This article has been in gestation for almost five years. Its publication at this time was precipitated by a recent comment to me from a gentleman whom I know. He remarked in disdain, “This country is a mess.” The results of the December 1 elections categorically demonstrated the electorate’s position regarding the gentleman’s claim.
In any event, this article offers some ideas/suggestions on an agenda of change that interested readers may want to consider. A set of Principles are proposed that may guide the direction and actions to achieve the change necessary for the further development of our citizens and the country as a whole.
A Guiding Philosophy
If change is needed there ought to be an overarching concept of what the change is intended to accomplish. There has to be broad consensus and moreover, such change has to inspire and motivate the citizenry to want to participate in its attainment. This is quite a big ask, considering the diverse interests, needs and wants of individuals. There has to be a guiding philosophy that citizens can all buy into, without any groups feeling excluded. Fortunately, there are universal archetypes that virtually every human being recognises. Call them gifts from God or Nature, if you will. They are not taught by anyone but are intrinsically desired and manifested by all. So what are some of those universal archetypes? They include Love, Caring/Nurturing, Justice, Equity/Fairness, Truth, Goodness, Beauty, Abundance (not necessarily material abundance). Who doesn’t want to be part of a society based on and manifesting these qualities? This cannot be considered idealism when it is precisely these qualities that make us human.
Restoration of the Hydrological System
The island’s hydrological system formed over millennia and was intact up until that fateful day Europeans landed on her shores. This one accident of history set off the destruction of the native forest cover which stretched from the coastline to the interior. The devastation has persisted for 500 years. Loss of forest cover creates a cascade effect: disrupted rainfall patterns; increased ambient temperatures; species dislocation and loss; erosion and its down-stream effects such as flooding and marine pollution.
What is to be done: Leave the job to Nature. She created it and will do it again. The evidence is there: Visit Mahaut and other abandoned plantations on the edges of the remaining forest. Nature has begun restoring the damage by allowing trees to grow again. I will leave the details of nation-wide reforestation to the experts. What I will stress though is this: Unless we treat the eradication of the aggressive and highly invasive Leucaena tree as a National Emergency , no reforestation programme will succeed. (The experts know the other trees that need to go as well.)
Local Governance
The criticisms of Party politics and of politicians are well known and won’t be repeated here. So why are we so reluctant to confront the obvious: Something is wrong with the system and it needs to be changed. And the change isn’t drastic; just very painful for self-interested politicians and those who pin their lives on the favors of unscrupulous politicians.
The political structures already exist, so let’s use them. St. Lucia is a Parliamentary Democracy and also has a system of local Government. That is all we need to manage the process of Governance. Why should it be necessary to append political parties to that system, knowing full well the dysfunctional and highly-divisive nature of party politics. Dividing the population into acrimonious groups robs the country of its collective strength.
What is to be done: Make the Local Government System the bedrock of our political and governance systems. It should be the duly elected representative/s of each local government council who should comprise (a considerably enlarged) Parliament, deciding the affairs of the country. Among Parliament’s principal roles would be the selection (and removal, when necessary) of a Prime Minister and the ratification of the Cabinet of Ministers. THIS is what a truly democratic system looks like. Political Parties have taken us to where we are today. Let us see who is prepared to challenge the Status Quo…
Understand Our History and Culture
Who are we? What does it mean to be a Saint Lucian? Does history and identity matter? The simple answer is that history shapes culture and culture determines how we perceive the world and how we act in it.
We are the progeny of an amalgam of ethnicities, mostly “African” brought together under a European system of plantation slavery. The majority of us are the descendants of brutally enslaved peoples who survived that horror. Our first duty then is to be proud of our ancestors and to honour them as our first parents. We also need to be proud of ourselves for creating a national identity and society that has persisted from the abolition of slavery till today, without major social upheaval. We have earned international recognition and respect for nurturing two Nobel Laureates, others who have excelled in their professions and, most recently, a remarkable young lady who has shown the world the TRUE “Spirit of Saint Lucia”.
What is to be done: Understand and build on the work of our historians, researchers, playwrights and poets. Commemorate those critical junctures of our history and celebrate the protagonists/heroes of those events through literature, song, dance, theatre and the myriad forms of cultural expression made possible by modern media.
Health and Nutrition
A Ministry of Health survey in 2024 revealed that more than 60 % of the entire population is either overweight or obese. Assuming the data follows a normal bell curve, it means that at as many as 55,000 persons are likely to (or have already) developed chronic metabolic disease. This constitutes a very real epidemic and must be addressed as such. The chronically ill are those persons who use up most of the health system’s resources, over an extended period. While criticism of certain deficiencies within the health system is justified, even the best-functioning system cannot deal with an overburden of that magnitude. The national health system will eventually collapse unless there are urgent and fundamental changes made to the local diet and primary healthcare.
What is to be done: Promote in every conceivable way, the movement of the entire population toward a whole-foods, largely plant-based diet. Grow the largest variety possible of foods known to promote good health. These will include vegetables (most of all), legumes, tubers, fruits and nuts. (Grains, seeds, nuts, dairy, some meats and healthy oils will need to be imported for the most part.)