At some point or another we have probably heard the age old adage that "Desperate times call for desperate measures". This is an all too relevant quote in today's world and by extension in my twin island federation. There are a number of issues that have been occurring in St. Kitts & Nevis over the past decade and more that can now be labeled as desperate issues, most notably our financial status and crime. Both of these issues have been moving exponentially in opposite directions (financial status declining, crime increasing) over the years and have largely been ignored by those in authority as well as a majority of the population due to political and other reasons.
It is only recently former Minister of tourism & national security Mr Dwyer Astaphan wrote an article where he made reference to an IMF report in the year 2000 where cautions about our financial affairs were raised and measures suggested by the international body to assure that we would not arrive at the position in which we are at today. That was 10 years ago and up until early this year we saw no meaningful steps being taken to curb our financial disarray, no meaningful effort at financial prudence, no meaningful effort to educate the populace as to the state of affairs. In fact, we saw quite the opposite. The wanton government borrowing and spending continued and increased, millions were thrown at phantom projects that have yet to bring any fruitful benefits to the nation, millions squandered through corrupt practices, cost overruns, court cases, etc and a valid effort was made to skew the perception of Kittitians & Nevisians away from the reality. However in recent times it appears as if the reality of the situation has just magically revealed itself and we have seen a number of "desperate measures" taken. These include the implementation of the Value Added Tax (within 7 months?), the implementation/increase of various other taxes, the retiring of civil servants, the layoffs of persons from various authorities, the prospect of electricity rates being increased by as much as 85%, etc, and theres still more to come.
With respect to our crime situation, this is not a matter that developed overnight either. For years we have been seeing an increase in the number of incidences of crime in all aspects. Once again it was largely ignored by our authorities and the country's leadership. This being the very same leadership whose mantra was that "Law & order would be their number one priority". Based on observations over the last decade and the governments failure to properly address the issue from the start I could only strongly disagree with this statement. Priority was certainly focused elsewhere. Over the past 10 years scores of our nationals have fallen victims to murder, gun crimes, robberies, etc and we have yet to see any meaningful and serious action being taken. It has basically continued to be ignored. I must say here that I realize we all as citizens have a part to play in dealing with this problem and should all work together to come up with the necessary solutions and provide the necessary information. However the Government ultimately has a responsibility to protect and secure our citizens and visitors alike, a responsibility that the Prime minister himself has openly refused to take and we are reaping the results. Our police force (which is an agency of the government) is grossly under-resourced both in monetary means, equipment and technology among other things while at the same time is exposed to political interference and constant chastisement from the very government that should be supporting them fully. In this modern age our police force does not even possess a functional database of information containing criminal intelligence, effective investigative tools and technology, and seems to lack any functional crime fighting strategies and tactics. I'm very sure many ideas and suggestions have been given over the years as we are a very intelligent people but the problem seems to be with providing necessary resources, with implementation and the WILL to do so. Lets be honest with ourselves here, it really should not be that difficult to manage crime in an island as small as ours if we have the will and make the necessary effort and investments to do so. This is one of the few times where our small population is an advantage to us. But it is as if the state of affairs was not grave enough for serious intervention. In recent times there have been a spike in the number of robberies. Criminals have apparently come to realize that nothing is being done about their actions and have upped the ante, with the robbery of Banks and other business entities around the island in broad daylight most times. Even with these occurrences and the outcries of nationals the leader of the country and his Government still is in a state of indifference. To add insult to injury, there was an incident yesterday Sunday 14th where 16 adult tourists and 1 child were held up at gunpoint and robbed. Within hours reports of this incident were published on some of the worlds major news networks such as USA Today, MSNBC, etc. With tourism supposedly being our main industry and the driver of our already dying economy anyone who is not ignorant to reality knows the potential impact this could have on our country. This is even more a pressing example of "desperate times", but where are the "desperate measures"? Up to the time of writing this article (approximately 24 hrs after the incident) there has not even been an official response to the matter by the Government of St. Kitts & Nevis, so what are we really to expect?
