Skip to main content

'hoi polloi'



Last week there was a pan concert, which was attended by the elite of society, not for the 'hoi polloi'. This event was attended by none other than the greatest pan lover herself, Her Excellency Madam President. I have one story that says it all, pan is of the people.
A friend goes to the bar and asks for a beer and is told that "it eh have no beers". Much to his dismay, he asks why and is told that "dis is a bring yuh cooler and so since everybody go bring deh own beers, it eh have no beers selling". He walks away from the bar obviously very disappointed. Within minutes a man approaches him asking "ah hear yuh looking fuh beers?" "Yes" is the reply and the response is "go by de corn soup man, it have beers sellin"'.

Anyone being elected or appointed to a position in Government somehow experiences a change in who they are. Not all, however, are taken with the hubris. Some remain the same, some go full-blown 'never see come see'. People opening doors, saluting, scurrying around, holding your files or briefcase, addressing you as 'Minister', it happens. A Minister visiting a job site, un-announced, should not expect everyone to know who he is and therefore should simply follow instructions. To claim victimization just does not cut it. How many of us can recognize a Cabinet Minister outside of the four most popular figures, including the PMOTT?

The Rock is in a state of transition, at least the Government would like to have us think so. The ruling party has its election tomorrow, Sunday, and the National Budget is being presented to the Parliament on Monday. Petrotrin is being shut down on November 30th. The PMOTT is on a roll. His Administration is the best thing since sliced bread and he knows exactly how to fix the economy which was left in a shambles by the PP. It sounds great, it makes all of us believe that our elected government knows what they are doing and that we can put out trust in them. But there are more questions than answers, I am not talking about the issue of who will benefit from the closure of the refinery to me that is not an argument.
At the end of the day, it is all about the questions that have not been dealt with. How could you, the PMOTT, arbitrarily give a 5% increase in wages to a workforce and in less than two (2) years declare the company bankrupt? Surely you would have known the financial position of the company before you made that decision. The public display of political B/S by the LOTO embracing the same person who ridiculed and insulted you in the worst way and all of a sudden you are the darling of the union?
The soon to be protest march entitled 'Oil joins with Sugar' which says to me exactly where the trade union representing the workers of Petrotrin is. Sugar was killed off years ago because it was a losing entity. The country cannot continue with a state-owned, mismanaged oil refining company the same way it cannot continue with all other state-owned businesses. The Rock is the so-called proud owner of multiple financially strapped businesses which are a drain on the public finances and no administration has the cajones to deal with this mess. Petrotrin, CAL, National Quarries, Lake Asphalt, National Flour Mills, Plipdeco, PATT, all dependent on the state. If the PMOTT really wants to show his true colors then he should make the statement that his administration is not supportive of a money-losing State Enterprise system. Maybe then I will look at him differently.
The country cannot support a 1970's economic system of State-owned commercial companies.

I had my car washed today, a sure sign of rain, but the Gods were with me. No rain!

People of the Rock, be good, good night and good luck!

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

R&R

We had two of the four grands spend the weekend with us whilst the parents went off to the North Coast for some rest and relaxation. From all reports, the sojourn was well spent with both singing the praises of our North Coast, no beach, just R&R. We are ten minutes from the coast and I hate to admit it but it is rare that we venture north. One of the selling points of coming to live in the wilds of Maraval in 1983 was the fact that Maracas Bay was a mere 30 mins away. Maracas could have been next door it did not matter, we just do not do it. Having grandchildren I think puts you in a very different place. When our kids were growing up we were struggling with building a business from scratch, living off of a teachers salary, impossible then as it is now, and generally ketching. But as it is with all things in life we survived. Looking back at those years it was difficult, kids, dogs, mortgage and other loans, but you knew why you were putting yourself through all this hard...

the Grand Pooba! The Constitution 101 [6[

The distance the Tobago ferries have to travel between the islands is approximately 80 miles. For safety reasons the First Bocas cannot be used so the ferries sail through the Second Bocas which adds time on to the sailing schedule. The water or wave pattern is different on the sailing to Tobago as the wave comes at an angle to the sailing direction of the ferry that does not provide the passengers with the most comfortable ride. At certain times of the year, November to March in particular, the seas can get extremely rough. There have been cancellations of the service because of adverse sea conditions. The current design of the passenger ferries being used, the Incat hull, have proven to be the best to date. They are fast, in excess of 35 knots, which should give a sailing time of just over two [2] hrs. Being a catamaran type design, with a wave piercing capability, it is probably one of the best vessels for the service. There are newer designs of the same basic hull that can take...

'goose or Ghana'

One of the biggest news stories tonight is of course the Anand Ramlogan issue. A former Attorney General - the only other member of the PPG Cabinet [ all other members are invited], Senior Council, Senator and well known Constitutional lawyer. I am not going to pronounce on Attorney Ramlogan's issue with the police and the DPP. What I am concerned about is the third world handling of the entire affair to date. A barrage of police, reportedly ten vehicles of armed officers, six o'clock in the morning, off to TTPS Headquarters, 36 hrs of questioning. What absolute BS is this? Until the TTPS start using their brains and not there obvious brawn then maybe we can start becoming a civilized people and not the law of the jungle. So what, you want to embarrass the former AG? Embarrass his wife and family, for what? To show that you are that brilliant that it takes 36 hrs of questioning to determine 2 charges? What exactly did you say that convinced someone to issue a warrant th...