Legacy Flag Bacchanal in Trinidad

Life is a stage and we are the actors – we all have ah part to play” So sang Brother Valentino in his classic kaiso. Well it seems that the present administration under the leadership of archdeacon Patos is hell bent on playing the part of the gambler who does not know when it is time to stop placing bets that simply don’t reap any rewards.

The ‘Legacy Flag’ is the topic of conversation with some Trinis already proclaiming that it is a ‘Stripper Pole’ with a Trini flag draped at the top. Now when yuh think about it this could be the aim of the designers of the pole that hold the national marker. It is smooth, we are talking about A-36 carbon steel and what pole dancer you know who would not like all that smooth silky carbon between her legs as she slithers down the pole. Just think about it, draped in the national flag she swirls around the pole as she descends to the base where that rigid shaft is cemented in a “20-foot by 20-foot by 15-foot foundation with 400 tons of reinforced concrete and 200 tons of steel”. Rigid, and secure at the base, that pole will be the delight of many pole dancers as they dance in bacchanalish frenzy to celebrate and commemorate this project that “was part of the Government’s strategic national plan, Vision 2020”.

Ok so let’s take a look at how the tax payer’s money was spent on this project: $2M.  There were three bids for the project with Fireone Fireworks winning the bid for the project for the construction, erection, design and supply systems.  The final cost of the project is as follows:

The flag itself cost $18,112.15

The foundation and installation works cost $940,000

The design and supply of the flagpole cost $932,400

Three additional flags were bought for $54,336
Size of the Flag: 60 feet by 36 feet

Ok now that you have an idea of the cost and disbursement of the funds let’s talk ah talk now. I must remind you that you can participate in the discussion by venting in the shout box (http://www.trinizagada.com/) or add a comment of your own by selecting the comment feature at the bottom of the post. First off let’s look at the Minister Hunts comments and tell me what you think.

“Hunt said the flag was created to serve as a constant reminder of the nation’s sporting heroes and was meant to inspire patriotism and national pride among the population.”

How do I respond to the statement above? Simply put my friends – 20/20 Cricket.  The just concluded 20/20 cricket tournament in India in which the national team reached the finals and captivated the nation should have been on the mind of the minister when he thought about making the statement above. For those who don’t know it took Jack Warner’s intervention to get Darren Ganga released from his work duties to participate in the tournament – a State run company too. Even worse is the fact that a chicken company in India sponsored our national team – what a crying shame and he has the audacity to talk about patriotism and national pride?

He also said, "$2 million spent on it was a worthy and life-long investment”

What are we really investing in here? How does this monument that no one will care much about except to say in Trini style, “Oh goouuud it big eh” help improve the youth of the nation?

The money would have been better spent on a program or programs that teach self esteem and or the benefits of aspiring to become a national representative of the nation or simply to provide coaching clinics in the sporting arena.

He said, "the ministry had not publicly released the cost breakdown earlier, as it was ensuring that all calculations and facts were correct. Hunt explained that the cost of the flag itself was revealed on Tuesday to disassociate that cost from the total cost of the project.”

To be honest here I simply believe they knew that the population would be upset about the cost and they tried to bury the expenditure from public knowledge. The fact remains that we need hospital beds, drains are clogged causing flooding, a consistent and reliable water supply is needed, public transportation need to be upgraded, electricity shortages are still part of life in Trinidad and many more issues that need to be addressed. To take the tax payers money and spend it because the “flag will look good at the stadium” is a waste of finance that could be put to more productive use.

When asked about the two extra flags that were bought, he responded by saying "that the ministry had future plans to add more legacy flags to other stadiums across the country to promote national pride that would last for generations.”

Here we go again with the “national pride” mantra again. This clearly shows that the present administration has an agenda to leave their mark on the society without regard to the wishes of the people and many foreign nationals who clearly state that the present administration is spending the nations finances blindly.  Expect to see more legacy flags throughout the nation.

He said despite public controversy, "in time the public would come to appreciate the efforts made to inspire the nation.”

