One could actually feel sorry for our poor Minister of Finance these days. Well, I should not refer to him as poor, because news reports identify him as an owner of a multi-million dollar building under construction as well as the person who recently had to settle a million-dollar arbitration matter. I must say that governance seems to be a fruitful career and this might be confirmed by the examination of the holdings of many who have governed us. But we need to know why we should feel sorry for our Minister these days. Wherever he goes he is constantly besieged by reporters wanting to know what will be in the budget. The national Budget that the good minister will read to us on October 7th. But we all know that the minister will never answer. However, it is a question that our current Finance Minister loves to receive. AHHHH… he has something over us, hidden behind his now-famous impish smile!
But has he, or rather they-the PNM-even decided yet what cards they might play on October 7th, or are they still living in hopes of selling off the various Petrotrin assets which once had such value. It is important that we rid ourselves of the burdens of Government trying to run commerce as soon as we can.
But even as we wait in hope to see if we can unburden ourselves of this whole petroleum mistake, I want to suggest that we move to complete, incomplete and abandoned projects all over the country. Let us commit, before we pay another dollar to China, to complete all of the abandoned and incomplete projects across our country. These would include the highway to La Brea and Point Fortin, with reduced emphasis on the widening of Mosquito Creek, a stretch of road subject to tidal flooding. There are, according to reports, schools across the country with still incomplete buildings, some of these buildings being toilet blocks.
There are incomplete bridge repair or replacement projects which have been abandoned all across the country. Government Ministers and Parliamentary representatives went and posed for photographs at the beginnings of these works. We cannot see these poseurs today, but they will come out again, if the work is ever completed. The same conditions apply to landslip repairs and retaining walls. There is an ongoing inability to finish projects which are important to personal and road safety. So, Mr Finance Minister who was once an engineer, put outstanding project completions above new projects in the 2020 budget and at least achieve something for the people.
And while we know that in Trinidad and Tobago the word maintenance refers to money paid to the courts for where men left their sperm, you need to start a programme of real maintenance, of roads, drainage an all government plant and equipment, from regular PTSC buses to the Tobago ferries. We seem unaware that if we had simply maintained the assets of the oil companies we would have been much better off trying to sell them now. It is a lack of maintenance that has so many of our rural schools, police stations and courthouses in their inhabitable states. None of our people responsible for the conditions of our rural public buildings would live in a building like those they are supposed to maintain.
If our Minister of Finance can awaken the population to the needs and clear financial and human benefits of maintaining properly all that we the people own in our country, he would have achieved something. But maintenance of existing stock is not as exciting as wasting money on new toys and equipment, and such savings do not appeal to our far more broader-visioned ministers.
So I look for further unfulfilled promises about Clico and assurances that all will be well with our rusting petroleum assets. Surely the proposed new highway through the forests to the yet unbuilt Toco port is not more important than the abandoned one for La Brea and Point Fortin.
But the Government will need to dole out something for the people, above and beyond what is going back to the wealthy. For me, the best things we could do would be to provide better and cheaper medical services for most of our citizens who cannot afford to fly out like our government ministers do, improve our water supply and our personal security and create a service sector in government that actually serves the citizens who pay their wages. But I do not believe in miracles, so I too will wait to see just what is hidden behind our engineer-turned finance minister when he presents his much-anticipated budget.