Corruption Continues to Flourish in Trinidad and Tobago with the Help of Government

Dear Kamla and Anand,

I am now more than a bit concerned that corruption from the Manning era is flourishing under your watch. Despite all your ranting about setting up an Anti-corruption Commission, I have heard nothing about this essential service.   I don’t know if such a Commission exist since a Google search shows that it was last mentioned early in 2011. I blogged about such a measure in January 2011, full of hope that finally a Government in power will do something about the corruption infestation that is still plaguing our land.

What has happened since this People’s Partnership was elected is that senior government ministers are now partying with the obviously-corrupt public officials and some suspected big drug men and money launders are courting and liming with the opposition. By now, despite rants form politicians on both sides, the population knows that Section 34 was no accident and it was one of the few things that the Government, Opposition and other higher powers agreed on for the good of the “better people” of our land. Our marketed-as-fearless Prime Minister said back in January 2011  “If it is that a man works for $1,000 but he is driving a million-dollar BMW, then where did that money come from?” What I want to add is “Where did some of the directors of various Ministries get money to build their $10,000,000 dollar second homes in Trinidad, and buy new Prados and BMWs.” These homes are places where some self-righteous Government Ministers party with dubious characters (public servants) who might well be sponsoring the Government.

Much of the population is feeling betrayed by the Government and Opposition as people are realizing the depth of corruption and money laundering in this country. Both political parties seem to have a hand in allowing these activities to flourish as these political parties and party officials benefit immensely from dirty money. These parties are unpatriotic and their main goal is to ride the backs of voters so that they can protect the Mr. Bigs of our country. What lies beneath our political parties stinks even more than what we see on the surface and what we see on the surface is rotten beyond belief.

A Betrayed Voter

akalol

Trinidad and Tobago Budget-Minded Criminals

The only reason Citizens show a keen interest in the National Budget every year is that, besides Movietowne and Parliament, there isn’t much quality entertainment available to citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Movietowne provides a nice environment for movies, dining and liming whereas Parliament supplies quality bacchanal due to an over-abundance of Parliamentarians and Senators with  the lowest morals, integrity and intelligence. The National Budget was always about the allocation of funds available for plundering by the elected and selected few and if the Budget provided relief and hope to the average Citizen it was purely coincidental. This year, the Prime Minister in her glee, pelted a few grains of budgetary delights at her chickens in an attempt to prevent them from noticing they were being slaughtered daily.

The National Budget was, and still is, about putting the elected and selected thieves on alert in order to get their act together so the Country’s money won’t be wasted of the common good but on the good of the chosen.  This Government is so similar to the last one I am beginning to realize the People’s Partnership was envious of the Manning regime, so they decided to copy Manning’s style from day one. The National Budget is not a statement of the way forward for the country but a newsletter for white-collar criminals of Trinidad and Tobago. It is an important document used for planning by this elite bunch as this is a country where white-collar criminals are protected by the law and their lawyers on the inside.

From Manning to Persad-Bissessar – not a damn thing has changed except for the changing of the incompetents and big time thieves.

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Dear Kamla – There is no Silver Lining on this Dark Cloud

Dear Kamla,

After your speech last night, I can say you are now in the same league as Patrick Manning – incompetent beyond words. It is either incompetent or part of the conspiracy plot but believe me, incompetent is the better choice.

It seems you were the last person in Trinidad and Tobago to realize that Mr. Hubert could not be trusted around the laws of the country. What does that say for your other choices of members of your cabinet? Is Mr. Hubert the only one who can not be trusted? Your judgment apparently leaves a lot to be desired and I now truly believe that we will have many more disgraceful and unpatriotic lies and schemes which you and your cabinet are planning to “unintentionally” unleash onto the public.

If there really was a new level of accountability from the Government when the People’s Partnership replaced the PNM you would have also fired Mr. Anand and throw in Jack for good measure simply because they were telling the population “move on, nothing to see here.” Really, nothing to see here!  Maybe you should have also resigned in order to show the population what good governance really looks like.  Your speech last night does not signal the end but the beginning of the end for your party. It’s so sad it had to come to this.

Why Prados Now Suck

I want to advise Toyota to immediately stop selling Prados to the Government and their agencies and change the name of the vehicle to anything else. It is amazing how two consecutive administrations has, at taxpayers expense, almost destroyed the reputation in Trinidad and Tobago of a quality, high-end company and SUV. The Audi people must be thanking their good fortune that politicians and their stooges prefer Toyota. There is now a stigma attached to the Prado where the sight of one causes the average voter and taxpayer to go into a fit of rage despite not being able to see who is inside due to illegal, and heavy tints on the glass. The average voter thought they voted against this chaufferism last election but apparently those we voted in think otherwise. It will be wise to reveal to the public the written justification for buying, leasing or even using such a high end vehicle by politicians and their minions especially when the man on the street has to reduce their consumption of doubles from two to one not to lose weight, but to make ends meet. Is there such a written justification?

