DISTANT ECHOES OF PAN AFRICAN IDENTITY: THE DISCORDANT RESONANCE OF CULTURAL RESISTANCE AND AMBIVALENCE OF IDENTITY IN A DIASPORAN CONTEXT

Paper Presented Arthur Dion Hanna Jr. to the 43rd Annual Conference of the British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies, St Hughes College, Oxford University: 8-10 January 2014

ABSTRACT

It has been indicated that cultural resistance is an essential element in the historical effort to create a world which satisfies the “needs and powers of men”, with its goal being “emancipation from slavery” (Horkheimer 1972). In this respect, this paper explores the seminal cultural resistance, which, although inherent in eighteenth century literature, festivals and folk tales emanating from the African Diaspora, has flowed with concomitant currents of ambivalence of identity and an often embarrassing enmeshment with Western philosophical traditions, which veil the vital Pan African essence of early African Diasporan literary, artistic and cultural endeavours (Henry 2000; Hanna 2011).

The eighteenth century was an era driven by the enslavement of African people and colonial expansion by European imperial powers. The culture shock of physical bondage and the often brutal harsh regimented conditions of enslavement created a universe in which resistance took a variety of forms, many of which were veiled in the limited creative space afforded by slave masters and Western academia.

The dehumanizing experience of enslavement during this era was also characterized by slave societies in which enslaved Africans were forbidden to speak their own languages or to openly worship their ancient deities. This oppressed and restricted reality also ensured an ambivalence of identity and a fractured sense of 'being'. It is within this contradictory contextual frame of reference that we explore the techniques of cultural resistance and the struggle for emancipation, which laid the foundations of Pan African identity.

The apparent paradox and ambivalence of eighteenth century African Diasporan resistance cloaked in Western philosophical discourse confirms the conclusion that either culture itself or the regimes of power that are “imbricated in cultural logics and experiences” can ever be wholly consistent or totally determining (Dirks et. al. 1994:18). In this regard, it is asserted that identities may be seen as variably successful attempts to create and maintain coherence out of “inconsistent cultural stuff” and “inconsistent life experience” but that every actor always carries around enough disparate and ontradictory strands of knowledge and passion so as always to be in a potentially critical position (ibid.).

In this paper we critically examine the phenomenon of ambivalent and fractured identities which, paradoxically, provided a foundation for the African Diaspora's creation and maintenance of a coherent identity linked to their African roots in the eighteenth century which ultimately incubated and gave birth to the modern Pan African movement. Of necessity, we engage parallel streams of race, class and gender which flowed inextricably throughout the eighteenth century and were crucial in the revolutionary process of Pan African identity formation.

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1 In this paper the term “Pan African” has two meanings. In the first instance, it refers to the collective resistance of Black populations from the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe against Western slavery, imperialism, colonization and racism from the 1770's to the present time (Stuckey 1987; 1994; M'Baye 2011:9). The second meaning is the diffusion of African survivals (known as Africanisms) in different parts of the world, such as the spread of African cultural values, customs and ideologies into the Black Diaspora since slavery (Levin 2003; M'Baye 2011:9).

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Salaam in Afrikadesta

In the context of the colonial and slave realities of Africans at home and abroad during the era of the 18th century, it is fortuitous that we are having this discourse in the ancient precincts of Oxford University, given that one of its famous alumni was one William Penn2, who converted to Puritanism from mainstream Church of England religious doctrine and to whom a grant of letters patent was made of extensive North American colonies, including Pennsylvania, the so called Quaker State (Garranty and Carnes (eds.) 1999; Osgood 2010) some 30 years after a proprietary grant had been made to then Attorney General, Sir Robert Heath, of the Carolinas, which included the Bahamas Islands, the archipelago where Cristobal Colon, aka Christopher Columbus is reputed to have first made landfall in his momentous so called voyage of discovery which set into motion the historical train of colonial events punctuated by the kidnappings and forced enslavements of millions of Africans and which helped to create the underlying cultural, economic, social and political fabric of the 18^th century (Craton 1983; Craton and Saunders 1992; Hanna 2011).

Stuart Hall asserts that the post-colonial experience prepared the colonized to live in a postmodern Diasporan relationship to identity and that, paradigmatically, it is a diasporic" experience (Hall 1996:490). In this frame of reference, cultural research agendas must have at their epicenter an awareness of the lived Diasporic experience of ordinary, everyday people and of the complex and multifaceted interaction of race and other social phenomena and consequent hybridization, which often conceals the inner dynamics of social interaction utilized in myth creation (Hanna 2011:218). In this regard, Avtar Brah argues that experience is best understood as the mediated process of making sense of the world symbolically and narratively (Brah 2007).

In explaining the complex matrix of symbols surrounding the concept of identity in an African Diasporic context, it is critical and essential to consider the contention that, from the Afro-Caribbean perspective, philosophy is an inter-textually embedded discursive practice and not an isolated or absolutely autonomous one (Henry 2000:2; Hanna 2011:218). Henry asserts that the formation and current structures reflect imperial history of the cultural system which was housed in the larger discursive field of Caribbean society (Henry 2000:3). He further points out that the history of discursive violence in the Caribbean has produced high levels of mutual de-centering and inter-culturation between the African and European worlds, the European and Indian worlds and the Indian and African worlds and that this violence has left parts of these systems fairly intact, other parts highly mixed and others that are damaged beyond repair, which is the heritage upon which creative totalizations must build, with these imploded foundations having led to superficial comparisons with post-modern thought that can be misleading (Henry 2000:15).

