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As 2018 draws to a close, as is customary, reviews and assessments of the year that was are being done. Like the characters in Sing a Song of Sixpence, different roles and perspectives inform the look back.
Those in the counting houses are counting the bottom-line of the year’s transactions. Those in the palace frame of mind are pondering how much milk and honey they extracted from their parlours of power and privilege. Those in the garden will be recounting their plight and how many had their noses pecked off by those blackbirds controlling industry and commerce. The media houses, like the teller of the tale, are preparing their 2018 – News Reviews, Big Stories, etc. WE MUST LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF 2018 How ever and from wherever one looks, the last 12 months have been a year full of events, good and bad, presenting our society with dangers as well as opportunities. The year most certainly cannot be described as dull, unremarkable or uninteresting. In a year in which the first headlines screamed “Bloody Start” and “5 Killed on Day 1”, from the bloodiest month to year-end, with this country recording its 2nd highest ever murder toll, it cannot be said that the outcome is all positive. Nor can we celebrate the thousands now out of jobs at major state enterprises, educational institutions and elsewhere or those facing the threat of job loss. Nor will those still counting their losses from disasters, natural and man-mad, be brimming with merriment as we cross into 2019. The announcement of modest profit at CAL, of oversubscribed bond issues and prospects of fortune and jobs from projects in various stages of gestation will not motivate the singing of any song of sixpence. And while we mourn the passing of many of our chantuelles of our collective spirit and resilience, we celebrate their time with us and what they have done and left for our upliftment and encouragement. In the twilight hours of 2018, fundamental issues remain to be resolved in our economic management and planning, of our environmental and water management practices, of our strengthening of our governance systems to empower the majority and guarantee the needs of all, of our organising to guarantee the safety and security of all, or displacing the atmosphere of anxiety, fear and desperation which pervade. What we can celebrate is the social response to crisis in whatever form, the caring humanity that is not lost despite the negative pressure of an anti-social agenda seeking to place private-right above public-right, individual or narrow self-serving goals above collective benefit, hate and intolerance instead of unity and material abundance as consumerism above the freeing up of human capacity. We must enter 2019 with the objective of addressing every problem with opening the road to progress of our society at the forefront. MOVING FORWARD IN 2019 The usurpation of procurement by Cabinet, the unfinished business of appointing top officers of the TTPS or the resolution of the relationship between Tobago and Trinidad or the lingering cloud of allegations against the top judicial officer and concentration of authority in fewer hands within Cabinet, the failure to reconfigure the economy to achieve sustainability – these are all cause for serious concern. In 2019, achieving significant advance in the economic, political, social, cultural, Environmental and International spheres must occupy our attention and actions. This is a year in which the politicians are gearing up for 3 significant elections enthused by the election cycle syndrome, focused on retaining or gaining office while the concerns of the people are relegated to unimportance. Moving forward for the majority of the society means achieving solution to the problems and issues that require it. Some matters of immediate concern include:
What we need is a pro-social agenda and action by the people, progress in the direction favourable to sorting out their real concerns and advancing the nation-building project in this 57th year of Independence. Otherwise 2019 will pass without a new atmosphere of hope, confidence in the future and release of the creative energies of every individual and collective of human beings in our society. We, the people, must remain vigilant and take initiatives in our interest and that of the nation. Clyde Weatherhead A Citizen fighting for Democratic Renewal and Progress for Our Society 29 December 2018 Recounting 2018 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
 Community Green Space Gone  Construction of building over Drain In the midst of the Christmas season, we have been reminded in chilling fashion about why so many are filled with fear and anxiety rather than the merriment which we associate with this time.
With a sense of remorse and vulnerability, we are now aware that the violent criminality terrorising our lives has claimed the second highest annual murder toll in our country’s history, and with 8 days of 2018 still ahead. More and more we withdraw from social activity and seek refuge in our homes, our living space. The phenomenon, labelled Home Invasion renders even our very family abode no safe place. The episodes of powerfully armed intruders inflicting the most horrific brutality on old and young, are too often played out. There was a time, too, that not only our homes, but, our communities were safe-havens from unsolicited intrusion. This Christmas, though, our community, the area demarcated as residential on one side of the borderline Trincity Central Road separating our living space from the commercial zone opposite is for again invaded by the business interests. In an apparent attempt to ‘catch the Christmas sales, the fast food franchise-holders, have hastily attempted to complete construction of a Prestige-ous fast-food complex on the green space adjacent to the roundabout on the Central Road which bore a sign until their advent that read – Health Centre.The merchants of items of questionable health benefit now occupying the very spot on Home Construction Ltd’s plans designated for a health facility. The space was up to only recently a green space used by residents, taxi drivers of the H or PH variety and most recently even visitors as a place of relaxation, recreation and community interaction. THE SAGA Within hours after what was described as a consultation meeting called on an evening which made it difficult for even those who were aware to attend, a galvanised fence was erected around the grassy space. This was so sudden that even people living on the other side of the Boulevard which borders it were shocked when the fence appeared. This is the second attempt to usurp that space for commercial purpose. A previous attempt only a couple of years earlier was halted when residents objected during a