SHOULD THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF T&T RESIGN?

 I have known Reginald Armour for a long time - more than thirty years - and although I can say that we are not, and never have been, friends, I can also say that I never had any reason to doubt that his integrity was such that he would not lie, and certainly not so as to attempt to mislead anybody deliberately, much less a Court of Law, whether in Trinidad & Tobago or in any other part of the world. At least, not until now, because the revelations coming out from that Miami court room are , to put it mildly, most disturbing.

But the facts which have come out since a Miami Judge basically said that Mr. Armour should not be a plaintiff in a matter relating to allegations of corruption involving his (Mr. Armour's) former clients concerning the construction of the Piarco airport have given me cause for deep concern.  The code of conduct that governs lawyers in this (T&T's) jurisdiction includes an injunction that a lawyer must never mislead a Court.  But it seems that Mr. Armour has done just that. Whether he did so knowingly is another matter. He says that because it was almost twenty years ago he couldn't remember.  But this had to be one of the biggest cases in his career and this explanation, while it might be true, certainly appears to be unbelievable to the ordinary observer. It was one in which the whole country was extremely interested in and whether he was a junior lawyer confined to taking notes (which he says, but which has turned out to be untrue) or a senior lawyer leading in a defence in a preliminary hearing (which is what appears from the Court records) his position is certainly untenable. 

One of the leading cases in apparent bias comes from a case in the 1920's, R v. Sussex.  In that case three judges found a defendant guilty of whatever he was accused of (I can't remember what).  But it turned out on appeal that the clerk to the Court was in the room when the judges were doing their deliberations. The Court of Appeal held that there was a possibility that the clerk might have influenced the judges in their deliberations although there was no record that he had. But, the Court of Appeal decided,  it was dangerous because he MIGHT have done so. So they overturned the conviction. Put another way, a lawyer cannot give advice to Mr. X today and then act for Mr. Y against Mr. X tomorrow in the same matter. (Indeed, a lawyer having advised Mr. X in a matter years ago (and been paid for that advice) ought not to take a case against Mr. X in a different matter today.)

Well, using that logic one can honestly say  with hand on heart that there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that Mr. Armour did use his knowledge from his former position  to benefit his new client, the State. But (and you knew that there would be a "but, didn't you?) the POSSIBILITY exists that he MIGHT have. Personally, I doubt that he did, but that ain't the point! The point is in the word "might" and one would expect that this point would be impossible to prove one way or the other.   But an Attorney General as the titular head of the Bar must ensure that at all times that nobody can accuse him (or her) in circumstances such as this, of behaving improperly.   

So? What should Mr. Armour do? In one word: resign. At the very least there has been a dreadful mistake the responsibility for which must stop at his door. And at the worst? Well, let's not go there.                                                                                                                                                                                   

THE ABUSING OF THE CHILDREN HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN

 Well, it looks as though I will win my bet with myself that absolutely nothing will be done for those children at risk in the children's homes across the country. Their stories have been pushed off the front pages (indeed, of all the pages) in the print media by the rather stupid obfuscations of the Attorney General  as to whether or not he lied to a Miami court and by other things. Frankly, I believe that the AG is guilty and can't understand why it is taking so long for people to see that or for him to be fired. But this post is not about Mr. Armour's  (or anybody else's) machinations, it is about the children.

These abused kids are facing individual crises of unimaginable proportions and need help right now. And "now" must mean NOW! Look, if we want to build a country that can be "a shining city on the hill" we have to look out and help the youngest generations. They need our support. Most of them are facing hunger and poverty and some of the most unlucky ones are facing unspeakable abuses ranging from vicious beatings to rape and everything in between. It might be too late to save the older ones, but it isn't too late to save the younger ones. In any case, we should not give up on trying to help the older ones. For crying out loud, they definitely don't deserve to be simply ignored. We MUST HELP.

I am an opinion writer. My purpose is to try and inform the public and maybe change minds. But ultimately I hope to make a difference on important issues and realities. I recognize that it is very difficult to sustain public interest on almost any issue for long enough to make that difference. But I can dream, can't I?

