'27th July 1990'

Tomorrow we recognize the 27th anniversary of the first ever Islamic insurrection in a country in the Western Hemisphere. After this length of time there are persons alive today who have never come to terms with that horrible murderous incident. These are innocent people who were directly involved in some way, either in the Red House or at TTT or at some other location. The trauma suffered by these ordinary citizens, these people whose lives will never be the same have never received any professional help nor compensation in any form to assist them to go back to their regular way of living. Like 1970, we as a people have failed to deal with a historic reality that has changed the lives of many. Successive governments have paid lip service to these events which in both cases are only recognized by a few people. History has a bad habit of repeating itself and when one does not want to determine exactly what happened it somehow raises its head again, only this time in a more powerful way.
I always remember where I was on that fateful Friday and after 27 years, tomorrow will be no different. Maybe one day we will understand the real effect of 1990 and who the real culprits were outside of the obvious. There is still information that the COE did not pickup, information that links our poor little island state to a world conspiracy. One day all of this will be made public.
Where were you on 27th July, 1990?

I really wish the ferry bacchanal would just stop. This is beyond the point of being ridiculous and the Minister of Ferries is showing with every statement that he is totally out of his depth.
The ferry could not sail immediately because there is a process that must be followed for a foreign flagged vessel to be able to operate in T&T waters.
Inspections of the vessel, its passenger and crew safety equipment, life boats, life rafts, the legal paperwork has to be verified, the vessel's insurances, droughgers license for carrying cargo and passengers between the islands, customs clearance, VAT Certificate or VAT Exemption because the vessel is staying for a period, and other documentation and certification.
I read where the current vessel on the run broke down and it seemed like someone made a call and all of a sudden the Cabo Star was put into service but the next day the Minister of Ferries says that the vessel cannot sail as yet because of the paperwork. Question, did the Cabo Star make an illegal voyage where the paper work had not yet been completed? if so, who is responsible for giving that instruction and did the Director of Maritime Services authorize the sailing?
There is a very good reason for the all the paperwork. Safety of passengers and crew is the priority, the sea worthiness of the vessel, the true owners are established, all insurances and certification are varied. If for some reason there is an incident then as a member of the IMO and signatory to numerous International Treaties and Agreements our country is responsible for ensuring that all is well. The maritime industry is not always above board in some circumstances, hence all the checks.
Did the Cabo Star sail without all the approvals ?
The Minister of Ferries is back on the corruption trail. Once again, the pre-action protocol letter that he insisted was sent, was never received. The AG took numerous files home on the past Easter weekend to peruse because he saw corruption 'from the highest office'. Now more files have been read and passed on to persons unknown regarding the tendering and award of the contract for the Galicia. All of this happening at the same time as the two replacement vessels have started to arrive at a cost twice of that of the Galicia. The replacement vessels are both more than twice the age of the Galicia. The replacement vessels are for a 12 month period in the first instance with an extension of the Charter Party Agreement for a further 3 yrs. The Galicia asked for an extension for a further 18 months or 3 years, but this was rejected by the PMOTT and the Minister of Ferries citing 'ransom - gun to the head - extortion' and other choice words.
I hope that a thorough investigation is done with the award of the contract to the owners of the Galicia. I hope that right after that a thorough investigation is done with the award of the contract to the owners of the two replacement vessels. It's only fair!

Would it not have been so easy for all the parties connected to the CL Financial company to put out a joint statement as to exactly what the real story is? There can only be one true story. Why does this country constantly have yours, mine and then the true story. The taxpayers who are footing the bill for the debacle played out in January of 2009 still do not know what are we paying for. It is our right to know and this childish behavior being played out in the courts and in the media are doing us and the credibility of the country no good. You borrowed, you paid back some and now there is a balance. What is the balance and how do you intend paying it back. Of course in any other sane country we would have had a proper agreement drawn up. Here is like we drawing a sou sou!

The rock continues to operate on auto pilot. Sometimes I think that's a good thing because then we all fend for ourselves and somehow things get done. But that is not how it is supposed to work. We pay taxes, we elect representatives who remain elusive, we hire many people to provide services and like any reasonable employer we expect people to perform. The rock needs help!

Give a thought to the true victims of July 27th,1990, over 25 innocent people were killed on that day with hundreds more traumatized to this day.

Good night and good luck!