On May 2nd 1935, Winston Churchill, arguing on the floor of the House of Commons on Germany’s parity with Great Britain in terms of air defense, was basically admonished by the opposition, but was eventually proven to be prophetic in his assertions that Germany was building up its war machine and would soon be second to none. He went on to say: “When the situation was manageable, it was neglected and now that it was thoroughly out of hand, we apply too late the remedies that might have affected a cure.” With regard to our banking situation, we too called out for help; we had that someone, a lone voice in the wilderness, who was all but ignored. Assessments were made and reports were written, complete with remedies for going forward but, for whatever reason, the ECCB waited as Churchill said, to apply too late the remedies that might have affected a cure.
So given all that has happened, we are now faced with the choice of having to rally behind Kennedy Hodge, one of the original founders of the NBA, who had nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of the bank, who has been the lone voice out there trying his best to keep Anguillians in the loop. His job has to be very difficult since everyone is being so tight lipped about just what is going on, or is just waiting for the ECCB to issue their findings and remedies for going forward.
There is more than enough blame to go around. Those tasked with running the day to day operations of the bank and yes, those tasked with monitoring the banks cannot walk away from this train wreck. It is not the intent of this piece to point fingers at anyone. That will be done by those conducting the forensic audit and I suspect that there will be more than enough blame to go around. I suppose that it is hard to fathom how we were able to be so extravagant with OPM (other people’s money). Given from whence we came, one would have suspected that we would have been like the ant in the Aesop’s fable but, instead, we adapted the habits of the grasshopper, and we know that it ended badly for the grasshopper. I’m not advocating for an outcome such as the grasshopper’s, but we know that we’ve pushed the envelope.
I know this sounds a bit redundant, but it’s because of these two indigenous banks that we as Anguillians were able to reach for the stars and achieve way more than we’ve ever anticipated. We started businesses, sent our children off to college, built magnificent homes – you name it and we did it. No longer were they going to call us Bobo Johnnies. We had outgrown and left him behind, or so we thought. So what happened? That is the sixty-four thousand dollar question. Basically, we started reading our own publicity, not just us folks, but those at the head of the government. NBC came in and devoted their whole morning show to us. Tony Bennett sang to a newly married couple under the arches on the beach. We were riding the crest of the wave. Our ministers of government were extolling our virtues. Colville Petty, in an earlier piece called “The Seven Seals,” pretty much summed it up. Everyone from the taxi driver to the hotel worker was saying, “Anguilla nice, man.” All we saw was the almighty dollar. We went from “Tranquility Wrapped in Blue” to “Feeling is Believing.” We took the “A” off our license plates. We, bit by bit, started to dismantle what made us great. We became greedy, and we neglected the things and people we shouldn’t have and, consequently, this train wreck that we now have to clean up is the result.
Earlier, I posed the question of, do we need the ECCB? That is a question that the majority of us would rather not deal with at this time, but sooner or later we’ll have to. It is the monetary agency that, as it claims in its mission statement, is tasked with stabilizing the EC dollar, maintaining the integrity of the banking industry and last, but not least, stimulating the economy of the eight countries in the Central Banking System. Well, I think that there are several things wrong with that mission statement in that we hardly use the EC dollar, they’ve bungled their efforts to maintain the integrity of the banking system and, with regard to stimulating of our economy, they’d be hard pressed to tell us how they did this. All one has to do is to read any of the newspapers from any of the eight countries of the system and see what’s going on. We’ve had everything from failed banks, to insurance companies fleecing several countries in the system to just about every conceivable blunder. We have in its Governor, Sir Dwight Venner, who has been on the job for the last twenty-five years, allegedly content to just sit on his laurels, while his charges are in turmoil.
While I feel very strongly about my assertions, all one has to do is read any of the newspapers from any of the eight territories covered by ECCB and he or she will understand what is happening. There are banks in the region in worse shape than us, but yet the ECCB has allegedly done nothing. Did we have problems in the banks? Obviously. Did ECCB act quickly enough to try and correct them? Perhaps not, else why would we be now, for the last eight months, be under their leadership? There are many as yet unanswered questions and we would rather they be answered sooner rather than later. Since the CM allegedly abdicated his responsibility as the Minister of Finance, with regard to our two indigenous banks, CCB and NBA, one is left to speculate about what is going on. A good Minister of Finance would keep his constituents informed, and a great Minister of Finance would be fighting tooth and nail to see that his banks are made liquid and handed back to their shareholders, especially in an election year. Let me repeat that again – especially in an election year. Everyone in the house knows where I’m going with this. There’s no subtlety here, and I’m going to say it out loud. We suspect that the Honorable Hubert Hughes will wait till the last minute, like the US Cavalry, to try and save the banks. He will do this because he wants to be able to tell the Anguillian people, who messed up their banks, that he had to come in at the last minute and save them. That will be disingenuous, given what we’ve known of the CM’s adversarial relationship with the banks and their officers.
