“When the people begin to see the economic benefits of service and begin competing in this area it will happen.”
Over the years as a reporter I knew Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the woman who walked stoically three steps behind her leader, Basdeo Panday, while those who crossed swords with him fell by the political abyss. I knew her as Education Minister pushing for universal secondary schooling which, sadly without monitoring systems, didn’t work as well as it ought, but was well-intentioned.
I interviewed her as a key player in pushing for the amended Domestic Violence Bill, and wondered at her silence when she was made the first woman AG for a week, only to be elbowed out by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj. I wondered how she did it. Like Evita Peron, looking out of the window, staying out of the sun, plodding on.
But when she checkmated Basdeo Panday, smoothly pulled the party he led for years under his feet, like a flaxen shawl to her arms, one could not help but see that she was a master tactician with flawless timing.
Persad-Bissessar clearly feels that it is entirely unnecessary to become “one of the men” to be Prime Minister, using her spectacular academic record, long apprenticeship of shadowing the silver fox, and her mega wattage smile to equal advantage.
I interviewed her as a key player in pushing for the amended Domestic Violence Bill, and wondered at her silence when she was made the first woman AG for a week, only to be elbowed out by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj. I wondered how she did it. Like Evita Peron, looking out of the window, staying out of the sun, plodding on.
But when she checkmated Basdeo Panday, smoothly pulled the party he led for years under his feet, like a flaxen shawl to her arms, one could not help but see that she was a master tactician with flawless timing.
She is increasingly deified by fawning fans and faithful followers who are dazzled by her celebrity, as she is demonised by citizens who feel she has let them down.
3Canal recently, at their annual “Pappy Show,” satirised her as a sari wearing, Louis Vuitton fashionista “mama” who manages the men in her Cabinet as if they were a group of recalcitrant children.
3Canal recently, at their annual “Pappy Show,” satirised her as a sari wearing, Louis Vuitton fashionista “mama” who manages the men in her Cabinet as if they were a group of recalcitrant children.
The one thing no one is, is indifferent to this leader. I asked her during the course of this wide-ranging interview if she identified with Margaret Thatcher to which she replied: “Not at all.”
Persad-Bissessar clearly feels that it is entirely unnecessary to become “one of the men” to be Prime Minister, using her spectacular academic record, long apprenticeship of shadowing the silver fox, and her mega wattage smile to equal advantage.
Q: Madam PM, how is your health? Your health is a matter of public importance. And I have to ask you about the rumours of drinking.
A: I am sometimes hypertensive. Last year when I went to St Clair, my sugar was high. When I came back from India I was under the weather with the flu, and was coughing but that’s cleared up.
A: I am sometimes hypertensive. Last year when I went to St Clair, my sugar was high. When I came back from India I was under the weather with the flu, and was coughing but that’s cleared up.
I get tired sometimes but that’s to be expected, as I have a hectic schedule. I have been playing a lot of badminton, eat lots of fruit and vegetables, and feel very well.
I believe the rumours of the drinking “coincidentally” began during the internal UNC elections and died right there after my victory. I could not have worked the hours I do, or kept a coalition government together if I was in that state. And no, I don’t have any undisclosed illnesses.
Q: You have been quite the globetrotter over the past year—Australia, UK, US, Brazil, India. Some have felt that with the problems of a slowing economy and high crime rate it may have been more important to stay at home and set your house in order.
Q: You have been quite the globetrotter over the past year—Australia, UK, US, Brazil, India. Some have felt that with the problems of a slowing economy and high crime rate it may have been more important to stay at home and set your house in order.
We are small islands. With globalisation upon us we don’t have the luxury of remaining insular or we will be swallowed up by the big fish. We need to aggressively look outwards, make friends with the international community meaningfully so that ‘outbound missions’ bring ‘inbound results.’
