When will people realize that our politicians, and for that matter, our entire system of governance, are corrupt. Our leaders don’t care about the citizens of this country. Practically every day, there is a story that hinges upon “mis”-appropriated funds.
Based upon their actions, one can be forgiven for thinking they believe they shall live forever, and when they die, they’ll take everything with them. Also, the god which they claim to believe in, during their swearing-in ceremonies, will welcome them into the afterlife with open arms and say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”
Trinidad and Tobago society, for a very long time now, have been morally bankrupt.
Millions of dollars always go “missing”. These events invariably spawn commissions of enquiries which reveal possible guilty parties and startling “facts”, but, as always, NO ONE of prominence is ever charged or held accountable for their actions in Trinidad and Tobago. Subsequently, these proceedings and all its players fade into distant memory.
Whatever happened to Calder Hart? This former executive chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCoTT), left this country in March of 2010 during the midst of a bourgeoning dark cloud of accusations regarding his award of hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts.
Ah, and then there is the ethereal Reverend Juliana Pena. This woman who was dubbed the spiritual adviser to the late and former Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, seemed as nebulous as the ubiquitous “real” Santa Clause. Attempts to question her during the “investigation” of the proposed church which was to be constructed for her by former Prime Minister Manning were unsuccessful, because she “couldn’t” be found.
Do you remember the Airport Authority Scandal? The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian reported on September 9, 2012 the allegations that billions of taxpayers’ money were funneled into the pockets of United National Congress (UNC) financiers [the political party of former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday]. This, at that time, was considered to be one of the biggest fraud cases in the country’s history. It dragged on for over ten years, and it was expected to be dismissed later that week.
Also, what happened to the report which was handed to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Roger Gaspard, at about the middle of 2014 into the death of Quelly Ann Cottle’s baby, Simeon Cottle during a failed C-section? The latest news report I found was in the Newsday dated November 12, 2015. At that time, the completed police investigation and the related file had been sent to the DPP. Yet, to date, there is still no decision on whether or not those who performed the procedure will be prosecuted.
The Colman Commission of Enquiry into the Hindu Credit Union’s 2008 financial collapse has seen no one held accountable for this debacle either. This, even after an auditor admitted to having hidden $31 million in losses. Many Hindu Credit Union customers placed their lifesavings, pensions and retirement plans into this organization and lost everything. Some have since died waiting on the outcome of the Commission’s recommendations.
How can our politicians, who claim to care about the citizens of this country, allow such things to go unresolved for the thousands of people who were/are adversely affected? Where is the justice in that? Trinidad and Tobago is always awash with scandal, and more often than not, it involves money.
This begs the question; how many more similar cases will not see anyone charged or prosecuted? Also, how much more money will be siphoned off from our nation’s treasury to “investigate” alleged criminal malfeasance? At least one thing is certain, the investigators and attorneys will always come out on top financially, whatever the outcome. Maybe, that’s the entire point after all.
The Commission of Enquiry Act Chapter 19:01, states under section 16 (Proceedings for penalties. [136/1976]): “No proceedings shall be commenced for any penalty under this Act except by the direction of the Director of Public Prosecutions, or of the commissioners. The commissioners may direct their secretary, or such other person as they may think fit, to commence and prosecute the proceedings for such penalty.”
It has been reported that the Uff Commission of Enquiry into UDeCoTT cost taxpayers over $46 million, while the Colman Commission of Enquiry into the financial collapse of CLICO and the HCU cost over $100 million of which $80 million was paid in legal fees alone.
Corruption always has a deleterious as well as a cumulative effect on any society. We end up having to pay more for goods and services; to get from one place to another, we often have to leave our homes in the dark and return after dark; basic government services sometimes take way longer than they should; more often than not, healthcare services don’t meet a high standard, which results in increased health risks and higher healthcare costs; our fragile environment suffers; most crimes and criminals go unchecked and unpunished, which deny many of its victims a sense of justice; people are forced to work harder and longer to acquire a modicum remuneration; individuals become less hopeful of their futures and of being able to succeed despite working hard.
When I think about all the injustice which has been meted out against our people, because our leaders are servants of satan, I feel very much aggrieved. While this sounds hyperbolic, it is, in a country where most people have some belief in a creator, an appropriate description of the men and women who fail to use the privilege of their elected office for good. Instead, they turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the fundamental issues facing us as a country. Nothing changes for the better, and now there isn’t even any pretense about what their objectives are while in office – self: me, myself and I.
