Skip to main content

overnight water



The past week has been hectic, in Tobago with family, stuff happening and a fried brain. Tobago as usual was delightful even though the poor island is being treated like a bastard child by an administration that is not only usually favoured by the Tobago electorate but where the PMOTT is a son of the soil. The guy even wrote a book 'From Mason Hall to Whitehall' although he had not yet actually completed 24 months of his term as PMOTT and worse, 'Whitehall' has been in a state of disrepair and abandoned by successive Administrations. I guess this is a sign of not so good things to come.

Before I get vex I just want to deal with something that really bothers me. Hot water or a lack of it. We came home from the sister isle to a non functioning water heater. In my early days in Arima I grew up with what I have termed 'overnight water'. In Arima the old man would store water in a galvanise storage tank, zero insulation, and the water would reflect the temperature of that night. Getting up to go to school and having to jump into that shower, the shower head was wider than your body and you could not escape the deluge of freezing water. One of my first jobs was working at a large commercial bakery in Park St in Port of Spain and being the newest employee I was given the graveyard shift - midnight to 7.00 am. Leaving town and heading home after work of course one had to bathe before going to sleep. Do you know how long it takes to wash off flour?  'Overnight water' watash, I swore that the first investment I would make would be a water heater. The second hand Zephyr 6 somehow took preference and I was forced to bathe in icy water for many years. Now in the twilight of my life all of a sudden I am back to Arima days. I do not care what people say cold water is cold water!

So where have we reached on the Rock.


  • We have a new President, affectionately referred to as 'Auntie President' by a local columnist.
  •  A National Security Minister who has been found guilty of fraud in the USA.
  •  A payment of $150,000.00 to a former personal assistant to a Cabinet Minister with accusations of sexual misconduct and wrongful dismissal.
  • A rehashing of an old scandal involving the now PMOTT with a national housing issue.
  •  The collapse of the sea bridge.
  • The collapse of the Tobago economy.
  •  The continuing saga of the newly purchased ferry and the complete lack of transparency.
  • The Chief Justice and no action taken other than the CJ going on vacation.
 One can leave the Rock for a day and somehow it hits the fan. The MP for Tobago East makes the statement 'nobody in Tobago suffering'. The MP is obviously speaking with the 'red and ready' crew and not having a conversation with anyone else. The MP is obviously in 'apogeean mode'. The economy in Tobago has tanked and the PMOTT is solely responsible for the collapse. Not even the Minister of Finance can claim responsibility for this act of gross mismanagement, incompetence of the highest order and a dereliction of duty never seen before in our Republic. The people who are eligible to vote in the THA election have every right to file a class action suit against the Central Government. The Tobago air and sea bridge is deemed an essential service and the Administration has failed to execute its responsibility to the citizens. Deal with them!

There is talk of a third political party to save the country. I have a different view. We do not need a third party, we need a political movement to drive out the current political system forever. Not for one term or two terms, but forever. The new movement will change the direction of this country making us the nation we should be. An entirely new movement, an entirely new way of governance must be established. Out with the old, dump the failed system, throw out the traditional political system and let us move this Rock forward.
Let us not be afraid, a system was created in 1956 which took us to another place, a new system is what is needed now to take us yet further.

Good night people of the Rock and good luck, the change is on its way!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Delta 4 over and out!

Sitting here in Maraval tonight its very windy with the electrical power dipping every now and again. From all reports the storm has gone to the north and the island of Trinidad is OK. Tobago however could be in for a rough patch. The Tropical Storm, now named Bret, is the second for the season and was formed very low in the Atlantic and threatened both Trinidad and Tobago. The last time a hurricane was named Bret was in August, 1999. It was a category 4 hurricane that thankfully did not prove to be that destructive with minimum fatalities and physical damage to property. Of course I marvel at the officialdom in T&T. Today, the party boats were out sailing to wherever. The island is under a storm watch and nobody thought it wise to restrict non-essential marine traffic. The Tobago ferries were restricted, the offshore oil and gas platforms were being evacuated and we were at the same time loading 'feters' to go on a party cruise. What exactly is the protocol? If a storm e...

ADD

A great thing happened today. I washed my car and it did not rain. OK, so other absolutely great things made history today, I am sure something was discovered that will change mankind, decisions by world leaders for world peace. None of that is of interest to me because the simple task of washing my car was what was of great import and I marvelled at the sun and dry weather. It is the little things in ones life that give the greatest joy. Tomorrow should be the same with a prediction of only 20% precipitation. Two days with a clean car is good. I am one of those who curse WASA who has leaks on the main roads with spray flying all around and dirtying up my clean car. WASA should have zero leaks, that should be WASA's goal, I don't think that they are interested in any of this as the leaks continue and the complaints from the citizens continue. I remember in the Manifesto of the ruling party a commitment was made to increase the truck delivery of truck borne water. Go figure! ...

'spinning top in mud'

It's a dark and stormy night here in the Maraval Valley. Hearing thunder in the distance, heavy drizzle, wind, cool temperature. The small 'Bajan' frogs are revving tonight creating a racket. I guess it's the rainy season and this is what you get. It is now one week since Tropical Storm Bret came over the island and for many people things have not yet gotten back to normal. Reading one of the weekly columnists today writing about his growing up in a flood prone area and basically the family taking it in their stride every rainy season. He commented on the fact that his father knew where they were living and never blamed the authorities or demanded from the authorities any compensation for the losses suffered as a result of the annual floods. It is different now and demands are made for every 'big toe bounce'  and it seems that no one takes responsibility for their lot in life. Not sure where this came from but there has to be a line as to how far a government c...