More power to the Governor!
That single line in a press conference to talk about the progress made on the COI has ignited a firestorm and a forceful response from the front benches; As it should.
Now, those in charge, demand a recant and they have called for the voices across the aisle to join in solidarity because there may be infringements on the Constitution.
And the Constitution is a ‘sacred cow.’
But that solidarity should have begun with a joint statement from both sides that demonstrates unity.
In the end, divided we stood; Two press conferences when one would have sent the right message, but, both effective in their own right. Now the public has heard the rallying cry and is fired up.
Some will, predictably, call for independence. A knee jerk reaction; For BVI has not shown the discipline to develop the cohesion, institutions nor the economic base to support such a bid.
Still, we dare not exhibit the behaviour of a petulant child who threatens to run away from home every time she is asked to clean her room.
Where will she go? How will she get there? Who will educate her? Who will clothe, feed and protect her?
Will she be exploited? Will she be any match for the crime and corruption that observe from the shadows? Or does she assimilate into lawlessness, gang warfare, drugs, guns, violence?
Will her economic base be a narco-state or the proceeds of criminal conduct?
Are we back in a William Golding (Lord of the Flies) moment or do we lay off the rhetoric and begin to chart the course for where we wish the BVI to go?
And in any case, weren’t we the ones, pushed or not, who said we could deliver the reforms on an accelerated time scale? Who now gets blamed for noncompliance?
We cannot unilaterally claim the right to change the rules midstream.
We know that the office of the Governor is an institution. What need has the man, HE, John James Rankin, CMG, for more power over the civil service or any area of government?
After all, he leaves in a matter of days to be replaced by another soldier appointed by a skilled and experienced General who maintains the overall strategy.
And it is to that same General that we will appeal to reject the initiative expressed by the Governor.
And how effective is our fight? We make sure that those we have employed, from the Deputy Governor, down, are kept in the dark by the Cabinet. Government’s policy direction is so secret that they do not know it so they are rendered useless.
That is not the General’s strategy. No wonder he is winning the battle.
Are we only satisfied with marches, press conferences, talk shows and brawls? What about strategy? What about planning? What about doing away with the petty politics of penalizing those we need on the battlefield because they may have a different opinion? Isn’t THAT the essence of democracy?
We need all hands on deck but instead we are condemning BVI to be thirsty while water flows in abundance in the bushes.
That may be a type of ‘Ship’ but it cannot be defined as ‘Leader Ship!’
But we were here before. And the real question is whether the Governor’s call for more powers is a prelude to yet another kiss.
So instead of all the empty noise to lift the Order in Council, we should have been removing it ourselves through our diligence and compliance with our own road map to progress and prosperity.
But we have steadfastly refused to discuss in our Honourable House how we got here in the first place and to ensure that this sordid part of our history never repeats itself.
We cannot live out our bureaucratic lives in a perpetual state of being reactive. At some point, we must be proactive; We must actually, plan. Otherwise, where is this education of which we boast?
More power to the People!
But are the people mature enough to handle power especially with diplomacy on holiday in the Territory?
Or has the political class so molded them in sycophancy that they have only exchanged one ‘yes sir,’ for another?
Fridays would like to know. And the people of the Territory should demand evidence.
Happy Friday!