Cronyism - Triple Crown Winner

Usually, if I find something to comment upon, I rant a little on my blog, get it out of my system and leave it alone. Too many things to see and blog about to really keep any one topic alive.

But my blog on cronyism seem to hit a few people quite hard, especially the ones related to Hazel Rogers-Dick. Look, I didn't do the deeds accredited to her, I only commented on them. And my comments were quite innocuous. Anyone who take offence definitely does not understand the meaning of the word cronyism. So here it is.

Cronyism: doing favours for friends: special treatment and preference given to friends or colleagues, especially in politics.

Get this straight. While Hazel may be guilty of cronyism, in no way does that imply she is a criminal. While English is a difficult language for some to grasp, I am fairly cognizant of the fact that most of my blog was quoted from the Guardian article and my observations were that denials would start all around (which they did).


Now, I re-read my blog (link above) and in no way did I say or imply she is guilty of a criminal offence. Which is why I am perplexed that her relatives are keeping my thoughts (and blogging) alive on this topic by their comments.

Hear one Anthony Hines:

I am speechless at your act of opportunism. Have you no shame, this someones mother and daughter you are talking about. I wonder how your family would like it if someone was trying to rubbish you like this.

My response:

Frankly Anthony, I never do things like this to have people comment about me. I do live an ethical life, sadly to say, which is why I am still scrunting.

But if you look and read, and understand my blog, I never said anything that wasn't said elsewhere. I only highlighted what was in the newspapers. You have a bone to pick, check them first.

But since we are on the subject, there is definite cronyism in this, and look carefully at today's newspapers and you will see the cover up started already.

Anthony Hines said. . .

You say in your blog you didn't know her, well I did as she was a good friend of my dads and my godmother and If you knew her and the work she did in her community, I would hope you would've thought before accusing her of cronyism. If you want to have a go at so-called cronyism, I would have a go at the hospital as Hazel would not have taken something without permission. The hospital could've said no and there would be no story.

My response:

Seems you write from the emotional point of view that you know Hazel, Anthony. Fact is, the papers won't publish anything if they can't back it up. . . they can get sued you know. Therefore, there is some truth in the reports. I suggest you do your own research.

I respect your position, but I don't make the news, I only comment on it; the way I see it.

She may have done good works, but sadly, her passing leaves some unanswered questions. The facts speak for themselves.

Anonymous said. . .

How dare you write this crap about my mother?

First of all, my mother was gravely ill and needed the heart monitor constantly.

Second of all the bed came from the hospital's inventory and did not deprive anyone of a bed on the ward at all.

Thirdly, the oxygen tanks belonged to us. Paid for with our money and carted up and down the stairs to be refilled by us. That is why there is no mention of the oxygen tanks being returned in any of these ill-researched media stories.

Fourthly, my mother absolutely gave her life to the City of San Fernando. She did not die rich and might have lived a little longer if she did not continue doing community work from her death bed. So as far as I am concerned, you can find something else to do besides trashing her name and her reputation on some stupid Internet blog. And, to suggest that my mother was anything but ethical is a testament to how completly uninformed you are. My mother could be called names by anyone, but even her enemies know that she was ethical.

(The paragraphs were my idea to separate the rants. The misspellings I left, I didn't feel like doing ALL the work).

My response:

Hmm. Offence.

Let's see, your mother needed the heart monitor so she took one from the hospital?? How many other people 'needing' a heart monitor gets one from the hospital? If your mother was able to access one, it's because she was a member of the board/former PNM mayor. That's called cronyism. Which is what my blog is about.

If the bed came from 'inventory' then it did deprive a person because the public is aware a lot of them have to sleep ON THE FLOOR! The bed should have been on a ward. But aside from that, WHO AUTHORISED the bed leaving the hospital? That's called cronyism. Which is what my blog is about.

Thirdly, the SWRHA were enquiring about the tanks... so for you to say it belongs to you... well, you need to prove it to THEM, not me.

Fourthly, if your mother did good works, bad works or indifferent, it made no difference if she accessed care/facilities beyond other people because of this. The whole point is that she did, and that's called cronyism. Because she was afforded these things because of her relationship with the SWRHA managers... OTHER PEOPLE CANNOT ACCESS THE SAME.

The main question in my mind is: how do you confuse cronyism with criminality?

The second question is: why pick on my poor blog when you have a whole parcel of newspapers to sue if the arguments are offensive and untruthful?

Cronyism - PNM Style Part Deux

Let's get back to my post on cronyism in the PNM. Hazel Rogers-Dick, a former PNM mayor of San Fernando somehow left Sando Hospital with over $50,000 in equipment. A bed, an oxygen tank and a cardiac monitor found their way home to her house, and according to reports, they were even transported there by a SWRHA vehicle. Which also means SWRHA employees provided the labour to get it loaded (and maybe unloaded too).

Now, recent media articles highlighted the poor state of the hospital, with toilets clogged, no beds to sleep on, (man walking with bed from home, mind you), equipment problems, etc etc. A long litany of woes is a short description of ills plaguing this sector. I am not the first to highlight this, neither would I be the last.

So here comes Anthony Hines, accusing me of opportunism in commenting on this obvious travesty. So Hazel dead... you know what Anthony? I can't help that, and I don't know her well enough to grieve for her although I sympathise with her family.

But according to today's Express, the favouritism and preferential treatment hapened, and as I said, the coverup already started.

The South-West Regional Health Authority, in a statement yesterday, said she was lent a bed for the period of time she wanted to spend at home.

But prior to this statement, the reporters could not find proof she was lent that bed and sundries.

