2013:Visionary Caribbean Leaders Needed

As 2012 comes to a close, progressive thinkers are further convinced that the entire Caribbean region is holding on by the skin of its teeth, as a recession, most certainly not of our making, continues to make life miserable for our unfortunate citizens.

Governments throughout the region, lack the intellectual ability and the creative vision necessary for the development of a new energized Caribbean nation. As always we are treated like the soldiers, who used to complain about the soup-just get another bowl- we are lost in an ocean of intellectually bankrupt, self serving neo –colonialists, who are a sad reflection of what visionary leadership should be. How we got here is chronicled in works such as From Columbus to Castro (Eric Willams). Why we are perpetually stuck here is no secret: there simply is no leadership. No beacon of real hope and change.

 Guyana with an abundance of natural resources finds itself impaled on the spikes of party paramountcy, political skullduggery and blatant racism. Its East Indian controlled government is not going to make economic advancement easy for black citizens. Therefore Guyanese, especially those who are black or consider themselves the ethnic underclass, continue to avoid returning to their home state or find lodgings in other Caribbean islands.

Jamaica has still not recovered from the strangulation of foreign agencies, such as the one it endured under the IMF almost a quarter century ago. Oil rich Trinidad is presently managed by the most blundering government in the entire region. While the Prime Minister dithers and plays the race/religious card, the country stands on the brink of social and economic disaster and the government now finds itself accused of ethnic stocking.

Barbados’ economic woes continue to escalate, as the current Democratic Labour Party government, tries desperately to avoid the embarrassment of being a one term government. Anxiously awaiting a return is the opposition Barbados Labour Party. Its current platform calls for massive privatization. It now seeks redemption after it spent fourteen years of visionless government before it was kicked out in 2008. It is now crystal to any objective observer, that there is no fundamental difference between the Democratic Labour Party and the Barbados Labour Party. Nothing will change under either of these two monstrosities.

If we are brief in our take of these four leading Caribbean island states, it shows that it is not necessarily to bore readers when the truth is so clear to see. We, like the citizens throughout these territories, have grown tired of the rhetoric by all the leaders, sycophants and apologists, who prop up what, are essentially decadent, stagnant regimes. We have looked through the ranks of those who are poised to replace the present group of jokers and respectfully opine that they also show no particular promise or ability to better the region’s socio-economic condition.

Unless groups of citizens band together to save these islands we, are convinced that the masses will return to being nothing more than the hewers of wood and water. Our islands will become playgrounds for the rich, both foreign and local. Housing, public transportation and health services will continue to deteriorate and state assets will continue to be sold in order to gain foreign exchange.

We opine that the Caribbean will be nothing more than a daily auction block. The commanding heights of the economies will change ownership almost on a daily basis. For a region that has produced intellects of the capacity of C. L. R James, Eric Williams and Lloyd Best, this would be a crying and unforgiveable shame.

We need not touch on the other islands that make up the CARICOM community. We note and have exposed here that the heads are bad and “if the head is bad the fish is bad”. We can only predict that there will be more of the same in 2013 as rampant consumerism and cultural penetration continue to envelop our people, and as increase drug use and crime destroy the characteristics of the region. Societies will continue to witness negative changes in the personalities and mannerisms of our youth. Irrelevant and useless economic and social policies and solutions will be pedaled by lazy intellectuals and non-productive politicians.

At this critical juncture, we turn to our artistes, progressive thinkers and our hard working people to hold this region together with all their might, and beg them to reject the cold soup policies of the current group of infidels who are collectively ruining our beloved region. The struggle for the new Caribbean Nation will continue.

The Mahogany Coconut Group thanks all those who have supported our blog and other activities during the year. It saddens us that many of our contributors are afraid to identify themselves. They are not cowards, as some may suggest but feeding families and holding on to disappearing jobs are not easy tasks in these perilous times. Far from being cowards they contribute in many ways to keeping our projects going.

We therefore wish all peoples throughout the Caribbean and the world the best of holiday seasons in every culture and across all religious and ethnic groups. We wish the entire planet a prosperous, productive 2013.

We will continue to be faithful watchdogs and progressive thinkers. We stand ready and without fear or apology, to defend and protect the Caribbean at all costs.

Long live the Caribbean Nation.