Resign now!

We call for Kamla Persad-Bissessar – the Prime Minister - to offer her resignation.

Mrs Persad-Bissessar has said "When I assumed this position I said that the buck stops with me... so there is no point in laying blame or in pointing fingers. There is no apology that would suffice... In trying to remedy this mess, we embarked on a process. It was never our intention to deceive.”
This and anything else said in relation to it does not constitute a full or appropriate apology, in the circumstances! Yes, she has acknowledged a mistake and has committed to ensuring things are put right etc etc. However, there is no admission of how the "misstep" came about. We must also remember that the Prime Minister was previously confident about the appointment and the last person in government to offer an ‘apology’ – if you can call it that.

The PM said "We should commit ourselves to learn from this and create systems that would ensure that something like this should never ever occur again. How we do that is by implementing a more rigorous selection process in the appointment of the director of the SSA."
This begs the question: ‘Was there not a rigorous selection process in place already?’ If not why not and will the People’s Partnership now attempt to duck behind a less than rigorous process, inherited from the PNM? It would not surprise us if they did.

What appears to have happened, based on a lot of evidence, is that the process was bypassed. In other words the appointment of Ramnarine was rail-roaded at top speed, by-passing even Mr Sandy and heading straight for the Prime Minister. There is the conspicuous and reasonable appearance that the Prime Minister, or possibly those under her direction and control, had a directing influence on processes being fiddled so as to put Ramnarine in the position of Director of SSA – which to average people, she was unsuitably qualified for. Such a failure of the collective intelligence of a government beggars belief.

It is apparent to us that the failure was not, at it’s heart, with the rigorousness of any process, but with the way such processes were distorted by political expedience. What was the thing that was driving such 'expedience'? That is what the public wants to know and they need to know it now! If not it will remain in the realm of suspicion that the source of the political expedience emanated from the office of the Prime Minister.

On 26th January 2011 the Prime Minister said “Ms Ramnarine...was employed by the SIA which was the illegal entity. We are in the process of restructuring the illegal SAUTT and the illegal SIA into one body, made up of those with the greatest expertise who shall be placed into one body which is the SSA, the one created by statute” - and thereafter the people are treated to Ramnarine’s ‘expertise’; leaping like ‘superwoman’ over 22 others senior to her in a single bound, for the first appointment ever to the ‘legal’ SSA. Does not that reek of some kind of ‘political expedience’? We say it does.

It would seem extremely foolish to any average reasonable person, that a PM should say 'the buck stops with me' - which is quite clearly a statement of ‘acceptance of responsibility’ - and then in the same or next breath say "..so there is no point in laying blame or in pointing fingers." What is the point of taking such responsibility if one is not prepared to take blame? Logically if you take the responsibility you must take the blame. We hope that the Prime Minister has not estimated that a sizeable proportion of the electorate was actually born yesterday - how else could such unfettered twaddle be uttered with such confidence? We therefore feel a need to inform the good lady and a 'learned friend' (she knows that means) that we certainly weren’t  born yesterday or this morning.

How can the electorate be reassured that the causes of such a serious ‘misstep’ for which responsibility but no blame is taken, will not resurface in the future? It escapes us as it would every right-minded citizen. We and many others will in our minds know or have good theories as to the causes of the ‘misstep’ – and quite probably Mrs Persad-Bissessar knows them too. Perhaps she may even know that we know. Were she to admit, for example,  that the root cause of the ‘misstep’ was nepotism, it would be tantamount to committing immediate political suicide.

That leads us to wonder whether if in fact nepotism or some other relevant ‘ism’  was operating, should it be covered up with a superficial and emollient apology. Mrs Persad-Bissessar said “I will always strive to do the right thing and, if things go wrong, I am willing to do whatever it takes to make things right”. Such commitment to doing what is right must be seen to drive the right kind of action. And what is that? This matter is not merely about the appointment of Ramnarine - not in the slightest. It is about a catastrophic failure of government and good governance, that has irreparably damaged confidence in the People’s Partnership. This faux pas by the Prime Minister (having taken responsibility for it) has etched itself deeply in the memory of the people. It will remain in their minds like a splinter under the finger nail, that no tangible explanation that accounts for it, was proffered. [No – ‘misstep’ doesn’t do it for us]. Is that what the people must endure? Is that what the people deserve? We think not. They did not deserve it under the PNM and they surely deserve better now.

The Prime Minister must now fall on her own double-edged sword of accountability. Respect for the people, the principles of democracy, and her own unwavering commitment to do the right thing requires unquestionably that she must offer her resignation forthwith! That is what will suffice – in showing to the electorate that the People’s Partnership will rise above all ‘isms’ and that they  are fearless in their commitment to change.

