Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 17/Aug 03:06

PM’s medicine for crooked MPs

BEFORE discussing PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s public-forum speech last Monday, I refer to my own fright at home. Early on Thursday morning I found all four security cameras around my house twisted upside down. Was this a plan for a possible invasion? During the government’s widespread consultations on “stand your ground” legislation, Persad-Bissessar said it could happen to anybody. She is right. Now her speech. It was the kind of speech that no political leader here has ever made or dared to make. She brutally warned her ministers and officials of state boards, regional corporations and financial institutions about misconduct, corruption and “cavorting” with “crooked contractors and lawyers” and other elements linked to corruption. The PM threatened: “I know who you are. Get out of that now, because I will come for you. If you continue I will call you out in front of the UNC membership. All the things some of you did and think you get away in 2010-2015 will not be repeated.” She declared to her MPs: “You wanted the job: well, do it well now.” We shall see. The PM previously warned them: “I was nice before, but no, no, no, not again. Do not mistake my kindness for weakness. I have people to look after and a country to run.” So there. The country heard it. We shall see. The PM seems to get some higher-order inspiration, having listened to gospel-singer CeCe Winans’ soulful hymns two weeks ago. Hopefully, the PM’s words should also inspire the country – it has become so dispirited and demoralised by inequity and political misconduct. You see, while the courts watch and wait, the public “knows” who is crook and who is tief, no matter their self-serving, narcissistic gibberish. Incidentally, while lawful citizens should report crime and suspects to the police, they should also reliably report misconduct in public office to the PM. In 2015, I quietly complained to her about two ministers. She booted one out – but one still lingers. With fire and fury, the UNC political leader declared last Monday to her MPs: “I don’t want you to get caught up in the glory of office and forget why we were we were put here. There were some mistakes made in the first incarnation and I don’t want these things to happen again.” “The country is hurting,” pleaded former president Paula-Mae Weekes. The PM fearlessly warned that any MP caught engaging in questionable alliances at the Hyatt or town restaurants would face “public exposure, dismissal from government and possible legal consequences.” (Here the UNC rank and file clapped loudly.) The PM was throwing the MPs’ oath of office in their face. We shall see. Her determination to tackle corrupt absenteeism and the dismal delays in audited financial reports from state companies and regional corporations will be met with public acclamation. If necessary, amend the laws or take them to court, as Minister in the PM’s Office Barry Padarath advised. Of course, in our divisive politics there will be scepticism about the PM’s high-level goals. But we shall see. It was a speech seeking patriots and love of country. This was the anti-corruption medicine political parties and country needed. There has been so much sickening misconduct in public office, so much publicised state corruption and poisoning alliances that she seems prepared now to take the bull by its horns. We wait and see. She is entering sacred ground, but declared there are no sacred cows now. The public, if not the courts, knows a few got away last time when she “was nice” – but not again. She previously gave stern warning at her inauguration: “Retribution will be swift and brutal.” Correcting years of political corruption and financial waste will not be easy. Seeking to insert and maintain political integrity in her new government, the PM demands from her ministers a “100-day performance report” for accounting to the people – another first-time initiative. We wait and see. Meanwhile, I am impressed by the comprehensive sustainable development report published last week by the Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development, Senator Dr Kennedy Swaratsingh. His mission should now be integrated with a white paper by Agriculture Minister Ravi Ratiram on the country’s agricultural development in partnership with Trade and Industry Minister Kama Maharaj. Visiting here and there, talking about cocoa, coffee, rice, citrus, dairy farming, vegetables, etc, in isolation are not enough for sustainable financing, development, consumption and export. In fact, oil and gas, yes, but also economic resilience and diversification also must be frontline to feed ourselves. Transform Cepep and URP into skill-based agriculture. That is medicine too. The post PM’s medicine for crooked MPs appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.