Imaginez un peu!

By Johnny Commansingh

In my high school French class, I learned quite a few terms, one of which was ‘imaginez un peu.’ Translated into the English language, it means ‘just imagine.’ My imagination will not run away with me in this article because what I write here goes beyond the imagination of anyone who thinks that they know about Trinidad and Tobago (T&T).

In 1971, John Lennon sang the song Imagine. Indeed, indeed, he had a wild imagination to think that “…the world will be as one.” Just imagine the depth of thought that went into the creation of this song. Here’s a clip from his lyrics:

“You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man.”

John Lennon was really a dreamer, but his words of hope fell on deaf ears. The world is still at war, leaving in the wake of exploding bombs, the maimed, the dead, the homeless, the fatherless and the motherless. Religions are still fighting with each other in their attempt to prove who is right and who is wrong. Men, women and children are literally hungry for simple food; just some rice and beans, please. Some cannot get potable water to drink. Medical help and dispensing of medicines leave much to be desired. However, this article is really not about Lennon and his lyrics.

Although enshrined in the T&T national anthem, “Here every creed and race find an equal place,” it seems that the “brotherhood of man” will never happen in T&T. Brotherhood? What brotherhood. All I remember of brotherhood is the Brotherhood Lodge that stood on Ojoe Road, Sangre Grande. This building is no more; demolished. We could never have the brotherhood of man in T&T when racial discrimination and corruption continue to rear their ugly heads from time to time.

Although Mahatma Gandhi quipped: “There is enough for everybody’s need but not for anybody’s greed,” some people in T&T are still living to far below the poverty line, still begging, still wondering where the next piece of bread is coming from. So I invite you to put your imaginative capacity in gear and look into the rear-view mirror to visualise a rough sketch of what we passed on our way as an independent nation.

Just imagine a country that was the third richest state in the Western world. One writer referred to T&T as “The tiger in the sea of pussycats.” Billions of United States dollars flowed through this country like water! Trinidad and Tobago had enough money to bestow on each citizen one million dollars, but did the leaders do anything like that? What did they do with these windfalls that accrued from the petroleum sector? Let me digress and take you on a journey to Norway. Let’s investigate what the Norwegians did with their ‘oil money.’

Norway is the proud owner of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. The Government Pension Fund Global known as the ‘Oljefondet’ manages the country’s petroleum savings which has surpassed US$2 trillion in assets as of April 2025. Established in 1990, the fund invests oil and gas revenue into global stocks, bonds and real estate. This economic action ensures long-term prosperity for future generations. In terms of its value, the fund equates to roughly $340,000—$390,000 per citizen.

Did T&T use their petroleum returns wisely? Did the government understand how to invest? Did they know anything about forecasting? Was the government following the ‘gimme, gimme’ population in their careless need for instant gratification? At one time the first prime minister of T&T was heard saying that “Money is not an issue.” Right now, the problem is money! Noble Philip reported in his article ‘How money became a problem’ published on January 20, 2024, in the Daily Express:

“In what was said to be an ‘unguarded moment’ in the House of Representatives, Dr. Eric Williams said, “Money is not an issue,” often remembered as ‘Money is not a problem.’ Our trade balance turned positive (from a negative $159 million in 1972 to a positive $602 million in 1979). Government oil revenues moved from $33 million in 1972 to $1.58 billion by 1980. Foreign exchange reserves jumped from $28 million in 1973 to $2.7 billion in early 1981…Most of us can recall the sums misspent on the Point Fortin Highway, the Brian Lara Cricket Aca¬demy, and the wastewater project.

The 14 percent wage hike for public sector employees in 2015, on top of a 2011, 9 percent increase, while there was an estimated decline in 2015 oil revenues of $7.4 billion, boggled our minds. Productivity did not increase. The March 2016 IMF pronouncement, “… taking into account the size of energy revenue windfalls, the country has under-saved and under-invested in their future [which] could lead the country to uncomfortable levels of debt…”, should suffice as a reminder of how we again blew our money like it was going out of style…The nation became like “barrel children;” we got “goodies” but no love. Inequality increased. Corruption engineered by politicians and private sector individuals became brazen.”

In 2007, The Heritage and Stabilization Fund (HSF) of T&T commenced. The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF), described the HSF in the following manner:

“The HSF is a long-term fund that has two distinct elements: a stabilisation component to insulate fiscal policy from fluctuations in energy sector revenues, and a savings component for future generations. More emphasis will be placed on the savings component of this fund. The accumulation of foreign exchange in the fund derives from the proceeds of exports of oil and natural gas. The fund is separate from the overall foreign exchange reserves of Trinidad and Tobago.”

As of 31 March 2016 the HSF amounted to $5.78 billion. Because of the COVID—19 pandemic, $2.8b was withdrawn from the HSF. The savings in the HSF as of February 20, 2026, now stands at US$6.38 billion. We could have had more money in the ‘piggy bank’, but there was an overload of mismanagement, miscalculation, misappropriation, misjudgment, misinformation and miscommunication. I am not in a position to take sides or to blame any government, but there is a maxim which states: “In the best of us is the worst of us and in the worst of us is the best of us.”

