Dem Say We Got The Wrong Banks In Government

Forty years after our Revolution, Anguilla now has first class roads from East End to West End. Actually, their quality is such that we are in a position to boast of having some of the best roads in the Caribbean. Our Government needs to be applauded for a job well done.

Infrastructural development has always been one of Government’s strong points particularly when it comes to roads because it has a Minister of Communications and Works, Brother Kenneth, who hardly cares about anything but roads. He once answered his critics (1993) like this: “They say the only thing Kenneth can do is give you a wheelbarrow of dirt. I am not a doctor. I cannot go in the hospital and cut a ‘pendix. I can’t fly a plane. But there are things that I could do to bring the necessary things to you [like] water, roads.” There were times when the roads were ‘pitched’ with dirt and Cuthwin Webster (1994) criticised even the quality of dirt as though there was something called clean dirt. Listen to him: “[Kenneth is paving the roads with] nasty, filthy, dirty, stinking dirt from Corito where all the arms and the hands got mixed up with the dirt, and the glass bottle and all the kotex.”

The lack of paved roads was one of the causes of the Anguilla Revolution. And as I reflect on from whence we came, my thoughts take me back to the House of Assembly meeting on Tuesday 22nd May when its members refused to support Eddy Baird’s Motion for a public holiday in honour of Revolutionary Leader James Ronald Webster. Instead, they agreed on a national holiday in honour of the heroes and heroines of the Revolution and to a school holiday in honour of Webster.

Webster’s political supporters, and his non-political supporters who support a holiday for him, are livid over the House’s decision and have since pledged to leave no stone unturned until a public holiday honouring him, and him alone, was on the law books. Towards this end, several of them went throughout the island by motorcade, on Thursday 15th June, in a show of solidarity and to urge people to let their voices be heard in support of the cause.

The motorcade climaxed with a meeting at the Tyre Shop, in George Hill. The speakers were of different shades of political opinion and representative of a Rainbow Coalition. They included Evan Gumbs, Yanchie Richardson (the Mayor), Bankie Banx, Carmen Moona, Henford Ruan (Beef Pan), Percy Thomas, Walcott Richardson and the two Opposition Members in the House of Assembly – Hubert Hughes and Eddy Baird. It was the first time for a very long time that Hubert and Eddy spoke on the same platform. In recent years they have been bitter enemies, so bitter that they have not yet been able to agree on which one of them should be the Leader of the Opposition. But the one thing they agree on is that there should be a separate public holiday for Ronald Webster.

Some of the speakers at the meeting expressed the hope that Eddy’s and Hubert’s appearance on the same platform was an indication that the rift between them had come to an end and that the opposition would once again present a united front against the Government. Eddy seemed extremely pleased that he and Hubert were once again on speaking terms. Hear him at the meeting: “For the last two years now, everyday and every night, I have been praying to the Lord. And I’ve said ‘Lord, open the eyes of Hubert Hughes.’ And the Lord, tonight, opened one of his eyes so Hubert can see Eddy Baird is his friend. But when I go home tonight I am going to pray for half an hour and I’m going to say, ‘Lord open Hubert’s other eye so that he can see Osbourne Fleming is his enemy.’” And the crowd went wild.

In addressing the reason for the meeting, Eddy was adamant that there must be a separate public holiday for Webster and expressed disappointment that neither Victor Banks nor Osbourne Fleming supported his Motion in the House 22nd May. He was disappointed because he saw Webster as the man who put them in political diapers which he had to clean from time to time. He saw Webster as their political creator. To quote him: “Just as the Lord created Adam and Eve, Ronald Webster created Victor Banks and Osbourne Fleming. And just as Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, Victor Banks and Osbourne Fleming ate the forbidden fruit of ungratefulness.”

