One Nation

The big happy news of the week was the arrival on our shores of none other than Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates. Yes the richest man in the world, depending on the time of day you check, arrived on his brand new, 2017, 83m chartered yacht 'Here comes the Sun ', love the name. Bill is worth a billion dollars for every meter length of his 'bateau'. With Butch Stewart from the Sandal's Group and now Bill Gates well maybe something is happening on the rock. Mr Gates is in the sister isle tonight and we wish him well. The Budget debate is now at the Upper House. When will the current administration start their term of office? It is now 25 months and they have refused to accept that they are in charge, despite the Member from Tobago making it very clear in 2015. The newbie to the Senate, the Minister of Public Utilities, actually a renounced citizen of Ghana, did not reference what he was doing to actually improve the service to the citizens during the Budget debate. H...

Today I stayed at home and did meditation. At least when I wash my car or power wash I think its like meditation. Power washing was the chore of the day and the hum of the power washer and the noise of the water jet I find very relaxing. Of course there is not much thought other than 'don't water jet your skin off of your foot' type thoughts. Other than that I can go for hours doing this very mundane chore but whilst doing it I solve all the world's problems. Today was no different. Today's gem of an idea was dealing with the country's massive $5.0+BN food import bill. Let us start by instructing all entities that receive State funding that a minimum of 80% of all food items, including catered food, must be locally grown and processed. This would include the School Feeding program, health institutions, security and fire personnel, Ministries both in house and external catering, the residence of the President and the PMOTT, the Parliament, meals served in th...

One will always find a gem if you look and appreciate the moment when it happens. We the people of the rock still like to have an independent appliance service man, a 'bachac crew' rather than a well organized landscape service provider and of course the real gem if you can find him, the joiner or in this case 'master wooden floor man' (MWFM). So, I find myself with a problem, no details necessary, and arrange to meet the MWFM. Where to meet I ask? 'By the mad house is the reply. Bang on time, which for me you win already, and off we go to the job site. The car he drives is creaking and groaning, not a problem we arrive. He jumps out, not wearing Armani, and we get down to the business of the day. He takes one look at the problem, throws off his sandals, sits on the wooden floor and starts the magic show. A man of few words the MWFM solves the problem. The wooden floor is returned to its original look, he was not impressed with the overall finish of the rest of the ...

Thousands march on Trinidad crime Protesters in white symbolised the number of murder victims this year At least 10,000 people have taken part in a march in Trinidad and Tobago to protest about a soaring crime rate and the government's failure to tackle it. The so-called Death March through the streets of the Caribbean capital, Port of Spain, lasted for seven hours. At one point, 305 people dressed in white lay down outside the parliament building to symbolise the number of people murdered so far this year. Courtesy the BBC, 23rd October, 2005 Twelve years ago to date my life partner and I sat on the porch thinking about tomorrow, 22nd October, 2005 and the staging of the Keith Noel 136 Committee's ' Death March' . The 136 Cmt had been planning this event for the past six weeks and here it was, crunch time. Social media as we know it today was now coming of age, FaceBook started in 2004 but had not yet migrated to the rock. Everything abo...

Good news for the Roman Catholics, me included, we have a new Archbishop of Port of Spain. The announcement was made today and we all welcome Fr Jason Gordon, Archbishop Elect. Knowing some of the history of the goodly priest we can all look forward to many years of astute leadership of the Church. We say farewell to the outgoing Archbishop Harris and thank him for his service. Of course the talk has already started, why him and not him? Lord put a hand on these people who regardless of what one does it is going to be a story. Sometimes it is better not to listen to any talk just go ahead and do what you know to be the right decision. The poor residents of Central and South Trinidad, flooded once again. Seeing a farmer holding up a bunch of flood-damaged produce saying that this was the second time for this year that he has lost his entire crop is heartbreaking. In this particular instance he claims that it is as a result of the new highway being constructed from San Fernando to Pt...

The name is derived from the Sanskrit term 'dipavali' meaning 'row of lights'. It is celebrated in late October or November on the new moon night. I guess like many religious festivals the moon plays a big part as to when the celebrations are held hence the fact that we normally have rain on Divali. Could be way off target here but somehow the moon actually plays a part in if it is going to rain or not, satellite imagery and other technology sort of confirm the obvious. A comment was made today that one smelt curry everywhere they went today. A popular roti shop in the capital hired extra security today to deal with the crowds purchasing roti. These are the little indicators that tell us we are truly an integrated society regardless of the stupid racial politics. Imagine me, wanting to be a great chef, actually did a stupendous 'baigan choka' . It was quite good, the rest of the meal was everything to celebrate Divali done by the other great chef in the house...

