“Power concedes nothing without demand” (Frederick Douglas).
That being said, we in Anguilla haven’t quite grasped that concept. Given what has transpired on our shores in last three years is living proof. I am of course referring to the way in which the Victor F. Banks – led government has been governing.
In ancient Greece, the citizenry participated in what was called a direct democracy in which each person had a say. In Anguilla we have what is called a representative government in which we the people elect persons to represent us. One of the pitfalls of a representative government is that those whom we elect to represent us do not always work in our best interests. Case in point.
One could make that argument right now with regard to our government. We find ourselves in one heck of a mess, the likes of which we’ve never seen. This government led by Mr. Banks campaigned on the premise that he would get Anguilla back on its feet like the days of old. He would save the indigenous banks, NBA and CCB. He would also repeal the Stabilization Levy.
Well here we are one year to the day into this administration and all of the promises that were made have since fallen by the wayside. As of Friday the 21st of April the National Bank of Anguilla and the Caribbean Commercial Bank cease to exist. They are being replaced by a government found bank the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla. That’s quite a mouthful to say. The employees of both indigenous banks have been given their walking papers and three months severance pay. Contrast their severance pay with that of our former government employees who have walked away with over half of a million dollars for their service to Anguilla.
Well the bank employees served Anguilla, some of them for almost as long as some of the career politicians who now live on easy street. How is this fair? At least compensate those employees the same way that you do yourselves. But I forgot, “it’s all about me.”
Everyone is asking what just happened? Well, I’ve been writing for the last several years and I’ve been very critical of this and the previous administrations. They are the ones who actually invited the ECCB to come in and one would not be too off the mark to speculate as to the reasons for inviting them in.
The people are very numb right now about what has happened. Whether or not we will do anything remains to be seen. We as a people tend to sit back and wait for something to happen. This is one time that sitting back, while waiting to see who will do the heavy lifting, is not an option. If ever there was a time that everyone needs to get off his or her behind, it is now. It can’t be an AUF or an AUM thing. It’s because of those damn political parties that we find ourselves in this untenable position.
We cannot sit around and let Victor do as he pleases – and I might add that that is exactly what he’s being allowed to do. When he tried to pass the Banking Bill we made a fuss in the House, so much so that the Police had to be called in. Victor went on the air and said we were being undemocratic, and I suppose that he wasn’t being undemocratic when he had the Royal Police Force dressed in riot gear standing by. He went ahead and rammed through the Banking Act anyway, regardless of what we thought or knew about it. Now that was democracy in action.
As was said on the Mayor Show on Saturday, both governments are responsible for what has happened. What has happened to the banks is tantamount to someone going into the hospital for a check up and not coming out alive. What has happened to us? Who is our government working for, surely not us.
The time has come to relive 1967, for we cannot allow Victor and his cohorts to implement this foolhardy plot. This is a treasonous act against the people of Anguilla. Think about it for a moment. Are we not getting the big picture? Folks we have got to start thinking for ourselves. Ask yourself the question: Was it your fault that you couldn’t pay your mortgage? Were you gainfully employed, and on a spur of the moment decided that you weren’t going to pay your mortgage? No. We are proud people and we pay our debts, but in order to do that one has to have a job. So my mortgage is in arrears through no fault of my own. What now? Well Iceland and most countries understood the problem and in most cases worked with the homeowners. They rewrote the mortgages and in some cases forgave part of the debt. Why was none of that done for us? Are you starting to get the big picture here? If we let Victor and his cohorts carry out this scheme, we will forever regret the day that we cast a ballot for him and his government.
The BVI thrives off of its offshore banking business because that money goes into the BVI treasury. Where does the money go to in Anguilla? Can anyone, will anyone, answer that question?
What did we fight for? Did we do this so that these carpet baggers could turn over our assets to foreigners down in Antigua? Victor what is your true intention for the Country of Anguilla? I ask you again, who are you working for?
We, the people ought to be up in arms for you have dissed us in the worst of way. You have disrespected us, you have betrayed our trust and it can never be regained. You will be remembered as the CM who lost the indigenous banks – who gave Anguilla away to foreigners. You have abdicated your sworn duty and you ought to be ashamed of yourself.
You are a stranger to the truth for you have consistently lied to the people of Anguilla, and we won’t forget it. You have said that the Caribbean Asset Management Company will work with the borrowers – and that’s not true. These people will be put in foreclosure which means that their property will be sold off, and there is some question as to what will happen to any extra funds on any account. Will the borrower get the difference?
