My Recommendations for Moving on....

Civil society and the electorate at large are unanimous in their outrage over the boldfaced attack on our democracy and the independence of our Judiciary by the Cabinet and rightly so. There is a clearer understanding in the public domain now of what was done, why it was done and who were behind it, and business as usual must not be allowed to continue until those people are first and foremost removed from our institutions of governance, prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows for their involvement, and safeguards put in place to prevent these and similar abuses from occurring in the future.

At this point one cannot be guaranteed that such measures will quell the people's lust for vengeance  and a return to the polls may yet be necessary, but if the Prime Minister is serious about saving her government she would do well to listen to the people so that they might, just might be able to trust her or any of her underlings in the future. As a start the culture of disrespect and churlish behavior exhibited by the likes of Warner, Roberts and Moonilal need to be replaced by conduct becoming of Members of Parliament instead of school children's day at the zoo. We have no more use of the sarcastic cynicism and tongue in cheek barbs and if we are to use this opportunity to effect real change then this 'hobbled' government is going to have to come good or don't come at all.

1. Without question the first step has to be the removal from the Cabinet of both Anand Ramlogan and Prakash Ramadhar until either or both are investigated and vindicated of any wrong doing as both have been implicated by the now disgraced ex-Minister of Justice.
2. A commission of Enquiry has to be empaneled immediately with a mandate to determine where exactly the conspiracy began and to make recommendations to the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions so that charges can be laid.
3. Extradite Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson to answer their charges in the United States. Regardless of the polarized positions on this, the simple fact is we can no longer rely on our system(s) to adequately deal with this matter as we have no idea at this point who or what has been corrupted in this enterprise. If we want justice without further compromising our state machinery or bringing our highest offices into further disrepute then surely this is the way to go.
4. Recall legislation has to brought before the Parliament and proclaimed into law with the same speed and determination demonstrated in pursuit of Section 34. No other action will create the environment so urgently needed to keep elected officials cognizant of who they work for, and as such legislation already exists in  the Commonwealth it is just a matter of finding the right one and tailoring it to suit our needs.
5. Effective procurement legislation must be presented to Parliament and made law.
6. The Constitution must be amended to elaborate on the provision guaranteeing the freedom of the press and to disconnect the Fourth Estate from government influence. Mechanisms must be put in place for state advertising to be dispensed equally across the board to all accredited media through a blind trust or some other means to prevent state strong-arming and influence.
7. The Integrity Commission must be given increased powers (as requested by the sitting Commissioners) inclusive of the powers of search and seizure and arrest. It is time this toothless bulldog was able to do more than growl so as to keep public officials weary of corruption and influence peddlers.
8. Satisfactory answers must be provided as to the reasons behind the State of Emergency and the dismantling of the state's security apparatus.

This is by no means a complete list and others may have equally pressing items to add, but it would go a long way in the transformation and redevelopment of Trinidad & Tobago into the type of nation we want to live in and to leave for the next generation and beyond and is as good a place as any to start.