Would-be Oligarchs

In several of our recent articles, we have been talking about the negative economic cultures and how these have been contributing to keeping back our progress as a nation. Over the last two weeks, we focused on the culture of corruption, and in the last article, we noted that one manifestation is the emergence of a flourishing crime syndicate culture. Under this culture, crime bosses emerge and sometimes they are political deviants. These bosses buy a critical mass or a strategic group of persons in the police force, and in the judiciary so that justice is perverted! For these deviants, corruption is their key business! These deviants seem to break the law with impunity because they have perverted the administration of justice.

We also noted that our country has become a vile one and we have gotten there because we are led by a wicked and diabolical political regime! Rather than work to increase righteousness in the land, they have exploited and greatly expanded the culture of corruption.

But beyond exploiting the culture of corruption, these political deviants are seeking to use their ill-gotten gains to position themselves as an oligarchy. They seem to be working towards amassing economic power in addition to their ongoing efforts to subvert democracy in order to retain political power. They have amassed wealth through corruption and they have been intentionally denying economic opportunity to the mass population. Their subversion of the administrating of justice is not only to allow them to engage in corruption, but it is also part of their efforts to retain political power, legitimize and protect their ill-gotten gains and expand their economic power.

These political deviants extract every cent that they can from the country and they do so in many ways. In that regard, we are all aware of the ongoing Citizen by Investment (CBI) racket, the corrupt award of the international airport construction contract, the corrupt award of so many other public sector contracts involving kickbacks, among so many other instances of malfeasance.

But the political deviants are aware that to keep the people from reversing their wrongdoing through the electoral process or through other morally right efforts, they must engage in bribery, electoral fraud, and use the police to repress any dissent through intimidation including clear demonstration of the willingness of the police to use deadly force. But they have also engaged in economic repression of the people. While they provide bribes to many, these brides are never of a nature that would make the recipients independent or dignified! The political deviants are very much afraid of a nation of independent people who are thriving economically. Such a nation would certainly reject them in overwhelming numbers! Therefore, they set out to methodically keep the people repressed so that the people never become independent. Take the CBI programme for instance, from which only a few benefit significantly. Who are they? They are the conspirators; the hired fraudsters; the similarly wicked, corrupt, or greedy; and those who conveniently turn a blind eye to the ills of the nation! They are making millionaires out of a few that will help them retain political power and extract wealth from the nation! Guess who is not benefiting? They include the hard-working and honest entrepreneurs; the farmers who can't find markets to sell their produce; the many small hoteliers and business people who are crumbling under a load of debt, and the many with good ideas who need venture capital.

What do the masses get? Crumbs really! Nothing that will make the masses dignified, independent, and thriving. Enough to make those without hope feel grateful but not enough to set them free from poverty. We can become a thriving nation, but I can guarantee you that this will not happen until we rid ourselves of these "would-be oligarchs" who intentionally keeping the masses powerless in order to concentrate economic and national power into their hands. Many praying people have indicated that these "would-be oligarchs" or the crime bosses even engage in the occult in an effort to get and retain wealth and control the people!

But my dear people of Dominica, have no fear of the evildoers. Their days are numbered! I am determined to stand with you to save our country! Let us turn to righteousness and keep praying. Let us bind together in this season. Despite the government, let us make extraordinary efforts to bring prosperity to the people. Let us work towards positive cultures – the dream culture and the commonwealth culture! Let us talk about that in the next article.

But we have hope! We can restore the essence of the nation. Let us start that journey by returning to the place where we are a nation that is full of Godly reverent fear. Let us confront their occult with prayer; let us make extraordinary efforts to bring real hope to the people and let us not be fearful of evildoers.

Kent Vital Economist