THE EDITOR: I was rather impressed by the initiative of Sharda Patasar, newly appointed Independant Senator, to host a youth consultation on the farce of a budget.
She has already engaged the nation by her outreach, which is something other senators seem to discard upon being elected.
It was good to see her seeking out and getting the next generation involved in the think tank, as not all of our young people are in gangs, planning home invasions, or on illegal drugs.
Ah, but the young uns came good! One young son of the soil challenged the $1,000 book grant. Why books and not e-books? Why are we still putting 30-50lbs of books on the backs of our children?
A young daughter of the soil called it out plain: the $3 push in the basic minimum wage just isn't up to par – but then again, the PNM has not been anywhere close to par for over 50 years.
This young lady lives in the real world and has obvioulsy been to the grocery, the market and the bookstore and knows what it is to be hiding from bandits. Like former energy minister Kevin Ramnarine, the youths showed just how bad things are.
On the television, on Monday night, I saw how Ramnarine admonished both Faris Al-Rawi and Brian Manning on the comatose energy sector.
On hearing that Guayagarare was dead, that Point Lisas was on its last, and of course, that Point-a-Pierre was underground, and where not even NiQuan can make it, Faris hung his head and Manning almost lost his balance in his chair.
The youth parliamentarians showed exactly why the Imberts and Cudjoes are yesterday, as these young people didn't need to drone on for over four hours to say water and electricity rates are going to increase.
Now it's up to Hellon Francis to come together with other independent senators to do something, to reach out to some sector previously unheard, to be creative and innovative, unless he was a bad selection by the President. He was not appointed for his hairstyle or calypso prowess and needs to earn his keep.
LINDA CAPILDEO
St James
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