Those of us here with an iota of critical thought and knowledge of West Indian history didn't need education on this matter.

We all learnt from The Making of the West Indies about the Moyne Commission. The very British appointed this commission.

Further, why was it necessry forPM, Dr. Hon Eric Williams to nationalize the oil industry?

........................

I would never advance NOMINAL GDP as a measurement of a country's wealth.

Trini Trump in unnuh so and so

so if Titland was left prosperous by the Brits in the 1960s, it means that Britain was itself prosperous and knows how to built a prosperous economy for its citizens

the question is then, is Britain prosperous today and further, is it in a better financial position than Titland, comparatively speaking?

........Further, why was it necessry forPM, Dr. Hon Eric Williams to nationalise the oil industry?

The nationalization of Trinidad and Tobago’s oil industry under Dr. Eric Williams is often celebrated as a triumph of post-colonial sovereignty. However, beneath the nationalist rhetoric lies a complex economic failure marked by political corruption, severe overpayment, and the acquisition of obsolete assets. Driven by a desire to break the colonial "plantation model" and pacify intense local labor unrest, Williams sought to wrestle control of the nation’s natural resources from foreign multinationals. Yet, instead of empowering the local economy, the state was repeatedly outmaneuvered by corporate executives, leaving taxpayers to shoulder decades of mounting financial liabilities.

The most glaring manifestation of this vulnerability occurred during the creation of Trinidad-Tesoro in 1969. To purchase British Petroleum’s local holdings, the government partnered with the small, Texas-based Tesoro Petroleum Corporation. Tesoro invested a mere $50,000 USD of its own cash, yet extracted millions in profits from the joint venture. Later investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) exposed that Tesoro executives had secured these highly lucrative terms through deep political corruption, including the bribery of high-ranking Trinidadian officials. Thanks Williams.

This pattern of financial mismanagement peaked with the 1985 purchase of Texaco’s onshore assets and the aging Pointe-à-Pierre refinery for $189.2 million USD. Facing structural shifts in the global energy market, Texaco corporate executives desperately wanted to dump their unprofitable, environmentally hazardous, and technologically outdated onshore infrastructure. By threatening mass layoffs of over 10,000 local workers, Texaco engineered a political panic. The government stepped in to "save jobs," effectively bailing out the multinational.

While Trinidadian officials claimed a victory for resource sovereignty, executives at Texaco’s world headquarters in White Plains, New York, celebrated offloading a massive corporate liability while strategically retaining their highly profitable offshore oil fields.

These inefficient assets were eventually consolidated into the state-owned Petrotrin. Under government control, the refining sector became aggressively overstaffed, politically subsidized, and structurally incapable of competing globally. Rather than functioning as a wealth-generating engine, it evolved into a fiscal black hole. The structural decay initiated during the Williams era culminated in catastrophe in 2018, when Petrotrin, saddled with billions in debt, was forced to permanently shutter the refinery. Ultimately, Williams’ nationalization strategy proved that without rigorous fiscal discipline, anti-colonial sentiment can easily be weaponized by foreign capital, leaving a developing nation holding the bill.

Note: Where are the success stories? Williams and Chambers (PNM PM Fcked up the Country) Texaco is still laughing in white Plains NY today. Then comes Trinidad-Tesoro , another mess....two brain dead PM's.

Then comes Rowley...

When Petrotrin was shuttered and restructured in late 2018, it left behind a staggering total debt of TT$11.9 billion (which included a massive, immediate US$850 million international bond obligation)

 Heritage has successfully serviced and paid off over half of Petrotrin outstanding legacy liabilities. The company has paid TT $7.5 billion toward principal, interest, and withholding taxes purely out of its own oil revenues without government bailout assistance.

Heritage’s remaining financial debt sits at nearly US $850 million (approximately TT $5.7 billion). PNM Finance minister ....US $500 million in 9.0% Senior Secured Notes.US $348 million in a restructured long-term bank credit facility. He claimed success? WTF

T&T debt stands at March 16, 2025, the total public debt of Trinidad and Tobago stood at approximately TT $130 billion to TT $138 billion (roughly US $19 billion to $20.3 billion). Excluding NDA's to CHINA , citizens are not told.

Do we still blame The current PM words still? Where has T&T improved since Independence.?

Its Fcking bankrupt. She leads a bankrupt country after over 50 plus years of PNM rule.😡

Sarge ...

References

S&P Global Ratings Asset Profile and the corporate liquidity assessments published by Fitch Ratings Analysis.

Texaco..New York Times Deal Report.