I inherited the Commonwealth Chair in Office which led me to CHOGM, both with agendas focusing on Women as Agents of Change. I was the first Caricom leader to speak at the OAS Women’s Forum in Washington. I attended the World Economic Forum in Brazil, with an aggressive agenda marketing T&T for Direct Foreign Investments.
I inherited the Commonwealth Chair in Office which led me to CHOGM, both with agendas focusing on Women as Agents of Change. I was the first Caricom leader to speak at the OAS Women’s Forum in Washington. I attended the World Economic Forum in Brazil, with an aggressive agenda marketing T&T for Direct Foreign Investments.
I attended the CELAC in Venezuela, where T&T successfully secured representation on the leadership council for Caricom. I attended the Caricom Summit in St Kitts-Nevis and held important dialogue with respect to T&T-Caricom relations.
Our mission to India opened up significant business opportunities. In this global village we simply cannot afford to be isolated. These visits aren’t joy trips. They are hard work with punishing schedules. They are exhausting, but in each case my underlying motivation is what’s in it for T&T and pursuing it aggressively.
Q: According to all the surveys crime continues to be the biggest concern for Trinidadians and Tobagonians. People are saying that while they enjoyed the feeling of safety under the state of emergency, it was just a stopgap measure that stopped working when the state of emergency ended. What measures are you taking to control crime, not just in terms of policing, but at the root which is more problematic—street children, dropouts, broken families?
Our mission to India opened up significant business opportunities. In this global village we simply cannot afford to be isolated. These visits aren’t joy trips. They are hard work with punishing schedules. They are exhausting, but in each case my underlying motivation is what’s in it for T&T and pursuing it aggressively.
Q: According to all the surveys crime continues to be the biggest concern for Trinidadians and Tobagonians. People are saying that while they enjoyed the feeling of safety under the state of emergency, it was just a stopgap measure that stopped working when the state of emergency ended. What measures are you taking to control crime, not just in terms of policing, but at the root which is more problematic—street children, dropouts, broken families?
The latest crime figures coming on the heels of the state of emergency are 24 murders in 17 days—20 killed with firearms, one stabbed, another chopped and a fourth drowned. How did a tiny oil rich island like ours have among the highest rates of murder in the world?
A: Like I said before, we are so busy working we are not good at letting the population know all we are doing. Reducing criminal activity and violence is directly related to prevention, detection, prosecution and conviction rates and so even as we strengthen our preventive, policing and judicial services we are reaching out to communities to ensure that our young men in particular aren’t drawn into crime.
A: Like I said before, we are so busy working we are not good at letting the population know all we are doing. Reducing criminal activity and violence is directly related to prevention, detection, prosecution and conviction rates and so even as we strengthen our preventive, policing and judicial services we are reaching out to communities to ensure that our young men in particular aren’t drawn into crime.
The Citizen Security Programme has been targeting crime and violence in 22 high-needs communities in T&T, and over the last three years led to a 37.5 per cent decrease in sex offenses, a 24.4 per cent decrease in assaults and shootings and a 32.4 per cent decrease in murders in the targeted communities.
We are doing our best to overhaul the justice system, and rebalancing legislation in favour of victims of crime with the Anti Gang Bill, The Bail (Amendment) Bill, the Firearms (Amendment) Bill, the DNA Bill, the Electronic Monitoring Bill. The reform of the justice system is moving towards rebalancing the system in favour of the victims of crime, with emphasis on protection for the rights of victims, witnesses and jurors.
Under the intended reforms in criminal justice, we are trying to improve sentencing policies and making effective use of detection and investigative technology.
We are doing our best to overhaul the justice system, and rebalancing legislation in favour of victims of crime with the Anti Gang Bill, The Bail (Amendment) Bill, the Firearms (Amendment) Bill, the DNA Bill, the Electronic Monitoring Bill. The reform of the justice system is moving towards rebalancing the system in favour of the victims of crime, with emphasis on protection for the rights of victims, witnesses and jurors.
