Optical illusions, ministers?

THE EDITOR: Is the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts a job employment agency and the Government's way of dealing with the unemployment situation in the country?

I ask this question after seeing thousands of citizens in long lines in north and south Trinidad from early in the morning hoping for jobs on the Royal Caribbean cruise line; and those who were not successful in Trinidad quickly going to Tobago to see if they would be successful there.

Then there is Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell's announcement of "more cruise ship jobs on the horizon." It is becoming more and more difficult to believe anything government ministers say.

Some time ago, the Minister of Finance was telling us how "he could see clearly now" and the economy had turned around, only for us to be told a few weeks later that "things were tight." This may account for the number of advertisements we see on television and in the newspapers from optical companies.

One thing that seems certain is the old saying, "Things have changed and people are now taking comedians seriously and their politicians as jokes.

C PETERS

via e-mail