Editorial – September 7, 2012
When the facts are known and where it all started, it turns into disgraceful behavior on the part of our government leaders and UK government for wanting to turn its back on education, with cutbacks under the guise of cutting costs in Montserrat and consequently showing up the hypocrisy about their efforts to develop Montserrat, reducing the education system to a farce.
Could this all have begun with our political leaders all falling prey to a history of distrust, or is it a level of incompetence, ignorance, inefficiency or just downright corruption on the part of both of them? Heaven knows there is plenty of all of that to go around. If the British masters are going to say, ‘look at all the money we have poured into Montserrat, the argument will fail as the observer will say, ‘what have you done, what have you to show for it, and finally the accusation that they have turned a blind eye or even condoned any shortcomings. By the way, there is a very strong argument out there that says, ‘the UK designs Montserrat to fail.
In any case, the argument fails again by their admissions. While we argue, that DFID should not be the Ministry to deal directly with Montserrat’s issues, the fact that there is a Montserrat desk, a Ministry to deal with the Overseas Territories, notwithstanding, the need for special attention is overwhelming. In 2005, following up from eight years prior, they noted that they would always be looking to see at what point Montserrat could become sustainable or shut down, they stated: “Without substantial external support there is no likelihood of Montserrat achieving its ambitions, the population will decline further and more people will become more heavily dependent on public services that the Government would increasingly struggle to fundand implement. This will lead inexorably to the collapse of the Island’s social, economic and governance structures.”
That is natural. But then came this: “We will reverse what we feel has been the neglect of the Overseas Territories over the last decade . . . .” Minister Allan Duncan.
Economic Collapse? It did since 1995. So, imagine in 2011 February saying that Montserrat must try to stand on “its own two feet. They had said this or got Montserrat to say, ten years earlier, it is ready to stand on its own two feet, until the Chief Minister retracted when The Montserrat Reporter asked him, “how?” But by the end of the 2011, they were admitting neglect and promising to make it all good, with the proviso of justification, followed up by promises by Premier Meade’s government via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to put their (UK) delay tactics in place.
The problem however, it is the way they condone any mishandlings on Montserrat’s part or their own. Instead of being straight, they have to continue their diplomatic and subtle practices of not being direct with the issues.
It must be that too many people misunderstand cutbacks, outsourcing and economic development, especially when narrowed to Montserrat’s special case. Make no mistake, no one is looking for hand-outs, when they said in November, 1998 that the island must depend on “the government’s intention to be the catalyst for the economic development of Montserrat,” promised in a MoU between HMG and Montserrat almost fourteen (14) years ago.
Here is a quote from an American calling for the US to continue its strive to improve on their education goals. “You can’t be pro-business without being pro-education.” Can this Montserrat government say it is for business/development and agree to cut an already stringent education budget? Castro said, “each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor.”
Another says, cutbacks take money out of the economy and take away jobs, and kills development. The Premier cannot be saying to the people, “we can’t short change our children and sell them out…” having just shortchanged them ALL opportunity to be ‘well’ educated. Education of the children must be a priority. There have been some angry people over this education matter. Yes question, demand. Montserrat and UK Governments must come ‘clean’.
When they ask Premier Meade to justify his requests for developmental support for this island, we beg him, simply pull up the Sustainable Development Plan 1998-2002, the justifications are all there. The Hon. Don Romeo is cataloguing or has catalogued much of the supporting evidence. Contrary to the Premier’s attitude, until Montserrat makes a clear case just waiting to be exposed and exploited to its benefit, the British subtlety, hypocrisy, and pressures, will empty Montserrat leaving it to be developed as the haven they will enjoy. Time is nothing to them. Money is only a matter of whose pockets it goes.
The West Indies cricket team, and others, did beat the English at the game they mastered, but that was only for a time.