THE ABSOLUTE INCOMPETENCE OF THOSE IN CHARGE OF THE POLICE

 What exactly is going on with the so-called investigation into the abuse of CHILDREN in state owned/funded children's homes? I have written about this problem until I'm sick of it. I have said that I didn't think that anything will come of it, but I did believe that the police might at least pretend that they were treating this matter with urgency. To my absolute dismay I see that they are not!

R9obert Sabga is a friend of mine. He wrote to me this morning (Thursday 8th June) that someone in the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service (the TTPS) had  (finally) called him last night (7th June) and asked him for a witness statement for everything that is in the 1997 report! Can you believe that!? Come on Mr. Acting Commissioner of Police. Come on. Get off your big, fat tail and put down the cup of coffee and DO SOMETHING!  What are we paying you for? The bottom line is that children are being abused. And only now your people are approaching Mr. Sabga for a witness statement!?!? Apart from the fact that the 1997 report has Mr. Sabga's signature on it, don't you, McDonald Jacob, think that this is the height of incompetence?  And this is what you call an investigation? And there is a very strong possibility that children are still being abused?  When are you going to do something to save the children? Today? Tomorrow? Next week? Next year? Never?

This would be something for a comedy movie if it weren't so serious. It is a little like the joke that is going around the country: a man telephones the police to say that there is  a burglar in his yard. The police tell him that they can't come right now because they don't have any cars available. Five minutes later the man calls back the police to say don't bother to come. I just shot and killed him with my unlicensed gun. Five minutes later the police show up but there is no gun and no body. The police then say "I thought you said that you shot and killed a man'. The guy then replies 'I thought you said you had no cars'!

My message to the Acting Commissioner of Police is: move, follow, or get out of the way. This is way past a joke now and you clearly have done sweet nothing. If you don't know what to do then get out of the way. And Mr. Minister of National Security you deal with it. Put somebody in charge who at least pretends to care about the children. There are enough people in this country who have good ideas about what to do. SAVE THE CHILDREN NOW! And stop messing around.

"SLOWLY PROGRESSING"

 You will forgive me for returning AGAIN to this nasty problem that exists in the country of children being abused in State owned/funded children's homes. This morning's Trinidad Guardian (7th June, 2022) reports that the Assistant Commissioner of Police Sharon Cooper in charge of the investigative team that was appointed by Acting Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob  on 16th May (some 22 days ago) was in the process of "currently interviewing persons"  and "are presently at the point of acquiring statements to obtain evidence". She also is reported as saying that "presently there is no need to relocate anyone" because "at this time none of the persons  interviewed is in harm's way". But on 25th May the Acting Commissioner of Police told the Parliament some NINE days after he appointed the investigative team that the team was in the early stages of its investigation and, "up to that time, they had not identified people within the children's homes that they can recommend being removed from the institutions immediately".

So? What the heck is going on? Is the Assistant Commissioner of Police saying that after more than THREE WEEKS that no evidence has been found or that there are NO REASONABLE suspicions that anybody MIGHT be guilty of some sort of abuse? Because if this is the case then Mr. Sabga's and Ms. Jones's respective committees are going to have to do a lot of explaining as to why their reports are false.

Frankly, I don't believe that the reports are false and I do believe that there has been some serious abuse which is still continuing, And this is where my problem begins: if the abuse is still going on don't we owe it to the children to take action IMMEDIATELY? NOW? And 'now' must mean 'now' - today, not tomorrow, not next week, but today! What is better? To suspend an innocent man or woman from his/her job, or to risk having an innocent child being abused? And that is the choice! We can pay the innocent man/woman to stay home while the evidence is being collected. But we can't pay for the abusing of an innocent child.

Right now there is a very real possibility that children are still being abused. But the police investigation is slowly progressing and a confidential report will be made "soon". And the authorities  are "investigating"! And we wonder why the crime rate is so high? Nobody is ever caught and prosecuted. Nobody! I have a bet with myself that absolutely nothing will come of this "investigation". Perhaps one or two very small fry might be caught, but this whole mess will be like the Akiel Chambers thing. No charges at all! But, we must be happy because the investigation is "slowly progressing".

