Reflections at 55

Today, Trinidad and Tobago celebrates 55 years as an Independent nation, having transitioned from being a Crown Colony of Great Britain on August 31, 1962. Unlike many other countries globally, Trinidad and Tobago enjoyed a smooth transference of power, while retaining some residual ties to its former British colonisers.

Despite our accomplishments to date, we are now marking of our 55th anniversary with the country seemingly standing at a crossroads. Currently, in the grip of an economic downturn, our nation appears to be facing conditions that sadly, could have been mitigated. Crime is at unprecedented levels, while many of our institutions appear to be in a state of inertia or at best, are functioning below acceptable standards.

There are those who would testify that what we are witnessing can be attributed to a shortfall in revenue from our main export products - oil and gas - amidst a global drop in prices. But is that really so? What, then, lies at the very core of our challenge, that we seem oblivious to the fact that we cannot continue to function in an environment where we get little to no value for money; or be satifised with infrastructure that makes our roads gridlocked and inaccessible after a brief rain shower; or sett le for less than first rate inter-island transportation; or display a sense of apathy with leaders who seem disconnected from current realities as they pertain to crime. These examples illustrate how far behind Trinidad and Tobago lags, from where we ought to be in terms of policy, infrastructure, modern facilities and mindset.

To fulfil the promise of hope that sprang forth in 1962 when our national flag was first hoisted, the word that comes readily to mind is “transformation”.

Transformation is not an overnight process and will require an attitudinal shift that must be driven primarily by our country’s leadership in all spheres. Rebuilding our institutions and reshaping them into effective mechanisms of support for much needed change, is an attainable goal for which we must reach. Perhaps the reason economic diversification has been so difficult to achieve lies chiefly in the failure to transform our society and institutions.

Pivotal to our development and critical to preserving our democracy, a transformed society embraces – among other things - a fair and viable Industrial Relations environment - one that endorses productivity; an efficient and effective Public Service that delivers with the right levels of bureaucracy to maintain checks and balances while defying sluggishness.

It is obvious that now more than ever, the ti me is right to diversify our economy. Trinidad and Tobago may be two small islands, but we have given much to the world, and presumably, we have much more to offer yet. In this global village, our youth are ready and willing to enter career paths which lie off the beaten track; they embrace innovation, are quite nimble and adaptable to change. The challenge for us, as a maturing society, is to ensure that we preserve a world worth living and thriving in for our youth and future generations to come.

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce extends warm greetings to the people of Trinidad and Tobago on this our Independence anniversary.