A patriot is someone who feels a strong and abiding love for his country. That is why when a country goes to war; the spirit of patriotism is drummed up in a bid to bring the citizens together despite political or religious differences. Patriotism unites the people of a nation in common causes. The liberties of our Federation, the freedoms enshrined in our civil constitution, must be treasured and defended, because they were received through the selfless sacrifice of patriots such as Manchester, Bradshaw and Simmonds. Patriotism builds a nation.
On the other hand, tribalism like sectarianism destroys a nation and demeans its people. Tribalism does not unite but splits a country into fractions. Political scientists put forward a very in- depth contextual definition of the term, political tribalism; they posit that Political Tribalism was a type of politics known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. It is political because the tribal grouping is not ethnic but based upon politics.
As in a tribe, members of the political group must obsequiously obey and observe the rules and rituals of the political party or suffer the consequences, in the form of marginalization, for disobedience and/or dissent. There is no love for country. Thus, Political Tribalism is the antithesis of our constitutional democracy, with its freedom of association and the incidental rights of the citizen at will to join or support the party of choice.
Contrary to popular belief, no Government runs a country by itself. Therefore, the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is not solely run by the Labour Party, despite the overwhelming mandate they supposedly received at the last general elections. If a government is to be run effectively, power centers such as the Bar Association, the Christian Council, the Evangelical Association and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce must play a central role. These organizations must become proactive in the economic and political affairs of the Federation. They must not, and cannot allow the civil liberties and economic advancements gained to be compromised by Political Tribalism.
The Federation slumped from a stable economic situation in 1995 to creating an unsustainable national debt of EC$3 billion by 2012. This was due to a combination of poor economic management, greed and corruption. These actions resulted in a level of economic recession from which this Nation may never recover. Funds were procured from commercial and financial institutions locally, and from banks in Trinidad and Tobago. The application of these funds was not to productive enterprises but to several projects of questionable economic benefits. For example EC$116 million was procured for the La Valle golf course and the contract was awarded to the La Vallee Development Corporation a company registered in Anguilla and owned by a friend of the Government.
A dilapidated green fence is all that is left as evidence of this loan. EC$28 million was borrowed, from the same bank in Trinidad and Tobago, to build luxury villas at Potato Bay. Funds have been disbursed but the villas have yet to be constructed. The Basseterre By pass road contract was awarded by the CDB to Surrey Paving Ltd. The Government intervened, and demanded that the bidding process be restarted, and this time the contract was awarded to a firm that was also friendly with the Government, resulting in costs overruns amounting to over EC$14 million. To make matters worse, the project has been rejected by the CDB. Where were the power centers when all of this was happening?
The Nation is going through challenging times and it will be a travesty to squander our human resources by allowing Political Tribalism to exclude over half of the population from mainstream economic and political life. The country needs all the Intellectual input it can muster, if we are to find solutions to the intractable problems we face. Too many of our professionals are forced to be silent, run for cover and accept the status quo, because of the pressures wrought on them by Political Tribalism, when they dare to demonstrate independence of thought.
If Political Tribalism is allowed to go unchecked, the result will be increased poverty because no country can prosper where Political Tribalism is entrenched. Poverty breads depravation, alienation, crime and disruption in any community. Political Tribalism creates dependency which is a precursor to poverty. It is one of the reasons why this Nation’s economy has not performed well over the past fifteen years.
Entrepreneurs are not to be found in any one political party. When Political Tribalism is allowed to marginalize some of the most gifted and finest minds, the Federation will suffer as a whole and will not be able to meet the needs of a growing population. It is the entrepreneurs that will create the much needed jobs.
Any Government that is bent on doling out undeserved favors to its party hacks ultimately kills the initiative of its people in general. We have a young population and if the Government is to stimulate their spirit of enterprise, Political Tribalism must be curbed. It must be replaced with meritocracy.
Let there be a new dispensation, where our young people will be told that if they work hard they will benefit from the fruits of their efforts despite their political affiliation. Let there be a new era where for the first time our citizens will find pride in being Kittitians or Nevisians instead of their political parties. It is very clear that poverty and illiteracy provide the opportunity for our politicians to create and nurture Political Tribalism.
We must see beyond the political spoils, handouts and favour and look towards making St. Kitts and Nevis a nation worthy of our children and positive efforts, we must allow true democracy to take root and transparency and accountability reign supreme; politicians must be made to understand that they remain in power based of merit, trust and ethics and the will of the people and not by lying, misleading, outright deception and handouts.
We the people must also be vigilant, in that we do not sell ourselves short, we must think sustainability and demand from our politicians, things that will outlast generations and not be fashioned for the next general election, we must demand the means necessary to uplift ourselves from our unfortunate lots and not ‘band aid’ fixes. The country needs all the Intellectual input it can muster, if we are to find solutions to the intractable problems we face. We must all become patriots.
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