Go Lean…Caribbean

Go Lean Commentary

A Traffic Light is a simple instrument for controlling transport; it ensures order and security for the public. This is an issue of governance, not politics.

There must be an orderly arrangement for society to function. If a driver does not obey the commands of a Traffic Light he/she would be considered a Bad Actor. This is Good Governance.

Even if its midnight and no other traffic is on the road, if a person waits at a RED traffic light, their compliance would be considered normal; a violation of this norm – even with no traffic at midnight – would be inexcusable and indefensible.

Good Governance is expected to be the norm in any society.

This was the declaration in the book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free. The purpose of the Go Lean book is the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), as a technocratic federal government for the 30 member-states of the political Caribbean. The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for this new regime in governance; this mandate is for Good Governance. Notice these statements in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 10 – 12):

Preamble: … while our rights to exercise good governance and promote a more perfect society are the natural assumptions among the powers of the earth, no one other than ourselves can be held accountable for our failure to succeed if we do not try to promote the opportunities that a democratic society fosters.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xii. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.

There is a contrast to Good Governance; no doubt “Partisan Politics” fits in that contrast. This refers to the trend of prioritizing and conforming to the whims of a political party over the needs of a government. Imagine shutting down a government because a stakeholder wants their “pet” project funded. This happened; this was a recent threat in the US for President Donald Trump and his desire for a border wall over the passage of the federal government’s annual budget.  See summary of the news story here:

Title: Trump may choose to shut down the government this weekend over his border wall demands

• President Trump could decide to veto a spending bill and allow parts of the government to shut down.
• The House is set to pass spending legislation as early as Wednesday, and funding for large parts of the government lapses on Sunday at midnight.
• Trump has expressed frustration that the bill does not fund his proposed border wall.

By: Jacob Pramuk | @jacobpramuk

Published 12:48 PM ET Wed, 26 Sept 2018; retrieved from:
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/26/trump-may-force-government-shutdown-over-border-wall-spending.html 

See VIDEO presentation of this news story in the Appendix below.

Obviously Good Governance and “Partisan Politics” do no equate. Consider that traffic light analogy from the outset of this commentary. While the need for law-and-order may not be in dispute, where a community chooses to put a traffic light, or a road or highway for that matter, may be politically motivated, with a lot of party dynamics, and Crony-Capitalistic influences.

This is not just an American drama; this is very much alive and well in the Caribbean region. Consider this example from Barbados; they must reboot a lot of their government financing because of excessive debt; will they now follow a path of Good Governance or “Partisan Politics”? See the news story here:

Title: Former Saint Lucia PM Confident Barbados Will Return to Glory Days
Barbados Today:–  St Lucia’s former prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony has described Barbados’ economic restructuring as necessary and unavoidable.

But Dr Anthony told Barbados TODAY he was confident the country would return to its glory days, while calling on the Government to continue communicating with citizens during the adjustment process.

“I think the policy measures of the Government are necessary and unavoidable because they have inherited a very difficult and complex situation,” he said as he reacted to Government’s ongoing debt restructuring exercise.

Pointing out that Barbados had gone through several “painful adjustments” in the past, Anthony said it meant [be] that there were some continued structural deformities.

“But I believe the sacrifice that has to be made at this time is essential to the recovery of Barbados. I think the good thing is that the people of Barbados understand that despite what may have happened in the past, that they do have to make adjustments, that they have to endure some pain before the problems in the economy is resolved,” he said.
…

See the full article at: https://stluciatimes.com/2018/10/14/former-saint-lucia-pm-confident-barbados-will-return-to-glory-days/

As related here, economic restructuring may be “necessary and unavoidable“. This could be a product of a new commitment to Good Governance going forward. But surely, there is no doubt that the lack of Good Governance adherence in the past form a part of the problem. Amazing too, is the observation of one former Head of Government (St. Lucia) about the activities in the government of another member-state (Barbados).

The lack of and need for Good Governance is obviously a regional concern.

