CHAPTER 2:12
“I sticking wid me local people!”
By Ron Daniel
I am a proud National of St Kitts and Nevis. I hold no other citizenship and want no other. As our nation approaches 25 years of independence it has grown into what is now the envy of many when it comes to our tourism product, our record on human rights, the industry of our people, its proud democracy, our excellent literacy rate, our comparatively low crime rate inter alia. We have cause to big up our chest and realize that although we have not yet arrived, we have made great strides. It is on this backdrop that I write to register my deep disgust with our people who always tend to think that if it is from overseas, that it is better. We think for some strange reason that we need to hire a foreigner to help us manage a certain company or that we need to hire a foreign company to do a project that a local company can do. This article serves to defiantly debunk that myth by showing how we as a people are just as capable.
One of the most nauseating developments in our Federation to me is when we go outside to hire a General Manager or a Manager when we have someone here who is equally capable to do the job and in many cases has applied for the job. Let me make the distinction here that there are times when we absolutely need a non-local to perform a certain task or function but most of the times we do not. The Honourable Dwyer Astaphan in his sagacity, sometime back when he was Minister of Labour introduced legislation that provided that vacant positions had to be advertised in the local media for a certain period of time, before a non-local could occupy the position. The thinking behind the legislation was to ensure that the locals had the first bite at all vacancies and that if the locals for one justifiable reason or another, could not meet the requirements, that the vacancy would be filled by someone overseas in the best interests of said company. However as with other legislation, some companies have managed to find a backdoor where they basically already have offered the job to John Clinton from the USA but advertise locally and refuse Denzil Flemming from St. Pauls because they know that they want to hire John Clinton who has work experience at Microsoft on their resume to manage their IT Department. So although Denzil Flemming from St Paul’s has all his certifications from Microsoft and CISCO, he is refused for John Clinton. Howevever it is often times the case that when John Clinton arrives in Nevis, we realize that he does not know the difference between a keyboard and a monitor and really worked at a McDonalds next to Microsoft and not really at Microsoft.
The most upsetting aspect of the whole matter is that companies would hire Hillary Mc Cain from Illinois USA and pay her USD $8000.00 per month, in addition to a relocation allowance, housing allowance, unlimited cell phone usage, a brand new vehicle with traveling allowance, all other benefits afforded to company employees in addition to gratuity at the end of the contract. However if Lindsay Martin from Old Road comes to the company and applies for the same management job, he will get no more than EC $6000.00 with no housings allowance and no relocation allowance because as far as they are concerned Lindsay Martin from Old Road is not good enough.
In the end, companies end up paying close to three times as much money to Hillary McCain from Illinois because they refuse to give Lindsay Martin from Old Road the job and or the same pay. We have seen it over and over again in Nevis for sure and I am sure the same applies in St Kitts. Why is it that the local man can’t make just as much money as the non-local did when he assumes the post that the non-local person previously had? I think it is a slap in the face of all our people when we do this. It sends the message that although we have come far as a nation and although, we are just as skilled and just as well educated in certain tasks that we still do not feel that our very own people have arrived. There are some boards in this country who refuse to promote a Lindsay Martin to the post of GM although he deserves it because they do not want Lindsay Martin to be making more money than they make in their day to day jobs while it is okay for Hillary Mc Cain from Illinois to make more than them. Where is our national pride? Where is our sense of belief in our national’s ability to perform? Where is our love for our fellowman? Are we more concerned about putting a lid on the upward mobility of our very own while elevating others from a different country? The funny thing is that while we in St Kitts Nevis do not believe in each other’s ability to manage and hold big jobs, there is copious evidence in other countries where our very own nationals hold very significant positions and are cherished by their employers. While we here are doing our best to frustrate the efforts of our own, there are nationals of St Kitts Nevis in the Diaspora who are being praised daily by their employees whom they manage. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr; we need to lift ourselves from the quick sand of disunity to the solid rock of brotherhood.
Similarly we are quick to award the website contract for our business to Websites International instead of dealing with the expert team of webmasters at SKNVibes.com. In many cases then you give Website International the job to do your website and they give you a website that lacks functionality and appeal yet you are stuck with them although you do not know who the people are. You would have overlooked SKNVibes.com; a company that personifies prompt, professional and proficient service, simply because they are locals and you feel that they cannot be as good as Website International. If there is a problem that you need rectified, SKNVibes.com is here living in and amongst you while on the other hand when you call the number for Website International to report a fault you either here that the number no longer exists, or that the people want to charge you thousands more dollars to make a simple change or you find that they simply do not have the time to deal with you. While I have only spoken of a case in the website development field, the same applies across the board where we don’t buy from Caribelle Batik or Brown Sugar but we buy from target.com and jcpenny.com. We refuse to give Island Mouldings the jobs to do our mouldings and doors but we order them from out of Florida.
I believe that as a nation we have come far enough for us to realize that we are not backward people. While most of us are not Rhodes Scholars, we do have people here with lots of expertise, experience, education, exposure and enterprise. We ought not to overlook these locals who end up contributing to our very same economy to fulfill any self-serving, sadistic, sickening motives that we may have. While I am all for the CSME and the infusion of non-locals to aid in productivity, they should not be hired unless there is a more than justifiable cause. Other than that, I sticking wid me local people!
