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Hindsight is 2020 vision, they say.
As we transition into a new year and a new decade, coincidentally 2020, the year a Vision should have been completed, we can look back at 2019 and take stock of where we’ve been as a guide as to where we are heading. As the year was in its dying days (pun intended), the population was perplexed with anxieties about their personal safety and security as the murder toll hurtled along to a massive 538, the perpetrators apparently anxious to prove that 2018 could be displaced into to third position for record innings by the criminal purveyors of death. Many were also in anxiety over their physical assets as time was counting down to the deadline for an ordinarily monetary measure was implemented ostensibly for national security purposes. Uncertainty not only drove many into lengthy stays at the banks to ensure their few blue notes would remain useful by replacement or deposit, it also drove businesses and at least one superpower embassy to commit consumer (if not legal infraction) by announcing pre-emptory refusal of perfectly legal tender. Anxiety also lurked in the shadow of a big story that straddled the stroke of midnight – a $28M pastor snagged in the ‘source of funds-declare your wealth’ net that accompanied demonetisation. His largesse quite possibly the fortunate catch doled out by an insecure flock concerned about every facet of their future in this land of unfulfilled promise and threat of decadence and demise in economic, political, social, cultural and every other aspect of life. Such was the close of a year in which we were constantly reminded of the “difficult times” in which we were engulfed, much like the proverbial fly in the spider’s web. In a way, the portrayal of the Mystery Raiders posse of Marauding Midnight Robbers (my band) titled A-Nancy Story was a foreboding. And these are difficult times indeed. ECONOMY Despite the assurances in the 2019 Budget presentation headlined “Turnaround”, the largest of the present administration’s 4 fiscal packages to date, the question is still being asked, where is it. Not even the election campaign slogan – Getting It Done – served to either mobilise the voters or reassure the increasingly uneasy population. From all indications and the sleuth of expert reports, the economy continued its downward trajectory throughout 2019 with little real prospect of a course change in 2020. Perhaps, the Finance Ministry posting online and advertising elsewhere 10 to 15% increases in wages and stipends for the least secure and most vulnerable among the employed and the promised creation of 3,000 temporary trainee positions as “Fiscal Measures” in December should tell us something about the urgency to prove that the turnaround is happening. The New Year ‘fiscal measures’ – a combination of Loss Relief, Investment Tax Credits and Capital Allowances of 20 to 75% to Energy Corporations demonstrate a desire by Government to ‘incentivise’ the oil and gas barons in hopeful expectation as the Prime Minister urged the nation to “Pray for Oil” at the end of the first quarter 2019. Despite announcements of successful renegotiation of gas contracts on either side of the Atlantic, gas production remains 400bcfd (billion cubic feet per day) below the requirements for a sustainable petrochemical sector. Some dry holes and a failed bid-round have not added to the optimism that some harbour. Nor has the restructuring (seamless transition) of Petrotrin yielded any increase in oil production despite frequent announcements of operating accounting successes. Our most important economic sector, the one on which we have depended heavily for revenue, GDP and Foreign Exchange contributions is in decline into the foreseeable future. And despite promises of Chinese investment miracles in a major dry dock facility and industrial estate units (reminiscent of the industrialisation by invitation thrust of the 1960-70s), there is no new economic game-changer on the horizon. The announced incentives to the tourism, creative arts, agricultural sectors have to date yielded no significant results to cope for the loss of income from the energy sector with declining production and prices only marginally and temporarily increased by the prospect of a new round of war in the Middle East. SAFETY AND SECURITY Despite a slew of laws with stiffer and stiffer penalties, promising to deal with the zessers and smash the gangs; despite the militarisation of the police operations with a camouflaged masked squad reminiscent of an older airborne squad; despite photo ops by the top cop standing over the latest police fatality (a la ghost of Randy B); despite the resurrected promise by the NatSec Minister of ‘Big Fish’ going down by December, the murderous criminality has remained uncontrolled. On the last day of the year, in an ironic twist, the CoP’s assurance that we had not yet witnessed mass shootings seemed to have summoned the grim reapers to wantonly shoot 11 citizens, killing 1, on the streets of the capital. A new record murder toll. A national security monetary demonetisation that has so far unearthed a pastor among several citizens now labelled the ‘unbanked’, most of whom were herded as new customers for a benefitting finance sector. The promised release of hundreds of prisoners with the cannabis decriminalisation measure is yet to be realised. All of the ‘Law and Order’ measures have, like the economic measures, not stemmed the slide into more barbaric criminality with ambush of 11 fishermen in the Gulf, an 8-man gangland commando attack on a reputed gangster on the North Coast, the escape of 8 and 5 prisoners on very serious charges from the adult and youth prisons at Golden Grove. At the end of the year, a Judicial Officer