 

INEFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP AND SNOW JOBS

  There is only one test for leadership: to lead, and to lead vigorously.  But just as important is effective  leadership. Of course, if a person (0r a group of persons) aspires to be a leader then one would hope for his/her leadership to be effective. A good example of ineffective leadership is the donkey that is in charge of Venezuela right now. More than six million of his countrymen have fled, most for economic reasons, and some for political ones, but this has taken place in what is potentially one of the wealthiest countries in the world. But Maburro stays in power with the very competent help (in staying in power) of the Cuban dictatorship. Without the Cubans and their very efficient security system which takes out (either by murder or lock up or both) any potential opponent the idiot would have been toppled long ago.

But this is not about Maburro and his incompetence, nor is it about those hypocrites who are clamoring for Cuba et al to attend the Summit of the Americas but are refusing to criticize Maburro and company as vigorously as they do the United States. This is about Trinidad & Tobago and the total and complete ineffectiveness of our leaders in dealing with the crisis concerning children's homes in this country. And this is about the snow job that those in charge are trying to pull on us  on this issue. A 'snow job', by the way, is defined as "an effort to deceive, persuade or overwhelm with insincere talk". And that is exactly what the Government is trying to pull on us: a snow job.

But let's deal with their ineffective leadership first. As this is being written (today, Saturday 4th June) nobody has yet been removed from his/her post or even suspended. And yet the evidence in the public domain suggests strongly that last night and the night before, and the night before, and so on, that a child was abused and that she/he will be abused tonight.  In a million years you cannot argue that "appointing a committee" and leaving everyone in place for the time being until the committee reports is an example of effective leadership. Look, I'm not going to argue about the ineffectiveness of the Government's economic policies nor am I going to argue about the proposed sale of the Petrotrin refinery or anything else for the time being. While all these issues (and more) are important they pale in comparison to this one.  My overriding concern is for the children - and the sad fact that abuse is still taking place and NOBODY has been charged or held accountable.

And here is where we come to the various snow jobs. Although, one can say with a great deal of justification that BOTH sides of the political divide have clearly dropped the ball on this one, the fact is that the Rowley led Government has been in power now just a few months short of seven years. And yet in that time the only thing that appears to have been done to save the children has been the appointment of several committees. Dr. Rowley's ministers, like Camille Robinson Regis and Ayanna Webster Roy, have tried to say that this Government cares, to which I say: really? But nothing has been done. People who were there yesterday are still there today. Let's not even talk about the millions that have gone down the drain. So? What exactly is being done RIGHT NOW to prevent further abuse? And don't tell me that you are "investigating". 

Mr. Prime Minister, the house is on fire and instead of arguing about who started the fire, use your office to put it out - NOW! We can argue later about who is really to blame. Of course, you needn't bother if you really believe that these kids aren't worth saving. But most right thinking people (including me) think otherwise. ACT NOW! SAVE THE KIDS!!

PRIORITIES

 It would be a joke if the consequences weren't so serious and tragic. In this morning's newspapers Camille Robinson Regis spends her time in castigating Robert Sabga for allegedly doing nothing when he submitted his report on the abuse being suffered by children and alleged that he (Sabga) was "rewarded" for his report by being made High Commissioner to Canada. Of course, the minor fact that the process of appointing a person as an ambassador starts about six months or more before the appointment is actually made is ignored; that and the fact that within a very short time after handing in his report Mr. Sabga was sent to Canada. But somehow it is his (Sabga's) fault that no action was taken and that it is to the credit of this Government that this has come to light now and that they are doing something about it now such as holding meetings and drinking coffee.

But leaving all that aside and assuming (though not accepting) that the goodly lady is right to castigate Mr, Sabga, Mrs. Robinson Regis defends the Government's seeming inaction by saying that a meeting has already been held and actions will be taken and the Prime Minister really cares about the children and , in any case, the wicked and evil UNC sat on its hands for twenty-five years and did nothing about it until the PNM came along.

Oh crikey! This woman can't be serious! First question: in the last twenty-five years who has been in power and when? Did the PNM at any time know about the report? Didn't the good lady herself refer to it in Parliament, or is the Hansard wrong?

Next question: what is the Government doing NOW to save the children who (it seems) are STILL being abused up to today as you read this?

