Government is the formal institutional framework designed for implementing the business of a country and includes the parliament, the bureaucracy, the judiciary, the police, and those agencies that operate under the authority of the state. Governance, however, is a broader and more dynamic concept which involves the political and institutional processes related to decision-making and implementation, all directed to achieving national development goals. The political management of the business of Trinidad and Tobago (TT), over its almost 64 years of independence, has been littered with continuing failures of both government and governance (G &G) which have led to the current state of threatened collapse of key agencies and institutions.
These sustained failures were acknowledged by reasonably objective commentators, a sample of whose views, expressed in the national newspapers follow: National failures have existed over decades of independence, resulting from politicians’ inability to organize and harmonize our energies to address the challenges of government (Sunity Maharaj); Few politicians possess the intellect, charisma, confidence, and courage to persuade the citizenry (Vaneisa Baksh); A lack of ‘management and leadership’ by the political elite and public sector managers, as well as strategic errors over different administrations (Mariano Browne); Professionals, not unqualified party loyalists, should be appointed to manage public institutions, akin to Lloyd Best’s “Officer Corp”, (Tony Rakhal-Fraser); Creation of a Transport Authority to deal with the unmanaged public transport system suffering from decades of neglect (Trevor Townsend and Rae Furlonge); Dysfunctional operations of State Enterprises and agencies which led to a refusal to follow instructions and resignation from the Cabinet (Robert Le Hunte); Inequity of the pension system which punishes public servants with $3,000 monthly, while politicians enjoy monthly pensions ranging from $20,000 to $88,000 (Denisse Demming); TT is a giant theatre production with several players performing as different characters, with each trying to control the narrative, leading to a national disconnect and a crisis of credibility (Jack Warner).
Current political characters would benefit from studying his views, on the brink of his exit from active politics.
Classic cases of G&G failures are the quarrying industry (QI) and the National Insurance System (NIS). These critical entities have long attracted negative attention in the national press when their governance failures threaten their existence.
Illegal quarrying destroyed the pristine forests along the ‘Valencia Stretch’ turning sections into deserts, despite talk about rehabilitation even as a golf course. Major stakeholders have documented the case, such as: the Geological Society, the Extractive Industries, Aggregate Producers, and the Ministry of Energy.
It was observed that gangsterism had developed around the industry, and failure to take action led to lawlessness and theft of natural resources. Quarrying licenses have not been renewed for 25 years but “hold-over letters” were recently suggested as a solution, apparently with acceptance by the producers.
Regular actuarial reports on the status of the NIS have documented the G&G failures to address the main issues of the retirement age and the capitalization of its Fund. Action has been taken recently to address what appeared as deliberate disregard of the recommendations of the 10th and 11th actuarial reviews.
An assessment of the most recent actuarial report concluded that the NIS was not financially sustainable because of an “unprecedented level of negligence” (Ian Narine), hopefully it is early-stage COPD.
Finally, a senator expressed surprise that the NIS had not already collapsed when in 2018 a warning stated that the Fund would be depleted by 2030 (Sophia Chote). This is truly neither a real nor serious place, as implied in the ‘Warner characters’ piece.
Haven Allahar
Diego Martin
