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General Discussion / Re: Tobago News.
« on: August 17, 2020, 04:10:04 PM »
BWTF
Like somebody was getting paid a "political dowery?"
Like somebody was getting paid a "political dowery?"
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Devant: Kamla 'mamaguyed' UNC by calling for recount
STACY MOORE (NEWSDAY).
UNC activist Devant Maharaj said the party's leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has ‘mamaguyed’ members into thinking that a recount in certain seats in the August 10 general elections was a chance for the UNC to win.
Maharaj said many of the members were holding on to such illusion and failed to accept defeat. He said these games must stop.
“I am not a PNM and I have no intention of joining the PNM. I have challenged the PNM in and out of court for many years but I recognised that this was an electoral race where there will be one winner or one loser and we lost.”
The former minister said Persad-Bissessar, who has not been seen since the general election, has shown her deficiencies as a leader.
“When you listen to some of the members speak, they were holding on to hope that the recount could go our way and we could get government. This is false.”
Maharaj said Persad-Bissessar must come to terms that the party has lost the election.
“We lost and I feel the mature thing to do is to congratulate the winner and move on. She did not show that sense of maturity and, I think, in this last couple of weeks she has highlighted her leadership deficiencies by this ridiculous recount which has stalled the country.”
He added, “This strategy of also demonising the EBC as working for the PNM is disingenuous. When we won the local election the EBC was not under attack and how come now when we lost the general election, the EBC is a PNM. These games must stop.”
Maharaj said the focus now should be on dealing with covid19.
“We have a crisis here. We are at a war with an unseen virus that can kill all of us. It is time for us to put politics aside and work with the government."
On the weekend, attorney and UNC member Kelvin Ramkissoon called on Persad-Bissessar to step down as political leader.
In a WhatsApp conversation, Ramkissoon said, “I don’t even want to watch the news conference. In a proper democracy when a leader losing an election the proper thing is done.
“They don’t hold on. That’s the essence of the Westminster model. The leader knows that."
Ramkissoon was election agent for Ahloy Hunt who has demanded a recount for the St Joseph seat which he lost to incumbent, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh.
“The question is not who will take over. Leave that to those who constitute the entity and move on with dignity while you still have it.
“Better yet, show some magnanimity and vacate your own seat and give it to someone else. You will save yourself and save future generations.
“Further time will just erode trust and confidence and chisel away at the remaining goodwill which the party still has and cause people to gravitate towards the continuous winner.
“The maxim if you can’t win them, join them may pervade in the minds of person.”
Y
Christian churches reject racism in T&T
NARISSA FRASER (NEWSDAY).
THE Open Bible Standard Churches of T&T (OBSCTT) and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies (PAWI) say they are "rejecting racism in all its forms." The latter described it as a "social cancer."
In a press release, OBSCTT sought to remind the public that God loves everyone, "having created every one of us in His image."
"...Racism has shown itself to be very destructive in every nation where it has taken root and been allowed to flourish, damaging populations in many nations. Even though it is natural to have an affinity or a special love for the particular ethnicity or race into which we were born, that affinity should not be the basis to look down upon, ill-speak and ill-treat, harm, endanger, or destroy others of a different ethnicity or race."
It said TT, with its many races and ethnicities, has generally been able to exist harmoniously "despite occasional flare-ups," but added that the most recent attempts to cause racial tension following Monday's general election "must be stopped before it goes any further.
"As a result, we call upon all of us to reject racism, and not to fan the flames of racism but to live consistently and constantly by and teach mutual respect and appreciation for each other."
PAWI shared similar sentiments, saying it "condemns, with all resolve, the manifestation and expression of racism from our multi-ethnic communities, political and religious divide of our beloved nation of TT."
It called for the "elimination and de-escalation" of race rhetoric, adding that the Pentecostal message speaks against five forms of supremacy tendencies: regiocentrism, sexism, ageism, racism and classism.
