactly was the reason?

And for the Minister of Finance:
- Have you been dipping or have you dipped into the Heritage and Stabilization Fund? And if so, exactly how much have you taken out?
- Please note that the question is 'have you dipped...'. If you have dipped into the Fund, when did you do so?
- If you have dipped into the Fund how much have you replaced? If you have replaced anything at all, where did you get the replacement monies from?
-Have you put any monies borrowed from anywhere into the Fund? If so, how much, when and where exactly did these funds come from?
- If you did put monies into the Fund, where and how did you get these monies?
- People have been complaining that the financial relief promised to the population has been either very slow in coming or non-existent. How much has been paid out since the announcement? And if it is very little, the why?

There are many other questions, but it would be really, really nice if we could at least be trusted to get answers. It would be even nicer if the answers came down showing that we have absolutely no reason not to trust the Government and that in truth and in fact they are really doing the job which we elected them to do.




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WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN T&T?

I don't know about you, but I'm getting more than a little fed up with not knowing exactly what is going on in Trinidad & Tobago ... OUR country! I feel that we are not being told the truth about anything ranging from how many tests ... exactly ... are being conducted (and if it is really only a little more than 1,400 since the very beginning of this crisis, then why has there been so few?) to was there really a tanker here in Pointe-a-Pierre  collecting gasoline bound for Venezuela?

On this latter point, you do realize that if the story is true (and it was first reported by a very, very respected Venezuelan journalist) then why has our mainstream media soft-pedaled the story and not checked it out thoroughly? This story (if true) could have disastrous consequences for us as it would represent a clear attempt by the Rowley Government to assist Venezuela in defeating the sanctions imposed on the Maburro ... I'm sorry ... Maduro regime by the Americans. And the Yankees ain't gonna be too happy with that one little bit! And if you are so stupid as to ask what can the Americans do to us? The answer in two words is A LOT!

Look, I'll  be the first to admit that I don't like Maburro. I think that he is a crook! A big crook! He deals in drugs and is a murderer and a bloody dictator, amongst other things. His policies and the rape of his country have left millions of Venezuelans impoverished. (More than 4 million of them have fled as refugees!) And if he wants to sue me for defamation  I would welcome that for he will have to go into the witness box here in Trinidad and my lawyers will get a most welcome chance to cross-examine him.  My defence is justification. Everything that I have said here is  the truth.

But the real point here is that countries don't have friends, they have interests. In a thousand years it canNOT be in our best interests to be friendly with such a corrupt regime as is The Donkey's. And it HAS to be in our best interests to side with the Americans against him. (Again, if you are so stupid as to ask why then I really can't help you.)

But back to the point: the daily (or almost daily) briefings by the Government are absolutely pathetic.  I have been watching these daily briefings with mounting horror. The briefings (if you can call them that) are the exact opposite of what we need right now. We need, in one word, leadership. Our leaders have to be calm, they have to be factual, and above all they have to be honest!

I mean, look: there are so many things going on and rumours are rife. For example, the Prime Minister called a press conference this afternoon for 2pm. At a time when the mainstream media was focused on the Head of Government a rumour surfaced on social media that two flights from Florida (NETJETS FL# N134QS and FL#160QS) were scheduled to arrive at Piarco. So, first question: Is this true? Yes or no? We don't need a long meandering explanation that explains nothing.

Second question: if it is true, then who were the individuals on these private jets? What were they coming here for and who were they coming to see?

The country is crying out for leadership  ... honest leadership. If things are bad, then tell us how bad they really are and back it up with facts ... facts that can be verified. And please, let's stop all the politicking. I'm sure that we are all at that stage where we really don't care about scoring political points. That may work well with the respective bases of the two main parties, but the rest of us don't care. Just give us the facts ... and make sure that we have all of them.

And please, don't tell us that you are going to do only a mere 700 "random" tests between now and the 15th May. We sit somewhere near the bottom of the testing scale worldwide and it ought to be obvious that much, much more testing is required.  And while we are at it, can you tell us how many people have been reported as dying from pneumonia since this whole thing started? You see, there are rumours going around that a lot of COVID-19 deaths have been misreported as pneumonia. Is this true? You have a responsibility to separate fact from fiction and, yes, it is most important that you answer everyone of these rumours, uncomfortable though it may be.

