Editorial – October 10, 2014
This week the new Legislative Assembly met the obligation to convene within one month of the conclusion of a General Elections, this time held on September 11, the results declared at dawn of the 12th.
At this meeting all the Legislators but one who was absent took the oath of faithfulness and true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as normal in the Commonwealth, and in particular as an Overseas Territory of that big island of Britain.
All this the result of the General Elections where the People’s Democratic Party (PDM) thrashed the Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP) winning seven seats to two, deservedly when one considers how the MCAP dream team remained in dreamland forgetting to implement the ideals they preached back in 2009.
The PDM government is a young government in many ways, with four of them making their debut, the others in Premier Romeo, Claude Hogan, (having public servant experience) and David Osborne each of whom having served in the legislature for one five-year term previously. Ryan, Dr. Buffonge, Lewis, and Willock are the new comers.
A young government, in age and experience in the areas of governance, but they have promised much and much is expected of them. What has been surprising as they begin their task of building an economy, finding and creating jobs, putting people first, are the many rumours of bad decision making or even misappropriates. The simplest advice we can give is for the Premier to offer leadership seeking and discerning the best advice available. Not everyone will give good advice but there will be some good ones from those least expected.
He must ensure that every decision made must satisfy the question, “did each one of us, put the people first?” Of course it should be understood, the difference between satisfying the majority, when considering also, “doing the right thing!” They will require diligence as they seek to keep the ideals of accountability, transparency, integrity, respect and the rest in focus.
There has developed a culture in Montserrat with so many being encouraged that being selfish is the only way to survive that that belief can wreak havoc for anyone or government seeking to “do the right thing.” These ideals will help them minimize their mistakes while they seek the patience of the many who do not grasp the magnitude of what lay ahead of Montserrat, notwithstanding the encouragement of the former premier to “keep the development thrust going”.
The absence of the former premier at the opening session of the Legislative Assembly has immediately caused a lot of speculation. And when listened to the former Minister’s address on Wednesday evening, the predominant if not the only comment has been one of disappointment. It was indeed difficult to understand his claim that MCAP won at or following the general elections. Most of the PDM legislators extended an invitation of cooperation to the opposition members. The absence of a note or message from opposition leader, who up to now we have learnt only from hearsay took that oath of office before departing Montserrat some weeks ago, almost immediately after the elections, leaves one to believe he will deliver his statement at his first sitting in a seat not too unfamiliar to him.
Maybe his presence back in Montserrat will curtail the unusual preponderance of rumours that at first seemed credible, but putting the new government in a bad light, where the expectation is that they are already a failure before getting out of the box.
