By G.A. Dwyer Astaphan
The severity of the political and economic situation in our Federation was dramatically underscored for me as I read a document which was said to be a copy of the 77-page Power Point presentation of Professor Neville Duncan at last Sunday’s Labour Party Conference.
In the said presentation, he painted a very gloomy global picture and then narrowed down to provide his prescription for St. Kitts & Nevis if we are to become globally competitive.
The first 37 pages of the presentation were devoted to the external picture, and the remaining 40 pages to St. Kitts & Nevis.
Dr. Duncan described the United States economy as “a bubble economy”; one which grows in an upward spiral of multiple rising bubbles such as real estate, stocks, private debt, discretionary spending, the dollar and government debt.
He referred to the bursting of the real estate, stock market, private debt and the discretionary spending bubbles as the “bubble-quake”.
And he went on to suggest that whoever thinks that the worst was over was wrong, because by the year 2013 the world would witness “the bubble-shock, when the dollar bubble and the government debt bubble will burst”, creating the ‘after-shock’ of “a mega-depression worldwide”.
Say what???!!!
Facing this global crisis would have been tough enough had we been in good fiscal shape. But with a national debt of close to $3 billion (which, if shared equally among all of us, would mean that each citizen, including you, your 80-year-old grandmother and your 4-year old child, is saddled with over $60,000.00 of this debt), with a debt-to-GDP ratio of over 175%, and with harsh measures, including what may well be a 20% VAT, shortly to be upon us, the people of this country will have to take the moral and intellectual initiative to ensure that this purgatory does not turn into a hell.
I can only imagine what effect Dr. Duncan’s chilling message might have had on the hundreds of people who had gone to the Marriott Hotel. Not to be troubled on that good Sunday morning by a stern message, but rather to be in an environment orchestrated to foster an unquestioning endorsement of a perilous and self-degrading status quo.
But maybe many of them weren’t listening.
He started out on St. Kitts & Nevis by saying: “You know you cannot borrow, tax and spend your way to prosperity”.
He advised that our ability to compete in this very tough global economy would depend critically on:
1. our education;
2. our knowledge and proper use of science and technology;
3. our political stability;
4. our value systems;
5. our infrastructure; and
6. the efficiency of our Government and our private sector.
He mentioned some of the challenges which we face.
One was the culture of our state organizations which, he said needed to be “output-conscious, purpose-driven and customer-centred...” in order to become “a productive, value-creating public sector”.
Another challenge was political corruption which, he urged, should not be allowed to become widespread in our society.
And while he was careful to say that he was not “describing the public and private sector institutions in St. Kitts & Nevis as being mired in corruption”, he nevertheless called for the strengthening of “laws, institutions and procedures to guard against this ever taking place here”.
Yet with all of that said, he mentioned the word “corrupt” or “corruption” eleven times.
And ‘Stamping out All Vestiges of Political Corruption’ was the second longest section of his presentation, taking up 13 of the 40 pages dedicated to local matters.
So he was clearly not dealing with it in an en passant manner, but instead as a key issue requiring the serious and urgent attention of Labour Party supporters and the people of St. Kitts & Nevis.
And he went on: “When a party is into its second, much less its fourth, term in office, much administrative and political behaviour that deviates from accepted norms begins to look normal. This is a really dangerous situation.”
He said that political corruption:
1. is corrosive of the social fabric as it become ingrained throughout the society in all of our great institutions; it lowers tax revenues;
2. inflates the cost of public services and distorts the allocation of resources in the private sector;
3. humiliates the ordinary citizen and weakens the State;
4. slows social progress;
5. hampers economic development;
6. drives up prices for goods and services;
7. leads to a society where economic and political decisions are warped; and
8. creates a society which is unequal and unfair.
By this time in his presentation, Dr. Duncan might have had his hosts really wondering.
But he ploughed on, speaking of the erosion of values and integrity in all facets of society, and calling for a holistic approach in order to eradicate corruption and to achieve political and societal transformation.
In this process, he said that government would have to play a leading role in partnership and alliances with right-thinking and acting persons and groups in our society, because, in his own words, “those law-makers and business persons who are corrupt are incapable of regulating themselves”.
Strong language, and a strong message.
Dr. Duncan concluded his presentation by saying: “Bless your leaders. May they prepare a dynamic group of women and men to replace themselves as appropriate and timely in this fourth term. Then will the Party renew its strength, and, like eagles, its members will sprout new wings and soar to new heights of glory.”
Could Dr. Duncan have been any more blunt, as he dished out a healthy dose of reality to his audience and to the nation?
The picture is clear. Professor Duncan says that the world economy is in trouble, and that the economic survival and success of St. Kitts & Nevis hinges critically upon certain measures being taken.
And he called upon the Labour Party to bring in leadership replacements “in this fourth term”.
This is a crisis which requires our best intelligence and our strongest will and determination, so that corrective and protective measures might be taken for now and for the future.
But we would be very foolish and naïve if we were to expect the small cabal of perpetrators who have messed up things locally to now become the architects of the solution
It is all about the urgency of now.
Let’s see what the Labour Party and the country will do.
Enough, already.