As Eddy spoke, I recalled the days when the trinity of Webster, Victor and Osbourne was like a union of father and sons. Such was the relationship that people referred to them as Jessie James and the cowboys. Victor’s apt response, at a political meeting (1981), was: “They call us Jessie James and the cowboys but we are riding the right horse.” Most certainly, they were riding the right horse because in doing so their seats were assured. Hear Victor again: “They say the only way Victor Banks could win his seat is if he runs with James Ronald Webster. But I ain’t got no fuss with that. Maybe that is the case. But the fact is that, when they are saying that, they should recognise that there is a man in Anguilla who had the respect of the people of Anguilla to the extent that they could gain votes by being associated with him.”

It was against that background that Eddy told his listeners that Victor was ungrateful and that, “If ungratefulness was a crime Victor Banks would be in jail, and Osbourne Fleming too would be in jail.”

While Victor had refused to support Eddy’s Motion in the House, for a public holiday to honour Webster, his Brother, Bankie Banx, the internationally renowned reggae superstar, is in full support of it. He told the meeting, which followed the motorcade, that “If we do not honour Mr Webster it would be a shame . . . a crying shame.” He called on the gathering to find a way to do it themselves because, in his words, “the British will not honour Mr Webster. The British honour criminals – people who steal for the British Empire. Men like Sir Henry Morgan.”

Speaking about his first contact with Webster, Bankie said that he “was a man who came house to house in a Puegot car . . . He sold apples. That’s my first recollection of Mr Webster . . . And every time my mom spent five dollars to buy apples he always said, ‘Take these for the kids.’ My first recollection of Mr Webster was that he was a man of heart – was a man of spirit.”

Bankie did not speak so kindly of our current political leaders. As a matter of fact he tried to highlight a fundamental difference between them and Webster when he observed that, “Our leaders, it seems, . . . have no regard for us. It’s all about money and greed. They will sell you out . . . . Mr Webster would give his life for his country. . . Our leaders nowadays: you know what they doing? They’re trying to save their lives and give away the country.”

Having said that, Bankie went on to express his utter disgust with the way Government was handling the economy. He described the vast inflow of foreign capital as imperialism. And he saw the influx of cheap labour from India and China as reminiscent of the African slave trade. He was therefore adamant: “Our leaders, it seems, are collaborating with the imperialists – they are collaborating with slave traders.”

He is of the view that, “We are in the same position now, in 2007, as the Indians were in 1492 before Columbus came.” After the arrival of Columbus the Arawak Indians were wiped out and replaced by imported labour from Africa and Bankie is fearful that the same thing could happen to present generations of Anguillians. He opined: “Very soon we could be extinct here in Anguilla.”

Indeed, Bankie is extremely bitter with the development path on which our Government has embarked. He has no faith in it. He does not think that the rapid economic growth which the island is currently experiencing is sustainable, and that therefore any short term benefits derived could be wiped out in the long run. He explained why: “When these hotels are built they will control the wages of all you folks. You will not be able to buy a big car. You will not be able to build a great house because your wages will go down.” He warned: “The new slave traders are upon us – the purveyors of poverty – they bring nothing to you but poverty.”

In summing up his comments on our economy, Bankie described the situation as economic apartheid. Hear him: “We are facing economic apartheid . . . We are being wiped out of the business of Anguilla. With this Government we will no longer be able to have bars, restaurants, businesses because capitalism is like a cancer – it spreads.”

Then he had a final word on political leadership: “Our leaders have become like the old slave traders . . . The leadership that we have right now would do anything for material gain including destroying you: destroying your investment, destroying your lifestyle, destroying your business . . .” The people applauded. I heard a few of them saying that instead of cherishing the Rock (as Bankie sang many years ago) we are selling the Rock. Then, just as I was about to drive off a man stopped me and shouted, “Put this in yer paper. ‘Tell de people dat we got de wrong Banks in Government!’ Vote for Bankie Banx!” Two others joined in chanting: “We got de wrong Banks in Government!”

The meeting ended with the understanding that Eddy Baird would move a Motion, in the House, calling for the issue of a separate national holiday for Webster to be put to the people by way of referendum. Since the issue is a divisive one that may well be the best way forward.