“There are lots of benefits of representative government, and its far better than any type of dictatorial system, and it’s far better than a one-man rule situation” (James Bovard).
The events and machinations of the last several weeks surrounding the government in Anguilla are enough to flummox the most knowledgeable of persons, so consider for a moment what it does to the average person trying to make it from one day to the next. We have seen a crab barrel mentality in which the attempts of one to get ahead of the other, trump all moral decency. We have, in the words of retired judge Don Mitchell, resorted to being a frontier state.
One has to ask the question: “What ever happened to the Anguilla of yesteryear? What happened to the once proud people who did not have to put locks on their homes, who greeted you and wanted to know about your family? What happened to the people who looked out for each other? When we look around to see what has happened to our most precious resources, our young children, and what is allowed to happen to them; when we look at what has happened to our infrastructure: when we look around to see the government – in whose hands we placed our trust – behaving in the manner in which they are, then the prospects for a promising future looks very dim indeed.
We are being told that our indigenous banks are insolvent. If that is so, where’s the damn proof. You jokers in the Central Bank and in the government are unbelievable. You want us to accept at face value everything that you’ve fed us. Where’s the evidence? My fellow Anguillians, we have always been an easy going people who really never caused any problems for anyone. When Britain all but ignored us for over 300 years, we still continued to sing Hail Britannia. We tolerated as much as we could of Bradshaw until our backs were against the wall. Well, what else do we need to see happen in order to stand up and fight? If things are allowed to move forward, as our government proposes, we will have been the unwilling victims of one of the largest heists in banking history, and now our existence in our own homeland is being threatened. That we are being advised by the members of the Monetary Council, who themselves have their own problems, is frightening to think of where this could lead.
Many of the leaders in the region are in trouble for one reason or another. Peter Binose, writing in the online paper Caribbean 360.com, had this to say about our leaders: “They’re in trouble because of fiscal ignorance, even fiscal duncemanship. They operate like men with no arms. Ignorant men who could not run a household budget far less manage the finances of a country.” While he was critical of the leaders, the banking industry does not escape his wrath, for he says: “We must also blame the lenders who are driven beyond the realm of ‘for profit’, to that ‘for greed’. Greedy lenders to incompetent and fiscally ignorant and stupid borrowers, whose high debt and low income must be a formula for financial disaster and ruin.” We understand that most banking records are confidential, but we still want to know exactly where we stand.
Last year, Mr. Clement Ruan, a banker, and someone schooled in finance, on his own time, came up with a report called “Anguilla Indigenous Banking Crisis: Suggestions for Consideration as a Way Out.” The report was very specific in that it offered three options as a way forward. The first two were Private Sector management in which the bank would be managed by the Private Sector, with the cooperation of shareholders and a Board of Directors. The second of which was a Public Private Partnership of the Indigenous Banks in which the banks would operate through a joint partnership with the government.
The third and final option was Full Government Control, and therein lies the rub. Mr. Ruan noted in his report that the negative implication of this option far outweighs the perceived immediate and long term benefits. He also noted the consequences, a few of which I’ll mention here: (1) Political cronyism. (2) Government cannot and should not be the owners of a financial institution in which it has some degree of oversight from a regulatory perspective. (3) Full government takeover sends a very negative message to the private sector and across the political, social and economic divide.
Mr. Ruan said that there was ample time to allow the shareholders to exercise their fundamental right and responsibility to address any shortfall in the banks capital. He goes on to say that a full government takeover and management of the institutions is likely to create: (a) The convolution of government agencies (licensing and regulatory) involvement in the affairs of the banks. This creates great potential for information leaks and breach of confidentiality. This can further manifest itself into undetermined negative perception by the public, including investors. (b) Distrust, and brings into question the real reason for the takeover. (c) Erosion of confidence in the spirit of collective endeavor for a single purpose through private enterprise.
So given what we know, what is the real reason behind the rush to amalgamate our banks? Mr. Ruan concludes his presentation by questioning the real purpose for the takeover. Once government owns the banks such ownership opens other options such as further amalgamation with any bank in the region, or elsewhere for that matter, not necessarily with Anguillian or of Anguillian interest. He goes on to say that while this may not be the desire or purpose of government, given the nature of our political relationship with the UK and our constitutional status, local government might be, at the very least, coerced into that direction. This, he says, “might be the UK Government’s way of mitigating perceived potential contingent liability.”
Because of our status as a ‘shipwrecked community,’ we had no choice but to learn how to fend for ourselves. When no one came to our shores, we learned how to build schooners. My father, for one, became an expert shipbuilder, at the feet of an expert. When LIAT stopped coming, we bought and flew our own planes – Clayton Lloyd with Valley Air Service and Jeremiah Gumbs with Anguilla Airways. We flew up and down the Caribbean, while our seafaring captains plied their wares to the B.V.I., the U.S.V.I., Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico. These places are still our trading partners.
Though times have changed we still maintain most, if not all, of our independent spirit but, given what this government has been engaged in, that is about to change – change in ways that will reverberate long after we, the soldiers of ’67, are long gone. I applaud HE Christina Scott, in her refusal to assent to Victor’s Folly, when she said and I quote: “UK ministers and I want to be satisfied that the resolution plan that’s implemented is both affordable to the Government of Anguilla and hence the Anguillian taxpayer who must pay for it now and in the future.”
When are we going to stop this sense of entitlement? Whatever happened to merit? In the old days you earned what you got. Today its ‘who you fer’ or who you know – and what unsavory task you had to perform in order to move up. We have to start looking out for our own people. Instead of belittling them, we ought to build them up. Instead of taxing them to death, we ought to be trying to get our economy going. It is said that a rising tide floats all boats. Instead of this government trying its damndest best to take Anguilla away from Anguillians, it should be fighting tooth and nail to ensure that each and everyone has an opportunity to hold on to his or her property. After all, that is what makes us unique. The Brits helped the Irish when their banks collapsed. As a member of the British Commonwealth, are we not entitled to the same considerations?
Our history is rife with examples of conflict of interest, the most egregious of which was a former CM being allowed to be Chairman of the board at CCB. Another that will have reverberations, for decades to come, is the current CM being allowed to deal with the indigenous banking crisis given that he was the Minister of Finance back in 2009 when he allegedly signed off, along with the then CM Fleming, to amalgamate the banks. Will those in charge simply sit by and allow us to loose our wealth because of ineptitude? When will we include everyone?
We have lots of problems, the least of which are our indigenous banks. If Anguilla is to succeed as a country, we have got to change our ways. The systems that we have in place obviously don’t work. We have to discard that crab barrel mentality – we have got to stand up and be counted. We have got to speak up and let those who would treat us like trash know that we are mad as hell and we won’t take it anymore. The job of a government is to look after its people.
Maybe the fact that the Governor has not assented to the complete budget bill is a sign that all is definitely not well and that there is someone out there who is willing to stand up for what is right and just – someone who knows deep down that you can’t get blood from stone. So till next time, may God bless us all and may God continue to bless Anguilla.
