‘But then again, we have a prime minister who thinks we love traffic, that we all leave home at the same time just to sit bumper to bumper for fun’
By Alicia Chamely
DO you know what really cracks me up?
The absurdity of the 497 special “Committees” we have in T&T. If you don’t know we have quite a bit… Public Accounts Committee, Joint Select Committee, Committee on Financie and Legal Affairs, Committee on National Security and so on.
These committees meet regularly, and regularly in their “investigations” or questioning of government entities it is revealed that these entities and whoever is running them are doing a complete garbage job.
Audits are done years too late, financials go missing or are contradictory, no one has been following the legal guidelines, contracts were given to whoever… I mean the beans are spilled.
But alas, the comical things about these committees are that despite uncovering some rather unsavoury facts about our national companies, corporations and sectors… nothing gets done. Yes, the man or woman in charge of said entity gets bouff up, but that’s about it.
And us, the public, very rarely pay attention and the news coverage is limited.
This week it was the Public Transport Service Corporation’s turn to be questioned by the Public Accounts Committee, and how this didn’t get more coverage or attract a long wet national stueps, is confusing to me.
Ladies and gentlemen, of the 163 bus routes run by the PTSC, 79 are operational. That’s less than half! 84 bus routes are not in operation, leaving many citizens stranded.
Why are only 79 operational? The excuse… they don’t have enough buses. Lord have mercy!
‘You would swear the rainy season is a new phenomenon and it comes without warning at any given time’
Don’t worry though, they are in the process of getting some more… but dummies we are not! Let’s be frank, those new buses probably are going to take the place of half-dead-looking buses they currently have running, because by the time they finally get those new buses, the current ones would have died a sad, neglected life.
And why did the PTSC wait for things to get so bad before something was done? Hmmm.
On an island that suffers from extreme traffic, that has people leaving their homes at the crack of dawn to get to work, you would think having a reliable system of public transportation would be a priority.
It’s been proven that time commuting can affect productivity at the job. You would think the government, being one of the largest employers on the island, would take any steps necessary to increase productivity.
But then again, we have a prime minister who thinks we love traffic, that we all leave home at the same time just to sit bumper to bumper for fun.
Speaking of incompetent government entities, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management has to be one of the most useless.
You would swear the rainy season is a new phenomenon and it comes without warning at any given time. Every year it’s the same floods, the rivers bursting their banks and the same lack of preparation.
I had been on the lookout for flood mitigating works being done in my area over the last few months, and child, there was zero.
So naturally, the first rainfall caused flooding due to a clogged drain, a drain that I might add is one of those that is serviced by the regional corporation and one of those where the debris taken from along the drain is just left there in neat little piles. Neat little piles which are not only hazardous to drivers but just get washed straight back into the drains… clogging them.
It is a never-ending cycle of stupidity.
The ODPM seems to forget that “Preparedness” is in their mandate and “Preparedness” means putting things in place to handle to prevent disasters such as flooding. Little things like during the dry season working with corporations to dredge rivers, working with communities to identify clogged drains and breaches in river banks before they become a danger.
If you ask me the ODPM’s idea of preparation is just to send ridiculous text messages and entertain us with Denzel and Mona on the radio. What they should be doing is more community outreach and work in the dry season. But as I said before it is probably easier just to hand out relief cheques and look like heroes in swanky Toyota SUVs than tackling the “Preparedness” aspect of their jobs.
Side note: If I was a politician hoping to score points for upcoming elections this would be my moment. I would be cleaning up flood sites in my boots from Bhagwansinghs, drumming up fundraisers to help people who have lost everything, dipping in my own pockets, just being amazing… Ah-May-Zing. Oh, the people would love me! “Look how Miss Alicia is here getting stink! Look how she helping us! De government not here! Miss Alicia for PM!” They would be saying. And whether I really cared, it wouldn’t matter. I would be buying them votes! Mud on my boots is a small price to pay for a seat in the Red House… cue ominous villain-esque laughter.
But seriously, for a country that has so many committees and special interest entities, it’s amazing how nothing gets done.
They are toothless dogs that cost a lot to feed and can’t do jack if a bandit breaks in. If Miss Alicia became PM, maybe there would be some legislative change to give these committees the go ahead to punish or at least hold those who are playing the ass accountable… all now members of the PTSC and OPDM would have way more explaining to do and would have some consequences.
