Criminal rodents gnawing away at society

THE population should be looking forward to the celebration of the 42nd anniversary of Independence with a sense of hope and jubilation but instead “what we are experiencing is a picture of despair, lawlessness, a downright plunge in moral and spiritual values and criminal activities that is leaving all of us as hostages in our homes.” In an address at the annual Independence celebrations of the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation on Friday night, Rudranath Indarsingh, president general of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers’ Trade Union (ATSGWTU) stressed that “we have to walk  the road constantly looking behind our backs for an attacker and we have to lock up ourselves  in our homes living in fear of criminals.” He asked, “Is this what Independence is all about?”

Indarsingh was disappointed at the small crowd of invited guests who turned up at the function and was convinced that “people must be afraid to come out at nights for fear of being victims of criminal activities.” Indarsingh said that as a student  of history he was well aware “that we are all descendants of  slavery and indentureship and we are on the same boat together and we should therefore be delighted at the thought that we are an independent nation but what we now have is an overall situation of agony, uncertainty and fear which in fact  has been eroding our  vision  to achieve a developed status by 2020.”

In Indarsingh’s opinion, health and education were in a “mess and food prices are rising intolerably high and the moral and social fabric of the society was being gnawed away by criminal rodents and if that is the price we have to pay for being an Independent people, then is the sacrifice worth the effort?” “Our independence pride is diminishing as could be judged by the amount of people seeking refugee status in foreign countries instead of remaining and making a meaningful contribution to national development,” Indarsingh said. “Seriously, I am looking forward for considerable relief next year so that our problems would be solved and that we could live in an atmosphere of peace and goodwill and harmony as we celebrate the 43rd anniversary of Independence in 2005,” the president general said.

Jeewan Mungroo, Chairman of the Corporation, felt that “we are celebrating this occasion against a background of very serious challenges.” He explained that the Restructuring Programme in the Sugar Industry with the closure of the Brechin Castle Factory “has brought about tremendous hardship for the electorate and the region as a whole since the basic infrastructure previously maintained by that company (Caroni) is currently neglected  and as a result all of us here are affected in one way or the other.” He noted that the country would be experiencing a windfall shortly, due to the increase in oil prices,  and he hoped that the Government would use the improved financial situation to aid in controlling food prices “so that the poor, under privileged and unfortunate citizens of the country would be able to eat a proper meal.”

“It is my hope that the upcoming National Budget will address these challenges and provide some immediate relief for the citizens of this resourceful country,” the chairman said. “Let us take back this country from the criminals, let us stabilise food prices  immediately and pursue agriculture in a meaningful way with utmost urgency to become self sufficient in food production, and let us use our windfall from the black gold to provide this nation with the level of integrity and stability which all our citizens demand,” the Corporation’s chairman said.