PNM’s spending a failure

THE EDITOR: I was thoroughly amused when I listened to the representative for Toco/Manzanilla preaching the virtues of PNM’s decision to spend 850 million of our dollars to build a sports stadium in the PM’s constituency. He suggested that it will make TT the sports centre of the Caribbean. This uttering is consistent with PNM’s philosophy that grandeur will lead to excellence. I wish to remind the Honourable MP of the following: PNM decided on free secondary education for all and embarked on a programme of building a large number of secondary schools throughout TT. There was no infrastructure to support this expansive project and the result was a creation of a mass of young, frustrated underachievers. This, most likely, is the mass from which our bandits come and has TT moving inexorably towards being the crime centre of the Caribbean.

PNM built Mount Hope Hospital — another grand project and another case of lack of infrastructure to support it. TT still lacks proper health care for its population in spite of being a rich country. PNM built a beautiful, modern library. Over the years our children did not know what a library was and they proceeded to use the grand facility as a place to lime. At the beginning they even unplugged the computers to plug in CD players to listen to their music.  One young man was heard on TV saying that was a nice place to meet “gyuls.” PNM now wants the FTAA headquarters and we don’t have a Fire Service to handle a fire in the capital, Port-of-Spain. It grieved me to hear Representative Mr KenValley say that it was a learning experience.

Well, Mr Valley, the same area was devastated by fire in December of 1977 and the late Lord Kitchener brilliantly documented that fire in a 1978 calypso. Here are some of the lyrics: “The people blaming the Government, They say the Brigade not efficient,” “The Brigade and them blaming WASA, No water to out down the fire,” “They bring the hose but can’t find the hydrant.” PNM was the government then and Mr Valley says in 2005 that it was a learning experience. Now you want to build a $850 million sports stadium and again no infrastructure. Mr Boynes, Cuba and Jamaica produce world class athletes consistently not because of costly facilities, but because of systems and infrastructure.

Visit these countries first and find out what you must do to motivate our young people to get into sports and live a productive life. Mr Boynes, I invite you to drive around the Queen’s Park Savannah on a Saturday or Sunday and see the lack of use of that grand space that used to be the centre of sport in Port-of-Spain for decades. No wonder Carlos John paved it for our Carnival people. Mr Boynes, until such time that the PNM recognises that grand spending does not produce excellence and that there is basic infrastructural work that we must do to develop a population that would use a facility such as you have proposed, then it will be another frustration and a case of spending the country’s wealth badly. The foregoing review clearly indicates that PNM’s philosophy of grand spending has been a philosophy of failure. Please re-think this idea and spend our money better.

R L BARTOLO
Cumana