Act or resign, Mr President

THE EDITOR: At his swearing-in ceremony, His Excellency President Prof Richards expressed his hurt at the fact that there were many views of opposition to him assuming the Office of the President. Prof Richards then vowed to the effect that he would do all that is necessary so as to improve that he is his own man, and by extension, worthy of the confidence placed in him to assume the highest office in the land, more so in light of the sterling service of his predecessor Mr Robinson. Now, almost halfway through his term, I would agree with any suggestion that His Excellency has talked enough, because the real issue is whether he has done enough?

Section[c] of the preamble of the constitution reads: “that all persons may, to the extent of their capacity, play some part in the institutions of national life, and thus develop and maintain due respect for lawfully constituted authority.” It is only the President that has the capacity under the constitution, to intervene in the mayhem that has engulfed TT at present. With the Government all but collapsed and unable to instill any sort of hope in the citizenry, and that was re-inforced by the fact that in all the crisis a Cabinet reshuffle was named without one new face coming to the fore so as to give hope that new ideas will arrive, on the one hand.

And the seemingly unending charges of corruption against the Opposition on the other hand, it means that both the Government and its alternative have failed. And I imagine that it was for such reasons that the power of Commander-in-Chief was placed in the President. My suggestion is therefore, that His Excellency should use his powers and hold a national referendum so as to avoid charges of “power snatching,” and if at the end of the day the population rejects the incumbent government then an interim government should be set up until general elections are held. But to continue to fiddle while Rome (TT) burns should not be an option.

His Excellency must prove himself to be someone with a morality above politics, and having a morality above politics would mean that the present situation taking place under his watch must be unacceptable, even though shameful will be a better word. With the capacity to take action being vested in the Office of the President, it is therefore incumbent upon His Excellency to be either strong enough to act or strong enough to resign, but to continue to fiddle while TT burns will not go unnoticed in history.

URSUS DANIEL
Port-of-Spain