Together we can create a new history

I want to suggest that if the political pen is that powerful, we use it to write a new history, one anchored in unity and love for each other.

It seems to me there are some individuals who would have us think that our politics is racial.

Our voting patterns may be so, but I humbly suggest that our politics is not.

If our politics were racially biased, one would imagine that when the PNM is in office, areas like Laventille, Carenage, Diego Martin and other PNM strongholds would be treated differently or better than areas like Barrackpore and Penal.

Similarly, when the UNC is in office one expects that areas like Couva and Chaguanas would be treated better than Arima and Port of Spain. The data does not support that trend of thought.

It seems that the race card is played only to solicit votes and afterwards politicians embark on projects aimed at enriching a few while the people who voted for their sect remain dissatisfied and ignored until another election, when they are made to feel that if they do not vote race the other political party or parties will neglect their needs.

In many communities, a few dollars could repair a bridge, build a playground, fix a road, create access to farmers’ crops or extend water supply to a housing settlement.

Sporting clubs like San Juan Jabloteh are on the brink of closure for lack of funding that provides our youths with an opportunity to spend their time productively. Our netball community needs courts, equipment and financial support to compete internationally.

These basic needs are not racial, they are nationwide, yet they seem to be ignored regardless of which political party is in service.

When one considers that in 2009, $563 million was spent on hosting the Fifth Summit of the Americas, $125 million of which went to rental of cruise ships. Between 2011 and 2015, Petrotrin spent over $9 billion on the cat cracker project that was originally estimated to cost $1 billion. In 2013, the government spent $6.8 million to wreck a fire truck.

In 2015, $780 million was spent on a waste water plant that was only 50 percent completed. In 2017, the trend continues with some requesting $50 million to replace toilets in the prison. There is a suggested cost of $10 million for a walkover in Sea Lots and $60 million to upgrade Maracas Bay.

These figures and projects can lead one to imagine that there is a tendency to ensure that the few continue to be enriched by our politicians while the many argue about race and political power.

If with one stroke of the political pen one could cause the people of TT to recognise that we are all affected by the inefficiencies of politicians who serve the few, I say write on. If with one stroke of the political pen we can get people to ignore the platitudes of racially based holidays and focus on what we can achieve together, I say write on. Together we can and must work on solutions that ensure that every community, every citizen, regardless of race, creed or political affiliation, is afforded an opportunity to access basics like reliable running water, good roads, reliable healthcare and sustainable economic opportunities that allow one to have hope for better tomorrows.

Let us write together a new politics, one where the focus shifts from the needs of the few to that of the many.

STEVE ALVAREZ via email