At the core of the Prime Minister's recent "non-enlightening" speech, which was ostensibly supposed to clear the air on the Calder Hart concerns, was an assertion that the government's development plans will not be derailed. As far as he is concerned Hart and Udecott are just pawns in a battle being waged about development, and the course such development takes. And the Prime Minister is correct; I sincerely hope the general population also sees the events in such light. Make no mistake; what may or may not have occurred at Udecott is very important. However as a people we should not lose sight of the core issue(s). Over the past eight years while the PNM's idea of development has given us multiple large construction projects, very few, if any, having an economic rationale. Outside of possibly the Hyatt, I cannot think of any of the projects that can pay for themselves, either directly of indirectly.
If feasibility studies were done they surely haven't been shared with the public. To make matters worse, undertakings that could have a positive economic (and social) impact have been ignored. For example a dam at Caparo would not only eliminate flooding in that area, but also provide a source of water that will be much cheaper than energy hungry, maintenance heavy, environmentally damaging and costly desalination plants. Processing of waste water that could be used instead of potable water for industry and farming has also been largely neglected. Let's look at the soon to be refurbished academy for performing arts. There have been no revenue generating events at this large and pricey building, not to mention the cost to potential patrons to make this building self sustaining would be prohibitive.
Yet a facility that offers a home for Carnival and space for large social, entertainment and cultural events that can generate consistent revenue only exist on paper. Over a billion dollars have been spent on sporting facilities, the latest being a goat racing facility, yes folks that's right, a place for goats to run on Easter Tuesday. These sporting arenas are severely underutilised, and even more so now that they are off-limits for entertainment purposes. At the same time we have the spectacle of sick persons lying on cold concrete in ancient hospitals. I could go on about the empty towers on the waterfront while crime continues unabated.
The many millions spent on summits while sick children die waiting on money for life saving operations. The million dollar flag that literally flies in our faces, while we sit for hours in traffic jams. The billions spent on yet to be justified bailouts, while poverty is still rife in a country richly blessed with natural and human resources... Yes, at the heart of these issues is development, the kind that is needed should benefit the many instead of the few, especially as it is being done with our tax dollars along with loans that our children will have to repay.
Michael Walcott
Via e-mail