You see, it is as if a house is on fire and the Government instead of trying to put out the fire is appointing a committee to discuss the best ways to put out the fire. The fact that the house is burning down is less important to them than trying to put out the fire. In fact, they seem to think that it is more important to find out who is to blame for the fire in the first place rather than putting it out. And when somebody asks them to put out the fire FIRST and then argue afterwards, that person who made the unreasonable suggestion of putting out the fire first is totally ignored and regarded as some sort of crazy person who doesn't understand how the thing works. If somebody is removed (much less arrested and charged) then, heaven forbid, the whole ugly story might come out and we  (whoever 'we' are) might be blamed for it.

But, the abuse in the children's homes is continuing. And now, twenty-five years later nobody is doing anything about it other than sitting around a conference table and drinking coffee. But the people in charge care. At least, so they say!

CRYING 'KORBAN'

 The Judith Jones report on the continuing abuse of children was laid in Parliament a month ago and NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE.  A few days ago I took a bet with myself that nothing would be done ... and unfortunately it looks as though I will have won (or lost) my bet.  The Guardian is reporting  the Acting Commissioner of Police  today (Thursday 26th May) as saying that  "the investigative team is in the early stage of doing the investigation and yes some persons have come forward and given statements, but have not identified persons within these homes that they can recommend to be removed immediately from the homes, that is ongoing".

Really? So what exactly are the police doing? Because it sounds like they are sitting in their airconditioned offices waiting for people to come to them. It doesn't sound as if they have visited any of the homes in question nor conducted any confidential interviews with any of the victims, nor  does it sound as if the ACP is overly concerned about this. Certainly, there are many who have very, very strong suspicions that children are still being abused. Now, assuming that this is true, what does it say about those whose responsibility it is to put an IMMEDIATE STOP to the abuse? I would use words like monsters, hypocrites, criminals, crooks, selfish and self-centered, dishonest, along with a host of others that are unprintable. But a whole week has passed and nothing has been done! Why? Do you want to bet if some big wig's child was involved that somebody would be in custody by now? Is it that 'little people' don't count? Or is it that children don't vote? Or is somebody high up protecting somebody? What is it? Don't we deserve an answer? My bet with myself is that absolutely nothing will happen.

It is absolutely incredible and most unforgivable that almost two weeks have passed (not to mention twenty-five years) since this scandal exploded into the public consciousness and NOTHING has been done as yet!! What are the names of those who have the responsibility? What are the names (all the names) of the people who work in these homes? What are their positions? Why don't we publicize all the names and then let's see what happens next? 

And it is very wrong that the politicians on both sides continue to throw stones at each other and ignore the festering sores created by the abuse instead of dealing with what is happening now! I am of the view that after we have fixed the problem then we can throw blame at this politician, or that politician, or the other politician. But we need to fix the problem first. This is what is urgent!  And , unbelievably, what seems to be more on the minds of the politicians on BOTH sides is that it is YOUR fault (whoever 'your' might be). Oh crikey, just fix it! You don't argue about who started a fire when it is raging out of control. Your first move is to put it out. After the fire is out then you can argue about whose fault it was. And if the Acting Commissioner of Police can't fix it then get somebody else who can and who will start protecting the children immediately. But let's not be like the pharisee who gets rid of his sins by standing at the gates of the temple and crying 'korban',  because that is exactly what we are doing! And the abuse is not stopping.

TOO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

In the Sunday Guardian of today (22nd May, 2022) the Acting Commissioner of Police is reported as saying that he only got a copy of the Sabga report on Thursday last (19th May, 2022) and that his "investigation" has begun and he has ordered it to take place within a very short time - three months or less!! To which I can only say a loud 'WHAT'? Three months to "investigate" this report is a reasonable and short time? Before I start to curse, tell me, does anybody reading this believe that children are STILL being abused? Or do you think that the abuse has stopped? 

If (like me) you still believe that children are being abused, do you believe that we should have to wait for another three months for Mr. Jacob to complete his "investigation"? Do you believe that anything will come out of this "investigation"? Do you think that anybody of any significance is going to go to jail for his/her part in this scandal? Or do you believe that Mr. Jacob is simply kicking the can down the road in the hope that it will simply go away as so many scandals have done before? Do you, for example, think that it was reasonable for the Acting CoP to receive the Sabga report only on Thursday 19th May when the scandal erupted with an Express newspaper report some four days earlier on Sunday 15th May? Who was supposed to send it to him? And why did it take FOUR days to be sent? Is this what we call in this country "acting with dispatch"? 

