National Debt Me A…? No, National Debt We A…!

By G.A. Dwyer Astaphan

His intention was to dismiss concerns about the then massive national debt (which has since become even more massive).

And in the heat of the campaign, with his tail high up on his back, and with a wildly enthusiastic audience standing in front of him, leaning and beaming, on his every word, he screamed: “National Debt Me A...!”

The last incomplete word refers to that part of the human anatomy known as the buttocks, derriere, bum or backside.

And for a large number of supporters, what the PM said was okay in terms of message, choice of words, and style.

“What national debt? De Boss paying the debt on time. No problem.”

Mind you, the total debt was around EC$2 billion, the debt-to-GDP ratio was near 200%, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was already voicing its concern and calling on the PM and his Government to take remedial steps. If you wish to have confirmation on this, just search the internet for the IMF Article IV Reports on St. Kitts & Nevis for those years, and read.

Yet, in spite of that, there he was in 2004, the man under whose  stewardship as PM and Minister of Finance our nation had fallen into serious fiscal difficulties, playing  politics and convincing the majority of  Party faithfuls, and many other people, that there was nothing to worry about.

National Debt, Me A…!

Even today, despite so much blatant evidence to the contrary, he is still able to convince people in St. Kitts & Nevis on this issue. This is because many of us still choose to throw ourselves, our children and our nation into darkness by being blind, unquestioning, gullible supplicants to our leaders.

It is my honest opinion that Dr. Douglas would never have survived as long as he has as leader of the Labour Party and our nation had it not been for this darkness.
I’m sure that you’ve heard at least one person say something like: “If me Leader wrong, he still right; and if he right, he righteous.”

And while we choose to see nothing wrong in our leader, we also choose to see nothing right in persons who question and challenge our leader.

So, as far as Labour people are concerned, Denzil Douglas is righteous and Lindsey Grant is corrupt, while PAM people see it in the reverse.

The truth is (and I’m generalizing here) neither side really wants transparency and accountability; at least not from its own leader, only from leader of the other side. But that can’t work. It’s either you are transparent and accountable or not. There’s no half-way or three-quarter-way to it. It’s like pregnancy. You’re either pregnant or not!

Labour people need to understand that if their leader refuses to account to them for transactions involving Lex Consulting, or, worse still, if they fail to demand from him an accounting, then they have lost their moral authority to demand or expect transparency, good governance and democracy, and they must leave Mr. Grant and PAM alone.

If, after 15 years in power, they fail to realize that there is still no Integrity in Public Life legislation because, and only because, their leader and the tight cabal around him have no appetite for it, then they have no interest in transparency, good governance and democracy, and  they must leave Mr. Grant and PAM alone.

Further, if they fail to see that their leader has taken liberties with the nation’s Constitution, its Parliament and its Court, and if they fail to grasp the implications of that, then they have certainly blinded themselves into a state of intellectual and civic degenerateness, and they must leave Mr. Grant and PAM alone.

And if Labour people fail to voice their dissatisfaction and their indignation: (a) when, in this day and age, and with all of the talk about Kittitians and Nevisians being educated, trained and empowered, people are walking freely into our country from mainland China, robbing the Customs, selling $5.00 ‘poison’ called lunch, or operating mini marts and installing and repairing air conditioners (which locals can and should be doing), and if the Immigration and other authorities try to do their work they are told to back off; or (b) when totally self-serving, personally favoured locals get taxi plates solely because that is a ‘smart’ way for them to have duty-free vehicles; or (c) when personally favoured locals are protected against prosecution as they run up hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars of debt to the Government (which is debt to the people of this nation, eh, not personal debt to the PM which he can turn a blind eye to), or threaten people as they please, or sexually molest women, or sell contraband to cruise ship people; then Labour people have lost their backbones and their souls, and they must leave Mr. Grant and PAM alone.

By the same token, if PAM supporters continue to argue that the Marriott incident was not a serious problem for Mr. Grant and for the integrity and credibility of their Party, then they must leave Dr. Douglas and Labour alone.

And if they choose to dismiss out of hand the voiced concerns, and the persons, of Glenroy Blanchette, Roy Fleming, Bernard Welch, Junie Hodge and Louie Williams, then they must take ‘a dose of hush’ and leave Dr. Douglas and Labour alone.

