The political landscape of Antigua and Barbuda has seen very little changes since the nineteen sixties. Dominated by two family since attaining statehood status from great Briton, the country has been encapsulated in a revolving family monopoly until march of 2004 in the twenty first century. Except for the interval 1972 to 1976 the years of the Walters family, the Birds had an unbroken period of almost thirty years operating exclusively as the owners and post colonial rulers of Antigua.
The Antigua Labor Party (ALP) and the Bird family ruled Antigua without administrative accountability for so long, that by time the electorate manage to remove them from office, the new government inherited a practically bankrupt economy and a political landscape riddled with dangerous slopes, cracks and crevices. They reigned with impunity, defecating and urinating on every thing and any one who dares to challenge their glaring mediocrity and political incompetence.
It is unbelievable how the people of Antigua allowed themselves to be encapsulated and dominated for so long, by one family and one political party of Intellectually constipated crooks. The country has been industrially crippled for years after moving from semi self sufficient economy to total dependence on tourism. The stagnation and regression might not be conspicuous to the unsuspecting, because it is hidden behind words like modernization, foreign investors and jobs.
However, the vigilant and politically astute in Antigua and Barbuda are cognizant of the industrial stagnation bestowed on Antigua by ALP and the Bird administration. The continued absence of international channels for local export and lack of economic diversity is an indefensible position for any nation to find them self in. It is a position that exposes the incompetence of successive government administration and the deficiency of prudent, honest political leadership in the country.
Political domination and control of any country by family government is a recipe for disaster. Having unchecked political power in governing will inevitably lead to corruption, miss use and abuse of public office. Scandals and allegations of misbehavior in government office by the PLM and ALP political parties, have led to some costly inquiries that produces more questions than answers.
Greed, Incompetence and corruption in government have deprived Antigua and Barbuda of any meaningful contribution from the reservoir of brilliant minds that the country posses locally and internationally . It's rather unfortunate and in my opinion unforgiving, that the people of Antigua and Barbuda allowed one family to dictate, rule, rape and plunder the country without any serious consequence for their actions and inaction to date.
Much is left to be seen of the new UPP Government before one can make an honest assessment or jump to any conclusion on their performance so far. However, ongoing observations seem to indicate either a re-shuffling, or removal of certain items on the government list of urgent attention and priorities.
One particular item of national and international interest appear to be hanging in suspended animation indefinitely. It is so rarely mentioned, that it begin to arouse suspicion of mitigation by the government. It is the prosecution of former AlP government ministers and officials for abuse of power. Any attempt by the Baldwin Spencer Government to mitigate and manipulate the outcome of the expected justice, could have disastrous consequences for the government.
Allot has been happening on the surface since the new government took office, but activities below the surface are questionable in the absence of transparency. As a skeptic i am not surprised, but somewhat baffled by the brazen adoption and continuation of some prosaic policies established by the former ALP government.
This continued trend inadvertently leads to the question i keep asking. "Is the UPP Government committed to Truth and Justice?". I am not yet convinced by any of the actions taken by the Baldwin Spencer government so far to help antiguans find answers to the questions and allegations of misconduct in public office, by the ALP and successive Bird government.
One thing is certain, the future and preservation of Antigua and Barbuda as a nation of peaceful versatile and proud people, require's bold, intelligent and pragmatic leadership. King, President, governor and prime minister are all titles that can be applied to anyone even to those unbefitting. The nation demands political prudence, diligence, courage and resilience if Antigua is to retain it's identity and archive any measure of sustainable economic and energy independence, in the grand scheme of Caricom federalization.
Under the ALP government Antigua and Barbuda gained a reputation as one of the most corrupt countries on earth. This was an embarrassment and difficult period for antiguans travelling abroad. Remnants of the infrastructures that contributed to the stigmatization are still in place and yet to be dismantled. This double standard, arrogance and ineptitude continue to confound my comprehension.
Actions, positions and decisions continued to be taken by the UPP government that do not serve the long term economic interest and preservation of Antigua and Barbuda heritage and cultural identity. The alignment and callus embrace of Caricom grand vision for the Caribbean by the UPP government is just one more example of bad political decisions that are continually been made on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda by self serving politicians void of vision and fosite.
Who is going to correct the wrong? will anyone ever be held accountable? are Antiguans willing to sit back and be led down another dead end to no where by family government, crooks and members of political parties? There are more questions than answers. How these issues are addressed over the next 2 years, will determine the level of commitment by the UPP government to uncover, and pursue the trail of lies, deception, robbery, rape and plunder of Antigua by the Bird family and the (ALP) Antigua Labor Party.
Author: Wadadliman. written august 19th 2006. last revised july 29th 2008.
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