Just imagine, T&T is part of Amazonia and occupies a position in the rainforest type climate. Rain falls enough to flood everywhere on land, but some parts of the country depend on a desalination plant to provide potable water. In the 1990s, I lived in Santa Flora in the deep south of Trinidad, the ‘oil belt.’ What I saw was crazy! In some people’s houses, there were plumbing fixtures that never felt a drop of water in 15 years! Just recently, I heard one government minister saying that the government is going to build some more million-dollar desalination plants. I guess that T&T doesn’t yet understand how to harvest, store, process, and distribute the ‘natural’ rainwater bestowed upon us. How much will these desal plants really cost to build and operate? What will be the cost overruns?

Just imagine T&T once boasted of a thriving agricultural sector. Trinidad and Tobago exported the best flavoured cocoa beans, coffee beans, bananas, coconut copra, and sugar. There was a time when T&T exported live cascadura (Hoplosternum littorale) fish. What have we now? We threw caution to the wind! We are now importing most of our food, even bananas! Many citizens will starve without the multinational corporations (MNCs) that saw T&T as an economically feasible market for foreign products. Apart from the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Church’s Chicken, Wendy’s, Mac Donald’s, Starbucks, and Burger King outlets that dot the landscape, we have more high-end restaurants such as TGI Friday’s, Texas de Brazil, and Ruby Tuesday. After 16 years in operation, Ruby Tuesday closed its doors. Moreover, T&T’s food import bill has crossed seven billion dollars per annum.

Just imagine that there were fire stations without fire tenders. Thank heavens that a couple weeks ago the government acquired and distributed six fire tenders. Police vehicles were always in short supply, and the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) leaves much to be desired. Some hospitals are without beds and still understaffed, while nurses are marching up and down the street for higher wages. A couple of weeks ago, I attended my cousin’s funeral. Information reached me that he died of heart failure at the hospital while waiting on some bench for someone to attend to him.

Just imagine an addition to The University of the West Indies campus in the town of Debe, south of Trinidad, was left to rot for ten years! Here’s what Radhica De Silva said in her article: ‘Moonilal demands probe into $1B UWI Debe campus decay,’ published in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian (20/05/2025), said:

“Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal is calling for a full investigation into the maintenance and use of The University of the West Indies (UWI) South Campus in Debe, which he says cost taxpayers nearly $1 billion but remains mostly unoccupied and in disrepair. Speaking after a tour of the facility on Tuesday, Dr Moonilal said he felt “angry and disappointed” by its condition…

He described the 100-acre property as overgrown in parts, with rusting railings, a dry Olympic-sized swimming pool, and derelict sporting facilities. He said the cricket pavilion was abandoned and overrun by bush. “There are now a lot of corbeaux using the facility as a resting place. It is just horrible to see…” Moonilal blamed the deterioration on the PNM government’s decision to terminate the maintenance contract for the campus, which was built under the former People’s Partnership administration. It was originally intended to house a new Faculty of Law.”

Just imagine that the Daily Express on February 09, 2026 presented an article titled: ‘Works Ministry to patch 5,000 potholes.’ I guess that the quantity of potholes is what they think they saw or imagined. Further, just imagine that T&T has a 99-acre lake of asphalt coupled with all types of road-building materials in Valencia and elsewhere. If the potholes are somehow repaired, the contractors leave the roads with bumps, humps, and lumps. Here’s is my poetic take in a byte from ‘Pothole Paradise:’

“And if they ever “fix” the rut

This is no if, and this is no but

They leave a “sleeping police,” a hump

And yes, a dangerous lump

Or a bump, bump, bump!

As though we’re training for steeplechase

This is no lie…this is the real case!

Choose your pothole!

On your car let it take its toll

In Grande, in Tamana, in Arima, in San Fernando

Chaguanas, Couva, Manzanilla, and Mayaro

Not to mention the “roads” in Brasso and Caparo

In Tunapuna, Barataria and Port of Spain

Disdain!”

Just imagine the stress that Hercules suffered when he was told to clean the Aegean Stables. One of my colleagues told me that his girlfriend had more issues than the National Geographic. Trinidad and Tobago has far more issues than my friend’s girlfriend. I laughed, but I cannot laugh at the demise of T&T because the country has gone way past the thousand years of filth contained in the Aegean Stables. It’s quite similar to “The Endless Tale” written by James Baldwin. Here are a few lines from the story:

“Once upon a time, a certain king seized upon all the corn in his country and stored it away in a strong granary. But a swarm of locusts came over the land and saw where the grain had been put. After searching for many days, they found on the east side of the granary a crevice that was just large enough for one locust to pass through at a time. So one locust went in and carried away a grain of corn; then another locust went in and carried away a grain of corn; then another locust went in and carried away a grain of corn.

Day after day, week after week, the man kept on saying, “Then another locust went in and carried away a grain of corn.” A month passed; a year passed. At the end of two years, the king said: “How much longer will the locusts be going in and carrying away corn?” “O king!” said the storyteller, “they have as yet cleared only one cubit; and there are many thousand cubits in the granary.”

The corruption in T&T is so entrenched in the system that, as I always say, it will take a junnum (10,000 years) to erase. It is as though some citizens are born with the genes for corruption in T&T. Except for Jack Austin Warner, I still keep wondering how some members of parliament become so filthy rich overnight when they came with just their clothes on their backs…just imagine that!

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