On looking at the Leadership style of Dr Rowley we notice he has shown toxic behavior from his many interactions with the media and the public at large.

No one can question him about anything he does and he claims he always acts responsibly in anything he does and expects any right thinking citizen to turn a blind eye and accept that is the way it’s done in conducting the people’s business.

He is the boss, the Prime Minister of the country and he can conduct the affairs of the country as he sees fit although to the onlookers it apparently appears to benefit himself, his family and his cohorts most of the time.   

The Prime Minister and his Ministers are supposed to be our day-to-day mentors, custodians, and even guides for our children to aspire to their level. They are expected to be role models and leaders in their community. However, looking at these past 6 years we do not see this.

This is grossly lacking under the leadership of Dr Rowley as he has gone down the part of toxic leadership.  A toxic leader is a person who has responsibility for a group of people or a large organization, and who abuses the leader–follower relationship by leading the group or organization down his own part leaving the group or organization in a worse condition than it was before their leadership.

This is clearly the case now after 6 years of the PNM administration and leadership by Dr Rowley. A classic case of Toxic Leadership. Under his stewardship everything seems to be failing, closing down or in disrepair. Higher unemployment rates are the norm in our economic atmosphere.

In fact, we have experienced one of our highest unemployment rates since the 1980s recession upon the closure of Petrotrin and under the Rowley’s Government. The spiraling down economy has had a downward impact as the GDP reduction continues to go downhill, as production power is reduced and importation bills continue to get higher.

We are seeing an increase in food prices rampant throughout Trinidad and Tobago, where flour, chicken, eggs and basic commodities have increased 30-40% in the last 6 months. Where are we going?  The forex and its unavailability is a major issue and has been affecting businesses throughout the islands. 

The energy sector has been in a tailspin ever since the closure of Petrotrin with no sign of recovery in the near future. The downstream economic stimulation that was generated by the energy sector has more or less dried up, food and business places all around the country suffered severe losses and business owners are seeing the brunt of the poor management of the economy. 

Supermarkets keep increasing prices of groceries, Businesses (bars, recreation and sports clubs), many of them have closed down or are on the verge of closing down as a result of the Government’s bad decisions. We have now seen that the decisions they have made have had far-reaching consequences in the economy.

Further in a Covid-19 stricken economy we are unable to see above water and the companies and our citizens that were once dependent on a thriving energy sector have felt the losses within their livelihoods and have not seen any improvements coming under the management of the PNM Government. 

The narcissistic leadership style of our Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley continues unabated. Narcissistic leadership style of a leader is where the leaders are only interested in themselves. Their priority is only about their own benefits at the expense of other people or the group, they have a strong ability to manipulate their followers, and are able to establish fast, superficial relationships (Kets de Vries, 2003).

Kets de Vries also pointed out that strong leaders need a medium amount of narcissistic tendencies to contribute to the organization’s success, especially when the leaders’ dramatic qualities, belief in oneself and decisiveness create group interconnection. Leadership itself fosters narcissistic tendencies, and leaders must temper that trigger as, Kets de Vries stated, the “tipping point” moving forward to toxic behavior happens when these leaders have little time for self-criticism and ability to feel that nothing will happen unless they are present.

We do not just have narcissistic tendencies in our Prime Minister, what we have is a toxic narcissistic Leader. Any ordinary citizen can see what is taking place where protest actions are increasing in intensity and our Prime Minister is heading fast down the road of dictatorship, that’s why the average citizen has taken to the streets to protest their situation as the Government no longer hears their voices or takes them on. Under the current circumstances we seem to be in a galloping dictatorship and this is a recipe for disaster.

Our political system has potentially given us the worst leader in history that only cares about his own self, his own cohorts, ministers, his own personal friends and family and his own sycophants. 

Therefore, what I’m saying is that Trinidad and Tobago is fast becoming a very corrupt society where people believe they can bribe public officials to get ahead and do whatever they want.This is very visible in our everyday life. We see it all around us where you can bribe a politician to get a lucrative government contract or where you can bribe a police officer to get a firearm. I am not casting aspersions on anyone but what can you gather from what we see in our society every day?

We see where the Prime Minister himself can say or do anything and everyone around him is afraid to be embarrassed or made fun of or fearful of being targeted for speaking up against the administration. The politics followed in this country is if you speak up against atrocities in the administration, you face the brunt of the administration, a PNM administration that brings the full force of the power of the Government and its beacractic heavy Mac truck weight on top of you.

That is why it’s so easy for any Minister or PM to dismiss any accusations against anyone’s inquiry into any situation. There is no accountability and this is very disappointing and the main media drops the story after a very short while.

The main traditional media in our country has become followers to a toxic leader and too dependent on their lucrative contracts of advertising to really go after a story and get to the truth of the story. People forget it in any event in a couple of days, as the more recent scandals are highlighted in the newspapers.

I only feel regret and despair as I return to PNM’s neglect of our people. It seems that nothing one says or does can make the PM recognize thatone-deaf responses to the cries of their people.

– Neil Gosine