SWRHA heads of department, including chairman Imtiaz Ahamad, all denied giving permission for one of the authority’s vehicles to transport a cardiac monitor, valued at $27,000, a new bed worth $17,000, plus an oxygen tank to Rogers-Dick’s Vistabella home on June 12.

So which is it? I'm inclined to go with the first report, the second stinks of a coverup. I did mention it would happen, but to happen in less than 24 hours? A new record perhaps. Get it straight. At first they all denied giving permission. Now to save the woman's 'face' and reputation they say they did?

Just watch the ensuing casting of blame and denials as each and everyone disclaim responsibility. I bet nothing comes of this, like so many other corrupt practices we see daily. The dust swept under the carpets is now a mountain of dirt. Who sees it?

By the way, the SWRHA hasn't entirely cleared the woman.

The Authority, which is in charge of the institution, however, was unclear how she left with a cardiac monitor without proper authorisation....

Although, Rogers-Dick required the continuous use of a cardiac monitor, the SWRHA said no permission was given for it to be taken home...

Rogers-Dick was also said to have taken home an oxygen tank valued at $55,000 for her home care....

Both the bed and the monitor have since been returned, the statement said.

No mention of the oxygen tank there...

No matter how you look at it Anthony, cronyism is there, plain and bold, for any non-partisan person to see. I see the dirt, do you?

Time to take the blinkers off

Whilst racking my brain this morning for a topic to blog about, I was rescued by the dunceys. As always.

I was of a mind to blog about the blindness or tunnel vision of party supporters as evidenced over the past 2 or 3 days on the forums of both Express and Guardian. If you look at the comments, you can see where persons support, donkey-styled blinker fashion, either the PP or the PNM. Hardly are we seeing where someone recognises that just because the PNM was corrupt and wasted money through corruption and cronyism/nepotism that this is no reason for the PP to do the same.

Instead, what I am seeing are excuses for allowing the PP to get away with similar tactics, as long as the corruption/cronyism/nepotism is less. Again I say, 2 wrongs cannot make a right.

Like I pointed out once:

If one person breaks the law, does this mean that he or she should not be prosecuted because 199 others did it and have not been? No, it means that steps should be taken to pursue the other 199, even though one may argue that pursuing the one is victimising him.

Lord Acton said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

…but when one is in public office, one must be careful as to what gifts one can or cannot receive.

Read also that last line as “… what gifts one can or cannot present”  and you will have an idea as to the current situation of Anand Ramlogan handing out largesse to friends and/or family. One person even went so far to mention:

I would think that in the absence of any specific law, or a fixed schedule of fees, retaining briefs from "friends" and "family" may not be illegal, unless some kind of fraud was perpetrated, or there are grossly inflated fees in excess of stipulated guidelines.

To this I respond as follows:

The law is not infallible. There are case law and statute and more specifically the latter attempts to correct 'loopholes' in the law by amendments to legislation. Just because something is legally correct does not mean it is right. Case in point: do you remember P**rick changing the law to facilitate the $110M transfer of shares to Andre Monteil? Legally - correct; morally and ethically - wrong. He even promised the money will be repaid... was it ever?

Just because the PNM did it (any particular action), is not reason for Ramlogan or the PP to do it. Just because they spend less on cronyism and nepotism than the PNM is no reason to sanction it.

Somehow, when I read these views I remember my neighbour’s donkey and the blinkers he wore when taken out. The donkey therefore could only see one direction when he turned his head. By the way, the comments on that last link are also applicable to my point on why 2 wrongs don’t make a right… and on tunnel vision too… be sure and read the relevance in the comments rather than the situation please, before making claims that the 2 subject matters are different.

I turn now to the preposterous idea that Kamla is only firing Afro-Trinis from high positions. First was the guy from ODPM, then Philbert, and now the Joseph from SAUTT. Have we forgotten the Goan is gone? By the way, does anyone know if this Joseph is related to Martin Joseph?

Reason enough for the firing below:

However, commenting on the wire-tapping claims, a SAUTT source confirmed calls were monitored but said this was done to protect Persad-Bissessar.

Her conversations were monitored for threats and key words such as “kill”, “kidnap”, “murder”, “assault”, would have triggered a response from SAUTT, said the source.

The source admitted Persad-Bissessar was never told her phones were monitored.

The alternative to the PP firing the top persons who are only of one race is that… perhaps the PNM hired persons of only one race to top positions. Seems to me that this is where the source of the controversy comes from, not the actual firing itself. Still, one waits for the fanatics to argue.

More cronyism, duncey police and the link 'tween them

So Trinidad duncey police at it again. A 'senior' (translated as more duncey) officer calls up and directs the underlings to release a woman who was charged for cussing out a police officer, and on top of that, she slash the man chest open with a surgical blade. The officer had to get 10 stitches.

Now, the woman is a known squeeze of some Morvant bandit (oops, community leader), so to get her released its obvious the bandit call some shots. And since senior duncey call some shots of his own, then that means he has some kind of underhanded ties with the said bandit.

I guess maybe that's the reason the newspapers have not revealed senior duncey's name. An investigation might embarrass everyone from Prime Minister down to the victim. So to prevent said embarrassment nothing will be done (I'm willing to lay money out on this one).

Now this little stinky is not really final concrete proof, but again is another peephole exposing the panorama that is police in cahoots with bandits. The final concrete proof is never going to be provided because a) police investigating police always equal zero, and b) 3-subject dunceys not really literate enough to carry on a proper investigation (hence all the lucrative contracts for foreigners).

