FIX ME FIRST
P. Polar 29/09/04
Unpublished
The Editor: Trinidad and Tobago should be applauded for providing financial and humanitarian aid to our Caribbean neighbours in their time of need. The praise, which we received, however, may have gone to our Prime Minister’s head, like a shot of rum on an empty stomach for he has used the opportunity to promise to expand the role of Trinidad and Tobago in the region in, of all things, security matters.
If Trinidad and Tobago is to become the region’s police force, then it can be assumed that we are intent on expanding the size of our military. If the recent fiasco with the new recruits in the police service is repeated, then we are likely to have in our military, a large number of uneducated persons of questionable character, who have been placed in positions of legitimate authority. The combination of a large undisciplined military, weak political directorate and a disgruntled population sets the scenario for another coup d’ état. I hope greater thought is placed in the selection of candidates so that we do not continue to treat our protective services as an Unemployment Relief Programme.
I am not against Trinidad and Tobago embarking on an expansionist policy in the region, if our goal is to make our country the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas and to fast forwarding the political integration of CARICOM. To the outside world, such actions gives the impression that we are well on our way to becoming a developed country, when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
The major difference between developed and developing countries is that government services work. People have electricity and water on a regular basis and education, health care and other public services are generally efficient. Thus, before the government plays “godfather” to the Caribbean, they should play “father” to our own country. “Fix me first” has taken on a whole new meaning.
Key to the success of developed countries, is a commitment to transparency. Our politics flourishes in the absence of transparency and as such, corruption, political patronage and nepotism have been our downfall. For Trinidad and Trinidad to become the country we desire we must put radical measures in place to ensure transparency in both the government and private sector. If not, as far as development goes, we will continue to “spin top in mud”.
Author's note: This article was written because there is a lot of resentment to the fact that there are people in the counties who continue to be flooded out every year and there is no real attempt to alleviate the problem. To help others in their time of need is divine but charity begins at home. I guess the newspapers didn't like this one.