“We pickin back up as best as we can from where we was headin before Manning, in dat act ah supreme dotishness, went an call ah snap election. Next ting yuh know look who went an win.”

Doesn’t dat feel like is how de Rowley govahment does be movin sometimes?

Me eh lookin tuh judge eef dat rong or right, all I doin is callin what ah see. Ah mean, how else tuh view de tings like de return ah de Property Tax fuh example? An de way dat like it shapin up? Oui foote!

Dat is why ah limitin mih torts tuh de National Development Strategy 2016-2030 or, as I prefer tuh call it, Vision 2030.

Eef yuh cyar just put yuh finger orn why de phrase, “Vision 2030″ familiar, is because one ah de tings it had before Kamla take orfice was Vision 2020.

By de way, of all de different ways ah see dat name get write, I prefer, “Vision 20-20”. Ah did like de play orn perfect vision. Fuh 20-20 tuh reach an dem objectives get meet, it would ah require Trinis tuh not watch at de plan cock-eye an instead exercise de kind ah vision an attitude yuh doh normally see. Buh as we know, tings change.

De story familiar. Dis time was de turn ah Kamla an she band ah merry UNC-iters along wid de COP-ers all under de People’s Partnership, (PP), banner. Dey take over an dey axe start swingin one time:

Chop! . . . No more OPV

Chop! . . . Vision 20-20 is history.

Orn October 7^th 2011, de Express say de PP was puttin someting call, “Innovation for Lasting Prosperity”, in de place ah Vision 20-20.

Again quotin de Express, it was ah “three-year Medium-Term Policy Framework (MTPF)” . . . “the first such strategic plan,”. It was goin an, “guide Government’s policies and focus over its term of office.”

Me eh want tuh spend much time orn what de PP say dey was goin an do versus what dey end up doin however, dey wasn’t buyin into no long-term PNM plan. De same way, ah might as well add, dey wasn’t buyin dem Offshore Patrol Vessels de PNM did order, preferin instead what dey call, Long Range Patrol Vessels (LRPVs).

So de PNM back, announcin what it call again . . . oh yeah de National Development Strategy 2016-2030. Vision 2030 so easy tuh remember, ent?

Will dis latest attempt at long term plannin succeed?

I eh know eef was in some udder blog ah did say dis buh I wasn’t expectin Vision 20-20 tuh succeed. However, eef it had become ah national plan fuh overall development an did manage tuh start changin attitudes, ah would ah bet all de money ah had Triniland would ah end up outstrippin de best of expectations.

“Singapore watch yuh tail!”

Dat would ah be de national slogan. Not by no 2020 doh.

How bout dis time arong? De govahment seem tuh recognize what went rong an sayin dis time it aimin tuh make de plan ah national one an not just more PNM wishful tinkin. De original vision had tuh be Manning’s; part ah he plans fuh T&T. Somewhere along de way like he get mix up an tort de plan was tuh ensure he own legacy.

No country cyar go where it want tuh go widout ah plan. I does cringe when I hear big people, in govahment, an who should know better, say dey have ah plan fuh dis, dat or de udder buh dey eh puttin no timeframe. Luckily dis latest plan eh name Vision by itself buh Vision 2030.

Like almost everyting else in de universe, it out dey orn de Internet.

De first ting ah notice wid it is it have less pages dan Vision 20-20. Dat could be because one was ah finished document while de udder is still in draft.

Shorter or not, ah cyar read an digest Vision 2030 in one or even two reads but, ah manage tuh notice one ting real quick doh.

What opposition go agree tuh anyting dat startin orf wid ah prime minister torkin about what he govahment commited tuh doin? I not Kamla buh like she, I would be shakin my head from side tuh side, an not up an dong cause me eh signin orn tuh nuttin dat profound eef it leavin my side out. Not while de udder side gettin tuh start boastin all dese years in advance. Dat shouldn’t be hard tuh understand. After all, when Camille Robinson-Regis, Minister ah Plannin an Development present Vision 2030 in parliament yesterday, Friday, she alluded tuh de need fuh cooperation. Ah hope when all de ole tork done, she idea ah cooperation is not what ah would like mines tuh be — you doin what I want.

De watermark orn de document dey fuh ah reason oui.

Once ah read an digest dis latest blueprint, ah go hopefully understand better dis role de United Nations an it Sustainable Development goals have in all dis. Camille mention it in ah earlier video.

One ah de tings ah manage tuh see an like one time in de quick scan ah de document ah manage was what look like ah willingness ah its authors tuh be open in callin out problems. As ah matter ah fact, dis get mih attention: “There are times in the life of a country when extraordinary challenges demand an equally compelling response. Trinidad and Tobago is now at that time . . . ”

Unfortunately, dis give mih cause tuh pause cause we all know it only tellin part ah de story: “Trinidad and Tobago is now faced with gender disparities in the education system where female enrolment and educational attainment exceed males . . .” 

Dem two quotes tell mih I not go agree wid all fundamental positions de plan take on some issues critical tuh T&T future. Not dat ah would expect agreement in de best ah situations, far less when my behind doh live in de country no more. Still, ah hope Camille an dem, again in de true spirit ah cooperation, open deyself up tuh critique. Notice ah eh say criticism.

Ah like what ah seein.

By dat ah mean ah like how de govahment recognize dat at de end ah de day, Trinidad an Tobago responsible fuh it own destiny. An by govahment I eh meanin who in power an by Trinidad an Tobago ah mean de citizens. Ah hope de debate go be loud an contentious in general since ah expect ah few “haul yuh mudder” so-an-so go parse. Nuttin rong wid dat, not when people discussin dey way forward. It all healthy.

Ah cyar vouch fuh what Sat Maharaj, Secretary General ah de Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha go say when it come tuh education doh. Stick allyuh finger in allyuh ears an start goin, ‘la la’. Better yet, go wid Lord Nelson version. Chorus only.

Every Trini should read Vision 2030 an put dey two cents in quick before dat coin go out ah circulation.

De countdong tuh 2030 start.