It is common knowledge that a former CM asserts that the day that you get your hands on Anguilla, we’re done. It seems as if he knew what he was talking about. But I’ll tell you what – a lot of our forefathers fought to get us to this place and we’ll be damned if we’ll sit by and let you get away with this.
Look, we understand what’s happening here. For you it’s about selfpreservation at all costs, while several thousands Anguillians are getting the shaft because of the recklessness of the chosen few. So what do you care if generations to come will have to pick up the tab for the incompetence of you and yours? So what if they can’t buy a piece or land – land that was once owned by their parents?
It is often said that you get the government that you voted for. At this point and time, I beg to differ with that assertion. We voted for you because you made certain promises and then we looked on helplessly as you did a 360. Not only did you do a 360 – you did it in such a way that was an affront to the people of Anguilla, and we won’t ever forget that.
As a country we still have a long way to go and there is so much that we don’t know, and we are no closer to acquiring the necessary knowledge needed to be a responsible citizen. We have failed to enter the 21st century when it comes to knowing what we should. We are still very far behind where we should be. We go out and elect the same ne’er do wells time after time and wind up with the same crap year after year. When we repeatedly do the same stupid stuff expecting different results, that’s Einstein’s theory of insanity therefore one would have to conclude that we are insane.
The time has finally come for us to stand up and stop this madness. No one seems to understand what is going on. Rahm Emanuel, the former Chief of Staff for President Obama, has said you should never let a crisis go to waste. We had the perfect opportunity to fix the banks, while we still had the chance, but it appears that the Central Bank did not want that. Thank you Hubert Hughes. What Bradshaw couldn’t do with threats, and everything else, Victor was able to do with the stroke of a pen.
We need to find out from our beloved Governor Ms. Scott why she assented to the bill when in fact she had several reservations about it. What happened that made her change her mind. Did she all of a sudden have a premonition that everything will be alright? Did it come from higher ups to go ahead and assent? Did the future generations of Anguillians not matter anymore?
What is the CM not telling us? In the law of equity it is said that: “He who comes to equity must come with clean hands.” It further says that a person “who expects a remedy in equity against a wrongdoer must not himself have done a wrong with respect to the matter before the court.”
So again I say: “he who comes to the court must come with clean hands.” This government allegedly does not have clean hands for the Minister of Home Affairs was a Board member at NBA up until three months before the ECCB came in. The current Minister of Finance was the Minister of Finance for 16 years and on whose watch all of this happened, and the fact that they are the ones pushing for the closing of the two indigenous banks is in itself a conflict.
The ECCB whose job it was to oversee that all went well with the banks was also derelict in their duties and now these are the same guys that we’ve abdicated our sovereignty to. How is that possible? Are we that stupid? Winston Churchill, on the floor of parliament commenting on Germany’s air supremacy, said this: “When the situation was manageable, it was neglected and now that it’s thoroughly out of hand we apply too late the remedies which might have affected a cure.” Does anyone see that parallel here? First they needed six months, and then they needed another six – and then it turned into two years, and then three and finally the AUF is about to celebrate a job well done. You folks just set us back to the dark ages. You should celebrate for you did a masterful job.
Our government, plain and simple, is incompetent. That’s the only conclusion that one can come to. We don’t have a clue what the devil we are doing. And while we stumble around out there, the British who are supposed to be our protectors sit by and let us self-destruct. Based on their inaction one can safely conclude that we’re on our own. Everyone who had banking problems – Iceland, Ireland, Greece, the UK and the US – all got help. Iceland jailed several of its bankers for wrongdoing. We need to know what happened here. We want to know why our CM was in such a hurry to destroy the two indigenous banks.
Pretty soon total strangers will be coming to Anguilla to take possession of our lands and homes. There will be a revolution – you can count on it. A man’s home is his castle and he will defend it to death. We may not have the political sophistication of a new nation, but we can realize when we are being bamboozled.
Frederick Douglas admonished us that: “Power concedes nothing without demand.” With that being said, let us let Victor know that this will not be allowed to stand. We have the power and we demand that this foolishness stop before this cauldron, that is Anguilla, boils over. So till next time, may God be with us as we march on to victory – and may He bless Anguilla.
