A true public servant

THE LIST of bodies on which he served is evidence of the independent spirit and civic-mindedness of Kenneth Lalla, SC, who has died at 93.

That long list includes the Public Service Commission, the Police Service Commission, the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, the Salaries Review Commission, the Defence Force Commissions Board, the Central Bank.

Indeed, Mr Lalla literally wrote the book on this kind of service. His 2006 text The Public Service and Service Commissions remains a key resource.

It was all a long way from his start in politics, an arena often associated with acrimonious, self-serving partisanship.

Nonetheless, his time as Couva MP from 1966-1971 gave Mr Lalla a foretaste of the public engagement that would define his career.

“Kenneth Lalla and I entered politics in the same year,” Prime Minister George Chambers reportedly said in 1985. “But he had the perspicacity to get out of politics and leave me in it. For me, Kenneth Lalla is one of the most honourable men I have known.”

The fact that Mr Lalla led the Bar Association and served as a temporary judge enhanced his reputation for impartiality.

He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority, a body that still performs a vital role. He served as its inaugural director/chairman.

Kenneth Ramsanta Lalla was born on October 20, 1926. His father, Rambhagoo Lalla, was an indentured labourer from India who sought life in a better country. The son, who grew up in Dow Village, would play his part in shaping that country's destiny.

But there were obstacles. The younger Lalla dropped out of school to care for his ailing father. Then his father died when he was just ten. Working through a suite of odd jobs, he nurtured a desire to learn and soon his education resumed. He worked as a teacher at one stage before becoming a lawyer.

But if Mr Lalla honed his advocacy in court, he would later put those skills to great use elsewhere. Long after demitting his posts and stepping away from chambers, he continued to speak out on matters of national importance.

He lobbied for the construction of better law facilities. Given oversight of Legal Aid, he pushed for decentralisation to allow greater access. He sat on commissions of enquiry on key issues.

“Mr Lalla plays a very important role in guiding, in shaping public opinion,” Prof Brinsley Samaroo observed in 2015.

But perhaps it is all best summed up by the evocative title of Mr Lalla’s 2011 autobiography: I am a Dream to My Village.

His dream for TT survives him.