JAL 3 January 2015 Nice Radio’s Callaloo presents, Just Another Look. Just Another Look is an innovative, exciting, albeit decidedly provocative and controversial, socio-political analysis of issues of a local, regional and international nature. Just Another Look is heard only on Nice Radio on Saturdays at 6.00pm, with repeat broadcasts at 9.00pm on Sundays. Remember too that you can also catch us on the worldwide web, niceradio.info. You can check our JAL blog - vincyview I am, of course, Keith Joseph Introduction Today is Saturday 3 January 2015. Welcome, welcome, welcome to another edition of Just Another Look. Mr Walkabout On Wednesday last, 31 December 2014, this country’s Prime Minister was seen walking and at times being driven through Kingstown. To many it was good to see the Prime Minister seemingly mingling around the city. To some, however, it was a near-pitiful sight. The Prime Minister, in what should normally be a festive season, appeared decidedly jaded and so his presence brought little reason to be enthused. The Prime Minister must know the state of the Vincentian economy and that he did little with the Estimates for 2015 to give our people hope for a change of this reality any time soon. His presence around Kingstown did not attract any real attention. People are simply tired of the political gamesmanship and care little. At this stage Vincentians may simply be waiting for the general elections as they observe the usual pre-elections machinations taking effect: • They see the roads being repaired with near-indecent haste, so much so that some of the repairs are already being undone. • They see movements being made by the ULP leadership to galvanise support around the country • They understand the move of Julian Francis to the Prime Minister’s Office as clearing him to focus almost exclusively on the government and party’s elections campaign, hoping that he has the capacity to once more work some sort of magic with his dear cousin. • They expect the giveaways to begin soon. The problem for the ruling ULP and for Gonsalves in particular may well be whether the people of this country have grown in terms of the political culture of the society. At the centre of all of this is whether the so-called education revolution ULP style has allowed us to move beyond being swayed by the offer of cash in envelopes thrown under the doors or openly handed out to win votes as well as by gifts of lumber, steel, blocks, galvanise and cement. Time alone will tell. One thing is certain, a people always get the government the majority deserve. Robbing the Blind The ruling regime in this country lays claim to its commitment to the war against crime and the causes of crime. In a previous edition of Just Another Look we took time to point out that in virtually every aspect the government’s strategies in the fight against crime have failed. We stated then that housebreaking has become something of a norm in this country with people so fed up that many have ceased reporting. Many have become despondent with the inability to receive any real protection in respect of their homes. Interestingly, not even police officers are exempt from being victims of housebreaking in this country. They therefore understand the sense of powerlessness that so many Vincentians now experience. During the Christmas week the headquarters of the National Society of and For the Blind, located downstairs the Lions Building at Frenches, Kingstown, was broken into, not once but twice. The burglars removed the burglar bars and also broken the windowpane to g ain entry. It is extremely difficult to come to terms with the fact that someone or some people could be so heartless as to break into the headquarters of the National Society of and for the Blind and steal all the foodstuff that Vincentians would have donated to the organisation to distribute amongst its members? Have we become so heartless in this country that even the blind are not exempt from burglary? So much for the war on crime and the causes of crime, ULP style! The plight of the public servants in SVG We have completed another year of survival, here in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Note that we used the term, survival, for indeed that is precisely what it was. We managed to survive under the ULP administration for yet another year. Wow! To God be the glory! During 2014 the government showed itself incapable of making any significant change to the wages and salaries of its public servants. This was the third consecutive year that the government failed to come to the assistance of its own employees in this regard, much to its eternal shame. Vincentian public servants would have to think long and hard to find a period of time in the post Independence era when things were so very difficult, economically. The average public servant in St Vincent and the Grenadines can now reflect on the way in which the then Opposition behaved in 2000 when the NDP government at the time suggested that it could only offer 13% increase over a three-year period in response to the Teachers’ Union’s demands for 30%. The host of Just Another Look spoke with Ralph Gonsalves live on NICE Radio from the picket lines in 2000. Gonsalves at the time indicated to the host of Just Another Look and the nation, by extension, that the teachers’ demand for 30% was not entirely unreasonable. He noted that one had to see the demands in the context of the greed and corruption that characterised the NDP. One is certain that if one were to ask Arnhim Eustace about the economic situation today his response would be infinitesimally more statesmanlike. Some may recall the