In this context, it is important to bear in mind Paget Henry's indication that the impact of colonization had at least three important consequences for Pan African discourse, with the

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2 University of Oxford
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first being the devaluation and negation of the "truth claims" of Europeans and European educated Africans, on assumptions of White superiority. Secondly, their hybridization, as they absorbed European contents and adopted European languages, as a medium of expression and thirdly, in addition to Arabic languages, African discourses, which were primarily oral, developed writing capabilities in European languages (Henry 2000:44). The Eurocentric educational mindset has created contradictions and ambiguities in Caribbean Pan African scholarship, with Western historicism being one of the most important generative ontological constructs of modern Caribbean thought (Henry 2000:48).

Paget Henry concludes that, from early African literary efforts of the 18th century, the writings of the African elite, such as Ottobah Cugoano, Anton Amo, Olaudah Equiano, Africanus Horton, Bishop Crowther, James Johnson, Edward Blyden, Kitoy Ajasu and Joseph Casley-Crawford, have all been exposed to European education and absorbed many of its biases, with it only being in the post-colonial period that these "clouds of invisibility" have begun to disperse, allowing traditional African philosophy to emerge (Henry 2000:44). Henry declares that contradictory ambivalences result from the hybrid nature of colonial languages and other signifying systems and that the persistence of Euro-centric values and meanings in the thinking of Pan African philosophers reflect "embarrassing traces" that limit the effectiveness of their critiques (ibid.).

In this Pan African mindset, Henry contends that the traditional, pre-modern, African, with his national Yoruba, Baluba, Akan, Igbo and other African traditional concepts of self and identity are subsumed in the idea of "the negro" and placed at the base of European conceptualization of humanity, inherently inferior and essential to the formation of European and Western identities (Henry 2000:55). In this respect, in seeking the inner core of traditional Africa, it is imperative that we deconstruct the Western fiction and begin to see the essence of identity and "being", as well as creative activities of African deities (Henry 2000:55; Hanna 2011:222). Wole Soyinka's analysis of this pre-modern, traditional African paradigm demonstrates that most African ontologies are premised on four basic stages or areas of existence, namely the world of the ancestors, the living, the unborn and the "creative womb or matrix of original forms and energies" (Wole Soyinka 1990:140-160).

In this frame of reference, Fashina has asserted the need for the carving of a distinct critical canon for the reading of Black/African literature (Fashina 2008:60). He points out that African names of humans, flora, fauna and objects as used in African literary and cultural discourses are ritualistic and historical, carrying the same sacred meanings (ibid.). This consciousness of the imperative of creating a code for African cultural interpretation was the foundation for the first International Congress of Negro Writers and Artists in Paris in 1956, with intrinsic exploration of the Crisis in Negro Culture (Fashina 2008:61). Nelson Fashina points out that subsequent conferences and congresses3 of African American writers and critics have examined the negative impact of writing or book culture (literary theory and interpretation)

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3 C/f Fashina's critique of Copans' 1999 IFRA Lecture which questioned the authenticity of African Studies (Cited in Fashina 2008).

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on the drive for a Black critical aesthetics (Fashina 1997:11; 2008:61)4.

It has been indicated that several cultural genetic factors foreground this sense of nationalism and Pan Africanist consciousness, primarily the need to create a theory of Africanism and Blackness which is “distilled from the homogeneous pattern of emotive and mythical interpretations” of values in contrast to the “European induced images and conceptions of our universe”, which is an organic aspect of African imagination and the symbiotic aspect of African collective consciousness (Irele 1990:54; Fashina 1994:73; 2008:61). Fashina argues that, quite against this strive for “African nationalist consciousness in culture and literary studies is the “European standard interpretation” of African studies as more a “mental construct” rather than a “researchable quality” (Fashina 2008:61). Fashina declares one needs to remind the proponents of this “absence theory of Africa and African epistemology” that criticism theory and dialogical reasoning and philosophy are not alien to African culture and traditions. He points out that the pages of history are replete with records that court historians and poets did exist in the palaces of African monarchs, kings and emperors of the early African empires before the invasion of the continent by Western colonial imperial forces in the 18th century.

These historians and poets were court officials and although not invested with official designation by university tradition as research fellows and scholars, they nevertheless performed such roles and functions in their relative conditions, age and time as researchers in history, ethnography and culture, becoming ultimately the unacknowledged sociologists and anthropologists of the African spatial dimensions of their time and the “pedigree” of their records and informal archives have formed part of the “data sites” collected by early European historiographers, ethnographers and social researchers, whose works form the “templates for today's modern interpretations”. This provides fertile ground for the assertion that, regardless of whether the European social science establishment was the “biological parent or midwife” that took delivery of the now “orphaned African studies”, the fact remains undeniable that there had been a form of informal study about Africa and its culture, even though in “unsophisticated scale”, before the “invention of the now canonized term African Studies” (Fashina 2008:61)5.

In this respect, it is essential to consider that the homogenization of African cultures is detrimental because it “overlooks the multifarious African civilizations” from which specific African Diasporan writers came or evolved (M'Baye 2011:6-7). As asserted by Colin Palmer, we need to emphasize the difference between African cultures by recognizing that these people who resided on the African continent defined themselves solely in accordance with their ethnic groups (Campbell 2000:56-59). This underscores the specification and importance of social relational and cultural perspectives in understanding the basic conditions under which the migration of enslaved Africans occurred (Mintz and Price 1976).