Why does everybody that I talk to believe that nothing will happen? Why does everybody that I talk to believe that the abuse of children is still going on in these homes? Why is the Acting CoP dragging his heels over this one? In any case, why is this 25 year old report now being "investigated", seemingly for the first time, by the police? Why?

There are too many questions and too many obvious 'cover-ups'. But nobody is asking the hard questions. I guess they just don't want the hard answers. So Trinidad & Tobago will continue with no accountability for or by the well-connected. And nobody will be blamed for anything. And as for the children? Well, they simply will never get justice in this life. You can be sure of that!

THE SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS: TO BOYCOTT OR NOT TO BOYCOTT

 

I would have a lot more sympathy with those who are calling (rather loudly) for a boycott of the Summit of the America's  if Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are not allowed to attend or are not invited. You see, these three countries are ruled by bloody and ruthless dictatorships, and if the Summit of the America's is to mean anything, those loudly calling for a boycott should also be calling for these three countries to become proper democracies and to free their peoples from the nasty boots of the dictators. But the critics of the Americans are keeping very silent on this point ... which, at the end of the day, is the only point.

You can't have it both ways: either you are about freedom and justice for everybody or you are not. It is very easy to sit in your comfortable, airconditioned office and drink coffee and criticize the evil United States and then jump on a plane for Miami to enjoy the so-called evils of the world's strongest democracy and go shopping or whatever else you might want to do. 

It is very easy to criticize the Americans. They are far from perfect, make a lot of mistakes, and at the end of the day they are really about their own interests. But the fact is that however bad you might think that they are and whatever sins you might wish to ascribe to them (of which they are probably and more than likely guilty) the fact is that if given a choice of whether to live in the States or, say, Cuba, you will ten times out of ten opt for America. Nobody wants to live in a dictatorship (unless you are the dictator.

But those who are so loudly critical of the USA keep amazingly silent on the ills of the brutal regimes that are inflicting so much misery on their citizenry and they certainly don't want to live in any of those places where their citizens have been fleeing in the millions. 

 And it is clear that what is sauce for the goose simply isn't sauce for the gander. I would be in favour of admitting the Cubans et al to the Summit, BUT I would in the next breath demand that all those who are threatening a boycott in the name of freedom apply that sentiment to Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela and criticize them as fiercely as they are now criticizing the United States. Any bets that the critics will say absolutely nothing about the lack of freedom in these countries?

And although it is not a "big thing" for most people who live in this part of the world, it is a big thing for those unfortunate enough to have to live in those countries because they have absolutely no choice. But you don't see that in the headlines, do you? Talk about dishonesty and hypocrisy!!

RE-OPENING THE SCHOOLS NOW

 It is not often that I think that the Rowley Government has done something right, but when evidence seems to point to them doing so, it is only right and proper that we acknowledge that they have done so. What I am talking about is the decision to reopen schools for the last two months of the school year. I have seen arguments, which quite frankly tended to sway me in their favour, that it would have been better to reopen the schools in September. The argument in essence was that re-opening them now was placing an unnecessary hardship on the parents as far as finance was concerned and that the kids could simply continue to learn online as they have been doing for what feels like an eternity. The children, so the argument goes, would not be suffering any great loss if they continued with the online learning for two more months.

But (and here it comes) a recent study in the United States conducted over a two year period showed that approximately twenty percent of those students who attended in person classes for most of the last (2020 - 2021) school year lost about twenty percent of their maths skills. BUT students who stayed home fared much worse:  they lost about fifty percent of their maths skills over the same period.

Now, I'm fairly certain that despite what anyone says now, that no such study has been done in T&T and that those in charge did not know about this study.. But it is not unreasonable to assume that the results of the American study will and can apply to other countries. This means that whether by design (which is most unlikely based on this Government's past performance) or happy circumstance they were right to reopen the schools now. And if that is the case, we should all applaud that particular decision whether we were lucky or not. It stands to reason that the sooner we can get the kids back in class the better if you accept the results of the study. 

