BY Dr JACK AUSTIN WARNER
Attention now turned outward
My fellow citizens, Happy New Year to everyone!
As we enter 2026, my focus remains firmly anchored in two enduring commitments: the welfare of my loved ones and the wellbeing of my country. These are not abstract priorities. They are deeply personal and profoundly interconnected.
My family, well-wishers, and devoted friends have been my bedrock throughout my life, including during some of the most challenging and despairing moments.
In times of uncertainty, it is this circle of care and constancy that provides balance, perspective, and strength. I am deeply grateful for their love, their loyalty, and their quiet sacrifices. I remain just as deeply committed to them.
It is from that place of grounding that I turn my attention outward – to the broader national project of rebuilding, renewal, and responsibility that now confronts Trinidad and Tobago.
A Nation Emerging from Deep Damage
I cannot help but reiterate how significant April 28, 2025 was. It was perhaps the most important day in Trinidad and Tobago’s recent history – that turning point signalling our country’s rebound from the deep damage inflicted by years of systemic mismanagement, governance failures, and corruption under the People’s National Movement.
That period left scars – on our institutions, on public trust, and on the lived experiences of ordinary citizens.
The damage was not merely economic. It was institutional and psychological. It eroded confidence in leadership, weakened systems meant to protect the public interest, and normalised a culture of opacity and impunity.
The cost of those years is still being felt in stretched public services, fragile investor confidence, and a weary population too often asked to absorb sacrifice without clarity or fairness.
Early Signals That Leadership Matters
In the first eight months of the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration, we have already seen measurable improvements across multiple sectors.
These are not cosmetic gains. They are early indicators that purposeful leadership, institutional respect, and people-centred governance matter.
Stability has begun to return to key areas of public administration. Communication has improved. There is a discernible shift in tone – from defensiveness to responsibility, from spectacle to substance.
While challenges remain – and they are many – the direction of travel is no longer uncertain.
Good governance does not deliver miracles overnight. But it does restore confidence, and confidence is the currency upon which recovery is built.
Economic Reality: Optimism Without Illusion
Optimism, however, must be balanced with realism.
The truth is that our economy is still fragile. Recent commentary from the Central Bank, once you strip away the technical language, is telling us something quite simple: the road ahead will not be entirely smooth. We should expect some bumps along the way.
2026 is shaping up to be a year of reckoning – one where careful judgement, experience, and steady leadership will be needed to help the country navigate ongoing challenges.
These include rising prices that continue to pressure household budgets, persistent foreign exchange shortages that affect businesses and everyday consumers, and global risks over which we have little control but must nevertheless prepare for.
The Central Bank has also cautioned that recent wage increases, while important for fairness and dignity, must be handled responsibly.
If not carefully managed, higher wages can lead to increased spending on imports, placing further strain on foreign exchange and economic stability.
In simple terms, paying people more is necessary, but it must be matched with greater productivity and prudent management.
I am told by persons with deeper knowledge of these matters that this is not a cause for panic. But it is a reminder that discipline will be required – at the level of government, business, and households alike.
We may need to tighten our belts, make smarter choices, and focus on building a more resilient economy that can withstand external shocks.
If we approach 2026 with patience, honesty, and a shared sense of responsibility, the difficult adjustments can become the foundation for longer-term stability and growth.
From Short-Term Fixes to Structural Change
What we really need now is to stop making it up as we go along and start being consistent.
As a country, we have to resist the urge to grab at quick fixes that may feel good in the moment but leave us worse off down the road. Those kinds of decisions might buy short-term political comfort, but they weaken our ability to cope when the next challenge comes along.
Instead, we need to focus on the kind of changes that actually last – changes that help us earn more, depend less on any one sector, and make our institutions work better for everyone.
That means looking beyond oil and gas and putting real effort into areas like manufacturing, agriculture, the creative industries, and digital services—places where our people already have talent and ideas, and just need the right support to turn them into jobs and income.
It also means backing small and medium-sized businesses in practical ways. Not just talking about support, but making it easier for them to get financing, cutting unnecessary red tape, and ensuring that government services are reliable and efficient.
People-Centred Governance Must Be the Objective
The objective must be improved quality of life.
Over the next twelve months and beyond, our national focus, I respectfully suggest, should be on providing critical support for measures that meaningfully improve the daily lived experiences of citizens – better access to healthcare, more reliable public services, safer communities, dignified work, and a fair chance at opportunity.
At the heart of national recovery lies trust.
Trust in institutions.
Trust in leadership.
Trust that sacrifice, when required, is shared and explained honestly.
For far too long, public trust has been stretched to the breaking point. By the time Keith Rowley and the PNM demitted office, trust in government was not merely weakened – it was virtually non-existent.
Years of arrogance, opacity, and disdain for accountability hollowed out confidence in leadership and left citizens deeply sceptical of those in power.
Rebuilding that trust will take far more than technical competence. It requires humility where there was hubris, transparency where there was secrecy, and accountability where there was evasion.
Institutions must be strengthened and respected, not bypassed or bent to suit political convenience. Rules must be applied fairly and consistently, not selectively or opportunistically.
And decisions must be clearly explained and justified to the population – not imposed from on high and defended only after the damage is done.
Trust, once broken so thoroughly, cannot be demanded. It must be earned – slowly, deliberately, and honestly.
Choosing the Country We Want to Be
As we move deeper into 2026, Trinidad and Tobago faces a defining choice.
Do we settle for recovery that is shallow and uneven?
Or do we pursue renewal that is deliberate, inclusive, and lasting?
Do we allow old habits to resurface once pressure eases?
Or do we institutionalise better governance as the norm, not the exception?
The answers to these questions will determine not just economic outcomes, but the kind of society we leave to future generations.
I am confident about the future – not because challenges have disappeared, but because the conditions for responsible leadership and collective action are being rebuilt.
Confidence is not complacency. It is the belief that with honesty, discipline, and cooperation, progress is possible. It is the resolve to do the hard work required, even when it is uncomfortable or politically inconvenient.
My commitment – to my loved ones and to my country – remains unwavering.
As 2026 unfolds, I extend my best wishes to all for a year that is successful, safe, and healthy.
May it also be a year marked by clarity, cooperation, and courage – the courage to choose long-term wellbeing over short-term comfort, and collective progress over narrow gain. The work of renewal is underway. The responsibility to sustain it belongs to us all.
Yours in service to country and people, Jack.