was moved to remark, “in a democracy, fear of crime cannot result in a circumstance where the enshrined rights guaranteed under the …Constitution are compromised”. An important injunction. POLITICS In the arena of political affairs, things have not fared any better. The Constitutional ‘area of darkness’ that President Richards bemoaned at the 50th Independence Anniversary – the relationship between Tobago and Trinidad – remains in the same state of lack or solution. Promises of Self-government and/or Autonomy persist. The Local Government Reform about which we were told the 2016 LGE was a referendum has not seen the light of day. In the next round of the LGE cycle, everything from opposition to Property Tax to intransigence of the Opposition party was presented as excuse to cover over the fact that the Local Government Reform Bill (again assured in March) made it to Parliament too close to the end of Term to be passed. Nor has the Campaign Finance legislation we were told in January was ‘being finalised’ seen the light of Parliamentary day. The Procurement legislation remains “unusable” and the ball we are told has been in the Finance Minister’s court since September, while massive acquisitions are undertaken even with Cabinet committees as evaluation and tender committees for massive State contracts. Sweetheart housing construction contract, abandonment of BOLT approach in Tobago airport expansion, notwithstanding, the urgency of enhancing transparency and accountability in the disbursement of public money seems lost on those who are most to be held accountable. The expenditure of huge sums of money by the ruling party and its ‘Getting It Done” campaign banner, the at times almost vulgar blame game between the 2 so-called major parties, the emergence of a regional party and several parties (new and not-so-new) throwing their ‘hats in the ring’ failed to produce a turnout of anything more than the average for that election exercise. The outcome of a 7-7 Corporation draw between the political monopoly parties prompted desperate claims of ‘victory’ on both sides with spurious evidence bordering on the ridiculous. The crisis in our politics has also escaped solution or turnaround in 2019. SOCIAL CONDITION The further and escalating decay in our social condition was also evidenced in the frightful numbers reported in the abuse of our women, children, elderly and the competition among the months of the year for the title of bloodiest. Not even our utilities offer us a glimmer of hope of improvement and our health and other facilities remain closed for political reasons or move no closer to guaranteeing our most basic Rights to fundamental needs. With the benefit of hindsight, we can only sum up our life experience over the last 12 months as the erection of further warning signs of an internal decadence gnawing away at the social physiology of our body politic. Our nation-building project is threatened not by external aggressors, but, by an internal sedition (not envisaged by the archaic Sedition Act which has been resurrected against dissent) which is anti-social in its form and content. Despite the assault on our Rights and Freedoms, each new threat continues to be met with resistance. From the opposition to Bill No. 17 which attempted to strangle our access to public information, to the use of sedition charges against dissent, to the attempts to exclude Judicial discretion in the exercise of the Right to Bail, to the various verbal bombs unleashed against our institutions by the holders of the most senior offices, the body politic has risen in defence. Politicians have even descended into attacking citizens from their platforms and positions of authority simply because citizens exercise their Right to Speak on matters of Public Interest. Citizens stand up against the bullying. STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS Instinctively, the population know and understand that it is by guaranteeing the Rights of All, mighty or vulnerable, be those Rights economic, political, social, cultural or otherwise, that Real Security and Safety will be available to All. Propaganda about ‘building a “new society”’ while all of the essentials of the old – unsustainable economy, archaic governance structures and processes, militarisation and unbridled damage of the environment, moral and cultural decay – all persist, will not change the facts nor eliminate the Necessity for Change that is Real. Understanding the warning signs that became more apparent in 2019, one commentator was moved to shout – Take Warning – when he quoted the following: “The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed.” – Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler. In 2020, let us not lose sight of the forest for the trees. Let us not allow daily developments to prevent us from understanding where things are heading. The surest way to reach the point “at which these changes cannot be reversed” is to accept the prejudices and easy answers without questioning ready-made prejudices, beliefs and dogma including the stereotyping and labelling of people. To always question, investigate and determine the reality of what is proposed as “New” and the ‘Solution” is vital if we are to avoid the point of no return. In this 50th year of the 1970 Revolution, we are reminded, and must be confident, that We, the People, have the capability to create the solutions and to advance the nation-building project for a sustainable society fit for human beings in this 21st century. Clyde A Weatherhead A Citizen Fighting for the Democratic Renewal of Our Society 3 January 2020 2019 – Month by Month January
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December
To paraphrase Kitch’s popular Carnival cooldown tune - The Elections are Over.