And at the end of the day, what we all should be concerned about is what is best for the children. And whether or not the Rowley Government knew about this or they didn't know is irrelevant. It certainly appears from the American study that re-opening as quickly as possible is/was best for the kids. We can indulge in pendanticism when the election comes around. Until then let's 'give Jack his jacket'. Re-opening as soon as possible was the right decision for the children. Next point! Because we should be primarily concerned with what is best for the children. everything else is just fluff. Stick to the point and you will understand the problem. 

THE (RATHER TRAGIC) FAILURE OF THE PEOPLE'S PARTNERSHIP

 

The People's Partnership was a formidable political project, but it never won real political power. In my view, it failed on its own terms to build a new Trinidad And Tobago. It was a good move, a clever move that sought , on the surface at least, to bring everybody together and to end the awful race war that we have been suffering from since the infamous "recalcitrant minority" speech of what feels like a million years ago. Let's call a spade a spade: if you are Black/African you are expected to vote for the PNM; if you are Indian you are expected to vote for the UNC and it has been that way at least since 1961 and before.

But the PP  (People's Partnership) Government was dominated by the Indian UNC and within a very short time afterwards most people felt that it had betrayed the sentiment of yearning for a better and more equitable State in which the only thing that mattered was whether you were a citizen or not, and not your race. The PP Government did a lot of good things. Certainly, they proved to be far better managers of the economy than Dr. Rowley's Government, even on it's best days, has proven to be. But the PP Government failed to deal with a press that was always biased in favour of the PNM nor did it succeed in a fairer or more equitable distribution of wealth. It's relations with the trade unions could have been better and there was always the lingering scent of corruption. To be fair, most people also believe that this present PNM Government is also very corrupt, but that is another story. And the argument that "you t'ief more than me'  or 'dem is more corrupt' (whoever 'dem' might be)  is also irrelevant to this post.

The PP Government failed to democratize the civil service  so that it would operate more fairly and (perhaps more importantly) be SEEN to operate more fairly. Old systems that allowed any manner of ills (ranging from nepotism to corruption and everything in between) were left untouched and those that the PP Government did try to tackle were not changed enough so that when the PNM came back to power it was 'business as usual' all over again.

Real political power comes from having the support of a majority of the people. The PP Government lost that support very early on in it's tenure. Perhaps it was the fault of the non Indians in the Cabinet who having no real political following of their own and riding on the back of the country's urgent, but badly articulated desire to create a better place, got 'high on their own supply' and behaved as though they themselves were so very important? 

Whatever the cause was, the fact is that fairly soon after their victory it became apparent to the population that the PP Government was really a UNC Government in a not very good disguise. And this is definitely not what people voted for.

So? Where are we today? We have on the one hand  a Government that only the most rabid and/or racial persons think or believe or can argue it to be competent and on the other hand we have an Opposition that has retreated back to its racial base. And then we have an incompetent and biased media that fails dismally either to ask relevant questions or to report the facts of what is going on at any particular time. Then we have a most incompetent Commissioner of Police who appears to be under the control of the politicians ("appears" being the operative word in that sentence) and under whose watch violent crime has been rising seemingly uncontrollably.

But most people whether they are Black or Indian want things to change. Most people want to see an end to the racial divide and most people are desperately hoping that a 'knight in shining armor' will come and save them. The truth is that most people are not racist and do not buy into the racial claptrap that is spewed forth not so surreptitiously on both sides. At the moment, both sides are simply appealing to their respective African or Indian bases. The UNC is hoping that enough of those on the fence will 'smell the coffee' and return them to power and the PNM is praying that despite the multiple screwups so far, that enough of their base will hold to keep them in power and that people will forget how bad things really are. 

Does this mean that we shouldn't try again? No. It simply means that the PP Government failed but it's cause and the sentiments behind it's formation were both noble. We should try again ... and again, until we get it right!

THE CENTRE IS NOT HOLDING

It is becoming impossible to ignore the missteps of the Rowley regime. First of all, there is the rather serious question of broken trust. The Prime Minister and his followers all say things that are either patently untrue or are laced with such 'weasel' words that if it is later proven that whatever was said is a lie then they can sy truthfully "I didn't say that". For example, does anybody believe that the Government did NOT purchase any sort of spyware? The Prime minister has specifically stated that the Government did not purchase spyware from Pegasus. He did not say that the Government had not purchased any electronic spyware so if evidence later comes out that it did, he can say truthfully that he never said that the Government did not purchase any spyware; he just said that they never bought any from Pegasus! And that would be a true statement, though only half true. And a half truth is often more dangerous than a lie.

