Evaluation Time... (Performance Appraisals for Parliament)

During the lead up to the last Cabinet reshuffle a media friend of mine jokingly quipped - “what would make it interesting is if Kamla inserted herself into the pack of jokers to be reshuffled for a truly interesting outcome...” which of course got me to thinking, why not? Why not evaluate the record of the Prime Minister midstream? After all, while she may function as human resource manager of the government, she is still ultimately responsible for her own performance to her employers the people, so why not a performance appraisal?  And what of the other political leaders with government aspirations, why not evaluate them? I thought it to be a wonderful idea, so on behalf of the people I thought I would take on the responsibility of evaluating the leaders, and as there is no better time than the present, let's begin.

Leadership Appraisal – Political Leadership in Parliament

Kamla Persad Bissessar – Political Leader of the UNC - Member of Parliament for Siparia – Prime Minister:

This candidate appears to be a victim of the 'Peter Principle' and may and may have been (accidentally or by design) promoted beyond her abilities. Her inability to respond to public calls for the removal of non-performing friends in high public positions leads me to believe that she is either unaware of the concepts of nepotism and cronyism or may be a genuine stranger to their consequences. On her watch the country has been embarrassed internationally on numerous occasions, most recently by the elevation of a member of international disrepute to a very sensitive  post and the installation of what could only be described as a known loony bird as this country's representative to the United Nations.

Recommendation - It is my recommendation that Mrs. Persad Bissessar be given a written directive again outlining her responsibility to the people, failing which she should have her own position terminated for failure to perform in the line of duty.

Dr. Keith Rowley – Political Leader of the PNM - Member of Parliament for Diego Martin West – Leader of the Opposition

Dr. Rowley has benefitted in no small way from the fall from grace of his immediate predecessor and one would have thought that that would have been incentive enough for him to perform. His inability to properly account to the nation for the ethically questionable performance of the last administration (of which he was an integral part) and to distance himself and the party's leadership from any such behavior under his watch and in the future raises many flags and begs many questions. His further inability to enunciate a new vision for his core demographic or the nation as a whole for that matter brings into question the likelihood of him ever being considered Prime Ministerial material and he may well have risen as high as he is apt to.

Recommendation – Dr. Rowley still has political cache in some quarters and should be reminded of the consequences of failure to perform at this level. He should be guided as to his responsibility to the nation as 'government in waiting' and to answer to the people (who STILL holds his Party and many who are counted among his ranks in very low esteem) to their satisfaction and not to any self determined point.

Prakash Ramadhar – Political Leader of the COP – Member of Parliament for St. Augustine – Minister of Legal Affairs:

This candidate has been nothing but a great disappointment ever since he was elevated and has broken many political hearts, especially of those who saw in him the future and a brand new day in local politics. Some say that the shoes he followed were too big, while others attribute his performance to a lack of political experience. His flip flopping on major issues, his inability to hold to the founding principles of the Party he leads and his failure to listen to his membership leaves us little choice but to recommend that he be replaced at the soonest possible time.

Closing

As none of the other minor political Parties have leaders who are also Members of Parliament their performance to date, whether they are part of the coalition now in Office or not has been ignored as they are irrelevant to the political landscape at this time or perceivably in the near future, the time frame of which this report is most concerned.