Thursday, May 22, 2008

 

Seeing red

So we are getting an international airport and a big part of me is happy. At this point am not even too worried about whether or not it would be sustainable. Yes, am more thrilled at the prospect of no more long delays at the Barbados airport etc.

Anyway,today there was a motorcade that took the newly received equipment to Argyle for use. I refuse to comment on the motorcade concept but I observed that flags in the colour of the ruling party were being flown on the tractors carrying the equipment.

You know all along I thought the airport project was a project of the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Silly me to even think that Governments understood the difference between parties and governments.

Comments:
The political climate in the West Indies and St.Vincent in particular is such that this kind of display will not end anytime soon. We are an island of party politics, a land where ruling parties splash trademarks on and event that should be all about the country.

This is only the beginning, watch and see, the opposition will never utter a word of support for the airport project because the idea is not one they get credit for, instead they will do what they do best,"protest" against any plans or discussion in parliament by staying away. Brilliant.

Maybe one day we will get over this party politics and elected officials will act as representatives of the people like they should and stop taking jabs at each other.
 
Yes,indeed,the political culture in many of these Caribbean islands is one of polarization,divisiveness,and tribalism,and not one of national unity and consensus.Quite frankly,politicians in respective island society have totally decimated and destroyed the national objective.Instead,they have calculatedly and systematically imposed the politics of clientilism,via the respective political elites and the extant ruling or governing political party,which reinforces the division and tribalism in terms of supporters primordial interests and loyalties being with that of the political parties as opposed to the nation-state,with Jamaica being at the extreme end of the political continuum, regarding the ludicrous, pathological,slavish and cultish support and obediance for political parties.Meanwhile,the loyalty and committment to the State is incidental,indifferent and virtually non existence.Hopefully,other nation states in the Anglophone Caribbean will look at the Jamaican paradigm and eventually eschew such a model and promulgate a politics that/which place people/citizens and the nation at the center of political and economic development.Interestingly,and ultimately,it is the citizens of respective island state who/that will have to promote and advance a new national and progressive paradigm, as opposed to supplicating and genuflecting to the retrograde,backward and partisan politics which flourish and permeates the Caribbean,and divdes people in terms of stupid colours and party flags.
 
It seems the political culture is very similar across the Caribbean, where no one put the country's development first, but instead use every opportunity to promote their political parties in an attempt to secure power when election time comes around again.
 
this partisan, yardfowl, political culture we have here in the Caribbean impedes any hope of truly democratic participation not to mention caribbean integration. i'm just sick of party/partisan politics but it's not going to end soon since every minister now expects to retire a millionaire.
 
this not surprising
 
That airport thing is all about regime survival. The red flag on the trucks attest to that. It's a great idea. I hate the delays in Barbados as well. I also hate flying period, so no longer having to change planes I would welcome. It is a great idea. Don't mind the fact that the airport wasn't well planned out in the beginning, as in, you only heard about getting monies for it just prior to the last election, you never see no plans or artistic impressions of the architects plan for the buildings. Don't mind the fact that studies show that where they building it not the best place to build an airport, tail-wind factor and all that jazz. Don't mind the fact that it will break our backs financially to maintain that airport in the long run. Our budding tourism market will offset those costs, right? We want an international airport and we will have an international airport even if it kills us goddammit!!!
 
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