WANTED URGENTLY: LEADERSHIP

The T&T economy is on the verge of tanking. We have something like a US$850 billion debt becoming due (the Petrotrin debt) around May next year. Either we pay the debt or we default on it. If we pay the debt then expect more belt tightening all around bringing with it a lot of pain. If we don't pay it then our credit worthiness will take a hit and we will find ourselves on the wrong end of economic sanctions, which will mean more pain. Either way we are in trouble. And a re-negotiation of the debt if at all possible) will also bring pain. In other words, we are in deep 'ca-ca'!


In the meantime, neither the Prime Minister nor his erstwhile Minister of Finance has anything coherent to say about the impending disaster facing us or what policies they are looking to implement now to stave it off.Instead, we are regaled with stories about how ferries (that don't work) are going to fix the sea bridge and about how there is going to be a new Sandals hotel in Tobago ... a deal that raises more questions than answers and which have caused most unnecessary and very ugly suspicions to arise that are probably better left unexpressed for now. We continue to give the Maburro regime a free pass even though that regime's policies are creating a refugee crisis in the Region as well as here at home.


The Prime Minister turns more and more to his base using polarization and culture wars to keep the base energized and (hopefully) intact. His Minister of Everything has taken a leaf out of Trump's playbook calling every little criticism either fake news or labelling the critics as being "unpatriotic", ignoring, for example, the fact that when his Government failed to give clear and cogent answers to the many questions surrounding the deal with Austal to buy some coastal patrol vessels, that his critics felt that they had no choice but to ask the Australian Government to investigate the deal ... which admittedly, looks 'fishy'. Why asking a foreign Government to investigate a deal around which many questions swirl could be  'unpatriotic', has neither been asked nor explained.


The Government's leading spokesmen are becoming less and less coherent and increasingly have nothing of substance to say on any subject. A Minister decries as fake news allegations that his wife's company got certain Government contracts and then in the next breath says that he recused himself from any decision making  concerning their being awarded. To which the only comment can be "WHAT"?


The list goes on, but one cannot help but view with dismay the floundering and ineptitude that is on display. Let's understand something: it is in the interests of EVERYONE  that this Government succeeds. It is always in our collective interests that whatever Party is in power succeeds. Wishing that they fail would be unpatriotic. But, equally, I would argue that it is unpatriotic to continue to support a Government that is failing.


And right now, this Government is failing badly. No amount of obfuscation can hide that fact. What we need now is a clear policy statement showing us the plan to stave off the looming disaster. Either that or they should resign. I'll say it again: there is only one reason for politics ... only one reason for government: to make life better for the people!! There is no other reason!!


So, I say to Dr. Rowley et al: lead, follow, or get out of the way!

A MOST OFFENSIVE SKIT

If I do something that upsets or offends you, the proper thing for me to do is to apologize even if there was no intention on my part to offend. Beauty is not the only thing in the eye of the beholder and there is hardly a person on this planet who has not unintentionally caused offence to someone over some act or statement.




That is why when I first heard (and then saw on social media) the very offensive skit that portrayed a woman in a yellow sari being attacked by goons dressed in red costumes I thought that the Prime Minister would quickly apologize and move on. Instead, rather ominously, he and his Minister of Everything, Stuart Young, labeled those who were so bold as to criticize the skit and the PNM as being foolish and saying that the skit was simply harmless fun. To which the reasonable man in the maxi taxi can only raise his eyebrows and say "really?".




Let's be blunt: the skit was offensive to the Hindu religion. No amount of twisting and turning can get away from that! It was terribly offensive. Can you imagine if a group of Hindus put on a skit at a UNC Party Family Day that portrayed Jesus Christ in some sort of sexual embrace with a woman what sort of howl would come out of the Christian sections of this society (which, by the way, are in the main African)!? And if the UNC Leader at the time were to dismiss the most legitimate complaints of the offended Christians as "foolishness" what the entire society would say!?




