Right on the heels of a Keshorn Walcott’s gold, a Jareem Richards silver and a Nicholas Pooran and Trinbago Knight Riders CPL victory, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago is flying out, after an awards celebration of Trini victories, to speak at the United Nations and to engage other countries, including the United States.
What kind of impact will our Prime Minister have at UNGA; and what will that signal about T&T’s foreign policy, Caricom’s coherence and cohesion and the raging battle currently between an “America first” philosophy on the one hand, and a multi-polar world system of greater geopolitical balance, on the other?
And then, Persad-Bissessar will be back home for the budget. What will the PM do through the budget, its priorities, allocations and policy choices to signal that Government has a grasp of the reality of our situation: economically, financially, sociologically and politically; that she has a plan to take our country forward and upward from a significant decline in GDP over the last decade and a slow, very modest and tentative recovery process over the last two years? And how will her Government clearly demonstrate the ways and means it is choosing to start a growth, recovery and development process over the next four years? Even as she takes our reduction in means as an economy, as well as the socio-economic reality of our citizens into account, the population will expect the PM to light a flame that shows a desirable destination.
Persad-Bissessar must know that while she has made some gains on the gangs, guns, drugs and murders front, the home invasions and robberies continue and the State of Emergency will end eventually. What will happen then? Will the fierceness of the battle between law enforcement and the lawless, and between State power and the underworld, escalate to another stage? And what will be the psychological condition of citizens if such a contest persists.?
People want to see the police in charge and managing crime well. Citizens want to see some hope in the budget that Government has begun the process of leading our country to a desirable destination and that, in the process, citizens with real needs will not be forgotten or ignored. And on the foreign policy front, citizens want to see our small country have standing in the world, that T&T is punching above its weight; and, people want peace around our nation of islands. People generally want to see Caricom cohesion, solidarity and prosperity. The Prime Minister, I am certain, will keep these things in mind as she forges forward.
Our citizens now understand that offering budget goodies is not a sustainable plan; and that doing what is required with compassion and a sense of hope could be bearable, if shared prosperity and greater inclusion is the result within a not-too-far-away horizon.
Under normal conditions, a little improvement would have been sufficient. But nothing less than a dramatic, sustained improvement will make sense to the population now. Without an improvement in personal safety and security, for instance, the conclusion might be drawn that political change is not a solution for crime. So pushed to the wall do people feel.
The same thing is true on the economy. No one wants the policies that got us here to stay. The Opposition protested CEPEP cuts but even they know there has to be an end to all that. The people know different policies are required to get us out and to a place of reasonable expenditure, adequate revenue, reduced deficits, forex replenishment, lower forex demand, higher levels of diversified investment with exports, and significantly reduced energy dependence and import dependence. Policies must make the desirable things happen and make the economy grow and create jobs. People deserve a better life.
As a country, we have made foreign policy errors. We were too cosy with Maduro, too partial to China. We lost our visa-free status with the UK, made the US uncomfortable, embarrassed ourselves with India on COVID vaccines and made no tangible gains with any African country.
Meanwhile, the EU is scaling down relations with T&T. Caricom has not shown unity or strength on anything meaningful. The task remains to strengthen Caricom, bolster neighbourhood relations with Latin America and develop beneficial alliances with the US, Canada, UK, Europe, China, India and the African continent.
So, let us see if the fight for personal and national security will be sustained; if the major shifts required will influence economic thinking to inform the 2026 budget; and whether our foreign policy positions will give us the stature our country needs now.
