If somebody came down to Trinidad today from another planet he would be forgiven for believing that a general election campaign was in progress and not just a local government election. On both sides there is a clear discussion of national issues (crime, the economy, corruption, etc.) but there is little or no discussion about local issues. To be fair, there have been some minor criticisms about the state of the roads and the potholes that litter all of the country's roads, but other than that there has been nothing. We have all heard the criticisms of the leadership of the two main parties and some have even tried to turn this local government election into a referendum on who is more popular - Kamla or Rowley.
Perhaps it is time to start thinking AND talking seriously about constitutional reform. Seriously. Why do we have Local Government? All the councils are effectively under the control of the Minister of Finance, who is effectively under the control of the Cabinet, which is effectively under the control of the Prime Minister, who is effectively a law unto himself/herself. So? Why do we, for example, have a Port of Spain City Council or a Siparia Borough Council?
And if it is true that there is ONLY ONE reason for politics and Government: to make life better for the people - then why is it that most people when they go to the polls, simply vote for exchange rather than real and substantial change? What are the substantial PHILOSOPHICAL differences between the PNM and the UNC - apart from the belief that this one or that one 't'iefes' more?
Again, for example, in the last debate on procurement in both the Senate and the House of Representatives NOBODY, not even any of the Independent Senators, provided any clear and workable solutions that could effectively help to stem corruption. I challenge anybody to tell me in clear and simple terms what an outside observer would say on listening to the debate in Parliament as to what the differences in PHILOSOPHY are on this issue between the PNM and the UNC. I tried and failed. Essentially, the debate boiled down to 'stealing is wrong and we're against it'. And that was it! From all sides!
It is now definitely and absolutely clear that our present Westminster-type constitution just ain't working. Put another way, if something were to happen tonight that eradicated and destroyed everything so that when we woke up we had to start from scratch would you be happy to put the exact same system back or would you want to do something else? Most people vote for the 'something else' option. But we are not doing that!
Because I tend to be scornful of people who just criticize and provide no solutions of their own, in my next post I will give my ideas as to how the Constitution should be changed. Here's a teaser: abolish local government. I'll say why I think so and with what and how I would replace it. In the meantime, do you have any ideas? Or are you satisfied with what we have?
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