The problem is not that the PM and his Government are unaware of how to go about taking desperate measures, it is just that their priorities are tremendously mixed up and they lack the WILL. In the period of 1993-1995 when it was "desperate times" him and his cohorts allegedly orchestrated some of the most unprecedented, unfortunate and horrific "desperate measures" our federation have seen in the post independence era all in an effort to gain power. More recently leading up to the last general elections every effort possible was exploited just to simply retain power and to keep the opposition party out of government. Resources appeared to be unlimited as much was spent on election paraphernalia, election bribes, airplane charters, lawyer fees, massive concerts, fireworks, etc. A sting type operation was even conducted to set up the leader of the main opposition party however we don't see the same expertise being employed against those committing criminal acts and terrorizing our country. The police and military with the leadership of the PM were well on the beat in different areas of the country on election day to ensure his plans were carried out. He rallied the support of his foot soldiers and they were mobilized to carry out his agenda . Apparently this was a case of "Desperate times, Desperate measures".
With the current crime and violence crisis we are facing now and the reputation of our island, the security and standard of living of our nationals all at stake it is certainly a "desperate time" in our federation. Our youths are being slain, our visitors violated and our people and businesses terrorized. It would certainly be great and welcomed news if the leadership of our country got its priorities straight, started accepting its responsibilities, started acting with the same sense of urgency and employed similar expertise in implementing some "desperate measures" to bring the country to some state of normalcy. It is also time for our people to start demanding what should be expected from those in vital positions to influence the state of affairs of our beloved St. Kitts & Nevis. "Desperate times call for desperate measures".
Note: This article was not written with the intention to be "political" but simply to get our people to awake from ignorance and start thinking and acting while constructively criticizing and demanding better from those we put in positions to lead and take charge of the direction and affairs of the land we love regardless of party affiliation. Country Above Self!
13 comments:
Never let anyone silence you Omar! Powerful words! I dont think you need to DO anything once you send out these sorts of messages! Hopefully everybody will get onboard the TALKING wagon and speak to crime until it disappears! Once everybody gets involved in talking, and we say things that have been said before and that are being said all the time, rest assured the crime problem will be solved.
I enjoyed the sarcasm. I do hope that while you are assuming that all I'm doing is talking that you indeed are doing something. I think if you really read the article you would see I'm appealing for action to be taken and not appeal for persons to just talk. As far as me being silenced fortunately that will never happen, so no need to worry. I appreciate your comment same way.
you're appealing for action? why arent you acting?
I cant answer "why arent you acting?" if I'm already doing so. You phrased your question as if you're certain I'm not which would be erroneous. I do hope you are acting though.
I do hope when you write articles like this one you do proper n thoroough investigations and not just off your own assumptions. I also hope that your investigations aren't one sided because this would mean that your whole article is hypocritical! One should remember that a government is NOT responsible for crime but we the PEOPLE are! (example this would mean that you are trying to say that Obama is responsible for the crime in the US today) Impossible!
to the issue of VAT..i find it to be very over done, due to the fact that it would have been implemented no matter which governtment was in power. there are over 120 countries paying VAT. taxes are being charges every where, and dont tell me about tax returns because VAT is not an income tax it is a service charge. One last thing before I leave that comment you made about officers "Our police force (which is an agency of the government) is grossly under-resourced both in monetary means, equipment and technology among other things while at the same time is exposed to political interference and constant chastisement from the very government that should be supporting them fully. In this modern age our police force does not even possess a functional database of information containing criminal intelligence, effective investigative tools and technology, and seems to lack any functional crime fighting strategies and tactics". like i said before..investigate thoroughly..many officers over the years have been sent away by the government to different countried to study and train in that area. and it is still ongoing. When pointing fingers please ensure you have facts.
1. I never anywhere in the article said the government was responsible for crime. I however said the government is responsible for protecting and securing its citizens.
2. I never hinted that the VAT wasn't necessary, I was more looking at the way it was implemented in terms of haste which gave an indication of the desperateness. VAT has been suggested years now, why the long delay and then now the sudden haste? MAYBE if it was implemented long ago when we were in better economic standing and when there would have been more time for the implementation process it would not have been that much "overdone". I live in a country which charges VAT and I understand its purpose, benefits and disadvantages. Where did I mention tax returns? :S
3. About the police situation, St. Kitts is small, I have more than enough ways to know exactly what is going on there. I'm not just talking out of the sky. I've been told of more alarming stories about that very police force which I don't even wish to mention because of the level of atrociousness. Officers have been sent to train and study in that area, but is there a functional system within which what they learn is practiced? I think our detection rate speaks loudly about that.
Thanks for the comment.
