By G.A. Dwyer Astaphan
Just days after Labour’s 8:0 victory in the general elections of 2000, then Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister, Basdeo Panday, gave a speech at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in which he congratulated Dr. Denzil Douglas on the election victory.
In that speech, he described our Prime Minister as “the Butcher of Basseterre”.
Although somewhat startled by this graphic description, I took it in the narrow context of the post-election euphoria and left it there.
However, over the ensuing years, it took on a more menacing meaning for me as I observed Dr. Douglas’ modus operandi, whether the victim was a Cabinet member or the Cabinet itself; or a not sufficiently obsequious Labour Party stalwart; or the Labour Party itself, which is no longer a Party that stands on the traditions, values and democratic principles laid down by its founders; or the Labour Union, which has become weaker, and increasingly marginalized and disrespected; or the nation’s Constitution; or the Parliament; or the principles of good governance and integrity in public life; or respect for law and order; or our patrimony.
And the end product of all of this is a nation virtually disembowelled economically, financially and fiscally (and otherwise).
Our situation is well known to all. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its recently published ‘World Economic Outlook’, the growth projections for St. Kitts & Nevis up to the year 2015 are the worst in the entire Caribbean, bar none (see page 162).
Bear in mind also that in its last country report on St. Kitts & Nevis, the IMF stated that if the Government complies strictly with the IMF’s proposed austerity and adjustment measures, and provided that there are no major shocks, our debt-to-GDP ratio might go down from 185% to 140% by the year 2014.
Note that the internationally accepted limit for debt-to-GDP is 60%.
The Government is so broke that the National Bank (whose financial statements are overdue) and Social Security, both of which are tied into its heavy debt, could be exposed. And if, God forbid, that were to happen, our entire financial system could collapse.
The Government is so broke that last week, bad enough the rented generators near the airport were turned off for lack of payment, at least three different sections of a single Ministry were without toilet paper!
It’s so broke that a woman asked me last week, tongue in cheek, if it was true that Dr. Douglas was selling Brimstone Hill to help pay off the national debt! Oh, Lord!
The Government needs money to pay its bills, but because of fiscal butchery it has just about run out of options; so it’s sending people home to cut costs, and at the same time dropping the VAT and the other taxes on them, and on everybody else, from November 1st, 2010.
But had you been informed before the last elections that these things were coming? Of course, not! Which butcher forewarns the flock of what’s to come?
By the way, didn’t he tell you in the Budget Speech that the VAT would replace ten taxes (there’s the number 10 again), giving you the impression that your tax burden would be reduced, or at worst, not increased, in the process? But what he didn’t tell you was that the VAT would be higher than many of the taxes that it was replacing, and that it would hit you with almost every breath you take. And what he also didn’t tell you about was his plan to go into Parliament just days before November 1st and bring back some of those same taxes that he repealed, in one name or form or the other.
But that’s how a butcher operates. He misleads the flock.
Now, Winston Churchill, a former British Prime Minister and a major global figure in the 20th century, once said that “a nation which tries to tax its people into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handles”.
But Dr. Douglas isn’t trying to tax you into prosperity, you know. Prosperity may not be in your cards as a nation for years to come. This is desperation time…survival time. And, ironically, he wants you to believe that he is the one to save you from the calamity that he put you in. And save you by taxing you into deeper poverty.
A highly improbable proposition! Indeed, an authority no less than the IMF itself stated, at page 59 of the said ‘World Economic Outlook’, that in economies with less fiscal breathing room (like ours), “the focus should be on….measures that ease hardship on the poor”.
But who cares?
And after he jumps in and wraps some more taxes around your necks on Tuesday, October 26th, just days before VAT Day, November 1st, don’t fool yourselves into thinking that that’s the end of it - because he has more for you.
For example, you can soon expect increases in electricity rates that will jack up your bills between 30% and 90%.
And next year, don’t be surprised if airport taxes, water rates, licensing fees and hospital fees are increased, and school fees and personal income tax introduced. Don’t be surprised also if the present minimum wage of $8.00 an hour is lowered, and if you see more unemployed foreigners working here illegally and below minimum wage.
Don’t even talk about crime rings promoting fraudulent marriages, citizenships, work permits, visas and visa extensions.
How under God’s heaven will Kittitians and Nevisians be able to survive? And how will we keep our honour and integrity as a people?
And the more we’re compromised and pauperized, the more is given away to others. It’s the flock that has to pay all the time.
I’m told that a hefty sum from the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF), in a move that I’m not sure is permitted by the Foundations Act, was recently loaned to a private, foreign developer.
I’m all for providing incentives and other support. But if an investor is so broke that he needs to borrow money from the Government, worse yet this broke Government, then I see a red flag. And all the more so because the SIDF money is to be used directly for the people of this country, not for someone coming here with starry ideas and empty pockets. If he isn’t bankable in the financial market, then how can he be bankable with the Government?
The taxpayers of this nation need to have all of the details of this deal.
But there’s more.
I’m now hearing of a company named B W Worldwide Inc., described as “a special purpose vehicle incorporated on August 6th, 2010, under the laws of St. Kitts” which is supposed to develop La Vallee as an integrated resort.
What does “special purpose vehicle” mean? Who are the owners of the Company? What is their track record? Where is their money coming from? Are any of them in any way connected to anyone in Government?
Proposed contract terms were allegedly agreed in principle in discussions involving La Vallee Greens Limited (what negotiation experience do directors of la Vallee Greens Limited have at this level?), Directors of B W Worldwide Inc. (again, who are they?) and the Attorney General’s Chambers.
I can understand discussions taking place among those three, but not to the point of reaching agreement, even in principle, until and unless the approval of Cabinet is obtained. And every member of Cabinet must get every detail.
The Agreement relates to the sale of 496 acres of land (all of La Vallee) for US$80 million. No money is to go to La Vallee. Instead, it is to be paid to National Bank which will use it to pay off creditors. That’s a lot of debt.
Are any commissions payable on the deal, and if so, how much and to whom?
B W Worldwide Inc. is to use its “best efforts” to have 60% of its workers being locals, and after the project is completed for that number to rise to 80%. That sounds like a quota system, which is odious. In any case, the term “use its best efforts” mightn’t mean an awful lot.
The 60% figure for construction is based on technical and specialized skills requirements. The public needs to know what special techniques and methods are intended, and also what the essential findings of the Environmental Impact Assessment are.
The concessions sought by B W Worldwide Inc. include restriction-free foreign equity investments. Does that mean that any foreigner can step in and invest, no due diligence necessary by Government, and no licensing necessary, thereby exposing the integrity of both the Government and the people of this country to the scorn and wrath of the world?
That’s part of the butchery of our patrimony that I’m talking about. And it raises a red flag for me, suggesting that La Vallee is now the second potential principality on St. Kitts, sitting at the northern side of the island to balance out the other one sitting at the southern side.
I’m not accusing anybody of anything foul. I’m all for investment, but we need to be careful, especially given the Government’s desperate financial and fiscal state. A desperate butcher can do an awful lot of harm.
B W Worldwide Inc., whoever they are, also want to be totally exempted from all foreign currency restrictions. Has the Government gotten an opinion from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank on this?
They also want to be exempted from VAT, which raises yet another red flag for me, and makes me wonder how much more of a burden the people of this country can be expected to bear.
And as I ponder on these things, I can hear Basdeo Panday’s words, uttered loudly, forcefully, and with the panache and tongue-rolling of the stage actor that he is, as if it was only this morning that he said them.