But it is simply awful that we should not have trust that our leaders are telling us the truth. And while this spyware imbroglio is serious, what is even more serious is that most thinking people believe that we are being lied to in all sorts of matters - both big and small. At the very least we should have faith that the people that we have chosen to lead and govern us are telling us the truth, no matter what! And yet, nobody can honestly say that we are. Look, there is only one reason for politics -one reason for government: TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR THE PEOPLE!! Full stop! There is NO other reason.  And if we do not trust that we are being told the truth -about anything - then the particular leader is not doing his or her job. And we are the losers!

There are a million other issues, but it really all boils down to a question of trust. Take, for example, an issue that Mr. Phillip Alexander has been raising about Wildflower Park in Port of Spain. This, on the surface, seems like a rather unimportant issue. But wait a minute. Isn't there a problem when somebody tries to take control of public property without lawful authority? And when an activist (like Mr. Alexander) raises the issue somebody decides to erect about fifteen signs that say, amongst other things, that pesticides are used in this park. therefore, the not so subtle warning to the public is that it is unsafe for children and pets. But just across the road are the Botanical Gardens and there are no warning signs there. So? Why were these signs erected? Mr. Alexander hints strongly that the persons who caused the signs to be erected are very wealthy supporters of the Government whose homes are adjacent to the park. Is this true? The Minister in charge is silent and that in itself is a lie of omission.

Then there is  a statement that antique cars, i.e., cars of a certain age, will not be allowed on the roads of T&T again even if they have passed their inspection. Why? Is it that the Government does not trust its own inspection process? 

And speaking of the vehicle inspection process, where or under what authority has the Transport Commissioner changed it? There are no legal notices and the various authorized outlets are unsure as exactly what they should do. And the Minister is silent and so far ignoring them and declining to meet with their representatives.

I could go on, but you get the point: the centre is falling apart. Schools have been reopened (seemingly against the advice of private medical professionals) for the last two moths of the school year putting a burden on parents who will have (amongst other things) to buy school books both now and in September when the new school year starts.  And we are met with silence.

It seems that whatever adversely affects the population is not news and can be ignored, We are facing a decay that is starting from the middle and is slowly spreading outwards.

FIXING T&T - Part 2

 It is probably time that we stop bewailing the faults and mistakes of the present Government (although they are too many to count) and start looking at ways that we can at least start to try and fix this little country of ours. My own view is that it will take at least twenty years to fix (if not more) which is, of course, way beyond the lifetime of any elected Government. And yet, our problems are such that if we don't fix them now, they are only going to get worse.

So? How do I think that we could and should begin? Answer: with our education system. Because money is everybody's motivation I would start with the teachers. First, I would at least treble the salaries of teachers. BUT I would also put them on some sort of performance bond so that their students have to perform. If at the end of a year (for example) a teacher fails his/her performance bond then he/she would be fired immediately with no recompense whatsoever.  And this requirement will continue for the duration of the teacher's employment. Ah! I can hear yo say. Not a bad idea, but what about their union and their present terms and conditions? Yep! You're right. I would deal with that problem like this: nobody except brand new teachers will have to sign up for the new terms and conditions, but then anybody who does not sign up for them simply won't get the new salary. In other words, I won't change any existing terms (including salaries) of anyone who does not want to agree to the new system.

Will this work? I really don't know, though I believe that it would. No country can succeed if it's education system is deficient, and ours certainly is. If it is so great why do so many kids in the public school system need to have private lessons? And who is giving the private lessons? Not the very same teachers who are supposed to be teaching the children in class? If they are doing their job properly, why is it necessary for so many children to take private lessons?  It is a system that guarantees failure - unless you can pay for it. And there is the nub of the problem. Only a minority can afford the cost of private lessons. There is no good reason other than economics why private lessons are necessary - and they are for anybody who wants his/her child to get ahead.

