How to cook coo coo properly

Paolo Kernahan

KEITH ROWLEY returned to TT just in time for the ceremony marking the “functional completion” of the central block of the PoS General Hospital. Functional completion in construction terms means a building that’s ready for use. Compelling video evidence shows the central block is nowhere near fit for occupation – an old political trick.

The opening was likely rushed to keep pace with the Prime Minister’s tight resignation schedule. The semi-expired PM used the made-for-media moment to hard-sell the “stellar accomplishments” of his administration in TT’s healthcare. This he did after returning from California where he’s been receiving healthcare for more than 20 years. Go figure.

In lengthy remarks which made no distinction between podium and political platform, Dr Rowley again invoked the litany of consequences should the imperilled Dragon gas deal with Venezuela get swept up in the manic convulsions of the new US White House/madhouse. At the moment, President Donald Trump and his enablers are preoccupied with trade wars, disordering the new world order, and selling Teslas on the White House front lawn.

Eventually, though, the administration will turn its gaze to Venezuela and, minorly, the Caribbean Basin. Trump has never hidden his determination to unravel the work of his predecessor, Joe Biden. His US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has already telegraphed the end to all Biden-era oil and gas licences in that South American nation.

This directive is in keeping with their goal of the continued isolation of Venezuela and furtherance of US global hegemony. The fragility of those licences was well understood long before a second Trump presidency was even contemplated.

Still, Rowley again warned, as if we got here on our own, that we’re in dangerous waters with the cross-border deal should it not go to plan, saying, “…then you know your coo coo is cooked.” By “your” he means us. He’s already feathered his nest with a generous pension calculated on an increased salary, burnished nicely with a healthy back pay.

Ratcheting up the dread further, Dr Rowley spun another proverb: “…you will have to cut your suit to suit your cloth.” It’s worth reminding that Rowley is the one with the oft-advertised penchant for expensively tailored Savile Row suits – the trappings of success without the undergirding achievements.

The PM and others in his cabinet have consistently conveyed the idea that citizens of this country are spoiled by the excesses oil and gas afforded us; Trinis have nurtured tastes for the decadence of nuts, dates, Mercedes and BM-dubyas. This reflects the detachment politicians have from the citizenry. Rowley has never understood that the majority of people in this country live either modestly or month to month.

The idea that we, as a people, are living the life of Riley is ridiculous. Perhaps, though, politicians like Rowley relate more closely to the well-heeled in society since they draw actual capital from the wealthy while extracting political capital from the disposable proletariat – you.

Unable to resist referencing largely meaningless utterances from the Opposition Leader on the fate of the Dragon gas deal, Rowley urged PNM supporters – the only demographic suggestible enough to this strain of thought – to “…send telepathic power to overcome this negative nonsense about the failure of the Dragon gas deal.”

While it’s heartening to know that this nation’s leader mines policy inspiration from the bestselling The Secret, this doesn’t change the fact that deals are, by their nature, fragile constructs until fully consummated.

This government deliberately counters criticisms of over-reliance on Dragon gas by accusing sceptics of being treasonous or, worse, being a “UNC.” It’s always been an effective means of diverting attention from the reality that the PNM, as the default government of this country, never created sufficient avenues of diversification away from oil and gas.

Countless billions have been flared off for decades only to create the facade of development instead of the actual moving parts constituting an evolved economy and people – a vibrant manufacturing and exporting sector consistently earning foreign exchange, an education system reshaped for the modern age producing citizens milled for success in a digital age, a dynamic tourism product powered by aggressive, intelligent marketing, and healthcare which recognises that doctors and nurses, not buildings, treat the sick – this hasn’t happened.

When Stuart Young assumes the office from his Geppetto, eventually leading the PNM to victory at the polls, just remember the secret to voting is the same as the secret to cooking coo coo – never turn your back on it.

The post How to cook coo coo properly appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.