New politics needed in TnT
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
February 28, 2007
Now that election air politics is ubiquitous' it seems apropos to postulate that there is need for a new genre of politics in TnT. The fact of the matter is that the time has come for the emergence of maturity in the country's political ethos.
This writer is suggesting that the time has come for the inauguration of Public Policy Performance Politics (PPPP) in TnT. In other words, the time is now to move completely away from ethnicity to productivity in the political/electoral arena. The time has come for We, the People, to ask the following question: Are we better off as a result of our constituency's representation over the past five years?
The fact of the matter is that in this new age of political maturity, ethnicity and party affiliation are totally irrelevant, as in null and void.
Did your elected representative meet your Basic Human Needs (BHN) while he/she was in office? If the answer is "Yes", then, re-elect that individual; if the answer is "No", then, do not re-elect that individual. This is plain and simple mature, political deduction. The ethnicity and party affiliation of the individual are irrelevant. The decision by the electorate to re-elect or not to re-elect the candidate, per se, was solely based on the candidate's performance and productivity to We, the People/constituents while he/she was in office-nothing more, nothing less.
This new mature voting genre must be performance-driven in the general elections of 2007. The motto must be: If the performance cap did not fit the needs of We, the People, then, We, the People, must reject.
The stark reality is that the Manning-PNM government is the most vicious anti-labour, anti-people, anti-public servants and dictatorial regime in recent times. The Manning administration acts as if We, the People, do not exist, as if We, the People, are ignorant, and as if We, the People, are not worthy to be consulted on vital public policy matters/decisions that affect/impact our daily lives and livelihood.
"Arrogance of power" is the only valid, fitting adjective/label to describe this current PNM government.
However, the Manning administration ought to be cognizant of the adage: "Power corrupts but absolute power corrupts absolutely." And We, the People, will assure that this overt "arrogance of power" syndrome is terminated in 2007, by any and all means necessary.
Furthermore, the Manning administration must be warned of the following dictum: "The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." Ergo, the political life of the PNM government must come to its inevitable end in 2007, while the life of We, the People, will endure and go on, ad infinitum. That's the new, mature political prescription that must and will be filled out in TnT.
The spinal cord of this new genre of politics in TnT demands that a proactive, ex-ante, people-oriented government must replace the current reactive, reactionary, ex-post, anti-people PNM government. The condition of life, safety, transparency and governance in this country has reached the nadir of human acceptance/existence because the ruling PNM government is headed by a very "ungrateful pastor" who seems to have extremely cold ice water flowing through his veins instead of warm human blood.
The Manning administration must realize that We, the People, brought it into office and We, the People, will take it out at the next general elections. The administration must also realize that We, the People. are just sick and tired of being sick and tired of being "hoodwinked, bamboozled and took" by the inept PNM.
We, the People, have had enough. "The poor can't take no more." Now is the time for a surgical change of governance in TnT. We, the People, are sick and tired of absentee, errant governance by the Manning administration. The only solution, therefore, is the Manning administration has got to go.
We, the People, are telling the PNM government that we will no longer allow it to burn, smite and smelter our voting fingers. We, the People, have vowed to get even on election day.
The stark reality is that the Manning administration can run to Canada; it can run to the Philippines; it can run to Australia; it can run to the United States; it can run to Scotland Yard; it can run to Holland; and it can run to Cuba but at the end of D-Day, Mr. Manning, your government cannot hide from We, the People in TnT. We, the People, will have the final say with our uncontaminated voting fingers on election day.
The fact of the matter is that this new political maturity must be reflected in the reality that all opposition entities must come together to fight and defeat the PNM. The PNM is the numero uno target and coalition politics is the only and most potent weapon in the armory of We, the People, to get the PNM out of office.
This new mature coalition politics must assure that the PNM does not get the 69.64 per cent of the electoral vote it got in 2002.
The future of this country demands that this sordid political history does not repeat itself. Such an outcome would not only be too ghastly to contemplate but would also be a fatal tragedy and a colossal farce.
Now is the time to put an end to the Manning administrations wicked, vindictive, and unconscionable intifada against the hard-working, tax-paying and innocent people of TnT in general and the smeltered residents of Chatham, Cap-de-Ville, La Brea and Otaheite Village and the non-consulted, displaced/evicted residents of east Port-of-Spain, in particular. It is also extremely imperative for the residents of east Port-of-Spain to return this eviction favour to the government on election day.
In the final analysis, this must hold true:
PNM is the Problem
Divide & Rule politics is not the Solution
Coalition politics must provide the Resolution
Magnum Sunt Populi - Great Are the People
We, the People, will and must always prevail.
Dr. Kwame Nantambu is a part-time lecturer at Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies and University of the West Indies.
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