And just what do we know about this organization that is about to either amalgamate our two indigenous banks or shut them down? We know that the ECCB is the monetary authority for a group of eight islands that include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada and the Grenadines, Montserrat, St.Lucia, St. Vincent and St. Kitts-Nevis . Founded back in October 1983 its mission statement states, its job is to maintain the stability of the EC dollar and the integrity of the banking system, in order to facilitate the balanced growth and development of member states. This is all well and good, but just what balanced growth and development have we seen? They talk about an eight point plan, that according to reports from the region, has been an abject failure.
We need to give serious thought to what our next moves ought to be. Let’s wait and see what Sir Dwight has to say in response to our positions with regard to those set forth by Kennedy Hodge. We pretty much know where he wants to go. Right now it is allegedly not about Anguilla, as much as it is about the ECCB and its dollar. Sir Dwight wants to have fewer banks rather than more, for he has said that much as far back as three years ago. So, having said that, how then can we get a fair and equitable result from him? We have in our CM, who also happens to be the Minister of Finance, a man who, as I’ve said before, was allegedly never a fan of our indigenous banks, and so you can draw whatever conclusion you may from what I said. Would you want to be on the receiving end of a decision made by either of these men? I think not.
Now the question becomes one of, do we need the ECCB? I suppose that they serve a purpose. The question is, do they serve us? Have they stabilized our banks? The jury is still out. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see. Have they done anything for us from an economic standpoint? Probably not. Do they have our best interests at heart? You decide for yourself. Tortola is not a signatory to them, why should we? They are going to try to take us in a direction that we don’t want to go, and the last guy that pulled that – well he’s no longer around to tell about it, but you get my drift. Let us give serious consideration to getting out of this group. Let us align ourselves with people who can really help and look out for our best interests. Do we really need the ECCB? I think not.
Before I go let me say this: We are in the fight of our lives and this is not the time for the feint of heart. We have to make some serious choices and not all of them will be pleasant. It is understandable that each and everyone of us has an opinion, and each has the right to voice that opinion, but when it becomes personal, then the line has been crossed. I’ve thought about just not responding to an episode that occurred on the Mayor Show, on KOOL FM 103, last Saturday. We were discussing the upcoming elections and the agenda was what three questions you would ask the candidate vying for your vote. The panelists on the show, of which I was one, all gave their questions. The phone lines were opened and several callers chimed in, but it was particularly interesting with the last two callers, one of whom admonished the show for the choice of topic. The second caller, who calls himself the Ambassador, was very emphatic in making his point. It seems that he was intent on coming after me, personally, possibly because the powers that be didn’t have the cojones to do it themselves. They instead chose this “self appointed Ambassador” to do their bidding for them. He then proceeded to go on a rant telling me what I can and can’t do, but my response is that it is water off my back and one should consider the source. The caller has nothing to offer, has become irrelevant, and is nothing more than a clown, Astor’s pet horse, and to make mention of Astor’s pet horse would be an insult to the horse.
I was told certain individuals want to know who the bleep is Tyrone Hodge. Well, I’ll tell you. It’s because of my father and my brother and my cousins, along with myself, that those who are telling me to stay in California can live the way they do. Let me say again, you were the same ones who thought that Robert Bradshaw was a great man, and isn’t it ironic that you are the ones now living in relative comfort from our blood, sweat and tears? As for the so-called “ambassador” who called the show on Saturday, you are irrelevant. No one wants to hear what you have to say, and it’s amazing what soap and water can do. So give it a rest. There’s no bitterness here towards anyone who disagrees with me. After all, that is what a democracy is all about. We can agree to disagree. We have serious problems to deal with. Let us use that energy to try and correct our situation, rather than going after each other. There is a difference between moronic behavior, and being a moron. It’s all in the semantics.
We have to figure out how to right Anguilla once more. We simply don’t have time for people who bring nothing to the table. So until then, May God Bless Anguilla and may God bless us all.
