Incomplete Independence
Dear Editor,
Recently, I came to the realisation that I don’t see much in why a grand gala is kept every August 6 celebrating our Independence. Henceforth, I refrain from celebrating it.
Don’t get me wrong, I am patriotic, and I love my country, Jamaica, a lot. The problem I have with Independence Day is that we just aren’t independent in reality.
This has nothing to do with the US and China and how we’re trapped between a rock and a hard place. Rather, it has something to do with the old colonial masters, Britain.
We have been wasting tax dollars on a grand gala to celebrate an incomplete independence mission, while everyone is ignorant to the fact that we are only free when it comes to making a flag, a national pledge, and a few other symbolic things, but not totally independent.
My first issue is the obvious issue that in our constitution we have The Queen as head of State, represented by the governor general here. We are still paying tax dollars to a man whose only role is to give lip service to an uncaring queen in a palace far away in a nation that requires lots of paperwork to get access to.
The second issue is much more hidden to Jamaicans, but I see right through it.
Mayer Rothschild, famous international banker, once said, “Give me control over a nation’s currency and I care not who makes its laws.” When you ask anyone about who prints our money the first guess is the Bank of Jamaica. However, there’s a big difference between “issuing a currency” and “printing legal tender”. The Bank of Jamaica, our central bank, issues the banknotes, but we don’t print our own currency.
If you look very closely at the dollar bills you have, you’ll see “De La Rue”, or some other name, written at the bottom of the back part. Currently, the De La Rue company, a British company, and two German companies, are responsible for the printing of our banknotes. While it is efficient and cheaper, according to the Bank of Jamaica, how can we feel independent if the British still wields some influence over our currency supply, because one of their companies print it? Seeing that Germany or, rather, Chancellor Angela Merkel, is the spearhead of the European Union blacklisting of nations that are not readily compliant to their tax policy changes, what will become of us when those two German companies join in with the EU when we get blacklisted because we do not meet their deadlines.
I respect Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke’s move to classical economics (modern free market economics pioneered by Adam Smith) and his move to separate the Bank of Jamaica and the Government of Jamaica to prevent the Government from racking up massive debts and printing money, causing high inflation. However, if I were him, I’d also consult with the Bank of Jamaica to find economically efficient and cheaper means to print money at the Bank of Jamaica in Jamaica to reduce our monetary policy’s dependence upon the British, Germans, and/or the whims of Eurozone politics, and include that as an amendment to the recent Bank of Jamaica legislation.
I have no problem with the Jamaica Constitution except that The Queen is the head of State. The Queen should be removed and we take the path of a constitutional republic, not a constitutional monarchy, with a president as the head, a parliament and full separation of powers. Until then, we are not truly independent.