Yes, people, we can fix this place

We can, with simply one instruction, change the practice of WASA damaging our roadways to a policy of immediate road restoration as part of the repair process.

Instead of spending millions on overpasses to free up a roadway that can never be a highway, we can build a highway just south of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway from the Beetham to Sangre Grande.

We can transform our economy from one that depends on the energy sector to a diverse economy where agriculture, food processing, energy, tourism and manufacturing all contribute towards earning foreign exchange.

Our healthcare can be transformed from an inefficient government facility to a public-private partnership supported by an efficient health insurance system that allows for the best healthcare in the Caribbean.

We can change our structure of education to one geared at preparing our children to face the changes of a developed world. We can move away from a focus on academics to a holistic education package where trade, industry, medicine, sports and academics are combined to produce balance in our education system.

We can fix crime by structuring our policing from the community level where every community is patrolled and known criminals are prosecuted and imprisoned.

We can transform our prisons from a place where criminals are hardened to a place of learning and transformation.

We can manage our communities in a way that allows for growth and development at the community level and reduce the impact of a centralised system of governance.

We can immediately reduce the numbers of hours spent in traffic on our roads by building a rail system through a public-private partnership, privatise the bus service, introduce a school bus service at all our schools and build a new network of roads.

We can stop the alienation of Tobago by seriously considering an underground rail or ferry link from Toco to Tobago. Given the cost of the ferry service, this option will be a cost-cutting measure in the long term.

Yes, people, we can fix TT . The major hurdle is the people. What kind of people stick chewing gum on the turnstiles at their airport immigration lane? What kind of people tolerate the levels of corruption that allow our roadways and other construction projects to cost twice the international rates? What kind of people support a political party for no other reason but race? Who are these people that pee on people’s walls at Carnival, throw their garbage in the waterways and along the sides of the road? What kind of people kill each other by the hundreds each year and take years to bring one to justice? Who are we that depend on “we govament” for handouts from contracts to grants? We occupy State lands with impunity, we protest and “cuss up” the police and destroy our historical sites. We can fix this place but we must change our mindset first.

STEVE ALVAREZ via email