Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Aujourd'hui 08:23

A view of Kamla's leadership

THE EDITOR: It will always be a bone of contention as to whether the Prime Minister erred in not informing the nation about the installation of a radar in Tobago. That the radar is necessary to combat narco-trafficking and human trafficking is indisputable. The recent massive drug busts in south Trinidad is clear evidence of the scale of operations by narco-traffickers and the use of Trinidad as a transshipment port. Questions regarding the presence of US marines in Tobago as well as lack of information as to who controls the radar and who will use the information gathered have also caused concerns and rightly so. But having said this it must also be acknowledged that not everything can be revealed to the population given national security concerns. The failure of the police to deal with the narco-traffickers has had to do with sensitive information leakages, as is now being revealed from time to time, and the presence of rogue police officers attached to gangs. This is just part of the national security scenario within which the reluctance of the PM to reveal information on the radar has to be assessed. This is not to excuse her for being frugal with communications. It is a risk she had to take and also the ensuing consequences. The long-term impact of this will be seen in the level of trust that the population will demonstrate in time about her leadership. What is obvious is that there is a complete overhaul in the leadership style of Kamla Persad-Bissessar. It is a style that is not authoritarian but determined to achieve results. It is a style that is situational, responsive to the needs of the times and bent on returning the society to national discipline, as well as accountability and responsiveness from public institutions that mange national assets and deliver service to citizens. It is clear that she wants a citizen-centric government and public service. This cannot be achieved by training and retraining. People already know what is expected of them. It’s a big lie if they claim otherwise. But they are too lazy and unresponsive to their responsibilities. Persad-Bissessar therefore needs to be a tough uncompromising leader. The nation has not seen such a leader, perhaps not since Basdeo Panday, who had clear goals and a vision for TT. Over the years indiscipline has crept into the nation’s psyche as a whole. This includes driving habits, abuse of privilege, corruption and a range of behaviours that will cause us to remain a Third World country. We are more concerned about ideologies without a concern for reality. We are more concerned with consultations which have become an excuse for non-implementation of important projects, and delays in transforming the society. We have become a society where we know how to criticise but not to work towards a solution. All of this and more dictates that her leadership style has to be forthright, unforgiving of poor performance and goal directed. Her style, which I endorse, has to lead to the point where nationally there is an instantaneous leap mentally and behaviourally into the future. There are too many pilot projects but no long-term results. Apart from the Ministry of Health and the revitalisation plan, we need to see bold strategic interventions in agriculture and housing. It was so comical to me that the PM was delivering repaired police vehicles to the police service. The police should be holding their heads in shame for it shows another case of how poor management is of national assets. The PM must not stop there. She should now mandate her Homeland Security Minister to put in place policies and practices for vehicle preventative management and a performance management system to achieve accountability. One of the good outcomes of her approach is the fact that people in positions of authority will have to shape up or ship out. The “firing” of several senior people in state agencies demonstrates that there is a serious approach to governance. This is brave leadership that places results above votes. The country needed this style a long time ago. When such dramatic change is attempted there will be pushback. Persad-Bissessar will have to be firm and deal with loafers and unwarranted dissenters with a big stick. She will not succeed with compromising her vision. In my view she has sent the right message. The sustainability of her style will mean success or yielding to the dissenters, most of whom have no solutions to anything they are critical of. SURUJRATTAN RAMBACHAN via e-mail The post A view of Kamla's leadership appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.