Businessman Balliram Maharaj is disappointed with the way T&T has evolved over the last 60 years. He blames a lack of moral values and economic mismanagement by successive governments for the “sad situation” T&T faces today.As T&T prepares to celebrate 60 years of Independence from Britain, Maharaj shared memories of that historic moment in 1962 and reflected on what has happened since then.The CEO of ADM Import/Export Distributors, former president of the Supermarket Association of T&T (SATT) and a prominent member of the business community was 20 years old when T&T achieved Independence and clearly remembers that day and the hoisting of the flag.

“I remember August 31, 1962, as if it were yesterday. A couple of friends and I went to the raising of the flag with a van. After we went to St James to drink and lime. The cost of the bottle of rum and chaser at that time was $6 and we couldn’t even afford it. We had to raise money to buy those drinks,” he recalled.Maharaj said those were optimistic times for a newly independent nation but he laments that T&T has failed to live up to the hopes and dreams of his generation. They expected the country to move beyond the poverty of the colonial era and build a new, united nation.“I was already into business at that time. I was gardening and selling. Fig was a cent and a half a pound. I used to sell tomatoes for ten cents a pound. We use to transport the produce from the estate in Toco to the market,” he said.

Maharaj is saddened that after 60 years of Independence, the old values are gone and in every sphere of society there is controversy and a lack of respect.He said: “We used to have a sugarcane factory here and it disappeared. We had the train line and that is gone. We can’t get sugar, we can’t get enough corn to grow enough chickens, we can’t get every type of peas we want from split peas to channa. The reason Trinidad and Tobago did not pay attention to food security and agriculture is that we got excited by the oil boom in the 1970s and after. I was in Guyana about five or six years ago and I told their leaders not to abandon agriculture when their oil boom starts, not to make the same errors as Trinidad and Tobago.”He also expressed concern about the level of hate and anger in society and said people have lost all values.Looking to the future, Maharaj warned: “Trinidad and Tobago is heading down a slippery slope. We must change the course the country is on.”

so what are your solutions, since all i hear from most of the people on this blog are insults and demeaning childish dotishness? seriously, what direction you believe we should take, and who do you believe is best to take us where we need to go, how do we change our bad fortunes since neither pnm or unc is the answer as far as you're concerned??

To those of you that paid attention to the words this businessman chose, you will realize that he has in fact made a very spiritual plea to all Trinidadisns to not lose your way away from thinking about, and following God. This is so unexpected from a typical selfish greedy businessman which Mr Maraj is obviously the opposite of. This man is a very wise man indeed. We Trinis have lost our way. We have chosen the wrong path. Pay attention to these words. " Maharaj is saddened that after 60 years of Independence, the old values are gone and in every sphere of society there is controversy and a lack of respect. Are we in a better position than we were 60 years ago? We had religion and culture in those days." That last sentence tells every Trinidadian exactly where the state of the population's mind is. It describes or rather opens up what our politics is now in a country Mr. Balliram Maraj loves and is deeply saddened to see the lack of Morality that exists in T&T today. Think it about it. He's right. Mr. Maraj is obviously a deeply spiritual man by design and he's right. Trinidad is in real spiritual trouble. Our Politicians have darkened our Country in racism and hatred. We do need New Leaders and a New Way Forward. This is inspiring.

Before I listen to any businessman pontificate, I wanna hear about how they keep their books, how they pay their taxes and how they treat their employees. How much of their business is based on knowing politicians, and the GM of this and the director of that

He blames a lack of moral values

After we went to St James to drink and lime. The cost of the bottle of rum and chaser at that time was $6 and we couldn’t even afford it.