We are about to celebrate the festival of Divali. Between today and tomorrow Trinidad and Tobago will participate in one of the world's biggest festivals. I am glad that we here on the rock are very much part of it. The main stage for the official celebration is at the Divali Nagar located at Chaguanas that has seen record crowds. This festival of lights signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance and hope over despair. What a wonderful thing to celebrate, Shubh Divali ! I really should be taking a rest from all the ignorance and the loss of hope on the rock but we cannot stop people until it gets fixed. Today we hear that the Minister of Transport, who incidentally has a registered company in Hong Kong (wonder if that's in the Integrity Commission filing) was in communication with the suppliers of the Terra Jet Ferries out of Greece. Hmmm, that never came up in the JSC, how come? I thought we were all open about this ferry deal? Wo...

I guess one of the best ways of judging any issue in T&T is buying doubles. You never get a heated argument for obvious reasons, the doubles is far more important than national issues, which is great because its sort of a sanctuary. Today a couple of newbies to the doubles man were asking themselves ' who taking d money?' I immediately said 'the fella with the black hat', 'tanks' was the reply. Then more confusion because of the two lines, two doubles CSR's. I again offered, 'that line is for take out and this line is dining in'. Again, 'pay upfront?' 'no, eat then pay.' There is a great respect for everyone when buying doubles. I have mentioned this before but today's purchase reinforced how we actually can fix this place. We wait in line, if a person is coming back for a second doubles the CSR recognizes the person and will automatically serve that person with the new customer patiently waiting understanding the protocol....

We spent 'First Peoples Day' doing what I would think they would have done, spending the day with family, socializing and cooking. I am not sure what was celebrated by the 'FP'. I would think that family, food security and shelter were paramount. After thousands of years nothing much has changed other than adding a wide screen TV, a BMW and convenience food. Humans really have not changed one bit, this after thousands of years of earthly existence. We eat, we protect ourselves from the weather and we conquer, that's it, that's the real meaning of life. Happy First Peoples Day! Today we wake up on the rock to statements being made by a PMOTT that says, at least to me, this guy has lost it. His continued rant and absolute disregard for women has now been cemented by his most recent statements. In the country's Parliament the PMOTT compares the maintenance of a golf course to the 'grooming of women' and what happens if you stop maintaining the cours...

So, tomorrow is a public holiday on the rock. This time it's a one-off holiday celebrating 'the First Peoples.' Listening to the comments from the public I get the impression that the majority of people are lobbying for an annual holiday. If that happened then we would be up to 19 public holidays per year. With an average of 22 working days per month we will soon be there with every working person getting just short of an extra month paid vacation. We are rated the third country in the world with the most holidays, 18 in all, excluding tomorrow. This does not include: Easter Tuesday for goat racing in Tobago. A new normal of an extra day for Labour Day celebrations. The random taking the day off in between, should the public holiday fall on a Thursday or Tuesday. The eve of any of the major religious holidays like Christmas, Eid and Divali. If the official day falls on a Sunday then the Monday is taken as the holiday. If Christmas Day falls on a Sunday then the M...

The other day whilst driving to Chaguanas I glance up and there is a Scarlet Ibis in full flight right in front of me. Just one, in full regalia, bright red flying from east to west at about 10.30 am. Poor guy might have been lost or disoriented. The Ibis would normally leave the Caroni for Venezuela early in the morning to return late evening. There are reports of a huge flock of Ibis flying eastwards off of La Fillette at about 7.00am a couple weeks ago, heading to somewhere not sure where. Looking at these beautiful birds in flight and knowing that ignorant people hunt them sends me to another place. What is it about any hunting that the authorities do not understand. I remember walking on one of the islands in the Galapagos where you could walk right up to a nesting bird who would not take flight as you approached because humans were not known predators. I would really like to see us be a progressive country and deal with issues like a permanent ban on hunting amongst so many oth...

I had a great weekend. On Saturday I went to a TEDx Port of Spain series at Queen's Hall. It was a wonderful insight into the commitment to this country by a number of women, including a large number of youth. The intelligence and sheer brilliance of the presenters left me feeling very inadequate as though I was wasting my short time on earth. It also sent a very clear message that we are not alone, there are many people who feel for this country and are willing to fight for it, regardless. The last couple days have shown that a political solution is not imminent. The level of politics is probably an all time low. MPs being asked to leave the Chamber by the Speaker, for some not once but twice, sends a very clear message that we are in somewhat of a fix. These so-called Members of Parliament are void of any responsibility, any measure of decorum, any real feeling of commitment to their constituents and the people they represent. The political party is the be all and end all. The...

