Say no to ‘concrete monuments’

Notwithstanding the twists and turns of Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, I strongly support Newsday’s editorial entitled “Symbol of Democracy” of March 1, 2003 insisting that our Parliament and its business remain at the Red House, and I was particularly pleased with the paper’s view that “the country cannot afford nor does it need a monument to Mr Manning” and that he should listen to the people.

However, in today’s divisive political climate of subtle psychological censorship, I must commend Newsday, on behalf of the less fortunate, for not putting water in its mouth — as grass-roots people will say — to disagree with Government’s plan for the Red House, which I hope is a signal to other sections of the media to get back on the level playing field, the honeymoon is over. In the ongoing debate, I would like to see workers and the less fortunate in society rally around the view that Cabinet’s priority at this time is misdirected — considering the urgent need for better health and water services, transportation and sustainable employment etc — and leave the history of the Red House to be debated by the intellectuals and the more fortunate people in society who may see its relevance, as against the needs of the less fortunate who have their own history of struggle for bread, equality and justice.

While the Government has its 2020 vision, the poor and less privileged as a community must have their own vision. They must begin to put on their thinking caps, read, listen and learn. They must be observant to make comparison that will help them to avoid politicians using them as permanent “walking advertisement billboards” with a cheap T-shirt as their only reward and ticket to a very small piece of the country’s economic pie. They must put away their party flags and take up books to educate themselves and help their children because education is liberation.

I cannot see any need for a new building to house parliament even though I suspect that part of the 2020 vision is to build monuments to enhance the image of the ruling party and TT as the political and economic centre of the Caribbean. However, building a new home for parliament between now and 2010 is like pouring water into good wine. A new parliament is no guarantee for good governance and prudent behaviour of members of parliament, and as a nation seeking first world status, we should spend some time working towards a new political culture that will be much more meaningful to the realities of a transparent 2020 vision.

Civil society must put an end to its “go with the flow” attitude towards tit-for-tat politics in this country that is already on its way to a narrow and slippery road, and our citizens should be concerned about the Government’s “consultation after the fact” policy. This is reverse democracy and it may be in keeping with the Prime Minister’s public expression that democracy is not absolute, which means it can be bent into any shape or form to suit one’s fancy. Another threat to our democratic way of life is the political brand of racism that is undermining workers’ solidarity and, by extension, further weakening the effectiveness of the trade union movement, and it is clear to me that should the movement fail to heal its wounds and put its house in order, it runs the risk of becoming a victim of racial tit-for-tat politics and a casualty of the Government’s obscure 2020 vision.

The Caroni VSEP issue has shown that the Government does not have plans. What it has is an impaired vision of a mission, but missions without plans are destined to failure and any Government that sets out to get rid of nine to ten thousand workers simultaneously in one industry, its actions must be seen as psychologically damaging to the workers involved and lacking in statesman-like leadership. While our society is occupied with tit-for-tat politics — which I sometimes refer to as “Presentation College Politics” — and the Government pushing its agenda for building monuments, there is a creeping alienation of the less fortunate people in our society. In this country, we are supposed to have individual rights and freedoms and we all should be happy for that but sometimes when those rights and freedoms are exercised, there can be unexpected consequences that follow.

The worrisome thing about the alienation of the less fortunate is that it is not planned, organised or deliberate — it is just happening, going with the flow in many ways: 1) The wide disparity in salaries and wages of management at the top and workers at the bottom. 2) The concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. 3) The increasing number of the very poor and the working poor. 4) The need for more sustainable employment. 5) The increasing number of “all inclusive” social events. 6) The widening of the gap between rich and poor. 7) The psychological effect of the visual growth of gated communities. These quiet happenings is like a festering sore and cannot be cured by politically correct speeches and slogans designed solely for image building. Should the Government fail to make its social programmes less cosmetic, transparent and more meaningful with a focus on sustainable employment this time around, it will have to say: the mistake we made this time, was to put the building of concrete monuments before the welfare of the people.