I will address "the elephant in the room" during this next series of three blog posts. I look forward to your feedback and comments. I am warning you this blog contains my controversial point of view where I stick my finger in some of our deepest wounds as a country. It is only my opinion coated with some satire which I humbly feel I can have since I spend everyday growing leaders to ensure it does not continue.
"It is not who you know but who knows you!" Call me naïve but I only first heard of this concept in Trinidad when I tried to create our NGO back in 2010. Silly me thought that just like in the US, you could easily fill out comprehensive forms like a 501c(3) application and in some objective manner you would either qualify to be a tax exempt NGO in 2-12 months ........or get denied with specific reasons. I was quickly enlightened that this is not how it works in TnT. I was given a myriad of different answers from the general public, business folks and even one of the top international accounting firms locally. They advised that in Trinidad becoming a fully recognized NGO was "subjective" and it could take 1-5 years. I became curious more than anything else.
What struck with me the most was that everyone had the same caveat which they openly shared with me that went along the lines of ``well if you know someone in BIR ........or more importantly if they know you, well then "yuh business fix". I was appalled and you will need to read on to find out more about my lovely adventures with BIR, with the Minister of Finance and trying to change legislations in this area;-)
I have since that time witnessed this `who knows you` virus in so many regards in day to day Trinidad life. It runs the gammit of the sitting on a Caribbean Airlines flight last month from Barbados and having the Patriarch of one of the most profitable companies in Trinidad sitting in economy and then as the plane takes off, he is boldly moved into first class (public statements have been made that his company is hitting eight 0's in profits in 2013. And we as the public are led to believe Caribbean Airlines is losing money daily and we all wonder why). I have seen those who get pulled out of a bank lines and taken to the front when others have been standing there for hours. And it does not make you "special " when this happens for you to stand a little taller, in fact, it is deep disrespect to everyone standing there before you. And off course there are those infamous `Notice of Bids and Public Tenders` which brings huge revenues to the media houses. Prior to them being printed, everyone knows the contract and deal is already done with a friend or family or as rumor would have it ........someone willing to pay the 10%. It is sickening really and it explains why we are where we are as a society.
And make no mistake this is where we are:
1. We do not have a "true" democracy that affords us separation of powers and checks and balances. Section 34 and Email Gate.........need I say more?
2. Our Gov`t is made up of " who knows you Imposters" posing as politicians. Just think about this, we know in the US the Democrats stand for increasing taxes, they are for abortion, they are for gay rights etc. and we can take to the bank the Republicans standing for just the opposite. We know what Socialists stand for and even the Communists. Ever wonder what our so called parties in Government stand for?
3. We have "smoke screen" Corporate Governance. Just take a look at all Government and Big business boards.......it is the crème de la crème of the "who know yous". No wonder we have a "death by board meetings syndrome" at all major board meetings in this country since the "who know yous" must get tired of everybody knowing them and have nothing further to contribute.
4. We have a population of sheep who refuse to act, speak up or even think out loud that they deserve better. Quite frankly they are afraid the " who know yous' might get upset with them and not give them the crumbs at the small table.
5. We are not "our brother's keeper" and for this reason we are on a race to get to the bottom of every imaginable black list globally such as crime, lack of transparency, lack of competitiveness etc. etc.
Ok , I will allow you a minute to get over how harsh the above statements are by telling you some ironic positives about the "who knows you" virus;-) Here goes:
1. You only need to be related and have no qualification or experience. And yes you might never ever work at Google EVER.....do you ever hear of the Google CEO hiring his cousin? This is nepotism at its best and the shareholders would have his neck, not to mention his job. But not here in "who knows you" Trinidad. I keep hoping someone would do a family tree of Gov't, State Agencies and Big business and post it up on every key billboard location in TnT.
2. Attitude does not count. Because of who knows you, competitors will not be allowed or have so many hurdles to get into your market and take your business. So do not worry the population will still have to buy from you since they have no choice even if you and your staff have the worst attitude ever and you treat your customers like crap while charging them premium prices.
