I did not vote, an inaction of which I am not proud. But why did I epitomise at least 80 per cent of the electorate? Why the malaise, indifference and disappointment? Governments have come and gone. Billions have been exhausted in diarrhoeal fashion.
How has this twin albatross impacted our lives? Institutions are crumbling, services are poor and bribery and the raping of the treasury are the norm. Self imposed curfew is a way of life. We try to emulate almost everything foreign but the work ethic.
"Gimme, gimme" is the mantra of many. Who or what brought us to this sad state?
Once again the tribes have maintained the status quo. Imagine two hardback, brass faced individuals claiming victory in the startling reality of defeat. They saw only the trees and not the forest. Not surprising, for they must have had skins thicker than a rhinoceros and were strangers to the dire truth.
The message was clear–the electorate was disappointed, discontented and depressed. It mattered not who gained control, six of one half a dozen of the other. Same ole, same ole!
Rowley is very rough at the edges. He comes across as quarrelsome. Kamla has lost whatever appeal she had. She seems to think that managing a government is similar to running a house. We need new blood, not a transfusion but a purging of the old brigade, the emergence of young people in the body politic. A lengthy period in one particular position makes one comfortable, bereft of new ideas and eventually fossilised.
We as a people must also recognise that it cannot be business as usual. The economics of the world has changed and we must move with the times. Unions must play their significant part also. A paradigm shift is necessary and that must start with us.
Sahadeo Ragoonanan
Princes Town