Commentary
Newsday
WAYNE KUBLALSINGH
HOW DEEP is the leadership crisis affecting TT? Between August 19 and October 8, I conducted a search for a possible ministerial group to lead the nation. On my Facebook banner, at intervals of three to four days, I published 15 posts. Each post asks FB users to suggest a minister to manage potential ministerial portfolios. Each post was compressed to an average of 25 words. Below are the posts and a summary of the responses.
Can anyone recommend a solid Central Bank governor? One to protect the strict fiscal and monetary order, to protect the dollar, our coffers, our pockets? Respondents [20 likes, 21 comments]: Jwala Rambarran, Dr Euric Bobb.
Suggest a finance minister who can save the state’s bills/finances, protect our dollar, raise capital, so as to free the government to invest in its development agenda. Respondents [14 likes, nine comments]: Kevin Ramnarine, Winston Dookeran.
Suggest an attorney general to handle the state’s legal business, to reform the criminal justice system. And change laws to quickly punish and dismiss corrupt public officials. Respondents [23 likes, 20 comments]: Emir Crowne, Martin Daly.
Suggest a minister of national security, bringing in, inciting and using the most diverse and magnificent state apparatus available, will exonerate criminals up and down. Respondents [16 likes, 18 comments]: Renee Cummings.
Suggest a ministry of education to revolutionize education to achieve excellence in reading, mathematics, technology and a range of skills to meet the demands of the global economy. Respondents [28 likes, 21 comments]: Prof. Bridget Brereton.
Suggest a trade minister to support and unleash the investment capacity of our myriad sectors, build financial capital, undo predatory global “investment”. Respondents [18 likes, six comments]: Kevin Ramnarine, Mariano Browne.
Suggest an energy ministry change the energy equation, legalize off-grid production and consumption, and create a Caribbean solar cell and storage plant. Respondents [14 likes, 14 comments]: Kevin Ramnarine, Mala Baliraj.
Suggest a ministry of food production to change the taste, diversify and optimize our food production and distribution systems, maximize export GDP, lead a horticultural revolution. Respondents [18 likes, 38 comments]: Omardath Maharaj, Wendy Lee Yuen, Narada Latchman, Ayoub Mohammed, Stacy Barran, Ramash Ramsumair, Riyadh Mohammed, Ramesh Mahadeo.
Suggest a sports ministry to build a total sports nation, professional and amateur, from preschool. Investment in global best practice programs, trainers, facilities. Respondents [27 likes, 19 comments]: Surujdath Mahabir.
Suggest a welfare ministry to create a sustainable system of national volunteerism, including religious bodies, NGOs, government sectors, to serve the poor. Respondents [11 likes, five comments]: Hulsie Bhaggan.
Suggest a minister of tourism to identify and provide places, events, trips of historical, cultural and ecological wonders and build local mindset and global campaign for mass tourism. Respondents [18 likes, nine comments]: No suggestions.
Nominate a communications minister to defend and articulate the Government’s transformative message and to explain and inspire support for ministerial mandates. Respondents [six likes, five comments]: No suggestions.
Suggest a foreign minister to defend non-alignment, direct Caricom to join the BRICs and use high commissions to build global infrastructural branches for domestic goods. Respondents [ten likes, four comments]: Shyamal Chandradathsingh. Gary Griffith, suggested by the same person who suggested him for the role of Prime Minister, below.
Suggest a prime minister with the will, vision and capacity to lead TT into an era of peace and prosperity. Honest. And to inspire ministers and citizens to fulfill their mandates. Respondents [12 likes, 16 comments]: One respondent wrote, “The ONE and ONLY Gary Griffith.” This comment drew harsh rebukes from four people, mostly loyalists of the ruling party.
Other names mentioned were “Karen”, likely Karen Nunez-Tesheira, and in a separate post Arthur Lok Jack, Brian Lewis, Gregory Aboud, Mickela Panday and Penelope Beckles.
Other comments were: “No one can be ready, ELITES in control…” And, “No one in TnT. Everyone is a bunch of ah thieves…” And, “What TT needs the citizens don’t want…” And, “TnT people are destroying themselves in every agency. The mind needs change.” And, “Many invasive reality distortion zones.”
Optimal leadership: Do we need 41 MPs? Why not 21 dedicated ministers and 41 dedicated regional heads independent of each other? Respondents [15 likes, 12 comments]: Most comments agreed that the ministerial workload is “too heavy”. Two people commented on the word “committed”. “To whom is it dedicated? Country? People? Party? Themselves? SMH.”
Another comment: “I don’t understand what you mean by dedicated ministers.” By committing, the post was meant to say that the head of the constituency would not suffer from the plethora of duties that overwhelm MPs: serving Parliament and its sub-committees, their party, ministries, constituencies, etc. The Chief would have time to focus almost entirely on constituency business.
This experiment was the beginning of a search, not a survey. The search showed that the narrow range of target people was difficult to find, except in two or three cases, suitable candidates.
The respondents focused on criticizing our politics and politicians. They thought that the people they know, those in the public or parliamentary spotlight, are not suitable.
Most people felt cynical about our leadership and politics. But this is a start! I have no doubt that such a potential ministerial team exists. We have to look for the rest of our society.
