Congrats, Madam President

THE EDITOR: Open letter to new President Paula-Mae Weekes.

Congratulations. I welcome you to the office of President. You indicated in your speech that light overcomes darkness and the darkest hour of the night is the one before the dawn. Like most citizens of our nation, I look forward to the light.

Are we at the darkest hour? I do not think so. We still have a healthy financial sector with foreign exchange reserves to last a few more years. Our democracy is alive and well and most of our citizens are law-abiding.

Our problems lie with the false sense of comfort we inherited through earning easy money from energy taxes. Our nation’s economy has over the years been dependent on foreigners’ investment in our petroleum and natural gas sector. This in effect made us a consumer nation as we have grown accustomed to purchasing our food, building supplies and clothing from abroad.

Additionally, we have done very little to avoid conflict and manage criminal activities in our communities. Unfortunately, there are no innovative initiatives to address these issues and as such it is likely that things will get worse before we see the light.

The solutions to our problems lie with our ability and determination to see TT before we see race, political party or class. This is a point you made clear in your inaugural address. I wish you a productive and enjoyable term in office.

STEVE ALVAREZ via e-mail