LIFE IN TRINI WONDERLAND

Sometimes it feels as though we are living in an "Alice In Wonderland" type of novel. Nothing seems real and those whom we seek to rely on (both sides) simply don't tell us the truth about what is really going on.

Let's take just two examples (though, unfortunately, there are many more): first the Corona Virus situation. Throughout the western world efforts to re-open are being met with mixed success. It is failing spectacularly in the United States where the virus is re-surging with a strength that is positively frightening. Over in Europe there  seems to be a slight lessening of infections, but the jury is still out over there as to how successful they will be in containing it. In the Far East the various countries (with the exception of India) seem to have got things under control. But it is absolutely clear that unless and until a vaccine is found that we are going to be living with this very serious health threat.

Which brings us back to good old T&T. I am already on record as saying that I simply don't believe that we have been told the truth about how many cases or deaths we have had down here. But, (thank God) it does seem that for the time being at any rate the virus seems to be under control here and a cautious re-opening of the country is certainly possible! And that is the good news!

But, (and it is a big 'but') a general election is due sometime before or by the end of this year. A little birdie has told me that the date is set for either August 10th or August 24th with the savvy money betting on the first date. When I asked about how exactly was campaigning going to be done I was told that the plan is that they will not open up the country or allow election meetings until about two weeks before the set date. As the virus has a 14 day incubation period the expected spike won't take place until after the elections are concluded.

Is this true? Because if it is it would be one of the most cynical things that I have ever heard of in my time on the planet. Frankly, I cannot honestly see how electioneering as we knew it in the past can possibly take place now ... even if the August dates are wrong and the elections aren't held until December!  It's just going to be too dangerous!

Then let's go back to this "Fuelgate" affair. Yesterday the erstwhile Energy Minister said in the Senate that there was going to be no investigation of the matter and that the relevant authorities had done everything right. In essence, he said that how the 150,000 barrels of gasoline ended up in Venezuela had nothing to do with us! Let's hope that he is right. But I have the most uneasy feeling that he is not. And the problem is that if somebody somewhere on our side was complicit in helping the Donkey (aka Maduro) evade US sanctions then the Americans will find out and will deal with us. So?  Wouldn't it be wise if indeed we have nothing to be worried about, to have an open probe into the affair and let the whole world and the Americans see that we are indeed innocent? But instead we are being met with rather obvious stonewalling. We are innocent, the Government says! 'Punto final' (full stop) as the Venezuelans would say! And only the most rabid supporters of the present regime would accept their word as final on this. Most thinking and unbiased observers, though, would agree that those who have nothing to hide do not oppose inquiries aimed at discovering the truth of something that has happened.

But life in Trini Wonderland goes on with the hard questions being studiously avoided and with the two sides of the political divide basically saying to each other "all yuh, t'ief" and the other side saying "all yuh t'ief more"! And we, the electorate are left in the middle like the proverbial cheese.

WHAT WE KNOW vs. WHAT WE DON'T KNOW

Okay. Here is what we do know:
1) We know that Delcy Rodriguez, the executive Vice President of Venezuela,  came here with a delegation that included some high ranking petrochemical executives. Among them was one Adrubal Chavez who was later named/appointed as the head of Venezuela's major oil company PDVSA.
2) The Prime Minister said that this delegation came across to discuss a joint response between Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela to the COVID-19 epidemic. He was backed up on this by the Minister of National Security who said that Ms. Rodriguez's visit had been planned and postponed because she had a cold.
3) No health professionals were at this meeting between the executives of the two countries ... not even T&T's Health Minister.
4) The Prime Minister said that he never met the other members of the Venezuelan delegation and that nobody told him who Mr. Chavez was. He said that he only met with Ms. Rodriguez.
5) The Venezuelans arrived on an aircraft that was subject to American sanctions.
6) A few days later, after the visit a ship laden with 150,000 barrels of gasoline left ostensibly for Aruba but ended up in Venezuela. The T&T Government says it doesn't know anything about how the ship ended up in Venezuela!
6) A few days after Ms. Rodriguez left there was major police  activity in Independence Square just outside the Central Bank.
7) That on Wednesday 3rd June, 2020 a Venezuelan aircraft was spotted at Piarco Airport outside the police station
8) That the Ministry of Health has reported eight deaths from the Corona virus and that it has conducted less than two thousand tests.
9) That the symptoms of Corona virus are very similar to those of pneumonia.
10) That in the whole 12 months of 2018 there were less than half the number of reported deaths from pneumonia than in the first two months of 2020.
11) The Minister of Finance boasted that six billion dollars was being earmarked for COVID relief of which some $900,000 has already been paid out.
12) The Minister of Finance has boasted that recently some US$500 million has been put back into the Heritage and Stabilization fund (HSF).

Now, here is what we don't know:
1) Why exactly did Delcy Rodriguez & Co. come over to T&T? Clearly it wasn't to discuss the COVID-19 epidemic and a joint response to it from T&T and Venezuela. If that had been the purpose then surely both sides would have had their health care experts present ... and nether of them did!  So? What exactly was she doing here?
2) Who exactly was in the meeting and what exactly was discussed. You see, there are very ugly and most unnecessary suspicions arising over this lack of credible information about the whole purpose of the meeting.
3) Who exactly did the Prime Minister meet. The names and occupations/positions of all those in the Venezuelan V.P.'s party are known. But the Prime Minister says that he only met with Delcy Rodriguez. Is this true? If so, why did she bring them along? What purpose was served by having these very important men sitting outside in a waiting room while the two leaders discussed whatever they were discussing?
4) Assuming that the Prime Minister did in fact meet with the other members of the Venezuelan delegation who all attended the meeting, why would the Prime Minister lie about this? Why should we (the citizenry) not be told what our leaders are doing in our name?
5) What was the big security operation in Independence Square outside the Central Bank a few days after Delcy left all about?
6) What exactly is the story behind this 150,000 barrels of gasoline. Where did it come from? Because we ain't making gasoline anymore. How much did we pay for it and how much did we sell it for? When did we buy it? Did we buy it "on spec"? To whom exactly did we sell it? When were the deals to buy and sell it made? Can we see the appropriate purchase and sale contracts? If not, why not? When did we take delivery of it?
7) What was the mystery Venezuelan aircraft spotted at Piarco doing here? Who did it bring? There is a rumour that it brought in some Venezuelan Central Bankers. Is this true? If so, who were they, what were they doing here and who (names) did they meet?
8) Does the Ministry of Health really believe that conducting less than two thousand tests is a good thing? Shouldn't there have been a lot, lot more?
9) Are we being given "a six for a nine" on this Corona virus business? Have we been given ALL the facts?
10) What is the exact number of Corona virus cases in the country?
11) Who exactly is receiving the relief monies and why is it taking so long to be paid out?
12) Where exactly did the US$500 million come from that was put back into the HSF?

There are many other things that we don't know, but the above will do for starters.
 But there is too much that we don't know and too much that we aren't being given proper explanations for. My father used to say that when a man tells you something that you don't understand, 98 percent of the time it is because he doesn't WANT you to understand; two percent of the time it is because he is a fool and doesn't understand what he is saying. Well, whatever you might think of Dr. Rowley, Mr. Young & Co. one thing is clear: you can't say that they are fools. So? What is it that they don't want us to know about and why don't they want us to know?