Tuesday, April 26, 2022

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.

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