In this contextual framework, in which African names and objects are interpreted in their

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4 C/f Diop 1974; Gates 1984; Henry 2000; Hanna 2011
5 C/f Diop 1974; Achebe 1988

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sacred contexts, their implications and transformations from one space to another and their semantic, semiotic and cultural configurations can only be understood fully by the sharers or stakeholders in the culture (Abram 1997:14; Fashina 2008:69). This engages a necessity to “re-inscribe” the continent of Africa into the history of the Black Diaspora and requires writing Africa into the global history of Pan African resistance and tracing this history to early literature and cultures of the Black Diaspora. This helps us to see and acknowledge the subtle tactics that enslaved Africans invented from the belly of the slave ships of the Middle Passage in order to resist European oppression and reconnect with Africa6 (M'Baye 2011:6). M'Baye emphasizes the need to examine the conditions early Black writers experienced during the middle passage or after their arrival in the New World and to explore the specific cultural contexts and social relationships that influenced their works and lives during the 18th century.  He indicates that this approach to literature consists of letting the texts talk in order to reveal the rich syncretism of African and European cultural elements that permeate them.

This de-homogizination of Africa helps us to examine the exact African societies whose folklore, myths, religions and world views permeate early Black Diasporan writings (M'Baye 2011:7). M'Baye concludes that, by exploring these specific African retentions, one can see how the pioneers of Black Atlantic literature blended their African identities with their Western traditions to achieve admissibility and social and economic status in a new world in which Europeans had equated the adjective African with inferiority and inhumanity. Hence, the Black Atlantic literature should be interpreted through an African centered method that validates the importance of these multiple identities, positions and ideas that early Black writers developed in particular moments of their lives to strengthen or weaken their Pan African consciousness (ibid.).

This begins with an acknowledgment of the distinct African cultures from which the authors came and a validation that the contributions of the first Black women writers made in the development of Pan Africanism (ibid.). Amy Levin emphasizes the need to combine methods of cultural anthropology, literary criticism and intellectual history, which serve as metaphors of cultural and social resistance of women in the Black Diaspora (Levin 2003).

However, Paul Gilroy has advanced the term Black Atlantic to describe what he views as the “ambivalent representation of race and nationalism” in the writings of early American and British writers and intellectuals. In this respect, he theorizes Africa in terms of dualities to reveal the diversity of modern Black cultures (Gilroy 1993). However, M'Baye points out that, although it broadens our understanding of relations between Africa and the Diaspora, Gilroy's theory is open to serious critique because it over emphasizes the anti-essentialism, hybridity, individuality and ambivalence of early Black writers of the Diaspora towards Africa. In this regard, Gilroy's vision of Black cultures as fragmented overlooks the complex ways in which Black writers of the Diaspora have consistently perceived Africa in Pan Africanist terms despite their fluctuating relations towards Africa. This rigid theory of hybridity excludes Africa from the experiences of Black people in the Diaspora (M'Baye 2011:11).

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6 “Pan African resistance began in the belly of the whale from which the sons and daughters of Africa were dispersed all over the New World, occupying every conceivable task” (Gomez 2005). C/f Gomez 1998

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Gilroy has contended that the works of Wheatley and Equiano should be valued only as a means to observe the durability of African elements in the Diaspora or dismissed as an inadequate mixture, doomed always to be something less than the supposed pure entities that first contributed to produce it. Their legacy is most valuable as a mix or hybrid, with its recombinant form being indebted to its present cultures but remaining “assertively and insubordinately a bastard” (Gilroy 2000). Gilroy also argues that neither Equiano nor Wheatley ever returned to the African homelands from which their long journey through slavery had begun and that Wheatley's poetry reflects her personal transformation from African to American (ibid.).

M'Baye points out that, by representing Equiano's and Wheatley's relations to Africa as an irreversible disconnection from the continent and total conversion into American cultures, Gilroy's theory of hybridity assumes that this process of cultural and social mixing occurs only in the Black Diaspora, as if the African continent from which the enslaved Black people came was and continues to be a single homogenous and pure entity (M'Baye 2011: 11). Gilroy neglects how these writers bridged their physical distance from their homeland and attenuated their self alteration through frequent appropriation of African identities (ibid.).

This process of self navigation reveals the spiritual significance of Africa for 18th century Black Americans such as Wheatley and Equiano (Baker 1980). This constant attachment or spiritual journey to Africa produces a “double nomenclature” or the act of being caught between two worlds7 (ibid.). In this self navigation, on the one hand, they were not free to be Africans, finding that their traditional rituals and the instruments necessary for their performance suppressed by White society. On the other hand, they were defined by law as outsiders and were excluded from the free, human, community that the Puritans designated as the City of God in the New World (Baker 1980; M'Baye 2011:12-13). In mapping this self navigation, the transportation of African oral narratives permits us to make inter-textual and comparative analysis between these tales and the narratives of African American slaves8 (M'Baye 2011: 12-13).

