In last week’s The Anguillian, on the back page, there was an article headed “Closed Bathrooms at Island Harbour Beach”. My initial response on reading the article was one of relief. The Anguillian had joined the cause of the people and, in pointing to the lack of an essential service in Island Harbour, would hopefully persuade the political powers to act quickly to resolve the problem and to act in a non-partisan way.
The speed of response and the whirlwind of decisions, however, stunned even me. Within hours after publication a tank was put in, a pump installed and the entire facility painted. All this action in the wake of numerous complaints which had been lodged by restauranteurs and residents to various persons in government, over the course of several months.
I must commend the former representative, Kenneth Harrigan, for being a hero and for repeatedly lending his voice to the cause. I must also commend the many public servants who were willing to provide guidance when Ministers failed to keep appointments with me as agreed.
The Select Committee formed by the House on my initiative to address District One developmental issues also failed to deliver and did not positively influence the political practice of minimising the representation of an elected member who is not part of the governing party.
What was ludicrous, though, was the lineup for the photo shoot midday on Monday. All the relevant ministers and advisers were there to celebrate the success they had previously obstructed, whether by neglect or by culpable omission.
I had raised the issue with the relevant authorities weeks ago, and was making slow but sure progress towards achieving a solution. At least I believed I was; but the alacrity with which government responded to The Anguillian having drawn attention to the situation suggests that obstruction for political purposes may have run deeper than even I could have imagined.
Following the several maze challenges which led to Anglec’s reconnection, and just when Permanent Secretary Foster Rogers had identified a water tank that could be placed on the site, one of the AUF’s main political operatives paid me a visit to castigate me for interfering with their proposal to fix the problems, for having accepted an unsightly tank and for having directed its placement without requisite knowledge or authority.
It turned out that “their” proposal to fix the problem had involved the government purchasing a different tank from an interested private individual. All of this was without my knowledge, as none of the public officers I dealt with, nor the Special Adviser or any other AUF associate shared any of this information with me. These were all matters that delayed rather than expedited resolution of the problem.
What was most distressing was that senior department officials were not comfortable sharing information about the project with me. No doubt this was because of fears arising out of what they perceived as partisan conflicts. When I spoke with Cardigan Connor about his involvement and enquired what steps he had taken to resolve the environmental health challenges, he was quick to point out that he had to travel abroad and had lost track of the progress made.
What was the real cause of the delays which held up the resolution of the public rest rooms challenge? On the face of it we could say it was the electrical connection post Hurricane Irma, the lack of water storage, vandalism, the need to replace the tank, the pump and ancillary fittings. Some public officers offered that it was challenges to do with procurement, with different accounting and charging scenarios they were required to follow, and the list of excuses was even more extensive. But what is clear to me is that it was the desire to undermine the democratically elected representative and to create a false reality that would allow for AUF political contenders and a Special Adviser to government to usurp the constitutional role of the currently elected representative.
It is a sad day when even the Deputy Governor is misled by political opportunists into disregarding proper protocol and bypassing the elected representative of the District concerned. He too may have been frustrated by the lack of progress since January, when the issue was first considered by executive Council, and wanted to fix the problem. He may well have been driven to secure the interests of the people ahead of the interests of any political party. I shall be satisfied, whatever his motivation, provided – and this is an important proviso – none of those involved in this shameful scam are allowed to profit from it. Some of them have already profited out of all proportion by being paid for bringing their equipment in for hurricane cleanup. In stark contrast, I had spent many thousands of dollars of my own money on providing youth with employment cleaning up in my District in the immediate aftermath of the Hurricane, having been expressly denied any government contribution towards the employment of people who would otherwise have had nothing to do that was useful. I have been made aware of further profiteering at the expense of government (and therefore at the expense of the people) that is planned in respect of this project. Those behind it, who have not been named, should beware! Any more shenanigans will come at a high price.
Party before People OR People before Party?
The answer to that rhetorical question is of course a no-brainer. And even the perpetrators of what amounts to fraud know it. But they attach less value to integrity than to opportunism. The words of our national song apparently mean nothing to them: “Let truth and right our banner be, we’ll march ever on”.
The refusal to include the elected representative in Festival Del Mar’s planning or in the Welches community festival is clearly for the same reason. Such opportunism will continue to exact a heavy cost on the best interests of the people and limit the best options for community development. In short, if it continues it will undermine our sustainability and our opportunity to build a coherent and caring community. For purely party political advantage some political contenders have no compunction in disrespecting the democratic decision of the electorate and in sowing disharmony where there needs to be mutual support and caring. And they appear to be willing to do so quite blatantly, with no apparent shame.
What a difference it would have made if all the well intentioned players had galvanised their contributions and effort around the single challenge of having the restrooms clean and open to the public at the earliest possible opportunity. What if the Ministers and senior public servants were free to reach out to the elected representative to share thoughts ideas and resources, without their party members or political leaders thinking they had abandoned ship or were disloyal in doing so? What if we had all together committed to wow our restauranteurs, our patrons, our fishermen and our residents with our speed of action and our non-partisan commitment to the common good? The results and the positivism we would have generated might well have been overwhelming. Food for a brighter future.