3. You don't have to worry about making a difference. Who knows you virus is only dependent on a few things such as your family name, what car you drive, your job title, how close you appear to be with the current Government, and how often a favor is called in for you to sponsor a sports day or some other useless activities that have "0" real sustainable impact etc.
I hope I have made you sign or really angry at this point...........it means I am antagonizing the right sore spots and making you uncomfortable which is where we all think and grow! And please note I actually do not expect you to agree with me fully at all.
Now I will get back to my infamous BIR story. After realizing the obstacles legitimate folks face trying to create proper running NGOs simply due to lack of proper systems and legislation I decided to try and change the NGO legislation. I will wait for you to stop laughing since this is exactly what that big International accounting firm did when I told them what I wanted to do. They promptly then distanced themselves since they sit on one of those "do not rock the boat" Gov't agency boards and well I have to admit I am a tree shaker by birth;-)
Our system needs to be objective and why not use the US or Canadian system that fosters great NGOs and Social Enterprises as a guideline? These countries have Embassies in our country and would only be to happy to lend us expertise and help us along. It seems logical to me.
My next step was an appointment to see THE lawyer overseeing NGOs at BIR. I am extremely lucky that I do not sound local so everyone gives me an appointment out of pure curiosity. Well after keeping me in his office and old talking for hours inviting some of his colleagues in and openly discussing the files of others in front of me even commenting on " who she did not like and was not approving " ( no idea who she is ), I realized I was wasting my time with BIR. I left a bit heartbroken to tell your the truth.
I then happened to have lunch with the trail blazing US Ambassador at the time and asked her if the US Embassy could hold a series of seminars on NGO tax legislation for the TnT Gov't to enlighten them on what is proper NGO legislation. All I can say is that the Ambassador left this country so disillusioned since she soon realized she was low down on the "who knows you" pole with the TnT Government.
But not wanting to give up I had a meeting arranged with the then Minister of Finance. Even though I was warned he has a reputation of not ruffling feathers and getting not much done......I always give folks a chance to step up. But I made sure the first thing I asked him when we met after explaining what I wanted was whether his video would match his audio. He paused and the room fell silent but I am not sure if he really heard me. He simply proceeded to have this long discussion about what I was saying was the perfect "catalyst " for society. He really liked hearing himself say that word " catalyst" since he kept saying it over and over.
However, he did surprise me when he made his budget contribution that year by having his advisor send me an email asking for my contribution to NGO legislation change which they even read word for word on national television......"we will be bringing NGO legislation in line with international standards"........blah blah blah! His video never matched his audio and he lived up 200% to his reputation. And more importantly he taught me that the budget reading in this country does not really hold anyone to anything. No checks and balances once again but just some numbers pulled together with some fancy big words to ensure there is confusing chatter involving math going on as the cookie jar is being raped.
All of the above being said, I am not giving up on objective NGO legislation in TnT. We simply have too many NGOs operating in grey areas because the legislation is unclear and subjective and that is no environment for them to thrive. And I will say this out loud, those of us wanting to change the world do it through our NGOs and social enterprises..........not politics. Take a look at how Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Bill Clinton are spending their time changing this world......it is through their work at their Foundations.
In the end, nobody knows me and I like it that way! I enjoy crossing all lines of race, class and social standing. It gives me great insight and perspective. I meet most of the "who knows you" at least one time until they realize I do not care "who knows them". Some of the more enlightened and eccentric "who knows you" have actually become friends since in my company they get to exhale a little ( it takes some real work to be a who knows you 24/7) but they then go back to their world which is their comfort zone.
My hope is I will not give up and this Universe will allow me to sit back one day and witness the eradication of the "who knows you" virus. I think I want to replace it with the " I heard about you virus" which infects the game changers,disruptors and leaders of tomorrow we are growing by the thousands (10,000 by the end of this school year alone). They will be their brother's keepers and will use their hands to lift up Trinidad and Tobago.