You say tht the government is responsible for pretecting and securing citizens. however the government is not the commissioner of police. the government is not the one trained in that area. the responsibiltiy of the goverentment is to ensure that we have the necessary tools and training to assist us in crime solving and prevention. how ever the government is not to be blamed if persons sent abroad do not put the training they recieved into motion. ( eg: if you train a nincompoop it is still a nincompoop jus a trained one that doesnt necessarily have to do what its trained to do) Not saying policemen are nincompoops because the officers cannot do everything themselves either. noone can save a country but its people. I believe in the saying it takes a village to raise a child so therefore it takes the PEOPLE to save a country. A prime minister, parliament, opposition, police, army etc can not cease crime. The route of crime starts in the HOME. Everybody has already established all the problems your pointing out and it's now time for us to find solutions as ONE instead of pointing fingers and bashing and blaming political parties and law enforcement officers!
in relations to the "sting act" you mentioned. whether or not it was a sting act it was one the LEADER of the opposition fell for. Imagine he is not even a mere minister but had intentions to sell GOVERNTMENT land for his party's CAMPAIGN!.
The opposition has repeatedly tried to get him to leave the party because they themselves do not want him as their leader so why should I? The opposition can not even hold together as a party. the whole party has fallen apart where are the supposedly ministers? If they cannot keep their party in order how can I trust and believe that they would hold my country together?
i think my political status is already established without being mentioned, but I am not a supporter of the labour party by ignorance. i support the labour party because i find them to be the best out of 2 to govern my twin island federation. I would never be bias and say everything they do it right or perfect because if another party comes along and show better intentions of taking the federaiton forward then yes my support would sway because voting is my voice for the movement of my country.
In regards to "the leader refuses to take responsibility for crime" I cannot agree with that because he is not the one sending the gun men with weapons to brutally murder their targets! however if the government was NOT making the necessary training available then I might better tolerate your comment. And let us not be blind sighted, everything you are listing out that present government did the opposition is just as guilty, so let us not forget.
in 1993 the majority of the population spoke. Analyse the situation, if majority of a population revolt against a government to overthow them it must be because they are NOT seen fit by its people to govern. the people wanted an end to victimisation! in a case like that majority can not be wrong.
I have no problem with people airing their political views but one must not be blind sighted! you said that you did not write this for it to be political and i find that to be very hypocritical if you blamed the government for every issue you raised. the government is a figure head that is there to oversee that matters are dealt with and precautions are made. they themselves need assistance because they cannot do everything on their own. So we should not paint a picture that there are dark skies under the governing of the present governemnt and under the opposition there would be blue skies and sunny days. these issues you raised would be faced no matter who is in government!
ohh yes last but not least, about the IMF if they were so reliable then the US would never be in the financial crisis they're in today. how is it that they are able to tell us how to solve our financial problems but america is still facing theirs? hmm doesnt sound so reliable to me! Now really tell me if i squander my money n then come and tell you how to manage yours would you really listen to me? if you do then thats a reason why you're not in government.
you said the government squanders the revenue of the country but still you want them to take advice from the IMF who cannot even help their own from squandering their own money.
I mean there is so much to comment about on this post but time does not permit me to do so, however i found it very interesting and some what amusing. I do commend you on speaking out about your concerns. Never silence your thoughts to satisfy! :)
Who does the commissioner of police fall under? Who employs the commissioner of police and his officers? Who is the ministry or institution responsible for overseeing and providing resources to the commissioner of police and by extension the police force? ARE YOU SERIOUS? The security of the citizens of ANY and EVERY country is the responsibility of its government. Government undertakes this by use of what ever law-enforcement agencies such as the police force, army, navy, marine, whatever it might be to enforce the laws and legislations which they themselves pass. Therefore no matter how you turn it it is ULTIMATELY the government's responsibility. As far as the Police officers, they may be trained to the best in what ever area but they still wont be near effective if they are not given the necessary tools and put in a FUNCTIONING SYSTEM within which they can operate. Who is responsible for making sure that system is proper and that it works? The Government.
CLEARLY my focus was not the opposition leader, or the opposition party or what he fell for from what he didn't. The point of the argument there was to show that the government's priorities are mixed up. They possess the expertise to set up those kinda of operations but instead of executing them on criminals which would do the country on a whole some good, they are focused on one man or one party. (Who is being political here?)
