“How sharper than a serpents tooth it is to have a thankless child” (William Shakespeare).
When a constituency becomes dissatisfied with a representative, it has the option of removing the said representative from office. When a country is disenchanted with its government, which seems oblivious to its wishes and demands, that country also has the option to remove said government. Having said that, we in Anguilla have arrived at a moment in time when we have to summon every ounce of reserve. It appears that our voices no longer matter, for it looks as though our democracy has morphed into an oligarchy – a government for the few.
In Anguilla today, what we think or want is of little consequence. We find ourselves once more having to fend for ourselves, while swimming upstream. Last April, we overwhelmingly elected the Victor F. Banks- led AUF government whose catch phrase was “it’s all about you,” a phrase that has since morphed into “its all about me.” Well, the status quo remains the same, and we’re no better off than we were at the start of the year. Major problems still exist and it looks like every time we put a chink in the dam, another leak bursts out elsewhere.
The current atmosphere would tend to suggest that we are waiting around for the other shoe to drop. It’s true that we have many pressing issues on our plate, the most important of which is our indigenous banks. And from what we can glean, it appears that our CM/Minister of Finance has made up his mind to turn over and perhaps even close them. Should such an event actually come to pass, the tsunami that will hit this government will make all previous tsunamis pale by comparison. Our CM should be forewarned that those banks are our lifeblood, and we will not sit or stand idly by and let his government give away what we have worked for. That this government has the temerity to side with Dwight Venner and the Brits against our best interests boggles the mind.
There are errors of omission and there are errors of commission. From our inception as an Overseas/Dependent Territory of Great Britain, our history is rife with bad decisions made by our leaders. We have been the unwilling victims of one bad deal after another, and for once we’d like to see our leaders stand up for our rights. We have long been searching for the truth and it appears that we are no closer to it today than when we started out some five years ago. What our current CM is doing is anyone’s guess and, if past history is any kind of an indicator, we are in for a very rough go of it. This is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Not the British, and surely not the ECCB.
They say that hindsight is twenty -twenty but foresight may be staring you right in the face and you’ll still miss it. While we all seem preoccupied with the banking situation, could we be missing the big picture here? Has anyone stopped to consider what the actions of a few will mean for the rest of us? Think about that for a moment. We have always been a very independent people who really didn’t rely on anyone for anything. When the banks wouldn’t lend us money, we founded our own, it’s who we are. If we don’t fight for those banks it sends out the wrong message to future generations. Those two banks are responsible for where we are and what we were able to accomplish. To now lie down and let total strangers come in and try to bully us would be absolutely not acceptable.
We built our homes in stages when we could afford to, and when they were completed we owned them lock, stock and barrel. So what happened you ask? Well, in an attempt to be a part of the global community, only we didn’t know it at the time, we chose to modernize ourselves. We no longer wanted to be, in V.S.Naipaul’s words, “a shipwrecked community,” and with that we started doing things differently. We bypassed the twentieth century according to Don Mitchell, and went straight into the 21st century without having the necessary skills to properly acclimate ourselves.
This situation would be irrelevant were it not for the banking situation. Not one day goes by without some new revelation – the latest and most disturbing of which is the fact that our CM has already, allegedly, made up his mind to turn over the banks to the British Government and the ECCB. This might be an attempt on the CM’s part to pacify both the Brits and the ECCB, thus keeping them out of his Ministry of Finance. If that is indeed the case, it just goes to show that our leader has no balls to do the heavy lifting that is required to get us back on our feet, so he abdicates his responsibility. Note to his cabinet: If this indeed what happens, you are all complicit.
While the CM pussyfoots around the issue, several prominent Anguillians are turning up the heat. A report, which was given to the CM, written by Mr. Clement Ruan, a highly respected businessman, familiar with the banking system, makes several suggestions that, if adapted, would get us back to solvency. The report outlines three possible options as a way forward. While this report was detailed, I’ve chosen just a small but important part:
(1) Private Sector Management:
Where the banks would be managed by a Board of Directors who would be appointed by Shareholders and Management. This structure provides the directorship and accompany the necessary flexibility and business savvy to embrace best international banking practices through.
(2) Public-Private Partnership:
This option means that the indigenous banks will be owned through a joint relationship involving the government and the Private Sector. Mr. Ruan goes on to say that certain requirements and benefits will abound from this relationship.
(a) The partnership will require Government’s financial injection.
(b) The public and private sector partnership can result in a cross-pollination of ideas to achieve the objective which is to salvage the banks…
Mr. Ruan further contends that a joint Public/Private Partnership will have some consequences which may seem positive or expedient, for example:
(1) There will be sharing of liabilities inherent in such a joint venture.
(2) Equally, there will be a sharing of rewards (profits/dividends).
(3) It will increase the confidence on the part of depositors especially.