Just last week we had another senior duncey calling shots to have his duncey son released after he too assaulted another police officer. The pittance of brains given to these dunceys, and instead of trying to make their jobs better and more respectable, they engage in petty displays of power. Go figure!

What this tells me too, from duncey police to my last posts on Hazel Rogers-Dick, I have to start a new tag called cronyism. It looks to be a busy one, eh?

Stupid is as stupid does

Cronyism pays. We've seen it over the years. Look at Louis Lee Sing and the Citadel radio application (even the Privy Council saw the blatant cronyism here), the airport contracts with UNC financiers, the episode of Hazel Rogers-Dick and the SWRHA, and the Landate affair which is mixed up with Emile Elias and the Scarborough Hospital.

Aside from the intolerable time that hospital is taking, now we hear that the cost has risen from $135M to $474M. We hear reports that materials left the hospital site to appear at the private project of a government MP. As an aside, said MP claims the project belongs to his wife. Hmm, isn't property in a marriage considered joint?

The JLSC has moved off it's fat arse to do something about Shermie. Intent to follow through on two charges is stated, but will it follow through on intent? Time will tell, but I can't say I'm holding my breath. that might well prove to be detrimental to my well-being.

Moving from 'breakfastes', Hazel Manning has now joined the ranks of mental midgets Bush and Quayle.

She said: “I understand what he’s asking and I’ve explained what we are doing, that there is a document, that it is documented, that the document will be out there very shortly if it’s not there already. Therefore we are engaging the schools in discussions and we are saying...”.

Or maybe she was trying to do a Donald Rumsfeld?

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know."

Donald Rumsfeld

Anyway, it does prove that one fact remain constant - sleeping with your boss does take you ahead of your capabilities. Guaranteed!

On the positive side of things, the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by Guantanamo detainees so that they can challenge their detention in US Federal Courts. The US prefers that they be tried in military courts, perhaps because the government feels greater control there.

From tomorrow smoking is banned in all public and work places in England. Smokers will now have to have special smoking rooms (can you see an additional expense here for business owners?).

Magistrate Ian Murray walks out of court after a defendant appeared before him wearing a full niqab.

Zoobia Hussain

Quite right. Under so-called 'rights' common sense has taken a long leave, and stupidity is being promoted. Another situation where division is created instead of integration.

For legal purposes such as identification (court, customs, immigration, policing etc) all veils should be removed, no exceptions.

If people wish to live a certain way in their country, that is fine, but to come to another country and create divisions by imposing your own ways is absolutely wrong. There can be no excuse.

That's like coming into my home as a guest and then dictating to me how I should treat you, despite your behaviour. Basically, the most suitable answer I can think off: F**K OFF!!

Just another observation

On any typical day, I begin my morning by reading the newspapers on-line... both English and Trinidadian. Sometimes I even delve into other countries', like Zimbabwe, or South Africa, Jamaica etc. This depends on how much time I have as well as whether the news is interesting or not.

More and more though, I notice a difference in news from 'developed' countries, and the news from so-called 'third world' or developing nations.

Developing nations have news that are filled with corruption and cronyism stories, abuse of power by low, middle and high level authority figures, and many, many stories of how the common folk struggle to eke out a living on a daily basis. Sounds familiar?

This morning, the Trinidad Express reported on a shortage of flour, shortage of ketchup, signs that the struggle to survive is getting worse in this oil rich but poorly managed country.

At the risk of sounding racist, Pa-trick is behaving like the leaders of many African states where self-aggrandisement, corruption and cronyism are promoted rather than being stamped out. Something I read a while ago from the BBC website stuck in my head - the black man is his own worst enemy. No matter how much the rest of the world tries to help him, he insists on bringing himself and his people down through a combination of his attitude, greed and stupidity. Ever noticed that the protesters against the crimes in Darfur are mainly white?

Pa-trick and friends fit the mould like tights on a woman's legs.

Looking from the outside, I see mismanagement, but more than that, I see selfishness, dotishness (abject stupidity for my non-Trini readers) and a penchant to fill their own pockets before attending to the needs of the people. Not that they openly put money or assets into their already fat bank accounts (Monteil and Shermie are exceptions), but by lavishing upon themselves the lifestyles of failed African leaders above and beyond the imaginings of the common people... one can only wonder how the hell they can sleep at night when people cannot afford basic items such as flour, oil or other staples.

Then again, many of these 'leaders' do not have consciences. Their minds are as closed as a camel's arse in a sandstorm, and they have skins like crapaud leather.

In other news, Tattoo stoutly defended the URP program a few weeks ago. Remember his media release that stated that just because the few (he quoted less than 10% if I recall correctly) deaths of people working in the program, it was mere coincidence and not that there were criminal gangs involved in fighting over state contracts? Yeah, right!

Fast forward to today. Martin Joseph, the effeminate Minister of National Insecurity contradicts the PNM's mouthpiece. Once again he admits that the gangs are in control and fighting over lucrative state contracts. Expect Tattoo to deny this within 3-5 days.

Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert who is the URP's line minister has however said that the programme is not a criminal enterprise, even though he acknowledged that some of its participants have criminal records.

Joseph was asked yesterday if criminal gangs were not only fighting over physical turf but what people are describing as contracts in the social services programmes.

"It is possible. It is very possible," Joseph said.

Again though, the same excuse is made... what is happening is not only in Trinidad but elsewhere. That makes it okay as far as this government is concerned.

"What is new is that, again as part of the development that is taking place and the ease with which...persons who are bent on criminal activity can now access their weapons of choice. That is what is new and it is not just unique to Trinidad and Tobago, it also part of a Caribbean situation," Joseph said.

