Celebrating Indian Arrival Day - 2008

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Happy Indian Arrival Trinidad and Tobago

Basdeo Panday turns 75

Basdeo Panday entered electoral politics in 1966 and was first elected to Parliament in 1976 as the member for Couva North, the constituency he still represents. He was prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago between 1995 and 2001 and is currently leader of the United National Congress (UNC) which he founded in 1987, and Leader of the Opposition.

Deane under fire. Rowley says enquiry boss is biased

Gordon Deane is under fire from several quarters about his suitability to head a Commission of Enquiry in the construction sector that will include the operations of UDeCOTT, the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning announced the appointment of Deane on Friday when he told the House of Representatives that he was establishing the probe. But almost immediately, his choice of the former chairman of the Integrity Commission met resistance the opposition and Diego Martin West MP, Dr Keith Rowley.

Rowley, whose firing by Manning opened up Pandora's Box, said Deane must disqualify himself, citing Deane's record.

Deane was the chairman of the Integrity Commission that began investigating Rowley and was chairman when the Rowley file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions without giving Rowley a chance before to be heard.

A court ruled that the Integrity Commission breached Rowley's fundamental right to be heard. Deane's term had expired by the time the court ruled in Rowley's favour.

"Even as the Government concedes reluctantly to have a Commission of Enquiry, it appoints a Chairman who is clearly in the category of a biased person. And I am saying this because the Prime Minister must know, and Mr Deane must know, of the ruling of Justice Ivor Archie in the Sherman McNicolls matter, that seminal judgement when he said that bias is not required to be proved, but the appearance of bias is also sufficient to disqualify," Rowley told the Trinidad Express.

"In that context, Gordon Deane who used Integrity Commission information to scandalise me in a lawsuit where the Integrity Commission was embarrassed in the court and where the charge laid against the Commission headed by Deane is one of serious breach of the Constitution, resulting in the violation of a citizen's fundamental rights; such a person in this particular matter where UDeCOTT is involved as it (UDeCOTT) was involved in that other matter (with the Integrity Commission), clear bias exists. And on that basis alone, Gordon Deane cannot be Chairman of this Commission."

Rowley added: "And therefore while the Prime Minister has conceded an enquiry, a proper chairman needs to be sought. Gordon Deane must disqualify himself and the Prime Minister must do better than that. Otherwise the enquiry would be discredited even before it gets started".

The PNM MP stated that what the Government appears to be doing is consistently seeking something in its favour as against an independent decision.

Rowley said any fair minded person would see this as a biased commission and not as a clear, independent Commission of Enquiry.

Rowley made reference to a comment a few years ago by former President Arthur NR Robinson made a comment that the professional class was consistently failing Trinidad and Tobago.

He said, "...in that context, the Prime Minister's announcement of Gordon Deane as chairman of the Commission of Enquiry is an expression to that concern. The Prime Minister must know that that is a most inappropriate appointment. And Mr Deane should know that if even he is offered the appointment, he should turn it down."

Former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj shares Rowley's concerns. He told reporters Saturday Deane could not chair the enquiry because he had already adjudicated matter related to UDeCOTT.

And he threatened to go to court over the matter.

"If Mr Manning puts robots of his...the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Rights Association will file public interest litigation to force the Prime Minister to remove these persons," Maharaj said.

He explained that there are provisions for such legal action in the Judicial Review Act. He added that Manning knows the connection between Deane and former Attorney general John Jeremie "whose conduct was reviewed by the Mustil Tribunal in relation to the Chief Justice, Sat Sharma."

Maharaj also had concerns about the terms of reference of the probe, suggesting that they water down the critical issue of the operations of UDeCOTT. That's a view also expressed by Opposition leader, Basdeo Panday.

See related story: Opposition rejects Deane

Now is the time for people to stand up for TT

One of Basdeo Panday’s famous lines is, “If you see me and a lion fighting, feel sorry for the lion.” And in his more than four decades in politics he has fought many intense battles against heavy odds to demonstrate that he is indeed a warrior who doesn’t run away from a fight. Or as he himself says, “I don’t duck and run.”

And those who have engaged him in battle know that in the end Panday wins. Raffique Shah, Kelvin Ramnath, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, A.N.R. Robinson, Winston Dookeran and Patrick Manning have experienced Panday’s wrath.

In the political bloodletting that threatened to destroy his United National Congress (UNC) Panday stood firm as he watched his anointed successor Winston Dookeran walk away with many UNC ‘loyalists’ to create a new political organization while the political pundits wrote him off as a spent force.

The political pundits put their bets on the new kids on the block; they were wrong. The pollsters scoffed at Panday; they were wrong. The people drifted away for a while and then they came back, as they always do.

From the ashes, Panday emerged once more to prove that no one could keep him down. With his trusted friend and ally, Jack Warner, he put together a powerful alliance that comprised smaller political parties and included his former political foe and former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, and his deputy leaders Kamla Persad Bissessar, Jack Warner and Wade Mark.

Panday and Warner led the UNC Alliance to a stunning victory that few expected. Had Winston Dookeran and the Congress of the People (COP) heeded Panday’s calls for a united opposition front, the political history of Trinidad and Tobago would have been altered dramatically and Patrick Manning and his People’s National Movement would likely be sitting on the opposition benches today.

Now Panday is back home from a sojourn in England where he was at his wife’s bedside during her illness and surgery. And he’s ready to do battle against Manning.

Panday has everything on his side. For the first time since 1986 the nation is united in a common cause that is not tied to political partisanship or ethnic rivalry.

The reality in Trinidad and Tobago today is that Prime Minister Patrick Manning is blinded by his own arrogance and so obsessed with power that he considers himself invincible. But he isn’t; no one is.

And if Panday is serious about mobilizing the nation Manning should start getting worried. Here’s why.

Manning is unpopular even in his own party. The purge of people like Ken Valley, Eddie Hart and Fitzgerald Hinds before the last election was a sign that he was cleaning house to expand his autocratic rule. He reluctantly kept Penny Beckles and he seems to have Colm Imbert right where he wanted him.

The only remaining thorn on his side was Keith Rowley. And when Rowley touched Manning’s sacred cows – UDeCOTT and Calder Hart – it was too much. Rowley had to go.

So much for the inside story.

In the public eye, he is also losing support. His oath of office in Woodford Square, his refusal to fire Martin Joseph and find a new police commissioner, his coziness with criminal ‘community leaders’, the escalation of violent crime, the reckless spending – including a plan to buy a $400 million private jet that’s still on the agenda – his inability to deal with rising food prices, his failure to develop agriculture and so much more provide the script for Panday’s next big political act in the country.

Manning had created all the right conditions during his 2002-2007 administration for the opposition to remove him; they failed because they refused to unite.

Now Manning is at it again, showing disdain for the nation and running a government that appears to be accountable only to him.

His outright refusal to consider an effective probe into UDeCOTT creates doubt and makes people wonder what he is hiding and why is Calder Hart so important. The enquiry he announced Friday is aimed at bringing down the heat but it is a far cry from an enquiry into UDeCOTT.

