In he interview wid Julian Rogers, dat show just before de elections, Dr. Keith Rowley geh asked eef he ready tuh be prime minister ah Trinidad an Tobago. I would ah fall orf mih chair eef he did answer no, he wasn’t. Now dat he is de prime minister, I tink de real question cyar be simpler yet more profound: Is Trinidad an Tobago ready fuh de kind ah leader Keith Rowley might be, go be or just is?

Since ah still tryin tuh figure eef he December 30^th address tuh de nation orn de state ah de economy had de desired effect, ah askin dat question. It not ah normal post-election question; it more like, ah-believe-de country-in-ah-recession-so-tighten-yuh-belt-or-else, kind ah question.

Sometimes, like now, ah doh have nuttin more tuh go orn besides mih gut feel an speculation.

Wid so many people still lickin dey wounds after all de passion dey devote tuh dey losin party in de larse election, it too soon tuh expect dem tuh settle back dong an believe anyting comin out de mouth ah de PNM. As natural ah reaction as dat is, it have tuh end real soon given what Rowley had tuh say dis parse Wednesday.

It eh only PNMites dat have belts tuh tighten, who consumption tastes have tuh feature more local goods an services an fuh who he expect tings tuh improve in two years. While ah doubt Kamla mad enough tuh believe she straight face attempts at pinnin every ting bad dat happen since September 7^th on de new govahment, she supporters is ah different story. Dey eh cool dong like supporters ah dem udder parties.

Still, I put part ah de blame fuh any mistrust orn de govahment shoulders. One might even say it bounce it lil toe. Dat doh negate mih speculation-loaded question.

Any new govahment entitled tuh replace its opponent’s policy makers as long as de replacements qualified. Rowley govahment was exercisin dat right until Jwala Rambarran, den Central Bank governor ask it what new. De way de govahment juggle dat ball, even Marlon Samuels would ah get heart failure. Hindsight say Jwala’s recession announcement should ah be de final nail in de PP coffin. After all, eef ah recession is two quarters ah negative GDP growth, under who rule dat criteria geh met?

Instead of a swift decisive response, all dat jugglin de govahment end up doin only provide de PP ammunition tuh fire at it. Not dat ah tink too many people beyond PP supporters was in dat fake store buyin Kamla’s fake analysis of why Jwala get fired. However many ah dem buy it, far less ah dem stay in dat store now dat de new Central Bank Governor say de recession statement stands.

But back tuh de prime minister. As a self-proclaimed student of Dr. Williams, what he learn from de master? I say ah management style dat assumes everybody is big people an does act more orn logic dan emotion. I say he learn an improve orn how tuh handle he ministers. Wid dat expanded perspective, he explain he philosophy an ask dem eef dey agree. Once dey guess right an shake dey head up an dong, he give dem dey marchin orders.

I say de country get ah glimpse ah what go happen when one ah dem act like de average person does act after listenin an agreein wid somebody dey tink have high moral standards. Once temptation parse, is sinnin time an only eef dey get cyatch does de askin fuh forgiveness start.

Dat is why de nation hear de Minister of Energy an Energy Industries, acknowledge being too enthusiastic in sendin solicitations tuh business in she district fuh some event ah family member was havin. Family member or not, it was de typical reaction tuh power—abuse de baxide out ah it. Ah bet dat minister considers deyself duly warned since dey chat wid de prime minister. More opportunities go come fuh Dr. Rowley tuh show how serious he is about gettin rid of traditional ways ah managin de people’s business. One minister could be comin into de cross hairs ah heavy firin just now.

I question how long Dr. Rowley sayin any belt tightenin go larse doh. Only two years?

Was 1969 – 1973 ah recession? How about 1983 – 1991? I agree de country eh want de IMF back. It does only sour ah good lime an stay parse its welcome leavin everybody pissed at it.

De kind ah change de prime minister say needed reminds me of ah earlier PNM govahment. Yes ah know de reference ah find sayin Vision 20/20 get launched back in 2002 seem like ancient history. Buh now more influential people feel comfortable enough tuh say dat ah paradigm shift needed in how de country does tink. I still not no Jack Warner fan, buh ah give him he jacket an agreed when he said de same ting. Wedder he an de udders did know it, all ah dem was echoin ah fundamental requirement fuh achievin de goals ah Vision 20/20. Dat transformation of Trinbago tuh First World status would ah require ah shift in tinkin. When was all dis tuh occur? By 2020.

What has tuh happen fuh Rowley’s recovery plan tuh succeed, besides believin tings iffy now? Ah shift in tinkin of course. How else people go reach where dey deem what local could compete wid what foreign? How long dat go take? Not no two years. I say closer tuh de govahment’s full term which will mean by . . . . let mih do de maths . . . . by 2020?

Imagine dat.

One possible reason de vision dead is because everybody see it as ah PNM initiative an not ah national imperative.

Ah cyar avoid de pun, but since de food import bill so high den go after de low hangin fruit in dat area. People mightn’t want tuh eat local when dey full ah choices but reducin de country’s food import bill should be de least difficult of all de tings dat have tuh happen. Durin de PP term, I cyar recall hearin nuttin about mega farms an wukkin wid Guyana tuh grow food fuh T&T. Does dat mean ah gorn deaf or de whole idea get scrapped? Eef mih hearin good still den what take de place ah tryin tuh cut dong on food imports? I does see apples an grapes all year rong. Growin up was only at Christmas time. I might be romanticizin mih choice buh I prefer seein dem only at Christmas time. Dey smell used tuh signal Christmas time.

Eef Rowley expectin more from de politicians arong him an from citizens, de next logical question is what dat mean goin forward? I tink he style ah management means no flappin ah de gums an no spewin of endless hot air. Is dat bad fuh T&T politics where form but no substance can make politicians believe dey own press? Can he style guide de country out ah recession?

Does possibly the most senior active politician in T&T care about legacy after havin been around for as long as he has? Ah hope not.