But wait...

The homicide rate for the year now stands at 96. The comparable figures for 2005, was 74, while in 2006 there were 96 murders and in 2007 there were 58, according to police statistics.

Let me see... last year we had an all time high of 392 murders (the governments reclassification to drop the figure to 388 isn't my idea of the truth).

392 murders when the comparative figure till March was 58. This year we have for the same period 96. Anyone see us beating the 500 mark? But it is okay, because it's happening everywhere, not just Trinidad.

Well, maybe there is hope yet. Martin Joseph has finally realised that the police cannot rely on eye witnesses alone (maybe he should also realise that a man beaten to within an inch of his life or having his balls locked in a drawer will confess to anything) and wants to move evidence gathering forward. Sigh.... is it possible to teach dunceys? I doubt it.

Open season for tiefing, graft, cronyism

GOVERNMENT is moving to amend the Integrity in Public Life Act to exclude chairmen and directors of state boards as well as members of the judiciary from the category of persons required to file declarations with the Integrity Commission.

It means that controversial figures such as Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) boss Calder Hart and man-of-many-hats Ken Julien who have been the subject of repeated exposes in the Parliament and the media would escape the scrutiny of the Integrity Commission, the accountability watchdog, if the legislation were to be passed.

However Government, in explaining the move, has indicated repeatedly that it has had tremendous difficulty in finding suitable persons to serve on boards because many persons are reluctant to file declarations with the Integrity Commission.

Last year, Government faced a spate of resignations from several boards, which included Julien, chartered accountant William Lucie-Smith and National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) chairman David Brash. The common complaint, government spokesmen said, was that people were not prepared to disclose private and confidential information about their financial affairs, and to subject themselves to the particularly invasive and nit-picking nature of the questioning of the Integrity Commission, for a pittance.

Last year Attorney General Brigitte Annisette George had referred to a judgment of Judge Judith Jones which, she stated, had the effect of requiring all members of non-profit civic organisations, such as the Maha Sabha, to file declarations with the Integrity Commission. Annisette George had indicated that Government intended to amend the legislation to address this.

However, Maharaj noted yesterday, that the package distributed on Friday goes way beyond this. "If the Government only wanted to address that issue (of the non-profit organisations), they could have simply amended the measure to state that the Act does not include such organisations. But they have come with this fundamental amendment (removing State directors)," he said.

And once again, we see the PNM using its majority in Parliament to ride roughshod over commonsense and the corruption checks. It is indeed an open invitation for those who are corrupt to become more corrupted, and those not yet tainted to become so.

Let me see if the judiciary, the Law Association (and Dana Seetahal) will protest against this very wrong move. Hell, if Patrick Jagessar gave in to temptation (and I have long suspected Shermie), who is to say that anyone in the judiciary has lily-white hands? Not to mention the blackened hands of Calder Hart and Ken Julien.

I can't wait to see the tiefing, the corruption and grafts, the cronyism get into a frenzy like hogs at a feeding trough.

Serve the people

Kamla admits to mistake. So says the headlines this morning.

Is Kamla taking a page out of Max's book? A superwoman she ain’t.

Kamla and the UNC faction of the PP do not yet seem to realise that after Manning's monumental ego and 'spit-in-yuh-eye' cronyism, the public is rightfully fed up. Kamla was voted in on a mantra of change and "Serve the people, serve the people, serve the people".

Because of the attitude held by the Manning regime, people are rightfully fed up, and more aware of 'missteps' by our elected officials. We are also a LOT less tolerant of these missteps.

Everything that is done now will be intensely scrutinised by a public who was FORCED to become aware. We are certainly more aware now than we were 2 years ago.

Kamla has to realised that what Patrick did met with strong disapproval. Whatever she has in mind, if it smacks of nepotism or cronyism WILL meet with disapproval. What Manning got away with, she won't.

So the excuse of 'Dem do it, why can't we?' will not fly now.

It is time to start serving the people.

Shameless and brainless

Governments are elected to serve the people, to administrate the state's business on behalf of the population that elected them.

Not in Trinidad and Tobago. Here we have governments who are elected and selected serving themselves, filtering tax dollars into their own pockets and into the pockets of their friends and family... cronyism and graft running side by side like two railway tracks.

But imagine, in a country that boasts of being the richest in the Caribbean (and certainly one of the richest in the entire South American land mass), they have a main street in the main city (town really) flooding every time rain falls. I wonder to myself if Pa-trick fooling me; that the tall buildings aren't a sign of impotence but a smart move to escape rising flood waters.

In the meantime, people dying, and the grieving never seems to end.

I wonder whether the people are so apathetic as to not care one whit either way, or that they are so numbed that they cannot fight for a necessary change?

I don't want to see Trinidad and Tobago becoming a place where there is riots and civil unrest, but sometimes I think that may be the only way to achieve the impossible - get rid of the old and wasteful and bring in the new and functional.

Sheldon Des Vignes - worthless dead

I mentioned I turning out to be a better psychic than Yasenia Gonzales.

Since the start of the Des Vignes incident, I have been predicting that the duncey Sylvester will walk off scot free. Well, guess what happened?

And set free by no less a person than that idiot of idiots, Sherman McNicolls. I for one will be glad when he retires.

Just in case you want to follow the entire story, here are the links. Copy and paste into your browser.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161234473

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161234475

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161235091

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161235087

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161237138

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161244706

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161253409

http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-12-29/news7.html

http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/2008-01-23/news6.html

http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,73124.html

http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,73641.html

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161285257

I guess Sheldon is worthless dead... no one cares enough to see justice done. Cronyism rears it's rampant head.