consultative process which at least appeared genuine. In this case, those who already own KFC, Pizza Hut, et al in the largest mall in the Caribbean just across the borderline, held a meeting with about 15 people present, 10 of whom were from the franchise-holder outfit on the very green space about 2 weeks before the other mentioned above. Not only are these fast-food outlets already located in the Trincity Mall, but a second large mall is under construction further up the Central Road, on the spot where a Family Court was proposed. So, residents, victims of this invasion of our community’s living space, who had earlier objected to the sudden arrival of a caravan of food trucks within the very space, who can we turn to for protection? Well, the Presige-ous spokesmen made it clear that this drive-through complex, constructed over the major drain preventing flooding in Rowland Avenue and with its exit and entrance less than 100 metres away from a heavily-used roundabout was being erected with approval of the Planning Ministry and Traffic Management. So, we, the residents can scarcely complain to our very busy MP who happens to be the Planning Minister. Nor can we turn to her immediate predecessor who led the campaign against the Family Court, but, is silent when a second huge mall is going up a recreation ground away from the 2 secondary schools in our community. It may or may not be of significance that this fast-food complex and the other commercial building further North on the residential side borderline Central Road, as well as the second mall opposite it are all owned by those who announced themselves to the world to be ‘the 1%’. The food trucks were relocated after objection by residents. But, it appears that the Regional Corporation and the Councillor who also incidentally share party affiliation with the MP, only used the residents conveniently to facilitate the Prestige-ous business interests. Unlike the victims of home invasion, we cannot call on GG to halt this community invasion which is inflicted upon us, because this incursion carries with it, the veneer of ‘lawfulness’. Clyde Weatherhead A Citizen Fighting for Community Right 22 December 2018 On December 12, our country crossed 2 milestones that we would have preferred not to. On that morning, the annual murder toll reached the mark of 500 for only the third time in the our history, and we also hit the mark of 7,700 murders since 1994.  
Our highest annual murder tolls, now stand at 550 – 2008, 509 – 2009, 500 – 12 Dec 2018, 494 – 2017 and 485 – 2010. No sooner had we passed this notorious milestone and the political parties cranked up their propaganda machines, including their social media networks, to begin claiming who better than who in dealing with crime. However, the most important assessment of Government’s ensuring the safety and security of citizens is that of We, the People. While the politicians seek to claim kudos or demonise each other, it is the citizens, the victims of this murderous criminality who feel the pain and loss, the fear and intimidation that each incident of savage slaughter imposes on us. WHO BETTER THAN WHO? A review of the cumulative graph of destruction of human lives over the last 24 years shows the trends, the most remarkable of which is the steady climb in the total loss of life from 143 in 1994 to 7700 so far in 2018. More than 7700 citizens cut down in a time in which we are supposed to be living in peace. After a decline in the annual count between 1994 and 1999, the trend has been mostly upward apart from a decline from 485 to 410 in 2015. And while the political parties make claims and counterclaims of “success” or “failure” in fighting crime, it is undeniable that the steepest rises in murders occurred with the PNM in charge. The four highest murder tolls were recorded under the 2 most recent PNM regimes, while the fifth occurred in the transition year 2010. The annual toll has not dropped below 350 for the last 13 years. The facts show that “success” in dealing with this murder spree has at best been more apparent than real. The fear, though, is real. It is interesting that the Opposition Leader has called for the resignation of the latest of the trio of Ministers of National Security while he accused the Opposition of ‘trying to create a false narrative’. But, facts are stubborn things and this Minister has is now presiding over the highest murder toll in 9 years. WHAT WE WERE PROMISED In 2015, in their Manifesto, the PNM assessed the UNC’s record on crime this way: “What is their record on crime? • Violent crime is out of control, while white collar crime, ……has reached epidemic levels. • The murder total has exceeded 400 for the last two years and there has been no reduction in the murder rate for this year with over 250 murders in the first 7 months of 2015..” – PNM Manifesto 2015 , p. 9 But, now that their ‘record on crime’ reads ‘the murder total has exceeded 460 for the last three years” and with over 320 murders in the first 7 months of 2018 and 500 in less than 11 ½ months, the measure of failure has changed. In a post-Cabinet media conference 2 Ministers joined in to defend the record of the NatSec Minister and their government and invited us to judge them on their promises. “we promised to improve our border security. We promised that we will treat with the institution of the police service which we are now doing. We promised to speed up the court system….We’re keeping our promises,” one former Minister in the Ministry said. And, while claiming that gang-related violence is a major contributor, the NatSec Minister reminds us that “the first arrest and charges under the Anti-Gang Act (item No. 9 in their 10-point Crime Plan) took place earlier this year. Meanwhile murder 501 is already recorded. For his part, the CoP who invited us in July to “Measure me by murder toll” seemed to have measured himself this way “‘It’s unacceptable’ Top cop Griffith on 500 murders”. He also invited us to now measure him on an imagined toll which has been ‘avoided” and “while 500 murders have been committed for the year, the figure could have been closer to 600.”. Which are we to use? WHAT WE WANT The AG, today, put it best when he said “People are hungry for results….”. While the recent ‘extractions’ of kidnap victims has been loudly welcomed by citizens, the fact that kidnappings are on the increase is worrying. While the ‘rate of increase has decreased’ in terms of murders per month since June, that is no comfort when a 500-plus murder record is set for the year. We want to be safe and secure. We want our Right to Safety and Security to be made real. Promises are not enough. We demand results! Our Lives Depend on IT. Clyde Weatherhead A Citizen Demanding Our Right to Safety and Security 13 December 2018 |
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