Unorthodoxy: the new normal

MARCH 16 is the day when Trinidad and Tobago will say goodbye to its seventh prime minister since Independence in 1962. At 75, and after 44 years in politics, Dr Rowley will hang up his well-worn hat and go out while the nation is still in high post-carnival spirit.

Mr Stuart Young, a senior counsel and currently the very able Minister of Energy, will replace Dr Rowley in the top job until elections are called later this year at a date still unknown. Young comes to his position as our eighth PM through an unusual route. For the first time the PM would have inherited the position from a living former incumbent, rather than as a result of leading his/her party into a national election and winning the largest number of votes. George Chambers came to be PM only as a result of Dr Eric Williams’s sudden demise in March 1981 while still in office. For the first time, too, the former PM will remain the interim party leader.

To guess what calculations have been made is hard but a national election requires much stamina and Dr Rowley may well be feeling his age and burnt out. Having a young turk take it on makes very good sense. The election is far away enough for us to forget that Mr Young was not our choice for prime minister. That privilege was given to him, exceptionally, by his PNM parliamentary colleagues.

Political analysts are warning that the unorthodoxy of the anointing and Rowley remaining as leader could undermine our nation’s stability since it borders on being unconstitutional. However, it appears that there is wiggle room for the precedent not to be in breach of the constitution.

Dr Rowley is a shrewd and experienced politician, whether you agree with his style or not, and Mr Young’s elevation is nothing if not strategic. After all, the young appointee will not be long in office before he has to fight an election, so if he messes up or we decide we don’t like his vibe we won't be stuck with him for too long. There is little chance of that however since his mentor and benefactor will be right behind him, guiding and protecting him. Mr Young has been granted a unique opportunity and there is very little chance that he will squander it.

In politics, President Trump has shown, there is always room for the unorthodox to become the new normal and Dr Rowley certainly showed nimbleness in getting the successor he wanted. It sets a tone for the prime ministership of Stuart Young, which may not be all bad. In the last week, Dr Rowley made two public statements that resonated with many who wonder why these were so late in coming. Is it possible that these are challenges to his acolyte?

Firstly, PM Rowley criticised the dreadful state bureaucracy that is stifling economic growth. We all know it to be true. It also causes corruption as people try to circumvent the obstacles. He may not know the truism that wherever there is poor work ethic and low production there is poor management. Only the government can fix it. President Trump may not be going about it in a humane or palatable way but he has unearthed the plague of unquestioned, established mores in public institutions. If the private sector had such feet of clay and lack of innovation we would have no successful industry.

People employed by the state are not necessarily obstructive but the often toxic environments in which they work kills their spirit. Sadly, in TT, we like things as they are but we need to think again. Many employees at all levels have ready expertise, understand the blockages and may have solutions but management often undervalues those people who then feel dehumanised and become spiteful.

Dr Rowley also criticised hard-to-get foreign exchange going to importing single-use carnival goods when costumes could be made in TT and should be. He cannot have forgotten that the business of the government is to create and maintain the legal and regulatory infrastructure for manufacturing to succeed in a thriving economy. Government can offer incentives and also discourage. If there were financial disincentives to importing cheap Chinese goods, producers would find a way to manufacture in TT and even export.

The government has a distinct role to play in how Carnival develops, not least because Carnival can earn greater tax revenue from all those whose business it is. One can safely assume that the high cost of playing mas’ is more about the paraphernalia around the costumes – music, rented cool-down trucks, endless booze, food, security etc, which are locally sourced. One wonders how many of those service providers and band producers pay adequate taxes on their carnival earnings.

Happy jump up!