Under the intended reforms in criminal justice, we are trying to improve sentencing policies and making effective use of detection and investigative technology.
Last year we managed to end the year with the lowest murder rate in six years. Though this is a significant feat, I have always maintained one murder is one murder too many. Post the state of emergency, we have been able to implement a number of strategies that seek to strengthen the implementation arms of our National Security.
We have also undertaken many social development programmes to ensure that our young people—the ones you speak of from broken families— are studying, working, training, looked after, and have access to care so they don’t go the way of crime.
We have also undertaken many social development programmes to ensure that our young people—the ones you speak of from broken families— are studying, working, training, looked after, and have access to care so they don’t go the way of crime.
I understand the urgency but reversing decades of a culture of negligence and crime requires time. We are employing all the necessary resources at all levels to ensure the fundamental right of safety and security to each citizen in this country.
Q: Your visit to India seems to have done more damage than good to your reputation. Was it worth it?
Q: Your visit to India seems to have done more damage than good to your reputation. Was it worth it?
A: Much has been written and commented upon about the Government’s visit to India, so I am grateful for the opportunity to contextualise it. I have stated that Trinidad and Tobago is open for business.
What does it mean when we are invited to meet with the Prime Minister of India, government officials and groups of potential investors from a country with a GDP of over four trillion dollars? What does it mean when we have the opportunity to meet business groups (some with annual returns larger than our national budget) that indicate an interest for exploratory visits within the next few months?
What does it mean when the world’s third largest economy indicates an interest in deepening its bilateral relations, and about using TT as a gateway to Latin and Central America?
What does it mean when the world’s third largest economy indicates an interest in deepening its bilateral relations, and about using TT as a gateway to Latin and Central America?
With highly skilled and educated workers, India is not just an economic giant with a GDP of over four trillion dollars but a brain power. This visit augers well for our economic and investment prospects, particularly in sectors represented on the mission—energy, creative industries, trade and industry, public utilities, science and tertiary education, both in the public and private sectors. Our role is to create an enabling environment through which these investments flourish in the interest of our nation.
India’s real strength has come from its service industry. Ours appears to be flagging, and our tourism industry appears to be stagnant. Oddly “service” appears in T&T to be confused with servitude. Is there any way to import the ethos of service and work ethic which has served the Indians well?
The co-founder of Infosys and a leading Indian entrepreneur, Nandan Nilekani observed in his fascinating book on this transforming India, Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation, that the growth in India is what he describes as people-driven transformation that holds such a power that it is irreversible. I would like to think that we are similar in the spirit of our own pursuit of people-driven transformation.
The provision of ‘service’ and the differentiation from ‘servitude’ is a keen observation. T&T is slowly moving towards becoming a service economy in all areas.
India’s real strength has come from its service industry. Ours appears to be flagging, and our tourism industry appears to be stagnant. Oddly “service” appears in T&T to be confused with servitude. Is there any way to import the ethos of service and work ethic which has served the Indians well?
The co-founder of Infosys and a leading Indian entrepreneur, Nandan Nilekani observed in his fascinating book on this transforming India, Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation, that the growth in India is what he describes as people-driven transformation that holds such a power that it is irreversible. I would like to think that we are similar in the spirit of our own pursuit of people-driven transformation.
The provision of ‘service’ and the differentiation from ‘servitude’ is a keen observation. T&T is slowly moving towards becoming a service economy in all areas.
We are already poised to provide services and training in the oil and gas industry. Our Energy Chamber has been making tremendous headway in Africa. Service cannot be driven by the State. When the people begin to see the economic benefits of service and begin competing in this area it will happen.
I agree “service” needs to be fast-tracked in our tourism sector. But you will admit that we have shown tremendous productivity, innovativeness and creativity in our Carnival. We cannot import another culture. We are getting there, in our own unique way.
Next week—Part 3. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on holding together a coalition, maximum leadership and her vision for this country.
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