DR ERROL N BENJAMIN

IT HAS become the fashion in Parliament and other official circles to scoff at the mention of good leadership in some of the other major Caricom countries when compared with ours, the disdain no doubt arising from the age-old mantra of 'who doh like it could get to hell out of here,' coined by our founding father and immortalised in a calypso by the Mighty Sparrow with the typical double entendre of arrogant leadership and the underlying mockery and satire underpinning such, as only the great bard can do.

Such contempt not only presumes a kind of infallibility in leadership that scorns any objective criticism, but also carries with it the almost divine right to say and do whatever pleases such leadership, full in the assurance that no questions would be asked, with the tribe fully in support for the rewards to be had from such unquestioning loyalty.

But are some of the facts instructive enough to illustrate the rung we occupy on the ladder of effective leadership in the interest of the people when compared with other Caricom leaders? First there is Mia Mottley of Barbados and her initiative of taking a hard look at food and fuel prices (Guardian, June 20) within her own formulated social relationship as she participated in a panel discussion involving Deputy PM of Canada Chrystia Freeland and MD of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva on the theme, 'Building Resilience and Sustainability in the Caribbean.'

Mottley focuses on 'the importance of having policy and fiscal space so that government can continue to shield citizens during these tough times,' of which putting a cap on the rate of VAT is a first step. Significant in her planning is setting the deadline of July 8 after her meeting of labour, private sector and government, all part of her social partnership to 'put ourselves in a position to take decisions that will help families in the country.'

Here Mottley locates all families, rich or poor, on the front burner, getting important stakeholders to join together within two weeks to work out specific proposals for family relief.

What do we have in contrast here in TT? A minister is also talking about helping families but only the 'poor and vulnerable,' giving a social service for all an undeniable political bent, because what this would mean are the usual handouts and freeness without a comprehensive, sustainable plan of action to help the population as a whole.

Then there is our next-door neighbour Guyana, with an editorial in the Guardian of June 20 insisting that there is 'critical need for the [Bharrat] Jagdeo Initiative,' suggesting that TT cannot work in isolation with its accustomed 'grants and assistance' for 'the poor today are in a much poorer state.' (The Jagdeo Initiative was brought to Caricom 20 years ago in 2002 but was allowed to collect dust on the shelf since then).

Instead, with the threat of global shortages because of the pandemic, TT must fall into line with the agreement reached at the Agri-In