“My heart aches and a drowsy numbness pains my sense, as though of hemlock I have drunk!” So writes John Keats in “Ode to a Nightingale”. Perhaps a different time, but the heartaches and the pain remain the same and one is moved to acknowledge that to follow the CM’s folly any further would be to live in a fool’s paradise. It is painful when you look at the disarray around us. Please pause – then think about it! Just imagine that we live on an island with less than fifteen thousand people and we can’t find four of them that can work together and build this country. Examine what we’ve got and see if it makes sense! First, we notice that both Hughes the elder and the younger go up and down, and all over the place, saying things that have no truth and no meaning. Second, this Government has been disjointed from its inception. It is comprised only of a band of joiners. Some of them misunderstand, and some can’t understand, what is going on around them. Finally, one minister resigned unceremoniously and another was dismissed pretentiously. So the CM took on most of these portfolios and effectively put the country in a state of “one man rule.”
Therefore, to prevent further sliding into confusion and political chicanery of the CM, we must examine him first as a source for accuracy, truth, and the consideration of consequences. The CM as a source of responsibility, and for action geared to the good of Anguilla, fails miserably. The statements he makes when examined, and subsequently taken for what they are in the real world of politics, are meaningless and have no standing, except maybe among fools. That is what makes the CM dangerous. What he says and what he does are different. And leads to the conclusion, or gives the impression, that either Hughes is a fool or thinks the rest of the population are foolish. Yet some listen! None of these scenarios are good for Anguilla. We cannot allow ourselves to be taken for granted, because not all of us are yahoos or political Lilliputians. Elections give us a chance to weed out the “worry-vine” and to prove we understand what is going on.
Two of the CM’s statements are good examples of how indiscreet he is, and of what his low level thought processes amount to when they are translated into words. The CM the other day made reference to a “thriving economy” in St. Kitts many years ago. There is no historical account to support his statement neither does the nature nor the means of production promote it. St. Kitts was from the seventeenth century until quite recently a sugar plantation economy largely dependent on the fluctuation of world sugar prices and the whims and fancies of the “sugarcrats”. Therefore, it seems that before the CM starts mouthing off and giving false information to people he should indulge in reading some of the expert writings of the former T & T Prime Minister, Eric Williams. His views differ vastly and substantively from PM Williams who was renowned as the authority on the significance of plantation economy particularly on sugar and slavery.
For further reading, in order to gain more knowledge on these issues, the CM should also include William Demas, on “small economies.” We wish he would do this for the sake of the island. But still we can’t leave anything intricate to him because he has grown up spewing half-truths and getting away with it. So much so that it has now become part of the DNA. It is therefore left to us to make sure that our fellow citizens are not fooled by what he says. St. Kitts had a plantation economy with a cash crop. Whereas the “sugarcrats” planted sugarcane; harvested it; added value to it by manufacturing sugar; and sold it! There is no record of Anguilla as a sugar producing economy. We planted our corn and peas harvested them and ate them. These are the “barebones” differences between the two economies. But like always, the CM, the consummate politician that he is, is always willing to quickly abandon facts for fiction. Whatever the economic disparity may have been then, what must be constantly borne in mind now, is that the major factors at work here are Mother Nature and the landowners. Mother Nature blessed St. Kitts with good soil and good rainfall. The “sugarcrats” used these features to their own advantage at a time when sugar was King. Mother nature blessed Anguilla differently with sea, sand, sun and beautiful beaches not seen anywhere else around here. That is the point Hughes should be making and the action he should be taking, with regard to what we have been blessed with, is to seek to lure more investors to our shores. The CM could do like the landowners in St. Kitts did and take advantage of what Mother Nature gave us and stop bellyaching about a bygone era.
But that is the CM’s fatal flaw. He lives in a dinosaur world. And unless we are all oblivious to foolishness, we should realize that although the CM might be willing — he is in fact not able and as a consequence the country is on hold. His intransigence is not amenable to progress! Rudeness is not toughness! In fact, it is a tool for the vacant minded. So when the CM expresses views on British housing he makes the case for irrelevance and ignorance. For what purpose does he raise the issue of long ago living conditions in UK? But is he not the same person who left his job in St. Kitts to go to the UK because he did not like conditions there? This is Hughes’ dilemma. He wants things in his own likeness and when that doesn’t happen he launches a life long career fight. Thus the ongoing fight of Hughes against the world includes all the Governors the British can find to send here.