Right now, ‘Abba’ is no better than ‘Sabba’. And that’s why, as an economy, a body politic and a society, we have lost our way.

We are divided, demoralized and weak. And when we take a stand, it’s rarely to defend principle; instead, it’s to defend somebody who is enjoying the darkness which we choose for ourselves.

And through all of this, our national debt has grown, and grown, and grown.

Yet, he insists, “National Debt, Me A…!”

But guess what! Something is happening.

People are beginning to wake up. I don’t know the exact reason or reasons for this.
Maybe it’s the let-down after the hyped-up elections, or maybe it’s people saying that they have heard one lie too many, or seen one shenanigan too many from the top.

Maybe it’s the high cost of living and the threat of it getting even higher come November 1st.

Maybe it’s the outrage that people are feeling with the way in which VAT is being pushed down their throats, or their discovery that, like a thief in the night, the PM wants to sneak into Parliament at the end of this month to pass the VAT law while Culturama is in the air, in the hope that he will divert their attention and dilute any political fallout.

Maybe it’s the anxiety among the selected 55-year-olds (many of them with a number of dependents) who are to be retired by September 1st, or among the Port workers as to which 150-200 of them  are to be made redundant very shortly, or among the 750-plus persons on the YES program (which has achieved its objective; remember “It’s Working”?) who are being sent home, not to mention the hundreds more from the private sector who, over the next 3-12 months, may be out of work.

Maybe it’s the many business owners who fear that 12 months from now they may be out of business.

And none of the 1,000-plus public sector workers will get comfort at being told that their PM is in Libya right now begging for money to pay them off as they are put out of work and sent home. Yes, they want money, but they also want jobs.

They and their families will also want to know what criteria are being used to select them for the chopping block as against others. And for that too, there are likely to be political consequences.

They are already wondering how, just six months after they allowed him to keep his job, he is now, without fair notice and warning, moving to take away their jobs.

And they will now better and bitterly understand the crassness and callousness of  his “National Debt, Me A…” comment. He who feels it, knows it!

What will become of them and their families? What about the macro-economic and social fallout? We’re looking at the loss of over 1,000 jobs in the public sector alone!

Whatever the reason or reasons for this awakening, something is definitely happening. More and more people are expressing their disappointment, disagreement and disaffection.

One young man, a strong Labour supporter, engaged me in conversation this past week. He told me that he was a regular reader of my articles and that he found much food for thought in them. I thanked him.

Then he brought up the ‘National Debt, Me A...’ comment, saying that he too had come to realize how crude, callous, disrespectful, manipulative, dishonest, irresponsible, reckless and self-serving it was.

Yes, it had taken him a long time to get the picture, but better late than never. And as he spoke, it was clear to me that he would never again see Dr. Douglas in the same light.

Later that day, another Labour supporter, who is a civil servant, engaged me in a similar conversation. She was to receive an increment shortly, but she heard that increments are to be put on hold. And she’s upset.

Moreover, she has a 55-year-old relative who is in line to be sent home from the Civil Service in two months; a resourceful, skilled, decent man and a bread-winner for a number of persons.

She told me that while she and her relative worked hard and honestly for the Government, she would be getting no increment and he would be going home, but Dr. Douglas, and others in the public service who were in high favour, would be okay, one way or another.

She noted that not only are we in fiscal trouble because of the national debt, but that we are in all kinds of trouble because of it.

She said that there isn’t enough money to maintain, far less enhance, our health and education systems; or a proper land management program; or watershed management, coastal management and sewage systems; or our airport and seaport; or our roads; or our Government buildings and other facilities; or our tourism infrastructure, marketing and product development programs; or our electricity supply (another  major, long-standing and still unresolved failure of Dr. Douglas’ leadership that will haunt this nation, particularly St. Kitts, for years to come); or our national security.

She said: “Now I understand! What he was really saying with his 'National Debt, Me A…' comment was that he didn’t give a damn, because many times since that I have heard him say that neither the national debt nor crime is his fault. Nothing, it seems, is his fault, but in the end, whoever is at fault, it’s our backsides that are on the line."
 
“So, Mr. Astaphan, it’s not ‘National Debt, Me A…’ It’s ‘National Debt, We A…!’ Perhaps if we had chosen not to be so blind, we might have avoided this mess”, she added.

‘National Debt, We A…’ Indeed.