Tens of thousands of people cannot afford shelter. Their children are hungry; they cannot afford medical care; bulldozers are mowing down their crops and destroying their shacks. Yet the nation has money to construct billion-dollar white elephants that feed Manning’s ego and do nothing to develop the economy and insulate it to deal with the bust that’s coming after this boom.

Today, the nation has an opportunity to rise together and speak with one voice and tell Manning he must serve the nation or be fired. And Panday is ready to lead.

It is a common political premise that a people get the government they deserve. Perhaps that’s true.

But in a democracy the people are more powerful than those who govern them. And that is why Panday has one final golden opportunity to unite the people – all the people, including those who helped put Manning in office.

Ken Valley and Keith Rowley must join Panday. They cannot have their cake and eat it too. The trade unions, the private sector organizations, the NGO’s, the concerned individuals like Mary King must all put nation first and stand up and fight this battle.

This is not a UNC or UNC Alliance issue. This is a national one. Manning is on a destructive course that is taking Trinidad and Tobago down a path of no return. Trinidad and Tobago is in great danger. And everyone must stand up for the nation.

Manning has the full resources of the state at his disposal and more money than any administration has ever seen, yet he refuses to solve the country’s most basic problem while squandering billions. But the power of the people is stronger.

Panday can provide the leadership, but only if the nation will stand up for justice, equality and freedom.

We are still a democracy where the will of the majority is supreme.

Manning claims to be a man of morality and spirituality, yet despite presiding over a period of surging oil prices, he has proven himself incapable of serving the interest of his people.

There is no moral or spiritual reason for Manning’s failure; he cannot even blame his party because he has proven his distaste for any form of responsible dissent.

Incompetence and self-indulgence cannot be tolerated from a Prime Minister, and it is time for a united opposition of citizens to speak out for the future of this country.

This is not a soliloquy of political parties; this must be a national movement of Trinidadians and Tobagonians, regardless of their race, religion, or political allegiances, to transcend the confines of politics and struggle for the welfare of the nation’s people.

If we are ‘forged from the love of liberty’ then now is the time for us to show it.

Jai Parasram and Ajay Parasram | Toronto, May 24, 2008

Manning announces enquiry into construction sector, UDeCOTT

Prime Minister Patrick Manning made an about turn in Parliament Friday and announced the establishment of a Commission of Enquiry into the construction sector, which would include UDeCOTT.

Manning made the suprise announced as parliamentary debate on the appointment of a Joint Select Committee to investigate UDeCOTT neared its end at 7.30 pm.

Manning told the House of Representatives when he proposed the JSC there were no specific allegations against UDeCOTT.

"Today for the first time, someone got up in this House and made a clear and specific allegation, as a consequence of which I am authorised by the Government to announce the establishment of a commission of enquiry into the construction industry," Manning told the House.

He was referring to comments made by Tabaquite MP Ramesh Maharaj, who spoke just before him.

Maharaj alleged that a locally-incorporated subsidiary of Sunway, a Malaysian company, had links to the wife of Udecott chairman Calder Hart.

See related story: Ramesh drops Calder Hart, UDeCOTT bombshell

Manning said the terms of reference would be:

• to enquire into the procurement practices in the public construction sector
• the effect of the use provisional sums, prime cost sums, nominated suppliers and nominated contractors in construction contracts in the public sector
• the effect of incomplete designs, design changes, variations, poor supervision and poor management on the cost and delivery of construction projects in the public sector
• the performance of local and foreign contractors and consultants on public sector projects
• the effectiveness of the turnkey approach, also called the design build approach, for the delivery of public sector construction projects as compared to the traditional design and tender approach
• the reasons for and the effect of cost overruns, delays and defective workmanship in public sector construction projects
• the existence of price gouging and profiteering in the public construction sector
• the procurement practices and methods of operation of Udecott
• to make such recommendations and observations arising out of these deliberations as the commission may deem appropriate to ensure that with respect to public sector construction projects and the procurement practices and methods of operation of Udecott taxpayers get value for money
• the delivery of projects, the highest standard of workmanship, quality, safety, the provision of quality of provision and practice are achieved and maintained
• there is free and fair competition, full participation and access for all citizens in the public procurement process
• the integrity and transparency in the public procurement practice is assured.

“I am also authorised to say that the commission of enquiry which will comprise four persons and will be chaired by Mr Gordon Deane, a former chairman of the Integrity Commission,” Manning said.

Manning said even though the Government believed the JSC approach was the superior approach, it had decided—in the face of the position taken by the Opposition and the possibility that the Independent senators might not wish to participate in the JSC—to go the route of the commission of enquiry.

“We hope that at the end of the day, truth will prevail and that Trinidad and Tobago will have a new system of operation in the construction sector...and that we will move inexorably on to the achievement of developed country status by the year 2020,” the prime minister said.

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Bas is back, ready to do battle with the PNM

Basdeo Panday returned home from England Thursday with a message for his supporters and the nation: The time is right to mobilise and to rise up against the PNM Government.

"That’s my mission over the next few months," the former prime minister told reporters on his arrival at Piarco International Airport.

He accompanied his wife, Oma, who had been in London for open heart surgery. Well wishers and friends presented Mrs Panday with flowers as she emerged from the arrival area on a wheelchair.

Top UNC-A MPs were there to greet the couple including their daughter Mickela, Tim Gopeesingh, Vasant Bharath, Chandresh Sharma, Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Wade Mark.

Mrs Panday is still recuperating and will continue treatment at home.

Panday had kept in touch with political developments while he was away. He won't be able to participate in Friday's debate on the Joint Select Committee to probe UDeCOTT because of his suspension.

But the man in the eye of the storm, Dr Keith Rowley, will be present and would most likely have an interesting contribution to make. Rowley opened the national debate on the role of UDeCOTT when he challenged the organization for carrying out projects without proper Cabinet oversight.

His boss, Prime Minister Patrick Manning, responded by firing Rowley, ostensibly for misbehaving. But political observers say it had nothing to do with Rowley's manner and everything to do with kicking out Rowley and protecting UDeCOTT and its executive chairman, Canadian-born Calder Hart.

Rowley has demanded a full independent public enquiry into the operations of UDeCOTT, a call also made by independent organizations in the private sector, trade unions, individuals and the official opposition.

Manning rejected that outright and has decided on an investigation by a parliamentary committee chaired by a member of the PNM. The UNC-A has stated that it would not take part in the political charade.

Commenting on the JSC Panday said, "Prime Minister Manning knows very well that this JSC is a sham and an obvious red herring...It is no substitute for a commission of enquiry that has the power to do a forensic audit, for instance."

Panday added, "This Government will press on with all kinds of stupid things unless the people rise up against them...And that’s what I’m going to do for the next few months in Trinidad and Tobago—invite people to rise up against the Government."

The opposition leader said he is confident that people would respond because the nation is now united in a common cause.

"I think people are so fed up they are reaching a point where they are prepared to do something about it...I believe people have come to the conclusion they can’t take any more...So the time is right to mobilize people to do something about the Government,” he said.
"They cannot deal with things, we must find a formula to bring Trinidad and Tobago back to peace, sanity and prosperity," Panday said.

Panday told reporters that is the real issue facing Trinidad and Tobago today. He said he had a lot of time to think about this while he was in London and he has a strategy for dealing with the issues.

