Vote with Intelligence

We are constantly aware that each election is considered a cross roads for Trinidad and Tobago for the simple reason that successive governments fail to bring meaningful changes to the basic issues that continue to stifle this nation. Now we are faced with the bonus of a surprisingly early return to the polls with the opportunity to rectify the mistakes of the past 48 years and take a step towards meaningful change. That we have had a general election thrust upon us itself speaks volumes about the current situation and the despair that Patrick Manning is feeling– from the revelations about the PNM’s very questionable activities, the growing disillusion with a dictatorial Prime Minister who’s vision is clouded by his own delusion, the possibility that the money in the Treasury has dried up as a result of ridiculous wastage in the name of ego and the daily murder statistic that leaves the nation an uncivil society.

There is the opinion that this latest election is part of a move by Manning to also stall any progress that the Opposition forces are making; Manning can no longer rely on the divisive nature of the UNC while the Sunway revelations highlight the growing will of the COP. The Prime Minister may see himself as the most political savvy of the nation’s politicians - playing yet another game with the electorate - but this is one game too far; ask yourself why he would rather go to the polls at a time where the PNM is held in such low esteem rather than face the music from the revelations that have put the Govt in that self-same low esteem position?

The next few weeks will comprise the age-old practices of mud-slinging, idle boasts about empty achievements and the usual promises to gain your vote. We have to challenge ourselves to see past the bacchanal performances on the political platform and look for the policies, the intention of the parties to resolve crime, corruption, the economy, the health system, to provide the basic amenities and to ensure that transparency and responsibility are no longer factors that our civil servants continue to dismiss. We have to challenge ourselves to think differently with our vote if we are to have any hope of forcing our politicians to act differently when in power. We have to look past the sheer idiocy of voting on race, on gender, religion or social background and look deep within ourselves to realise that none of this makes one iota of difference, after all, in successive regimes all races and genders continue to suffer. We all belong to this beautiful and blessed soil and have to start looking to what unites us rather than be so quick to look at our differences. We all have a role to play in each other’s life as we attempt to put this nation on the trajectory to realising its true potential. We are faced with claims that we have surpassed our potential because of the ability to host world leaders but anyone can clean the home for visitors, it is the daily living that counts.

Look to your recent history. We have to be willing to accept that we have been duped but also be filled with the hope that there are real, meaningful changes afoot in our political arena and this is the time to take a step towards a new option, because the old regimes will only continue to fail us.

And they have failed us miserably. A nation blessed with all the resources in the world to lay the foundation for its relatively small population to enjoy the basic needs of existence has instead succumbed to taking the cosmetic route, constructing unwarranted buildings while the ailing health system remains a symbol of failure to care for the population. The thought process that a giant and costly flag somehow makes things better shows the mindset of the government; worse, those responsible for such a debacle remain in their positions of power in complete disregard to public opinion that asks who pays $2 million for a pole and a piece of cloth while our people drink water from drains? The electorate have to ask why is it that in almost 50 years of independence we have no political will to provide water to all in a nation surrounded by sea with a heavy rainfall season, the answer is incompetence and mismanagement with a lack of priorities. It is laughable that the Government jumps on the environment bandwagon when visiting leaders make the topic fashionable, yet they construct brand new buildings without exploring powering them with alternative uses of energy. They lack the planning to heed basic Geography lessons, so that we erode the landscape then claim that annual flooding is beyond our control. The basics have to be the focus. Until a party presents itself as being able to think outside the traditional T&T political arena we will be left with the same old khaki pants in the Red House.

If T&T is to have meaningful change politicians have to declare not just the intention to rectify the problems of the island but a logical explanation as to how those problems will be solved. It will require a mammoth exercise in terms of research but better to do it before an election rather than scratch your heads while in power. As an example, the scourge of crime would logically be targeted by a wide reaching cohesive plan to engage social and education forces with strong investment, plans to split our jails for minor and major offences, plans to separate our police from the Police Complaints Authority (police investigating themselves is laughable), plans to invest seriously in sport and the arts so that our youth are given alternatives to crime and plans to ably monitor and equip our police with training and technology (a nation wide CCTV network) in line with the boast of 2020 instead of an officer taking notes on paper like 1920. There has to be a stated goal of murder reduction through these plans with realistic aims that it will take time but also show that the implementation will reduce the loss of life for instance by 20% in the first year, 50% in the second etc. In all that these parties claim to be able to provide we must demand checkpoints so that we know they are serious with these claims and we can hold them accountable at said time. The nation requires no less.

Those that seek to govern us have to show that they are also willing to empower us, give us back the notion that they are our workers, spending our money. Those that seek to govern need to tell us on the campaign trail that they are willing to implement the idea of a recall for underperforming MPs; that they are willing to implement set election dates so we are no longer subjected to the infamy of thrice postponed local elections or the taunting that a general election date is in someone’s back pocket. Taunting is for the school yard, our politicians need to grow up. We need to see the intention to separate powers of the State rather than seek absolute reign via a changed Constitution. There has to be intention that only elected officials can hold posts in Ministries so that relation/nepotism is not the qualification for heading vital Offices and it is the people’s choice that matters. In short T&T, we have to delve deeper than the rum, roti, t-shirt and free fete campaigns to look at the intention to change the mechanics of our governance. We have to confront every promise with “How? What? Why? When?” New politics does not begin with any of those parties seeking power; it begins with the electorate and their level of acceptance.

Finally, we have to vote. People complain daily about the state of the nation yet we are faced with the sad statistic that 35,000 people do not exercise their right to a voice in what affects every facet of their life; they do not exercise a right for which people in other nations die. Quite simply, if you do not vote, then you accept that you are not deserving of better.

This is not a utopian rant; no country will ever achieve perfection, but despite the inevitable die-hards claiming that the nation is fit to call itself a civil society under the present regime, the avoidance of the issues, the despair of the sick and impoverished, the erosion of our land, our people and civil liberties, together with the inability to provide a secure environment all points to the need of a different approach with our vote. By all means vote for your choice but make best use of that vital right and if you do not like what you hear on podiums promising paradise, make your voice heard. It is time to be fed up with divisive politics – lambasting the opposing parties is looking to the past, I want a party that elevates itself away from the race-based politics and lets its policies do the talking. For the sake of T&T fulfilling even an iota of its true potential and ensuring a basic standard of living for all, so should you.

Sheldon Waithe