Dear Editor,
The question that many asks today is what can the ordinary citizen do to make Trinidad & Tobago a better place now? The answer is very little. The crime situation requires expeditious conflict resolution in our courts, structured police patrols and adequate infrastructure to patrol our coast and ports of entry. The entity with the authority to address this is the government. They are elected to serve for another two to three years.
The economic situation requires reduction of the bureaucracy associated with doing business, incentives for export, a fair and transparent structure in the distribution of foreign exchange, encouragement for foreign investors in tourism, energy, technology, and manufacturing.
Additionally, there should be subsidies for agricultural investments and food processing. There must be a strategic long term plan to allow for a movement from a great reliance on the energy industry to a variety of alternative sources for foreign exchange. Tourism must be a major player in this initiative.
Again, these are the responsibility of government and there is not much one can do to effect the necessary changes to our economic structure.
There is the need for clearly established communities with boundaries. There must be community development plans managed and implemented by community representatives. There must be laws in place to protect the crustacean population, our local deer and wildlife, our forests, swamps, rivers, and caves. Again, these are the responsibility of government.
Despite being mentioned in the past budgets of the two major political parties there continues to be the need for a new network of roads, especially another route to Chaguaramas, and a highway linking San Fernando, Princes Town, and Rio Claro to Mayaro. There must be a mass transit system for connecting our major towns and villages independent of the traffic filled roadways. But the average citizen cannot do anything about this.
Our aged and disabled population along with our poor must be treated with dignity and structures must be in place to address the concerns of our less privileged population. There is immediate need for a structured approach to recycling. There is a need for electronic processing of documentation for travel and most other government services. There is a need for government issued licence plates for vehicles. All of these and more are the responsibility of government.
Therefore, the citizen’s responsibility is to replace the government if they are failing to do what is necessary to improve the quality of life in the country.
That is where the activity must start today. Seek replacement with trusted visionary leadership. Talk to each other and end for all times the plague of racial voting. Identify in every community, representatives that can address the needs of the community and encourage them to participate in meaningful change. Moreover, take control of your future.
There is hope for a better tomorrow but that hope resides in the desire of the citizen to embark on a journey to real change.
God Bless Our Nation.
Steve Alvarez