Shocked at level of disrespect

Reginald Armour -
Reginald Armour -

THE EDITOR: The sheer absurdity of AG Armour saying he forgot what his role was as Senior Counsel, or Minister Cummings saying it was a mere oversight, when faced with plagiarism queries, shows the level of disrespect they hold not only for their peers in Parliament and in the legal profession but for all citizens.

There was no mea culpa, no apology or even admission of wrongdoing.

Instead, they have attempted to pass off disgraceful behaviour as if it was par for the course. This seems acceptable to the government but should this be what we expect from our politicians?

How can we aspire to higher standards if we are continuously forced to lower our expectations and excuse behaviour of so-called leaders who indulge in base instincts to lie, cheat or steal their way through life?

PNM ministers speak of holding everyone else to high accountability and integrity as a means of fooling their supporters, only then for them to make the most ridiculous claims when called on to explain their own exposed sins.

We have politicians whose children are educated abroad while citizens suffer the vagaries of an education system that seems completely derelict in its ability to serve our children.

We have unprecedented levels of violence and bullying in schools and an Education Minister who has not presented a single viable solution to eradicate this problem.

Perhaps the education of children is not as important to the PNM as it is to the Opposition Leader, who has made it her life’s work to provide the best educational opportunities for children by providing schools, a new university and teaching hospital, and laptops.

Had there been continuity by the current government, this would have placed our children ahead of the curve in dealing with pandemic shutdowns instead of placing us in a position where we've seen the greatest number of school dropouts.

We must not let the divisive and racist agenda sown by some in government blind us to the reality of who they are. We must reject their blatant lies and deception. Our nation deserves better and it is up to each of us to ensure they are removed from office. We should never lower our standards to meet theirs.

We must not steal others' words, we must not lie and bury our conflicts of interest and pretend to be what we are not, because the truth is inconvenient to our position.

Unless and until we demand better from ourselves and from those who represent us, we will never be free of the corruption and incompetence of those in power.

The positions of Attorney General and Minister of Youth Affairs must be held to a much higher standard than what applies at present. The Prime Minister needs to do the right thing and act.

KARENA BACHAN

Canada

Comments

"Shocked at level of disrespect"

More in this section