By Johnny Commansingh
In 2010, Kamla Persad-Bissessar became the new prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). For some reason, she voiced her opinion that T&T is no ATM card for CARICOM. It is well known that everybody looks to T&T when they need help. We don’t mind. The record shows that we love to help everybody because we are nice people. Nevertheless, let me remind all of us that there are plenty people who don’t like T&T. It’s a fact. Do you think that anybody really wants to help us? Just take a look at the present-day bacchanal and ramblings involved in CARICOM with the installation of Dr Carla Natalie Barnett, secretary-general of CARICOM. I am of the view that there seems to be a lot of fren-fren and grease hand in Caricom. Nevertheless, with all the ol’ talk, leadership is of prime importance in the governance of any country.
Back then in 2010, I wrote in my book, Sweet and Sour Trinidad and Tobago, that you cannot wait until the iron gets hot. You have to beat it to get it hot; help the people of T&T and insist on accountability in every sector, and more so, the protective services. A wise man never pretends to know what he does not know. Trinidad and Tobago is bleeding because of the lack of good leadership. Leaders are influencers, people who will get down in the dirt and live by precept and example. Actions will always speak better than words.
My best example of leadership in T&T is when Leo Beenhakker (Beenie Man) coached the national football team, the Soca Warriors, and led them to the FIFA World Cup tournament in Germany.
Here are a few thoughts from the book in Trini dialect:
“Dat man come dong from Holland and in ah flash! Di Soca Warriors moved from a measly single point and made it to the FIFA 2006 World Cup because we changed the coach…hell yes, we did! It was another white European who did not stick any sh*t with players. Plain talk is bad manners and I confess dat ah have bad manners when it comes to national security and productivity.
“Where are our country’s watchwords today…Discipline, Production and Tolerance? Where?! Are they enshrined in the hearts of our children? Do they mean anything to the masses anymore? Do we know wuh di colours of di flag really mean? Instead of installing ah two million dollar national flag, di PNM should have orchestrated ah program of patriotism through the medium of sport fuh di chirren of di country. Ah would not have mind if even five million was spent on such ah venture. Regarding di Soca Warriors, it didn’t have no fren-fren dey with Beenie Man. He din have no favorites…if yuh good yuh good…and wuk for yuh place if yuh want it bad enough.
“So doh tell mih dat the former People’s National Movement (PNM) is not supposed to carry some of the blame…maybe dey should carry all of the blame fuh di dire situation in T&T at di moment. Dem PNM people allowed di fox tuh lime in di henhouse. Right now, T&T is a failed state! Yuh think we should change the coach and some of the players? The driver cyar drive? Is the vehicle too old and decrepit tuh go any further? We must assess what we have and where we are going…if we don’t know where we are going, any road will take us there (remember?).”
Thank God, on May 24th 2010, we changed the political coach. We hoped that the new coach would stand up for what is right. We hoped that they would lead by precept and example. What is happening now is that the other side is getting real impatient. Now everybody wants everything to be fixed, just like instant mashed potatoes. They have a syndrome called ‘instant gratification.’ All drains and canals must be cleaned like yesterday. All floods must abate in an instant. All crime must come to a stop in two weeks. Every bridge, sidewalk and road must be repaired in one month. All potholes must be filled as soon as they appear. And the list could go on. What the PNM failed to do in 40 years, the People’s Partnership must do in 120 days.
Trinidad and Tobago needs ah fresh start. FIFA World Cup finals for 2010 came and left. Spain won. It is only when people realize that they have to play and work as a team that success becomes evident. To win requires a modicum of team-spiritedness combined with stick-to-it-tive-ness…be accurate in passing the ball. Keep possession at all times and keep your opponents guessing. We must band together in T&T. Let us bury the hatchet of the racism that exists on our precious and wonderful islands.”
All of us came forcefully or voluntarily to these two islands. We can’t complain, nice water, beach, every kind of building material, and rich resources that make us rich. The problem is how to keep the sweetness of the country inside us. This is about sustainability…keeping the sweetness and beauty of our nation intact for generations to come; that is like looking at every grain of sand on every one of our beaches as a precious grain of sand.