While the music trailers and trucks and the car p.a. systems are silent; while the motorcades and rallies are in hibernation, the narratives on LGE 2019 roll on. In the absence of full preliminary or final results from the EBC, including the allocation of all Aldermen in the various Corporations by what is described as an ‘element of proportional representation’ in the First Past The Post electoral process, claims and counter-claims of victory, speculations and pure mischief are afoot. VERY PRELIMINARY RESULTS On Monday night as the votes were being counted what was most apparent was that the 2-party political monopoly (some say duopoly) remains dominant in the governance system (electoral and political processes) as they exist. The PNM-UNC political monopoly survives. The other parties which fielded candidates in total received less than 1.5% of the votes cast, the MSJ and PPM with 26 and 12 candidates respectively got most of those votes. Rowley declared – We Win! We get more seats (never mind is less seats than they got in 2016). Persad-Bissessar declared – We Win! We win the popular vote (never mind the popular vote does not really matter in FPTP electoral processes). And, the Corporations won moved from 8:6 to 7:7 – Whaaaat! A Tie. So, the latest controversy for the spin doctors on both sides to pounce on is Who Win? Of interest was how many of the 1,079,976 electors actually came out to cast their votes in these elections. There were 139 elections in that number of Districts (2 more than in 2016) in 14 Regional Corporations. The media were reporting a turn-out of 22-23%, until the EBC said on Tuesday evening, but it was 34.49%, a par score as LGEs go, a mere 0.35% more than 2016. This meant that a bit more than 65% of the electors were not motivated to come out and stain their fingers in this election for the 2-party monopoly. That was significant. INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS Amid all the Who Win speculation, and while several recounts were proceeding, the EBC issued titled - The Preliminary Results for the 2019 Local Government Elections. What was unusual was not the fact that preliminary results were issued. That has been done up to the LG by-elections last year, 2018. These preliminary results while giving a breakdown of votes cast for each party in these elections did not disclose either the number of the 139 elections (Districts) won by which party nor the votes obtained in each. The most unusual thing about these particular preliminary results was this phrase – “…The United National Congress received the popular vote…”. I don’t recall the EBC ever using that language as the body conducting FPTP electoral processes for over 57 years. (Perhaps I’m wrong and someone will disabuse me of my misgiving). The media, on the other hand, were busy fuelling the PNM-UNC fire with counts of ‘seats’ (sic) and Corporations won; “Arima – 7-0, 7-7 Draw” the headlines screamed. This only helped to confuse some citizens who apparently still are not aware of how our electoral system works. PLAYING ON IGNORANCE Playing on the ignorance of the workings of the process, a mischievous conspiracy theory was later unleashed with the EBC as its target. “No UNC votes in Port of Spain, Diego Martin and San Juan-Laventille were counted or recorded” was the claim by at least 3 social media video propagandists and repeated by several posters. When I asked in a non-scientific poll on social media, if people believed or disbelieved this story, the answers were instructive. Of course, there were the usual red or yellow trolls who defended their parties. The fact that the EBC had already issued the total votes for all parties; the fact that UNC was able to secure an Alderman in Diego Martin for the first time since 2010 which was only possible if they got 25% of the votes at least, didn’t raise alarms about the obvious falsehood. I blame the EBC and the media and the political parties for failing to conduct the political education of the electorate so that people understand the process in which they are asked to participate as their “civic” or “democratic duty, etc. Political parties are only interested in having voters get them into office by going and staining their fingers for their parties for their self-serving ends. Electors need to exercise an INFORMED vote. Hopefully, the EBC does its job and gets the preliminary and/or final results out quickly so that people have FACTS to go on and all the speculation and inane propaganda is silenced as quietly as the music trucks, p.a. systems and platforms have been. Let us get to seriously analysing and learning the lessons of this electoral exercise and demand the reforms that are needed to bring about Democratic Renewal of the Electoral and Political Processes to give the 65% majority and more a Real Say in Decision-making that Affects their Lives. Clyde Weatherhead A Citizen Fighting for Democratic Renewal of Our Society and Empowerment of the People. 6 December 2019  Satnaryan Maharaj - General Secretary of the Maha Sabha April 17, 1931 – November 16, 2019 “Understanding requires an Act of Conscious Participation of an Individual, an Act of Finding Out” -
