Following the death and destruction wrought by the passage of tropical storm Tomas across Barbados, St Vincent and St Lucia, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has aroused a storm of a different sort with a comment that has been interpreted by the local media, opposition parliamentarians and the general public to mean that there will be no help for countries seeking assistance without benefits to Trinidad and Tobago.
Her actual words in a press conference were: “We will have to look at ways in which we would be able to assist. But you would recall my comments earlier this year, when I said there must be some way in which Trinidad and Tobago would also benefit. So if we are giving assistance with housing for example, and that is one of the areas that [Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and I] spoke about… then we may be able to use Trinidad and Tobago builders and companies, so that whatever money or assistance is given, redounds back in some measure to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”
This was an unfortunate choice of words, to say the least, conveying, intentionally or not, a certain cynicism that seems rather at variance with the warmth and compassion that Mrs Persad-Bissessar otherwise projects.
When Mrs Persad-Bissessar and her People’s Partnership were swept into power last May, her victory was widely interpreted as a clear sign that the political culture in Trinidad and Tobago had changed dramatically. Indeed, there was a strong feeling that the promise of new politics and a new approach to governance heralded a change for the better and, moreover, one that could spread to other parts of the region. There were even expectations in some quarters that the new prime minister, as a harbinger of change, would be like a breath of fresh air in the male-dominated, one-step-forward-two-steps-backward club of Caricom leaders and that Trinidad and Tobago would bring new ideas and new vision to the stagnating regional process.
Mrs Persad-Bissessar, however, poured cold water on such notions at her first meeting of Caricom heads in Jamaica in July, when she bluntly stated that her oil-rich country should not be regarded as an “ATM card” for the region and also withdrew from commitments given by her predecessor with regard to regional security. At the time, Mrs Persad-Bissessar explained that Trinidad and Tobago needed to attend first to its own domestic needs, particularly in light of the economic downturn, whilst professing a continuing commitment to Caricom. As understandable as this was, her manner of expressing herself was not in the best traditions of diplomacy.
Now, Mrs Persad-Bissessar has compounded her earlier utterance with another forthright but ill-considered statement that will do no good to her standing and that of Trinidad and Tobago in the region. And she is being quite rightly taken to task for this in her own country.
In an editorial on Wednesday, entitled ‘Wrong Words, PM,’ the Trinidad Express rebuked her for linking disaster relief with economic self-interest. According to the Express, even if self-interest is to be invoked, this should be with due regard to the fact that “the economic stability of the other Caricom countries is essential to continued favourable trade, since these countries take about ten per cent of T&T’s exports.”
The Trinidad Guardian, in its own leader on Wednesday, “That’s dangerous, Madam PM,” also took her to task for “being so hard-nosed about giving assistance” and made the same point as the Express about the country’s favourable terms of trade with its Caribbean neighbours.
Mrs Persad-Bissessar has also unwittingly provided the opposition with much-needed political ammunition and the leader of the People’s National Movement, Dr Keith Rowley, and the former foreign minister, Paula Gopee-Scoon, have wasted no time in training their guns on her. Dr Rowley has rejected an invitation to consult on providing assistance and has stated that he will have nothing to do with “humanitarian relief from the people of T&T to Caricom that is tied to conditionalities of self-interest as outlined by our Prime Minister.”
Perhaps Mrs Persad-Bissessar’s position can be more easily understood in the context of her predecessor’s excessive spending and pretensions to being the ‘godfather’ of Caricom; perhaps she and her government are naturally concerned about the vulnerable state of the economy that they have inherited. But her words leave much to be desired. And even if one wishes to argue that development aid is often given with strings attached, surely there are times when altruism, regional solidarity and humanitarian assistance must trump cold economic calculation and domestic politicking.
It is not too late for Mrs Persad-Bissessar to exercise some damage control. But if Trinidad and Tobago is to fulfil its aspirations to play a stronger leadership role in Caricom, she will have to be more judicious in her statements and wary of the potential for causing offence. Indeed, she will have to prove herself to be intellectually, emotionally and politically more committed to the regional cause.
Nonetheless, despite this gaffe, we have no doubt that the good people of Trinidad and Tobago will help their afflicted brothers and sisters as much as they can.
