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The autocratic nature of our politics is most memorably captured in the sordid 1962 episode featuring Dr Patrick Solomon, minister of Home Affairs in the People’s National Movement (PNM) government—with responsibility for the police service.
His stepson was arrested and incarcerated for throwing missiles in a public space. Solomon allegedly abused his authority. Public opinion demanded Solomon’s resignation.
(via Trinidad Guardian)
At first, Dr Williams supported this position. But eventually, he not only reinstated Solomon but also promoted him to Minister of External Affairs!
This authoritarian behaviour did not end with Dr Williams’s quip about ‘non-barking dogs’. It is not restricted to PNM’s leadership. It morphed into the party hierarchy, becoming the enforcer for the political leader of all our parties.
Donald Trump’s hold on the Republican party is not dissimilar to our situation. How does a party eliminate persons like Anita Haynes and Rushton Paray? Is that party overflowing with better talent?
How does the PNM push back on young talent to retain their controversial favourite, Minister Fitzgerald Hinds? Both parties are telling the young to stay in the back!
Sparrow sang: “Children, go to school and learn well/ Otherwise, later on in life, you will catch real hell.”
Our children are learning that they will live in hell, with or without education.
Joseph Schumpeter argued that “public finances are one of the best starting points for an investigation of society, especially though not exclusively of its political life.” (Schumpeter, 1954: 7).
A core reason for our autocratic tendency is that our Rentier economy has all the revenue going through our government for disbursement to the rest of us. The prime minister becomes an emperor.
Decisions about political leadership are hinged on the ability to regain or maintain control of the energy revenues accruing to the state, not on a vision for the future.
Rentier State theory derived from a study of the Gulf cases speaks to the creation of an “oil social compact”, in which business abandons direct political involvement for state mediated profits (Crystal 1990). “We will keep quiet; you can share the rewards with us” is the agreement.
Private individuals obtain government tenders in shady ways. Unsurprisingly, our attempts to rein in the procurement loopholes were resisted.
We argue about the implementation of the Property tax and the Revenue Authority. Even Ernst & Young (E&Y) admitted the discussion was ‘arguably a storm in a teacup’ and ‘aligns with best international practices’.
Only the people forced to stretch the dollar in the grocery care about ‘value for money’.
The manufacturers exploited the foreign exchange and consumer demand surge in the early 2000s by turning inwardly and raising prices. Local consumption, not export growth, was the mantra in those days. Foreign exchange was not used for transformation.
The National Gas Company’s dividends propped up our delusions of grandeur. Kevin Ramnarine, then Energy minister, said during “the period under consideration (2010 to 2015), the NGC was the most profitable it had ever been, recording before-tax profits of $33 billion and after-tax profits of $22 billion. These dividends came out of these extraordinary profits.”
He clarified: “These funds were transferred to the Consolidated Fund and used for budgetary support. That is to say, they were used to support government revenue.”
The labour movement is a political football. With the IMF’s intervention in the late 1980s came the gutting of the union movement.
Abdulah, a trade unionist, is head of the Movement for Social Justice.
(Copyright Trinidad Guardian)
Interestingly, the People’s Partnership initially included trade union representation. While the original unions exited the Partnership, the administration promised other unions significant wage increases days before the 2015 elections.
The Public Services Association got paid, but not some others. The unions are still being manipulated, but they fail to acknowledge it. Today, the trade union movement is still susceptible to false promises.
In December 2015, then Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran belatedly admonished: “… the insatiable demand for US dollars in Trinidad and Tobago will always trump whatever distribution system is in place… The import content of our consumer spending is at least 80 per cent.”
Rambarran noted: “Credit card payments accounted for US$1.8 billion over the past three years”. Minister of Finance Colm Imbert reports it is up by 50% over the last five years.
While we run with this story, remember that Mr Rambarran said: “The retail and distribution sector is the most voracious consumer of foreign exchange.” That sector accounted for almost a third of the foreign exchange used. Credit card usage was the third largest user, slightly beating car sales.
Who has that elastic supply of disposable income in an economy struggling to recover from the pandemic?
Does Scotiabank’s decision to exempt their premium credit card holders from the restrictions on foreign dollar usage give us a hint? Or are consumers bypassing the local merchants who greedily jack up their prices?
In September 2023, Minister Imbert noted: “…the repatriation of foreign exchange earned through export earnings, which reached a high in 2022, is decreasing, as some businesses are choosing to keep their forex overseas for various reasons.” Yet, businesses cry out for more foreign exchange.
Why not disclose a comprehensive analysis of inflows versus outflows by sector? We do not need the recipients’ names, but we need to know where the foreign exchange is being used.
Meanwhile, the prices of food keep mounting. People are ‘ketching their nennen’, but look at how many new vehicles are on our roads! Can the rich do whatever they wish?
In 2000, Sparrow sang about this. Oh, Lord! They raise up on the taxi fare/
(No, Doctor, no!)/ And why the blasted milk so dear?/ (No, Doctor, no!)/ I want you to remember/ We support you in September/ You better come good/ (Good, good)/
I still have the big piece of mango wood!
Are we waiting for more bois? Are we not tired of the crime and murders?
Greed and selfish living result in social instability. The ‘dogs’ will bark and bite!
Copyright: Ezra Bartholomew
The statement by Wendell Mottley and Dr Euric Bobb was helpful. It explained the dynamics of our foreign exchange situation and pointed to the difficulties of managing it. A high premium is placed on skill and judgment: a scenario that can go terribly wrong can be our fate.
Economist Clive Thomas’ list of economic development priorities (Ed Hall and Benn, 2000) goes unmentioned. They are the lessening of poverty and sustained improvements in the population’s health, education, skills and living standards.
We are in a golden straitjacket to preserve the interests of some raucous folk. Political debate is focused on promises that cannot be kept and which party can meet our peculiar needs. We pay lip service to economic growth and innovation.
Political power has shifted incrementally to the Minister of Finance, who must face the continuing emergencies and manage our scarce resources. This approach misses the reality that we have a systemic problem.
We must strengthen our financial system. We should relook at our venture capital approach to mobilise the foreign cash reserves held by individuals. For this to happen, we need to increase transparency in our economic data.
Our political, business and academic elites must realise that we do not have to reinvent the wheel. Jamaica’s Economic Growth Council template is available.
They must seek the interests of the embattled low and middle-income people in this land. Failure will have dire consequences.
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Thank you Mr. Philip! Very well written article highlighting the plight & blight, that has manifested since the days of Dr. Eric Williams, plaguing our beloved home. Our citizens fail to understand the very simple fact that it is our wealth & therefore our future that is being mismanaged and our suffering will be inevitable, case in point Haiti. Anyone who follows the forex will be disgusted & what they discover but they may not see the light of day to reveal it.