Dear Editor,
The following is an email comment, by a blogger, ‘Averiguador,’ on a story published in the Trinidad Express on March 18, 2014 under the heading of ‘Mule race coming’ in which the writer, Mr Ralph Maraj, a former cabinet minister in the Trinidad and Tobago government, was commenting on the failure of both the current and previous T&T governments to pass procurement legislation and, in view of forthcoming general elections, which Mr Maraj refers to in the title, the unlikely prospect of that happening any time soon.
“It is a very sad state Ralph, but it is very true. What happens is as follows: the investors look to invest in the winning horse or mule as you call them. When the race is won, they put their bag men and workers in key positions on State Boards and other entities that control taxpayers’ money. These bagmen and workers organise lucrative contracts for both the politicians and investors and share the spoils. The politicians have further jobs of keeping the watchdog institutions under control. They also keep the people under control with propaganda. This plundering of the treasury has been going on for years.”
Yours faithfully,
GND Williams