Barbados Finance Minister says redundant public employees should work for Trinidad & Tobago government

“We’re encouraging people to look for opportunities beyond Barbados and there are Caribbean territories that require that skilled labour. A lot of skilled labour from Barbados come here (to T&T). They go back and forth, and we are encouraging them to look for those opportunities.”

Barbados Finance Minister Christopher Sinckler speaking to T&T bankers

Leroy Parris and good friend Finance Minister Chris Sinckler share champagne – file photo

We’ve seen the cycle repeated for a long, long time. Barbados has way more people than this little rock can accommodate in space, resources and economy – so anytime in our history when there is a pull-back in the economy (as there is now), thousands of Bajans leave for better circumstances.

That happened when the Panama Canal was being carved from the jungle at the cost of 500 dead Bajans per mile, and it happened in the 1950’s and 1960’s when the lure of working in the UK took thousands of our best and brightest people away – most never to return.

Who leaves Barbados during these migrations?      

TSTT Inquiry

Trinidad’s Joint Select Committee of Parliament is pretending to hold a major inquiry into the administration and operations of the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago – TSTT.

We say ‘pretending’ to hold a major inquiry because the committee did what they could to limit the debate, disenfranchise citizens and make sure that informed persons are unable to present a proper submission.

Our friend Afra Raymond is a thorn in the foot of corrupt Caribbean politicians and business people – and he met the committee’s unrealistic ten-day deadline for submissions.

Here’s the latest from Afra…

AfraRaymond.net

The Trinidad & Tobago Parliament is now conducting an Inquiry into TSTT and this article is an edited version of my submission to that Inquiry.

The Joint Select Committee’s (JSC) ‘Invitation for Written Submissions‘ was published on the TT Parliament website on Wednesday 23 April 2014, with the deadline for submissions set at 4:00 pm on Friday 2 May 2014. Only ten (10) days.

When one considers the far-reaching scope of the Inquiry as specified in its ten (10) objectives; the size and role of TSTT and the recent published reports as to the proposals for the State to relinquish a critical 2% of its share in TSTT, it is clear that these matters are of the utmost, long-term public importance. Placed in that context, the JSC decision to Inquire into these matters is commendable, but the time-frame is so short as to raise serious doubts as to…

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