COMMENTARY: U.S Tough Love  And The Antiguan Dilemma

US TOUGH LOVE  AND THE ANTIGUAN DILEMMA 

………By Audley Phillip

I would be the first to admit that I am no big fan of Donald Trump  or his  hench and chainsaw man Elon Musk.  But it is obvious that they see tremendous waste in government departments and they are hell bent on taking steps to correct them.  

With such a mandate given to him by the American population last November, the President is forging ahead with  changes, many of which seem  disruptive and uncomfortable, but he is full speed ahead nonetheless. 

Change is always painful and one can argue that the way the US has gone about things has been both regrettable and painful but hopefully when all is said and done and when the dust is settled, the US government would be lean, productive, profitable and efficient.

The bottom line is, the government must be run like a  business and all waste must be cut out and eliminated.

The days of reckless spending in government must end.  It is always the taxpayers who feel the pain and that is why we must insist that the government be more fiscally responsible with the monies they hold in trust for us as taxes.

Antigua and Barbuda is by no means a poor nation. It is a poorly governed one and unless we change the way we do things,   we are in for some rude awakening in the

 years ahead. It is time for all stakeholders to get together,  in order to map a new way forward.

President Trump’s rapid and ruthless dismantling of USAID and the recent “Yellow Listing ” of Antigua and Barbuda as well as threats against us for utilizing Cuban Nurses and Doctors in our Healthcare sector,  is enough to wake us up from our slumber.

The US has literally thrown a salvo at us  by attacking the one facet of our revenue stream that keeps our economic wheels of state spinning for years now – our Citizen By Investment Program  (CIP). If this is not worrying, then I don’t know what is.

While initial outrage against President Trump may dominate headlines, it is an opportunity for us here in Antigua and Barbuda  to gird your loins and try to be self-sufficient and economical with the little resources that we have because tough days are on the horizon. 

Trump is a disruptor and a reshaper of the US global priorities.  We have no control over what he  does.  Our focus must be on the people who make our decisions; those who hold our purse and the keys to our treasury. 

I am not afraid to say it and it is my view that successive governments have placed us in a precarious position  financially and I hope the citizens see this.

Every year, the Comptroller of Customs and Inland Revenue Department boasts about record collection of taxes.  More taxes is not what we need.   We already pay a lot in taxes.

What we need is improved governance, enhanced productivity, economic stability and sustained growth.  Mismanagement  and misplaced  priorities have suffocated productivity, fueling hardships for many of our people. 

Our leaders have prioritized fun and frolic over essential services like security, health, reliable water and electricity services, infrastructure and education.   The very poor and dilapidated state of our roads  recently came into focus,  forcing the government to “ride on the backs” of taxpayers  with an unfortunate infrastructure bill that was rammed through Parliament, and of course the “eyes have it.”

Now the government seems to have a severe cash flow problem, with the latest report suggesting that businessman Sir George Ryan had to lock out several government departments over the non-payment of over $8 million in  rent. It is regrettable that local debtors are not given the same  priority and urgency of payment as foreign debtors. I am sure that Sir George is not the only local  supplier that is owed huge sums of money by the government 

Honestly, we need to stop outsourcing our fight for good governance to others and actively demand more from our government. No way should local suppliers be owed such huge  sums of monies and knowing Sir George Ryan, it took much demanding and pleading for him to eventually pull the plug and lock out the government.

 Perhaps it’s time that we set up and implement our own version of  “DOGE” – Department Of Government Efficiency, in order to bring some sensibility  and direction to our government. 

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