We are going nowhere fast

THE EDITOR: The Government should make a greater effort where Caroni Ltd is concerned, and with foreign input if necessary. I understand that Tate and Lyle have been re-involved in the sugar industries of Guyana and Barbados with some noticeable degree of success. How many times have we seen since independence venerable institutions reduced to economic and social burdens because of incompetent management and unproductive post-colonial attitudes? Texaco Trinidad inc, now Petrotrin, quickly comes to mind. It is true that Trinidad is a comparatively young country and we are still undergoing the learning process, but we have many intelligent individuals whose talents are simply not being used. The most recent example of this is Patrick Manning’s Cabinet which is composed of persons many of whom Trinidadians never heard of before they were made ministers.

I suppose that developing countries like Trinidad and Tobago are infested with the same political diseases that other similarly placed nations suffer from — namely leaders who are more interested in political and financial gain than getting on with the job of building their countries. Two fine examples of countries which have made tremendous strides in the last thirty years or so are Singapore and Malaysia. From a very broad standpoint, this can be ascribed to dedicated leaders with a vision far beyond personal gain. I sincerely believe that if Trinidad and Tobago had had a government at independence with these ideals as an absolute priority, we would be in a position not unlike that of Malaysia or Singapore. We have seen this type of government in this country only too briefly — we had a small dose from the NAR in 1986-91, and a much stronger one with the UNC more recently. The brisk development we saw during the Panday years has provided Trinidad with a permanent vision of what can be achieved with the appropriate imagination and planning. This country is going nowhere fast, and with the current attitudes of the government and its people, we will soon be operating in reverse gear, if we aren’t doing that already.

JEREMY  BOYD
Soogrim Street
Gulf View