VOTING FOR THE NEXT PNM LEADER

 Striving for neutrality in a country as polarized as this one (T&T) is an almost impossible task. You are bound to offend one side or the other or could even end up offending everybody. There is an old saying about wise men fearing to tread where fools seldom differ. But I have always looked with scorn upon those persons who are unwilling for whatever reason to give their opinion and not back it up with facts, just as I look with the same amount of scorn upon those persons who try to argue a point without frontally dealing with the matters raised by "the other side". Frequently they tend to revert to insults and avoid the particular point or points raised in the particular argument.

But I had promised to say whom amongst the three contenders for the PNM leadership that I would prefer.  As I see it,  the race for the leadership, the PNM, being one of the two main political parties in this country, ought to be approached by every single citizen, whether he or she is a member of the PNM, as recognizing that whatever happens in that political party affects us all, whether we are PNM supporters or not. In other words, which of the three do you think, Rowley, Teishera or Boynes, is the best pick for the country? Your opinion matters. 

In deciding on my choice I took a very hard look at all three candidates. Let's deal with Dr. Rowley first , probably because he is the easiest one to deal with. Frankly, I think that of the three he is the worst possible choice for the country. I honestly don't trust him and I believe that he doesn't tell the truth, or, put another way, tells the truth only when it suits him. He hasn't got the brightest "sparks" around him (with one or two exceptions) and the economy has gotten worse and not better over the last seven years. Indeed, most people will say positively that they were better off seven years ago than they are today. The buck must stop with the leader and he has to take responsibility not only for the good, but for the bad as well.  But he is notoriously ever unwilling to confess his mistakes. 

Then let's take a quick look at Karen Teishera. Her claim to fame is that she was a Minister in the Ministry of Finance under Patrick Manning. But her stint there was unremarkable and she has no real feats, whether good or bad, that she can point to as claiming solely that she was the one responsible. She wasn't even THE Minister, for crying out loud. Further, she seems to have adopted a "top down" approach in her campaign. What I mean is that she seems to be placing more emphasis on talking to the establishment media than in talking directly to the people. Put another way, she does not appear to be connected to the people at all and does not appear to really understand and empathize with them or their problems. While this may or may not be true, in politics perception is reality, and that is the perception.

And finally, we turn to Ronald Boynes. Boynes is a self-made man from very humble origins (his father was a policeman) growing up in the East and has a track record of putting the country first. He has built a rather successful law practice and has "dipped his toes" quite successfully in business, although, to be fair, he has made some mistakes along the way. But (and it is a big "but") he has always learned from his mistakes and has worked hard to correct them.

Trinidad & Tobago needs a political leader who is not afraid to admit that he is human and, more importantly, who genuinely cares about making the country a better place for all and not just for a few. We need a leader who can inspire us and hold out hope for a better tomorrow. Without that hope we are all :spinning top in mud". My money is on the person who gives me that hope. I think that he is Ronald Boynes.

HOW TO WIN (OR LOSE) THE NEXT ELECTIONS

 Perhaps we should start with how to win the next elections. Answer: change the leader! Whether you are talking about the PNM or the UNC the answer would be the same for both parties. Let's start with the PNM first (because they are in power):

For better or worse Keith Rowley is probably the most discredited leader that the PNM has ever had. This 'Nelsongate' business is  a scandal of epic proportions. How in the name of Heaven could an Attorney General purport to give a free pass - a 'bligh', as we say in Trinidad - to a man who is a self confessed crook? And he did so without the knowledge or agreement of the Director of Public Prosecutions!? And the law in this country is very clear that the DPP is the only person in the country who has the conduct of criminal proceedings! And the Attorney General is a lawyer? And he says that the infamous indemnity agreement was approved by two senior counsel?

And the Prime Minister then says in essence that he didn't know anything about this matter!? But wait a minute! Isn't the Prime Minister the Head of the National Security Council? And doesn't the Attorney general report to him? And isn't the former Attorney General still in the Cabinet and drawing down a minister's salary and all the 'perks' that go with that high office? It is either that the Prime Minister is incompetent, or he's so lazy that he doesn't read a thing, OR (most likely) he's lying through his teeth when he says that he knew nothing about it.

In the meantime, (and I'm leaving aside the rather obvious question as to whether or not a criminal case against Messrs. Ramlogan and Ramdeen could have proven BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT on the 'say-so' of a whistleblower who has obviously benefitted from several million dollars of taxpayers' money) there are other questions to which we have never been given a satisfactory answer, e.g., the Petrotrin debacle, the visit of Maburro's Vice President ostensibly to discuss COVID, the visit of Dr. Rowley and Mr. Young to meet with energy executives in Switzerland who were  based in Trinidad, and much more.

