FOR those who expect that this article will be a scathing attack on former colleagues who have been less than fair in their remarks about my recent departure from the political arena, I sincerely apologise for any disappointment but I refuse to participate in old-style politics which is partly responsible for the quagmire in which we find ourselves as a nation.
That my decision to continue to make a positive contribution to the development of our country from outside the political arena will be a stale issue by the time of your reading is a given, but the crises that confront this nation will not easily go away and therefore our collective effort to rid society of the negative elements that divide and destroy us is where our focus should lie.
The fact that within recent time several individuals who hold high public office have indicated that the country is facing its darkest hour in the specific areas in which such officials operate must be an impetus for those who have the interest of the country at heart to step up to the plate and address the matters in an independent and objective manner.
To pretend that all is well when the writing on the wall shows quite the opposite would be an unforgivable dereliction of duty.
Political points
For too long we have allowed narrow-minded politics to direct our course and determine our process of thinking. This has resulted in a myopic approach when important decisions have to be made.
The public is only consulted conveniently and because we are fortunate enough to still have an active and investigative media, matters of urgent public importance which would normally go by unattended are given front-burner coverage.
The pity is that those who should encourage independent and objective debate usually find themselves preoccupied with gaining political advantage or determining what position ought to be adopted in order to score political brownie points.
The society is then encouraged to take sides based on political affiliation rather than comprehensive understanding and the end result is that matters of national concern become political footballs with competing sides seeking to score political goals.
Admittedly, there is nothing wrong in seeking to win the popular vote and majority support but there must be no compromise or impropriety in the ventilation of the facts.
In other words, the public must be privy to all relevant material touching and concerning the matter and should have the benefit of the opinions of independent experts who may have been consulted on the specific matter.
There must be full transparency and accountability in the process and what is deemed “relevant” information must be determined with the use of the objective rather than the subjective test.
Party positions
How many parliamentarians can say that they support bills based on independent analysis rather than merely party position?
Those in Government must be prepared to act at all times in the interest of the State and in accordance with their oaths of office.
Members of the Opposition must recognise that their duty is more than to just simply oppose. No piece of legislation will ever be perfectly drafted and constructive criticism by the Opposition must therefore necessarily involve suggestions for the redraft of deficient or omitted clauses.
And those individuals who sit on the independent bench in the Upper House must always act as the check and balance to ensure that the system works.
If there is blind allegiance to party without priority given to the welfare of the State or selected individuals doing no more than thumping desks and making occasional, superficial interventions, then debates in the Parliament will be no more than televised talk shops.
Outside the politics
To suggest that it is impossible to create positive change outside the political arena is inaccurate because it undermines and underscores those who in the past and who currently make indelible contributions in their areas of operation.
There are several public offices that demand the holders to be fiercely independent and apolitical but to deny their input in the development of the State would be a grave injustice.
It would be ridiculous to argue that the judiciary, which must always be above the fray of the politics and which forms the third arm of the State, is irrelevant in the context of national development.
In fact, there have been many jurists and legal luminaries who have sat on the bench and who have charted the course of history and the development of law in their respective nations.
There are those who believe that everything begins and ends with politics and that nothing else matters. People who subscribe to this view would take no objection to nefarious characters being warmly embraced in order to gain political support and mileage.
Perhaps that is why gang leaders feel so comfortable in the company of some politicians who are prepared to turn a blind eye to their criminal conduct as long as it means an increase in votes.
But if politics is allowed to be the continued benchmark for what is considered acceptable in our society, then lawlessness and decadence will prevail.
It is high time that we realise that above all else we are Trinidadian/Tobagonian and that true patriotism does not carry a political insignia.
So long, farewell
As I bring closure to the issue of my departure from COP and focus on how best I can contribute in the national interest outside the political context, permit me to indicate that I take comfort in knowing that senior members of the party, namely Winston Dookeran, Selby Wilson and Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, have found my exit to be of no loss to the party.
Based on their statements of my irrelevance and assessments of my non-value, my only regret is that their sentiments, which are contrary to their pre and early post-election expressions of my performance, were not communicated by them to me at an earlier stage so that I could have made a contribution in any other place where I might have been of some benefit.
(Gillian Lucky's article first appeared in the Trinidad Guardian on March 28, 2008)
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