By T. Coreentje Phipps
During the campaign leading up to the January 2010 federal elections in St. Kitts and Nevis, the People's Action Movement embarked on a mission to sensitize the electorate on three "destructive" C's looming dangerously over our federation: High Crime, High Cost of Living and High or Heightened Corruption. The opposition sought to demonstrate how the economic, social and political health of our nation has been affected by these three C's. Over one year since the national elections have come and gone, the high "C's continue to rage ferociously beyond the control of our leaders. The overall social outlook begs the question, are our politicians truly problem solvers or are they merely opportunity seekers?
High Crime
Crime remains a major social handicap which government has been sorely challenged to resolve. The alarming increase in crime, given the marked reduction in the resources necessary to fight crime, makes the outlook for crime fighting seem extremely daunting.
What do we say to our leaders, safely nestled in their sprawling nooks? Is there greater hope that things will turn around or is there heightened horror?
One cannot help but admire and appreciate the efforts with which many of our people banded together to find the thugs who sought to bring a bad name to our nation; the same thugs who staged a frightening robbery of tourists, depriving them of their possessions and their sense of safety, one sunny November morning in 2010. Citizens the world over seemed to have risen to the challenge once news of this unbecoming criminal act spread. We fed the police with information and encouraged our families and friends to jump on line, visit the USA Today website, and vote a resounding NO to the poll question that asked if the Carnival cruise line should pull out of St. Kitts. No one wanted to see their beloved nation's name further maligned by the dastardly acts of these alleged young criminals, so we took a stand. As a result of due diligence of the public and the police, several suspects were nabbed and taken into custody as the culprits who conspired against the unsuspecting victims. What a display of patriotism!
But shouldn't this be the same passion with which we throw ourselves in the ocean of "solution finding" when a ‘Saga’ from Sandypoint gets shot in his face or an Angela Estridge gets gunned down while chilling in her home, or a young woman is assaulted on a leisurely walk home, or known thugs just sap the life of a Newtown youth... Bang! Bang! Bang?
Is crime a heightening phenomenon, fueled by our inaction and not just our limited resources? Is the urgency to solve a crime based on social status? While the heights to which crime climbs rests squarely at the feet of the head of the nation, the Honourable Denzil L. Douglas, it seems we have to become advocates for our own safety. It seems we the people must agitate fearlessly, staying the course that will let our leaders know how much we loathe feeling like hostages in our own homes.
It is disconcerting that the number of homicides and attempted homicides continue to increase. It should not sit well with us that one individual declares a nation his stomping ground, touting the good that we accomplish as a nation, yet skillfully passes the buck with regard to our crime woes. The fight against increasing crime is painful in more ways than one.
High Cost of Living
The staggering world economic morass has not been kind to our Kittitian and Nevisian people. Like our peers overseas, many families have difficulty keeping a roof over their heads, difficulty buying food, difficulty buying clothing, difficulty paying the bills and difficulty just living the "federation dream". There are seemingly too many exorbitant costs that threaten the survival of many of our families.
In our Kittitian and Nevisian mix, we don't need the IMF to tell us how economically strapped we are. It is becoming more expensive for manufacturers to produce and ship goods to consumers, thanks in part to a burnt out economy and instability in the Middle East - the hub for “ALL mighty” oil - and the entire global economy.
While goods and service providers pass on these noticeably skyrocketing costs to us, our salaries remain frozen and in many cases, jobs are slashed. We can't pretend that families aren't facing tougher times.
Now that elections are done, politicians who mislead us into thinking our nation was basking in a sea of wealth should now lead the charge to help us with the debt relief we need. Who else but our government should lead the charge to relieve us financially rather than tax us heavily in the name of lowering the mismanaged national debt?
Isn't it ironic that because of political differences, we will look at the same economic data and draw totally different conclusions? Isn't it to our own economic demise that two political parties will have the same numerical facts but will choose to assess and interpret them differently for the sake of political mileage? Falsifying our economic outlook doesn't make the future look brighter.
The campaign to rid our federation of a fast growing impoverished people will require a committed involvement from the "haves" as the "have nots" will certainly be waiting at their gates to pander whatever morsel they can. We can “cuss” all we want but when people face desperate times there is no telling what they will resort to. There is nothing appealing about the high cost of living.
Heightening Corruption
As much as people cry out about the economic strain in which we find ourselves as a nation, it is unbelievable that our politicians have gone to parliament to sign bills that tax us further but will not repeal bills that help to fatten their pockets as we collectively try to dumb down the ballooning national debt; the same debt that we are told to tighten our belts for in the name of financial responsibility and overall economic recovery.
There has been much buzz about our leader and his involvement with Lex Consulting. There has been just as much talk about the sale of lands to high bidding investors for fancy kickbacks, the seemingly dormant/defunct La Valle project, and a host of other corrupt allegations. The more one studies these claims reeling in the court of public opinion, the more one wonders if this is all a "fabrication of lies"! Is this all a personal attack on the man who loves his people?
It is difficult to believe that a leader - a lover of the masses - can be so enthused by his love for power that he will pocket millions for himself and his family and well off buddies and disregard the suffering of his "beloved" people, not even offering to take a pay cut for himself or his cabinet.
This cannot be our leader who was born from the belly of poverty at a home in St. Pauls where today poverty still has its hold on many of its villagers.
This cannot be our leader who now sits at the altar of political power in a position to reciprocate and to do so handsomely, given his social ranking. The problem is however that the modus operandi in public service now seems to be, "Leave the public guessing. Disregard accountability and transparency in public life (some people too grudge and need to mind dey business anyway)". And the beat goes on…
While many might have been "hungry for change" from this type of leadership to a leader who would be ready to attack these "high C's" in earnest, we found instead an alternative who “entertained’ committing the high deed of corruption himself. It was certainly no candid camera moment at the Marriott in January 2010 for the leader of the People's Action Movement, Lindsay Grant. The image, whether real or fictitious, will remain with him for the rest of his political career and will likely continue to haunt the opposition's chance of being a relevant contender in any election. Corruption has its price and it's not only government that has come to learn this.
Is it possible that the “C” in complacency, coupled with an overall lack of enthusiasm and vision have found a home in the halls of government? Will the most important “C” of all C’s, our beloved COUNTRY, matter more than a constituency re-zoning project, geared only at acquiring more votes in an election? When opposition wins at drawing attention to the ill effects of the high C’s yet fails to ride the backs of government to slay these "high C’s", it might be left to the common citizen on the streets of Basseterre and Charlestown, brought painfully to his LOWEST LOW, to act.