In this respect, it is essential to consider that engaging 18th century African scholarship in the context of modern Pan African political theory poses problematic enigmas, which must be placed under the microscope of subtext analysis (M'Baye 2009). As indicated by Anthony Bogues, early Black slave narratives reflect discursive practices of slave criticism and critique that produced alternative meanings of racial slavery, natural liberty and natural rights and countered the dominant 18th century ideas of racial plantation slavery. He points out that, as documents of slave political criticism and critique, the narratives have a great deal to tell us about 18th century social and political ideas and form a central part of an Africana radical intellectual political tradition (Bogues 2003).9

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7 C/f DuBois 1903
8 C/f Herkovits 1936; 1941
9 C/f Piersen 1993; Berlin 2003

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In this context, Babacar M'Baye profoundly asserts that 18th century Black Diasporan writers such as Phillis Wheatley, Quobna Cugoano and Olaudah Equiano were pioneer writers of the Black Diaspora who identified with Africa and developed sustained criticism against slavery, racism and other forms of oppression against Black people in the New World and Africa. In their works, they made strong Pan Africanist and other nationalist references that allowed them to offset the occasional ambivalence that they expressed towards Africa. The Black Diasporan writers were part of a small elite group of Western educated Black intellectuals whose views on Africa did not represent those of all other Black populations in the West (M'Baye 2009). As indicated by M'Baye, they received education and eventually acquired freedom, experiences and opportunities which were not available to Black people in the United States and the Caribbean. Yet they utilized their elite status and individuality by attacking Western slavery and linking their suffering to that of Black people in Africa and in the African Diaspora, thereby becoming "pioneers of Pan Africanism". Recognizing this subversive quality of Black Diasporan authors requires us to interpret their writings of Pan African and radical texts that grappled with the racial, ideological and political realities of Western slavery and imperialism on the Black world (M'Baye 2011:3).

As Chapman advises, the slaves created a rich oral literature in their new tongue and a distinct culture to sustain themselves intellectually and spiritually and gave expression to the “man in the slave” in opposition to the dehumanizing conditions of slavery. Slaves could gather together only for religious worship and beyond the expression of strictly controlled permissible religious sentiments, spirituals provided the imagery and a veiled structure for the utterance of hidden uncontrollable freedom aspirations. The legal status of slaves was as property but unlike other stolen property, slaves refused to remain stolen (Chapman 1971:xiv). Similarly, M'Baye indicates that, by comparing Black Diasporan narratives, one can identify trickster figures and resistance traditions that are similar to those that permeated the cultures of both enslaved and free Black Diasporan people. Such comparison of Black Atlantic narratives reveal the relationship between the history of the Black Diaspora and Africa (M'Baye 2011:16). In this regard, a strong influence of African cultures and Pan Africanist spirit of resistance can be identified in the writings of Wheatley, Cugoano and Equiano and their inter-weaving of history and literary analysis tends to demonstrate the Pan African dimensions of their works (M'Baye 2011:19).

More critically, it has been asserted that the concept of African Womanism urges critics to study the experiences of Black women, living within European societies, within African paradigms (Dove 1998:515). This African centered feminism emphasizes the boundaries confronting Black women who resist race, class and gender based oppressions (Davies and Fido 1990; John 2001; Hoving 2003). In this respect, M'Baye indicates that, in her poetry, Wheatley developed her own form of Black Womanism by using the verbal skills of Black Griottes and traditional African tricksters such as Ananci, who could assume either the form of a spider or alternative male or female human forms, in order to negotiate her freedom within an 18th century New England culture in which Puratinism and Methodism were predominant10

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10 Griotte is the feminine equivalent of the term Griot, which is a term for traditional African historian, lyricist, story teller, diviner, adviser and healer (M'Baye 2011:24). C/f Hale 1998

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(M'Baye 2011:24). M'Baye suggests that identifying Wheatley as a Griotte suggests the major role that this pioneer Black writer from Senegal had on Pan African Literature that praised Puritan and Methodist Christianity and American patriotism in order to achieve freedom for enslaved Africans, confirming Robinson's optimistic statement that exhaustive research will one day reveal Phillis Wheatley as a cleverly disguised, badly misunderstood, militantly assertive Black woman (Robinson 1975:30; M'Baye 2011:24).

Abraham Chapman declares, the slave narratives created a new image in American literature:  the slave as hero. Some of the reactions to the publication of the slave narratives reflect the first conscious awareness of this new type of hero in American literature (Chapman 1971:xviii). Similarly, Dean has asserted that slave songs and poems, music, stories and religion played a significant role in slave culture, with it being through these modes of expression that slaves were able to imprint their existence, leaving symbolic representations of their African history in the New World (Dean 1995:11). The embodiment of African musical traditions into Bahamian cultures symbolized the strength of Black slaves to preserve their heritage and identity in West African culture (Bethel 1991).

We are reminded by Grace Turner that displaced Africans could draw on cultural references to create appropriate personal perceptions for themselves as well as their children. This would allow an alternate reference point for understanding their values as individuals, regardless of their legal and social circumstances. Enslaved Africans, living under difficult daily conditions, were thus assured the promise of a better after life (Turner 2007:30). In our analysis of 18^th century Black Diasporan literature, we must, of necessity, adopt these alternate reference points and terms of analysis which offer fidelity to these realities and this demands a radical reassessment of the Black Diasporan literature of the 18th century through the lens of African context and contemporary social historical realities. This contextual framework leads to inescapable links between these Black writers and the seminal and foundational dimensions of Pan African thought and scholarship and provides new insight into this significant body of 18th century literature and scholarship and into modern Pan African theory.

As poignantly asserted by Peter Abrahams, if the men inaugurating the new ways have the sense and the patience to preserve the finer qualities of the old ways and fuse these with the new, then we can expect something magnificently new from Africa (Abrahams 1960:75). This confirms Tom M'Boya's declaration that the African desires to be understood from the viewpoint of his or her own people. Africa must now assert its own personality and speak for itself (M'Boya 1960:30).

Free the Land!

A Luta Continua!