I often ask myself, what about the many thousands who have been murdered, and there still is no closure for their family members and friends?
What about the people who may be innocent of the crimes with which they are charged who are languishing in our nation’s prisons, and poverty denies them the representation they deserve?
What about the Trinidad Express story, reported on January 3, 2014, where surgery was performed on a man at a private hospital to remove 17 pellets of cocaine from his abdomen? It was reported that the surgeon who performed the procedure, told staff not to take pictures of the cocaine, and returned the drugs to this individual?
Ten months later, the Acting Commissioner of Police, Stephen Williams, after his investigation into this news story, concluded that there was not enough evidence; therefore, it is likely that no doctor or patient would be arrested and charged. Really? We should believe this? Hmmm. This is akin to the reports of police officers shooting and killing themselves while cleaning their service revolvers. How does that happen?
Also, do you remember the soldier, Lance Corporal Curtis Marshall, who died on December 29, 2012, while on duty? It was initially reported by the pathologist that his cause of death was as a result of strangulation. Later, the same pathologist said it was due to an asthma attack. Wait. You’re a pathologist, and you don’t know the difference between strangulation, which presents evidence of striations on the neck as a result of extreme physical pressure applied against the larynx along with the rupture of the small blood vessels of the eyes (sub-conjunctival haemorrhages), from an asthma attack that results in acute restriction of oxygen intake due to fluid buildup in the lungs from swelling of the bronchiole passages?
Years ago, in a bid to tackle burgeoning crime, our national security apparatus introduced, as one of their initiatives to address the problem, the police Sky Watch surveillance unit a.k.a. “eye-in-the-sky”. This was a booth which could be elevated approximately 15 feet in the air to give police officers stationed inside a panoramic view of their surroundings. Gradually, even these disappeared as part of the crime-fighting arsenal.
When an “investigation” drags on for many months or years and is subsequently terminated because of “insufficient evidence”, especially in high profile cases, it is always unsettling and destroys public trust. This seems to be the norm now. No longer is there any attempt to “pretend” at actually wanting to solve anything. When they choose to ignore you and not to pursue your case, despite a preponderance of evidence, your only comfort is to trust in the one true “eye-in-the-sky” for justice — God.
In the Bible – King James Version, Ecclesiastes chapter 8 verse 11 says:
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
I would advise our so-called “Christian” leaders to read their bibles and follow its precepts rather than simply using it as a token during swearing-in ceremonies.
The individuals who give us these asinine results of their “investigations” have to believe we are all fools, or they are so confident that they will NEVER be held accountable by anyone for their actions, it doesn’t matter if what they say makes sense, or if we believe them.
There are no good police officers. I will say it again. THERE ARE NO GOOD POLICE OFFICERS. How can you call yourself a descent God-fearing human being when you see the illegal activities of your fellow officers and stay quiet about it? Although, you may not participate in the evil actions of your brothers and sisters in arms, but staying silent is just as if you were involved yourself.
What’s that? You are afraid of losing your job, or even worse, your life. Hmmm. Well, think about how law-abiding citizens feel when they find themselves within the crosshairs of these corrupt men and women who have sworn to protect and serve us.
People today, especially in Trinidad and Tobago, use the power of the internet, and particularly social media, for all sorts of puerile things. Today’s technology affords those, who choose to avail themselves of it, a much larger audience than they could have ever imagined possible 20 years ago. You no longer have to fear that a producer or an editor will succumb to threats and refuse to air or publish what was shared with them in a bid to blow the whistle on corruption. You have the internet and all its social media tools at your disposal. Record your nemesis. Take pictures. Build a strong dossier of evidence to support your claims, and expose them online. That’s what I did.
After many years of torment from my neighbor and his associates, which included, among other things, threats to my life, I uploaded my own dossier, when even the police refused to assist me. I placed names, dates, conversations, badge numbers and pictures online. They can’t erase iron-clad evidence uploaded on an internet server. Also, you establish for yourself and your loved ones a lifeline, because should anyone even think about ending your life, we’ll all know who did it and why.
Here is the link to my dossier: https://www.insightnewsnetwork.com
When you read my dossier, which is just a very small window into the circumstances I had to endure and fight my way through, you’ll understand why I don’t trust anything our government officials say, nor, for that matter, the police.
