On the fourth anniversary of PNM’s election victory a game changer collapses. This collapse of a significant plank upon which the Keith Rowley-led administration placed its development programme is significant. I’m not surprised because we keep focussing on quick fixes in preference to the hard work of rebuilding our society from the ground up.  Somebody needs to start believing in us again and the entity best suited to channel that belief is the person in the position of Prime Minister.  With twelve months left in his formal administration, his game-changer is not evident, but his failures are glaring.

Trinidad and Tobago is a hard place to repair but someone has to begin somewhere, and the issue of productivity is clearly the best place to start. It’s not an easy solution, but it is the largest obstacle for us to begin chipping away at in quest to solve our problems.  The GoTT could have met with the contractors and shared their vision for providing affordable housing, maybe they would have looked at the stock of unoccupied houses to identify how to make them liveable.  Under a strong facilitator, they would have been able to come up with a collective strategy to achieve the objective. If the contractors came up with a strategy which they see as fair and equitable, they would be inspired to engage the hearts and minds of the tradesmen, labourers and suppliers.  There would be a ripple effect, but this couldn’t work without a gradual decrease in our make-work programmes. It means the country would be starting to rebuild from the ground up. If you could find the US$72 million to fund a Chinese building programme, then it can be found to fund a locally led building initiative which would suck up idle hands, transform them into productive workers and get money circulating again.  

In order to achieve this goal of building 5,000 housing units, it would have been necessary to engage in some level of training and retraining of persons in the construction sector.  This would have been an opportunity to improve competency across the board and to get people believing again that we can help ourselves. It would have been an opportunity to break the cycle of learned helplessness which I come across daily.  People who quickly say “ah dunno” and move on.

Trinidad & Tobago needs a transformation strategy and a transformational leader.  The fact that the Prime Minister has instructed the HDC to re-tender is laudable but not enough.  If you have to go out to re-tender then something went terribly wrong and the persons responsible must be held to account.  Someone seems to have put an “approved” sign to a contract which was not in the country’s interest.  Had it not been for the late vigilance of the Cabinet, we would have been “up a creek without a paddle”. Again, it is even more damning when the Prime Minister can say that parts of the contract were unacceptable both “structurally and legally”.  It is incumbent on the Prime Minister to demonstrate his commitment to accountability and take action. If the accountable person is too close to be removed by the Prime Minister, then he must remove himself if only for the symbolic demonstration that he will do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

The opportunity here is to demonstrate that the right thing will be done in the interest of the country and we believe in our people’s capacity to act in our collective interest at all times.  With twelve months to go, Prime Minister Rowley needs to carefully review his options and engage the wider population in identifying a way forward that is sustainable and outcome focussed. 

Private or public sector, inefficiency and lack of productivity is rampant.  An ongoing experience with (Price Waterhouse Coopers) PwC since 2012 has left me challenging the statement that public servants are lazy.  I am beginning to conclude that the lack of productivity observed in the public service is equally rampant in the private sector. The simplest of transactions take an inordinately long time and quality customer service is the exception rather than the rule.  

My current angst is with the reputable firm PwC.  In 2012 they were invited to carry out the voluntary liquidation of the Caribbean Games Company (CG09).  Seven years later, there is one outstanding matter holding back the finalization of the Liquidation and PwC who is being paid monthly has attached no urgency to wrapping up the Games.  As a matter of fact, the liquidator is actively ignoring any approaches on this issue. Contrast this seven year timeline with the PwC British website which boasts that that complex liquidations take an average of 24 to 30 months.

The matter preventing the completion of this liquidation is whether or not the board members should be remunerated for their service.  It is a reasonable expectation that service on a Board would attract some form of remuneration unless explicitly stated to the contrary.  At the last meeting with the liquidator in May 2019, the following statement: “… a total payment of more than a million dollars to seven Directors for Games which never came off is unconscionable…” raised the ire of the following members: Mrs. Dennise Demming, Dr. Iva Gloudon, Dr. Arthur Potts, Mr. David O Brien, Mr. Douglas Camacho and Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed.

For the record, under the leadership of former Minister of Health, Mr. Jerry Narace, Trinidad & Tobago created history by being the only country to cancel any activity because of the H1N1 scare and this cancellation occurred 6 weeks prior to the staging of the Games.  The board had been working diligently for the 30 months between their appointment and this cancellation.

The liquidator has the power to make a final determination but to take seven years to make that decision is unconscionable and unproductive.  Further, who is responsible at PwC to question why a simple voluntary liquidation should take almost seven years and counting.  If a reputable organization like PwC can’t get a simple voluntary liquidation completed in a reasonable time, then Trinidad & Tobago is doomed!