Ship ahoy!

THE EDITOR: Chalkdust was spot on when he said in one of his calypso’s many years ago that “We should learn to laugh.” Imagine a “pirogue driver,” for want of a better word, brings a dozen or more illegal immigrants ashore in Los Iros – reports of such sightings having been highlighted many times before – and after a video goes viral of the landing, and the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Coast Guard headquarters, we now hear that many of the Coast Guard’s 25 interceptors were not working, so Government is to spend $6 million to get 14 of these boats back into service. Our minister of Communications who is also the minister of National Security and the first to spring up like a jack in the box with an explanation for everything is telling us these boats, once repaired, will be strategically placed along TT’s border based on “intelligence reports” among other plans to defend the porous borders. The minister went on to speak of some deficiencies in border security hence the need for the interceptors.

So before the “pirogue driver” brought these immigrants ashore and a video went viral, and the PM’s visit to Coast Guard headquarters, repairs to these interceptors were not seen as urgent in spite of“intelligence reports?"

Give this “pirogue driver” a national award for pointing out our inefficiencies at all levels.

C Peters via e-mail