THE EDITOR: A thought is a very powerful thing. It causes us to analyse various bits of information and arrive at a conclusion. Perhaps it is time to think about our country and its governance.

Writing this not long after the Christmas season may, perhaps, allow most of us to think about our families.

When we think about our mother, father, children and extended family, we think of people happy together.

We think about our children getting ready for school each day hoping that through a good education they will be able to have a family and live in a peaceful community.

We do not think that our children may forcefully end up in a gang and be killed before reaching 30 years old.

We do not think that regardless of how well they may do in school, the jobs they are allowed to access will not be able to afford them the payment on a home or a car or to experience the quality of life they got used to at home.

We do not think that despite their best intentions, they must belong to a certain sect in our society to be able to access lucrative contracts.

We think of an orderly society, one where disputes are expeditiously settled by a competent fair justice system.

We think that our youths will be able to be the next Brian Lara or Dwight Yorke as they access world-class sporting facilities in our schools and communities.

We dream of a stable economy where our fortunate inheritance of oil and gas is augmented by a lucrative tourism industry, agricultural exports, manufacturing and a modern advanced information technology sector.

We envisage a country where a visit to any part of TT can be accessed by regularly maintained smooth roads. We see a country where every family has access to a reliable water supply and electricity.

As we think we realise that this and much more is possible, as we are a very small nation with a population of less than 1.5 million people, over a small land area not much bigger than most large cities and with an annual income that is among the highest in the Caribbean.

We also know that with the human and financial resources available, every family in TT can experience an above average quality of life.

These objectives will not be achieved if there are people who do not want good procurement legislation proclaimed, who will not support better controls on the use of fireworks, who will not agree to a gravity-fed water distribution system and who will stand in the way of state-supplied advanced vehicle identification plates.

These people are the beneficiaries of exceedingly large sums of money derived from the almost chaotic governmental management. They live the life exploiting the poor and ignorant.

Think, and then think again. Do you not think that the people of TT ought to unite and restore order to the republic?

STEVE ALVAREZ

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