Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 12/12/2025 10:43

Fireworks fizzle

PAOLO KERNAHAN THE FIREWORKS Bill was, like its namesake, more spectacle than substance. The legislation, broadly speaking, imagines a permitting system, time restrictions on the use of fireworks, the types that can be used and where this ordnance can be exploded. As a campaign promise, it was doomed to fail for the simplest of reasons. There’s simply no middle ground on this emotive issue; people either love them or hate them. The idea that there could have been a happy medium is a brand of idiocy that our politicians do astonishingly well. The most heated opposition to fireworks argued for an outright ban on this exceedingly popular means of converting hard currency into worthless smoke and ephemeral glee. An unremitting torment for animals, the elderly, the sick, the insomniac, and other bothersome “coolants” who hate fun and those who love it – there was simply no room for compromise. This new bill feigns an attempt at regulating the use of fireworks – in a country that’s famously terrible at regulating stuff. It may surprise the general public to know that fireworks, as we've come to appreciate/despise them, were always “technically” subject to regulations. Granted, before the explosion of the market for these explosive delights, there was no formal designation of fireworks in the law – Fire Bun Dem and other such distributors simply didn’t exist in those days. Fireworks, however, were classed broadly as explosives under the Explosives Act. Under chapter 16:02 of the act, it is specifically stated that it’s illegal to sell fireworks to anyone under the age of 18. Yet, notwithstanding a law that was always on the books, it’s as easy for a kid with a fistful of folding money to buy fireworks as it is to buy doubles. A law is only as useful as its enforcement, which is chapter two in the book titled “How TT failed as a nation.” Furthermore, under the Summary Offences Act, the use of fireworks was prohibited in certain places – presumably the gas station and oil installations, because they are detonated absolutely everywhere else. Anyone wishing to use fireworks was also required to get a permit from the Commissioner of Police. There are kids shooting fireworks at each other who don’t even get permission from their parents, so that provision wasn’t worth a pint of urine. So, although previous attempts in law to govern these useless amusements could have been enforced by the authorities, they weren’t. This is why any posturing in the new legislation is nothing more than that. The question that sticks like a bone in the throat is, why not just ban the bloody things? Well, the Law Reform Commission cogitated on that very issue. In its report on fireworks policy, the commission noted that the use of fireworks could have been banned outright or regulated. “...imposing Model A (a ban) would put an end to the industry, causing suppliers to suffer significant losses, render those in the industry unemployed, and citizens would no longer be able to use fireworks for their entertainment.” Yeah…so what’s the problem? The commission makes a mistake in referring to the fireworks market as an industry – it isn’t. There is no innovation, nothing manufactured locally, no value-add, nor anything that engenders true entrepreneurship. Three major distributors are at the apex of an ecosystem that burns up scarce foreign exchange and creates seasonal “hustledom.” There are no discernible redeeming characteristics of the fireworks business model. Now, if the product weren’t such a source of extreme distress, no one would question the value of this type of business in our economy. It’s worth noting there are several countries that ban fireworks or severely restrict their use by the civilian population – and they aren’t all totalitarian states. Ireland, Chile, Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand either prohibit or restrain the use of such disposable income disposal units. Interestingly, in just one state in the US, Massachusetts, fireworks are completely banned; you can’t even light up a sparkler. This government had no problem banning noisy fetes, aka Carnival and “cultear,” at Udecott-controlled public venues. The decision was driven by loud cries from citizens fed up with noise. Why was this administration gun-shy about grappling with a segment of the business community (the fireworks lobby?) that doesn’t support local music, artistry, or Carnival culture in any conceivable way? Ultimately, this legislation will provide no relief for the same reason nothing else has – no one will enforce anything other than the rights of fireworks distributors and inconsiderate neighbours to make noise in your head. The post Fireworks fizzle appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.