Necessity for Change, by Hardial Bains. When the news of the passing of Satnaryan Maharaj broke yesterday morning, anticipating the tsunami of assessments of the man, in tribute and derision, I sounded a note of caution attempting to stem the flood of what could be not so proud moments weighing this controversial figure in the balance. This was my own initial post: “RIP SATNARYAN MAHARAJ. Our nation bids farewell to a man recognised as a leader. In our assessment of his role and contribution, it is hoped that we, as a society, do so in a dispassionate and objective manner. We must not use the lenses of preconceived or inculcated notions or biases or what is now politely and disarmingly labelled 'identity' politics. Farewell, Sat. Condolences to his family.”. Social media, the press and airwaves were awash with comments, pleasantly not filled with so much of the usual vitriol that was part of the commentary on many things that the long-standing Secretary-General of the Maha Sabha evoked over the years. When the pleasantries flowed from the halls of governance, the highest officers of our land set a calming tone. Others, to be expected, attempted to measure his legacy and some called for a State funeral and others for monuments and tributes. He had hardly parted from our company and in the midst of the messages from one quarter or the other, it was clear to me that the divisiveness some blamed him for, really lies in absence of a national assessment of his role and contribution. Eventually, I added the following in response to a lengthy and lively Facebook debate on the merits of a suggestion of a state funeral. “Wow. This thread is so interesting. What was Sat Maharaj? What you ask. What was he in social terms. He was a religious leader, a political activist, a journalist. Some say he was a racist, misogynist, even a paedophile because his religion allowed child marriage. He was divisive, a patriot, a fighter, etc etc. One thing is sure. Based on these comments here and other public utterances, it is clear that this society has not come to an accepted conclusion on the role of Sat in our society. There are chauvinists on either side of the race divide who for their own purposes are rushing to hail him as the champion of the Hindus or alternatively of the Indians or East Indians and a national icon or hero. On the other side, others condemn him as the enemy of the Africans and a racist hater. Are both correct? Those who call him a paedophile, condemn him for supporting child marriage, a retention of Hindu and Indian culture, are themselves being disingenuous. Non-Christian marriage laws in this country accepted marriage ages below 18. And 18 was not always the legal definition of adulthood. As well, if we go back over our family trees, we will find many of our ancestors were married long before 21 or 18. If we condemn Sat on this basis then we will have to condemn a lot of others too. He was divisive! some charge. Well, examine our political history, colonial and post-colonial and be honest and see if there’s not a very long list to whom such labels cannot be applied. So What was Sat? The answer will be this or that, not because of what he actually did or said but more so because of what narratives have been spun about him and his words and deeds. We hail the Baptists for defending their religion; yet condemn him for defending his. We hail African leaders for defending their “ethnic race” (as one comment put it) but condemn him for defending Indians. We hail Anthony Pantin as an activist religious leader but condemn Sat. Why? Because one religion is acceptable and another is not? Hopefully, we, as a society, will agree how objectively we assess the contributions and roles of all citizens to our society. So, we will be able to assess Sat or anybody else on those socially acceptable criteria and not about our own prejudices and dogmas. We are divided in our assessment of Sat, not because of Sat, but, because we are not united in our philosophy, values, Politics etc.”. Some may have been surprised at the quarters from which denunciations of the easy derogatory labels came. We have grown too accustomed to accepting narrative propagated by others for their own purposes. They now use ‘critical thinking’ as a mere buzzword. But, they encourage us never to understand others and their roles but rather to accept stereotypical objectifications of them without ever interacting with them, examining their circumstances and histories; without an Act of Finding Out for ourselves. However history will weigh him in the balance, none can doubt his contribution to the expansion and development of a remarkable portion of our educational system. Perhaps with the dying embers of his funeral pyre and the final treatment of his ashes, we, this rainbow nation will finally be able to pronounce on the legacy of Sat Maharaj. A Citizen longing for the Renewal of the National Purpose 17 November 2019 |
AuthorI am a appalled at the loss of the simple skills of discussing ideas and sharing Opinions to DEEPEN ANALYSIS and UNDERSTAND DEVELOPMENTS to ARRIVE AT SOLUTIONS. Archives
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