The bottom line is that we have not been told the truth about too many things. I, for one,  for example, simply do not believe that the Venezuelan Vice President came here to discuss COVID-19. Convince me that is all she came for and you can start by telling the country who was in her entourage. Is it true that the President of PDVSA (the Venezuelan equivalent of Petrotrin except many times bigger and hasn't been shut down) came with her? If it is, then was his visit tied to that mysterious gasoline tanker I spoke about above?

And as for the mainstream media I have only this to say: you fellows should be ashamed of yourselves. You are NOT doing a good job of reporting what is going on. Instead you are simply repeating everything that the Government chooses to hand down and you do not follow up or ask the hard questions. And you should be. Not only is it important for our democracy, but it is even more important for our lives!

WHY?

It is almost impossible to accept that our country is grinding to a halt and that there is absolutely no end in sight to this pandemic. Almost everything is shut or shutting down and people are slowly running out of money. Oh! Some people still have jobs and are still getting paid, but I would guess that at least three quarters of the working population just ain't working any more and are sitting at home twiddling their thumbs.

This might not be so bad if we had some idea as to what exactly was going on and how well we were doing in this 'war' against this terrible virus. The problem is that we simply don't know what is really happening and the mainstream media either have been bought out by the Government and its suppporters or are simply so incompetent that they simply don't ask the right questions and allow the Government ministers at the innumerable press conferences to"gallery", talk rubbish and tell us, the citizenry, nothing useful. For example, does anybody know why the Venezuelan Vice President came over here two days after her boss, President Maburro, was indicted for drug dealing? And, please; we all know it wasn't to discuss the corona virus. If it was, then why wasn't there a joint press release immediately after the meeting and the media given a chance to ask questions? (Questions such as why go through the expense of a plane ride to discuss the virus when a virtual conference could have sufficed? I thought Venezuela was strapped for cash?) And while we're at it, why was Independence Square near to the Central Bank swarming with armed police the Saturday after her arrival? Is there any truth to the rumour that she brought with her some Venezuelan gold and that was the reason for the police presence? But the mainstream media just will not ask these or any other questions. Why?

Let me give you another very serious question: what exactly is happening with testing for the corona virus? How many people have been tested since the beginning of March? How many have been found to be positive? How many test kits are in the country? Where are they? How many ventilators are in teh country? How many are actually working?

I could go on, but you should be getting the point by now. It is impossible to say whether or not the Government is really doing a good job because we simply don't have enough information. Why? Why, for example, was there  this business of a mix-up with Ian Alleyne? Was he really tested positive again? What exactly is going on in these quarantine centres? Is it true that when you go into quarantine that you are put in a room with four or five other people? If not, are you placed in a room by yourself? If not, why not and how can this be a good thing to be locked up with strangers?

Now, I don't exactly admire Mr. Alleyne, but after hearing his story, how many of you would be willing to submit yourself to the medical authorities and trust them to do the right thing by you? Or would you prefer to take your chances and stay at home? And if you would prefer to stay at home, do you think that you are in a minority or a majority who feel that way?

And that's my point. Frankly, I don't trust the erstwhile Minister of Health. I am not convinced that he has told us the either the truth nor the whole truth about what's going on. Maybe he has and simply has a most unfortunate manner about him that leads one to believe that he is covering up something, but if he is then what is he covering up and why?

And I haven't seen ANY journalist grill him about testing? Why? And by the way, if ... according to official reports ... there are so relatively few cases with approximately half of them coming from a single source ... the cruise ship ... then can we safely assume that we have dodged a bullet and that the Government has done a great job and that the country can re-open within the next two weeks? And if not, why not?

P.S. About the Venezuelan V.P., why could we let her and her entourage in, but we cannot let in our citizens stranded in Barbados?

THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH!

It is difficult, if not impossible to try and figure out when this emergency partial shut down of T&T will either end or be relaxed enough for life to resume some semblance of normality. One thing is certain, we aren't being given all of the facts, and again the question has to be why? Why does the government continue to hide things from us?

Look, although I recieved a personal benefit from Carnival being allowed to go on (my daughter and her husband who live in Australi and whom I hadn't seen for 6 years came for Carnival) I felt at the end of January (before they came) that at the very least Carnival should have been postponed. That it wasn't is now water under the bridge. That ugly and unnecessary suspicions have arisen as to why it wasn't at least postponed also will need to be addressed at some time in the future.

