This article was first published in The Anguillian on 10th July 2003. It is now republished in light of the workshop being conducted here for our legislators during the course of this week (10th to 12th August).
“[Before I came here] I asked God’s forgiveness because when you stand in the podium, as I am doing, you should be clean”.
So said the Honourable Chief Minister, Osbourne Fleming, as he addressed members of the Bethel Methodist Church, South Hill, on Sunday 22nd June, at a service marking the church’s 125th anniversary. I wish that all of our political leaders would act similarly when they appear on political platforms across the island. They should come clean with the people.
Osbourne was very impressed with the singing of the Bethel choir. He told the congregation that he had been suffering for weeks with an earache, which caused some deafness, but that the singing had restored his hearing. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Incidentally, Osbourne could have had his hearing restored earlier had he visited Dr John (Thunder) Edwards, our renowned local herbalist, whose reputation for healing various ailments is spreading like wild fire. I read a letter in The Herald newspaper of Wednesday 18th June in which N. H (one of Dr John’s patients) wrote glowingly about his work. N. H on learning that her housekeeper had been married for eleven years and had no children, urged her to go and see Dr John. She (the housekeeper) had seen gynecologists in Barbados, St Martin and St Maarten but none of them was able to help her in getting pregnant.
The housekeeper took N. H’s advice and visited Dr John who gave her “a portion of herbs”. She followed his instructions and a few weeks later she was pregnant. She showed N. H “a picture with a fetus in her womb”. Whatever Dr John gave her must have been very powerful because, according to N. H, her housekeeper “only received one dose of herbs. One dose only. Now she is a happily pregnant married woman”. Hats off to Dr John. May he continue to bring peace and comfort to the sick and suffering.
That aside, I am glad that Osbourne no longer suffers with his ear so that he could hear the cries of his people. So that he could hear the voices of the calypsonians as they give their interpretation of the socio-political situation in Anguilla. Eye Spy has already released Boy Yer Killing We, a ripping social commentary, in which he tells Osbourne:
You campaign promises sounded so sincere,
But like a snake in de grass, You biting us in di rear.
He also had a few words for one of the other Ministers. He reminded him about his campaign promises:
We waiting, but like we waiting in vain,
Somebody say too many coolie girls resting on your brain.
All that is in politics. The Government is getting a heavy battering not only from the calypsonians but also from the wider Anguillian community who are unhappy with the way our political leaders have been conducting the country’s business. In fact, there is growing discontent with the quality of political leadership, on both sides of the political fence. But then people get the kind of government they deserve. Consequently, if we want enlightened leadership then we must, as a first step, create a more enlightened electorate. Towards this end, civil society organisations have a very important role to play. They should be in the forefront of organising political education programmes for the uplifting of Anguillian society.
The requisite enlightenment cannot be achieved overnight. It is a process that will take years. However, we need to start now. This article addresses specifically a case for the holding of seminars or workshops for leaders who already occupy political office – as well as for those with their eyes on political office – as a means of improving the quality of governance in Anguilla.
We have to dispel the long held belief that politics is the only profession which one could pursue without any preparation or training. By now we should have moved beyond those times when Wilson (Sonny) Richardson informed the voters at West End (1984) about his qualifications for political office like this: “One, [I am] a young man who live, work and play among young people. Two, I am one to whom you can call upon and bring your problems. Three, I am a resident person here. I have no way of escape, no green card”.
Now listen to the Honourable Kenneth Harrigan (1993): “They say the only thing Kenneth can do is give you a wheelbarrow of dirt. I am not a doctor. I cannot go in the hospital and cut a ‘pendix. I can’t fly a plane. But there are things that I could do to bring the necessary things to you: water, roads”.
Surely, we have had hard-working ministers with no political education, but who produced. To quote Vernon Fleming (1993): “Kenneth Harrigan is a hard worker physically but he doesn’t know his head from his foot about politics”.
I must make the point, though, that there is no guarantee that political education would bring about good political leadership but it has the potential for doing so. The issues confronting our island are becoming more complex and we therefore need leaders who are knowledgeable about the principles of good governance if we are to create a peaceful and prosperous Anguilla. As I suggested above, we could bring about a change in the quality of leadership by way of organizing seminars (or workshops) for their enlightenment. These seminars should cover several topics on which I now comment.
Firstly, the seminars should begin with an overview of the Anguilla Constitution which sets out the ground rules for political play as well as people’s rights and obligations. Often times the way some of our leaders speak tells us that they know very little about the Constitution. You cannot ask some of them anything about the Constitution and get a proper answer. And despite that not one of them has made an appearance at any of the meetings held by the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee.
Secondly, the seminars should deal with the functions and workings of the House. One of its principal functions is to hold the executive accountable for its actions. Another is the making of laws. Regrettably, when it comes to the passing of legislation some of our legislators do not have a clue about what is going on. That is why ever so often we see some of them sleeping, or reading a newspaper or hear them snoring during the debates. They are conditioned to wake up in time to say “aye”. And to hear the Speaker say “the ayes have it”.
Incidentally, I recall the day when a particular Bill came before the House for its second reading and a member rose on a point of order and told the Speaker that the Bill was passed at a previous meeting. The Speaker told him it was not passed – that he was probably referring to its first reading and that a second and third reading were necessary to complete the process.