RIP, Sheldon.

Difference in justice

A 29-year-old man who failed to report the death of his father for nearly five months and claimed his benefit payments has been jailed for three years.

Police found the body of Guy Blackburn, 54, on a bed in the living room of his home in Penwortham, Lancashire, last March after neighbours raised concerns.

Christopher Blackburn, from Birkby, Huddersfield, admitted theft and preventing a lawful burial of a body.

Preston Crown Court heard he took his father's benefit payments of £1,869.

Now contrast this with a certain Monkey Island, where an Industrial Court judge collects cheques for her husband, and cashed them, for 6 years after his death, defrauding the State of thousands of dollars.

Ah, the ‘sweet’ smell of cronyism/nepotism.

Then again, if the PM could do it, who is we?

Vision 2020 - in 2008

I find myself thinking this morning of Vision 2020. The lofty goal that Papa-tricks has imposed upon the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago. I use the word impose deliberately. I cannot recall seeing anywhere that Vision 2020 was anyone else's idea. I cannot recall anyone else having input into its planning and structure.

I can't recall Vision 2020 having planning and structure. You may find it strange, but think about it. Here we have a Prime Minister, arguably leading one of the wealthier nations of the Western Hemisphere, touting a vision, a goal, for several years, and yet no one can define what that goal is, to any reasonable degree.

I know it involves tall buildings, which I suspect (and stated before) is a salve to failing manhood. Other than that, I cannot see any definite goals or targets. Okay, I am out of the loop; I am not one of Papa-tricks confidantes or assistants. Still, I pride myself on being observant to a certain degree, and yet - Vision 2020 eludes me.

Perhaps I am being cynical. I get the impression that Vision 2020 is all about being 'developed'. Maybe I can go further and say it is about being progressive.

But who defines what that development or progress is? Papa-tricks of course. It is the ideal of one man with a national treasury at his beck and call. Nothing wrong with that, you might say. So would I, especially if that man was of the mould of Nelson Mandela, Mohandas Gandhi, Barack Obama. These are men who outwardly demonstrated that they were fighting for betterment of their people, that they wanted more for their countries than for themselves. I can't say the same for Papa-tricks.

I tried thinking what may be Papa-tricks idea of development. Is it similar to that found in Nordic countries? That found in European countries? In Canada? USA? Mexico? Australia? Cuba? I include the last because I know he is a regular visitor there, and despite American hindrance, Cuba has done remarkably well in certain areas of development e.g. medicine.

Is it a blend of all of the above?

Vision 2020 at the moment is as solid as the fog on a cold morning. Essentially, it is there, you have a vague idea and a vague picture, but try to hold it, to meet it and it constantly eludes and slips away.

I think he means well. Maybe Papa-tricks wants better infrastructure, manageable traffic, less graft and corruption in public office, better health care, better education, less crime, better utilities, efficient communications, advance technology; things of that nature. So would I.

Still, one may conclude that his current actions, his present route, does not give us the idea that these things are even near the horizon.

Crime is out of control. That is not a statement I make lightly. I have monitored the crime situation for nearly 2 years on this blog. I was the first to reveal that despite the dunceys claiming a 20% crime solve rate, the figure was actually closer to 8%. This figure was later revealed by the Express to be more accurate than the dunceys statistics. We have nearly 7000 dunceys making about 5000 arrests per year, which really means that we have less than 1 arrest per duncey per year. The solve rate for major crime is maybe (thinking positively here) about 1%.

The country with the largest pitch lake in the world has some of the worst roads you can imagine. I see corruption, cronyism and grafts in every contract handed out. I see shoddy workmanship. Heck, we even had the nation's best pavers f**king up the airport runway, where planes take off and land at high speeds every few minutes.

Government offices are still centralised in the capital 'city' which is prone to many feet of very dirty and muddy flood water every few months. This means we have thousands of workers and clients from every part of the country going to create horrendous traffic jams daily. No thought of decentralising or setting up phone or Internet services to help the situation, neither anything about staggered working hours, or an appointment system in the vision 2020 plan.

We have an idiot in the insurance business running the health sector, one of many currently under a corruption probe. An Imbert-cile in the Works ministry. What appears to be a sexual deviant playing with cucumbers in the Agriculture ministry. I can go on and on, but these are examples at how ill prepared we are to visualise, or achieve, Vision anything.

Here's a further thought. At his age and with his medical condition, do you think Papa-tricks will be around when 2020 comes?

Identifying a Fascist state

This morning I was sent an interesting link by a friend. Entitled “Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism”, Dr. Lawrence Britt identified some of the characteristics by examining several fascist regimes.

It is interesting that I identified the following points I consider to be applicable to the PNM and Pa-trick's governance. Keep in mind that these are only what I consider, and to get the rest of the list you need to click the link above.

• Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. (I wonder if the cost of the flag, example $2 million, has anything to do with it? Isaac Gary Hunt did speak of nationalism, did he not?)
• Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. (I know, you are saying that there is not so much of this at the moment but there are certain clues that point to this coming).
• Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. (Again, this is the sort of grey area).
• Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution. (Uh huh, we are seeing definite signs of this).
• Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions. (We can see the increasing religiosity in our great great leader).
• Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. (Anyone see Andre Montiel, Salybia & Boynes, etc).
• Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked. (One word – Imbert-cile).
• Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. (Do I really need to comment here?).
• Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections. (Don't forget, using strong-arm tactics by community leaders, promising land to community leaders, giving lucrative contracts to community leaders... my head hurts, you fill in the rest).

