Dr Rowley, you have proven that you are a man of great courage and a good politician. Now comes the hard part! T&T needs a reset. In order to achieve that reset it needs a motivator-in-chief. Before the honeymoon delirium begins to fade, you need to continue to establish yourself as that motivator-in-chief. You began well with your election night speech.
Even the best economic policy will fail unless the population is truly grounded in the tenets of discipline, hard work, commitment, and acceptance of the other. Throwing out watchwords does not suffice. Sixty years ago the working class adult population was much more disciplined and much more committed to making a livelihood for themselves and supporting their children than is now the case.
Then discipline and production were subverted by the URI in all its incarnations. Hence the need for a reset. Let those in the under-class know that you sincerely care about their problems, and will work on helping them find solutions, but they must be encouraged to help themselves. Let it be a dialogue. Competent and ongoing sociological research is also essential.
Sixty years ago, a start was needed to be made on a concerted effort to teach the histories of our peoples both before and since we arrived on these shores. It needed to be history from our perspective and not that of the European coloniser. And it should have begun in the primary schools.
Had that been done, people of African and Indian descent would now have a better understanding of and much more acceptance of each other. The commercial class needs to be weaned from the Central Bank by being given ideas and the incentives to pursue them. Surround yourself with good speechwriters who can put across your ideas effectively and inspirationally.
Implementing the above will be the prerequisite for and will also inform the making of good policy prescriptions.
Don’t get lost among the minutiae so that you don’t have an overall view of how the government’s policies cohere. You will often be given conflicting policy prescriptions by those within the government and the bureaucracy, therefore it is wise to have advisers who are not in that orbit. Reflection is a necessary tool for all individuals to achieve their goals. For you as Prime Minister it could not be of greater importance. Let your schedule include time for it.
Once again, the opportunity is being given to a Prime Minister to help guide this blessed country towards achieving its full potential. This is a crucial time in our country’s history. Prove to us that you are up to the task. I wish you well. May the Creator guide you.
Arthur Nurse