[A PDF copy of the above is downloadable by clicking here: Resign Now!]

---------------------------------------
Captain Walker and Jumbie @ Jumbie’s Watch – www.jumbieswatch.com

They must be still wishing…

The more we hear of this Reshmi Ramnarine episode, the more Kamla Persad-Bissessar is looking the fool and likely the person who instructed others to act to ensure that this appointment took place. I’ll get to the why later.

What we know so far (broken down as the sequence happened and which has all been well documented/well referenced in this blog and newspapers):

• Julie Browne (Deputy Director, SIA) was instructed to recommend Ramnarine for the job. Ramnarine was 22 places junior to Browne in the hierarchy of the SSA/SSI. So instead of moving into the top spot herself, as is likely in most organisations, Browne defied what I know of human nature (What I know, eh) and put up a junior unqualified person to leapfrog over herself. Would she do this without being instructed to do so? Does that make sense to you?
• Browne “went outside of her remit to make the nomination, submitted her nomination to the Prime Minister and not her line minister, failed to conduct standard security checks and permitted an embellished resume to go forward.”
• Ramnarine verbally confirmed to Browne that she (Ramnarine) somehow acquired a degree. No checks were made and this was revealed to be a lie. There was no real vetting process, just the recommendation of Browne. Why no recommendation was asked from Trevor Ganpat, the other SIA Deputy Director, we may never know.
• Part of the embellished CV claims a “senior position, that of acting Chief of Telecom Technology in the Ministry of National Security.” When and where this appointment took place, we don’t know.
• Ramnarine was appointed. When ‘de mark buss’ an ad hoc note was rushed through Cabinet with the embellished CV attached. (Note 92)
• Several persons at Cabinet including Sandy, Minister of National Security, were taken by surprise.
• The note was “pushed through on the recommendation of the Prime Minister herself.”
• After being ‘outed’, Ramnarine hung on for 9 days, but then quit in disgrace. She has allegedly fled the country.
• The PP Government stoutly defended the appointment, until 2 days ago when the prime minister acknowledged ‘missteps’ and that ‘the buck stops with her’. No apology, nor explanation has been forthcoming since neither of those positions adopted can be seen as either an apology or an explanation. And my standards are waaaay below the Captain’s.

My speculations as to the why Kamla is looking to be the culprit who instructed others in this mess:

• Ramnarine has been with an agency that has been revealed to be secretly tapping phones and acquiring data on people secretly (including the PM before she was the PM) for many years. The file on the PM and her family may be quite thick, not to mention juicy. Ramnarine may well have been privy to things better held in the closet. This may have been her reward for zipped lips.
• Newspaper articles have hinted (though not openly said) that Ramnarine is a ‘special’ friend of Sasha Mohammed who is one of the PM’s main advisers. She may well have influenced the PM to appoint her friend in the post.
• Ramnarine has been hinted as the person who ‘blew the whistle’ on the SIA secretly tapping phones and monitoring people. This might have been her ‘reward’.

There’s a nigger in the woodpile here.

Certainly no one knew or expected that this backlash to be so big, or messy. To me, this is a good sign. It tells me that the people of Trinidad and Tobago have been slapped in the face (by the previous regime) and are waking up. They are willing to tolerate less shitting around from their leaders and those in authority. They are making themselves aware of the issues that affect their lives. Like a sleeping giant, the people are now revelling in their own power, and calling for answers when previously a blind eye would have sufficed.

Dunceys daring dotishness

Hmmm, cops want 40% increase in salary but are only 3.65% effective. And that is an officially given 3.65% figure, you hear?

Dunceys are willing to strike for the 40% increase:

Frustrated over the decision by the Chief Personnel Officer to offer them a five-percent increase in salaries, police officers from the Police Second Division are planning to stay away from work effective tomorrow.

The officers had given a clear mandate to the Police Second Division Association executive to persuade the CPO to offer them a 40-percent increase in salary, but the CPO has already indicated that the five-percent offer stands.

There are over 5,000 members of the Police Social and Welfare Association, and yesterday police officers indicated to Sunday Newsday that mass absenteeism will take effect from tomorrow.

Officers added that staying away from work from Monday will be the first step to indicate to the authorities that they are no longer prepared to sit back and settle for what they described as “a waste of time” salary increase.

Officers pointed out that the cost of living has gone up, but their salaries have remained the same and they want better wages if they are to assist in the fight against crime.

Some officers will also embark on a plan to desist from working overtime, and will not make themselves available for police exercises when they are called upon to report for duties.

Now, contrast this with the outrage emitted when some other public servants asked for considerably less! They were offered 1%!! Here the self same CPO offers 5% to the only group who performance is definitely worse than the other public servants’.

Just one more thing to make a person fart fire, you hear?