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Source / Comment

An ode to Majority Rule Day in The Bahamas - January 10

Majority Rule in The Bahamas

By Dennis Dames

 

We are now one people under the law

…with the collective power to choose

It has been a long and hard-fought battle

…to where we are today

The struggle of our forebears

…against injustice and indifference

Produced a people of variety

…to rule our blessed land

We are free to determine our destiny

…the roads of which we choose to travel

Peace, love and prosperity

…or war, hate and poverty

The choice is in the hands of the Bahamian people

…for better or worse

The obstacles of oppression and inequality

…has been optimistically eliminated

Thanks to the unselfish freedom fighters

…our fate is with us

Majority rule has succeeded

…where do we go from here?

The meaning of the victory in reflection

…something that we must all contemplate

Let’s not waste the revolutionary opportunity

…to thrive in harmony

Bahamians together for a prosperous nation

…the unborn generations will celebrate our feat

The torch of freedom and opportunities for all

…burns deep in our hearts

Every citizen deserves liberty

…we all have a duty to ensure the same

Let’s rule with the vision

…and take care of each other

Let the majority remain the keepers of justice

…and minority, civil and satisfied

God bless The Bahamas

…where majority rule reigns with love and compassion

© 2014 Dennis Arthur Dames

Value Added Tax would be a critical element of tax reform in The Bahamas ...as the country battles significant fiscal deficits ...and alarmingly high debt

VAT storm builds

Year in Review

By CANDIA DAMES
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com
Nassau, The Bahamas

In recent months, concerns about value-added tax (VAT) have been mounting.  The debate over VAT has emerged as one of the most significant stories in 2013 and the expectation is that it will also be an important story in 2014.

The government has announced that VAT will be introduced on July 1, 2014.

The tax system would be a critical element of tax reform in The Bahamas as the country battles significant fiscal deficits and alarmingly high debt.

Financial Secretary John Rolle has said repeatedly that the cost of inaction would result in an unchecked rise in debt, less capacity to borrow for emergencies, which increases our vulnerability to shocks like hurricanes and sudden contractions in foreign economies on which we depend for tourists.

“There will also be a credit downgrade and eventual loss of access to credit markets,” he warned. “This will result in one outcome: Much higher tax increases, larger reductions in spending, possible reduction in public sector employment [and] scrutiny of the exchange rate parity.”

The Bahamas’ financial future faces a crisis.

On our current path, it is no understatement that we are doomed without action.

Government debt as at June 30, 2014 is projected to be $4.9 billion, compared to $2.4 billion as at July 2007.

The Bahamas has a legacy of high budget deficits.

Over the last two fiscal years, the government has seen a total deficit in excess of $500 million. The projected deficit at the end of 2013/2014 is $529 million.

The government intends to borrow $465 million to finance the projected revenue shortfall in the 2013/2014 fiscal year. This would add to the $650 million the current administration already borrowed.

Almost one out of every four dollars in revenue collected by the government must be allocated to pay the interest charges on the public debt and cover the debt repayment.

This current state of fiscal affairs is worrying on many levels, and it is unsustainable.

In the government’s white paper on tax reform, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Perry Christie notes that the government’s revenue base is extremely narrow and ill-suited to the expanding needs and demands of modern Bahamian society.

The country’s tax system is out of balance as it predominantly focuses on goods, he pointed out.

It does not share the tax burden with those who are providing services in a way that is either fair or adequate.

The government has decided to go the way of value-added tax to secure an adequate revenue base in support of modern governance.

According to the white paper, the government intends to effect the eventual reductions in import duty rates that will accompany The Bahamas’ accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and reduce excise tax rates to compensate for VAT.

As a consumption tax, VAT provides a broader base for government revenue; imposes taxes on goods and services equally and imposes greater discipline on businesses, the white paper says.

It also says it encourages investments by providing incentives to business on capital expenditure, and the audit trail that would be required promotes greater efficiency in the collection of taxes.

In its look at various options for tax reform, the white paper highlights VAT as a more favorable option than a sales tax, which is a tax imposed at the final point of sale.

Agriculture and fisheries; social and community services; health and education services are among the areas that will be exempted.

But exemptions will be kept “to a bare minimum”, the government has advised.

The effectiveness of the tax is tied to many factors, including how it is implemented, tax experts and others with experience in effecting tax reform have said.

The VAT legislation and regulations are now in circulation, but it is unclear when they will be introduced in the House of Assembly.

Christie has said that while July 1 is a target date for implementation, it is not set in stone.

December 30, 2013

thenassauguardian

Mandela is an unsurpassable example for Latin America and the Caribbean

• Speech given by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, at the funeral honors for the historic leader of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg, December 10, 2013, Year 55 of the Revolution

President Jacob Zuma:

Family members of Nelson Mandela:

High ranking dignitaries:

Sister people of South Africa:

Full of emotion, we pay tribute to Nelson Mandela, who is recognized as the supreme symbol of dignity and unyielding dedication to the revolutionary struggle for freedom and justice; as a prophet of unity, reconciliation and peace.

Together with his comrades in struggle, he led his people in the battle against apartheid, in order to open the way to a new, non-racial South Africa, united in the search for happiness, equality and the well-being of all its sons and daughters, and to overcome the consequences of colonialism, slavery and racial segregation.

An example of integrity and perseverance, he then led the effort directed toward the elimination of poverty, the reduction of inequality and the creation of opportunities for all.

Mandela is an unsurpassable example for Latin America and the Caribbean, which are advancing toward unity and integration to the benefit of their peoples, respectful of their diversity, with the conviction that dialogue and cooperation are the way forward for the solution of differences and civilized cohabitation among those who think differently.

Humanity cannot respond to the colossal challenges which are threatening its very existence, if it does not do so through a new coordination of efforts among all nations, such as the life of Mandela extols.