There is no other way for a country to go forward other than education. And yet you have people like the UWI principal Professor Brian Copeland reportedly saying that UWI students should "be more responsible" for their fees, by which he means they should pay more.  Oh gosh! Where is the out of the box thinking that we need rather than this old tired way of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Tertiary education in successful countries like Germany, Sweden, et al have free tertiary education. Even France offers this to non citizens if they can speak French!

We need to start thinking differently instead of trying the same old solutions which clearly are not working. Wasn't it Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant minds of the twentieth century who defined madness as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. And that is exactly why we can't even fix a pothole!

FIXING T&T - PART1

I was once told by a most respected Queen's Counsel (who is dead now, poor fellow) that if ever I wanted to solve a problem I should go back to the beginning. With this injunction in mind I started thinking about all of our little country's problems and what was the root cause of each and every one. Do they have anything in common?

The answer , I thought, is yes, and the problem lies in or with our (very faulty) education system.  I mean, we live in a topsy turvy world where our teachers are by and large underpaid and hardly respected (if at all). Our so-called prestige schools are little better than dumping grounds for our children with most classes having more than thirty kids each. How in the name of heaven do we expect to compete with the outside world where the best schools outside consider a 'large' class  having about sixteen kids? How do we expect a teacher to be able to control a class of about thirty thirteen or fourteen year olds? How do we expect to be able to produce well educated citizens for the future benefit of the country?

Of course, the problem here is that any plans that any Government might have is always dictated by a five year gap between elections and any real and proper changes to the system won't show any results for about twenty years. In other words, this idea of mine is definitely not a vote winner.

And yet, it is absolutely necessary. our teachers are at the bottom of the wage pyramid. They need to be properly compensated. We have a lot of very good teachers who are forced to supplement their incomes by giving private lessons. Yet an argument can be made that if they are so good why does a child need the extra lessons. And the answer is because the child needs that little extra attention. And so the circle begins again.

There is a saying about paying with peanuts and expecting to get a genius. Well, that is exactly what we are doing. And every single problem that we have can be traced back to our education system; even the corruption and inefficiencies are a result of the very poor education system.

Even the SEA system ought to be scrapped and replaced. ALL schools should have to meet a minimum standard (which ought to be very high) and instead of a child living in, say, Sangre Grande and having to travel everyday to Port of Spain to go to school, he/she ought to be able to go to the local secondary school and receive a good education. If a parent wants better then perhaps we can look at some sort of scholarship system wherein we can send our best and brightest.

Look, I am not saying that we don't have bright kids. We do. And they are bright enough to be able to compete with any first world child any time, any where. But our AVERAGE children are being horribly short changed by the system and we need to address this - NOW! And we can start by paying our teachers a proper salary. There is more on this which I will talk about later.

SPYING

  I shall always be grateful to former Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar for telling the world in Parliament that my telephone (along with more than a hundred others) was tapped by the Manning regime. I considered suing the Government for breaching my constitutional right to privacy but ultimately decided against it for a variety of reasons, not the least being that I really didn't want to add to the financial burdens of the State that was beginning to show signs of economic fatigue. I have no doubt that I would have won that case though.

But the latest news coming out in which the Rowley regime is apparently tapping the telephones of all kinds of people ranging from PNM to UNC supporters and all kinds of people in between is most disturbing. Basically, the accusation is that the Government has engaged the services of the Israelis to spy on the citizens of this country. The Prime Minister is reported as saying words to the effect that only criminals are being spied upon and therefore ordinary law abiding citizens do not have to worry, to which I can only say 'what?'. How does the Government know who is a criminal and who is not? And if people's telephones, emails, etc., are being monitored what is the bench mark for this monitoring? Who is doing the monitoring? 

The questions abound and the former Prime Minister is quite correct in raising the issue. It is a great pity that the so-called "free and independent" press have not seen fit to take her up on this and make an issue of it. For it is a big deal and this is the way that dictatorships tend to take hold - little by little. Mrs. Persad Bissessar is more right than most people realize and it would be wise to pay attention to what she is saying.

P.S. If you were involved in some sort of nefarious activity would you be so foolish to talk about it on the phone or (even worse) put it in writing on an email or whats app? So who do you think is really being spied upon? Speaking only for myself, I say and write nothing that I am not prepared to say publicly.