So out of 14 identifiable characteristics of Fascism, I have clearly identified 9. I suppose other readers may identify some of the other 5.

PNM country 1

I guess one of the beautiful things about Trinidad and Tobago is the ease with which one can get away with crap/shit/dotishness down there.

No matter what aspect of life, public or private, a person can simply ride out bias, cronyism, and the above mentioned crap/shit/dotishness because the population is too busy dying from bullets and stabbing, swine flu and dengue…

Take for example, PNM Senate President Danny Montano . He refers Wade Mark to the Privileges Committee for allegedly “misleading the Senate last week when he said he was cleared by the Health Ministry to attend the Senate.”

Funny no one said anything about Jerry ‘No Dengue’ Narace, Karen T and other PNM members.

The PNM has the majority of members on the Committee so we know the results of this even now.

The Hydra’s poisoned bite

Finally!

After much public outcry, and clear evidence into a runaway and uncontrollable entity, the Government finally sacked the board of UDeCOTT. Those remaining members who haven’t yet absconded that is.

But… they still out to get Rowley!

…Manning had asked his former housing minister Dr Keith Rowley, ’Where the money gone?’. The Commission found no evidence of a missing $10 million. But, Jeremie noted, ’it was apparent from the Report...that in 2006 NHIC deliberately adjusted the contract sum for the project in its favour in the amount of $10 million. One may well conclude quite reasonably that if the Honourable Prime Minister had not alerted the national community to the discrepancies in the prices on this project and caused an enquiry to be held into this project, NHIC could easily have walked away with an extra $10 million upon completion of the project, to which it would not have been entitled.

Jeremie said, in response to questions on whether Diego Martin West MP Keith Rowley was vindicated, ’I don’t see how anyone who is connected in any way to Cleaver Heights can claim to be vindicated’.

Look at the highlighted words… there has already been 3 probes/investigations into the Cleaver Heights project. This will be a fourth. None found evidence linking Rowley to any mischief. There is no evidence that NHIC adjusting the price would lead to evidence that Rowley is to blame…

Still, a few ideas crop into my head. Is this zeal to get Rowley really that important to P**rick? He seems to be risking his entire political career to overthrow, or throw out, one man. Maybe Rowley is the only serious challenger to the throne, hence the need to cut him loose before elections.

On the other hand, this overzealousness is way in odds with UDeCOTT. While 3 investigations have cleared one man, and there’s further mischief afoot to get him, I can only conclude P**rick’s in some sort of personal revenge mode or something. UDeCOTT meanwhile, has evidence of corruption, cronyism and nepotism yet no investigation is done into the shenanigans of Hart or the other Board members. Sure, they’ve been fired. So has Rowley.

Noting that the Commission did not recommend any further enquiry into Cleaver Heights, Rowley said: ’I have absolutely no doubt that there is an agenda behind this...This trying to find what does not exist, is so that it can be used against me (as a candidate). Remember in the 2007 elections, when the Integrity Commission behaviour was directly against me, so that I would be an unviable candidate because I was supposed to have been on a trumped up charge, when the last screening took place. Now we are supposed to be going to the polls again and it is happening again. There are people in the PNM who have decided that they would determine what should and shouldn’t happen to me, regardless of what I do. So if I am not a thief they would make me a thief. If I am honest, they would make me dishonest’.

Yet while Rowley is still in the hot seat, the UDeCOTT Board seems to have escaped with millions in loot.

This Government's agenda appears to be one of paranoia and even of schizophrenia. That should not be surprising, considering who leads and directs the head of the Hydra.

I can’t wait to see how this one plays out…

The life of Riley in TnT

Wey, Trinidad and Tobago really is a hotbed for underhanded, sneaky dealings. Look at today's newspapers and you would determine exactly what I mean:

1. Hart wants documents 'sanitised'
2. Uff gets tough
3. Udecott gets 72 hours to produce documents
4. Uff: Hard to find forensic expert in T&T
5. Uff: Udecott papers 'manifestly incomplete'

By the way, the press was barred from the first meeting, which makes me wonder how on earth the public can be assured of any transparency in the process. Seems that the notion of inviting the press 'slipped through the cracks'.

The commission of enquiry ent even start yet, and Hart (and by extension UDeCOTT) already 'braksing'. Hart wants to 'sanitise' documents before posting them on the website, in order to prevent Hart's name from being defamed. Solomon said he did not want "rumours and innuendoes" about his client.

I could tell Frank Solomon that it is a little too late for that, and by 'sanitising' to prevent rumours and innuendo, he (Hart) has actually created an atmosphere to encourage rumours and innuendo. I for one am very curious as to what Hart has to hide.

The Express was unable to ascertain who would be paying Hart's legal bill.

I am amazed that the interested parties have retained some rather 'big' names in the legal field to 'represent' them. Take a look at the list:

1. The Joint Consultative Council (JCC) has retained Alvin Fitzpatrick, SC.
2. Dr Keith Rowley has retained Gilbert Peterson, SC.
3. Nipdec, another State company chaired by Hart, which also handles State projects and which is also an interested party, has retained two SCs, Russell Martineau and Deborah Peake.
4. The Attorney General has retained Douglas Mendes, SC.
5. Calder Hart has retained separate legal counsel Frank Solomon.The Express learned that Solomon was hired specifically to deal with issues of defamation of character, which was considered to be separate and apart from the allegations made against UDeCOTT
6. UDeCOTT, has retained a battery of attorneys, led by British QC, Geoffrey Robertson.
7. The commission has retained Seenath Jairam, SC, and two juniors.

