The Editor
The Anguillian
“SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?”
A hat trick in sports is the achievement of a positive feat three times in a row during a game. Now there have been many hat tricks, a few of which comes to mind. In politics, we seem to have seen hat trick after hat trick in our government, only that those hat tricks are negative, the last of which occurred last week when the CM fired his Minister of Social Development. Napoleon Bonaparte said in a famous quote: “Never ascribe to malice, that which is adequately explained by incompetence.” Given what we’ve seen in the last three plus years, Napoleon was right on the money.
What a breath of fresh air it would be – to pick up the paper, turn on the radio, TV or computer and find out that our government was actually doing something for the benefit of its people, that money was being infused into the economy, that the banks were dealing with their negative portfolios, that Anglec was actually affordable, that our ports were functional and appetizing, that our roads looked great and are drivable, that our landscape was eye appealing, that our health care system was second to none, and I could go on and on. It is a wish list that I’m sure every Anguillian, be he expat or indigenous, would more than welcome. Instead, we have to deal or put up with the nonsense to which we’ve become accustomed on a daily basis.
As we speak, President Morsi of Egypt is being removed from office via military coup. Granted, those millions of Egyptians, displeased with Morsi’s handling of the government, his downright refusals to address their concerns resulted in his downfall. In that he was a democratically elected President, one asks then how is his downfall possible? Well, all one has to do is to look at Egypt’s constitution which was written in such a way that did not have the checks and balances that make for good governance. Ah, there’s that phrase again: “good governance.” The absence of those things, checks and balances, could have been the difference between President Morsi still holding on to his job, but I digress.
In a democracy, the people are the ones with the power. They elect you and, by goodness, they can un-elect you. Morsi did not listen to his people, he instead imposed his own ways on the people and they refused to accept his way and, consequently, he was given an ultimatum which he balked at and as a result was deposed.
We on the other hand seem to accept our lot as a fait accompli. I can’t think of anything else to say. We listen to our CM’s press conferences and we are none the wiser for doing so, and finally we saw that the CM had the cojones to act. We pick up The Anguillian with the headlines emblazoned across the front page: “CM FIRES MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Hughes: “I’m Guilty of Not Acting Before.” Baird: “My Dismissal Is No Surprise.” The question one has to ask then is, why now? Was this political expediency? Did the CM feel that the time was finally right, and that there would be no political consequences attached to his action?
Our CM has finally showed his true colors – colors that should scare the crap out of us. He said that he was waiting for the public opinion to be on his side before he made a move. He actually governs by public opinion. If that is the case, why the devil then was he elected. We know he’s a skilful politician and that’s about all there is to it. He keeps saying that he waited for the public to be on his side, and if you believe that, then I’ve got some oil rich land that I’d like to sell you. Let’s think for a moment. The CM claims that he should have fired Mr. Baird a long time ago. Why didn’t he? Maybe because it wouldn’t have looked good or, as he said, the numbers weren’t on his side. What do you think? Does he act only when he thinks the public will agree with him?
One needs only to read Colville Petty’s piece in last week’s Anguillian (28th June, 2013) to truly understand what has been going on between the CM and his Minister of Social Development. The CM did not have anything good to say about his minister from way back when, which would lead one to ask the question again: Why on earth would he want such a person as a member of his cabinet? And then to listen to some of the unkind things he’s had to say about the same man. I’m amazed then, when I see certain groups coming to the aid of the CM when he’s been given his comeuppance. It appears that the CM can dish it out but can’t take it when it comes back at him.
Colville Petty enlightens us as to the very adversarial relationship between these two in a piece he wrote for this newspaper back on November 2nd 2007 in which he recounts an episode that occurred in the House of Assembly. Petty recalls: “I will long remember the House of Assembly meeting of 16th October 2007, for two reasons. Firstly, for Edison (Eddy) Baird’s seconding of Hubert Hughes’ motion which called on the Government to help find a new site for the Dolphin Fantasy.” Petty continues, “Oh yes, Eddy seconded Hubert’s motion, but lo and behold, he turned around and gave Hubert a good cut… It was the strangest thing I’d ever seen or heard, in any parliamentary democracy when the seconder of a motion tore the motion to shreds and in the process gave the mover a sound whipping. Hubert was bewildered.” That is the same as bringing your own bill to the floor and then destroying it. “Hubert in his state of bewilderment wondered what had struck him. He now knows that it was cat-o-nine-tails. The licking that Eddy gave him caused me to ponder the words of a British parliamentarian who once said “There are no true friends in politics, only “sharks” circling in the water waiting for traces of blood to appear in the water.”