Come again?

Oh Gorrd, I see this morning Dana Seetahal buss Louis Lee Sing throat…

Pie and Mash.. part o’ dee culture!

Well if dat plate o’ pie and mash below dee connect wid Jumbie head, he wouldnah know it was part o’ English Culture!!

The Cap was at Taylor’s today in Colchester at 8 Red Lion Walk, CO1 1DX.

Dat fella, second from dee left, served the Cap today. The one on the extreme right was dey too. They were very cool.

Well dis t’ing here in dee picchure tuh dee lef’ is called ‘pie and mash’. The pie was traditionally a 19th century England working class food.

Back in the early 1800s the pie was made of eel. Well eef yuh neva eat eel doh even start.. it is very very nice. Take it from dee Cap! But later on the pie was made of minced beef. However, in the picture (left) it was steak and kidney, plus minced beef (at Taylors).

Dat sauce dat looking nearly like vomit, is actually called ‘liquor’. Jes calm dong – it eh make wid no alcoholic liquor!! Chyystt man – daize all allyuh does t’ink bout – booze and more booze. So dee sauce i’s a parsley sauce. The mash is mash potato nuh – what yuh expec’? Learn more about pie and mash. What an interesting time it must have been back in the 1800s.

Sumbody want tuh know how it tas’e. How ah go describe tas’e on a blog? The amazing thing about eating this food is the mixture of texture and flavours which are very difficult to describe. The ‘liquor’ is not overpowering in flavour but some how compliments the pie and the mash.

Anyways hats off to Taylors. Their shop is very clean, well organised, and the food comes in under 10 mins. It meets the Captain’s exacting standards of quality and service.

Well if you’re in London go for Manze, which is England’s longest standing pie and mash shop. But if you’re in Essex head straight for Taylor's. Alternatively, you could order online at Manze for delivery in any part of the UK.

odd spot – or is it really odd wind?

Two of Malawi's most senior judicial officials are arguing over whether a new bill includes a provision that outlaws breaking wind in public.

Justice Minister George Chaponda says the new bill would criminalise flatulence to promote "public decency".

"Just go to the toilet when you feel like farting," he told local radio.

However, he was directly contradicted by Solicitor General Anthony Kamanga, who says the reference to "fouling the air" means pollution.

"How any reasonable or sensible person can construe the provision to criminalising farting in public is beyond me," he said, adding that the prohibition contained in the new law has been in place since 1929.

The Local Courts Bill, to be introduced next week reads: "Any person who vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the public to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way shall be guilty of a misdemeanour."

Mr Chaponda, a trained lawyer, insists that this includes farting.

"Would you be happy to see people farting anyhow?" he asked on the popular "Straight Talk" programme on Malawi's Capital Radio.

He said that local chiefs would deal with any offenders.

When asked whether it could be enforced, he said it would be similar to laws banning urinating in public.

Hmm, I did not know people could ‘see’ a fart unless, like me, they fart fire. In a roomful of people, who goes butt sniffing to find the culprit? Will the person get clemency for a ‘confession’?

…. so many interesting questions….

Serve the people

Kamla admits to mistake. So says the headlines this morning.

Is Kamla taking a page out of Max's book? A superwoman she ain’t.

Kamla and the UNC faction of the PP do not yet seem to realise that after Manning's monumental ego and 'spit-in-yuh-eye' cronyism, the public is rightfully fed up. Kamla was voted in on a mantra of change and "Serve the people, serve the people, serve the people".

Because of the attitude held by the Manning regime, people are rightfully fed up, and more aware of 'missteps' by our elected officials. We are also a LOT less tolerant of these missteps.

Everything that is done now will be intensely scrutinised by a public who was FORCED to become aware. We are certainly more aware now than we were 2 years ago.

Kamla has to realised that what Patrick did met with strong disapproval. Whatever she has in mind, if it smacks of nepotism or cronyism WILL meet with disapproval. What Manning got away with, she won't.

So the excuse of 'Dem do it, why can't we?' will not fly now.

It is time to start serving the people.

An ethical Dilemma 2

Part 2 of the ethical dilemma:

You’re standing on a bridge. Below you lies a pair of train tracks. Coming down the tracks at high speed is a train trolley.

Behind you, on the other side of the bridge, you know there are 5 men working on the tracks. They can’t hear or see the trolley, or you for that matter. You stand on the side of the bridge with the approaching trolley.

You notice at your side a very, very fat man peering over the side of the bridge, standing on his tiptoes. You realise if you give him a gentle shove, he will fall over onto the track where his massive body will stop the trolley and save the 5 men from certain death.

Would you choose the 5 or the 1? Give reasons for your answer.

The same rules apply. You cannot introduce any conditions beyond what I have outlined.