Panday political baptismal was in 1975 when he led a popular, peaceful uprising against the government culminating in the infamous "Bloody Tuesday" march in February 1976 when he was brutally beaten by police and jailed along with other top trade unionists.

He went on to become the official leader of the opposition that same year and continued his people struggle from the opposition benches until he became prime minister following the 1995 general election.

Political analysts say Panday's greatest strength is his ability to mobilize people. They say for the first time in decades the nation is united in a common cause that is not linked to ethnicity and political affiliation.

Villagers win first round; HDC suspends Spring Village project

Above: St. Augustine MP Vasant Bharath watch Spring Village farmers begin replanting their crops (Max Ottley photo)

Housing Minister Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde announced Wednesday that the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) is suspending all work on its project in Spring Village to investigate reports that HDC contractors destroyed agricultural crops.

She made the statement when she met with more than 100 residents of the area at the HDC's offices, in Port of Spain.

Farmers complained to the minister that HDC bulldozers destroyed their crops in the area off Bassie Street Extension. They said the HDC claimed that it was conducting topographical studies. But the corporation has repeatedly denied that claim.

The minister said after discussions with HDC managing director Noel Garcia, it was agreed that the corporation would stop the work to investigate the level of farming in the area and residents' concerns that the area may not be suitable for housing because it was a flood prone "basin".

She noted that in a 2003 letter the area of 54 acres has been designated for squatter regularization and transferred from Caroni (1975) Ltd.

Villagers told the minister that prime agricultural land should not be used for housing and they also complained that authorities have been pushing them out from their homes during the regularization exercise.

But Garcia promised that no one would be displaced, adding that the HDC will find housing for everyone.

Gaynor Dick-Forde also spoke about development plans for the area. She said a five-acre recreational ground that villagers have asked for will be part of plans for the housing project. And she promised that government would take residents concerns into account in drawing up preliminary plans before any physical development occurs.

But St Augustine MP Vasant Bharath was not impressed. He called the minister's assurances "an attempt to bamboozle the residents."

One person from the village who is closely associated with the project wondered about the sincerity of the government in the matter.

She told hotlikepperradio.com if the HDC is really going to investigate to find a solution, how can the minister and the HDC still talk about development plans for the same agricultural area in dispute.

She added, "And it's shocking that they bulldoze people's crops, then you hear that they don't even have a plan. And to make matters worse they are now talking about consulting the villagers about a preliminary plans. So when they sent the bulldozers, they didn't even have a plan?"

The person, who did not want to be identified, said the minister and the HDC sound hollow in their "concerns" for the people and added that "they just want to spite the people."

UNC-A going to court over Spring Village farms

The UNC Alliance (UNC-A) is planning to take legal action against the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) for bulldozing farmers' crops on agricultural land in Spring Village, Valsayn on May 9.

Farmers say crops planted on the disputed land were ready for harvesting when the bulldozers arrived.

The party is also planning to take legal action against police officers of the Tunapuna Police Station who were on duty during a protest last Friday. Spring Village residents were protesting the destruction of their crops and had blocked access to the farm lands.

The officers arrested South Valsayn/Carapo councillor, Kadijah Ameen, and charged her with "wilful obstruction of the free passageway". They also charged Spring Village resident Daniel Benny for using obscene language against officers.

UNC-A MPs have commended Ameen’s courage in the face of these charges.

Ameen showed up at a UNC-A meeting Monday night with a pair of handcuffs on her left wrist and told supporters the charge was false. She said she was just crossing the road when police arrested her.

She vowed to wear the handcuffs until the “nuisance” charges against her are dropped or until the dispute with the HDC is over.

Tabaquite MP and the Opposition Chief Whip, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, has written Prime Minister Patrick Manning pointing out that the HDC and police actions were “unconstitutional and illegal”.

He is also asking Manning to ensure that the farmers get compensation for the destruction of their crops and that they have access to the lands.

Hadeed "farse and out of place," - Mary King

Former Independent Senator Mary King says there is a creeping dictatorship in the Upper House. And the opposition says it plans to file a no-confidence motion against Senate Vice President, George Hadeed.

King was commenting on Hadeed’s letter of caution to the independent senators suggesting that it was improper for them to meet to discuss the appointment of a chairman to a Joint Select Committee to probe the operations of the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT).

Hadeed has said that the nine independent senators do not comprise a political bloc like an organized party and they had no business taking a collective decision on matters affecting Parliament.

In responding to Hadeed’s sentiments King said, “Well that is a little ridiculous isn’t it?” She said it is normal for humans to meet and discuss matters of mutual concerns without being “political”.

King told local media Hadeed was, “farse and out of place.”

The JSC that Prime Minister Patrick Manning announced last week is intended to comprise three Government members, two Opposition members and an independent senator.

But the opposition said last week it wouldn’t participate in a “sham” probe of UDeCOTT. Government House Leader Colm Imbert responded that the opposition was acting irresponsibly and that others members would take their place.

But King said without opposition’s participation it would not be “Joint-Select” committee since the purpose of such a committee is to include representatives of both sides of the Parliament and one or more independent senators.

King and the opposition have called for an independent public inquiry into UDeCOTT, arguing that a parliamentary committee lacks the forensic clout to conduct such a probe. The man in the middle of the controversy, Dr Keith Rowley, and private sector organizations share that view.

But the government is adamant that such an enquiry in not warranted. Imbert says a government should not be expected to launch a commission of enquiry “every Monday morning,” whenever someone has a claim of corruption. And another Cabinet member has said the history of such investigations shows that nothing comes out of them.

The opposition is not taking Hadeed’s interference lightly. In a news release Tuesday, Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate Wade Mark called on Hadeed to resign.

Mark said, “The VP of the Senate is out of order and very improper to interfere in the business of Independent Senators. “Independent Senators are appointed by the President of the Republic. They do not constitute a party group or party branch of the PNM and Mr Hadeed—even when he sits as a Presiding Officer—does not hold a whip over them.”

Mark said his party intends to file a motion of no confidence against Hadeed.

On another issue, Mark called on Hadeed to appeal to the leader of Government Business, Conrad Enill, to have answers ready on time. Ten questions on the Order Paper were not answered Tuesday.

Don't let this baby die!

A 26-year old father is giving up willing to give up piece of his liver to save his baby’s life. But Joshua Bhagwandeen, a pump operator at Petrotrin, doesn’t have the money for the vital operation needed for the live-saving procedure for the infant. So he is appealing for help.

Bhagwandeen is a pump operator at Petrotrin. His wife, Thalia, has had to quit her job to care for baby Hannah, who was born four months ago with a rare liver ailment that doctors didn’t diagnose immediately.

"But after six weeks we realized that something was wrong and we took the baby to a paediatrician. She was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare liver disease. We had to do several tests and a senior doctor told us that the correction procedure could not be done in Trinidad," Bhagwandeen told the Trinidad Express.

He said a search for help ended at Hopkins Hospital in the United States where doctors performed what is called a "Kasai" procedure to correct the problem. But he they told the parents Hannah would have to get a liver transplant before she is one year.

"Doctors said this disease happens in one in every 15,000 babies and Hannah was the first baby in the Caribbean to be diagnosed with this. They also told us that she was the oldest baby to have the procedure done," Bhagwandeen told the paper, adding that there is a great urgency to get the surgery done.

