JASON BROOKS
WE HAVE bought fuel from Jamaica, and now in another move that has plunged our nation into a state of regional if not international ignominy, the UK has, with immediate effect, imposed a visa requirement on TT nationals.
We need to be clear about what this is: a draconian measure that is not a mere administrative tweak but an acknowledgement of an exhaustion of diplomatic options and an unequivocal condemnation of our government's abject failure to address the rampant crime epidemic that is corroding our society.
During the period of the PNM stewardship, our newly installed prime minister has been back and forth across the pond parading energy diplomacy as national triumphs in a congratulatory rhetoric a far cry from the grim reality experienced on our streets. Beneath this veneer of economic bravado and success, communities are besieged by relentless home invasions and larceny. Ordinary citizens are terrorised by criminals who operate with increased impunity.
Unfortunate is a kind word to describe what has occurred. Yet it remains an unforgivable indictment of national leadership that we have been forced to witness this new debacle unfold.
For over a decade, the Rowley administration shirked responsibility for crime by passing the buck to the police, the judiciary, and even faulting beleaguered families while the crime wave has swollen unabated.
In this regard, the former minister of national security stands as a monument to ineptitude, epitomising the lunacy of repeating the same feckless strategies and expecting a different outcome.
We also need to be certain of the following: the UK's visa imposition is not an isolated punitive act; it is a harbinger of further radical measures from global powers currently demonstrating, as evident in the current global trade tariff chess game, clear tactics in defence of individual country specific interests.
These nations could soon escalate their isolation tactics by imposing targeted travel bans on individuals with criminal associations, levying crippling trade sanctions, or even freezing critical state assets. We must assume by the UK's unilateral action that all cards are on the table.
Our small nation, bereft of the wherewithal to engage in a tit-for-tat diplomatic war due to a lack of oil and gas to use as trump (pun intended), now finds itself at the mercy of a world that is no longer willing to tolerate our domestic chaos.
Yet, it is patently clear that for crime to be substantially reduced, our struggling economy must also be revitalised, offering more opportunities for all. A thriving economy is the bedrock of social stability and without it the vicious cycle of crime will persist.
I use this word cautionary, but revolutionary and certainly out-of-the-box measures to revitalise the economy and for citizen safety are now imperative to rebuild public confidence.
We can only wait to see what initiative, if any, the new Prime Minister will implement this week before he calls a general election. We have had a full-blown C
