The Petrotrin restructuring and impending closure have generated the kind of debate that could only be useful if we are to be serious about the long-term development of T&T.
We may lose the focus on the future of the energy sector amidst our concerns about crime, the impact of the recent flooding, inquiries into corruption and other matters.
The country runs the risk of grinding to a halt if we do not make crucial decisions about overall development in the context of the Petrotrin situation.
Questions now arise about our capacity to produce successful enterprises that can transform our economic fortunes.
Our manufacturing sector has shown that we can produce goods for international markets while satisfying local and regional markets.
The transformation requires the kind of critical thinking and action that transcend the fractious political posturing that has become a feature of our parliamentary debates and national discourse. What is needed is the kind of work that puts all of that aside and generates the type of approaches that can benefit the national community.
For example, it is clear that the mantra of the socialist movement back in the 1970s, which encouraged the Government to control the heights of the economy, is no longer applicable.
The investment made by succeeding governments have not reaped the kind of returns expected and have now become burdens on the national purse.
It is evident that the current Government is no longer in a position to sustain the level of transfers to many state-owned enterprises; or to maintain the employment levels.
Reducing these transfers is at the heart of the recommendations which have been made to regional governments by the International Monetary Fund and other regional development institutions such as the Caribbean Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Former governor of the Barbados Central Bank, in the Sunday Guardian, made a similar point as he reviewed the performance of the T&T economy and the prospects for growth.
The private sector does have a critical role to play in undertaking the operation of some of the services which the Government launched as a matter of necessity.
The marketplace must now become the judge of enterprises geared to providing critical goods and services.
The Government must turn its attention to transforming the environment to push the ranking of T&T to a higher level in the ease of doing business ranking.
The Government must also drive its technology platforms to improve efficiency and retrain its workforce to deliver new and necessary jobs aimed at improving the delivery of specialised services.
There is a role for the academics and other experts to demonstrate their commitment to national development by engaging in the search for solutions and to not be deterred by the political tar brush that dissuades many from national service.