CLEARLY the opposition party was not elected to government and thats more than established and what they could do or could have done or would not be able to do is TOTALLY irrelevant at this point. Since we do have a government in place then we should expect and demand that they act in our best interest. The opposition party is not the one in charge of the countries affairs at this point, the government is. If as you proclaim that your loyalty is with the movement of St. Kitts & not party (Labour) you would demand that the government (whoever it is, but just so happens to be labour at this point in time) do better and always seek to improve, rather than to settle and use the scapegoat "no government is perfect" which we all know. Nobody is perfect, but does that mean we shouldn't constantly seek and demand improvement? Especially in this case where there is TONNES of room for it. They are the GOVERNMENT for a reason and there are tremendous responsibilities that come with the position and we should demand it of them (whoever they might be). If your loyalty is with the country then no matter who is the party in government they should always constantly be held accountable, always be demanded to take care of their responsibilities and always be demanded to improve, and do better. That is what they are there for and this would only benefit the country.
Once again I CLEARLY never said the government nor the prime minister is responsible for crime, I said however that the government and prime minister do have a responsibility to PROTECT & SECURE its citizens and visitors. There is no two ways about that. Its a fundamental responsibility of ANY and EVERY government ANYWHERE.
I see constant references to what the opposition could have and would have and couldn't do. Like i said before that is totally irrelevant because the opposition party is not the one in government. So therefore whoever is in government is who is responsible for government's affairs.
My references to 1993 was not a matter of trying to discuss whether or not the people wanted to overthrow the government or not. I was simply trying to say, just how the matter in 1993 was treated with such urgency and "desperateness" and such drastic action was taking for a POLITICAL matter, then why can't the same urgency, desperateness and drastic action be taken to deal with a NATIONAL issue.
With regards to the IMF, the I in IMF stands for INTERNATIONAL and not AMERICAN. They are and INTERNATIONAL organization which oversees the way the countries manage the fiscal affairs and makes suggestions as to ways to improve and stabilize the global financial position. The IMF is not a government nor a part of the American government. The IMF could make suggestions to the US which I'm sure they did and still do, but the US government like the St. Kitts government are the ones ULTIMATELY responsible for making the decisions as to whether they would take the suggestions or not. So the IMF didn't squander or had no part in Americas spending. It is not an arm of the American government. I think you should also research the reasons for the economic crisis in the US because if you are thinking it is as a result of the IMF then you are seriously incorrect.
Utter rubbish and I have a low tolerancy level. for it. When you analyse your issues properly then we can have a proper discussion. I hope if we live to see the day PAM gets in power St.Kitts is "the place to be". If you can sit here and blame a government for every single issue you raised and then turn around and say you're not trying to be political then I have nothing further to say. Your arguements are one sided and blind sighted due to the fact that you have INSUFFICIENT facts! So go back and investigate some more and maybe then I can take your so called "issues" seriously. for now i refuse to argue ignorance.
my dear i never said the IMF was responsible for the crisis of the US. when quoting please quote me correctly. I find your whole post to be a joke and pure hypocrasy. Futhermore I SAID THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT TO BE BLAMED FOR CRIME THEY ARE NOT THE ONES DOING THE CRIME! HOWEVER THE GOVERNMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT THE LEVEL OF CRIME REDUCES. BE REALISTIC CRIME WOULD FOREVER BE PRESENT ANYWHERE YOU GO FOREVER BECAUSE ITS THE MIND OF THE PEOPLE. UP TO THIS POINT I HAVENT SAID THAT THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT IS BEST IN THE WAY THEY GOVERN SO DO NOT TRY TO THROW MY WORDS BACK IN MY FACE. THE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO BETTER THE COUNTRY, IN THE AREA OF CRIME THIS IS WHY THEY SEND POEPLE ABROAD SO THAT THEY CAN COME BACK AND WORK ALONG WITH THEM TO FIND STRATEGIES AND HELP FUND THESE STRATEGIES IN AID TO REDUCE CRIME! HAVE A PLEASANT NIGHT
Regardless of what is thought of my post, its really neither here or there. Whether it is called hypocrisy, blind sided, a joke, rubbish, etc (to which i strongly disagree but we have the right to say what we feel) the fact remains that the "so called issues" are there to be highlighted and dealt with and we all will feel the effects of them. They are not MY issues as was suggested, but issues which gone have some bearing on all Kittitians & Nevisians in some way or another. This article never had nothing to do with PAM in the first place. That is of no relevance. PAM is not currently charged with the responsibility of running the nation's affairs last time i checked. It is really a sad sad sad day when calling upon or criticizing a sitting government for their failure to perform, failure to properly address critical issues, failure to accept their responsibilities and demanding more and better from them is seen as being political. In that light I will forever be political, because I forever will be demanding the best and better for St. Kitts & Nevis regardless of who is in Government.
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