Cuba, which has African blood in its veins, rose up in the struggle for independence and for the abolition of slavery and, subsequently, has had the privilege of battling and building together with African nations.

We shall never forget Mandela’s moving tribute to our common struggle when he visited us on July 26, 1991, and stated, "The Cuban people hold a special place in the hearts of the people of Africa."

A symbol of the sisterhood between Africans and Cubans, I recall his close friendship with Fidel Castro, who affirmed, "Nelson Mandela will not go down in history for the 27 consecutive years he spent incarcerated without ever renouncing his ideas; he will go down in history because he was able to expunge from his soul all the poison that such an unjust punishment could have created; for the generosity and wisdom with which, at the hour of the already uncontainable victory, he was able to so brilliantly lead his self-sacrificing people, knowing that the new South Africa could never be constructed on the foundations of hatred and vengeance."

Eternal honor and glory to Nelson Mandela and the heroic people of South Africa!

Thank you very much.

December 11, 2013

Granma.cu 

The potential impact of value added tax (VAT) on The Bahamas

IDB: VAT will lead to higher growth, lower debt, lower unemployment IDB study assumes all additional revenue goes to paying down debt

By ALISON LOWE
Guardian Business Editor
alison@nasguard.com
Nassau, The Bahamas

Although projected to lead to a decline in disposable income at all levels, a newly-released model prepared for the government projects that value-added tax (VAT) will lead to higher gross domestic product (GDP) growth and tax revenue, decreased debt, lower unemployment and lower inflation after an “initial surge” in the first year.

The model and accompanying report, prepared by the Washington, D.C.-based Inter-American Development Bank, suggest that real GDP growth will be higher relative to baselines once VAT is implemented “especially” if VAT is implemented at 15 percent.

Lower unemployment is anticipated by the IDB model in light of a projection of higher tax revenue and the assumption that with this, there would be lower levels of government borrowing which would make it easier for the private sector to borrow, invest and stimulate employment.

Meanwhile, the expectation of a decline in public debt levels is said to depend on the assumption that all of the “additional revenue” generated through fiscal reform would be “directed toward debt reduction”.

The IDB study supports the government’s claims that VAT will lead to no more than an additional three to four percent rise in price levels above normal inflation in the first year, and has been taken by the government to support the case for the implementation of VAT as the cornerstone of the government’s fiscal reform program aimed at reducing debt levels.

However, the IDB states clearly that VAT, particularly at 15 percent, as opposed to a lower rate, would have a detrimental effect on poverty levels without increases in social spending.

Released on Friday along with an accompanying report, it was prepared on behalf of the government to ascertain the potential impact of a VAT on The Bahamas.

“Tax reform cannot be defined and put in place without in-depth studies of its impact on growth, income distribution, fiscal cost, economic efficiency and a comprehensive tax policy and administration reform. Transparency and predictability rest on the best possible estimates of the revenue consequences of reform that available data allows,” states the IDB report.

In this regard, the model looks at the effect of VAT at varying rates on economic growth, inflation, tax revenue, public debt, poverty, employment and the distribution of income.

It has been much anticipated by the Coalition for Responsible Taxation, which is hopeful of using it in particular to look at what VAT’s impact would be on the economy but also what the potential alternatives might be.

The model, described by the IDB as an “economy-wide” one that “describes the behavior of producers and consumers and the linkages among them”, will be shared with members of the coalition, along with staff from various government agencies, today.

The government said in a statement accompanying the release of the study that it supports its plans to implement VAT on July 1, 2014.

“The study predicts that the introduction of VAT, alongside other reforms to reduce the public debt, would have positive economic and fiscal benefits.

“The IDB’s results are consistent with expectations for the type of fiscal reform package that is being considered for The Bahamas. Reducing distortionary taxes on business activities, and placing more direct emphasis on consumption taxes, would stimulate a projected increase in national savings and investments.

“The private sector investment climate would also benefit from expanded access to financing that would no longer be needed to fund government deficits. These are forecasted to contribute to stronger growth potential and reduced unemployment, which would be felt across all broad sectors of the economy.”

The Coalition for Responsible Taxation declined to comment on the results of the study yesterday, which were presented in a 165-page report published on the government’s website.

Robert Myers, co-chair for the coalition, said he would reserve comment until he had met with the IDB today and had a “better review” of the document.

Speaking prior to the release of the study on Friday afternoon, Gowon Bowe, co-chair of the Coalition for Responsible Taxation, said the group was eagerly awaiting the model, and in particular, whether it predicts the possibility of economic growth and only moderate price level increases as the key determinants of whether the private sector advocacy group can accept value-added tax (VAT) as a solution to the country’s fiscal challenges.

“That’s a piece of information that is an integral part of looking at how it will impact the economy. The most important thing is to look at empirical information now to make a determination; there’s been a lot of emotion that’s gone into it up to this point,” said Bowe.

He added: “The pipe dream would be that the model says we would have economic growth with minimal price increase impact. I think there’s sufficient experience that when you take money out of the economy through tax that has a negative impact on economic growth because you are taking money out of the pockets of consumers, but what we will be looking for is whether the price increase is not as high as 10 to 15 percent, which a lot of us are concerned about, and that it is based on good data and is a reliable model. That will give a level of assurance that [VAT] would be positive and not negative.”

However, Bowe noted that the coalition would still harbor concerns about the capacity of the government to successfully administer the VAT, notwithstanding that ministry officials “have placed great hope in the inherent checks and balances in a VAT system”.

The study looks at 16 alternative scenarios, which involve applying different rates of VAT, hotel tax, average import tariff rates and social “safety net” spending, with VAT ranging from 7.5 percent to the proposed 15 percent.

