The Myth of Lost Dignity-a Respone to Critics of Government’s Public Support Programme

“If we can observe pain and not feel it, we do not care; we have no love!

Subtle messages are sent by many in their quest to dismiss the response to citizens’ challenges introduced by the Government through its Public Support Programme. As one great teacher proclaimed almost two thousand years ago, “there will always be the poor among us!” Such call to awareness cannot be left unattended; it must evoke a response, human yet divine, to reach out to help, to assist. It is our response to share with those unfortunate ones among us that truly defines a caring and loving society!

Awareness of misfortune among people comes with spending time with, by, and around them. We must understand the plight of the poor and be ready to take action that not only recognizes their presence in our midst but reaches out in mercy. It is important to know that our call as fellow human beings is to take care of those who fall into misfortune; it is not enough to just know! It is our merciful response that is critical and we must be guarded that the exchange whether fair and just must not be disfigured with apathy, malice, or lack of mercy. We are called to ‘do the right, be firm, be fair!”

The Hon. Prime Minister is acting independently to do the right. In this instance he seeks always to position the Government to be response-able particularly to the plight of the poor or the unfortunate. There are obviously those who in the desire to criticize seek out a specific area to launch their criticism with or without merit. Accountability which comes from the term to be answerable and which in turn is derived from the term responsible must be placed in the context of whom and to whom. The Government is responsible for the citizens and in the execution of its mandate must always ensure that the beneficiaries of its acts are foremost the citizens of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

The attempt to draw all the focus of the Government’s response through the Office of the Prime Minister in the narrow confines of the administrative process and necessary scrutiny denotes no different the scruples of the Pharisees who were more preoccupied with the who and when and whose authority that the acts of mercy were committed that there was complete failure to recognize the most important facet: mercy rendered, mercy delivered! Such parallel is profound; we must be reminded further of the seemingly merciful utterance of another famous biblical character: ‘why not sell this expensive oil and give the money to the poor!’ We are told such words came from the Treasury Keeper himself! Much more need not be said, the story reveals more cunning and hypocrisy that is not unlike these two observations:

1. Talk Show Appeal for Housing Assistance: A pledge was called in by the Leader of the Freedom Party offering financial assistance to self-claimed deprived citizen to have her house project completed.

2. Sunday, October 12, 2009, River Street, Roseau: The Parliamentary Representative of Roseau seen distributing meals to the hungry vagrants in the area.

What procedure was followed to determine who received or not; how do we categorize these two acts? What is the criterion used to determine whether these acts follow correct administrative procedure or not; why didn’t the two politicians in question used perhaps the established non-governmental institution to direct their benevolent acts? Do these acts in themselves dilute or render unimportant those self same institutions? And who am I to judge these ‘acts of mercy?’

Today the keeper of Dominica’s treasury commonly referred to as the Minister of Finance has been given the authority to spend the spoils of the Treasury according to the approved purposes outlined in the Government’s Budget and subsequent Supplementary Estimates. To come today and question the Prime Minister’s acts of mercy through the parliamentary sanctioned Public Support Programme is of poor taste particularly when the critics are invariable recipients of a Government grant (money, scholarship, loan, reference, guarantee, job) some point within their own life journey which culminate in the level of independence and progress that they now enjoy.
How do you explain the outright disrespect to the citizens of Dominica and the obvious contempt for established institutions such as the Parliament which is the designated forum for discussing, arguing and explaining the merits and demerits of the government’s use of Treasury funds, when the complainants always walk away or never stay in to contribute!?

To look down on the recipients of today and to relegate the act of public support through the Minister of Finance to a mere question of procedure and criteria is just cruel and distasteful. I besiege these individuals to come forward and pledge their wealth so that more can be served or form a foundation if they would rather maintain some control as to who receives or not. Please take the leaf of the late Dame’s example, recognizing that her Government’s resources were inadequate to finance the many requests confronting her she established a foundation using her personal wealth to assist those whom her favor rested on!

The Hon. Prime Minister sits and prepares proposals and during his many trips to represent the interest of Dominica, negotiates and humbly requests funds to provide relief for the people. As an active legislator and Parliamentary Representative he made a well thought out choice to extend as the Prime Minister the same courtesies to the entire nation that which he provides to his constituents. Such privilege is a natural and unavoidable outcome of being the Prime Minister of the country.