re-classification exercise undertaken by the ULP administration. Perhaps this was supposed to be part of the ULP’s promise to effect change. To this day there are issues resulting from what can perhaps be labelled a near-torturous exercise for public servants and teachers. Today, as we observe the commencement of a new year in our history, the average public servant must be contemplating just what else can go against him/her economically. Public servants are the people who do the day-to-day administration of government. They are the ones who work the system that the ministers of government place before them as virtually a fait acompli. Thus it is that public servants are very aware of the economic realities confronting the country and of the difficulties being experienced by the government to meet its commitments on a monthly basis. The government politicians can say what they want on political platforms and in press huggins but the public servants are the ones who always know the truth. This is the reason it was so important in the run-up to the elections of 2001 for the then leadership of the ULP to boast of having white angels that allowed for a tremendous amount of information about the operations of the then NDP government to reach the public domain. The old people say, do so ent like so. The current ULP administration appears only too eager to ensure that there are no angels working with the Opposition NDP. The problem for the ruling ULP however is that all of the angels now are black as the ace of spades. That is the haunting truth. Vincentians may recall that some time ago it was being said that Arnhim Eustace as Minister of Finance and Prime Minister, did not like the public servants. This was one of the key propaganda messages in the elections of 2001. In the ULP manifesto of 2001 in the segment labelled, THE OLD WAYS OF THE NDP, we read on page 4, the latter organisation is accused of treating teachers, civil servants, nurses, policemen/women and educated persons generally as though they are enemies of the State. Today, with three successive years without any wage and salary increase the public servants can judge for themselves who really love them. They can judge for themselves who has been treating them like enemies of the State. Let us remind ourselves of the treatment of our beloved public servants over the past several years under the ULP’s leadership. Do we remember Kelson McDowall, a worker at NBC Radio 705 at the time? Do we remember that he asked a question of the Prime Minister at a Press Conference? Do we recall the Prime Minister’s response? What of Peggy De Freitas? What did Peggy do wrong? How was she treated and for what? Was Peggy De Freitas not at one time located in what was considered the kitchen of the Ministry at which she worked? Just when everyone thought that there would have been some relaxation of the laws to facilitate greater participation by all sectors in the proposed and much-vaunted consultative democracy, Anesia Baptiste became a victim. You can judge for yourselves what Anesia did wrong under an administration that claimed to so love our public servants. Perhaps Anesia’s error was to take the ULP at its word. Anesia may well have believed that the ULP was serious about opening up the system. She may have found out that was not the case, at least not for anyone who dares challenge the existing political order. At the time it may well have been that Anesia had the wrong political coloration. What of the young lady who belled the cat at the Ministry of Agriculture? What was the treatment she received for bringing to the attention of the authorities the state of affairs in respect of the purchasing of items for the Ministry of Agriculture by a senior public servant at that institution? What was the young lady’s treatment for raising questions over what must have been the most expensive thumb drives procured by any institution in the history of St Vincent and the Grenadines? What was the young lady’s treatment for raising questions over the costs and location of several other items? What can be said of Otto Sam? Was he supposed to grovel because he had been the recipient of a scholarship? Was Otto Sam to ignore his analytical skills that saw him at first critical of the NDP in Office and later of the ULP in office? How was Otto Sam treated? What did Otto Sam do wrong? That a qualified teacher should be located at the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) where he has no pertinent competency is tantamount to making a mockery of the individual. That is what happened to Otto Sam. Compare the treatment of Otto Sam with what was stated year after year as the ideals of the ULP administration in respect of the treatment of public servants and teachers in this country. What of Shirley Francis? Those who worked alongside her know the truth. How was Shirley Francis treated by the current administration? How was she treated? Was the treatment to Shirley Francis a factor in her untimely demise? We raise here the matter of the sudden transfer of Commander Tyrone James from the Coast Guard, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ronald Christopher and Superintendent of Police, Ellsworth Hackshaw. The public only knew of the sudden transfer of the foregoing senior police officers when they saw them on the street. There was no major public pronouncement, perhaps for fear of shame. What did they do wrong? How were they treated? Luckily for James he had been with the Regional Security Service before and so returning there he soon rose in the hierarchy, distinguishing himself to such an extent that he was the key person in the institution