Caricom leaders fail West Indies

THE EDITOR: Today I have decided to put pen to paper in order to relate my disappointment in Prime Minister Patrick Manning and the rest of the Caricom leaders. This is due to their failure to either rescue or strengthen the three main pillars of West Indian society. The West Indies Cricket team, BWIA and UWI. It is sad that at the same time both BWIA and the West Indies Cricket team are being allowed to collapse.

The fact that Prime Minister Patrick Manning would prefer to risk his life flying with private aircrafts says a lot of his lack of understanding of the institution and importance that BWIA is to this region. To hear Ken Valley issue threats to the Caribbean’s only regional and international airline tells me that he does not understand. Dr Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, and all of the other regional leaders must take responsibility for the fact that Digicel is being allowed to buy out West Indies Cricket.

Why have these leaders not seen it fit and important to put incentives for our own private sector companies to put money into West Indies cricket? Last but not least, I must ask if building a second UWI campus in Trinidad would not have achieved the same role as building a new UTT (University of Trinidad and Tobago). All these factors are proof to me that Prime Minister Patrick Manning and his Government as well as all the other Caricom leaders have indeed failed the people of the region by allowing the collapse of these Caribbean regional pillars. Eric Williams must be turning in his grave.

DAVID BROWNE
St James