Letter from the Publisher

Nirvan Balkissoon

Undoubtedly the situation in Trinidad and Tobago is not getting any better. The crime plan that the PM has put in place is not working as many of the people held are being released due to a lack of evidence to convict.

Kamla’s crime plan is nothing more than a method of diverting the people’s attention from current mess that the PP Government find themselves in and that being there’s no real crime plan.

T&T just celebrated Republic day on September 24th, although Trinidad and Tobago became a Republic on August 1st, 1976. The event is celebrated as a public holiday on September 24th because this is the date when the first Parliament met under the new Republican Constitution.. so, after 35 years we still can’t get it right, the country continues to be plague with corruption and criminals and still no concrete crime plan from Kamla and the PP Government.

Some of you may think that I am hard on the PM and the Government but they are the ones who promised to make changes and correct the problems that have plagued the country for years. People are frustrated and I am seeing another migration of people leaving Trinidad and Tobago, but it’s the rich who can afford it and escape, the poor will stay and face the reality of what Trinidad and Tobago has become.

Last Saturday’s march in San Fernando was clearly a sign that people are not happy, these are the facts, I am not making these things up. Michael Harris of the Trinidad Express who has been for many years a writer and commentator on politics and society in Trinidad and the wider Caribbean wrote about his assessment of the Government performance.

As far as my assessment is concerned, the most remarkable fact about the tenure  of the People’s Partnership Government after 16 months in office is just how little  has changed in terms of policies and programmes from those pursued by the previous administration. The biggest change has clearly been in the cast of characters. From the Ministers down to the members of the board of the lowliest state enterprise there has been comprehensive change in personnel. But in terms of the script which is being followed it is as though the Manning administration never left.

In whichever sphere of public administration we care to examine, there is not to be discerned any significant change in policy or direction. It is as though the steering mechanism of the ship of state is welded into one position and no matter whose hands are on the helm the direction remains the same. 

This is so whether we look at the overall style of governance or examine each of the functional areas of administration. As far as the overall style of governance is concerned nothing of significance has changed. The dominance of the central executive is still intact and transparency, accountability and consultation are still only terms to which lip service is paid. 

Nothing has been done with regard to even beginning the process of local government reform. Nothing has been done with regard to changing the public procurement processes or even implementing any of the provisions of the Uff report. Nothing has been done with regard to opening up the channels of information. 

And on the issue of constitutional reform the silence from the Government has been deafening. The economy is in stasis. After a short flurry of activity from the previous Minister of Planning on the issue of innovation, economic planning has been reduced to inviting proposals for the development of Invaders Bay. If this proceeds it is going to be no different from Mr Manning’s grandiose waterfront projects.

The Minister of Finance is content to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor in office and rely more and more on deficit financing to keep intact a structure of expenditure which long ago ceased to be sustainable. Not a single one of the hundreds of state enterprises has been shut down; not a single one of the welfare subsidies has been reduced; and CEPEP and URP have more employees today than in the hey-day of the Manning administration.  

In the sphere of education absolutely nothing has changed. The Minister threatened to make the teaching of religion compulsory in schools and secondary school pupils now get laptops. That’s it. No discussions on revamping the curriculum, no discussions of the fact that so many of our students are functionally illiterate, no discussions on how the education system must be overhauled.

In health the story is the same. In fact wherever we look, whether it is in social services, community development, works and infrastructure, transport, tourism, what have you, it is all the same ole!

The only significant difference introduced by this Government as compared to the last is in the area of tackling crime and, in that regard, the introduction of the State of Emergency. And while there may be grave doubts that the State of Emergency will achieve the stated objectives at least it represents a departure from the policies of the previous administration.

It is a well known saying that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and to expect different results. How could this government which campaigned so vigorously against the PNM and all its works, simply come into office and continue with all the structures, the policies and the programmes of the PNM without skipping a beat? And, given that fact, how could anyone declare themselves to be satisfied with the Government’s performance? 

The answer has to be that the different views of the performance of the Government start from different premises as to what is expected of government. Now there was clearly a lot to be said against the style of that administration. So that it is not to be expected that a new government can come into office purporting to have a different style of governance and maintain the same old policies. If the style does not guide the substance then sooner rather than later the substance will surely guide the style.

Letter from the Publisher

Kellie Balkissoon

Recently, one topic continues to be brought to my attention by our readers; media and how it influences young women and men today. What puzzles me however is the fact that the media affects about 95 percent of all youths in today’s society.

Media can be used in a good way and but more frequently in a bad way. It affects youths in ways I’m sure they don’t know about as yet. In schools and at home, teachers and parents are constantly stressing the importance of using the internet in safe ways. As always, not a lot of youths listen to these warnings which leads me to my advice to those who use social websites including Facebook, MSN, Twitter and Blackberry Messenger, just to name a few.

A common problem we see today, is posting any and everything on websites such as Facebook. Information such as relationship status, employer, pictures and even what they’re thinking/feeling is out in the open for the world and yes not just your friends, but the world to see. This information, which should be considered personal, becomes a free for all. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing because I do have a Facebook account but all I’m trying to say is watch what information you put on the internet because it can get into the wrong hands and you can find yourself in a lot of trouble, and this goes out to everyone not just the youths.

For example; let’s say Mary puts every detail about her life on Facebook. She has details about what’s going on between her and her family, information about her boyfriend, places she’s going to, places she’s been etc. Now let’s say Ann sees all these things and uses it against Mary, and starts rumours about Mary. For one, Ann should be minding her own business and not getting herself involved in someone else’s life. But at the same time, Mary cannot really say anything to Ann because Mary is the one that wanted to put her life out there. In simple words, if you do not want anyone to talk about your life, then keep certain things to yourself.

Now that we’ve dealt with the negative impact, let’s talk about the positive. Sometimes people put certain things on Facebook to share events in their lives with their family and friends. In some cases, family members live abroad and they want to keep in touch with loved ones or maybe it’s a way to look back at memories and reminisce on those times.

Whatever the case may be, the media can be used for both positive and negative meanings but it is up to you to use it at your best interest. Starting unnecessary conflicts are, well unnecessary. If there are certain things you don’t want the world to talk about then maybe you shouldn’t have those “friends or people” on your list. Perhaps you shouldn’t post every single item

about your life on the websites.

Another reason why youths tend to display their whole lives on Facebook is because they want the world to see how “happy” and “great” their lives are opposed to everyone else’s. They post pictures of their “friends” and where they go or what they do, and it’s really not necessary. People do this because they want to portray a certain image to everyone else.

My advice is simple: be who you are. Once you stop doing what you think everyone wants you to do and stop trying to portray a certain life, your life will change and believe me, it will change for the better. Once you start thinking about yourself, there may be certain friends who walk out of your life and

when they do, that should show you that those individuals weren’t really your friends to begin with.

I would like to end by reminding all our readers to once again look out for Caribbean Xpress’ next issue which will be right after the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival. Our staff will be covering all the biggest fetes this upcoming weekend and will be front and centre at all the biggest shows.

Our photographers will be around, so make sure you look your best for a chance to be in our next issue. Also, look out for exclusive interviews with your favourite artists. Yes Toronto, Caribbean Xpress is doing it big and I invite you all to be a part of this revamp. Caribbean Xpress: Keeping you in touch with the Caribbean.