Ad carries little weight

Unfortunately, this response is going to have little or no effect on the persons who voice, and those who believe, such rhetoric. This is partly because the press ad, signed by the Organizations Representative of the Private Sector of Trinidad and Tobago, was thin in both content and logic. But it is mainly because the ORPSTT’s position stands against the weight of history and ideology.

The ad argued that "It is and always has been the view of the Business Community that any person who contravenes any law in this country and/or launders money, deals in guns or drugs is not a businessperson." This argument, apart from being obviously false, gives an impression of insincerity.

Followed to its logical conclusion, the statement means that a business person who, say, does not pay his employees the minimum wage is not a real business person. The logic is that businesses which do not, for example, adhere to regulations about hygiene or building codes or environmental laws are not real businesses. Yet the various Chambers must be aware that some of their members do commit such infringements. However, we are not aware that any individual or organisation has ever been expelled from any Chamber for such a breach.

Similarly, an individual who is involved in illegal activities can also be correctly described as a businessman. It may be that they are using certain businesses to launder money or it may be that they were legitimate business people before becoming involved in drug—trafficking. The point is, the issue is hardly as clear—cut as the ORPSTT has tried to imply.

At the same time, those who have painted the business community with the broad brush of criminality have indeed spoken from a basis of ignorance and bigotry. These persons are either envious of those individuals and ethnic groups who, through hard work and ambition and skill, have been financially successful, or they are simply catering to the biases of the so—called "grassroots" people. The historical argument these ideologues use to explain such success — that these persons were slave—owners or got free land — carries little objective weight a century later. But objectivity is not the issue here — populism is.

The truth, bypassed by these critics, is that the majority of business persons are not involved in running drugs and guns. But the truth also is that there are certain outwardly respectable individuals who have made their fortunes through such activities. There are also those unrespectable individuals who have done the same thing — gang leader Mark Guerra, for example, reportedly left behind several million dollars worth of assets after being murdered. So it is not strictly correct to say, as UWI Principal Bhoe Tewarie did earlier this week, that no Afro—Trinidadians are drug barons.

The core question is why the authorities have not made more effort to net these big fish. The banks report suspicious transactions, and the Board of Inland Revenue could surely investigate persons who have unexplained sources of large income. This is probably the only way to get the drug barons, since such persons are not likely to be directly involved in either murders or even the trafficking itself.

If the business organisations focus their efforts in this direction — giving information to the authorities, pressuring them to do something, and publicising the failure of these authorities to act — this will send a more powerful message that they are indeed serious about rooting out illegitimate business persons. It would also be useful for the business groups to educate the public about how a market economy and globalisation actually work, since ours is a culture where discredited ideas like protectionism and socialism still carry force. Only through such measures can the business community change its image. Print ads protestations certainly won’t do it.