COMMENTARY: How to vote in the Upcoming General Election

HOW TO VOTE IN THE UPCOMING ELECTION

By Yves Ephraim 

I am a proud member of a local credit union since the 1980’s. 

Credit unions are what we call financial cooperatives, where grass root people, like you and me, come together to pool our resources in order to provide loans to one another at lending rates that are lower than banks. 

A key objective of credit unions is to make you achieve financial independence through financial literacy.

As a young man who came from a single-mother household, living just above the poverty line, the credit union was my chance of bettering my financial fortunes. And this is probably true for many of you, I am sure.

From the time I was introduced to the concept of a credit union, I fell immediately in love and joined immediately.

Over 40 years ago, my credit union could not afford to provide mortgages: all you could get then were just small personal loans. 

Nonetheless, at that time, this was sufficient to help ordinary Antiguans and Barbudans, like you and me, to get our feet on the first rung of the ladder of financial independence.

I am sure that by now you are asking yourself, what does credit union membership have to do with voting in the upcoming political elections?

Hold on! Just bear with me!

Credit unions were created by ordinary people to help one another rise from the depths of financial exclusion to the heights of self-sufficiency.

In a similar way the Antiguan and Barbudan government, is expected to facilitate the elevation of the Antiguan and Barbudan civil society to the point of self-sufficiency for ALL. 

That is the crux of our national motto: “Each Endeavouring All Achieving”.

As a voter, the purpose of your vote is not to just merely put someone in office that you like, but rather to vote in a manner that keeps your government accountable and productive. 

Your vote should maintain the dynamic where this government remains of the people, by the people and for the people, more specifically, Antiguans and Barbudans.

When you have a leadership that thinks that you are “Losers” and “Deracinated Imbeciles”, it signals that the dynamic between the people and the leadership is unfavourably off-balance: ie, the servant feels that he is the master.

As a people who have been handicapped by our colonial past, and who continue to be kept under control by blacklists, threats of sanctions, and uneven economic barriers, you should be electing leaders whose efforts ultimately move us all in a direction that strengthens our sovereignty and independence while preserving our national identity and way of life in a manner that makes us proud to be an Antiguan and Barbudan.

We want leaders who understand our struggle and aspirations and not merely concerned about “creative enrichment”.

In 44 years, the asset base for my credit union has grown significantly to the point where it routinely provides mortgages to build homes and provide capital to enable local entrepreneurs. 

Ordinary people were able to achieve this.

Partly contributing to the success of the credit union movement, is its forced term limits on those in leadership, allowing for inclusion and exposure to a constant flow of fresh ideas and talent.

In comparison, how far has Antigua and Barbuda progressed in roughly the same time? 

I daresay that despite our national budget growing to just over two billion dollars, the highest in the country’s history, we are still struggling with the basics.

Since independence, this country has been primarily under the administration of one party for 34 years of the 44 years, or 78% of the time. 

For all intent and purposes, this country has in effect been ruled by one party. 

I believe the time has come for a rotation. 

We need fresh talent and ideas. The morass that this current government has put this country into, disqualifies it from being able to fix the issues it caused. 

In fact Albert Einstein said: 

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it [in the first place]”

I do not say this with malice but purely from a pragmatic position. 

Fact is, this country was not willed by God to any party, be it UPP, ABLP, DNA or whatever.  

It is my observation that countries that have progressed significantly are those that have a healthy rotation of leadership and parties. 

The USA grew because of the constant turnover in leadership and party since its independence; There was no chance to develop tyrants.

My examination of Barbados’ rise shows how it had benefited from regular rotation of leadership and party.

From 1966 to 2018 (52 years) when Mia Mottley was first elected prime minister, that country had a total of nine prime ministers and the BLP and DLP exchanged positions about six times. Each leader spending a average of just over 5 years.

Compare Antigua and Barbuda, we have had only 4 prime ministers in 44 years with only one change of party.

If we examine further, the UK, you would notice that in episodes where they had one party for too long, invariably corruption follows and then bad economic conditions usually leading to voter rebellion. 

I recall Margaret Thatcher’s reign that led to economic prosperity for a while. By the third term there was scandal after scandal with allegations of corruption. Some of you might remember the “Minister of Fun”. 