Notice 5 and 6 above eh. Calder Hart has to have someone protect him against defamation of character. Which brings to mind, what if the Commission is finding him to be less than reputable, will the evidence be suppressed so as to not defame him? Would possible defamation win over the public interest of finding him corrupt?

UDeCOTT now has a 'battery of lawyers' (as an aside, why is a group of lawyers called a 'battery'?). This is to be expected; I have long since suspected that they have cocoa 'rottening' in the dark somewhere.

Bear in mind that all these legal beagles command top prices, that the money is coming out of the state's coffers, and what do you find? That we will have almost as much spent on finding out who is corrupt as we had being spent on the grafts and kickbacks themselves. No one would even get a 'tap up'. Lose-lose for the nation.

Papa-trick's land of milk and honey also has rivers of money flowing. I kinda regret I ent there; I mean I coulda get close to some ah dem and get meh share too. Instead, I in a cold blasted country with meh privates shrinking in horror, both from the cold and the cronyism I am seeing going on.

The life of Riley indeed.

Cronyism - PNM Style

I was speechless today after reading the Sunday Guardian article "Confusion as ex-Sando mayor dies". Sadly, the Guardian website is set up in such a way that you cannot link to the story conveniently.

The article describes how Hazel Rogers-Dick was allowed to go home with more than $50,000 worth of equipment from San Fernando General Hospital. She was a board member of the SWRHA.

Yesterday, SWRHA heads of department, including chairman Imtiaz Ahamad, all denied giving permission for one of the authority’s vehicles to transport a cardiac monitor, valued at $27,000, a new bed worth $17,000, plus an oxygen tank to Rogers-Dick’s Vistabella home on June 12

A letter, dated June 15, written by a nurse in the unit (Ward 16B) to the bio-medical engineer, and obtained by the Sunday Guardian, revealed Rogers-Dick told the nurse in charge of the ward that SWRHA CEO Michael Harris had given her permission to take home the cardiac monitor.

The letter noted that no written document was obtained from Harris to that effect, and advised that the necessary adjustments to note the missing items be made to the records.

Just watch the ensuing casting of blame and denials as each and everyone disclaim responsibility. I bet nothing comes of this, like so many other corrupt practices we see daily. The dust swept under the carpets is now a mountain of dirt. Who sees it?

hedging and ‘henching’

The lady on the left in the picture is one Susan Francois who “was appointed as director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to save this country from being blacklisted.” [I have to confess, I don’t know who or what the blacklisting is coming from, eh. I also doh know who de pointy head fella is, but the face kinda familiar.]

Susan Francois is the former Registrar General (responsible for the department that oversees records of births, deaths and marriages).

She seems to be qualified for the post of Director of FIU…”A lecturer at the Hugh Wooding Law School, Francois holds a bachelor’s degree in law as well as master’s in corporate and commercial law. “

From the articles here, here and here, I gathered that:

• no one knows who appointed her, or  it is not clear (seems it was not done by the Public Services Commission)
• she was not shortlisted for the job or even applied but was selected (that sounds familiar)

The question to my mind is whether there is nepotism/cronyism (or any ‘ism’) involved for her to leap over the many aspiring applicants and whether this is another Reshmi situation all over again. Rowley seem to think it is, and while I am not saying he is right, I have to wonder if the PM and her henchmen learnt anything from the last fiasco… anything except how to avoid an apology that is.

Now the AG is hedging his bets by pointing fingers at one David West who previously held this post… and who did a Monteil (you’ll have to research that on this site).

Once again, I have to point out that just because the previous regime did something (illegal or otherwise) is no cause for the PP to do the same. Especially since the AG’s deliberate pointing out of the error clearly indicates he is aware of the faux pas.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Fear, Favouritism, and the Fall of a Nation – A Rebuttal to Lynette Joseph’s PNM Hagiography

In her recent commentary [Daily Express https://tinyurl.com/2x4rbhda], Lynette Joseph offers readers a lyrical but profoundly misleading take on the upcoming 2025 general election. She champions Professor Hamid Ghany’s polling analysis but then veers into a full-throated defence of the People’s National Movement (PNM)—not as a political party, but as a fixed point in national destiny. Her piece masquerades as political insight; in truth, it is a partisan hymn to a ruling elite who have governed without vision, without transparency, and without accountability.

Let us confront the facts: Trinidad and Tobago is not thriving. It is treading water in a sea of missed opportunities, systemic patronage, and elite impunity.

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The Real Legacy of the PNM: Cronyism, Cutbacks, and Captured Institutions

Lynette Joseph’s portrayal of the PNM as an inclusive, reformist movement would be laughable—if it were not so offensive to the thousands of citizens who have been shut out, let down, and sold short by this administration.

1. The Dismantling of Educational Opportunity

Under the PNM, access to higher education has been gutted. The Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme, once a passport to progress for working-class families, has been rolled back. Postgraduate students have been pushed out, and those from middle-income households now face crippling fees. Meanwhile, those with political connections receive scholarships in secret, with no application process, no criteria, and no requirement to repay.

One scandalous example: Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing, a former PNM senator, received over TT$500,000 in state funds for overseas education. This “scholarship” was never publicly accounted for, raising red flags in the Auditor General’s 2010 Report. The lack of transparency violated the principles of natural justice and fiduciary duty—yet not a single minister was held accountable.

This is not governance. It is state-sanctioned nepotism.