But I get the inescapable feeling that the Government's approach to this crisis is akin to trying to build a plane and to fly it at the same time! There are too many questionable decisions being made and then unmade ... the news about hiring and then unhiring the four security firms comes to mind. And while we are on that particular point, can anybody explain the rationale for that decision in the first place? Oh! I know that it was about security, but why use (and pay for) private security firms when you have an army that is just sitting there doing nothing? Doesn't this sound like a "job-for-the boys" kind of deal? And if not, then why do YOU think why not?

There are lots of questions that need to be asked and answered. Regretably, at this time of national crisis there is an absolute dearth of credible answers and so-called daily news conferences by the Government give us nothing except for a bare minimum of information.

And while we are on that, is our Prime Minister ill? I sincerely hope not, but I noticed on television a few days ago (which was the last time that I saw him) that he appeared to be slightly breathless. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one who noticed that, which is why I'm asking the question now. You see, regardless of which side of the political divide you happen to fall on, Dr. Rowley IS our Prime Minister and his health ought to be of concern to all.

There is only one test for leadership: and that is to lead vigourously. And leadership at this time (inter alia) entails trusting us (the entire population of T&T) with the whole truth. And that just ain't happening right now!

IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING A GOOD JOB IN FIGHTING THE PANDEMIC?

The Ministry of Health and the Government seem to be saying that they are doing a good job with this coronavirus business. Certainly, that is the impression that I have from all of their pronouncements from the Prime Minister on down. But are they really? Are they handling this pandemic in a way that is beneficial to the country as a whole and which ought to give us the reasonable confidence that everything that ought to be done is in fact being done?

Let's start with the numbers. The last set that I saw from the Ministry of Health said that some 736 persons had been screened, some 103 persons had tested positive and there had been 6 deaths. 
So? What exactly do those numbers mean? As I read them they seem to be saying that less than 800 people have been screened and 'screened' doesn't mean tested.  Or does it? Let's assume that is what it means. So, a little less than 800 people have been screened and "only" a little more than 100 people have been found to be positive. Put another way, about one in seven people tested have been found to be positive.

But (and you knew there was going to be a "but", didn't you?) Trinidad & Tobago has a population of about 1.3 million people. So, if less than 800 people out of 1.3 million have been tested it kind of puts the "kibosh" on it, doesn't it? You don't think so? Well, the nearest country I could find with reported figures on testing that had a similar population to us was Bahrain. They have a population of some 1.7 million people and guess how many people they have tested? Almost 5,000!! And they have found a little less than 800 people out of those 5,000 to have tested positive for the virus!

You don't have to be a mathematical genius to work out that Bahrain's response as regards testing is way better than ours. So? Why have we tested so few people? Why was there no screening for the virus of incoming passengers before Carnival? Did Minister Deyalsingh lie to us when he said that incoming passengers would be screened? (He said that on 31st January.) Or was he lied to by staff in his Ministry? Because there was NO screening done before or after Carnival ... at least nobody that I have spoken with who came into the country since 31st January noticed any screening taking place. And if our screening/testing is inadequate what does that mean in our battle to fight this virus?

And while we're at it, perhaps now would be a good time for the Minister to explain the difference between screening and testing ... if there is one. Or are the terms interchangeable? In any case, shouldn't we be doing A LOT more testing?

The whole country is virtually shut down. We can't continue like this indefinitely. I certainly don't blame the Government for the virus coming here. That was inevitable. But I am beginning to get very worried that they are not doing everything that they should be doing in fighting to get it under control. Reports are coming out of gross incompetence at the hospitals which the main stream media seems to be ignoring. Now, either these reports are true or they are not. If they are, then the main stream media has a duty that borders on the sacred to tell us. And if the reports are gross exaggerations or are simply not true then their duty is also crystal clear.  Certainly, their reporting on our Government's handling of the virus can't hold a candle to the reporting by the main stream media in the big countries. We, the public, deserve to be told the raw unvarnished truth ... and we don't seem to be getting it from anywhere? Why?

P.S. Still think that the Government is doing a good job?  Why do you think so?