It does not appear to specifically address the question of what happens under a scenario in which there is significant non-compliance or ineffective administration of the VAT, a point which the coalition and other private sector stakeholders have expressed concerned about with respect to VAT.

It also does not appear to consider the potential outcomes should the government not direct all additional revenue from VAT implementation towards reducing its debt levels.

December 09, 2013

thenassauguardian

Russia had no stomach for the Grenadian revolution

By EVERTON PRYCE

 

IT is often said that the marginal Marxist-Leninist Caribbean state of Grenada under Maurice Bishop's New Jewel Movement (NJM) of 1979-1983 was a satellite of Russia. But many readers of this column may be surprised to learn that Moscow had no desire to aid the spice island economically or otherwise, at levels the native revolutionaries expected.

Shortly after seizing power on March 13, 1979, the NJM's expectation of fraternal assistance from Moscow went into overdrive based on the assumption that communist countries had a greater concern than the West for the plight of Third World peoples.

BISHOP… seized power on March 13, 1979

And given the large cache of Russian-made guns, ammunition and military hardware that found their way in the control of the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA), the outside world also formed the impression that Russia was backing, unconditionally, the aims and objectives of the revolution.

But documents on Grenada-Russian relations released by the United States, after the 1983 invasion which it dubbed 'Operation Urgent Fury', tell an interesting story: Moscow did not want, nor could it afford, any more Cubas in the Caribbean.

Though somewhat dated, the documents referenced the deep involvement in the revolution of several prominent middle-class Jamaicans who are today comfortably ensconced in academia and the private sector with possible knowledge of how Bishop and some of his Cabinet colleagues were murdered and the location of their remains.

The documents also show Moscow's reluctance to commit itself to the Grenadian revolution to the same extent it did for the Cuban revolution 20 years earlier. This means that the Grenadian revolution was running on ideological fumes only for much of its existence.

"The Soviet Union is very careful, and for us sometimes maddeningly slow, in making up their minds about who to support," the Grenadian ambassador to Russia at the time is quoted as saying in the documents.

We can only imagine how disappointed Bishop and his band of revolutionary leaders must have been on learning of this Russian foreign policy attitude towards their country, given that in capturing State power they clearly felt that they qualified for Russian aid and support far beyond the levels that were actually forthcoming.

After all, the NJM had modelled itself on the Soviet Communist party even before it took State power, and in the United Nations, Grenada's voting pattern under the NJM favoured Moscow on important issues, more than other Third World Socialist-oriented states.

Even the NJM's party structure followed a Leninist pattern: a Politburo, Central Committee and the rest. The ruling party also had overriding control over the army, and imposed strict censorship on the media.

So, what could have prevented a major injection of Russian aid and support for revolutionary Grenada? Why wasn't Grenada benefiting from Russian developmental aid to the same extent as Cuba, which was estimated then at US$6 million per day?

Truth be told, the Grenada revolution came about at the wrong time, because the cost of Cuba was a price Moscow paid as a result of Russian policies in the Third World under Kruschev. In the post-Kruschev era in the early 1980s, the Russian leadership was far more cautious and selective in choosing the recipients of Russian economic aid and had become increasingly more cost-conscious and economically more self-interested. On reflection, Russian foreign policy was about concentrating on the problem of protecting established Soviet positions.

Russia's lack of involvement in the construction of the Point Salines International Airport (renamed appropriately the Maurice Bishop International Airport in 2009) bears this out. The airport project was the NJM's major economic preoccupation, and was the priority heading on the agenda of most Central Committee meetings, as well as being the main plank of the first Five-Year plan. The ruling party had hoped that the airport would go a long way in boosting the island's tourism trade and foreign exchange reserves.

But when Bishop, in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko in April 1983, appealed for a Russian grant of US$6 million toward the airport project, the Russians turned down the request. Ultimately, the NJM had to turn to western donors for the funds to boost construction of the airport.

Bishop had even expected the Russians to purchase 1,000 tons of nutmeg on an annual basis. But the Russians replied that Moscow was only willing to import what it consumed each year, about 200-300 tons, and then "only at the world market price or below".

What is clear from all of this is that post-Kruschev Russia was not prepared to bail out the Grenadian economy, despite the fact that trade relations between the two countries had increased slightly. Neither was Grenada, under Bishop, blessed with observer status in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) — a status Mexico had enjoyed for a number of years.

Kruschev clearly had global ambitions for Russia in a practical sense: he considered the support of nationalist Third World leaders as a way of increasing Russia's role in the international political system outside Eastern Europe. Hence, by 1956, Moscow had begun to establish diplomatic relations with all Latin American states on the basis of non-interference in each other's domestic affairs and to develop a broad range of economic relations on the principle of equality and mutual advantage.

In the final analysis, Russia did not support hardline policies in Grenada during the period of the counter-revolution when Socialism became equated with murder and mayhem.

To be sure, it did not condemn the Bernard Coard faction, as explicitly as did Castro, for its part in provoking the split in the NJM's leadership and putting Bishop under house arrest.

Such was the character of Russian foreign policy towards Grenada in the early 1980s. Moscow was able to provide loose political and ideological support for the NJM while not committing itself to providing assistance in the reconstruction of the Grenadian economy or in defence of the revolution from counter-revolutionary forces — home-grown and foreign.

December 08, 2013

Jamaica Observer

The Bahamas government's Value Added Tax (VAT) option in a fiscal crisis environment

Why VAT and When?