The Kasai procedure involves the creation of an open duct to drain bile from the liver. The surgeon removes the damaged ducts outside of the liver and replaces them with a piece of the baby's own intestine.

Read about the Kasai procedure

Hannah's mom is still at her baby’s bedside in Maryland, USA, while dad is back home trying to raise necessary funds for the transplant. Thalia and her baby are expected home next week.

The family borrowed the $530,000 (US$80,000) to pay for the first procedure but it doesn’t have the means for funding the transplant. The hospital requires $1.9-million (US$300,000) within the next two months.

You can help by donating your lunch money or whatever you can afford to the “Baby Hannah Liver Fund” at Republic Bank. The account number is 470 471 211 701.

Or you can contact Joshua Bhagwandeen (717-1897) or Vashti Harrilal (71-9253) for further information. Don’t let this baby die!

Don't give up hope, Warner tells Spring Villag farmers

Jack Warner told farmers in Spring Village, Valsayn Monday night he was "devastated" when he heard that a bulldozer had destroyed their crops. And the Chagunas MP told the farmers not to give up hope even as their livelihoods are being threatened by what he called "this heartless Government."

He was also angry that Minister of Agriculture, Arnold Piggott is threatening to take back the uncultivated lands given to ex Caroni (1975) Limited employees as the food crisis widens.

Warner was speaking at a UNC-A meeting in the community where farmers are engaged in a struggle with the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to save their agricultural holdings.The HDC went in unannounced and destroyed the cultivated food crop farms to make way for a new housing project. Police arrested and charged a UNC-A councillor on Friday during a demonstration by the farmers.
Read related story: UNC-A councillor arrested
Read related story: Fiery councillor to fight for Spring Village Residents

The HDC claims that it was acting on a Cabinet decision to build homes on the land. But farmers say they have been cultivating the land for two decades and had been authorized to grow food crops on the land by the former Caroni (1975) Limited, which the Manning government has closed down.

Warner said instead of encouraging people to grow food the government continues to victimize the very people who are trying to feed the nation while the government fails to develop an effective agricultural food and land use policy in this country.

He was adamant that food and housing are areas where a coherent policy is needed. "Spring Village’s destruction is of concern to all of us since the same can happen in any community. What has happened in Spring Village could happen in Debe, Tunapuna, Aranguez or even Tabaquite," Warner said, noting that these areas are the nation’s food basket.

"In this country farmers are not protected; yet they are the ones who toil to feed the nation," he said.

Warner said he cannot condone placing housing before food by "wrecking farmers’ lives through the savage destruction on crops."

A visibly angry Warner said, "Our hardworking farmers have toiled on this land for two decades and have struggled to produce food for themselves and the nation while this heartless regime has the audacity to just bulldoze it without warning."

The Chaguanas West MP said he would support any reform of the agricultural sector that provides incentives for people to plant food and allow farmers to develop themselves into entrepreneurs. And he reiterated his call to the government to stop blaming the farmers for the current food crisis in this country.

Government team insists UDeCOTT probe not needed

The government of Trinidad and Tobgo continued its Public Relations campaign Monday aimed at nullifying public opinion on the need for an independent commission of enquiry into UDeCOTT, with five Cabinet ministers meeting the press to say there's no need for such a probe.

The powerful government team comprised Dr Lenny Saith, Colm Imbert, Neil Parsanlal, Emily Gaynor-Dick-Forde and Mariano Browne.

Saith told reporters the Government is working toward solutions regarding the three main contentious issues—the operations of UDeCOTT, the role of local contractors and the procurement policy of the Government. He explained that the procurement processes is taking top priority.

Dr Dick-Forde said while the UDeCOTT matter is taking prominence on the national agenda, there are other issues that must get priority, such as crime and rising food prices. She did not state the rationale for her suggestions.

The media asked Saith whether Government is taking a second look at construction companies from China and the quality of work in the construction projects they have undertaken in light of the mass destruction from last week's earthquake in China.

Saith said any country hit by such a powerful earthquake would suffer structural damage.
Reporters wanted to get the government's views on the concerns expressed by the opposition and other interest groups about the role of UDeCOTT board member Michael Annisette, who is also an Independent Senator.

Annisette was vociferous in his defence of UDeCOTT last week and slammed fired Cabinet minister Dr Keith Rowley, even suggesting that Rowley's concerns about UDeCOTT were hypocritical. That led to questions about the senator's independence.

Imbert deflected the question of Annisette's independence, saying instead that he was on the UDeCOTT board before he was appointed a senator.

Browne tried to add spin to the issue by explaining that part of the criteria for appointing a board member was to establish balance as well as problem resolution skills.

Senate VP determined to prevent caucus of indepedent senators

The Vice President of the Trinidad and Tobago Senate, George Hadeed, has reiterated his earlier concerns that it would be wrong for independent senators to discuss the Joint Select Committee or the Urban Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT).

And he insists that there is nothing improper with him cautioning them against holding such a caucus.

Hadeed wrote to the nine Independent Senators, warning them "against caucusing as a group on any issues pertinent to the Parliament, other than logistical issues, or meeting with technocrats or specialist advisers."

The letter, which he copied to President Max Richards, stated further, "Your independence from political parties and for one another must be maintained in fact and in appearance".

Hadeed told the Trinidad Express Monday, "They should only be meeting to say, 'Okay, we would appoint X or Y to be our representative on the JSC.' But if they are meeting to discuss the issue of the JSC or UDeCOTT, then that is wrong."

He said independent Senators do not constitute a political party and should work and make decisions independently, therefore it is improper for them to meet to discuss "the way forward" on the JSC and UDeCOTT matter.

But at least some of the nine senators don't share this view. One of them has stated clearly that Hadeed is totally out of place and if anyone has to advise the senators on their role and responsibility it must be President Richards. Another suggested that Hadeed's move is an attempt at bullying and intimidation.

But Hadeed is adamant that both he and the President of the Senate can advise and caution members of the Upper House. "That is the job of the President of the Senate... As the head of a body, it is my responsibility to do that. I am not the one who appointed them or who can dismiss them. But while they are senators, they are under the ambit of the President of the Senate... so there is nothing wrong with him cautioning them," he told the paper.

Hadeed also said he could caution them about actions outside of Parliament if such action relates to matters of the senate. He said he wrote the letter because he was concerned that the group was planning to meet not to decide who might sit on the JSC if invited but rather how they should deal with the probe. "They were not appointed as a group," he said.

But he admitted that if the senators go ahead with a meeting planned for noon on Tuesday he could do nothing about it.

Who gets the last laugh?

A pamphlet circulating in Trinidad and Tobago is calling for a Parliamentary coup to topple the Manning administration. On the surface, it looks like idle propaganda and an exercise in futility. And it might very well be just that!

Prime Minister Patrick Manning is more secure than he has ever been with the majority of his parliamentary caucus being new and loyal. He made sure he did a political purge ahead of the last general election and with Keith Rowley now gone he is even more comfortable.

The other propaganda making the rounds is the so-called dissent among People National Movement (PNM) faithful and the call led by former senior Cabinet minister Ken Valley for Rowley to go after Manning and seize the leadership of the party. Rowley is smart enough to know that is worse than living in the Dog House.