in terms of education development. It was James who became the point person for the RSS for the delivery of educational programmes to lift the overall standard of the police operations around the Eastern Caribbean in particular. It must have been something of an embarrassment for the Prime Minister/Minister of National Security and the Commissioner of Police to have to sit and listen to James deliver feature addresses at programmes delivered under his leadership on behalf of the Regional Security Service. It was James who was the point person in the preparatory work for the establishment of an Academy within the RSS to facilitate a more systematic approach to education and training. The three police officers had served this country well and yet they were summarily transferred. It must have taken some time before Hackshaw, who was transferred to the Ministry of Education, got some sense of what he was supposed to do while located in the institution. Christopher was located at the Port because he insisted that he was not leaving the country. He was not prepared to go to be part of any regional institution. What did these senior public servants do to deserve the kind of treatment they received? it was James who, having been appointed Commander of the Coast Guard, rid the institution of the police nomenclatures such as sergeant etc. he established the Coast Guard as it should always have been with appropriate designations for the different categories of staff. It was James who transformed the Coast Guard of this country and who later significantly impacted the RSS. Just how far are some people willing to go? When James received an appointment letter to take up another posting at the RSS, one that was going to be on a contractual basis, he eagerly sent his books and other accoutrements across to Barbados. He took early retirement. James must have thought at the time that he was free from the narrow encumbrances that had caused his transfer in the first place, even though he did not know exactly what they were. Interestingly and almost unbelievably, as James was about to leave here to take up the appointment, already armed with an appointment letter, he was informed that he was no longer getting the job. Did someone seemingly high up in St Vincent and the Grenadines intervene? Are we wrong to assume that there was high-level intervention from home? Did someone in our government get so petty that he/she intervened to stop James’ appointment even after he had left the Police Service here at home? Do we have local politicians and/or government who are so decidedly evil as to reach out across the seas to prevent a Vincentian like themselves, deemed appropriately competent, from getting a job? Is James the only one to have suffered this type of fate? Have we become so blinded by our political myopia that we are willing to do all in our power to make others starve if they fail to grovel or lie prostrate in obeisance before us? How can people live with themselves who deliberately seek to ensure that others do not get to work and therefore adequately feed their families? How can the minions be so short sighted that they can justify the actions that are otherwise perceived as particularly evil? This is what has become of us. How many more have experienced the fate of the three aforementioned members of the Ministry of National Security, James, Christopher and Hackshaw? What was the intention in respect of the sudden transfer of three high-ranking police officers? What has been the impact on the Ministry of National Security? How many police officers can feel safe within the ranks of the Ministry of National Security if they believe that their particular political preferences differ from that of the ruling ULP regime? What has been the impact on morale within the Police Service? Just Another Look calls on former Commissioner of Police, William Harry, to speak out. William Harry, we call on you to let his conscience and Christian faith be your guide. Speak up on what happened to you when you were officially appointed Commissioner of Police? What happened? If anything many may well think that the downward slide in the Police Service began under your reign after being officially appointed to the post of Commissioner of Police. Tell us all, what happened to you? What accounts for the perceived change in your leadership of the organisation from the immense promise shown when you served as Acting Police Commissioner under the NDP as compared to your leadership following your official appointment as Commissioner of Police? Let your faith be your guide and God’s Grace your shield. The public servants themselves may well raise questions about the different treatment meted out to some who are considered supporters of the ruling regime. Has there been the same application of fundamental principles and laws in respect of the conduct of public servants who are considered supporters of the ULP? What have been the factors influencing the appointment of public servants and teachers in this country since 2001? Has there been a level playing field? Dear listeners, as Vincentians you are well aware of what has been happening in our beautiful country. We ask you whether or not the situation in respect of the treatment of our public servants cannot now be categorised as much worse than what was stated in the ULP manifesto of 2001… treating teachers, civil servants, nurses, policemen/women and educated persons generally as though they are enemies of the State? What exactly was the intention of the individual speaking at the ULP Convention some years ago who called for the membership to not just own the party, own the