Politics & Economics
When I began my first job at NBS Radio 610, I had no idea that journalism in a small island nation came with the advantage of being able to cover all areas of national development. From 1995 on, I have seen oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago cycle from boom to recession on a regular basis and witnessed the governance style of post-independence politicians. Just as we inherited colonial institutions and instruments of democracy, we inherited a burdensome civil service, top-heavy leadership with little sense of accountability. This access has given me the insight that in some areas the more things change, the more they stay the same, such as tribal voting and corruption to the tune of billions of dollars with no one being held to account.
Yet, despite all those issues, this young country has kept its unique promise of a mostly tolerant nation, a country made up of strands of old continents, a country still young and daily defining and redefining its identity beyond its brutal history of slavery and indentureship.
The Red House, home of Trinidad and Tobago's Parliament. Since its independence from the UK in 1962, and despite an attempted coup in 1990, Trinidad and Tobago has been a strong democracy.
Waterfront. Downtown Trinidads capital city, Port-of Spain. Trinidad & Tobago, the Southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Trinidad was inhabited for centuries by native Amerindian peoples before becoming a colony in the Spanish Empire. Tobago changed hands among Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonisers more times than any other island in the Caribbean. Trinidad & Tobago obtained independence in 1962 and became a republic in 1976. With a history of slavery and indentureship and migration, the islands are inhabited by people from Africa, India, China, the Middle East and Europe. This twin-island nation reportedly has the third-highest GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP) in the Americas after the United States and Canada.
Deepwater oil platform waiting to be towed to an offshore oil field. Unlike most Caribbean nations and territories, which rely heavily on tourism, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals; much of the nation's wealth is derived from its large reserves of oil and natural gas. Unlike most Caribbean nations and territories, that rely heavily on tourism, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals; much of the nation's wealth is derived from its large reserves of oil and natural gas.