But Manning has that UDeCOTT Albatross around his neck and he is already putting enough spin into the story to justify all that the UDeCOTT and its boss, Calder Hart, are doing.

The machinery is well oiled and ready for the long haul. And his latest move to set up a whitewash probe using a parliamentary committee isn’t solving his problem. If there is anything that Manning should be worried about today it is UDeCOTT, which could be his Waterloo. For the first time in a long time, the nation is united in a common cause. If there is the will, Manning could be crushed by the weight of the UDeCOTT monster.

But let’s have a look at this uprising against Manning. The old adage of where there is smoke there is fire comes to mind.

Forget the leadership issue. That’s not going to fly because of the way the way the PNM constitution is structured. Party groups choose delegates; delegates choose the leader and not a damn dog bark. There’s nothing wrong with it. Those are the rules you follow if you want to play the game. Rowley played before and lost. He’s not going to do it again.

But this mysterious pamphlet raises questions. It’s clear who’s behind it. But can it work?

Remember Manning’s attempted parliamentary coup in 2001 with help from three members of the governing United National Congress (UNC) administration that had just won a slim one-seat majority?Prime Minister Basdeo Panday pulled the rug from under Manning’s feet and called an election.

However, the 18-18 result worked in Manning’s favour because Panday’s trusted advisers convinced him that President Robinson would act according to the letter of the constitution and re-appoint him. They were wrong. Robinson did what he said was right. He went for "morality and spirituality." And that brings us back to where we are today.

Rowley can only pull this off only if he acts with precision, uses the best negotiation skills and hastily puts together a coalition that includes the entire caucus of the United National Congress Alliance (UNC-A).

That would still put him four short for a parliamentary coup or a successful confidence vote against the administration. But we know that's not going to happen.

So let’s indulge in some fiction for a moment.

Suppose the “unthinkable” happens and Basdeo Panday et al fall for the deal and Rowley can convince Penny Beckles, Colm Imbert and two others to join him. If that happens he can make his play. But then the president could be the fly in the ointment.

There are two scenarios. A majority of MPs could advise the president that they now support Rowley and ask him to fire Manning and give the job to Rowley. That’s what Manning was about to do in 2001 when Panday asked Robinson to dissolve Parliament.

Or they could force a confidence vote, which Manning would lose if Rowley has the support of 20 other elected members of the House of Representatives. In such a case Manning has the option of resigning or asking the president to dissolve the Parliament and hold fresh elections.

I would wager that if Manning finds himself in such a situation he would call a snap election and win an even more convincing majority.

Why?

Because he commands all the apparatus of the state and those who oppose him cannot put together a convincing campaign overnight to appeal to an apathetic electorate to change the status quo.

It is easy enough for Rowley and those who are driving him to salvage his political life to take basket and feel that once he makes the right moves the people would be with him. But where would his credibility be if he and Basdeo Panday are on the same platform? And Panday and the rest of the UNC-A would have the same problem.

Trinidad and Tobago is a fickle nation. Those who care about where the country is headed or willing to take a stand are in an absolute minority. So in spite of all the sound and fury of this latest “plan”, Manning will stand firm and remain where he is. There is going to be no Parliamentary coup, no confidence motion and no election.

The political lesson in all this is that Manning gets what Manning wants. He will get past UDeCOTT too, bruised but secure. And he might still get his private jet.

And in case you are too young to remember Manning’s first political boss, Dr Eric Williams, here’s something to think about, “If you don’t like it, get to hell outa here.”

Jai Parasram Toronto, May 19, 2008

Unions reject JSC probe of UDeCOTT, call for commission of enquiry

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions (Fitun) has added its voice to the chorus of condemnation of Prime Minister Patrick Manning for failing to launch an independent public enquiry into the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UEeCOTT).

The organization's president, David Abdulah, on Wednesday rejected the proposal by Prime Minister Patrick Manning for a Joint Select Committee (JSC) of Parliament to undertake the investigation.

The parliamentary opposition has already dismissed the JSC probe and says it would participate in what it calls a farce and a kangarooo court.

See related story: UNC-A blanks Parliamentary probe of UDeCOTT

Abdullah told reporters, "We have to keep up the pressure to ensure there is a proper transparency process of investigation into all of the allegations that have been made."

Abdulah said the allegations against UDeCOTT are serious enough for the government to establish a commission of enquiry as well as conduct a forensic audit of the organization's operations.

In dismissing the JSC Abdullah said, "The JSC in our view does not have the same teeth that a commission of enquiry will have," noting that an enquiry would have judicial powers and could subpoena witnesses to have people give evidence under oath and organisations produce documentary evidence.

"The JSC does not have any of that power. A forensic audit, of course, is where you have specialists trained in auditing, following paper trails and determining precisely whether or not there is any evidence of wrongdoing," he said.

"I do not know that any MP would have that expertise. More than that, you are really asking three members of government to investigate themselves."

Abdullah pointed out that the government already has a position that there is no problem with UDeCOTT and there is nothing to investigate "therefore the position of the three government MP’s would be essentially to follow what the Prime Minister said."

He told the media if manning is so sure that there is nothing wrong at UDeCOTT "he should have absolutely no problem with having a commission of enquiry and a forensic audit because if you have no cocoa in the sun you would not ‘fraid rain’."

Abdulah said, "The fact that he is not going in that direction would suggest that there is cocoa in the sun and that UDeCOTT has been a runaway institution and that Calder Hart has operated with far too much power."

He wondered how Manning could say he had not received a single complaint about UDeCOTT when "the JCC released to media a dossier of letters and documentation’s written to the PM and other ministers about problems at Udecott."

Abdullah noted that his organization wrote to the Minister of Planning last November requesting a meeting and one of the issues on the agenda was about UDeCOTT. He said the minister merely acknowledged the letter.

He also noted Keith Rowley's concerns as a senior cabinet minister and his public complaints about UDeCOTT.

"Rowley as a member of Cabinet said there were problems with lack of oversight. So I don’t think you need anything stronger than a senior member of Cabinet, who at one time had responsibility as Minister of Planning for UDeCOTT," Abdulah said.

Failed state? TT could be heading in that direction

Read the Failed State index compiled by The Fund For Peace

If you look at the 2007 Failed States Index compiled by a group called the Fund For Peace you might be tempted to say there is nothing to worry about. But there is cause for concern.

The index classifies nations in one of four groups – Alert, Warning, Moderate and Sustainable – with Alert being the worst. Trinidad and Tobago falls in the Warning group and is rated at 116 out of 177.

The index measures social, economic and political indicators classified in 12 sections. These are:

1. Mounting Demographic Pressures
2. Massive Movement of Refugees or Internally Displaced Persons creating
   Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
3. Legacy of Vengeance-Seeking Group Grievance or Group Paranoia
4. Chronic and Sustained Human Flight
5. Uneven Economic Development along Group Lines
6. Sharp and/or Severe Economic Decline
7. Criminalization and/or Delegitimization of the State
8. Progressive Deterioration of Public Services
9. Suspension or Arbitrary Application of the Rule of Law and Widespread violation of Human Rights
10. Security Apparatus Operates as a "State Within a State"
11. Rise of Factionalized Elites
12. Intervention of Other States or External Political Actors

The definition of each is interesting and worthwhile reading. For example, under the political heading it lists:

• Massive and endemic corruption or profiteering by ruling elites
• Resistance of ruling elites to transparency, accountability and political representation
• Widespread loss of popular confidence in state institutions and processes
• Growth of crime syndicates linked to ruling elites

Does that describe what’s happening in Trinidad and Tobago Today? How about this: “Fragmentation of ruling elites and state institutions along group lines”?