"We believe that the coming to the front of this social cancer threatens the very fabric of the aspiration of our society to be one of racial harmony, law and order. We, therefore, raise our voices with the full awareness that the insipid presence of racism has plagued the church from its inception, as evident in God’s rebuke to Peter for referring to Gentiles as common and unclean, Acts 10:14, 15.
"We, therefore, call on our political, religious and civil leaders to take the charge and put to death, and to de-escalate the race conflict, rhetoric and forms of institutional racism. We call on our beloved citizens to build our nation to be a place of harmony, peace and stability."
All I have to say is, don't take one of our famous mottos, " All ah we is one" for granted. As I have said on a QRC post, ever so often we have to revisit this statement. Is it true? Was it ever true ? We have never had Afros and Indos face each other in the streets. I would not put my head on block that this cannot happen. There is too much guns floating around in the country. The hard work is now, while we can put a damper on it. Don't wait until the fire start to find water to put it out. This may not be the same situation. Remember how Abu and 1990 came and bite in we arse. It is incumbent on all of us on the forum to be vigilant and work in ways to put a damper on this situation. Don't take this for granted.
Ah want to see KPB and UNC control he
AG: LifeSport still alive
By SEAN DOUGLAS (Newsday)
THE multi-million dollar LifeSport programme is still being investigated.
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi disclosed yesterday in reaction to a ruling on Monday by a High Court judge which quashed an audit report of the programme, which was taken to Parliament by the People’s Partnership government under then Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar. Al-Rawi blamed Persad-Bissessar for Monday’s court outcome, citing her premature laying of the audit report in Parliament in July 2014.
Al Rawi said that a Senior Counsel ought to know that natural justice says an acccused person has the right to be heard.
Al-Rawi said the ruling upheld only five out of 14 grounds argued by the claimants. These were: that a breach of natural justice had occurred, that legitimate expectations had been breached, that the claimants had not been informed nor given the right to be heard, a grant of the order of certiorari (quashing the report), and the award of legal costs. Otherwise, he said, other investigations into Life Sport are still alive - including a probe by the police, even as he suggested reporters could ask the Integrity Commission about the probe it is conducting. Al-Rawi neither confirmed nor denied if Government will appeal Justice Mira Dean-Armorer’s ruling, a written version of which he is awaiting.
Al-Rawi recapped that under Life Sport, half-billion dollars was dubiously spent, amid allegations of murder, corruption, bid-rigging and fraud, some issues including several public officials. The Ministry of Finance’s Central Audit Committee (CAC) had probed all aspects of Life Sport, after which Persad-Bissessar, laid it in the Lower House in July 2014. Al-Rawi said that former Finance Minister, Larry Howai had been specifically told that the allegations must be presented to the alleged wrongdoers. Al-Rawi said Persad- Bissessar should have known that premature publication - without a chance of reply - would result in breaches of the law.
“She went on to give the claimants the very card that found itself face up,” the AG said. The AG said the rules of an internal audit mandate that parties must be told of the possibility of adverse findings and that an exit interview be done, the latter which had been promised to all witnesses for the suspects. The AG alleged that even when former Ministry of Sport Permanent Secretary (PS) Ashwin Creed, later sat as Head of the Public Service as PS in the Office of the Prime Minister under Persad-Bissessar, no action was taken to send the LifeSport report to the Public Service Commission (PSC), until the PNM took office.
Al-Rawi said that just because the High Court had quashed the official audit report into LifeSport, that does not stop other investigations from proceeding, as the subject matter that gave rise to the report still exists. He spoke later of over-billing and a doubling up of invoices. “There are other matter around Life Sport that are getting attention,” the Attorney General said. Al -Rawi warned that certain person(s) should not be so quick to think they can walk away from the LifeSport allegations. “I’d not be as comfortable as these with their newfound bravery,” he said.
(See Page 5) Attempts yesterday by Newsday to contact Persad-Bissessar, Howai and several Opposition-linked attorneys for comment on the AG’s claims, were unsuccessful.