THE (RATHER TRAGIC) FAILURE OF THE PEOPLE'S PARTNERSHIP

 

The People's Partnership was a formidable political project, but it never won real political power. In my view, it failed on its own terms to build a new Trinidad And Tobago. It was a good move, a clever move that sought , on the surface at least, to bring everybody together and to end the awful race war that we have been suffering from since the infamous "recalcitrant minority" speech of what feels like a million years ago. Let's call a spade a spade: if you are Black/African you are expected to vote for the PNM; if you are Indian you are expected to vote for the UNC and it has been that way at least since 1961 and before.

But the PP  (People's Partnership) Government was dominated by the Indian UNC and within a very short time afterwards most people felt that it had betrayed the sentiment of yearning for a better and more equitable State in which the only thing that mattered was whether you were a citizen or not, and not your race. The PP Government did a lot of good things. Certainly, they proved to be far better managers of the economy than Dr. Rowley's Government, even on it's best days, has proven to be. But the PP Government failed to deal with a press that was always biased in favour of the PNM nor did it succeed in a fairer or more equitable distribution of wealth. It's relations with the trade unions could have been better and there was always the lingering scent of corruption. To be fair, most people also believe that this present PNM Government is also very corrupt, but that is another story. And the argument that "you t'ief more than me'  or 'dem is more corrupt' (whoever 'dem' might be)  is also irrelevant to this post.

The PP Government failed to democratize the civil service  so that it would operate more fairly and (perhaps more importantly) be SEEN to operate more fairly. Old systems that allowed any manner of ills (ranging from nepotism to corruption and everything in between) were left untouched and those that the PP Government did try to tackle were not changed enough so that when the PNM came back to power it was 'business as usual' all over again.

Real political power comes from having the support of a majority of the people. The PP Government lost that support very early on in it's tenure. Perhaps it was the fault of the non Indians in the Cabinet who having no real political following of their own and riding on the back of the country's urgent, but badly articulated desire to create a better place, got 'high on their own supply' and behaved as though they themselves were so very important? 

Whatever the cause was, the fact is that fairly soon after their victory it became apparent to the population that the PP Government was really a UNC Government in a not very good disguise. And this is definitely not what people voted for.

So? Where are we today? We have on the one hand  a Government that only the most rabid and/or racial persons think or believe or can argue it to be competent and on the other hand we have an Opposition that has retreated back to its racial base. And then we have an incompetent and biased media that fails dismally either to ask relevant questions or to report the facts of what is going on at any particular time. Then we have a most incompetent Commissioner of Police who appears to be under the control of the politicians ("appears" being the operative word in that sentence) and under whose watch violent crime has been rising seemingly uncontrollably.

But most people whether they are Black or Indian want things to change. Most people want to see an end to the racial divide and most people are desperately hoping that a 'knight in shining armor' will come and save them. The truth is that most people are not racist and do not buy into the racial claptrap that is spewed forth not so surreptitiously on both sides. At the moment, both sides are simply appealing to their respective African or Indian bases. The UNC is hoping that enough of those on the fence will 'smell the coffee' and return them to power and the PNM is praying that despite the multiple screwups so far, that enough of their base will hold to keep them in power and that people will forget how bad things really are. 

Does this mean that we shouldn't try again? No. It simply means that the PP Government failed but it's cause and the sentiments behind it's formation were both noble. We should try again ... and again, until we get it right!

THE CENTRE IS NOT HOLDING

It is becoming impossible to ignore the missteps of the Rowley regime. First of all, there is the rather serious question of broken trust. The Prime Minister and his followers all say things that are either patently untrue or are laced with such 'weasel' words that if it is later proven that whatever was said is a lie then they can sy truthfully "I didn't say that". For example, does anybody believe that the Government did NOT purchase any sort of spyware? The Prime minister has specifically stated that the Government did not purchase spyware from Pegasus. He did not say that the Government had not purchased any electronic spyware so if evidence later comes out that it did, he can say truthfully that he never said that the Government did not purchase any spyware; he just said that they never bought any from Pegasus! And that would be a true statement, though only half true. And a half truth is often more dangerous than a lie.