The House’s law-making function has been coming in for much censure in recent times. The Honourable Albert Hughes (Belto) maintains that the law-making process is a joke. He has been saying repeatedly that so long as a Bill is approved by the Executive Council it is already law and that its coming to the House was a mere formality. And every time he makes that observation, Osbourne would jump up (in the House) and tell him he was talking nonsense. But yer know something? Belto right! He is technically correct. In the parliamentary system of government, as practised in Anguilla, so long as the Executive Council approves a piece of legislation there is no way in hell that it would not be passed in the House where Government has a majority. Actually, that is the way the parliamentary system of government operates in the Anglophone Caribbean as a whole.
I now go back to 10th and 11th July 2000, when the House passed eleven financial bills, with wide-ranging implications, in the twinkling of an eye. That still remains a world record. One for the Guinness Book of Records! And a good indication that very little thought went into the exercise. No matter how the Opposition members huffed and puffed the Government used its majority in the House and passed them. The “ayes” had it.
Further, the laws were passed in the face of much public criticism including strong objections from the Anguilla Bar Association. Belto is right: So long as a Bill is approved by the Executive Council it is already law. The House of Assembly in Anguilla is merely a rubber stamp for decisions of the Executive Council. In my view its debates are a waste of time. Belto agrees. Hear him in the House on 27th May: “Mr Speaker, I am wasting my time saying anything more because no matter what I say I can’t change anything”.
Another unfortunate development in governance in Anguilla is that whatever little part the House plays as regards law-making it is being usurped by the Executive Council. The Honourable Claudel Romney, the Second Nominated Member, alluded to this development at a recent meeting of the House. He complained that the imposition of the one percent customs levy on 1st January 2003, before it had received the approval of the House, was illegal. Although legal opinion says that Claudel was right, Osbourne told him that things did not always work that way and that one day he would learn politics. A most unfortunate statement! I think he meant politricks.
Claudel’s contributions, in recent times, to debates in the House have been real eye openers. He is strongly opposed to shortcuts in the passing of legislation which our Government has a habit of doing. There were times when Bills were given all three readings in one day. In addition, he has been highlighting flaws in certain Bills and suggesting delay in their passing to permit further study of their implications. And for that Osbourne tries to make him look stupid. But it is widely known that Claudel is one of the better brains in the House and that his contributions are always outstanding.
The role of the Opposition should also be one of the topics dealt with at the seminars which, I advocate, should be conducted for the enlightenment of our political leaders. In Anguilla the Opposition is treated with contempt. This has always been the case regardless of the political party in power. Our leaders need to come to the realisation that the survival of our democracy depends to a great extent on the existence of an effective Opposition. It provides, among other things, the checks and balances necessary to prevent dictatorship. It scrutinises, appraises and criticises Government’s policies and offers alternative policies. It is obliged to keep an eye on all public expenditure so as to prevent over-expenditure and wastage.
Now to the role of the media in a democracy. Many in leadership positions prefer not to have the media around. They see it as an enemy and not as a friend. A seminar would most likely change that perception. One of the most important roles of the media is that it helps in the building of a culture of freedom.
The media plays a vital role in keeping the public informed about Government’s programmes and actions and enables people to monitor and comment on them. It brings to light matters of national concern and importance. It throws light where there is darkness. It is society’s watchdog and our society would be poorer without it. The absence of a free media is a definite sign of social and political decay.
There is no doubt that we have a long way to go before we can say that the media in Anguilla is free. Even though there is no overt action on the part of Government to curtail its freedom, fear of the consequences of critising Government’s action has caused the media to exercise its own control. The media is controlled not by legislation but by fear of political victimisation. Our elected members despise criticism, no matter how genuine, but political education through seminars etc would bring them to the realisation that “freedom always dies when criticism ends”.
Other subject areas which the seminars should address include the role of civil society in the political process. They should also address the subject of accountability with a view to ensuring that our leaders recognise that they are ultimately accountable to the people. But they do not think so and that is why they treat people like cow dung, until election time comes around. Once they get in power they act as if they are anointed and not elected. In recent times, no matter how much people have bawled about taxes, water rates and electricity charges, Government has refused to listen and take measures to relieve their hardships.
It is for the above reasons that I advance a case for the holding of seminars for our political leaders, from time to time. A good time for the first one would be shortly after general elections. Thereafter, they could be organised annually or bi-annually. But we need them if we are to improve the quality of governance. Our leaders have a poor record of managing our political institutions, thus the case for some degree of political training. Max O’Rell once wrote that “to be a chemist you must study chemistry; to be a lawyer or physician you must study law or medicine; but to be a politician you need only study your own interests”. We do not want that to be said about Anguilla’s politicians.
Who will do the training? Some of the trainers could come from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association or the Caribbean Parliamentary Association. Our House Speaker could take the initiative in that regard. Others trainers could include notable regional and international figures as well as qualified Anguillians. I throw out the idea in the hope that it stimulates debate and eventually bears fruit. Actually, if the only outcome of my proposal is that our political leaders stop treating people like cow dung, then I would not have written in vain.