That means that we must not kill out all the animals in the forest, catch all the crab and cascadura fish in one day…leave some for tomorrow. That means that we must keep our mountains high and do not rape them to fill up the sea. That means we must leave our mangrove swamps and all swamps for that matter alone. That means that or primal forests must be protected because our lives depend on it…keep the watershed intact! That means we must stop the littering of our beaches, rivers, roads and all public places…find a garbage bin or keep it in your car until you get home. That means that we must be kind and courteous on our roads. Don’t be a road hog. That means we must obey the law of the land…it is that simple. Teach your children well because children learn what they live.
Here we were forced to live. Here we made a home, and we have to live with one another every day. Why can’t we just get along? Why have we allowed the sour aspects of our being to override what is precious in our society? We are a mixed-up kind of people, and nothing is wrong with that because we have enough talent to spare. We have been favoured by nature itself to exhibit great and flavorful cuisine and a powerful creativity in our music, literature, and our Trini carnival.
Here’s another snippet from the book:
“Yes, we have been favored tuh invent di only percussion instrument, di steelpan in di 20th century. We are di everlasting Parang champions of di world. It eh have no Christmas like ah Trini Christmas, snow or no snow. We know what is ah good calypso and we have di ability tuh invent ah song on almost any damn thing we want. Who will ever forget di time in 1989 when we lost tuh di USA how all ah we heart did break. But weeping endures for di nite and joy comes in di morning; we were joyous when we played as di smallest country tuh make it tuh di 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. And yuh know what? We held di might of Sweden tuh ah nil-nil draw…wasn’t dat magnificent?
“Ah does just admire di lovely chirren we have in di country and how dey face so pleasant and nice…mih heart does geh full, full. However, whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. Are we all going mad over 30 pieces of silver, ah gold chain, ah gold ring, ah cell phone, ah Converse sneakers, ah pair ah “Lands,” somebody’s wallet or pocket book, ah big screen TV, and ah motor car? Do we want these things so bad dat we go kill somebody tuh get it?
Do we want these things so bad dat we go make all kind ah bobol and racket tuh live high? Are we going tuh continue tuh think and act as children of slaves? Are we going tuh think and act as bong (bound) coolies? Are we intent on graduating from di mire and gutter of our foolishness? Maybe we should do ah lil introspection ‘bout who we are and from whence we came and be humbled in di fact that we have been very fortunate, more fortunate than ah whole lot ah people in di whole world.
“I would clearly state dat despite mih beginnings dat ah rel fortunate. Di sugar still in di sugar cane no matter how twisted it grow…It is possible dat we are not thankful enough tuh love, and be kind and gracious tuh one another or maybe we are too damn happy. Dis one is fuh di road…ah just couldn’t keep back dis one. Sometimes ah does geh the feeling dat some of our police stations are so rat infested dat dey cyar keep cocaine evidence safe from the “rats.” My theory is that by now many of our wonderful and astute honest policemen should be suffering with acute leptospirosis. Are policemen being paid to Protect and Serve themselves with two, three kilos ah ganja or as calypsonian ‘Ras Shorty I’ did say, “…ah bag of white powder?” Many people in T&T know the truth but are afraid tuh say it like it is because dey are afraid of two groups of people in T&T, the police and the gangsters.”
It has been touted that lightning does not strike the same place twice. This is a myth. Again, on April 28, 2025, the people changed the government and Kamla Persad-Bissessar became the prime minister for the second time. In 1956, the PNM won the general elections winning with 13 seats. In 2025, the PNM lost, gaining only 13 seats. I have been asking about the real reason why the PNM lost. To date, no one has ventured to provide an answer.
Nevertheless, the PNM opposition is repeating the same questions and certainly clamouring for the same things as they did in 2010. From what I have been seeing on the T&T parliament channel, it seems that they now know all the problems and the measures to take to fix everything. They had ten years to do everything to fix T&T but they procrastinated or ignored the cries of the population. Today, they want everything to be addressed in 12 months. The change occurred once more, but things have definitely remained the same.