campaign, but also to own the jobs? What was the intention? Was it that the jobs created by the ULP administration should as of right go to party loyalists and their families? Was it that supporters of any other political party should be deprived of jobs in this country that they call home; their birthplace? Is it possible that the ULP in office could have become so selfish and self-centered that all non supporters could be considered enemies of the State? Public servants may well understand that in 2010, the Minister of Finance was unable to meet the agreed wage and salary increase for them at the time it was due. They did not get the increase in January when it should have been paid. They did not get the increase in June, mid year. As the general elections neared in the latter part of 2010, the line thrown was that if the party was given another term in office the monies would be paid. This still stands as one of the most bold-faced piece of political gamesmanship ever recorded in this country’s history, pre and post Independence. It is difficult to imagine that a group of politicians could be so bold-faced as to even make so ridiculous a suggestion. Essentially what was being suggested to the public servants was that if they put the ULP back in office in the latter part of 2010 they would be given the increases that they were due by virtue of a collective agreement. Bold face to the highest degree! You owe the people an agreed increase; you could not make it on time; you were several months into owing them; yet you were bold-faced enough to suggest that if you got another term in office you would give them what they were owed. Of course the public servants would have known that once the Minister of Finance was only able to make good on what was owed them for 2010, the second year of the agreement, in the latter part of the year, after the elections, then they could not realistically expect the third year wage and salary in crease in January of 2011. However, what transpired in 2011 was beyond their wildest imagination. The ULP government was unable to make good on the agreed increases in January of 2011. It was unable to pay in June. Instead what happened was that the government, owing the public servants 3%, delivered 1.5% or half what they owed them in the latter part of 2011 and could not muster the monies to pay the remaining 1.5% until well into 2012. In other words, the very public servants that the ULP claimed to love so much while they were in Opposition found themselves left out in the cold. Arnhim Eustace predicted then that the public servants would not get any increases for the next three years given the difficulties the ULP appeared to have had in meeting their obligations as per the previous collective agreement. Well, public servants have watched as we used our Treasury to pay the salaries of the Cubans working at the Argyle International Airport who, we were once told, would have been paid by the Venezuelan Government under some sort of arrangement with then President, Hugo Chavez. While we paid the Cubans from our Treasury, some of them to drive trucks and heavy equipment that Vincentians could have operated, the public servants found themselves again out in the cold. Eustace’s prediction came through. There were no increases in 2012, 2013 and again in 2014. Now we are into 2015. What can our beloved public servants expect? We can tell you that they can expect to be wooed by the ULP because the leadership wants another term in office. Our public servants can expect to be promised.. Promises! Promises! It is all about winning the elections. Do they realty care about our beloved public servants? What do you think? You be the judge. Just Another Look is of the view that despite the chest-thumping claims of the ruling ULP administration the treatment of our public servants leaves much to be desired. J8 VAX Today the 3rd day of January 2015, marks 2,994 days since the disappearance of SVG Air J8 VAX, if we are actually checking the day the plane disappeared on Sunday 19 November 2006 with pilot Dominic Gonsalves and one passenger, Rasheed Ibrahim. J8 SXY Today the 3rd day of January 2015, marks 1,678 days since the disappearance of another SVG Air aircraft, J8 SXY, a Cessna 402. Just so you would remember, this aircraft left St Vincent in the evening of Thursday 5 August 2010 bound for Canouan. Like J8 VAX, the aircraft never reached its destination. It never completed its mercy mission. The plane disappeared and as yet no word has been received in respect of the lone occupant, the pilot, Suresh Lakram. The sad case of Patricia Bowman Just Another Look wishes to leave our listeners with the sad reminder that on 19 September 2008, Patricia Bowman was crushed to death in her vehicle as she drove to work. Her husband, Alban Bowman, spends much of his time in quiet reflection on the cruel death of his wife, hoping that by some mystery justice would come his way. Who cares? Where is justice in this matter? Nuff said!!! You have been listening to another edition of Nice Radio’s Callaloo presentation, Just Another Look. Just Another Look is an innovative, exciting, albeit decidedly provocative and controversial, socio-political analysis of issues of a local, regional and international nature. Just Another Look is heard only on Nice Radio on Saturdays at 6.00pm, with repeat broadcasts at 9.00pm on Sundays. Remember too that you can also catch us on the worldwide web, niceradio.info. You can check our JAL blog - vincyview I am, of course, Keith Joseph
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 01:38:34 +0000
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