“A Betrayal of Trust”
WHAT HAPPENED at the CARICOM Intercessional Meeting last week in St. Vincent and the Grenadines was an outright betrayal of trust of the people of the Caribbean. CARICOM was given a chance to show the people of the region that it could play a meaningful role in upholding constitutional standards in the Caribbean and show the people of the world that they could take the higher road and provide the example so desperately needed in an age of corruption and megalomania.
What CARICOM showed instead was that it was no more than a gathering of dubious politicians fighting for their own survival and that there was not an once of principled leadership among them. One wonders whether the absence of term limits shifts the focus of politicians from seeing what role they could play in contributing to building an exemplary integrated Union to fighting for their own survival in insular power struggles.
Present Chairman of CARICOM and Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves was faced with a decision that he resolved with purely political overtones. Nationals of St. Kitts know that he was the invited Speaker to Douglas’ Labour Convention in St. Kitts. At that meeting he tried to convince Kittitians that Douglas was the best thing for them – his speech was superficial and purely political...e.g he stated that he was so ‘Labour’ that if you cut him, ‘Labour’ would come out.
Then in St. Vincent the Opposition of St. Kitts was supported by his Opposition at home. So his statement on the entire issue was that the issue was merely political and he shifted the emphasis to lauding Douglas for 25 years of leadership. He lauded the QUANTITY of years he served and turned his back on the QUALITY of service. And it was clear that the others in the Boys’ Club of CARICOM, fighting their own political battles at home, did not dare give support to an Opposition Group, the likes of which they, too, were fighting in their own backyards.
For some time now, there have been queries as to whether CARICOM was playing any meaningful role which would advance the people of the Caribbean....some countries have even wondered whether it made any sense remaining in CARICOM. The people on the ground were not feeling the benefits CARICOM might be bestowing on them; there were disputes over free movement; there were accusations of insularity at ports; the ‘fast ferry’ which would have boosted integration, turned out to be mere talk and this latest debacle in St. Kitts and the upholding of the principles of Democracy re the delaying of a motion of no confidence did not qualify for their attention.
Yet, they do not find matters of Ukraine to be an ‘internal matter’ , nor do the disputes in Venezuela, Haiti nor the Dominican Republic... how are the people of the Caribbean to countenance this betrayal of trust when it comes to the upholding of democracy at home. CARICOM is given to making statements that will give them a presence on the world stage, but when it comes to solving problems here at home do not go looking for them for members of a Boys’ Club do not ‘snitch’.
The present actions of the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis have become erratic and self-serving and if he were an American politician, he would be accused of undermining democracy in his home state. His actions create great instability in the nation. By allowing him to disregard the checks and balances the Constitution provides via the presentation of a Motion of No Confidence CARICOM has held wide open the path to Dictatorship that any member can now take. Does CARICOM therefore consist of a club of potential dictators?
SHAME ON YOU CARICOM! WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU STAND FOR?
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