Tuesday, September 29 2009

PRIME Minister Patrick Manning made several remarks that require closer scrutiny, in his speech during the General Debate at the 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday.

He delivered many high-sounding phrases, that on the surface sounded perfectly reasonable, but which we wonder how closely he himself has adhered to, in the context of the governance of Trinidad and Tobago.

Blaming the global recession on the near-collapse of the world’s financial system, Mr Manning said, “We clearly cannot take our eye off the ball. We must not return to business as usual. We should not countenance the resurfacing of discredited patterns on financial streets and capitals. We must be very wary of the level of adventurousness in leading financial institutions, which contributed very significantly to driving the world to the edge of an economic precipice from which we are just starting to pull back.”

So Mr Manning has condemned the “adventurous” and “discredited patterns” of global financial institutions, but what about his own Government’s record?

Many observers would characterise certain aspects of the Government’s pattern of expenditure over the past eight years as being “adventurousness” and as following “discredited patterns.”.

We would certainly call the expenditure — so far — of $700 million on the Tarouba Stadium as adventurous and as following discredited patterns of which the ill-fated Caroni Racing Complex of the 1980s.

Mr Manning then went on to call for a reform of the international economic system. He said, “The trust of the world in the totally unregulated market has been entirely misplaced.”

To that grandiose statement, we would ask Mr Manning, how well regulated was the State firm, Udecott? How much accountability and transparency has been shown in these projects? Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley revealed in the Budget debate in Parliament that the cost of the Udecott project at Chancery Lane, San Fernando, had risen from an initial agreed price of $296 million to a current figure of $477 million.

In addition, we ask where was the regulation and accountability when for over a year the Government was unable to respond to Opposition queries in Parliament as to the cost of the Tarouba Stadium?

Again, Dr Rowley revealed a virtual tripling of the costs of a package of new Petrotrin projects from an initial sum of $3.3 billion to a current sum of $9.3 billion — all in a recessionary period when costs are actually supposed to fall, not rise. Again we ask, is this not adventurousness and is this not a lack of regulation?

Mr Manning spoke of a new reform of international economic institutions to show “greater sensitivity” to less-developed countries, and to heed “new voices, representing more of humanity”.

Where, we ask, is the Government’s “sensitivity” and “humanity” and its concern for “new voices,”, in spending $240 million on a Prime Minister’s Residence and Diplomatic Centre and over $1 billion on two international summits, while now imposing hikes in property tax and duties on alcohol and tobacco upon the citizenry to raise revenue?

So while Mr Manning is entitled to go to the United Nations and pronounce all sorts of lofty ideals, we say he himself must abide by these very precepts.

Sadly, the Government’s record suggests that it has fallen short in reaching these ideals in several key areas of managing this country’s finances over the past eight years. We say, practise what you preach.