Under Social Indicators, you’ll find these points:

• Specific groups singled out by state authorities, or by dominant groups, for persecution or repression
• Institutionalized political exclusion
• Public scapegoating of groups believed to have acquired wealth, status or power

And under the economic indicators group:

• Group-based inequality, or perceived inequality, in education, jobs, and economic status
• Group-based impoverishment as measured by poverty levels, infant mortality rates, education levels
• Rise of communal nationalism based on real or perceived group inequalities

It is clear that these indicators and definitions are present in some form in Trinidad and Tobago today. Whether they are real or perceived is debatable, depending on who you ask or which group responds.

For its part the government has said repeatedly that the country is in no such danger and these concerns, expressed mostly by the opposition, are without merit.

But ask the average apolitical citizen and you will find disagreement with the state’s view of things. And that is why it is important to consider the dangers we faced as we sit in that second group, titled: WARNING.

It is indeed a warning that we are heading into the ALERT group of 32 states, which includes Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Uganda, Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Burma to name a few.

The WARNING group of 97 states is headed by Colombia and includes the CARICOM nations of Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, The Bahamas, Grenada, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. It also includes India and China.

Here’s how Trinidad and Tobago scores on the index on a scale of one to 10, with one being the best and 10 the worst:

It gets a score of 5.2 in the areas of the "state or dominant groups singling out specific groups for persecution, institutionalized political exclusion and public scapegoating of groups believed to have acquired wealth status or power."

Its highest score is in the areas of "group-based inequality, or perceived inequality, in education, jobs, and economic status and rise of communal nationalism based on real or perceived group inequalities." It is rated at 8.1 out of 10, which suggests this is the most disturbing issue. Overall the country gets a score of 67.5. It gets a failing grade in 10 of 12 categories, including crime.

Norway, which is the most secure of the 177 nations, has a score of 17.1; Canada 25.1 and the United States 33.6.

On the “failed” end the highest score Sudan, 113.7; Iraq, 111.4; Somalia, 111.1 and Zimbabwe, 110.1

While Prime Minister Patrick Manning is right to say Trinidad and Tobago is not a failed state – and the statistics support his view – he and the other power brokers must indeed accept that there are alarm bells going off in critical areas.

And unless the government makes a genuine effort to fix what’s wrong, the nation would continue the downward trend and eventually take its place among the world’s FAILED STATES.

"I saw death", Jack Warner

Jack Warner is stranded in China because of the devastating earthquake there that killed more than 10,000 people and left a path of destruction in central China. he hopes to leave the country Tuesday and get home by Friday.

The Chaguanas West MP is in China on FIFA business as a guest of the Asian Football Confederation for its Vision Project tour of China.

He was in his hotel room when the earth shook."I saw death," he said.

This is how he described his experience in a call to the Trinidad Express:

"I heard screams throughout this which lasted for about five minutes. I was dazed...I was stunned literally. Then it just subsided. I didn't move... I just laid on the bed. Then the phone rang and they told me to just get down. I had to grab my passport and literally run down the staircase down to the lobby.

"I collapsed outside because my knees were out after coming down those stairs.

"After this experience in a large country like China which is supposedly prepared for calamities like this and to see what they are going through now, I am convinced more than ever that in my country Trinidad... we are not prepared for such a disaster.

"And it is one of the first things I intend to bring up at my next Parliament meeting."

Warner hopes to be in New York Tuesday from where he will board a plane to get home.

See China earthquake story and pictures
See more China stories

Happy Mothers' Day 2008

Farm debt creating thousands of Indian widows

On the last night of his life, the farmer walked into his dusty fields, choked down pesticide and waited to die. He owed more than $1,000 to banks and moneylenders and he had told his wife that if the cotton harvest was bad this year, he would kill himself.

Pandurang Chindu Surpam left the near-barren fields he worked with his sons to share a last meal with his family. Hours later, he died. He was 45.

Crushed by debts most Westerners would deem inconsequential, farmers like Surpam killed themselves at a rate of 48 a day between 2002 and 2006 - more than 17,500 a year, according to experts who have analyzed government statistics. At least 160,000 farmers have committed suicide since 1997, said K. Nagaraj of the Madras Institute of Development Studies.

The epidemic dates to the 1990s, and is generally attributed to a toxic blend of slashed subsidies, tougher global competition, drought, predatory moneylenders and expensive genetically modified seeds. "It's one of the largest public health disasters to hit India since independence," said professor Charles Nuckols of Brigham Young University, an anthropologist who has studied Indian village life for decades.

In northern India, authorities have gone so far as to ban a type of cheap hair dye because it was being drunk to induce death by kidney failure. But it is India's cotton belt, a land of searing temperatures and backbreaking work, that has been hit hardest by the suicides.

In rural Maharashtra state, farmers say things have never been harder. Owing more than they earn, these steadiest of workers have become gamblers of the highest stakes, betting their land - and their lives - on one more good crop.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has visited some of the widows, and the 2008 budget offers some debt relief. But the farmers say their plight is largely being ignored as the country rushes to embrace the global marketplace. Few find it reassuring that India's agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, doubles as the nation's top cricket official.

A decade ago, the government began cutting farm subsidies as it liberalized the managed socialist economy. The farmers' costs rose as the tariffs that had protected their products were lowered. It was a combination, analysts say, that made small farms even harder to sustain.

"Suicide is one of the symptoms of the larger agrarian crisis," said Srijit Mishra of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research.

Meanwhile, banking reforms forced farmers to be more dependent on private moneylenders. These generally allow the farmers only 11 months to pay back their loans at interest rates of more than 100 percent a year, or else they seize the land at a drastically reduced rate.

"It's not a nice business," said one village moneylender, who agreed to be interviewed if he was not identified because he was unlicensed. "But you earn a lot of money." A soft-spoken man with a pencil-thin mustache, he runs a small grocery store and has made hundreds of loans to farmers.

He has also seized some 125 acres in his decades-long career, which he took over from his father. He said the number of farmers unable to repay their loans has increased by roughly 30 per cent in the last 10 years.

"When we loan them money, we are quite sure whether or not they can pay," he said, his long fingers crossed in his lap. "We know it's going to be our land eventually."

Farmers and analysts say another blow was the introduction of genetically modified cotton seeds, notably St. Louis-based Monsanto Co.'s "Bt" seeds which are resistant to boll worms. The seeds can be more productive and have become standard in much of Maharashtra but can be three times more expensive to maintain than traditional seeds.

For the widows, left to tend the crops and raise the children, the suicides are personal calamities with roots not in macroeconomics, but in homegrown problems - impossible debts, the loss of ancestral land, rapacious money lenders.