The Tesoro Petroleum Corporation Corporate History Archive.

@sudden wrote:

Trini Trump in unnuh so and so

so if Titland was left prosperous by the Brits in the 1960s, it means that Britain was itself prosperous and knows how to built a prosperous economy for its citizens

the question is then, is Britain prosperous today and furthers, is it in a better financial position than Titland, comparatively speaking?

I never waste time on a Trini fraudster.

😀

............Cannot counter my facts then resort to what one knows best.

 Attacking a person's background or intent instead of their data.

Weakness: It usually signals that the attacker lacks valid counterarguments.

Its easy to destroy these frustrated retired pseudos'😂. See their rebuttal...😀

I can fck them up every time...

@sgtdjones wrote:

The nationalization of Trinidad and Tobago’s oil industry under Dr. Eric Williams is often celebrated as a triumph of post-colonial sovereignty. However, beneath the nationalist rhetoric lies a complex economic failure marked by political corruption, severe overpayment, and the acquisition of obsolete assets. Driven by a desire to break the colonial "plantation model" and pacify intense local labor unrest, Williams sought to wrestle control of the nation’s natural resources from foreign multinationals. Yet, ........

Boss better yuh ask yuh AI tool to provide an exec summary. I suspect...that not many..if anybody at all, has time to read all that AI generated verbosity.

Britain left TnT a prosperous country.

When in history has the plundering Brits left any country in a prosperous condition when exiting?

@googley wrote:

When in history has the plundering Brits left any country in a prosperous condition when exiting?

Queen Kamla says just one case. teeANDtee

@Cheeks wrote:

Boss better yuh ask yuh AI tool to provide an exec summary. I suspect...that not many..if anybody at all, has time to read all that AI generated verbosity.

If you know anything about T&T history..

you would not be braying... Its factual.

Can you provide the Ai...or shut de fck up...😡

Watch you run now...

NOTE: For humans to progress, both digital communities and physical institutions must shift from a framework of cynical suspicion to one of radical intellectual humility. Society must learn to tolerate the discomfort of the exceptional, recognizing that human potential is far wider, more varied, and more magnificent than any algorithm or institutional template can ever predict.

Sarge

You are too fcking stupid to understand the above.

@googley wrote:

When in history has the plundering Brits left any country in a prosperous condition when exiting?

In these specific city-states, the British established stable legal frameworks, free-port statuses, and advanced maritime infrastructure, which allowed local populations and leaders to rapidly build global economic powerhouses upon exit.

Singapore: Left in 1963, it possessed a highly strategic port and structural governance, though its hyper-prosperity was ultimately driven by Lee Kuan Yew’s post-independence policies.

Hong Kong: Transferred to China in 1997 as one of the wealthiest financial capitals in the world, benefiting from British property laws, low taxation, and capitalist infrastructure.

United Arab Emirates: When the British withdrew from the Trucial States in 1971, they left behind structured oil concession frameworks and maritime security that helped catalyze the UAE's rapid modernization.

Canada, Australia, and New Zealand: These countries transitioned out of the empire with highly stable, industrialized economies, robust parliamentary legal systems, and immense wealth.

The woman just meant PNM fork it up, and she's right, untwist allyuh knickers nah ..

Allyuh wasting rel time and energy riling up yourselves, allyuh just love to cry don't you.............Time to move on ..wasn't massa f@ck up T&T for over 50 years with mismanagement corruption and squandermania since Independence.

We know some of you live for this kinda thing and you just love it..release the shackles and find another hobby ffs man..lol

.

Per capita is back and he sounds rejuvinated.

Hope he understands the concept fully now.

.............................

But It's not difficult to know them...they support Trump.

Hahahahaha!!!

@bravos wrote:

The woman just meant PNM fork it up, and she's right, untwist allyuh knickers nah ..

hey Bravos, hope all is well with you and the family

If that is what she meant why didn’t she just say so without making reference to Britain leaving TNT prosperous, which really isn’t true

even the statement, that PNM fork it up, whilst looking and sounding true on the surface, is arguable

and corruption is rife in every govt and political system

@sudden wrote:

hey Bravos, hope all is well with you and the family

If that is what she meant why didn’t she just say so without making reference to Britain leaving TNT prosperous, which really isn’t true

even the statement, that PNM fork it up, whilst looking and sounding true on the surface, is arguable

and corruption is rife in every govt and political system

Do not ‘attack’ Trinis they don’t take it constructively

PNM didn’t tief

it is a mentality of if I don’t tief he will, thus I can.