This commentary is the first of a 5-part series from the movement behind the Go Lean book in consideration of the Good Governance needs for a new Caribbean regime. The other commentaries in the series are cataloged as follows:

1. Good Governance: … Versus Partisan Politics
2. Good Governance: Stepping Up in an Emergency
3. Good Governance: The Kind of Society We Want
4. Good Governance: Getting ‘Out of the Way’ of Local Economic Empowerment
5. Good Governance: Good Corporate Compliance

No doubt there is the need for Good Governance for the Caribbean; we need better stewardship and shepherding of the 30 member-states – all the island states, plus the 2 South American countries (Guyana and Suriname) and the Central American country of Belize – to ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past and can forge a new future for our children. No future is assured otherwise.

While the focus of this series is on governance, there is the need now to reboot, reform or transform all societal engines including: economics and security. But for this region, the governments are the largest employers and the only security offering. So this is it! To change Caribbean society, our focus must start here with government. Transforming the homeland is our quest, our prime directive. This intent has been proclaimed with the following statements:

• Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
• Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
• Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

There is no doubt that the operations of government is necessary for a functioning society.

As related in a previous blog-commentary, there is an implied Social Contract that states “that citizens surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the State in exchange for protection of remaining natural and legal rights”. The more efficient a State is in delivering its obligations to its citizens, the better for that State, and its citizens. For when there is failure in this delivery, people complain, protest and … leave (or flee)!

Puerto Rico High Resolution Population Concept

This flight or societal abandonment is among the most distressing challenges for Caribbean society today.

Remember the foregoing story on Barbados, imagine their finances. Imagine bonds and debt authorized with the expectation of future payments as a factor of economic activity from the population – pennies on the dollar as in Sales Tax or Value-Added Tax (VAT) – but the population has decreased … due to abandonment and defection. This story is being repeated in one Caribbean member-state after another – i.e. Puerto Rico may have lost 470,000 people – 14% of the population – since Hurricanes Maria and Irma in September 2018 – Source posted February 20, 2018.

These previous Go Lean commentaries on Defection related this sad actuality:

It is the assertion of the Go Lean book that Good Governance is a deterrence to defection. This is the lesson learned from so many other communities that have endured this plight; consider again, the Doctors in the Greece crisis. We must simply do better with delivering on the Social Contract. The book calls for this delivery responsibility to be split between the CU federal agencies and the existing member-states. This is referred to as a Separation of Powers.

Within the 370-pages of the Go Lean book are details of the Good Governance requirement for the new Caribbean. Here is a sample of references to the eco-system of Good Governance through-out the Go Lean book:

This is the vision of an efficient governing regime for the Caribbean region. This is a transformation for how and where a new societal eco-system can be introduced and engineered here.

Yes, we can …

The CU will also launch the www.myCaribbean.gov website on Day One/Step One of this confederation roadmap. This Government portal, is part of the Social Contract delivery. This portal resembles a social media site, accessible from computers and smart-phones, allowing citizens to interact with their government from the palm of their hands. Consider how this vision – e-Government and e-Delivery – have been portrayed in these previous blog-commentaries; see this sample:

We must reform and transform our Caribbean governing engines. We want Good Governance, not “Partisan Politics”. While it may be heavy-lifting to weed out the corrupting influence of “Partisan Politics” from existing member-state governments, it is easier to start aright with the new federal government: the CU Trade Federation.

“Abandonment and Defection” is a Caribbean reality due to inefficiencies in the delivery of the Social Contract. Let’s put that reality in our “rearview mirror” and move forward in building a better homeland to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Appendix VIDEO – Trump could shut down parts of government over border wall funding – https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/09/26/trump-could-shut-down-parts-of-government-over-border-wall-funding.html

Trump could shut down parts of government over border wall funding from CNBC.

Published on September 26, 2018 – While the Government was not shutdown before the 2018 Mid-Term elections; this threat shows the preponderance for “Partisan Politics” over Good Governance … in the US.

Is there a need for a Border Wall? Then build it – that’s Good Governance.

Don’t hold back to protect the Party’s Political prospects.

If there is no money for a wall – or no need? Then let it go.

Do not shutdown the government to make a political point!