REPORT #37 Jan 1999
SOMETHING WRONG AS THE BRITISH CARIBBEAN BUILD A POLITICAL LIFETIME CAREER ARISTOCRACY? THE SYSTEM SEEMS FLAWED AND UNDEMOCRATIC. RESULTS ARE VERY BAD IN MOST CASES, WITH SOARING NATIONAL DEBTS INSTEAD OF SELF SUFFICIENCY!


Produced by the Belize Development Trust
Britain: The Prime Minister Tony Blair has introduced legislation to throw out the hereditary aristocracy from the House of Lords. These politicians do not get their position by election but by inheritence going back to the 11 th century. Britain is plagued by undemocratic government.

Even the Caribbean which has adopted most of the undemcratic methods of Great Britain is plagued by aristocrat politicians since Independence some 30 years ago. Names like Seaga, Jagan, Price, Esquivel have been kicking around for ad finitum years. A political aristocracy that seems to have arisen from the party organizational structure, in which a political party leader gets to be a professional politician for a life time career. The British Caribbean has seen it's share of dunderheads, megolmaniacs and dictators since 1949. Yet the same names keep cropping up, despite their notable lack of success in alleviating poverty, and securing economic progress for their peoples. The fault in this British system, seems to be the party structure. But perhaps not! For a democratic system in which the Prime Minister and Cabinet members should be elected by citizens, the usage of a party leader as a Prime Minister and main supporters of a clique within a political party, getting to be cabinet ministers, seems highly undemocratic.

Perhaps Belize needs to consider independently elected Prime Minister and independent elected Cabinet Ministers, for just one, or two year terms? Similar to the State Government of Florida. Or perhaps, another alternative would be like Switzerland where the government at national level is run by a Collegiate body, like the Managing Committee of our Cooperative system in Belize. In Switzerland, the Prime Minister is rotated each year and is largly ceremonial. In the State Government of Florida with independently elected cabinet ministers method, our elected Prime Minister would only have one vote in the Cabinet and not be able to command obedience, as in the current dictatorial system. To get a smooth development curve you need widespread checks and balances and decentralized power. This forces a situation in which you get a consensus rather than six people like in Belize making decisions down to the micro-level from a political party. Because they are cronies and the power clique in a political party. The British Caribbean system is highly undemocratic and has not solved the problems of the Caribbean at all. Yet the same faces, names and leaders are still there in most countries. This should raise alarm in the population and make one wonder on how to reorganize things, so different faces and attitudes get to become leaders in government annually, or over several years. Also we need to make the political process one of finding consensus, not following some crackpot ideas like Jagan of Guyana, or Seaga of Jamaica and others.

Britain itself has a long way to go to finding and implementing democracy. The introduction of legislation to throw out the hereditary aristocracy is but just a start. I'm sorry Prince Charles will lose his free parking spot and the exclusive club use of the Parliament bars and tea rooms. But then, I think he and his family should go also. Hereditary anything is wrong. You have to earn it, through the judgement of your peers. That is democracy.

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