Our hope for 2014

Fri Dec 27, 2013

At this time last year, many of us were reflecting on the outgoing year and hoping, if not resolving, to make our lives and the lives of others better in 2013.

How successful were we? How hard did we try?

A cursory glance at the headlines of December 2012 reveals that last year, at this time, there had been a spate of armed robberies at business places in and around Kingstown; we were debating the future of LIAT; the Opposition was charging that the Estimates contained austerity measures; the Minister of Agriculture was stating that in 2013, his ministry would work further on diversification and developing the export of agricultural produce within and outside the region;{{more}} businesses and organizations were making donations to the less fortunate; senior government officials were speaking of the need for debt reduction, growth of the economy and job creation; Sir James Mitchell was expressing his disappointment that after 37 years, his party was not in government; there were incidents of violence against citizens for reasons known and unknown (or undisclosed); the Nine Mornings Committee was revealing plans for a major makeover of the festival in years to come, and the public service union was calling for the payment of the remainder of their salary increase by the beginning of 2013.

Most of those headlines could easily have been taken from the newspapers of the last few weeks, as some of these are the same issues that we are grappling with now, 12 months on. Admittedly, there has been progress in some areas, but realistically, what progress has been made, has been incremental. The public servants got the 1.5 per cent salary increase, which had been due since 2011, and the Ministry of Agriculture has commenced shipment of agricultural produce to North America and increased the export of livestock within the region.

This year was particularly bad for LIAT, with the bungled implementation of the transition from the Dash 8 aircraft to the new ATR-72 planes. The Opposition is again saying that the budget to be presented for 2014 is an austerity budget, and Sir James Mitchell is still griping about the state of his beloved NDP.

The armed bandits are out once again, but the situation does not seem to be as bad as it was last year. Hopefully, we will continue to see improvement in the crime situation in the New Year. The Nine Mornings Committee had said it would reveal plans for a major makeover, but few persons foresaw that the major declaration by the Committee would be that 2013 is the 100th anniversary of Nine Mornings! In 2014, the facts in this matter should be examined by a group of historians and a definitive statement made once and for all.

The headlines aside, our wish is that in 2014, as a nation, we focus more on the message and less on the messenger; more on ideas and less on personalities. We need to pool our resources and work together for the good of the nation, no matter who is in government or which party the person with a contribution to make supports. We need to be more principled in the positions we take and more forgiving when wronged. We should strive to open our minds and be respectful of the views of others, even if we do not agree.

This is our hope for 2014. Could we work together to make it happen?

The Chairman, board of directors, management and staff of Interactive Media Ltd. thank our contributors, readers, advertisers, subscribers, distributors and vendors for your unstinting support in 2013, and resolve to give you even more reason to stick with SEARCHLIGHT in 2014. May 2014 be a happy, productive and blessed year for all of you.