So we can surmise, that Hubert waited Eddy out even though he had many opportunities to rid himself of the “bad, rude, baby” – but chose not to do so until he saw traces of blood in the water, traces of blood that had been there for quite some time. So maybe this time it was the quantity of blood, a sure sign of a mortal wound, that the “shark,” was waiting for.
It is ridiculous to have to be discussing this nonsense. This government was duly elected based in part because of an intense dislike for the previous one. This was a foregone conclusion that anyone other than the party in power would win. It is too late for buyer’s remorse? The Egyptians did something about their situation, granted they had help from the military. No one is advocating that kind of scenario, but it should serve as an eye opener for future generations. We have gone out and bought a pig in a poke. All that’s left to do now is to hope and pray that nothing else happens, that we don’t see anymore hat tricks.
Well, no sooner than we said no more hat tricks, The Anguillian newspaper came out with a new revelation from the outgoing Governor Alistair Harrison: that he was advised by our esteemed Honorable Chief Minister against the hiring of native Anguillians for key positions. Now that is a hard one to swallow and this is after one has picked oneself up off the ground having being sucker punched in the gut. Now everyone knows that it is human nature for one to look out for one’s own, and everyone else comes after – and no matter how hard one tries to understand the CM’s thinking, this mindset cannot be justified.
As Anguillians, as I’ve contended many times before, we are a strange breed of people. We would rather see someone else get ahead than one of our own. If you listen to the Mayor Show every Saturday, on KOOL FM 103, you will hear Ms. Debra Anderson talk about the Willy Lynch Method, a particular segment in which she relates a conversation with an associate where he talks about helping a fellow Jew’s kid if it meant uplifting the race – but when it comes to us (black people) we constantly throw each other under the bus, (my words) we rat on each other to the corporate office on a daily basis, bad mouthing each other. That is who we are and I’m really not surprised that the CM would feel that way about his countrymen.
One can’t help but wonder about the CM’s motivation for offering up such advice to the Governor. One can only speculate as to his reasons. Could it be that the CM was eliminating any potential rivals down the road, or could it be a case of a vindictive and terribly self-centered man, who would rather hog all the glory for himself than see a fellow Anguillian in a position of power and prestige? I should hope not. It is hard to fathom this revelation given that the CM has been, at least in public, advocating for total self rule.
This new revelation, coupled with the firing of Minister Baird last week, again changes the national dialogue, from one that should be stressing where we are as a nation and what needs to be done to bring us back from the abyss, to one of petty politics – and in the meantime the clock continues to run and as the old saying goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
There has to be political ramifications of the harshest kind in 2015. Constituents in all 7 districts will go the polls in record numbers. It is my hope that they will send a strong message to all those who decide to contest any of the districts. You have been served; you’ve been put on notice that you better bring your “A” game. Anything less and you will be an also ran. I think it’s about damn time that Anguilla fields a team of politicians who are up to the task. Not only will you have to bring your “A” game, you will have to defend your philosophy of government. You will have to tell us why you want to be in government, what you see as the future of Anguilla, what your credentials are, what the role of government is and why we should vote for you. And you know that a response such as: “I can do better than the last set of guys who were in here,” is a non-starter.
It is high time that we catch up with the rest of the world in terms of ideas and innovations. It is high time that we stop this small time thinking that we’ve got ourselves imbedded in. If we are to successfully transform our little slice of heaven, then let us go about it in the right manner. You want to be a politician, well damn it, learn the job. As Justice Mitchell said in his piece “Beyond Walls:” We’ve had politicians who have been woefully inadequate.”
