All saints west community website

Creating an environment where all are involved and none is excluded Where information and ideas can flow freely.                                              

 

    05/06/08

            Independence message for Antiguans and Barbudans

 

 

 

 

Those of us who are familiar with the Bible can recall the story where the disciples went fishing for a whole night and caught nothing. Morning came Jesus arrived and enquired about the nights events. They told him they had not met with any success. He then told them to cast their net on the “other side.” At first they protested that if they had caught nothing all nigh it was not likely that they would catch anything in the day, especially when they were so close to shore. anyhow they did as they were told, and caught more fish than they could handle.

Now let us look at our situation in Antigua and Barbuda today, for years and years we have looked outside of Antigua and Barbuda for that “big investor”, who is going to take our land and in return develop the country. Yet twenty-six years after “independence” much of our land has been lost and “we have caught nothing.” We are still looking for some “Big Investor” to “develop” us. I think we need to “cast our net on the other side.” We should start to look within Antigua and Barbuda for our development.

I believe that it is time for us, who are disrespectfully referred to as “The ordinary man in the street” to be given a chance to “develop” ourselves.

As a start I suggest the government could give the tiny sum of one million dollars to the All Saints West Constituency. With which we could start a constituency bank. This could then be used to purchase and import one thousand computers which the community could in turn sell to the residents at a reasonable price of Fifteen Hundred Dollars. I suggest that at the beginning the bank should only finance computers, because I believe all the residents of the community should be given the opportunity to help decide how the bank should be managed and the internet is the best and most efficient way for us to communicate with each other.

If the government is willing to “cast their net on the other side”, and do as I suggest I can assure them that by the end of 2008 everyone in the community who so desires would have a computer, and by January 2010 we could take over all our solid waste management. All for an investment of, not one hundred million dollars, just one million which would be just about .1% of next years budget.

As I envision it the constituency would appoint a five person committee to oversee the bank. The Government would then place the million dollars in a commercial bank, if possible in an interest bearing account. Once the money is in place the computers would be ordered, perhaps two hundred in the first instance. This committee would interview persons and approve or reject applications for loans.

Once a loan is approved the person would be given their computer in the constituency, but payment would be made at the commercial bank where the real cash would be located and because every transaction would be done on line we would have full transparency .

One result of this policy would be that unlike the central government which conducts the peoples business locked away somewhere In some cabinet, the community bank would conduct all it’s business online for all to see.

Another advantage that the bank would have is the residents of the community, the shareholders would receive no cash payments from the bank. What they would receive would be benefits. This would begin with a cleaner environment, but according to the success of the bank could expand to include even our roads. The shareholders could also decide what percentage of the profit should be reinvested, and how much should be used for social transformation

                                                            Rupert E. Henry

     Please! Please! Please!

     Think independently

26 years

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Education for 21’stentury Problem with education

Freedom of speach.

Sunday 29’th Oct. 2007

                                            Golden opportunity

 

For a long tine I have observed a link between foolishness and wickedness. What puzzles me is whether a person is wicked because they are foolish or foolish because they are wicked.  What ever the answer one thing is certain both the past and present governments have done some foolish, wicked things to the people of Antigua and Barbuda. However the purpose for which I am writing is not to chronicle the foolishness of the past I am trying to prevent more foolishness from taking place in the future.

I am very much afraid that our government will let another opportunity for the people of Antigua and Barbuda to elevate them selves pass. We missed a golden opportunity at the turn of the last century. If the past government had heeded my advise we would have been prepared. They did not heed my advise, as a result unlike India that was prepared and made millions, we got nothing.

India had an abundance of computer programmers and when the need arose they filled that need. Also, because India was able to demonstrate that it could deliver high quality work at comparatively low cost they have been able to attract many investors. They did not have to give concessions to attract investors, they only had to supply what was in demand.

Once again I am appealing to the government to use the opportunity that will come with the liberalisation of the telecommunications market to benefit the people of Antigua and Barbuda. When LIAT gets into financial trouble many persons will say sell shares to the public, APUA gets into financial trouble; sell shares to the public, Royal Antiguan, financial trouble, public. Only entities that are in financial difficulties are ever considered suitable for the “ordinary man in the street.”

A person does not need to have a PhD to know that there is and will be a demand for computers. I have already outlined how we in All Saints West could handle the supply side. I still don’t know whether a person is wicked because they are foolish or foolish because they are wicked, but I am asking those in authority not to be so foolish or wicked that they let this opportunity pass. 

                                                                                                   Rupert E. Henry

 

 

THE MAIN PROBLEM WITH EDUCATION IN ANTIGUA and BARBUDA AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM

I do not like to say “I told you so.“ I also do not like to lie. However if I find myself in a position where I have to choose between the two, I will always say “I told you so.” For years I have being telling the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda that our approach to education is wrong. We do not value knowledge: we love money. Therefore most Antiguans and Barbudans only want to know enough to function at their job. An accountant will have no interest in knowing anything else but accounting. And not only that if they feel secure in their job they will have absolutely no interest in further learning about accounting. Almost all of us have the same attitude. For years I have being telling this nation we need a new attitude towards knowledge. I told them that we should  value knowledge the way we value “food or money.” 

   We do not value education: we endure it. Most of the children in Antigua and Barbuda do not see attending school as an opportunity. They do not see it as a gift. To them it is more like a prison sentence, and many of them just quit. Those who “endure to the end” heave a sigh of relief when the “end” comes. Some might think that dropping out of school is a foolish act, but when they consider what I said about only wanting to know enough to get money, these early leavers might know what they can do to get money. We need to teach our children to value education from an early age. We also need to teach them to respect their teachers and others.

   This brings us to the adults. Many of the adults are rude, disrespectful, semiliterate or illiterate. The semiliterate would include anyone who is not computer literate and the illiterate would include anyone who could not assemble a washing machine or perhaps a computer by following written instructions. Because many of the parents cannot read they cannot help their children, as a result these children are likely to lag behind those who have help. We need to help these parents also.

    “I told you so!” When the ALP administration wanted to justify the introduction of the education levy, they said it was important that everyone should have a good education. Although I did not expect them to use the money for educational purposes, I gave them my support but I suggested that they use radio and television as part of the educational system. I made that suggestion because even then I was aware of the need to educate adults as well as children. They never did. After the administration changed, I outlined to a minister of government how we could use the radio, television and internet to make education available to every one. I was informed by the honourable gentleman that he was old-fashioned.

   We cannot afford to be old fashioned. We need to create a new modern interactive education system where the instructor could be in Angola and the classes could be in Antigua. At the same time the parents should be able stay at home and interact with the process.

                                                                                                                                                             Rupert E. Henry

Phone: 1 268 772 1261

             1 268 773 5540

E-mail: dadianhenry@hotmail.com

            dadianhenry@google.com