Surpam's widow, a stoic mother of three with a face toughened by the sun, blames her husband's suicide on the loans he had taken over the past two years, his first taste of debt. He borrowed 25,000 rupees ($625) from a bank and 20,000 rupees ($500) from private moneylenders to invest in his fields and to pay for his daughter's wedding, she said.

"He used to say we owe money and if anyone comes looking for us, it would be a dishonor," said his wife, Sumitra, who learned only after his death on April 1 how much he owed.
Surpam's three acres produced just $150 worth of cotton this year - not nearly enough to keep the moneylender at bay. The suicide, Sumitra said, "was obviously because of the loan."

For Surpam and most other small farmers here, borrowing money is as natural as tilling the soil. When a group of farmers in Kochi were asked recently by The Associated Press which of them was in debt, every hand in the room shot up.

The 2008 budget made special provisions for farmers, forgiving debts to state banks. The move was widely seen as an attempt to stave off rural discontent, which played a large role in toppling the previous government.

But the waivers apply only to farmers who own less than five acres, disqualifying millions. And they don't apply to loans by private moneylenders.

The Waghmere family of Bothbodan village owns slightly more than five acres, so their debt to the bank of more than 60,000 rupees ($1,500) won't be wiped clean.

Before Shanker Waghmere, 49, killed himself in 2005, "he kept talking about debts going up each passing day," said his 35-year-old widow, Shantabair.

With night falling on her crops and her three children fluttering behind her, the widow said she hopes she'll earn enough from this year's harvest to pay off her husband's debt, pay for her daughter's wedding, pay for her son's school.

She plans to buy a batch of seeds she heard grows better cotton. She said she'll pay for them with a loan from a moneylender. (Associated Press)

GOPIO honours Kamaluddin Mohammed

Kamaluddin Mohammed is being honoured Saturday (May 10,2008) by the Trinidad and Tobago chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) for his contribution to the nation and to the advancement of culture over six decades. Jai Parasram interviewed Kamal last year for a magazine article and wrote this tribute to "Charch".

It takes commitment and dedication to be up at four in the morning. And it says a lot about a man who, at 81, does it in order to follow a religious discipline he learned as a boy. The man is Kamaluddin Mohammed.

"It’s a part of my life," he says, explaining that he wakes before dawn to say Namaz, a routine that enriches his life and prepares him to face the day. "We need faith in our lives," he told me. "Too many people are so busy they forget to make room for God. That’s why our society is in its current state of dismay."

Kamal’s obligation to duty has characterized both his public and private life. He has met kings and commoners and mingled with the world’s most powerful men and women. At home he helped define our society and mould and shape our national institutions. Yet he remains, as always, a simple, humble man who lives in the community that nurtured him and spends much of his time these days "attending to family matters."

"When I am finished with my prayers I have time to tend to the plants and read the papers. Then I attend to chores, mostly social and religious," he said.

It’s interesting that that’s his focus today. It’s as if he has come full circle because it was Kamal’s religious and social activities that propelled him to prominence and made him a household name in Trinidad and Tobago. His success, he says, is due to hard work, and a passion and dedication to every project he tackles.

Sixty one years ago he made history when, at age 20, he became the colony’s first ethnic broadcaster. Less than a decade later he was sitting in the cabinet, an equal among the most influential leaders of the time. Today in retirement he maintains the same enthusiasm that I felt the very first time I met him many years ago when I was a young reporter and he was the Minister of Health.

To my great surprise he introduced himself to me, not that he needed an introduction, and invited me to drop in at his office "at any time". It was a brilliant public relations stroke for a senior government minister who understood the value of good media relations better than most of his colleagues, including his friend and political mentor, the late Dr Eric Williams.

It was that understanding of communication that took Kamal from obscurity to the national and international stage. He understood his environment, blended in and always had time to listen to what people were saying. It earned him respect and admiration and opened doors that would otherwise have remained shut.

Kamal was born on April 19, 1927 at El Socorro not far from where he lives today in Mohammedville, surrounded by the Mohammed clan, the fifth of a family of 13 that included well-known cultural icons in their own right, Sham and Moen. Their parents, Fazal Mohammed and Khajiman Kartoum, were the children of Indian indentured labourers.

From his childhood, Kamal was surrounded by religion and culture, which he credits for the sound family values, discipline and respect for authority that he has passed on to his children and his extended family.

At an early age he became versed in Islamic teachings and was fluent in Arabic, Hindi, Farsi and Urdu. By 1947, at age 20, he became Imam at the Mosque at Queen Street, Port of Spain after impressing skeptics with his brilliance as a theologian.

A tribute to Kamal in 1974 by the late Noor Ghany described him as a champion of the cause of unity among the Muslims of Trinidad and Tobago. "His is the life of a man who cannot and does not allow parochialism and insularity to dominate his thinking," wrote Ghany.

Those who know Kamal would consider that an understatement. He devoted his entire life not only to uniting Muslims, but to embracing culture to build bridges between Hindus and Muslims at a time when religious strife was tearing the Indian subcontinent apart in the post-Independence period that saw the creation of Pakistan and India as two separate sovereign states.

Kamal remembers being involved in satsang in the community and also joining his Hindu brothers, encouraging them to follow Dharma, and to let their own scriptures guide their lives and enrich the community. His passion for unity sometimes brought him into conflict with extremists in his own faith.

He remembers one incident in 1975 when he spoke at a Ramayan Yagna in his neighbourhood. He focused on the importance of worship, praised the Hindu community for its devotion and sang a bhajan with the congregation. He told them to make room in their lives for prayer, doing it with "purity of heart and sincerity of purpose." He spoke of the need to "surrender ourselves to the Divine will, and dedicate our day, our lives, our actions, in fact everything we do, as an offering to God."

His speech offended the publishers of the Muslim Standard. The paper chastised him for identifying himself with "Hindu aspirations" and questioned whether he was fit to continue to occupy positions of "trust and authority in the Muslim community." The general Muslim population did not share that view and Kamal remained a leader and influential figure in the community. But the incident bothered him because it demonstrated the kind of destructive extremism that he had always rejected.

Instead of responding he became more determined to follow his progressive nation-building agenda, showing respect for the country’s diversity and delivering a strong message of unity and harmony among all religions and ethnic groups.

Kamal had been an experienced county councilor in 1947 when he got his first big break in the cultural field with the opening of Radio Trinidad. The Muslim representative at the blessing asked Kamal to translate the Arabic and Urdu blessings to English, a performance that so impressed the station’s managers that they invited him to produce and present a show for the Indo-Trinidadian community. That was the birth of "Indian Talent on Parade", the radio show that was the first giant step in national recognition for Indian broadcasting in Trinidad and Tobago.

In 1947, Indians were still a minority in colonial Trinidad and Tobago, with a culture that was generally unknown and misunderstood. Indians were often the objects of derision because of their language, religion and culture. "Indian Talent on Parade" became the nation’s first mass media vehicle for the Indians. And Kamal used it to begin creating an understanding and appreciation of the Indian community, its art and culture, as well as its religions.

For the Indians, it was a major step forward, giving them self-confidence and the respectability they deserved. Kamal’s signature "Muday lakh burah cha-hay to kya hota hai, wohi hotay hai jo manzooray Khoda hota hai" (Thousands may wish me harm, but nothing happens unless it is the will of the almighty) still resounds in Trinidad and Tobago after sixty-one years.

