My Response to Gabriel Christian -by Peeping Tom

Dear Mr. Christian,

You wrote: “There is now incontrovertible evidence that the governance of the country is merely a front for the illegal and fraudulent activities of our Prime Minister.”

The problem with your words, Mr. Christian, is that they are so absolute that they make your entire commentary seem illogical and at times ludicrous. I know that you are naturally a melodramatic person. However, are you so blinded by your bitterness towards the PM and the pain that you think he may have caused you that your sense of reason is lost?

You as a lawyer should know what “incontrovertible evidence” and “illegal” mean. Suspicion and speculation are not “incontrovertible evidence.” Rumours and gossip are not “incontrovertible evidence.” Unethical conduct is not “illegal.” Prima farcie evidence is not enough to secure a conviction, Mr. Christian. You know this. Any layman listening to the “evidence” that you and your ilk THINK you have that points to “bin bobol” etc. knows that such evidence cannot stand up to scrutiny. Do you know why it will not? Simple: Your evidence, as presented, does not point to any illegal act by this government. Not one. You submit an emotionally charged plea to us, laced with venom and bereft of logic and reason, and you expect us to swallow it? I submit that you have only succeeded in proving how inept you are at proving your case. How do you argue in court? Is this the extent of your logic and reasoning skills?

As for your emails. Ah well, you know how they were gotten, right? Let me offer you two pieces of advice. First, never believe all that you see or hear. Always adopt a “wait and see” approach and suspend your judgement before you are clear on all the facts. As a lawyer, you should know this. Second, be patient and stay tuned.

Additionally, can you conclusively point to WHO benefited from the bin or fertilizer fiascos, if you claim there was bobol? For there to be theft/bobol, someone must have benefited. If there were corruption in any of those dealings, someone must have conspired to benefit or to have someone else benefit. Can you or your troupe show Dominicans who was involved, who benefited, and how that person benefited? If you can successfully do so, you would have moved from suspicion and speculation into evidence, Mr. Christian. This much, you should know because you are a lawyer. Your evidence, Mr. Christian, falls way short of proving your allegations of theft and illegal acts. So, why do you insult us by repeating the slogans of a failed political party? Why do you insist, in spite of your intellect, on wanting us to believe what is not? Why?

It appears, Mr. Christian, that In YOUR mind, where there is suspicion of guilt; there is guilt. Shame on you, Mr. Christian. As a lawyer, you ought to know otherwise. Shame on you! As a learned man, you ought not to try to “broobroo” your compatriots.

You see, Mr. Christian, the PM may very well be guilty of all the sins that you ascribe to him. YOU have not yet proven your case. The PM may very well have dabbled in corrupt actions. The opposition (lower case “o”) has not yet proven this. He may very well be found to be sometimes unethical in his conduct of matters of state. I don’t know this. What I know is that he is imperfect like you and me. Still, nothing that warrants skinning him alive or replacing the DLP.

Here’s why, Mr. Christian; note well. For all its imperfections and errors and sins (I am sure the party has committed a few), the DLP remains the only party that is sufficiently organized and focused to lead Dominica “to the next level.” Whether you like to admit this fact or not, it remains a fact. Additionally, no other political party today has articulated a coherent and rational plan to develop Dominica. None. Don’t take my word for it, Mr. Christian. Look around. The UWPwee’s “Clean and Green” platform sounds like a good slogan until you look just beneath the surface and find it is sometimes superficial, very costly, does not explain how the plan will be financed, and impractical for this stage in our development; not for all time, just this stage in our development. A development plan is not just about fancy ideas, Mr. Christian. A plan is a road map where all the pieces fit and where resources and timelines are defined. No other party has articulated a plan for D/ca. I dare you to prove me wrong. There is no alternative – TINA!

Second, please continue to take note, which other leader has the drive and vision and charisma to move us forward. Frankly, Mr. Skerrit’s success at negotiating opportunities for our development is based partly on his charm. No, not his dimples; his charisma! Do you see Ron or Judith with this charisma, Mr. Christian? Do you even see any of them with the national appeal that can glue the nation together?

Still, you wish that we vote the DLP out of office. You did not say with whom we should replace the DLP, though. Am I supposed to assume then that you wish us to replace it with one of the opposing parties? Or, are you suggesting for a moment that we elect a motley crew of disgruntled and bitter DLP ingrates, discarded crooks, and lost and confused politicians? Whom do you suggest we elect? Well, let’s take a closer look.

Hon. Ron Green (affectionately known as “Ron”) and the UWPwee?

1. Mr. Green sat in the UWPwee government and he can take credit for advancing universal secondary education.
2. He can also proudly claim that he participated in that government while it plundered our treasury and burdened us with debt (I hope that you remember the RBTT scandal) so that his government was forced to use Social Security monies to pay salaries; and he said and did nothing. Do you remember this, Mr. Christian? I do.
3. He can also proudly claim that he witnessed proven instances of misappropriation of funds (an EU funded water project, for example) and he said and did nothing;
4. He witnessed, encouraged, or rubber stamped the sale of passports to Chinese to the point that the Canadian government imposed visa restrictions on Dominicans (after his government was booted from office) and he did and said nothing to stop the abuse;
5. He wined and dined and cheered with the UWPwee Cabinet as international organizations prepared to blacklist us for having an, at best, suspect economic citizenship scheme and questionable offshore banking practices, and he did and said nothing to reign in his government and rescue Dominica;
6. He cheered with his team as at least a million dollars went missing from a road project and he did or said nothing to recover that money and restore Dominica’s good name;
7. He supervised the wanton abuse of a State financial mechanism (issuing LPO’s that were redeemable at only one business place in Roseau, that of a sitting minister of government) and he did and said nothing;
8. He witnessed a contemptuous and brazen attempt by one of the most senior members of his cabinet to use state lands to secure a loan for a private company, in effect an attempt to steal public real estate, and Hon. Ron Green did and said nothing about this: only the 2005 election stopped the gentleman in question, etc etc.

