How do you feel? This is the question which calypsonian Lord Funny posed when he sang “Twenty five years have passed” in 1987, just after we had wasted our oil boom dollars. The rendition was judged the second-best of the Independence calypsoes offered for that anniversary. Had things improved, or even seemed to have improved, since then, I would have celebrated proudly on Saturday when we had our parades and fireworks.
But the sad truth is that notwithstanding the next twenty-five years, and plus seven more, we really have nothing to celebrate—surviving a benign, even bountiful period, is not cause for celebration. And I wonder when, if ever, we will take ourselves seriously enough to build upon the blessings with which we have been bestowed, and bestowed long, long before we “achieved” Independence? Remember that we did not “win” our Independence from England, who called herself “Great Britain,” but, like many other little colonies, were shunted off into “Independence” when our value as colonies had diminished into expenses rather than providers. Sugar in Europe was being won from beet, so our cane fields and sugar factories were being closed.
In the mid-1950s England’s largest oil refinery, at Pointe-a-Pierre, Trinidad, and so important to their victory in World War II, was sold to Texaco. This caused fear for their oil and “petrol” supplies, so the British government, through then State-owned British Petroleum, rushed in and purchased all of our smaller oil companies. I was working in oil when BP came in to safeguard British interests. However, BP then discovered huge quantities of oil in Libya and just pulled out of Trinidad, closing down all of the fields and camps that had operated here for decades.
That was the beginning of the end of land-based petroleum in T&T. Government found a Texas-based company, Tesoro, to take over the abandoned BP fields, and we all survived for a while following the huge spike in oil prices worldwide. But the writing was on the wall and our oil reserves were insufficient to keep the interest of the world’s major players. Tesoro pulled out, followed by Shell, and we decided that the State would own and operate their holdings. Eventually, Texaco also pulled out and we joined their fields and refinery to our other “state-owned” petroleum. And to make a long story short, we blew it all. Had we, back then, sought meaningful, experienced oil interests to come in and take over our industry, it would still be in operation today. Instead, our highly skilled and internationally respected petroleum management and workforces were placed under a series of political hacks, as chairmen and senior managers, who dragged our once proud industry to disrepair and ruin.
Simply stated, our successive governments, trying to “socialise” our petroleum and other industries, have ruined our once-proud legacy of capability and competence. Hopefully, somebody will buy the rusting, leaking remains and lift us again. That is my Independence wish for us!
But there is so much more which we, as an Independent Nation have allowed (or encouraged?) to collapse into wrack and ruin under our watch. Regarding the physical, like our roads and bridges, water supply systems, our dozens of inoperable Coast Guard vessels, PTSC buses, rural police stations, courthouses and schools, everything is rotting, rusting and collapsing. And in our institutions like the legal, judicial, health and public services generally, corruption and indifference make even the most basic transactions or required government approvals subject to the “passing of a lil something” to “get through.”
Our regional competitiveness and even dominance in team sports like netball, football and cricket has disappeared amid bickering and apparent uncaring incompetence. And no one seems to care. But at least let us be positive, and all of us be proud of our current track and field athletes dominating some events worldwide.
Remember, our failings are direct, lit and fanned by our own selves. No disaster, no pressures, just our own deliberate and conscious failing and flailing at the wrong goals and with the wrong attitudes.
And yet I stubbornly believe that we have the capability to save our country and then build it to meet its potential. But the effort must start from the ground and work up. Our “political leaders” must be ignored as we work, for they are our handicap. And their clowns are taking over! But more on the clowns next time?
Do you agree? And how you feel?