What the minister should have said was “we intend to leave our stamp on the country, PNM here there and everywhere”. I won’t be surprised if we have balisier planted around each legacy flag structure. The arrogance of the PNM is the only legacy I see here and that will never inspire me to aspire or gravitate to supporting the endeavors of the Manning administration.

Do you think that people are pleased after learning about the cost of the flag? Well after listening to WACK radio yesterday I can safely state that the population is not happy at all. People were calling in and venting their frustration.  I guess these are the same people who constantly ask, “Who we go put”. Well take what yuh getting now!

Information sourced from the Trinidad Guardian newspaper:

http://guardian.co.tt/news/politics/2009/11/05/it-s-official-2m-flag

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Captain the ship is sinking

The UNC never seems to want to get out of its own way and is forever condemned to survive in opposition because of their silly leadership quarrels constantly taking place.

Now the trouble in the UNC is good news for the PNM and their continual survival that is created because of the foolishness of educated fools who believe that they all know that which is best for the party. Do I believe that Basdeo Panday has outlived his importance as leader of the UNC? Yes I do believe that it is time for him to step down as leader of the party. However, after watching the events that have been taking place recently I really don’t know, in typical Trini style, “who dey go put as leader”. No one has cleansed themselves and moved above all the 'commess' that is taking place within the party. Gypsy, Ramesh and Jack seem to want to take the party in a different direction. Do you believe that these men are genuine? I am very skeptical but I also feel the same way about Basdeo Panday.

Now if you believe that the only hope to unseating the PNM lies in the unification of the opposition forces under one umbrella with one leader (not a caucus of leaders) then you may be on the path to something that could make sense and just might work. However, this may be just a dream of many that will be soundly defeated by the minority group of persons who have the finances to influence the major players backing the political aspirants. Only time will tell but it is difficult at this time because the Silver Fox who has served the party and the Labor movement for so many years still has a grip on the rural communities that is primarily the lifeblood of the party.

These men have to be without reproach and place themselves above all the chaos and realize that it is time for most of them to move on but Caribbean politics is more in line with “politricking” and they are extremely good at fooling the masses. Someone has to influence Basdeo Panday to step down from the leadership position but stay in the party to keep that loyal base in play. Next they need to decide on the main players and select the best person to lead the party. That is the trick to winning the election – to get a face and voice that people will believe in and vote for without hesitation; and coupled with a sound agenda that will resourcefully spend the finances of the country to better the circumstances of the population.

Can it be done? Of course it can be accomplished but lawyers and big shots playing politicians need to put aside their egos and think about the good of the people. These so called leaders must remember that public servants and anyone involved in government are there to serve the needs of the people. The problem is most of these men are in it for chest thumping and self accomplishments.

In the end the people will suffer because most people are like sheep and choose to follow instead of thinking for themselves that which is best for their family and their community. When this happens then maybe they will find the right person with character and virtue fitting to be called leader of the party. Until then Gypsy will have to keep singing that, “Captain the ship is sinking”.

It has been so long...

Well this is just to let everyone (who has ever taken a look at my blogs) know that I will be back at the keyboard soon. I'm taking care of a few things and will posting soon. I have had a few posts on my fun blog babash@vox.com but my regular blogs will soon get an article or two soon.

LiveLong, LiveStrong and Prosper!

PM says that businesses refuse to work with UDeCOTT because of the Commission of Enquiry

"Businesses are refusing to work with the State-owned Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) because of the Commission of Enquiry about to be launched into its operations and those of the construction sector, Prime Minister Patrick Manning says."

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161376039

The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago has stated that businesses don’t want to work with UDeCOTT because of the Commission of Enquiry set up to investigate the company’s dealings. PM Manning also claimed that “it was merely part of a plan on their part to slow down the pace of his administration's national development objectives which UDeCOTT is meant to deliver along with other State-owned special purpose enterprises” as stated in the same article in the Trinidad Express.