Do you recall any of these, Mr. Christian? These were not mere allegations based on speculation and suspicion. Ron is likely an accomplice to these, and the scores of UWPwee sins that I have neither the appetite nor the stomach to list here. Yes, in the 4.5 years that Hon. Ron Green occupied a ministerial position he, if I may use the opposition’s logic, silently approved the crimes of his party, or was himself involved. Yet, you tacitly, perhaps, wish that I remove the DLP administration to send Ron and his band of jolly men to run things? Come now!

Lately, Ron has proven that he cannot manage, he cannot be trusted, he is pliable, gullible, and has the mental faculty of a simpleton. How do you explain, Mr. Christian, that even after making a fool of himself my predicting election date (his own pardner “Shanks” said so) on a weekly basis, Hon. Green is still unable to get his blue train energized and moving? He is only now (well, this past weekend) having meetings to plan a “programme of campaign activities!” Ron’s latest blunder was to read excerpts of the PM’s speech and critique the same before the PM had actually read the speech, knowing full well that the speech was gotten through illegal means. In other words, Ron was foolish enough to show the world that he had received stolen property and he was even more foolish to say that he will not apologize for using the speech, further implicating himself and taking down his party! Who wants a PM like this, Mr. Christian? Now, I don’t believe that Ron is stupid. He simply is out of his league and is not ready for the top job.

Give us one reason, Mr. Christian, why we should replace the DLP with Ron and the UWPwee, if this is your thinking. Only one likkle reason! Ron is a nice guy, but this is as far as it gets. I find the thought of Hon. Ron Green as my PM rather revolting!

The DFP

As for the DFP and Judith! Well, frankly, she arrived on the scene too late. I have listened to her and she seems intelligent. I cannot say the same for Ron Green and I think she is more intelligent than PM Skerrit. Then again, she has the advantage of maturity and wisdom. She served us as a diplomat and although I am unaware of her feats in that capacity, I am prepared to concede that she may have served with distinction; whatever this means. Still, the DFP is a party that is finding its way and its leader, Mrs. Pestaina, is equally unprepared for us. The DFP appears to be stuck in nostalgia and has not yet understood the new geopolitical landscape and its existing tributaries and distributaries. TODAY, we need an aggressive foreign policy and equally aggressive and innovative domestic policies. Hey, I don’t mean jingoistic or belligerent! No, Mr. Christian, I mean visionary, bold, sustainable, creative, and decisive. The DFP has not yet articulated one sentence that proves it is ready to take on this stance. Neither has the party shown how it will take D/ca forward if we vote them in and how it will finance its plans for development. Its platform of anti-corruption, integrity, and good governance is nice-sounding. It is reminiscent of a previous DLP’s campaign. However, such a platform does not spell out how we move from these ideals to practical solutions that matter. Integrity and good governance do not bring food on the table or educate my children or build a hospital in my community and a bridge so I can cross the river to get to the hospital.

The DFP, Mr. Christian, is a work in progress. They may have potential but the old guard like Carbon, Boston, and Sabaroche has to go though. If I may borrow a colloquial expression: “Dey eh ready yet!”

So, Mr. Christian, when all is said and done we cannot remove the DLP from office. Well, at least not now. We must maintain the stability that we now have. Dominicans will choose the DLP over any other party here, in spite of the loud noises that you and your horde make because the DLP is simply the best, or the least bad, of the lot. True, the DLP administration has sometimes blundered badly. However, we will vote the DLP back in power because

1. The party has performed under severe financial limitations. No doubt. It has done so. Read the glowing reports and praises!
2. The DLP administration has rescued us from atrophy. Do you even begin to understand how bad things were with us in the last year of the UWPwee and the succeeding three years? To move from a position of economic collapse to one of growth and stability in nine years is a feat that has to be acknowledged and rewarded. Whether you agree or not, the facts are there for all. So, debating this is a waste of your and my time.
3. Although the party’s leadership has sometimes sinned, their sins are comparable to those of previous governments; not justifiable but we expect imperfections. We do not expect supermen and women. Besides, these sins pale in comparison to the social and infrastructural developments here in the past years.
4. Although the party has erred, sir, there is no alternative (TINA)!

No other party has a record of performance and a slate of programmes and projects for Dominica. Heck! The UWPwee and the DFP cannot even secure adequate funds for their campaigns yet, you want us to elect these parties? Are you for real?

Your constant ramblings about illegal acts and corruption are a mere irritant, as much as they are sensational and melodramatic. Sure, we too have our suspicions and questions; not enough to vote them out and then ask “who next!?” Your conclusions and your conviction even when you do not have all the facts do not do justice to you or the Christian family. Your noises are similar to Lennox Linton’s. The only difference is that he is worse than you at drawing conclusions. You are a lawyer, Mr. Christian. You know how evidence and legal/illegal and justice coexist. If you are so convinced that the PM is bad, etc. take the evidence to the IPO. That institution is a symbol of our democracy and it must be used as such. Use it. You too called for it. Why are you afraid to use it? I submit that you are scared to use it because you know too well that really, your case will be found wanting.

Don’t insult us, Mr. Christian! As they say, come again.

To you, sir, with love!

Peeping Tom

My Response to Gabriel Christian -by Peeping Tom7.0103