The CM does not see things as they are in the real world. For instance, the type, size and ownership of the housing stock existing in the UK and that of Anguilla, cannot realistically be equated. Housing, generally speaking in the UK has, to a very large extent and for a very long time, been influenced by the growth of townships, the involvement of government both local and national, and also the level of financial indulgence of the building societies. In Anguilla none of these features apply. There is also a unique attitude towards homeownership. Here it is a status symbol there it is utilitarian. Thus the regular two up two down, as compared to here where you build as big as you like and take as long as you like to do it. This is the substantive difference that the CM speaks about without acknowledging the primary reasons for the great disparity. But how does he expect us to reconcile this hang up with the fact that we need their money? And if they did give us anything it must come from out of the pockets of those who live in the two up two-downs. Surely, we must stand up to them – but then again they say “you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” The CM’s behavior is not called standing-up. It is known as whistling in the dark like when one is afraid of a “jumbee”. So, speaking truthfully, his noises have no meaning. One can only speculate why the CM does it. Most people agree that because of his inability to harness sound economic facts, he relies on vilification. And regardless of his snide remarks, the system under his regime has not created any jobs. The problem facing Anguilla now still remains the availability of work.
In developing countries, the Government is the main activator of growth. The efforts of this Government have been minute. And from the standpoint of the tourism industry growth has come to a halt. Meanwhile, the CM continues to denigrate the British and promote Independence. Sadly, he looks everywhere for guidance except Anguilla, failing to realize that the knowledge and the way to maneuver under the circumstances are here in Anguilla. It is generally accepted that the modernization of Anguilla began with the initiatives of Sir Emile Gumbs. And because of his ability to work with officials in London and in Barbados, progressive minded Anguillians credit him with the development of the tourism industry on this island. But that is the past. We want to hear about how we can make a useful mark on the advancement of our country. In this area the CM should try to overtake, or at least emulate, Sir Emile. Sir Emile promoted the tourism industry but in recent times it is being badly mangled by Hughes, the elder. Perhaps in this dichotomy of things we may find some useful answers to the CM’s problems. Former CM, Sir Emile, will tell you that he did not always agree with London but in those budding days he always put the country first. He did not always have his way but he wanted them to help Anguilla. So rather than being belligerent, instead he sought to be persuasive. Guided by these principles, in the end he got Anguilla on the tourism map. But quite to the contrary, the present C M ‘s action shows that he believes that by being boisterous, ignorant and arrogant he will get positive results. So far he has achieved the receding goals of no hotels, no jobs and no use to the people of Anguilla. But when one looks further even more is revealed. Neither Sir Emile nor Mr. Osborne Fleming fought with HMG just to make them look tough. This CM stands up so that he can fall down in a volley of nonsense, and then rely on the emotions of his supporters for help. He forgets that a function of good Government is advancement and not retardation.
The point is that the AUF intends to build a strong, modern, consolidated party dedicated to principle and not to person — a party having the sole aim of producing a cohesive national political institution to promote Anguilla and provide solidarity in Government. The party remembers and observes the biblical concept of “he that knows not, and knows not that he knows not is a fool – avoid him. But he that knows not, and knows he knows not, is a wise man – follow him”. My heart aches! Not because of what John Keats said long ago — but because what is said and done now is laced only with foolish content that should make us all reflect on things that come not back. The past life, the spoken word, the sped arrow and, above all, the neglected opportunity. Which of these are ours to hold on to or to let go of? Obviously, there is no use in bellyaching about thriving economies elsewhere. We should instead seek and seize present opportunities to make this economy grow. We know, based on radio announcements of AUM’s misguided supporters, that growth in Anguilla means, in their estimation, the expansion of the hotel stock by “one and a half hotels”. We also have evidence that the country is moving towards a system of “one man rule” put in place by this CM. The political pundits here also argue that the dismissal of the Minister of Health confirms this belief. They believe this, they say, because he seems to be the only one among them who had the ability to challenge the CM’s handling of key issues – and that he knew “how barley grow” and how a proper Government functions. That is perhaps, the real reason why he had to go! But in the midst of it all, and in the best interest of all of us, should not the CM go as well?