But it is simply awful that we should not have trust that our leaders are telling us the truth. And while this spyware imbroglio is serious, what is even more serious is that most thinking people believe that we are being lied to in all sorts of matters - both big and small. At the very least we should have faith that the people that we have chosen to lead and govern us are telling us the truth, no matter what! And yet, nobody can honestly say that we are. Look, there is only one reason for politics -one reason for government: TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR THE PEOPLE!! Full stop! There is NO other reason.  And if we do not trust that we are being told the truth -about anything - then the particular leader is not doing his or her job. And we are the losers!

There are a million other issues, but it really all boils down to a question of trust. Take, for example, an issue that Mr. Phillip Alexander has been raising about Wildflower Park in Port of Spain. This, on the surface, seems like a rather unimportant issue. But wait a minute. Isn't there a problem when somebody tries to take control of public property without lawful authority? And when an activist (like Mr. Alexander) raises the issue somebody decides to erect about fifteen signs that say, amongst other things, that pesticides are used in this park. therefore, the not so subtle warning to the public is that it is unsafe for children and pets. But just across the road are the Botanical Gardens and there are no warning signs there. So? Why were these signs erected? Mr. Alexander hints strongly that the persons who caused the signs to be erected are very wealthy supporters of the Government whose homes are adjacent to the park. Is this true? The Minister in charge is silent and that in itself is a lie of omission.

Then there is  a statement that antique cars, i.e., cars of a certain age, will not be allowed on the roads of T&T again even if they have passed their inspection. Why? Is it that the Government does not trust its own inspection process? 

And speaking of the vehicle inspection process, where or under what authority has the Transport Commissioner changed it? There are no legal notices and the various authorized outlets are unsure as exactly what they should do. And the Minister is silent and so far ignoring them and declining to meet with their representatives.

I could go on, but you get the point: the centre is falling apart. Schools have been reopened (seemingly against the advice of private medical professionals) for the last two moths of the school year putting a burden on parents who will have (amongst other things) to buy school books both now and in September when the new school year starts.  And we are met with silence.

It seems that whatever adversely affects the population is not news and can be ignored, We are facing a decay that is starting from the middle and is slowly spreading outwards.

FIXING T&T - Part 2

 It is probably time that we stop bewailing the faults and mistakes of the present Government (although they are too many to count) and start looking at ways that we can at least start to try and fix this little country of ours. My own view is that it will take at least twenty years to fix (if not more) which is, of course, way beyond the lifetime of any elected Government. And yet, our problems are such that if we don't fix them now, they are only going to get worse.

So? How do I think that we could and should begin? Answer: with our education system. Because money is everybody's motivation I would start with the teachers. First, I would at least treble the salaries of teachers. BUT I would also put them on some sort of performance bond so that their students have to perform. If at the end of a year (for example) a teacher fails his/her performance bond then he/she would be fired immediately with no recompense whatsoever.  And this requirement will continue for the duration of the teacher's employment. Ah! I can hear yo say. Not a bad idea, but what about their union and their present terms and conditions? Yep! You're right. I would deal with that problem like this: nobody except brand new teachers will have to sign up for the new terms and conditions, but then anybody who does not sign up for them simply won't get the new salary. In other words, I won't change any existing terms (including salaries) of anyone who does not want to agree to the new system.

Will this work? I really don't know, though I believe that it would. No country can succeed if it's education system is deficient, and ours certainly is. If it is so great why do so many kids in the public school system need to have private lessons? And who is giving the private lessons? Not the very same teachers who are supposed to be teaching the children in class? If they are doing their job properly, why is it necessary for so many children to take private lessons?  It is a system that guarantees failure - unless you can pay for it. And there is the nub of the problem. Only a minority can afford the cost of private lessons. There is no good reason other than economics why private lessons are necessary - and they are for anybody who wants his/her child to get ahead.

There is no other way for a country to go forward other than education. And yet you have people like the UWI principal Professor Brian Copeland reportedly saying that UWI students should "be more responsible" for their fees, by which he means they should pay more.  Oh gosh! Where is the out of the box thinking that we need rather than this old tired way of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Tertiary education in successful countries like Germany, Sweden, et al have free tertiary education. Even France offers this to non citizens if they can speak French!

