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“[…] Madam Prime Minister 2.0 I suggest the development of an Innovation/Creative fund to encourage our students to promote math, science, and inventors’ competitions with compensations for our normal citizens to bring whatever inventions they have.
“The key here is to start an innovation culture because we have a culture that all ideas and problem solvers must come from big businesses, the post-colonial scholars at UWI and every person with BSc, MSc, or PHD by their names.
“Sometimes that perception is furthest from the truth…”
The following Letter to the Editor, which suggests how Trinidad and Tobago could encourage innovation and creativity, was submitted to Wired868 by Jairzinho ‘Jazzy’ Rigsby, a former UNC local government election candidate and ex-part-time UWI economics lecturer from Dundee Village, Arima:
(via OPM.)
In a few days, Trinidad and Tobago would be celebrating its sixty-third year as an independent nation.
As a proud citizen of T&T, I would like to publicly thank all the men and women who have attained global success—and in so doing, brought recognition to T&T in the fields of sport, arts/culture, business, community development, academics and science.
To our public servants and private sector employees, protective forces, to you the citizens, who fight and struggle everyday against all odds to provide for your families and by extension to keep the economic, public service, national security, healthcare and education wheels of T&T turning, I thank you for your service and dedication.
(via TT Prisons.)
Now after sixty-three years of independence and eloquent oratory, the citizens are relegated to continued inefficient government services and the blame game continues.
What is amazing to me, we vote for the same political actors who promise innovation and change, even though we know that most members sitting in both houses are really career politicians with long expired shelf lives—just waiting to be put in the sales section of the political store with a 100% discount tag.
In light of the aforementioned, please permit me the use of your editorial space so I can further elaborate the fact as to why our leaders fail to understand what is really meant by innovation.
Copyright: Office of the Parliament 2025.
Innovation simply means “doing something new” and vision basically is the “act of anticipation of which will or may come”. This begs the question: Have our crop of politicians shown these characteristics over the years?
We like to use Singapore as the classic example of innovation; so too Japan, China, India and most of the developed world.
They are innovative because they have nurtured and supported a culture of problem solving, private/academic partnerships, creativity and research/development as their national vision, underpinned by transparent and accountable leadership.
What we have passing for MPs on both sides is the usual hamper distribution, back to school drives, toy drives, attending wakes, celebrating (100) year birthdays, paving roads, box drains, Tik-Tok videos and celebrations based on our calendar of events.
Please do not get me wrong, representation and aid to our vulnerable citizens is most welcomed—but are these political activities innovative and visionary and capable of driving T&T forward as a global player?
In fact, party politics, now on steroids, continues at the expense of T&T’s citizens. Clearly, the last administration and the new administration are the same political actors, just changing seats with the same expired political shelf lives, void of any innovation.
(via UNC.)
Mind you, the younger ones will just follow the status quo until they themselves will become politically expired.
To justify her government’s mantra of innovation and change, the Honorable Prime Minister labeled herself Kamla Persad-Bissessar 2.0 or Madam Prime Minister 2.0. At this juncture I would like to recommend to our Honourable Prime Minister 2.0 some innovative measures that can propel T&T’s global competitiveness:
1.Madam Prime Minister 2.0, India has seven (7) nuclear power plants with (22) reactors.
Seeing the world’s resolve toward renewable energy, I suggest the Ministries of Energy, Finance and Works/Infrastructure initiate discussions with respect to the feasibility of a modular nuclear reactor program in T&T, which could reduce long run costs in our energy mix and aid in medicinal research.
This must be done with private and academic partnerships usually called Triple Helix Model of Innovation.
2.Another governmental model that would be considered innovative in T&T is “the promise of greater influence must result in greater influence” (UNDP, Global Parliamentary Report, 2012 p11).
Photo: UNC.
Moreover, this report along with the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) recommend accounting to the public for government’s action on regular intervals.
Madam Prime Minister 2.0, with all due respect while working from home is contemporary, speaking to the national community and being open to public scrutiny is paramount toward innovation. Just look at the current events engulfing our nation—you are the leader, lead from the front and communicate.
3.Flooding due to many factors costs the citizens and state a lot of monies. Madam Prime Minister 2.0, I would like to suggest that the relevant cluster ministries embark on firstly, looking at the completed dissertations on flood mitigation.
Copyright: Kash Mahadeo.
Bring in the UWI Engineering Faculty and the NGOs engaged in re-cycling and collaborations to reduce flooding from a long-term perspective, and initiate research/development on re-cycling plastic and tyres into road re-habilitation.
This will allow our so-called intellectuals to move away from theoretical research to problem solving research. This would overcome the “Valley of Death” (UWI, 2019).
4.Madam Prime Minister 2.0, T&T is ranked 108th out of 133 countries according to WIPO’s Global Innovation Index for 2024.
(via Ministry of Digital Transformation.)
Madam Prime Minister 2.0 I suggest the development of an Innovation/Creative fund to encourage our students to promote math, science, and inventors’ competitions with compensations for our normal citizens to bring whatever inventions they have.
The key here is to start an innovation culture because we have a culture that all ideas and problem solvers must come from big businesses, the post-colonial scholars at UWI and every person with BSc, MSc, or PHD by their names.
Sometimes that perception is furthest from the truth.
5.Finally, the Ministry of Public Administration and AI must not look for the great fix then to say a UNC government working for you. I know the ministry have their SMEs on AI. I suggest that the minister start by looking at E-insurance certificates, E-permits and e-Id cards. Just do the market research and gather the data.
On the point of data, evidence-based decision is critical today. I recommend that the Ministry of Education publish all Csec/Cape results on the secondary schools’ webpages. Offer performance metrics based on the school’s cognitive strengths and once these targets are met why not give that school staff a bonus for improved results.
As I always say it’s hard to do the great things but small things go a long way.
Photo: OTP.
In closing, encouraging partnerships amongst the public, private and academic sectors underpinned by research and development funding will drive innovation and creativity T&T.
In the words of Lady Lava, Madam Prime Minister you are “Prime Minister the Builder” so Start Building. Stop Blaming.
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