BIM and Bam are back in the saddle again and the best thing they could find to talk about at the St Ann’s palace is constitutional reform, but what good is that to you and me?

Will their discussions on that topic make any difference to the ever-increasing cost of living, or allow us to feel a little bit safer in the killing streets of Trinidad and Tobago, or be assured of prompt and proper treatment in the nation’s hospitals and health centres, instead of spending our life’s savings in a private nursing home.

Nah, but did you really expect any better from two so-called leaders who have long distanced themselves from the harsh reality of everyday life in T&T. One is living high on the hog and ’drunk on God’ in an over-priced mansion and jetting off every other week on matters of urgent national importance, with the other residing in a fool’s paradise, his shelf life and sell-by date long past, doing nothing to improve the existence of his rapidly-dwindling supporters or the wider population at large, instead being nourished by clingers-on who don’t have the belly to let him know it’s time to ride off into the sunset.

Sure, in between swinging his clubs on the golf course, the latter got things done during his stint as prime minister, thanks mostly to some productive and diligent people around him, but he has been forever tainted by the feeding frenzy that went on amidst the construction of the new terminal at Piarco International Airport and there’s no way he could ever rebound to lead this country again. But somebody forgot to tell him that and, amazingly, he continues to hang onto a glimmer of hope, encouraged by his spineless lieutenants.

But that’s enough bashing of a rather insignificant figure, who by his steadfastness and aloofness continues to alienate citizens who used to, repeat, used to, have some measure of affection for the man known as the Silver Fox, who should now retreat to his lair and write his memoirs or start back playing golf.

Anything to get him out of the way while true patriots attempt to form a united opposition to the government of the day, a government that has lost its way, if it ever had a way, and is now just rubber-stamping the construction of ostentatious edifices which will do nothing to improve our lives.

Like an ’outdoor stage’ at their leader’s humble abode and a billion-dollar stadium built in the middle of nowhere which makes the Piarco project look like a dolly house compared to the amount of money that went down and continues to go down at Tarouba. A totally unnecessary expense that I will continue to highlight until I go even more red in the face, despite my daughter telling me that I keep repeating things in this column.

Because not many people could claim to have totally wasted the sum of a billion dollars in their lifetime, but our boy Bim can boast that he did it many times over, what with two multi-storey towers still lying idle and unoccupied on the Port of Spain waterfront. But that’s what happens when you have no one to account to. And he wants even more independence with the establishment of an executive presidency, with his buddy Bam in cahoots.

So with that ever-annoying issue out of the way for another week, I was left to wonder about all the news conferences and full-colour press releases over a $2 million flag and flagpole which even found its way onto the front pages on what must have been a slow news day last week, because in truth and fact that kind of expenditure is beers money for our wasteful government.

But if you try to tell the Minister of Sport, ’the flagman’, that he should have taken some of that money and done renovation work on the basketball court at the Diego Martin youth centre, or any long-neglected rural sporting facility, like in Santa Cruz or Maracas St Joseph, he would be quick to tell you that the all-powerful Cabinet approved the budget for the giant flag and the tonnes of concrete it took to secure the flagpole.

And once Cabinet approves it, anything goes in this land where money is meant to be spent and to hell with leaving some of it in safekeeping for our children and grandchildren.

After all, we are the only suckers in the whole, wide world who volunteered to host not one, but two international all-inclusive limes, I mean summits, in the middle of the worst recession in 80 years. But did that get Cabinet approval, or was it that our supreme leader decided all by himself that he would entertain half the globe and play himself to the hilt, then inform his minions that he had committed T&T and its dwindling resources to such a really useless exercise.

The Prime Minister could prophesise about how much good will come from these talk shows-has any local businessman or entrepreneur got a contract or a commission from anyone involved in the grandiose Summit of the Americas?-but I think Trinidad and Tobago got more mileage from the exploits of skipper Daren Ganga and his men, wearing a Venky’s logo on their chest, on the cricket grounds of India in last month’s Champions League 20/20 tournament.

And instead of having an extra $2 million to spend on the next national team set to fly our flag in an international arena, Mr Hunt used it on a pole and a piece of material which, according to the Minister, ’has huge support online’, while the man in the street cries that money should have been spent ’on poor people in the country’.

So who do we believe? No, don’t answer, unless you think that because Cabinet say so, is so, and anything goes.

And before we turn around twice, we won’t have any money for beers, because of arrogant officials like the Minister of Sport, who is obviously learning at the foot of his master, Mr Bim, who will spend our bucks on anything but the right thing.

But then, we can’t do anything about it because it was approved by Cabinet. And whatever that august body says goes.

Do we really like it so?