October, I believe, is considered the second hottest month of the year in the island state, after May. Tonight sitting outside the humidity is so high that I am just dripping with sweat. October is the change in the seasons. The winds drop off to practically nothing, the rains ease up and the clammy weather just hangs there. Come to think of it, May does the same, a kind of nothing weather month. One good thing about October is we celebrate 10/10 so we can look forward to some good Chinese food. When is Chinese food ever bad? Thirty (30) years ago starting the business in Chaguanas there was one Chinese restaurant we went to. There was not much to choose fro m. Like Arima back in the 60's, I think there was one decent guy. For take-out you went with your own containers up the not-so-nice back stairs to pick up your order. Then in the capital you went to Charlotte St. for take-out, or Cipriani Blvd by 'Spotter'. Apparently when the Turf Club was still in existence if your...

On my way home this afternoon I notice four (4) guys sitting on a railing on Saddle Road, all looking up into a tree. One has an air rifle with a scope on it. I concluded that they were hunting. The law states that hunting can only be carried out on State lands and that one cannot discharge a firearm within a certain distance from a roadway or residential area. I stopped and reported the situation to the Maraval police. Soon after I get a call from one of the officers at the police station reporting on what they, the police, had done and that the situation was dealt with. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that anything would have been done, and here it is the Maraval police acted on a report. Yes, I know it is their job but kudos to the TTPS, Maraval. The Budget has been the subject of discussion on every talk show, radio and TV, and many editorials and commentary. Listening to the Budget presentation I thought that I was back in school up on Calvary Hill at Holy Cross College...

" Who vex lorse!"   The words of the Minister of Finance at a recent Budget consultation with the T&T Chamber of Commerce . I guess his job is to fill the citizens and more so the business community with the confidence required to create a healthy investment climate. So, we continue with our discussion on the 'Budget' and a possible way forward for this country where we all can prosper. Transport: A couple things with the Budget presentation were directly related to the transport sector. The removal of the fuel subsidy - I think a long time coming.  Removing restrictions on the licensing of Maxi Taxis which will allow anyone to purchase a Maxi and according to the Minister, operate it anywhere.  A tire tax of $20.00 for the proper disposal of used tires and the regularizing of import duties on used tires. Not sure how this will work because no mention was made as to the proposed collection and disposal of tires. Increased motor vehicle tax on luxur...

And so the annual exercise was completed yesterday with the presentation of the National Budget 2018 by the Minister of Finance. The reason I say completed is because once the Budget is read/presented then the submissions by the Opposition are purely political and the submissions by other members of the Government are purely about 'how great thou art'. In this wonderful land we will now waste four (4) weeks of precious Parliamentary time debating something that is already a done deal. Agriculture: T&T imports in excess of $800,000,000.00 US of food every year. We cannot even start to feed ourselves. We grow no wheat so no flour so no bread and roti, we have no large scale dairy herds so no milk, butter nor cheese, we sold the entire breeding stock of bufalypso so no real supply of meat. Chicken, duck, lamb, goat all underproduced. Some rice, some green vegetables. Fish is available but very limited. Basically if you go to a supermarket with the intention of buyi...

The continuing saga of the budget. The issue the Minister of Finance is fighting with is more of revenue than cutting cost. In other words if the revenue was forthcoming then I don't see him looking to cut expenditure, leaving the status quo with continued subsidies, transfers and support of the non productive sector. This is nothing new as successive administrations have fallen into the trap. So with energy pricing in the ditch which not only affects oil and gas pricing but ammonia, nitrogen, methanol, and other industries that use natural gas as its feedstock. Will energy pricing ever recover, probably not, so T&T will have to make permanent changes to its economy. Tourism: Both islands have huge tourism prospects. Each island has its own attractions, lifestyle, natural beauty and places of interest. The average stay over  visitor spends approximately $1,500.00US per week. Each hotel room employs 2 persons directly with an additional 10 persons indirectly. Loc...

We do this every year and every year we do the same thing. We expect to receive 'X' amount of revenue and we expect to spend 'Y' amount. What is it that successive administrations cannot see, or I should say, further than the next election. The revenue stream for this country has collapsed so it cannot be business as usual. We all know the story, we all know who did what and who screwed up and who put what in the HSF. What we have not seen is a radical way in doing it differently. Things are very different in 2017 and therefore we must recognize this and take the proverbial bull by the horns and make the change today. How to budget: The current system of budgeting is outdated, does not work and is a recipe for disaster. Ministries are asked every year for their wish list. A lot of work goes into this exercise beginning in April of any one year. Submittals are made to the Ministry of Finance/Planning (MFP) and the line Ministry sits and waits. There is some ju...