MARKING 40 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

[dropcap]I [/dropcap]begin with a word on the state and its right to determine its own path to political, social and economic future. It also determines who are its friends. In this regard, the state is an organised political community under one government, determined by the people, and declaring themselves as such, within a given land space or country. By this definition Saint Lucia is a state. As we prepare to mark 40 years of political independence, it is a good time to pause and review the premise on which this independence was pursued. The decision to seek independence came after the West Indies Federation collapsed, and proposals by Sir Arthur Lewis for a federation of the Windward and Leeward Islands and Barbados, (called “the Little-Eight”) failed to get off the ground. Each of the “Little Eight” pursued independence separately. Development economists like Sir Arthur held grave doubts for the economic and social development of such small, resource-poor countries. The psychological issues and economic dependence that history had bequeathed these islands were serious challenges, not to be discounted. There are still some in the international arena who exploit these islands, keeping them poor and dependent.

A year of activities has been planned to mark Saint Lucia’s 40th year of Independence. What struck me was the absence of detailed dates for the events planned for each month, as advertised. Citizens and overseas-based friends who may wish to visit for a few days to participate in the year-long programme would be better served with definite timelines and dates attached to these activities. Let me be clear: Independence meant that we were in a position to choose for ourselves the best and most efficient way to social and economic progress. This may therefore be an opportune moment to review and analyze the two very different proposals for the redevelopment of Hewanorra International Airport (HIA).

I have, from Day One, supported Allen Chastanet as political leader of the UWP, even as I respected Sir John’s choice of his replacement at the time he did. As long as the PM continues to make sensible, unselfish, long-term decisions to transform the country, rather than merely seeking to improve the piecemeal social and economic situation of the people from day-to-day, he will have my support. Bread and butter issues must fit into an overall transformational vision of the country, setting aside narrow short-term partisan conflicts for a greater long-term good. That is more difficult than the tentative appeasement of supporters interested only in the next meal. The better leader rallies people around a cause; the opportunistic mechanical leader rallies people around him. 

Take the approaches to funding the redevelopment of HIA. The SLP opposition believes in the capitalist model of placing the entire HIA airport development, including airport tax collection, in the hands of a foreign company that will replace the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority. Under that arrangement, the foreign entity would construct a new terminal building and operate it for 30 years, as the sole owner. After 30 years the foreign company would walk away with profits estimated to be in the region of US$650 million. A gross income of some US$900 million in airport taxes over 30 years would have been collected by that foreigner.

The other model, supported by Chastanet’s UWP government, involves a bank loan of US$100 million, with a 20-year repayment schedule after a short grace period. That loan would be repaid after 20 years. The government would therefore save the additional 10-year payment to the foreign company that the SLP plan would have employed. The saving of some US$650 million by the UWP government can be used to build a four-lane highway from HIA to Soufriere and from HIA to Castries and Gros Islet.

We note that some so-called economic development experts have also proposed a one-airport model for Saint Lucia. They claim the island is too small to support both HIA and George F. L. Charles airports. They suggest the closure of the last mentioned. I disagree! It is remarkable that these same experts did not tell us what the money we save, from borrowing US$150 million and building the HIA airport ourselves, should be used for. Such advice is proffered by the same mindset that supervised the cyclical recessions in the capitalist economic system (remember the U.S. in 1933 and 2018), and that keeps poor countries poor and backward.

In their discussion, no one mentioned the Vieux Fort river and the threat it continues to pose to HIA during the peak rainfall season. The unpredictability of rainfall events that seem to accompany global warming must be kept in mind. In addition, those who mentioned the number of hotel rooms in the north of the island, and try to make a case for a major highway from HIA to these hotels, refuse to, or cannot, visualize the day when a southern arc from Micoud to Soufriere will house many more hotel rooms than does the north of the island. There is more. We can visualize a future when visionary leaders will rise and decide once and for all to put their petty nationalism aside and form a federation within the Eastern Caribbean, with Vieux Fort as its capital. HIA may then be shared with the federal state (after a lease/payment deal with Saint Lucia), and George F. L. Charles would remain the property of Saint Lucia. That, plus the use as a private/public entity, is another reason the airport at Vigie must be improved, with a new terminal building where the banana fertilizer sales depot once stood.

Long-term visionary concepts need to be constantly explained to the people for whom the state pursues social and economic development.As we prepare to enter the year-long Independence activity in 2019, we ought to consider what roles courage, vision, character and temperament play in the life of a leader. We must ponder whether these qualities are less important than academic qualifications, and whether there is a place for humility, passion and love within the breast of a leader! We may also need to study other countries of similar size and see how they compare in terms of economic progress and social stability. We must decide what in these countries is worthy of emulation, what we may fashion in our own image. One prays for God’s blessing as we look forward to the future with greater confidence. We pray, too, that the people will always choose their leaders wisely, whether in sport, business, or politics. Finally, we must remember that if we do not know how the state was first formed, we may not know how to build a more prosperous, egalitarian future.

It is my hope we will create opportunities in our 2019 Independence agenda to discuss some of what I’ve written here and what others may wish to contribute in the best interests of our nation.