No. The country really doesn't believe a word that falls from Rowley and his gang and in the meantime it is watching helplessly as its fortunes are going to Hell in a handbasket!

So, clearly, there is urgent need for a change at the top of the PNM. There are three contenders for that particular throne - Keith Rowley himself, Karen Nunes- Tesheira, a former Minister in the Ministry of Finance when Patrick Manning was there, and Ronald Boynes. I prefer not to comment right now as to which of those three that I would prefer (although it is admittedly kind of obvious that it would not be Rowley). But I promise that I will say before the internal PNM elections who I think will be better and why I think so.

Then we have the UNC. Unfortunately, the UNC's leader has a track record of losing too many times. Whether this is because the PNM has thrown so much mud at her that some of it seems to have stuck or whether there is another reason. But whatever the cause is, she has signally failed  to present herself to the country as somebody with ideas or the team necessary to turn this country around. Very unfortunately, the PNM has rather successfully thrown so much mud at her (by far and away) most able lieutenant, Roodal Moonilal, that the country will never 'buy' or accept him as its leader. Which is a great pity, because, if you listen to him you will find that he makes a lot of sense.

But Kamla's team, especially in the Parliament is very weak. None of her Parliamentary team inspires hope in the populace that they really can turn things around. And a successful politician is one who can make you believe that you will be better off if you vote for him/her. And except for those who are "UNC till ah dead" there are very few people who believe that the country will be better off with that crowd in charge. Put another way, the country ain't buying them ... at least not right now. And it is true that weak leaders gather weak people around them. Strong leaders gather strong people around them; and the country desperately needs both strong and competent leadership.

Perhaps that is why a lot of people believe that it really is time for  the latest new political party: the Free Democratic Action Trinidad & Tobago party, or F.D.A.T.T. for short!!!!

DONKEYS, MORONS AND CROOKERY

 Where exactly do we as a country want to go? this is a very serious question that requires everybody and anybody who professes to believe in democracy needs to answer. I ask this because when I look at what has happened in neighbouring Venezuela some rather serious questions arise in my mind that we are not so slowly heading down the same path that our unfortunate neighbours have gone down much to their collective chagrin. Somewhere in the vicinity of more than six million people (out of some thirty million) have fled Venezuela, most for economic reasons, but a sizable proportion of them fleeing political persecution.

That beautiful country has been ruined by Maburro (and yes, I know; the misspelling is deliberate. The man is a jackass of the highest order) and his good friends, the Cuban thugs who have ruined their own country as well. 

But here in good old T&T our Government plays 'palsy-walsy' with the Donkey on the rather specious ground of 'noninterference'. Don't you remember the visit by the Venezuelan Vice President some 18 months ago to discuss "a joint response to Covid?" And if you believe that our Prime Minister and the Venezuelan V.P. really did discuss that then I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I'd like to sell to you.

But the Donkey went and destroyed the Venezuela equivalent of Petrotrin, causing a mass migration of highly qualified oil personnel, which in turn resulted in a catastrophic drop in oil production, which in turn resulted in an equally catastrophic drop in the standard of living for the average Venezuelan, which in turn resulted in a mass migration of persons to (amongst other places) sweet T&T. Can you imagine what it must be like to be so desperate that you believe that it is better to go to another country where they don't want you and where you can't even speak the language leaving every thing (family friends, etc.) behind?

 And you think it can't happen here? Have we ever got the real reasons, for example, why Petrotrin was shut down and 10,000 people lost their jobs? Have we ever got the truth about why it was better for us to close down the refinery rather than to upgrade it? What the heck! Can anybody explain in simple terms how we are better off with the closure of Petrotrin? Do you think that we have been told the truth about anything?

And in the meantime guns and drugs are pouring into the country. This, of course, is hardly surprising as the Donkey and his cohorts are making a lot - and I mean A LOT - of money from this trade. But do you think that there is anybody here in T&T benefitting from this terrible trade? If so, who? Do you think that these persons are in positions of any kind of authority ? If so, do you think that the reason why "Mr. Big" has never been caught is because of connections that go all the way up? Don't you think it a little odd that no drug lord, no "Mr. Big", has ever been even arrested and made to stand trial? Or is it because our security services are so very incompetent?  

Frankly, I don't believe that our security services are incompetent. My (admittedly very limited) experience with them has led me to believe otherwise. But the alternative is too terrible to even contemplate. Maybe there is another reason? In the meantime, take care of yourselves. The crime in this country is out of control - completely- and is likely to stay that way for some time yet!