The third and final option is that of Full Government Control. Mr. Ruan asserts that full government takeover and control of the indigenous banks, at first, may seem an appropriate and necessary solution in which the Government took control and operations of the banks in the interest of the general populace and the general good. However, Mr. Ruan goes on to warn of the negative implication which far outweighs the perceived immediate and long term benefits. He goes on to point out that this option is not without consequences.
While a full government takeover may seem in the short term to be a magic bullet, or panacea, Mr. Ruan points out: “the indigenous banks have shareholders, and as such should be given the opportunity to raise capital to satisfy the regulatory requirements and to make good any shortcomings in the corporate governance process.” He points out that given that “our banks have been in receivership for over two years a reasonable conclusion is that there is no urgency to regularize any financial or governance matters, and accordingly, there was ample time to allow the shareholders to exercise their fundamental right and responsibility to address any shortfall in the banks’ capital.”
So in light of the latest revelations learned today on the Mayor Show, on Kool FM, we’re still none the wiser. Our CM has been negotiating with the Brits and the ECCB behind our backs without so much as a word, which brings into the focus the issue of trust. If we can’t trust our government to do the right thing, we have the power to rid ourselves of said government. This government needs to be reminded again where its loyalties lie – not the Brits or the ECCB.
One has to come to the conclusion that there’s more here than meets the eye. The ECCB laid out their reasons for coming in, and for the most part they have done nothing. The banks continue to list helplessly in the wind with no sense of direction. They’ve made no serious attempts to stabilize the banks and while suggestions have been made, our CM does nothing. Prior to Mr. Ruan’s report, the CM was in receipt of another report dated July 1st,2015 from a joint committee of both NBA and CCB’s shareholders asking him to restore the board of directors to both banks. The report also questions the motives of the Central Bank and accused it of misfeasance, malfeasance and negligence, and asked for the restoration of normalcy, for the immediate removal of ECCB’s conservatorship, the appointment of a conservator independent of the ECCB, and the immediate dissemination of the banks financial reports to shareholders. To this day, the Chief Minister has yet to respond to or even acknowledge any such report.
It seems that, in the grand scheme of things, we the people are of little significance. Here we are being dissed by our government. Remember, we’re a shipwrecked community who, like jetsam, can be collected for firewood and just as easily be disposed of. What we are seeing is a CM who is more concerned with his ministerial positions, than he is with good governance. It was learned that in a face to face meeting with the Brits back in June, when the banking situation was being discussed, our esteemed Minister of Finance offered not one iota in defense of the banks. Is this the guy whom we overwhelmingly elected when his political career was toast? This is the reward we get in return – his allegiance to the Brits and the ECCB? Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. What will it be for us?
In classical Greek Mythology, the Trojan Horse is a tale about the Trojan War, a war that had raged on for ten years. It is also a tale about how subterfuge (deceit) was used by the Greeks to destroy the City of Troy. The Greeks built a large wooden horse, delivered it as a gift with a select force of men hidden inside. When Troy saw the Greeks leave, they let their guards down only to have the Greeks return later to destroy the city. Hence, the phrase, “beware of Greeks bearing gifts.” Is our Government our Trojan Horse – the Brits gift to us? We have too much at stake here, and we really don’t want to wake up one day to find out that we are guests in our own country. Remember, the indigenous people of the Gullah Islands, remember the Chagos Islands, and do we remember Rhodesia? They rebelled against the Brits, the same as we rebelled against St. Kitts. Who got invaded?
Our banks define us as a people, a people who, when the time came, showed a resilience unmatched anywhere in the Caribbean. It is hard to fathom why those who have filled their coffers off our blood, sweat and tears, are now anxious and willing to throw the rest of us under the bus. Our banks are who we are. In his report, “Anguilla’s Indigenous Banking Crisis,” Mr. Ruan writes: “These institutions epitomize the independent spirit of Anguillians: they are in essence, the definition of what is Anguillan: a people who are different in spirit and purpose.”
To truly understand who we are as a people, one needs a refresher in Anguillan history. Fight is nothing new to us for we have never had an easy time with anything. A petition to the CM entitled “Survival of our Indigenous Banks Now” points out the fact that “when faced with major survival crises, we as a people have always rejected solutions imposed on us from outside and invariably came up with our own. We fought the French in 1744 and again in 1796 before the British arrived. Again in 1840, our ancestors chose death by famine rather then be hauled off by the Brits to Demerara.” We again protested when we were thrown together in an unholy alliance with St. Kitts and Nevis, an alliance we would most vehemently reject in the intervening years – and finally in 1967, and then again in 1969, we unceremoniously rejected the Bradshaw Associated Statehood Government. We have continued to be subjugated to the economic hardships of a world recession, while Britain shells out money to former colonies to help them out, all the while keeping us on very tight restrictive measures. Anyone with half a brain can conclude what they think is happening here. We have always fought for that which was ours, and now is no different.
So to our esteemed CM/Minister of Finance, you know what the deal is going forward – and should you choose to put on your Royal Robes and your Crown and go against the wishes of the people who resurrected your political career when it was toast, good luck to you. Till next, time, may God Help us and may God bless Anguilla.