If such advantageous and legal and natural privileges did not exist in the Office of Prime Minister, I dare all who now desire such office to tell the people of Dominica what internal motive or character trait that is drawing them to become the Prime Minister. Are they driven by the desire to really help the unfortunate that will always be among us; do they see the role of government in the redistribution of wealth so that the least fortunate has an opportunity to progress in society; isn’t it the government’s responsibility to look out for those whose fortunes are illusive and unattainable despite best efforts!?

Tell us if they are not in it for any personal privilege and they will just become another civil servant who sits and waits for tax revenues to run the country allowing the administrators to decide on what is important and who is important! Perhaps to even dissolve the Legislative arm of government upon their election into office! Who do you expect to decide on how the money is spent? Which constitution are these critics operating under; America’s, England’s? Come on this is Dominica! The constitution and its associated laws define very clearly what roles and responsibilities the Council of Ministers or Cabinet has. To draw the attention away from this fact and to look down in a subtle manner of the responsible and unprecedented way in which many unfortunate Dominicans are receiving a way out of the cycle of poverty and despondency is no different from an oppositions cry of foul because it is simple disadvantaged by this mere fact.

I say to the Opposition today, you were elected by the people to act on their behalf. You failed miserably to do so; instead you spent quite a lot of government’s resources acting in your own favor. On most occasions, you as Ministers were invariably the direct recipients of the assistance extended to your selected few. Today you cry foul because unlike yourself, the Hon. Prime Minister seeks out to help those whom he sees, hears and knows are not able to help themselves. There are persons who must sell their property, use up all their life’s savings, and deprive their children of an advance education in order to save the life of one sick family member. It is within such the basis for the Prime Minister’s response is birthed and grown. This is the issues we deal with and which confronts us daily in the Office of the Prime Minister; the very requests defines the need for an appropriate response and such response if it accrues benevolence toward the Hon. Prime Minister, is nothing but a humbling yet fulfilling experience. Moreover we are forever grateful for the mercies of God in allowing the Hon. Prime Minister to be the instrument through which these merciful acts are dispensed.

There are many whose intentions are suspicious, unbecoming and perhaps mischievous as they seek to receive of the support provided. This you argue requires appropriate procedures or criteria to evaluate the requests and account for the expenditures that ensue. Such critique subjects the discussion to the subtle issue of superiority. Are you suggesting that the Hon. Prime Minister and his support staff are not “qualified” to undertake such task? Are you suggesting that you will do a better job; are you questioning the very existence of the Hon. Prime Minister? I ask that you pay attention to your criticism very closely; they are very dishonorable and demeaning and if this is your brand of politics then we can safely say that your politics is cheap and a thing of the past!

Just imagine that an article and a statement of the intricacies of a government’s programme is written or made based on an un-researched, uninvestigated, unevaluated criticism. Gullibility becomes the order of the day because the intention is not to inform and educate but to render lifeless the very means, acts, and persons that helps to remove Dominica from such lowness. The level of humility to accept that Dominica is on the path of true progress and that the world over has come to respect Dominica’s responsible stewardship in a very devastating economic era is certainly beyond those whose lives have been wired to maintain the status quo for the past thirty years. They are the type that never lifted a finger to assist anyone rise and they secretly plunder the very acts they condemn to advance their own selfish desires. There is no respect for such defeatist minds.

Look carefully at those who claim to be Dominica’s champions of progress and righteousness today. One could easily believe that these folks never lived in Dominica at all and had absolutely no part to play in any of its institutions. Now as they prepare for their final days on the earth they want Dominican’s to believe that they possess all the answers to its problems; where were you when the current Prime Minister was a little boy? What were you doing to prevent the eventual problems that we as a country now face? How did your life impact on the development of this country?

Perhaps the very cloud that covered your eyes to the plight of the nation remains today blinding you of the very view that many of these problems are being addressed; your denial is your own downfall; your disbelief your own demise! Only a foolish man reduces the importance of the progress made today in his effort to promote himself.

To say that the government is not managing the finances of this country in a responsible manner to ensure that despite the economic squeeze it can maintain some level of fiscal discipline, continue to create opportunities for investments, and to provide social safety nets for the disadvantaged is liken to a man with eyes wide open and hands covering them shouting where should I make my next step; this person is blinded by their own arrogance and naivety.