Is There Corruption In Trinidad & Tobago?

Corruption Is A Natural Self Preservation Instinct

The Trinidad and Tobago government insists on transparency and anti-corruption in everything it does.  As one in a not so large population it is a little differcult to believe.

I have no political affilations and even support the move to remove the PNM government from power because it was obvious that the then Prime Minister had become a megalomaniac.

The country should have paid more attention to the words of the previous Prime Minister and ex political leader of the party that ousted him Mr. Basdeo Panday.  He hit it on the head when he said the country could expect "an exchange and no change".

It was an exchange in sorts that brought on more than one government missteps.  The government went into a fenzy a couple months ago when someone in Jamaica accused it of "ethnic stocking" like a guilty child they started throwing tantrums.  It did not matter the proof as usual is in the pudding.

Blatant and public proof of corruption, despite and after the numerous accusations against Mr. Jack Warner and an international body FIFA label him "economical with the truth" the Prime Minister appointed him National Security Minister, Nobody needs an investigation or report to realize that there is some stale fish in the market. 

If you had any questions take a look at the following videos.  They were not put together by crazies, corruption is real and living color in Trinidad and Tobago.   

Afra Raymond is an anti-corruption activist/blogger www.afraraymond.com focuses on the collapse and bailout of CLICO.

Three Myths About Corruption

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Trinidad & Tobago Betrayed.

Section 34 Fiasco The Truth

Is There Corruption In Trinidad and Tobago NOW?

Hi-tech Licensing Division long overdue

Letter of The Day

Sunday Express

June 3rd 2012

by Rucardo Lijertwood

"Corruption at the Licensing Division will continue unless the archaic system is computerised and modernised,"— so said Transport Commissioner Reuben Cato recently. His comments came after it was confirmed that four Licensing officers attached to the Port of Spain office were detained for questioning by police officers probing corruption in the importation and registration of vehicles.

On Wednesday, February 18, 2009, at the sitting of the House of Representatives, then transport minister Colm Imbert announced that, "Barring unforeseen circumstances, we hope that by the end of this year, 2009, we would be able to implement the new system for renewals, new permits, transfers of vehicles and so on, and then, over the next two years after that, we should be able to fully implement a completely-electronic computerised system for driver's permits and vehicle registration at the Licensing Office".

That was over three years ago, and still nothing, in spite of the availability of hi-tech systems that could be easily implemented. Such systems, known as electronic vehicle registration (EVR) or electronic vehicle identification (EVI), leverage passive RFID (radio frequency identification device) transponders embedded in decals affixed to windshields or other parts of a vehicle.

Fixed RFID interrogators installed at main traffic intersections or alongside roads (and at our soon-to-be-used highway surveillance bays), as well as hand-held readers for use during traffic stops, can read the tags' unique ID numbers and then compare them with information in a back-end database to determine, for instance, who owns the vehicle, whether it is insured and if registration is up-to-date, and taxes and fees are paid up. In addition, tag reads collected over a period of time can help the Transport Ministry better understand traffic patterns and flow.

In more simplistic terms, before a vehicle leaves the port (new and foreign-used), the distributor, foreign-used dealer or owner, must acquire and pay for a decal (birth certificate) from the Licensing Authority. There, the main database is updated with the relevant information—make, model, specs, colour, insurance, and could also include a field for last inspection date to tie into inspection garages when required, etc, and a number assigned to that vehicle—maybe alphanumeric or by county as in Barbados.

The real-time information is relayed to fixed interrogators installed at the relevant ports where the information on the decal will be read and verified before vehicles are allowed to leave the ports. When vehicles are sold or transferred, the transfer form is taken to any office of the licensing authorities for the decal to be electronically updated with the new information. Fixed and hand-held interrogators (like barcode machines) are used during traffic stops or roadblocks.

I am sure a lot of analysis has already gone into the various suppliers and systems that are available, so we need not go through another long pre-qualification and tendering process; just send out the request for proposals to select suppliers as the benefits are obvious.

Questions?

Has Corruption Become “Normal” In Trinidad & Tobago

Crime in Trinidad and Tobago appears to be pandemic.  But it’s not. T&T is not an island of criminals.  With one point three million residents less that 25,000 make this country unsafe. 

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We are. however, victims of our own education raised with a corruption mentality.  We accept it as "da is how it is".. Very few of us question it or realize that it is so because we accept it.  We are a society that understands the need for "a man to eat ah food"”.  

The means, they say, justify the end.  

As individuals we accept errant and criminal behavior; first in schools.  We admire the bullies and potential bandits and scamps.   Actually, "admire" is not the right word, it’s more "tolerate" because it's all about "my safety"”

Secretly we wish they would disappear, die or go to jail forever. 

Our youths grow up with a militaristic mentality choosing fashion to express our need to be secure.  The government actually enacted legislation to prevent individuals from wearing camouflage outfits.    

As adults we know the military looking security guards with pant tails tucked into boots. All things military intrigues us. 

 It is against this backdrop of security that corruption is so pervasive.  It starts at the top.

The new government, elected on a ticket of transparancy, there have been instances where valid questions have been raised in the media' still without adequate answers.

And, if you live here and do not personally know of at least one individual who have gained favors because what can be rightly described as "government corruption" then you have not been living here for long.

The next level is at the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) with its own special blend of corruption.  And here we do not refer to the individual police officer but a systemic corruption.  How else would you explain the treatment of criminal activity in the service. 

A transfer is the harshest penalty an officer will get unless of course it's public murder which has already happened.  The more discreet are not so openly emotional.  

We do not need sophisticated polls or surveys to know that the level of trust and integrity of the TTPS is very low.  

Similarly, there is no need for a commission of enquiry to come up with obvious problems.  The system as it exists today gives officers a tap on the hand, "don't do that again ok" and they are transfered to a new station or division.  Maybe they are protected by the union but there are cases where even a union would agree on suspensions.  At least until all the facts of the case are known.  . 

When a police officer breaks the law and is not immediately and severely reprimanded the result is rippled through various segments of the society corrupting and instilling a feeling of insecurity in the citizenry.

Think one bad apple.  Even the "good ones" tend to go bad because they become "unwilling accomplices" due to their failure to report known criminal behaviors. 

Ultimately, the Chief of Police is responsible.   

Read this true story, an article buried on page 27 of today's Trinidad and Tobago Express.  .    

When you read it you would be amazed that this is still happening in a democratic society and that's with a Chief of Police from Canada. 

Comments? Suggestions?

$1,000 offered to 'kill' charges