The impact in 1947 was astounding as he began what was in effect an experiment in ethnic broadcasting. "There were no rules. We just had to improvise as we went along," he said. Kamal’s ingenuity and innovation created a path where none existed. In the process he paved the way for the revolution in Indian media that has taken place today, starting with the first all-Indian radio station, WABC-FM103 in 1993.

He was the driving force behind the formation of Indian orchestras, traveling the country to introduce them at major events, rehearsing with them and hiring taxis to cart them to Maraval Road where they performed live in the studios of Radio Trinidad for the fortunate few who owned radios.

In those days, entire families would cluster around the community radio to hear Kamal’s familiar voice and the mix of culture he offered every week. The first band to perform on Kamal’s "Indian Talent On Parade" was the Naya Zamana Orchestra led by Ostad Nazear Mohammed. The show featured Jhagroo Kawal, Taran Persad and Jang Bahadoor. Over the years Kamal gave exposure to artistes like Yankaran and his sons, Jameer Hosein, Zora Seesahai, Haniff Mohammed, Yusuff Khan, Narsaloo Ramaya, Champa Devi, Toolom Dindial, Harry Mahabir and many, many more. And he embraced anyone who identified with and cared about Indian culture, most notably black artistes like Owen Ali, Sonny Matthews, Roy Cooper and Cecil Fonrose.

Kamal’s work, which he says was inspired by the great Indian film director Mehboob Khan, spread into the communities, creating a new kind of national consciousness. In the cultural renaissance of which he was an integral part, India offered scholarships to artistes like Rajkumar ‘Krishna’ Persad, Harry Mahabir, Mungal Patasar and others who become proficient in song, music and dance in India.

Kamal’s Dil Bahar restaurant in Port of Spain – and Windsor Stores later - became a cultural mecca. It was also the place where Eric Williams came to visit to discuss a movement that was to transform the politics of Trinidad and Tobago and thrust the young Kamal into a life of national service.

Kamal remembers his first public speech in Penal on a PNM political platform. It was a highly charged political time, with strong ethnic divisions. He walked up to the microphone and surveyed his audience. Penal was part of the Indian heartland. Then he spoke. "Muday lakh burah chahay to kya hota hai…". Instant rapturous applause broke out and drowned his poetry as the audience identified immediately with the man who had brought them "Indian Talent on Parade." The cultural icon, the voice behind the revolution in Indian culture was real.

His language skills, the ability to speak the ancestral languages and switch back to English without missing a beat won him admiration and gave him clout. He became one of Eric Williams’ most trusted political lieutenants. Kamal held a variety of cabinet posts, attended major conferences as head of the nation’s delegations, and had the honour to be elected president of the World Health Organization. He acted as prime minister, but was denied the nation’s highest elected office in 1981 when President Ellis Clarke bypassed him and chose George Chambers as the successor to Eric Williams.

Kamal’s politics didn’t hurt his cultural life. In fact he used every opportunity to advance Indian religion and culture. One example was getting cabinet to simplify the cremation process for Hindus.

In his travels abroad he also wore his cultural hat. One of his more memorable trips was to India as part of a government delegation. His grandfather had come to Trinidad from the Punjab as an indentured labourer. Now Kamal was returning to the homeland in the exalted position of a cabinet minister.

He met Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and spent two days with the Nehru family at their home, where he had an opportunity to chat with Nehru’s daughter, Indira, who was to later become India’s first female prime minister. That relationship worked well in developing strong links between Trinidad and Tobago and India.

Kamal told me he was thrilled to meet the larger-than-life Nehru, who with Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Party had engaged the British in a non-violent struggle for Indian Independence. But he was humbled at the Punjab legislature where 109 lawmakers gave him a standing ovation and offered him garlands, as a gesture of welcome. "I had to pause ten times to remove the garlands to allow the others to present theirs. Every member offered a garland," he remembers.

Today in retirement, Kamal has time to reflect on his life in the nation’s service and in culture. He is proud that the work he started sixty years ago has borne fruit, happy that his siblings, his children and nephews and nieces have followed the family tradition and become Indian cultural media icons in their own right.

He is also disappointed with many things. He says he remained dedicated to the party he founded with Williams and a few others until it lost it’s way under the current leadership. But he was not interested in talking politics, except to say that we seem to be "in a downward spiral."

He was more vocal on cultural issues. He strongly disapproves of some of what passes as Indian culture today. He said, "It’s scandalous and shameful to see our sisters and daughters performing lewd dances in the presence of their elders and calling it culture." He laments our disdain for learning ancestral languages and for not following the religious traditions our ancestors fought so hard to preserve. "Look at what is happening now with events where people are encouraged to sing religious songs in English," he said.

For Kamal, culture begins to die when people lose their indigenous languages and religions. "These are the things that define culture," he said. Kamal accepts that in a plural society some assimilation takes place and cultural patterns change, but he is deeply bothered by the accelerated decline in Indian culture.

I asked him whether the proliferation of Indian radio stations helped make the situation worse. "Yes," he told me. "I’m saddened by the trend in Indian broadcasting. We had a golden opportunity, but we have squandered it, thinking only of profit."

Still Kamal is not giving up. He encourages people to dedicate some of their time to community service and he has valuable advice for those who wish to serve: do it for its own sake, not for fame or fortune.

He admitted politics today is no longer attractive, but says people can offer service in other ways. "Get involved in community and citizens groups, go among the people, work with them to make their lives better." And he urged everyone to make a little time for their languages and the scriptures.

And his final thoughts? "Live with humility, and the world will respect you," he said.

Narsaloo Ramaya’s tribute epitomizes Kamal’s impact in the field of culture: "Generations unborn will still remember his work…men will say with justifiable pride, ‘well done, thou good and faithful servant’."

Tributes to Kamal:

• Hans Hanoomansingh: "His was no doubt a pioneering role in definite terms…he had the background for it spoke fluently, and knew the ancestral languages. He was very familiar with the traditions and had a love for music.”
• Hamilton Maurice, former President of the Senate: "The community owes a great debt to Kamaluddin Mohammed for the contribution he has made in getting non-Indians to understand and appreciate Indian art and culture, and how wonderfully music and song can unite a people."
• Narsaloo Ramaya: "Kamal has built an imperishable monument for himself, and his name will long be remembered as one who dedicated his life toward the promotion of Indian music.”
• Dr Wahid Ali, former President of the Senate: "His lifetime of service is derived from a rich family background…Kamal’s chequered career has many important lessons, not only for the people of Trinidad and Tobago, but universally.”
• Errol Mahabir, former cabinet colleague: "Kamaluddin Mohammed has always led a simple life and humility has been one of his attributes. He served his country faithfully and with a great sense of dedication and has left a lasting impression both in the Caribbean region and beyond.”
• Dr Elizabeth and Dr David Quamina: "His obvious enthusiasm for public service did not detract from his devotion to wife and family. He was always at the helm of the family and always keenly interested, indeed involved, in the smallest details of their daily lives.”
• Satnarine Maharaj, Secretary General of the Maha Sabha: “We all owe Kamal for his unstinting dedication to racial harmony…Kamal is a role model for our youth."