Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Randall Mitchell, came under fire on social media and from the Opposition yesterday for implying that citizens travel outside of T&T for a greater appreciation of how good they have it in this country.
However, in an interview with Guardian Media yesterday, Mitchell said that nothing he said was incorrect, and there was nothing to “take back”. But he was willing to clarify the statement to ensure it’s taken in the spirit in which it was said.
He reminded the public of exactly what was said in Parliament on Tuesday. He said, “You have to talk to those people who travel outside of T&T, or you have to travel yourself to the Caribbean, or to Canada, the US, or the UK; travel and go and see in those countries what the high cost of living really looks like and feels like.”
Many of the comments on social media focused on his use of the word “travel,” with many calling it tone-deaf and not acknowledging that travel is a luxury.
Opposition Senator Anil Roberts was one of those calling the remarks “elitist” and “out of touch.” While speaking in the Senate yesterday, Roberts said that 29.6 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, earning less than $11,000 per month, and cannot afford to travel. He said that only six per cent of citizens can afford it, adding, “unless they are a PNM minister.”
“They cannot even travel from Matelot to Port-of-Spain to collect a food card or fill out a form. People in Trinidad and Tobago who want to reach a meeting on time have to leave three hours early because of traffic,” Roberts said.
He blamed the Government’s elitism for the nation’s struggles, saying, “This kind of out-of-touch elitist attitude is what has us in this problem.”
Roberts mentioned that he regularly walks around the country and hears the pain of people struggling with issues such as the forex crisis, crime, school bullying, and low education pass rates.
MP for Moruga/Tableland, Michelle Benjamin, in a statement, said that instead of addressing issues like unemployment and crime, Minister Mitchell pointed to foreign lands as a comparison, ignoring the need for real solutions. She suggested that a better approach would be to boost the local tourism sector, which has vast untapped potential.
But Mitchell said the statement wasn’t encouraging travel but was simply meant to compare the quality of life locally and abroad. He said that it was not just about looking at the numbers, percentages, and how the macroeconomic indicators read, but about being in the situation and comparing local circumstances and experiences with those in Canada, the US, and the UK. “The best way to do it is to speak to people who have travelled in those countries and get an understanding of how astronomically high the cost of living actually is in those countries,” Mitchell said. “When you take into consideration the cost of fuel, the cost of utilities, the cost of rent, and the cost of food, it is high, and they are experiencing inflation rates of 7% and 9%. Or if you have travelled to any of the Caribbean countries, or to the UK, the US, or Canada, you will see for yourself how high it is.”
Mitchell said that when comparing the costs of living with respect to the subsidies, as well as with those in the “so-called first world countries,” “we are blessed.”
“While there’s always room to improve, we offer free healthcare. In many other Caribbean islands, they don’t offer free education at the secondary school level. We offer free education. So that too is not a cost. There’s a successful rental book programme, and we offer free lunches in schools. So those things are not costs that are borne by the citizenry of Trinidad and Tobago.
“And it is really sweet, sweet Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.
—With reporting by Kevon Felmine
This post was originally published on here
