The role of any political administration is to improve on the performance of its predecessor. To do so requires a realistic assessment of the challenges facing the nation and to identify appropriate corrective measures to address the underlying weaknesses. Trinidad and Tobago has stood at this crossroad since 2015. The economy is now emerging from economic depression because energy export prices have improved, not through any improvement in production or productivity.
Citizens and the political leadership ought not to be deceived by the illusion of success caused by the buoyancy of energy prices. Whilst the war in Ukraine is likely to drag on, markets are beginning to adjust, and take corrective measures that will reduce energy consumption. Internationally, inflation is a growing threat to economic stability and will impact this country’s cost of living if we continue with the high level of imports.
Our living standards declined as incomes remained stagnant even if inflation remained moderate. The evidence suggests that inflation has begun to trend upward. Violent crime and the prevalence of firearms have led to a high murder rate, adding to a sense of unease and declining confidence. Declaring crime a public health emergency does not address the underlying issues. In this context, inflation is both an economic and a political event, as it has the potential to lead to instability.
Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating once noted that the only purpose of politicians and political parties is to safeguard citizens while making the required changes to the fabric of their economies and societies. The political game is only about effecting changes. Politicians who are in the business of politics but not in the business of change fail their communities badly.
The public is looking for answers to the social and economic challenges. Citizens want to know that the water situation will improve and that the roads will be repaired in the north and in the south. They do not want to be told that they must fix their own potholes. Citizens want to know that serious gun crimes will be reduced, and the general lawlessness abated. They want to know that effective economic policies are being implemented to achieve a rising tide of economic growth and that public funds are not being siphoned off into private pockets.
Passing the buck and blaming the public service is not a credible strategy going forward. Whilst public servants are responsible for managing an existing system, politicians are elected to achieve change. To achieve change requires credible, decisive action to move things along. The Procurement Act, for example, was passed seven years ago but remains largely a pipe dream, with only 17% of the main public organisations responding to the regulator on their state of readiness. This does not indicate a decisive plan of action. Neither does the low state of readiness of security cameras with no date by which they will be repaired.
These are telling signals that speak to a state of unreadiness to address deeper and more pressing issues. Planning does not deal with future decisions, but with the future caused by decisions made today and the follow up action to bring these decisions into being. The relevant question is not simply what shall be done tomorrow, but what must be done today to prepare for tomorrow. To achieve change requires executive action, not executive talk.