We need to start thinking differently instead of trying the same old solutions which clearly are not working. Wasn't it Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant minds of the twentieth century who defined madness as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. And that is exactly why we can't even fix a pothole!

FIXING T&T - PART1

I was once told by a most respected Queen's Counsel (who is dead now, poor fellow) that if ever I wanted to solve a problem I should go back to the beginning. With this injunction in mind I started thinking about all of our little country's problems and what was the root cause of each and every one. Do they have anything in common?

The answer , I thought, is yes, and the problem lies in or with our (very faulty) education system.  I mean, we live in a topsy turvy world where our teachers are by and large underpaid and hardly respected (if at all). Our so-called prestige schools are little better than dumping grounds for our children with most classes having more than thirty kids each. How in the name of heaven do we expect to compete with the outside world where the best schools outside consider a 'large' class  having about sixteen kids? How do we expect a teacher to be able to control a class of about thirty thirteen or fourteen year olds? How do we expect to be able to produce well educated citizens for the future benefit of the country?

Of course, the problem here is that any plans that any Government might have is always dictated by a five year gap between elections and any real and proper changes to the system won't show any results for about twenty years. In other words, this idea of mine is definitely not a vote winner.

And yet, it is absolutely necessary. our teachers are at the bottom of the wage pyramid. They need to be properly compensated. We have a lot of very good teachers who are forced to supplement their incomes by giving private lessons. Yet an argument can be made that if they are so good why does a child need the extra lessons. And the answer is because the child needs that little extra attention. And so the circle begins again.

There is a saying about paying with peanuts and expecting to get a genius. Well, that is exactly what we are doing. And every single problem that we have can be traced back to our education system; even the corruption and inefficiencies are a result of the very poor education system.

Even the SEA system ought to be scrapped and replaced. ALL schools should have to meet a minimum standard (which ought to be very high) and instead of a child living in, say, Sangre Grande and having to travel everyday to Port of Spain to go to school, he/she ought to be able to go to the local secondary school and receive a good education. If a parent wants better then perhaps we can look at some sort of scholarship system wherein we can send our best and brightest.

Look, I am not saying that we don't have bright kids. We do. And they are bright enough to be able to compete with any first world child any time, any where. But our AVERAGE children are being horribly short changed by the system and we need to address this - NOW! And we can start by paying our teachers a proper salary. There is more on this which I will talk about later.

SPYING

  I shall always be grateful to former Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar for telling the world in Parliament that my telephone (along with more than a hundred others) was tapped by the Manning regime. I considered suing the Government for breaching my constitutional right to privacy but ultimately decided against it for a variety of reasons, not the least being that I really didn't want to add to the financial burdens of the State that was beginning to show signs of economic fatigue. I have no doubt that I would have won that case though.

But the latest news coming out in which the Rowley regime is apparently tapping the telephones of all kinds of people ranging from PNM to UNC supporters and all kinds of people in between is most disturbing. Basically, the accusation is that the Government has engaged the services of the Israelis to spy on the citizens of this country. The Prime Minister is reported as saying words to the effect that only criminals are being spied upon and therefore ordinary law abiding citizens do not have to worry, to which I can only say 'what?'. How does the Government know who is a criminal and who is not? And if people's telephones, emails, etc., are being monitored what is the bench mark for this monitoring? Who is doing the monitoring? 

The questions abound and the former Prime Minister is quite correct in raising the issue. It is a great pity that the so-called "free and independent" press have not seen fit to take her up on this and make an issue of it. For it is a big deal and this is the way that dictatorships tend to take hold - little by little. Mrs. Persad Bissessar is more right than most people realize and it would be wise to pay attention to what she is saying.

P.S. If you were involved in some sort of nefarious activity would you be so foolish to talk about it on the phone or (even worse) put it in writing on an email or whats app? So who do you think is really being spied upon? Speaking only for myself, I say and write nothing that I am not prepared to say publicly.