This month Montserrat begins to live under a Constitution agreed with Her Majesty’s Government of the United Kingdom. It didn’t come without the confusion which seem to beseech Montserrat, a confusion that comes for the most part from deliberate selfishness.
There were the few who sought to insist that a more thorough consultation and involvement of the Montserrat residents and even the Diaspora, but the dishonesty and refusal to acknowledge that although the process began in 2001 that there were very long gaps of years when not a word was mentioned much more discussed on the Constitution matter.
Even when the concession was made to delay the passing by the Montserrat legislature, the discussions which ensued were not discussions at all, but a distinct attempt at merely telling the populace what was already agreed to in the Constitution.
The UK was not without their culpability in what happened during and at the end of the process, sharing in the culture, (hopefully about to be changed) in not seeking accountability and responsibility for anything, in the end squandering tax payers sweat.
What our leaders, the majority of the Legislature soon to be called ‘Assembly’ and more powerful than them the ‘Cabinet’, will hopefully come to grips with is whether this Constitution will meet even the basic requirements of a Democratic Constitution.
Some of these will be –
So that the people will understand how to respect the rights of others;
Understand that the Government can only ever be a reflection of the people who create it, and therefore to take every reasonable step to support wholesome Government activities, while always vigorously opposing arbitrary, cruel or bureaucratic rule;
To understand the politics of the day and to vote according to their conscience;
To live with sensitive understanding of the ecosphere in which we live and understand how we, as individuals and as a group affect the world around us;
To respect and to help provide for those in need;
To reach their full potential as human beings;
To oppose conflict, both locally and internationally, but be prepared to take a firm moral stand against injustice;
To understand the responsibility of those so elected or appointed to create and foster the environment of responsibility to every human right to a living.
One prominent Montserratian just returning to the island after a very brief absence noted Montserrat should not at all make any reference to the global economic downturn as they could not honestly claim being affected by it. Rather he said it is our own mismanagement aided and abetted by DFID that stagnated. Our own lack of either ability or sincerity continually exhibited by continuous uninsightful leadership.
We can take a look at the recent economic brainwash that has recently enveloped us which so far has only cost the island and a plan that will further enhance the lie.
