The Freedom Chambers

Manning had declared that general elections will be held in 2010. I am skeptical and wary because he is not to be trusted, but clasp my hands and give quiet thanks for what must be divine intervention.  

I don't want to get my hopes up. I think it is a not-so-clever strategy to divert attention from the Udecott and Calder Hart corruption crisis. The government has been buckling beneath the weight of public opinion and pressure.

The track record of the politically compliant Integrity Commission (IC) is a matter of national shame. Dormant for years, people barely paid any attention to it until Panday’s arrest. Its operations are shrouded in secrecy and there is no accountability to the public to enable critical evaluation of its performance.  

Having chosen to support Kamla as the political leader of a unified opposition in the next general elections, I was asked explain my choice: “Why not Winston?” I had therefore painted myself into a corner which necessitated a comparative analysis of the leadership traits and abilities of the two contenders.

Brutus: There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3, 218–224

In October, 2007, I made a decision to leave the UNC. It was an extremely difficult decision, because

The bombshell from UNC Chief Whip Jack Warner that there is a church being built in the Heights of Guanapo, in Arima, with the active support and involvement of PM Manning, ought not to have exploded, but it has. Manning’s inept handling of the issue has opened up a can of worms that has served to expose the sycophantic relationship that exists in Cabinet.

Last week, I made the point that the murder statistics should not be viewed in isolation. The social ramifications were endless. When you want to know how many people have been murdered, look at the homicide statistics; when you want to know how many potential new criminals this murder created check the number of young victims who will have to fend for themselves and face the world without parent(s).

I sometimes cut out articles that I find newsworthy with the intention of writing a future column. For some time now, I have been compiling a file with clippings about violence and indiscipline in our schools.

"Manning also said Government was as concerned about crime as the citizens of this country. If the solutions were easy, we would have solved the problem a long time ago,” he said, adding that it was not too late. “What we can commit ourselves to is this: If we try A and A does not work, we will try B; and if B doesn’t work, we would try C. We will try, and we will try, and we will try until we solve that (crime) problem in the interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago."

If no one else is fit to lead the UNC, what would happen if Basdeo Panday dropped dead in the morning? I guess the party will be buried with him. Everyone, it seems, is “unfit to lead” except Panday. Panday’s scurrilous character assassination of Kamla is bound to backfire, because he has chosen his very own perceived weakness to tarnish her.

The Freedom Chambers has watched on as a Nation descends into honey covered chaos - plagued by bobol, failures of accountability, substandard healthcare,  and grossly neglected systems of law and order.

If, as Opposition-for-life Leader Basdeo Panday claims, Kamla is “not ready to lead,” then who is? By implication, it would appear that only he is. If so, what do we make of his numerous public statements that he understands that some of the corruption mud the PNM has flung has stuck, and it is time for a new leader to emerge?

Mairoon Ali was the last media person to interview me before I left for vacation. I had emerged from hibernation to do a few radio and television interviews. This was prompted by two burning issues: the exciting news about the challenge for leadership in the UNC, and the brazen attempt by the Government’s spin doctors to explain away the discriminatory secret scholarship PNM slush fund.

I read this article this morning and tried to ignore it, but my conscience won’t let me.

The issue is not necessarily who the stronger or better candidate is in the UNC internal elections. If the objective is to dislodge the PNM from office the relevant questions are:

“It may be that the Government should be given some credit—as opposed to flippant cynicism—for providing financial assistance to citizens in need, especially our young, in pursuit of outfitting themselves educationally, thus gearing up to make a contribution to the advancement of our country.

How does one describe “political discrimination,” which translates into and necessarily results in racial discrimination or exclusion? This is the dilemma that affects the Indo-Trinidadian community. This question crossed my mind after the scathing Newsday editorial criticising the government for the scholarship scandal.

Two weeks ago, I published statistics compiled by Richard Thomas on the ethnic composition of the hierarchy of the boards and upper management of state enterprises. The grave racial imbalance against Indo-Trinis prompted a virtual avalanche of e-mails.

A sad consequence of the racial-based nature of our politics is the exclusion of the “other” major race from governance. “They” simply have no say in how the nation’s resources are distributed, and do not enjoy any of the influence that comes with high public office.

A sad consequence of the racial-based nature of our politics is the exclusion of the ‘other’ major race from governance.