And then, on another level the skit was offensive to women. It purported to make fun of a woman being undressed by men! How can that be fun?! At a family function!? I got the meaning of the PNM red and the UNC yellow! Who didn't? But to portray one's political inclinations in this manner was simply awful and unacceptable in any civilized society. And no amount of laughing it off as "fun" can change that. Freedom of speech does not mean that you have a licence to do or say anything. There are always limits.


No. There is something very wrong with the Prime Minister's and Mr. Young's responses. Had an immediate and sincere apology been forthcoming then  nobody could really complain. If it was not intended to cause offence, then as stupid as it was it could probably be forgiven. Just don't do it again.  But these responses simply made things worse. And to compound it all, the whole sordid episode was so unnecessary in the first place.


This country is racially polarized and becoming more so with each passing day. True leadership requires ... no, demands ... that our politicians do everything to promote racial harmony. Endorsing such crude, vulgar and tasteless behavior as was demonstrated in this awful skit only serves to embolden the racists that dwell amongst us. It's time to say STOP!

WHY IS THE MEDIA GIVING THE GOVERNMENT A FREE PASS ON THE FERRY ( AND EVERYTHING ELSE)?

The Galleons Passage continues to make news in that it still ain't working although it has been here for about three weeks. Let me give you an example: The Guardian today reported "The Galleons Passage is expected to begin servicing the seabridge soon ... Confirmation came from Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan as he gave an update into the progress schedule of the US$17.4 million vessel which docked on our shores on July 166 after a long journey from China."


So the ferry will start working "soon". All well and good.  ... except that's really not much news. But let's unpack some more. The Guardian report continues: "Sinanan  said a T&T flag was finally installed (emphasis mine) on the vessel last Friday. The vessel arrived with a flag of convenience from Vanuatu ... ." The newspaper quotes Sinanan as saying "That is one part of the process that has been completed. We are now finalizing the process with the Maritime Division and Lloyd's Register Broker and we are hoping that shortly we would have the vessel in place."


Now, what the heck does the Minister mean when he says that a T&T flag was "installed"? The correct terminology is that the vessel was reflagged! David Lee, the Chairman of the Opposition UNC had asked in a press conference on 28th July ( 6 days ago) if the vessel was going to be reflagged. Herbert George, the erstwhile Chairman of NIDCO had said on 20th July that in order for the ferry to be reflagged it needs to be certified by Lloyd's Registry and it was for that reason that the Maritime Division that had found some 150 deficiencies in the vessel had asked for a recertification.


So, it would appear that the Minister has rather cleverly obfuscated the issue by saying that a T&T flag was installed. Hey! Anybody can put a flag on a vessel. But to reflag a vessel is something completely different! And he (Sinanan) was trying to do a "cute" reply to David Lee without actually lying.


Now, I can't believe that the Guardian's editors are so dumb that they didn't see this. Of course they did! But they say nothing and just report the claptrap falling from Mr. Sinanan's mouth as if it is gospel. Why? The only explanation (other than stupidity) is bias. Can anybody give me another explanation? Why didn't anybody ask Sinanan what he meant by "installed"?




And then we have the fast patrol boats costing some US$74 million or more which are being bought without proper tendering procedures being followed but after the Prime Minister and his Minister of Everything visit the Austal shipyard in Australia. But again the Guardian says nothing. Why? I always thought that the newspapers fill a critical role in the democratic process.  I can accept if they are biased and don't want to report on matters that might be embarrassing to the Government. It is their democratic right to have a bias, but if they are biased they ought to be honest and say 'hey, we are biased.' But it is less than honest to pretend that they are neutral when they are not. And not following the tendering process raises a lot of red flags and very ugly and most unnecessary suspicions. Can you imagine what Dr. Rowley would be saying if it was Mrs. Persad Bissessar and Mr. Moonilal who had done that? Why is it acceptable for a PNM administration to do this but not a UNC one? But the press is not calling the Government out on this. Why?




There are other examples, but hopefully you get the point. Stories are being reported in a most uncritical manner in ways that are in fact misleading.  A clever ruse?




Of course, it could be just that the editors are stupid. Unfortunately being stupid and a newspaper editor is not a crime. Being biased and pretending that you are not, ought to be.