A Never-Ending Cycle of Stupidity
‘But then again, we have a prime minister who thinks we love traffic, that we all leave home at the same time just to sit bumper to bumper for fun’
DO you know what really cracks me up?
The absurdity of the 497 special “Committees” we have in T&T. If you don’t know we have quite a bit… Public Accounts Committee, Joint Select Committee, Committee on Financie and Legal Affairs, Committee on National Security and so on.
These committees meet regularly, and regularly in their “investigations” or questioning of government entities it is revealed that these entities and whoever is running them are doing a complete garbage job.
Audits are done years too late, financials go missing or are contradictory, no one has been following the legal guidelines, contracts were given to whoever… I mean the beans are spilled.
But alas, the comical things about these committees are that despite uncovering some rather unsavoury facts about our national companies, corporations and sectors… nothing gets done. Yes, the man or woman in charge of said entity gets bouff up, but that’s about it.
And us, the public, very rarely pay attention and the news coverage is limited.
This week it was the Public Transport Service Corporation’s turn to be questioned by the Public Accounts Committee, and how this didn’t get more coverage or attract a long wet national stueps, is confusing to me.
Ladies and gentlemen, of the 163 bus routes run by the PTSC, 79 are operational. That’s less than half! 84 bus routes are not in operation, leaving many citizens stranded.
Why are only 79 operational? The excuse… they don’t have enough buses. Lord have mercy!
‘You would swear the rainy season is a new phenomenon and it comes without warning at any given time’
Don’t worry though, they are in the process of getting some more… but dummies we are not! Let’s be frank, those new buses probably are going to take the place of half-dead-looking buses they currently have running, because by the time they finally get those new buses, the current ones would have died a sad, neglected life.
And why did the PTSC wait for things to get so bad before something was done? Hmmm.
On an island that suffers from extreme traffic, that has people leaving their homes at the crack of dawn to get to work, you would think having a reliable system of public transportation would be a priority.
It’s been proven that time commuting can affect productivity at the job. You would think the government, being one of the largest employers on the island, would take any steps necessary to increase productivity.
But then again, we have a prime minister who thinks we love traffic, that we all leave home at the same time just to sit bumper to bumper for fun.
Speaking of incompetent government entities, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management has to be one of the most useless.
You would swear the rainy season is a new phenomenon and it comes without warning at any given time. Every year it’s the same floods, the rivers bursting their banks and the same lack of preparation.
I had been on the lookout for flood mitigating works being done in my area over the last few months, and child, there was zero.
So naturally, the first rainfall caused flooding due to a clogged drain, a drain that I might add is one of those that is serviced by the regional corporation and one of those where the debris taken from along the drain is just left there in neat little piles. Neat little piles which are not only hazardous to drivers but just get washed straight back into the drains… clogging them.
It is a never-ending cycle of stupidity.
The ODPM seems to forget that “Preparedness” is in their mandate and “Preparedness” means putting things in place to handle to prevent disasters such as flooding. Little things like during the dry season working with corporations to dredge rivers, working with communities to identify clogged drains and breaches in river banks before they become a danger.
If you ask me the ODPM’s idea of preparation is just to send ridiculous text messages and entertain us with Denzel and Mona on the radio. What they should be doing is more community outreach and work in the dry season. But as I said before it is probably easier just to hand out relief cheques and look like heroes in swanky Toyota SUVs than tackling the “Preparedness” aspect of their jobs.
Side note: If I was a politician hoping to score points for upcoming elections this would be my moment. I would be cleaning up flood sites in my boots from Bhagwansinghs, drumming up fundraisers to help people who have lost everything, dipping in my own pockets, just being amazing… Ah-May-Zing. Oh, the people would love me! “Look how Miss Alicia is here getting stink! Look how she helping us! De government not here! Miss Alicia for PM!” They would be saying. And whether I really cared, it wouldn’t matter. I would be buying them votes! Mud on my boots is a small price to pay for a seat in the Red House… cue ominous villain-esque laughter.
But seriously, for a country that has so many committees and special interest entities, it’s amazing how nothing gets done.
They are toothless dogs that cost a lot to feed and can’t do jack if a bandit breaks in. If Miss Alicia became PM, maybe there would be some legislative change to give these committees the go ahead to punish or at least hold those who are playing the ass accountable… all now members of the PTSC and OPDM would have way more explaining to do and would have some consequences.