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A historian of class.
This was how former prime minister Basdeo Panday described his former cabinet colleague Dr Morgan Job, who died yesterday.
Job, who was 76, died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital at 3.24 pm, his daughter Dzifa confirmed.
Job was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in late March and was given six months to live by doctors. (See editorial on Page A16)
He was a Minister of Tobago Affairs and the Minister of Finance, Planning and Development in the Panday administration, an economist, writer and radio personality.
Social media was flooded with comments following his death, as many described him as a great loss.
In expressing condolences to the family, Panday said, “He had lots of ideas. While we were in Parliament he never really seemed interested in what was going on in the Parliament or Cabinet. He was more interested in expounding ideas and he expounded many of them. He did a lot of good work.”
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar also joined the nation in expressing condolences to the family.
In a statement, Persad-Bissessar said Job made an indelible contribution to the fields of politics and culture and was a well-known advocate for equality.
“He was unreserved in expressing his views on the political landscape and in some cases, politicians came in for harsh criticism, but his intentions were always to lift the level of debate and discourse on national issues,” she said.
Job had published several books on political and economic reform and spent much of his life trying to change the culture of Trinidad and Tobago by educating and uplifting the minds of his fellow citizens.
“I have dedicated my life to doing the best for people of Trinidad and Tobago and I’ve always maintained, put God in everything, not race,” Job has said in recent interview.
Job, the father of two daughters, was also known for his straight-talking, hard-hitting analysis of the political and social landscapes of the country. It was only last week that Job was hospitalised. Following news of Job’s ailment, his family had started a “Go Fund Me” page to help raise funds for his medical care. His daughter yesterday thanked those who supported and comforted the family but asked that the relatives be allowed to grieve privately.
Funeral arrangements are yet to be made.