If this Government really care about the people  - as opposed to pretending to care by mouthing politically correct catch phrases and waving a flag on stage to the sounds of “One Love”-  they would set the example of going green by prohibiting all elected and selected Government officials from buying, using, or even dreaming of using gas guzzlers at the expense of taxpayers.  The People’s Partnership will do well to remember that they were voted in such an overwhelming fashion not because we thought they were sooooo good and competent but because the PNM was sooooo good at corruption and incompetence. It now seems that the population, by the voting in of the current bunch of egoist and non-performers, have moved from the frying pan into the fires of hell.  From all indications by experts, the economy is now depressed and so too is the population so stop the gallerying and get to work.

The People’s Partnership – After Two Years Nothing Has Changed

There is a 16-page color pullout in all the daily newspapers today boasting of the accomplishments of the Government over the last two years. This pullout is funded by taxpayers. Didn’t we vote against this foolishness? Nothing has changed.

WTF – Nothing Has Changed

I thought any political party that replaced a corrupt and vindictive regime like the Manning administration would have at least appeared, without even trying, competent and  honest during its first two years in office. Sadly, that has not been the case. All the Peoples Partnership has appeared to have done was to replaced  once set of corrupt, vindictive and incompetent people with another set. The die hard supporters will say the PP is trying hard but the PNM stooges are making it difficult. I don’t see that as being the reason for the PP’s lack of performance but instead the lack of performance is due to fighting at all levels of the party and parties for the spoils of the land. It is about greed and who will get to fly with Kamla. It seems the mandate of those who were appointed to positions of power is to beat up every living living thing that doesn’t look like a PP supporter. Make enemies out of your friends.

In my opinion, simply replacing the hate from the former PNM administration with the hate from the Peoples Partnership will never carry the country forward. The PP, including Kamla, is still blaming others for the PP’s inherent stupidity and incompetence. Two years in more than enough time for the PP to stop blaming the past regime for its failures. Rid the party of the likes of the spin doctors Tim, Suruj and Roodal, and the Party might have a better chance of being reelected.  Tim and Suruj are nearly impossible to like while Roodal comes across as a smart-man who knows everybody knows he is one. Kamla, though likeable at times, now comes across as a puppet with nearly invisible strings.

The anti-productivity, falsely self-righteous MSJ, a nearly severed arm of the PP, has cited favoritism and nepotism as two of the reasons for not celebrating tonight with the other Parties that make up the PP – UNC, COP, TOP, NJAC. Regardless of the reasons the MSJ gave for pulling out of the celebrations (and not the Partnership as yet), the main but unsaid reason is probably the massive failure of the TCL strike – the failure of the OWTU. Next to the Government, the OWTU might be the biggest bully in the country and bullies tend not to get along well together.

So far, the PP has shown the country that they are no different to the PNM but then again that is what the majority of its hardcore supporters really wanted – jobs for the unsuitable boys and girls along with contracts for the supporters and financiers.   Over the next three years I expect an increase use of  the smoke-and-mirror technique while there will be more pick pocketing of the taxpayers’ purses by those who are friendly with those on the top.  Because of the money is everything mindset of the people of Trinidad and Tobago, there will be no improvement in the way the country is governed as culturally, corruption is only a dirty way of life when others are the corrupt ones.

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We Don’t Need Another Merry King

A Very Merry King

Well look, I think it is wise for any Government to promptly get rid of any Minister who can’t even manage to carry out an everyday piece of corruption effectively as the mood of the nation will not tolerate such incompetence and another Merry King. If the country can’t depend on a Minister to do one effortless and culturally natural thing effectively how can we expect that Minister to perform more complicated and less culturally natural task well like going from a banana economy to a real economy? It is true that in all real and banana economies many people in public office thief but most thief quite effectively and so effectively they never get caught or even get selected for jail because the investigating authorities are their friends. Only a Banana Minister in a Banana Country will get caught so early in one’s career so I say good riddance.

In the Minister’s defence, I think she was only trying some new, innovative and daring corrupt practices to bring a whole new way of getting family members a new Audi or BMW as well as the much sought-after commodity called an apartment in Miami before the new set of greedy board members do. At least the minister was being transparent as everybody could see what she was doing.

Fazeer Mohammed Hit For Six

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people"

I like conspiracy theories so I was delighted to learn that there are three conspiracy theories concerning the firing of Fazeer Mohammed from CNMG. The first (Theory A) says Fazeer’s phones were tapped and the Blimp was following him around even when he bought doubles or took a piss – not necessarily at the same time though. The intelligence gathered from these intelligent operations was used to make a dotish decision to fire him as he proved to be a political threat every morning. The other theory (Theory B) is that Rambachan – a suspected backside with a big brain disorder – ordered the firing because his favourite movie is V for Vendetta. There is a third theory (Theory C) but it’s so farfetched that there is a greater likelihood of well-endowed, green women from Mars landing in Cedros instead of the United States or Calder Hart returning to Trinidad for a well-deserved rest from all that running and banking. Theory C suggests that Fazeer was hit for a six because his salary was too high so he was let go to help manage the national budget.

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