Absolute need for united opposition in Dominica

Roseau, Dominica (TDN) --

One of the striking hallmarks of a true democratic political system is the highly visible apparatus of checks and balances. These are basically guidelines to follow in order that things don’t get out of control. The powers that be are therefore kept in check!

Abuses of the system, misuse of resources are controlled, the right persons are placed in the relevant positions, persons and institutions are rewarded justly. In other words, laws are put in place by sane trained individuals to fairly govern themselves and the population at large.

One of the legs of the checks and balances provision is having an opposition in place. A functioning opposition should be sufficiently formidable to keep the government up and about. An opposition is as strong as its willingness to relentlessly tackle the apparent lapses in government and its ability to present viable options to solve matters.

I am saying all this to say that there is an absolute need for all opposition interests to come together to form a united opposition to run against the Labour Party in the next general elections. I am writing as one looking from the outside and so my perspective reflects such.

We should not be naïve in believing that the incumbent party in government is weak. Surely, based on defections and the state of the economy, the state of social affairs and the unfortunate international perception of the country they are losing ground.

The various opposition entities as they stand right now are unable to gain sufficient support on their own. They are unable to generate adequate financial, technical, strategic or other competence to stand alone against the Labour Party. The argument here is that the existing opposition fragments must all come together to incrementally think, discuss, brainstorm and strategize if they a common cause.

A close look at the Dominica Freedom Party indicates that it’s at its lower ebb. There is much experience in foreign relations, in agriculture and local entrepreneurship that exists and can be contributed to the overall cause of the opposition.

Valuable advice can come from the People’s Democratic Movement. The United Worker’s Party seems to be the most organized as an opposition party but there’s much to be desired. I think the party must open out itself to accept those far and wide who are trained, qualified and willing to contribute not merely to the party but to the country at large. It is a given that the UWP cannot win a general election on its own.

There’s too much negative against this institution which once stood as the alternative in the late 1990’s. Internal struggles have taken a toll on the growth of the party and the ensuing ‘dirty’ political game showed that they became the ‘losers’.

Common sense tells me that the natural trajectory for any opposition party is getting into office. However, the intention should always be to improve the well-being of the country. Immediate remedies should be implemented, short term strategies should be well thought out.

Long term strategies should be in place. The government is a business and so the players must be mindful of the existing strategic gap which is the gap between what is now, and where it sees itself in five to ten years down the road. Trends should be set and monitored. Performance levels must be looked at in terms of the country’s vision, mission and values.

I guess by now all those concerned have gotten the message that the next time around there should be no UWP, no DFP but a united opposition. With a well though-out and well implemented plan there’s a good chance that favour will come to the opposition if this happens.

Contrary to what the some may think, I think we all have the best of our country at heart. We all have different ways of getting things done. Unfortunately, some of us are slower than others. We use different routes to get to the same destination.

Our views of what is waste varies and so our choice of managing resources can be confusing, depleting or even outrageous. Our choice of friends may also vary. Therefore, our managers should not be allowed to be in office because they want to be there, but because they are creditably qualified for such.

Also, they have visibly shown their record of improvement, trends that are in line with our vision, our mission and our values as alluded to above.

Perhaps, the glory days of the new Labour Party are gone. It’s time for upward mobility for one and all. The standards must be raised and new ideas must come in to the opposition. Or else what? Matters of the state should not be lowered to personal ones and the attitude of condescending on others should be discouraged. This socio-political symptom has infiltrated our culture in the last decade.

In these rapidly changing world environment we need minds that can that can foresee, prospect, think quickly, concisely and wisely, allow minds to contend and for God’s sake put country first or at least try as a matter of fact.

We need individuals with an understanding of the US’s Caribbean and global policies; the fact that China is building its military and expanding its political and economic influence; that South America is becoming increasing important to the US, China and Iran among others.

In my view there are individuals in the opposition factions who are adequately qualified with an understanding of these issues. They are also trained in various other fields that can only serve to benefit the country referred to as The Nature Isle. This is the best chance ever - to form a united opposition in time for the next general elections.