They all dutifully took their raises when it suited them. Not one of them gave up a dollar during the years of lockdowns and no income suffered by the rank and file, so ignore this stunt served up by the salaries review commission. A bunch of liars and thieves, every single one of them, whose only defense is they have never been charged in a country where the mechanism and laws to investigate and charge them are either non existent or neutered.
Basdeo Panday the only Prime Minister convicted for corruption got to treat the conviction like political victimization and enjoyed a state funeral while the million pound gift was swept under the rug. We defend our criminals and pay the cost of their corruption. To this day no one can explain the billion dollar annual cost of desalination in a land so wet it literally drowns half the year every year, but Panday and his colleagues bound us to that.
To list Eric’s sins would require volumes. Every project after ‘money eh no problem’ required obscene kickbacks and paydays for PNM friends and financiers who, when the tea leaves suggested became UNC friends and financiers.
Never forget that Ish and the entire bunch were former high ranking PNM that changed sides to eat even more.
Patrick Manning removed the Tenders Board creating special purpose companies like UDECOTT that his successor Keith Rowley accused of corruption worse than the Piarco fiasco under Panday and said every school child knew about and it stunk to the high heavens.
Now it benefits him so he’s silent on the half billion it spent refurbishing a Red House that could have rebuilt the Red House ten times.
The NCC just announced another loss due to the failure of near naked mas to turn a profit and has not provided audited accounts for two decades required by law and no one cares.
In America, in France, in Canada, in England, in any of the countries we escape to all have one important factor in common that keeps them successful, and that is public involvement in what their government does.
Rishi Sunak is being lambasted by British citizens of East Indian decent. Here we defend those who look like us.
‘All yuh tief more’.
The inescapable truth is Trinis don’t care about Trinidad, they care about themselves. That is why government(s) find it so easy to buy most activists and politicians off. Everyone cutting deals. Trading horses.
A former commissioner of police accused the opposing side of literally funding crime, using criminals to destabilize the country, and when he was dismissed turned around and joined them, without the public asking a word about his accusations against his now colleagues.
Those who won’t be bought or swayed they use the mechanism of state against to terrorize.
People like Gene Miles, Dana Seetahal and Selwyn Richardson have been murdered for standing against the secret society run open season on the treasury, now so empty, the state has turned to squeezing every last drop out of the citizens to feed the corruption machine.
Trinis will wake up one day I am sure, when it affects them directly. When their money is gone and no hand outs exist, when life become unlivable they will take to the streets, only then they will only be fighting each other as there will be nothing left to fight for.
Then those who are feasting now and have feasted on the public trough would be safely ensconced in whatever first world country they squirreled their ill gotten hundreds of millions to, together with their lawyers, friends and financiers, meeting up only to discuss the collapse of what was once so promising a land we made the cover of magazines.
I know, I know, few have gotten this far because their side got mentioned.
At some point I know I’m writing for the few who care more for country than self, but I also write so that when the manure hits the fan and they come after the fact with their dissertations I can show that we knew, that we had a chance to fix it.
We are a beautiful country still possessing massive potential and we could fix it if we wanted to.
When it finally fails, it won’t be by accident. We discussed it at length.
And we decided we like it so.
Phillip Edward Alexander
