Our island, albeit small in size, faces increasingly bigger problems. We start with perhaps the most life endangering, daring and depraved; the proliferation of drugs. Whether it is Spice, black mamba or any other standard strand, the effects of illicit drugs are lethal and causing enormous devastation to many families in every corner of the island.  Sadly, there seems to be a lack of sincere commitment from the government to nip the evil in the bud. Other authorities such as the police shockingly cannot be fully trusted especially after their seemingly involvement in drugs trafficking. No drug campaign will be accomplished without a joint effort. We have more questions than answers and one of them is how on earth can we so easily engage in drug trafficking of that magnitude if not for the higher and bigger powers prowling and protecting from above. The current government and past have all declared non-involvement when it comes to protecting drug barons and denying any kind of connection to them or even benefiting from it. How credible is that you wonder? We continue to ponder why the declaration of asset legislation remains a distant reality.

The political landscape is in turmoil as the on-going debate is whether the passage of power between father and son is democratic, legal or even moral. Unfortunately, the few people who ask these questions, from a morality viewpoint, are themselves not the most morally binding individuals. Legal opinions are mixed and each of us will have a different interpretation of the legality and morality of the handing of power. The re-written maxim ‘He who comes with moral arguments should come with clean hands’ fits about right. So easy to talk about morality and democracy but futile when there is no apparent shift on how we do politics. We see the same old.

When an ex-Prime Minister and an ex- President of the Republic uses foul language on TV, you start asking serious questions about the fitness of this person to still be in public domain. The recent ‘Mo piss ar zot’ statement by SAJ is indeed a vulgar expression that many thought would have been long dead and buried. Thanks to SAJ we have woken up to the fact that our mentality and attitude have not changed much. Many of you have condemned this language but most politicians find it amusing and acceptable because of the ‘taken for granted’ mind set.

Another prominent figure in turbulence at the moment is our President.  Embroiled in a dog’s dinner, she is yet to give a proper explanation to reassure the population of her integrity in the Planet Earth chronicle. Sometimes silence can be interpreted as a virtue but not in all cases. This is a position of privilege and uprightness therefore being upfront and honest are some of the requisites of holding office of such calibre.