2. The Institutionalisation of Crony Contracts

The PNM has entrenched a system of state contracts awarded not on merit, but on loyalty, family name, and political proximity.

• The Young family, including the Prime Minister’s brother, has been linked to security contracts with NGC and Heritage Petroleum. No competitive tendering. No public scrutiny.

• The Al-Rawi family, with substantial real estate holdings, has benefitted from state leases, housing consultations, and untendered legal briefs.

• Projects in Point Fortin, Moruga, and EMBD land developments have exploded in cost—often doubling initial estimates—without explanation or consequence. Where are the audits? Where is the procurement oversight?

These are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a system designed to reward insiders and exclude the rest.

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Silencing the Watchdogs, Stalling the Law

The PNM deliberately starved the Procurement Regulator’s office of funding, delaying the enforcement of legislation that could curb precisely the abuses listed above. It has hollowed out independent offices, discouraged transparency, and actively undermined Parliamentary Joint Select Committees, refusing to answer hard questions or produce key documents.

This is government by evasion, not oversight.

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The Myth of Inclusivity

Joseph claims the PNM “welcomes all and sundry”. But inclusivity is not a slogan—it is a practice. In reality:

• Dissenters face blacklisting.

• Whistleblowers are silenced or sidelined.

• Only those who “play the game” are rewarded with jobs, contracts, or housing allocations.

In contrast, she paints the United National Congress (UNC) as merely “salivating over crossover citizens”. Yet it is the UNC that has opened its candidate slate to youth, women, and professionals from across the social spectrum. Has it made mistakes? Certainly. But unlike the PNM, it is no longer operating as a closed family firm.

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A Nation in Decline, A Future at Risk

Joseph closes by suggesting the 2025 election is “not about ethnicity or religion” but about “who will wake up and smell the fearsome IMF coffee”. On this, we agree—but she fails to mention that it is the PNM’s economic mismanagement that brewed that coffee in the first place.

With oil and gas revenues volatile, and no serious economic diversification, Trinidad and Tobago stands on a precipice. Corruption, brain drain, and inequality are not abstract risks—they are daily realities. This is not just bad politics. It is an existential failure of leadership.

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Conclusion: Reject Fear, Demand Accountability

Lynette Joseph’s article asks us to ignore history, forgive betrayal, and accept the status quo as inevitable. But we must reject nostalgia for a past that never served all of us equally. The 2025 election is not a coronation. It is a chance to reclaim the republic from a political cartel that governs by favour, not fairness.

We are not powerless. Our votes are not valueless.

Let us vote not for party, but for principle. Let us rebuild a nation not for the connected few—but for the many who have waited too long for justice, jobs, and dignity.

Going, going, gone?

Things are coming to a head this morning. The government has officially condemned Mazin this morning. In a comment originating from the Office of the Prime Minister, titled: "Statement from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago", the People's Partnership Government "categorically condemned" Mohammed's "reckless ... senseless ... and divisive comments".

“Mr Mohammed must be held accountable for his inflammatory and unwise remarks which in no way represent the views of the Government. Statements such as the one by Mr Mohammed are divisive and serve no useful purpose other than to undermine the trust that is reposed in him as chairman of the PSC.

“When we see each other for who we are rather than what we happen to look like, when the grounds of suspicion fall away and no one looks for shades of difference to determine their own value, when realities are not created by pigments of someone’s imagination, then we would have arrived as a nation,” the Government release stated.

The Government declared that it was within this context it, “categorically condemns the statements made by Mr Nizam Mohammed, chairman of the PSC regarding the allegations of discrimination and the need for ethnic balancing within the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.”

With support withdrawn from the government, the way is now clear for Mazin to be removed as the Chairman of the Police Service Commission. Chances are it cannot come soon enough. However I do want to make a few points this morning on that issue:

• Mazin is right when he says that the make-up of the police service do not reflect the complete ethnicity (my words) of the population of Trinidad and Tobago. This has long been pointed out, even by the now Attorney General (when he was in private practice). Every one of the higher ranking officers are of a certain ethnicity. Why is this so?

• Mazin's point that there are not enough Indians is partly right and partly wrong. It is right because it is true but wrong because the intentions behind his statement. 20 or 30 years ago, the people entering the police service were of this same ethnicity. Indian parents push their children into alternative careers - medicine, law, engineering, teaching etc. The Indian mind-set is to push children into lucrative careers and to promote that children should always be in a "better position" than the parents were. The police service was not seen as a viable career choice. It is for this same reason that you rarely see Chinese, Syrian (for example) persons in the police service. Nothing wrong in that. But we cannot now expect 20 or 30 years later to find Indians (or Chinese or Syrian) in positions of authority within the service.

• At the same time, government jobs under the PNM were "closed" to Indians. Whether this was a deliberate policy or not, it is a situation that is reflected in many areas of the Public Service. For example, out of nearly 50 Permanent Secretaries, there are perhaps five or six of Indian descent. The Permanent Secretary is one of the highest post in the civil service. It is no secret, and I have written about this time and time again, that there was favouritism and cronyism going on.

• Mazin's statement that he was there in the Police Service Commission to correct the imbalance is totally incorrect. Morally and legally that was not his role. His position is now untenable given his openly stated views. From now on if he remains, when any Indian officer is promoted, one would have to wonder whether that officer was promoted on the basis of merit or "to correct the ethnic imbalance". Mazin has therefore put the entire Public Service Commission in a position of distrust and doubt. The government has now been left with no choice - Mazin has to go!

Time will tell whether or not Max will remove him. The sooner the better I would think.