So what are we supposed to do here Mr. Manning? Oh yes, we should wear blinders and pretend that all is well and let the show go on. The fact is the government was forced by the actions of the opposition to launch an investigation into the conduct of the UDeCOTT because of the actions of the management of that company. If all was well inside UDeCOTT then the PM would not have succumbed to the rants of the opposition and the inquisitive nature of the newspapers.

The only question that needs to be answered is whether or not this commission of enquiry will achieve anything. Already we have deputy political leader of the opposition, Jack Warner, calling for the removal of Israel Khan from the board because of Mr. Khan’s close ties to the ruling party. Hey one cannot blame the PM for fixing the Commission to achieve his goals - that is the way the game is played in 'small Island politricks'.

So here we go again the ruling party has already stacked the deck in their favor – yuh know all’s well that ends well! There is nothing to hide so why put impartial people in place to look for something that isn’t there – once again we have glaring proof that silly season is open in Trinidad – ent yuh know that is how it goes!

Things that make you go, "Hmm"

September 07, 2K8
I really feel good knowing that our country has stepped up to the plate to assist our neighbors in the Caribbean affected by the anger and might of hurricanes recently. Great!
I am not pleased that we are not doing the same for those whom are in need at home. The money allocated for those recently affected by floods at home is minuscule compared to the aide sent to our neighbors.

We are feting our Olympic athletes for four days to the tune of $********* questionable amounts – a few Millions maybe?

Did you know that rice is grown in commercial quantities in Trinidad?
High food prices are the norm in Trinidad and Tobago and now we learn that the Rice farmers with crops that are maturing and would soon be ready for harvesting are in a quandary and are left wondering if their rice would be worth anything. The National Flour Mills has put up for sale the only milling factory on the Island. There is no guarantee that they would purchase the rice paddy for processing. If in fact the factory is sold there is no guarantee that the new owner would purchase the current crop at the established rates. During this entire ‘looming crisis’ nothing has been heard from the Ministry of Agriculture. Now how much rice are we talking about here? You would be surprised to learn that the quantity is in the vicinity of ten million pounds that’s correct 10,000,000 pounds of rice. Did you know that we produced this amount of rice annually?

Here is a quote from the Trinidad Guardian Newspaper:
“From October 1 to December 1, approximately 4,000 acres of mature rice (10,000,000 pounds) at Felicity, Caroni, Campo, Bejucal, Plum Mitan and several areas in South would be reaped.” http://www.guardian.co.tt/news3.html

The article is entitled "Floods of paddy" – make an effort and read the article. This is an amazing story it seems that when the Government dismantled Caroni limited they really intend not to produce any food but the buy everything. The farms are just promises and nothing has been planted, reaped or sold with the exception of all the promises made by the Manning administration.

Only in Trinidad my friends – Silly season is open!

Stranded Yachties

The plight of the stranded yachters at Chaguramas Bay is one of the silliest situations that I have read about recently.  Just imagine that there are over 120 Yachties stranded at the Power Boat marina because they cannot purchase the fuel that is sold there.  Now the reasoning behind the situation is so silly and at the same time so easy to resolve.

Acting on a tip from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) the Ministry of Energy alerted National Petroleum (NP) about an illegal trade in subsidized fuel purchased in Trinidad. It was reported that people are purchasing the fuel at the subsidized price and reselling it in the BVI at six times the price paid for the fuel in Trinidad.   However, the Yachters were told that they cannot purchase the fuel at the subsidized price and that they would have to pay the international rate for the fuel - good, well it still is not that easy.  Why? The supplier at the Marina does not have a license to sell the fuel at the international rate – yes, it is indeed silly season in Trinidad!

One would think that in order to really profit from purchases at the subsidized price and to sell it to make a profit someone would have to be making large scale purchases to resell so why not give the boats their regular supply and keep the record to ensure they don’t return a few days later for another purchase. As a matter of fact most of the boats in dock are foreign boats that come in to make repairs before continuing on their voyage.

Now we have a situation where people have to get extensions to remain on the island even thought they are literally stranded and cannot resolve the problem without the intervention of officials from NP and/or the government agency responsible for the situation that prevails.

Don’t you think that this situation is really so silly… only in Trinidad folks.