We have to use an irresistible force to move the immovable object that is apathy on our rock. We have to get serious and do some serious jollification when it comes to getting our rock in an upright position. I can recall many years ago, when I was a teen going to school, I happened to be at the Forest Bay where the Public Works Department was building a wharf. I sneaked up close to see how they were going to build this thing in the water. As I stood there in awe, the few men who were doing the job strategically placed large boulders, that had been dropped in the water, in such a manner that they formed the bed for what was to happen next. Satisfied that the boulders were flat and evenly placed, the men then started to drop hundred pound sacks of cement on the rocks. Well I soon figured out that in short time, the paper would be soaked through, thus causing the cement to form a solid block.
The men continued to do this until they reached the surface of the water, after which they started to build forms for the part that is still there today some fifty years later. Why am I telling you this story, you say? It’s because it is the same thing that we have to do with our little piece of paradise. We need that solid foundation. We need those checks and balances which I alluded to 2 issues back. We need that revised constitution that will have everything that it should. We need better representation for our districts. We have a constitution that we’ve outgrown by at least two sizes. For those of us who grew up on the rock, you remember when you went out at night with the kerosene bottle lamp looking for soldiers (“sogiers”) to go fishing the next day – we would often see one crab running along without his shell. Even the crabs knew that when their shells became too small, it was time to shed them and look for larger ones. So why is it that our politicians can’t see it? Colville Petty O.B.E, our resident historian, wrote a marvelous piece for this newspaper back in 2007 called “DEEPLY IN LOVE,” in which he discussed our political system and how it has taken almost 14 years to get any kind of reform with regard to our constitution and electorial processes.
Mr. Petty is of the opinion that given that it has taken so long to arrive at any kind of reform, or anything resembling reform, “it no surprise then that most people are of the view that our elected representatives on both sides of the House, are in no hurry to change the system because they are in love with it. And love is blind, so they will experience much difficulty in seeing its deficiencies and seeing that it needs fixing.”
Despite the fact that only death and resignation resulted in seats changing hands, several politicians chose not to defend their seats in the 2010 elections, thus allowing some new blood, and that’s where we are today. So one can only wish and hope that the Anguillian version of gerrymandering has been laid to rest. Let us hope that we elect our representatives because of what they have to offer, not for what they hope to get. Let us remember what JFK, the 35th President of the United States, said in his inaugural address: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
We’ve seen hat trick after hat trick and all on the negative side. We’ve gotten revelations that frankly shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then, damn it, it’s a duck.
We consistently shoot ourselves in the foot. We read of our politicians referring to each other as political mongrels, as rude boys and the list goes on. Is it right? No it isn’t, but it still happens. What is not right is when certain organizations come out and admonish certain individuals when they say something untoward about another. That is the height of hypocrisy. You can’t call fouls in the fourth quarter, which you didn’t call in the first quarter. This is the big leagues and you have to be consistent. If you are not going to be consistent, with your calls, then I suggest that you stay out of the game and let someone else call it. And while I’m at it, you can’t pick and choose what you want to criticize. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Let’s be fair.
Our history shows that we’ve had six general elections from 84, 89, 94, 99, 2000, 2005 and 2010, and based on past tendencies, it was a sure bet that the status quo would be maintained. This would have happened too if just about everyone’s economy hadn’t crashed. That crash resulted in getting us to where we are now. The AUF was swept out and the impotent AUM came to power, not so much because of what they had to offer, but by what the AUF didn’t have – the trust of the electorate.
Before I go, let me say this: We can continue to belittle each other and look down our noses at each other but, at the end of the day, it comes down to one thing – we’re all in this together. As Benjamin Franklin said back in 1776, as he was about the sign the Declaration of Independence: “We hang together, or we hang separately.” Let us cherish those who went away to school and have something to offer, rather than looking at them with scorn as the new elites. Instead of lambasting them on the airwaves, why not reach out to them. We need educated people in our midst. Bob Marley said, “Each one Teach One.” Lord Short Shirt asks the question “When?” “When will we learn to live together?”
Let’s turn those hat tricks into positives. Let’s hope that someone breaks away from the pack and proposes new measures from which our people will benefit. Congratulations to the NYPD debating team, the Culinary Team, all of the Graduates, and by the time this is published, the Anguilla National Cycling Team and to the Women of the Revolution. A special shout out to you. YOU GUYS AND GALS ROCKED. May God bless you all and may God bless Anguilla. And to you my brother, Cardie, we’re all rooting for you. Hang in there. Again, may God bless us all and may God bless Anguilla.
Tyrone Hodge
