I was always of the firm view that I will not vote on the basis of the lesser of two evils. I am not interested in the politicians telling me who is a thief and who is not unless there are charges and convictions. Over the years, I have realised that sadly, and unacceptably, dishonesty is on both sides. So my focus has shifted to voting based on the belief and confidence in who can and will provide me and the country with the services we need, ranging from basic services like water, electricity, transport, safety and security, education, proper health care, and a productive environment with a growing and diversifying economy etc.
Politicians are a reflection of the society in which we live. They are just like you and me. They are neither priests nor imams nor pundits. They are not there to be revered or praised but to be held as accountable as we are. Their job is service to you and me, not the other way around.
When it comes to the next election, if the question is, who is better suited to provide the services and foster the growth we need during these uncertain times, this Government is on the wrong track. When you have a situation of hardship in the economy, less income, and a slowing of growth, the answer is not to raise the price of everything including taxes and utilities as this Government is proposing and doing.
The right course of action, to me, seems to be to remove subsidies and adjust your prices to market value when things are good, not when they are bad. During periods of economic decline is the time to leave disposable income in the hands of citizens as much as possible to kick-start the economy. By vacuuming every morsel of the already little disposable income people have, it is stifling the economy further.
The argument that you as a government must provide jobs is nonsensical. If you facilitate and provide the right, safe, and encouraging environment for investment and growth, the jobs will come flooding in.
Everyone is saying, including this Government, that oil and gas are on a downward trajectory, yet I have not seen an iota of evidence to suggest any vision, plan, or attempt to diversify the economy.
I am very disappointed in the Prime Minister’s position and delusion that we do not have enough land to make agriculture a viable prospect even to export, but yet the insistence that tourism is.
When it comes to tourism, the answer is not to bring Sandals at all costs while occupancy in Tobago hotels presently is less than 25 per cent while tourism in the rest of the Caribbean is booming. We must admit and acknowledge that T&T, at this time, is not a prepared or preferred choice for tourism.
One of the main reasons for our inability to rely on ourselves whether it be agriculture or tourism is due to a subverted psyche, injured work ethic, entitlement culture, and a breakdown in safety and security. If we begin or in some cases continue to work on these shortcomings, build a competent and enthusiastic workforce, I can assure you the tourists will come as will the opportunity for growth in the agriculture and other sectors.
With respect to alternatives to an oil-based economy, if you create the right environment that encourages demand, the Government should be in the business of facilitating so as to create demands and the supply will follow as sure as day follows night. It seems to me that we are doing things back to front, upside down, and inside out.
The party I’ll be voting for is the one with ideas and plans for how we can create the right environment here to bring paradise back to T&T.
Ghassan Youseph