By G.A. Dwyer Astaphan
In my last article, I stated that Denzil Douglas was playing ‘hoop’ (hide and seek), and that in my next article I would outline the plan to catch him.
But before we go there, let us help the doubting Thomases see why Denzil is playing hoop. In fairness, however, I must also say that nobody plays hoop by himself or herself, so all of us who, individually and collectively, have been playing the game with him are to be blamed for not stepping up to the plate and catching him before.
But better late than never.
Let us start at the top.
Denzil has played hoop with the Governor-General with his apparent disregard for Section 57 of our nation’s Constitution, which states that the Prime Minister “shall keep the Governor-General fully informed concerning the general conduct of the Government, and shall furnish the Governor-General with such information as he may request with respect to any particular matter for which the Government is responsible”.
In addition, he has played hoop with the Constitution in a number of ways, all to the detriment of democracy, good governance and plain old fairness.
He has played hoop with the Deputy Prime Minister for fifteen years by leaving the country without informing and briefing him, and by excluding him from a number of matters in which the Deputy should have been involved.
He has played hoop with other Ministers by emasculating the Cabinet, and by undermining and marginalizing them in their own ministries, with his little network of moles and informants.
He has played hoop with the electoral process by willfully refusing to install a transparent and fair system which ensures that a person votes only in the constituency in which he or she actually lives, and which prevents people from shifting their voter registrations from one island to the other between Federal Elections and Nevis Island Elections.
He has played hoop with the people of this country by willfully refusing to pass laws to govern integrity in public life and freedom of information. What is he afraid of?
He played hoop with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for ten years as it urged him to take certain measures to avert fiscal and economic meltdown, but he kept delaying in order to win elections. And now that he’s cornered, we are getting choked for his ten years of playing hoop with the IMF.
He has played hoop with the Labour Party, hijacking it and destroying its philosophical and democratic foundation, and turning it into his personal whipping boy. Likewise with the Labour Union, which is limping and weak.
He has played hoop with public sector workers and with the private sector.
He has played a lot of hoop with the people of Central Basseterre during my years as the Representative, and I will address this in time.
He has played hoop with the media whom he brushes off, and even insults and threatens to throw out of press conferences when they ask what he considers to be “stupid” questions.
Indeed, he plays hoop with anybody who asks the hard questions and presses the issues to him.
A perfect example of this took place on Tuesday’s (January 18th) ZIZ Radio Show ‘Ask the PM’ when, in answering a caller’s question about my ongoing critique of his leadership, he sought to depict my commentaries as being ridiculous and myself as being filled with hatred, grudge, envy, covetousness and so on. He even referred to the Cardinal Sins!
Then he went on to say:“I don’t have time to waste with the Astaphans of St.Kitts & Nevis”.
It seems that as far as Denzil is concerned, people who criticize or question him in any serious way hate, begrudge or envy him, and may even be guilty of all of the Cardinal Sins.
Then he dismisses them by saying that he does not have time to waste with them.
And this man is the leader of our nation! What a frightening disposition!
He holds the country’s position of highest public trust and accountability, yet he is not to be questioned, and he is not to be pressed to act in accordance with the highest standards of transparency, accountability, good governance and democracy. And if you are bold and crazy enough to question or press him, he will have no time to waste with you. You will be dismissed, because he only has time for those who tow his line in a spineless, pliant manner.
Clearly it is not only the Astaphans of St.Kitts & Nevis that Denzil won’t be having time for.
Because there are thousands of families who, just one year after all of the hype, the assurances and the buoyancy of the January 25th, 2010 ‘Carnival’ have now had their breadwinners sent home; their children (college and high school graduates, and others) unable to get jobs; student loans gathering interest; resources getting more and more scant in the face of this sudden tsunami of increasing taxes, electricity rates and other charges; mortgages inching perilously closer to foreclosure; children being fed chicken backs-and-necks as the protein of choice in the school meals program; a still unsteady electricity supply (even seven years after Denzil removed Halva Hendrickson and said that he would quickly fix the problem); and a desperate Denzil threatening to prosecute tax dodgers.
These thousands of families in St.Kitts & Nevis, because of the increasing pressure which he has caused to be brought upon them, will now put hard questions to him, which will be as hard for him to answer as is the suffering that they are enduring and will have to endure for some time to come.
And while his response on the radio on Tuesday will serve to underscore his belief that it is he who owns and controls the game of hoop and that he will play it and win it on his terms, and for as long as he chooses, it should also help to convince the people that it is they and they alone who are, and must be, the unstoppable force in this country and that Denzil’s leadership has become nothing but a tragic and very stoppable farce.
His ill-advised comments on the ZIZ Radio program are a sign that we are already on our way to catching Denzil in this game of hoop that he has been playing. And now it is time to mobilize.
There will, of course, be more articles, discussions and debate, and use of the commercial and social media, but there will also be public meetings, private meetings, protests in one form or another, and other citizens’ efforts (all within the law), to turn St.Kitts & Nevis into a true people’s democracy of, for and by the people, not of, for and by eleven elected persons, or any political party or cabal, and into a vigorous economy driven by an educated, efficient, edified and proud populace.
And the persons who speak on this platform won’t be political candidates, and they won’t be allowed to cuss and conduct themselves in any undignified manner. This is about the responsible and respectful, but vigorous public discussion on a platform intended to invigorate and inspire the people of this nation to step up in their own cause, liberated from divisive political partisanship and small-mindedness, and from fear of politicians.
Remember, when the people are afraid of politicians, there is no democracy.
I am inviting you to join hands in the effort. Your moral, spiritual, intellectual, technical and financial support is needed.
Workers are needed to help in many areas. Please contact me if you wish to assist in any way. Meanwhile, let me assure you all that a lot of people are sympathetic to this effort. All you need to do is to come out of your shells and stand for what is right, regardless of which party you back (that is your business).
Today, Thursday, January 20th, 2011, I applied to the Commissioner of Police to hold a public meeting at Greenlands Park, Basseterre, on Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 from 7:00 p.m. until midnight.
I trust that I will receive the appropriate approval. And in anticipation of it, I invite you to make it a date to attend this meeting. I won’t be the only speaker.
Come to listen. If you have a vehicle, bring along some people with you. If you live nearby, walk to the meeting.
Make an evening of it and we will take it from there.
See you there, God willing.