Now, turning our attention back to Antigua and Barbuda.

Do you want a country that improves or do you merely want to see your friend in office, even if that friend has achieved nothing worthwhile?

If your friend is not achieving anything of worth, you might as well give someone else a chance.

We are still waiting for number portability; water flowing through our pipes and the economic powerhouse.

There is no question that Antigua and Barbuda has been ruled disproportionately by one party for a total of 34 years since independence and it is therefore not debatable that that party’s policies has had the greatest impact on the performance of Antigua and Barbuda, today.

Having experienced independence for the last 44 years, I want you to list ten significant things that you have seen successfully implemented that has empowered you and MOST Antiguans and Barbudans to have a better life? 

As an Antiguan and Barbudan, do you feel like your environment is truly safer, crime-wise and more inclusive since 1981?

The success of any government is measured by how well it masters the basic functions that are uniquely in its domain. 

At minimum, a government should master the following functions:

1. Maintain a properly running justice system;

2. Maintain effective policing to protect citizens from violence and infringement of individual rights.

3. Maintain an effective means of defending its boarders.

4. Maintenance of Infrastructure: roads, ports, institutions.

These are the foundational blocks of any safe and free democracy that promotes well-being and a thriving economy. 

It is upon these four basic pillars that everything else depends.

If you examine Antigua and Barbuda’s scorecard on these four functions after 44 years, the following would be true:

1. The judiciary woefully lacks resources to adjudicate cases in a efficient and timely manner. 

2. The police force is technically not independent and is only equipped to shutdown peaceful protests while lacking the capability to effectively respond to and solve crimes against ordinary citizens.

3. Antiguans and Barbudans are not the predominant nationality and are unfortunately treated as such. Added to that, government officials have been inclined to be duped such that aircraft full of Cameroon nationals can land and be dropped off without the knowledge of authorities. These same Cameroon nationals just as easily seeped through our borders to leave just as easy as they arrived.   

4. There is ad hoc attention to infrastructure, where the government is simply responding to crisis after crisis: no water; collapsing roadways, widespread disrupted government services due to mold-infested office spaces; scandals; and the wanton sell-off of public lands to investors to the point where government has no land left to allow citizens to build their own homes. Consequently, the government is now forcibly grabbing private lands, ostensibly to provide low cost housing.

Can you imagine, that out of a possible 108,800 acres between the two major islands of Antigua and Barbuda, our governmemt has no public lands left.

Government’s failure in these four basic pillars inevitably contributes to the degradation of civil society and made the more visible by the number of derelict structures that litter the landscape. Visit any failing state or community and the first visible signs are derelict properties.

These are foundational pillars. 

The economy means nothing if crime cannot be policed and solved. Tourists will simply not visit.

The cost of vehicular maintenance will increase, causing more and more environmental hazards and more tires entering our landfill. Not to mention your daily frustration with having to pick your path through potholes and craters.

Who would want to invest in a country where seeking legal redress takes a lifetime for the smallest of matters? 

Who would want to setup a legitimate business in a country where the time to complete the process of incorporating a new business is unpredictable?

When you go to the polls, you need to be dispassionate. You should ask whether you are satisfied that your government has taken care of the basics.

Your vote should not be used to show support for a friend nor even someone that has been good to you, but rather, you need to focus on the long term and ask whether you are voting to strenthened the basic pillars of your society?

When I vote, I vote strategically. 

Truth be told, there is hardly any difference between parties. The ABLP, UPP and DNA are replete with individuals that bounce between the various party corridors. 

I tend to use my vote as a vote against the incumbent party rather than an endorsement of the viable alternative.

For example, if the UPP is in power and I feel that they must go, then I will vote for the alternative that has the greatest chance of ousting UPP, likewise if the ABLP is in power and needs the boot, then I will vote for the alternative that has the best chance of ousting the ABLP.

It is as clinical as that! 

It is my considered opinion that it is healthy for NO political party to occupy the seat of government for more than two terms at a time, as I alluded to earlier. 

For that reason, I have no love affair with any of the political parties. 

I take the position of “being friends of all and satellites of none”, to use Errol Barrow’s words.

I really think that it is time for a rotation.

Vote for improvement.

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