By Stephen Kangal
August 05, 2014
PM Kamla: “…The election of this government has changed the political landscape. The expectation of the public that something will be done when wrongs are committed in public office are now the hallmarks of good governance…”.
The standard of political accountability changes according to the regime because after four years the PNM that was rejected in 2010 on the platform of persistent wrong-doing may be on the cusp of returning to Whitehall in spite of all the numerous wrongdoings it has visited on the people of T&T.
Speech-writers are putting words in the mouth of the PM under the illusion that we are a gullible population and that there is consensus or unanimity on what constitutes wrong-doing. The commission of ministerial wrong-doing and its constituent elements changes according to spin concocted by the regime in power and its cadre of spin doctors.
In my observation wrong-doing and speaking generally, under the UNC and its various permutations, wrong-doing only has to be 50% wrong to be considered wrong whereas under the PNM wrong-doing has to attain the 200% threshold before it is considered to be wrong albeit by 70% of the electorate.
Accordingly I do not believe that a new political landscape/ conjuncture that is moral rectitude based, has been established under the regime of the PP. This is a temporary phenomenon because if this population is unanimous, consistent in their perception and definition of political and moral wrong-doing and this wrong-doing has been rejected, how can the PNM’s political stocks be on the up-swing post-Calder Hart, the $55m Scholarship Slush Fund, property tax, rapid rail’s $1/2 billion initial survey etc?
Do we have to factor in our ratio dicidendi and modus operandi the short-memory culture/political illiteracy of the electorate that firstly, cannot count beyond two electorally speaking and secondly, its very persistent viral infection of short memory that does not extend beyond four years now?
In the pre-1986 period wrong-doing did not exist at all. It was a case of electoral rubber-stamping because the country was not yet ready for an Indian Prime Minister or a South of the Caroni River regime.
My thesis is that one sound of the syngal does not augur the imminence of the rainy season which when translated means that one swallow does not the summer make. There is no fundamental or radical change in the sub-terrain of the current political landscape that can be attributed to or claimed by the PP at present.
I totally agree with you.People have forgotten Carty’s bold yet truthful declaration,”All ah we(PNM) tief” Pnmites should be the last set of folks to criticse the PP Gov’t.As a young man growing up in Freeport,I experienced a lot of racism/discrinination. They(PNM) were building the Carapichaima Junior Sec.,we could never get work there,yet there were Islanders. The foreman would always tell us Indian youth “come back tomorrow”, until we got fed up.I tied to get in at John D without success.Of course back then we could’nt see it as discrimination. I could safely say back then(in PNM days)80% of Gov’t workers were afro Trinis. And I could go on and on……
Were you really interested in being a lowly paid policeman or public servant of CEPEP worker? You need not answer as the corner parlor or rum shop made more money for you or your family or even the roti shop etc., but you must not try to sell me this story as you were taught to thief from small. The problem with you folks is that you think only you smart. But if you look at the bigger picture – Your race ever contributed to the performance of or development of any country starting with T&T. You also do not have to answer that.
The PNM support has always been around 285,000, even when Manning lost the election it was mainly due to an angry population which had enough and out vote the tribalist party. They still kept their base solidly intact. Of course many PNMites said they vote for the partnership ( yeah right).
The standard of accountablility has increased under the PP, with the “prime pork” ministers given the boot for mischief in their portfolio. Yes the PM has taken a people first approach in dealing with the abuse of the public trust. She has so fast ended the career of about 20 whose behavior caused her enormous embarrassment and political distress. Compared that to Canada where the former Minister of Health still have a nice government job after mismanaging millions.
TnT has raised the bar and the expectations are higher than most developed nation in terms of anti corruption initiatives. Even Dr Rowley in the dead of night has gone to Beetham garbage dump to hunt for evidence. Yes the republic is in better hands today.
You must tell the entire story about Manning. Manning did save us from Panday and Ish (Northern Construction) who stole over 70 million US from the Tringen 11 Project (FEDCHEM) and planted some indian goons to run the plant down (14% above design with lowest onstream time factor worldwide). You must remind us about UNC and how they were formed and financed in those years after club 88 (Robbie was too ashamed to let the truth out). We were also blasted vex with the PNM in 1986 back then but your people said then what PNM stole in 36 years we will steal in 5 years and they did. And then Robbie as President made the famous statement in 2002. Ramesh wanted a greater share of the UNC spoils …remember. We cannot forget this. But people like you must have benefited from the billions Panaday, Ish and company stole from our Piarco airport project back then and you must talk about section 34 too why your goodly PM does not want the cat out the bag.
Sorry Uncle Kangal,but the PNM was not rejected merely because-as you naively claim-“….of persistent wrongdoing. ” For your information, it was due to the decisions of a self opinionated, delusional, vindictive, Keith Rowley despising -anti Tobago/anti poor African people,arrogant geologist, drunken with power, who decided to hold an election , some 2 years before such was due.
Your UNC dominant,Kamla led regime , assumed power, only because African folks, led by Jack Warner, Verna St Rose, Errol Mc Cloud, Wade Mark, Winston Peters, Tobago Jack, and Dr Baker,decided to join ranks with the party that Uncle Shah help create, and as a result gave it a broad base , national image, thus making same more palatable, for cross tribal ,voting consumption, hmmmmm?
Let’s cut through the chase people,and quit sucking on the neo triumphalist koolaid , as articulated by our learned friend Mr SK. The PNM won 97 ,out of 100 national elections in this country, because our Indo Trini brothers, and sisters, voted for them, since they knew that their interest would be advanced-and advances it surely did, irrespective to what intellectually fraudulent revisionists, might claim to the contrary.
Each time the ULF/UNC/cop, and similar Indo Trini dominant parties , ruled the political roost, it was only because of the following:-Their respective leaders, and political operatives, got their acts together, spruced up the image of their party, and most importantly, a few progressive minded-or some cynics might prefer-self serving opportunistic, Afro elites, choose to join ranks , via tenuous coalitions/alliances, then entice desperate voters ,that look like they are, to vote a certain way.
Sadly , the Afro Trini masses , have always ended up holding the short end of the stick, as can be seen once more, over the past four years.
As the famous American, female TV Judge Judy, would often say,”quit peeing on my leg, and tell me it’s raining!”
“Dis is our time ,”has the same meaning, Uncle SK, whether it is said my Papa Basdeo, de Faddah of your nation, or advanced by his loyal protégé , in Auntie K, and Spiritual adviser Sat Maraj.
Be forwarned however, as the disgruntled voters , on both sides of the SO CALLED DIVIDE, are watching.
‘Where you at,’ Dr Rowley?
Are you building dem bridges to the future?
I luv dis land , Y tu?