Initially, I thought I was alone in my dilemma, but after talking with other victims caught in the gravity of this revolving door of deceit, and the criminal enterprise called the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, I discovered this is par for the course.
Many of our institutions “supposedly” established to provide redress to those who feel wronged by the “system” are designed to put citizens through a frustrating bureaucratic labyrinth of red tape. Invariably, they don’t receive any closure and as a consequence become more jaded.
Our fortunes won’t change for the better with the same people at the helm of our country. I don’t hear our leaders burdening themselves, during their parliamentary presentations, with the problems facing our people. If, and when, they do talk about them, it is only empty rhetoric.
Our litany of woes has been plaguing us for decades. We have terrible roads, but we supply the world with ALL their asphalt for road construction. Roads are built/resurfaced and a few months later they are dug up to lay water mains. This has been going on since I was a child.
Our water problems are the result of poor civil engineering and a lack of commonsense, as are most, if not all, of our infrastructural deficiencies. If your population is growing, as ours is naturally doing, you can’t continue to build more homes and not increase the man-made storage/capture of water to provide a reliable supply to these ever-expanding communities.
Additionally, our housing market is becoming more and more unattainable for many people. The cost of owning land and subsequently building a house has been put outside the reach of the average citizen due to artificial inflation. How will a well-educated young couple, even with their combined incomes, be able to build the home of their dreams?
More and more parents are being asked to underwrite the cost of their children’s primary school education. School principals hold numerous fund-raising drives to cover the shortfall not provided for by the Ministry of Education.
Every major government office is situated in the nation’s capital — Port-of-Spain. This, in part, is why we have such nightmarish traffic jams at peak periods of our commute. Consequentially, this is the main reason why everything in Tobago costs so much. Tobagonians are forced to come to Trinidad for almost everything. Add to this the scheduling of major road works during peak traffic hours. The propensity of our leadership to demonstrate how stupid and callous they are knows no boundaries.
We have poor drainage and infrastructure. Our public transportation system needs to be upgraded, and we lack computerization in areas where it would increase efficiency and our quality of life.
Our healthcare system is rife with corruption. Citizens seeking medical treatment at our public hospitals have to endure exceptionally long waits; they can’t get certain prescribed drugs, and many times, if they are admitted, have to rely upon family and friends to provide basic patient care — baths, food and clothing.
As a result, our public hospitals have become a windfall for doctors working in private nursing homes. When adverse conditions and protracted stays without any improvement in their condition becomes unbearable, those who can afford it, go to private health facilities. Interestingly, the doctors who provide “care” at our public hospitals are some of the same doctors who work at private nursing homes.
Invariably, this question needs to be asked. Why are private healthcare facilities better than public hospitals, especially since they are served, in many instances, by the same healthcare workers? It definitely can’t be because of the cost.
Recently, an acquaintance of mine told me that a doctor taking care of his father said he needed an MRI scan, and it would cost TT $60,000.00. Yes. You read the figure accurately. Of course, they said this was insane. However, my research showed that the average cost of an MRI in the United States is about US $2,700.00. Even after applying our current exchange rate of TT $6.73 to 1 US dollar, you’ll only arrive at TT $18,177.08.
I was so shocked by this outrageous figure. I asked several members of the family to confirm that the doctor had actually told them the MRI would cost TT $60,000.00.
The burden of immoral/corrupt governance always rests more heavily upon the poor, and unconnected, as well as the overarching reach of the dark tacit specter of retribution should anyone dare speak out.
As a result of this, there are those who don’t want to rock the boat, metaphorically speaking. They are aware that despite what they hear and see, and what they may unwittingly be a part of, that blowing the whistle won’t change anything and will only put them and their loved ones in harm’s way. Neither is it advisable for them to be seen as having an affinity with “trouble makers”. Also, given that we are a small-island state, it is very likely that their lives are intertwined with people in the “know” or with those on the take.
If you want to do more than just “survive”, you have to be part of this evil fraternity and adopt their personage. You have to pretend you don’t see or hear any evil, or, even worse, dare to speak it.
Instead, I would rather be part of that truly honorable fraternity of prophets (spokesmen) who cried out against the evil leaders of Biblical Israel when they turned away from their God.