?Last Wednesday, at the formal opening of Parliament, President George Maxwell Richards gave what was decidedly not a "throne speech." Traditionally, such a speech is one in which the head of state outlines the government's legislative agenda for the year. In T&T, we have dispensed with such a tradition in recent times, and this has actually redounded to the benefit of the citizenry. Can you imagine the Queen of England, or even a Governor-General making the kind of statements such as those made by our own President Richards? He first pointed out that there was serious need in T&T to enhance our level of productivity. In other words, we are inefficient and too bureaucratic.
As indicative of this, the President cited the Global Competitiveness Index issued by the World Economic Forum. T&T is ranked 86 out of 133 countries. To put this in context, it must be pointed out that there are some 200 countries in the world, but data related only to these 133: most Caricom countries were not included. Nonetheless, it is of interest to note that Switzerland is ranked No 1, the US No 2, Barbados No 48, and Vietnam No 75. T&T is said to have a competitive advantage in 28 indicators (including education), but is at a disadvantage in 81. The latter includes such matters as crime and violence, work ethic and capacity for innovation. Comparatively speaking, then, we are lacking in these areas, and thus demonstrate poor work ethic.
Inefficient bureaucracy
Productivity is hampered by inefficient bureaucracy. For a country that has been boasting of Vision 2020, this low rating, which is a drop from a prime position of 42, eight years ago, must rankle with the government of the day.
We may be seen as moving downwards instead of upwards to first-world status
Moving onto specifics, the President commented that, in so far as basic needs were concerned, transportation, water, roads, waste disposal and communications, T&T was "not where we should be." This was, however, the least of his salvos. According to the President, the percentage of persons who enjoy tertiary education in this country, ten per cent, was still low, as compared to countries such as the US (38 per cent). Since education is the foundation of economic and economic growth (a point he made), how does this impact on our development?
The government must not have been happy to hear this, since they have been touting their initiatives in the field of tertiary education, in particular as one of their thrusts towards first-world status. The President went further to suggest that in T&T the value of education was not being emphasised. This is evidenced, he says, in that the many programmes for skills training are not being optimally utilised, and that there are not many people at our universities, considering that the state is subsidising tertiary education to the extent that it is. Part of the reason for this failure, he says, is that proper values are not being inculcated at the level of the family, so as to produce a thirst for knowledge. One of the more poignant issues contained in His Excellency's speech was the question of pension arrangements for retired public servants. Implicit in his statements was the suggestion that the state has failed in this regard.
Senior Citizens Grant
This might well be so, since although we have been hearing of the upgrade of the Senior Citizens Grant and NIS, nothing has been said of improving the lot of those who have served the country for decades and retired in such service. The attitude of the authorities almost seems to be: why should they be treated any differently from regular pensioners? The answer is obvious: they have earned their pensions by direct service to the nation. Yet, as was pointed out with inflation, high food prices and ill health such persons are often unable to maintain a decent standard of living, far off the style to which they would have been accustomed. Many of these public servants might have even mortgaged their homes to pay for their children's education and now have to support a mortgage.
The President, more or less, called for the Government to consider reviewing such pensions. What stood out to me above all else, however, was the recognition by the President of the frustration of the average citizen in his "daily grind." His Excellency pointed to the poor communication by leaders on significant matters that could add to the distress of citizens.
One clear example of this was in relation to the new property tax system, he said. There was an adjuration (almost) to the authorities to listen to the views of others in arriving at their decisions. There was also, it seemed, a warning that the people are not happy.
The speech delivered by the President at the opening of this session of Parliament might well go down in history as one of the strongest by a head of state who is not head of government. Our Presidents clearly see themselves as not mere titular heads of state. Whether President Richards' statements will impact on the government at all remains to be seen. The PM has, somewhat ambiguously, commented that the President was above the cut and thrust of politics, and was free to express himself. What this means, in terms of government reaction, remains to be seen. It is to be hoped, however, that they take heed. After all, it is 20 years since 1990 and on the last day of December we did have a blue moon.