Not Excited About That UNC Election

I am not excited about the UNC elections, except for maybe one thing. It represents a practice of democracy and, democracy in the state begins with democracy within the political parties, in addition to the awareness and participation of the public.

Other than that, I’m not excited at all about this particular electoral race. That’s because the UNC, since the time they lost have not revised their ways, nor did they inject new faces…same names, same policies.

I am an independent now and I look at both government and opposition from the lens of a citizen who only cares about better services, more construction and less crime. I’m critical of the opposition not for partisan reasons but because it is a “verbal” opposition that talks a lot and does very little.

Anyone can be a good critic….actually there’s nothing easier than criticism. But when someone is given the responsibility of representing a large constituency in the parliament we expect them to do more than the average person on the street. We expect them to offer solutions, propose plans to fix things and, work with the government for the common good. This is called constructive opposition.

Unfortunately this is not what we have. The UNC is a bunch of whiners who think their job is only to attack the government, even when the government does something good! I recall clearly, for instance, how the opposition’s boycotted the NAPA opening ceremony; the institution whose magnificence was acknowledged by foreigners and locals alike. Although NAPA is facility that belongs to the people and offers services to all of TT, the opposition boycotted it just because it came from the government and its construction arm; UDeCOTT.

I would like to remind the opposition that criticizing the government does not improve your ratings. The question is not about who’s in office but rather about who’s capable of providing better programs and better services. What I see in the UNC elections is a clash of names over popularity, not a competition between real programs. The opposition should not expect the public to be interested in their struggle for power. The public will care only when the competition is about addressing the public’s needs and interests.