By ARINTHIA S. KOMOLAFE
Nassau, The Bahamas

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) released the draft Value Added Tax (VAT) Bill, draft Value Added Tax Regulations 2013 and Guide to VAT legislation.  This release follows weeks of clamor and demand by various stakeholders.  In the days ahead, it is expected that the public discourse on this crucial component of our tax reform program will intensify as we begin to decipher the documents and properly assess the impact it will have on The Bahamas and Bahamians.

Consultation on VAT

A quick review of the draft VAT Bill will confirm what a number of Bahamians had known in relation to the initial discussions between the government and various industry groupings.

This observation is apparent by a simple comparison of the proposals contained in the white paper released in February 2013 and positions proposed in the draft VAT Bill.  It would be disingenuous therefore to suggest that the consultation period has only just begun with the release of the draft documents.  While none of the concessions agreed upon or compromises made during initial discussions could be said to be concrete or documented before now, it is apparent that the MOF had chosen to incorporate some of the portions agreed with the various sectors, associations and interest groups into the draft that was released last week Friday.

The arguments put forward

The discussion on the introduction of VAT has been predictable until recently.  As was expected, the government has sought to articulate the importance of broadening its tax base to increase revenue as part of its fiscal consolidation plan to correct the country’s fiscal imbalance.  The MOF in leading this charge has highlighted the critical condition of The Bahamas’ finances and submitted that VAT is the best option for boosting government revenue at this point, bearing in mind that tariff rates must be reduced and trade barriers addressed if we are to accede to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

It has been stated and noted that The Bahamas remains the only country in the Western Hemisphere that is not a member of the WTO and the government has warned that this puts us at a competitive disadvantage from an international trade perspective.  While the government has stated its commitment to curbing its spending and reducing subventions to its agencies and statutory bodies, the impact of reducing the public service with the current unemployment figures has been outlined using statistics on the multiplier effect on the economy and consumer spending by the MOF.

On the other hand, the private sector had taken the position that the government need not introduce new taxes but rather focus on cutting its expenditures and efficiently and effectively collect existing taxes including those that remain outstanding.  The private sector had further suggested that the introduction of VAT at this juncture, considering the current economic climate, would be inappropriate and further slow down an economy trying to fully recover from the Great Recession.  A reduction in the size of government, cutting of the public sector workforce and divesting of state-owned enterprises have also been recommended in a bid to address the GFS deficit and national debt.

The meeting of the minds

Our ability to come together in a non-partisan manner in times of crisis for the common good of our beloved country and future generations of Bahamians has become pronounced in recent times. While it is our hope that this is not an isolated development, it is imperative that we applaud the Tax Coalition of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), the opposition party and other economic experts for what appears to be a willingness to contribute to the discussion and work with the government to address our fiscal crisis.

While enough blame for our current precarious fiscal position can be placed on successive administrations responsible for the governance of The Bahamas, the Tax Coalition was right in stating that we are all responsible for this predicament and all Bahamians have a role to play in solving our financial woes.  James Smith, former governor of the Central Bank and former minister of state for finance, on his part had reiterated that tax reform, and more specifically the implementation of VAT, will not be without pain.

The meeting of minds on the seriousness of the state of affairs of our finances and the consequences of not embarking on an urgent correction program must precede any logical discussion on the structure, details and specifics of the tax reform framework.  As we appear to have arrived at this point, hopefully the discussions will be elevated to ensure that all parties adhere to their commitments in returning The Bahamas to better financial health and prevent any further downgrades by international rating agencies, multilateral organizations and any potential loss of investor confidence in our economy.

At the core of this matter is the realization that successive administrations have with the help of local and internal experts considered the issue of tax reform and VAT for several years; however, the fortitude to confront the proverbial elephant in the room has been lacking until now albeit this has been spurred by the desperation created by the predicament we find ourselves in.

Preparing for VAT

As the July 1, 2014 proposed VAT implementation date approaches, enough has been said about the need for public education.  Ironically, it has been reported that the turnout for the educational and informational sessions held by the MOF to date have not been too impressive.  The MOF has promised to strengthen its VAT education and awareness campaign in the weeks ahead.  However, it is important that all stakeholders get involved in this process following the release of the VAT governing documents.  The media, industry associations, regulatory agencies, business entities and Members of Parliament will have to play significant roles in enlightening the masses in what is perhaps the most substantial change to our tax system in decades.

The private sector must also ensure that their concerns are documented and brought to the attention of the government.  It would be a worthwhile exercise to properly review the draft legislation with a view to providing constructive criticism and useful recommendations to improve the draft bill.  Business entities will also need to invest their time and resources into understanding what VAT will mean in the context of their operations.

Finally, the general public must fully recognize and appreciate that VAT is a consumption tax; that is, it taxes us on what we consume.  The final consumer will bear the ultimate burden of VAT and hence we must familiarize ourselves with the various goods and services that are subject to 15 percent VAT, 10 percent VAT, exempt status and zero-rated status.  Attendance at upcoming briefing and educational sessions on VAT by all Bahamians and local residents is therefore encouraged by this writer.

The VAT challenge

Regardless of where the VAT debate takes us in the months ahead, we must remember that there is hardly any gain without pain and there is seldom triumph without trials.  Indeed, in Christianity we often state that where there is no cross there is no crown. I n this sense, the days ahead will have challenges but we must look beyond these to the future of our Bahamaland and work towards restoring her by putting country first.

That being said, the government must double its efforts to simplify the VAT debate for the average Bahamian.  The MOF must work tirelessly to consider and address all concerns raised by the public during the consultation period.  The relevant systems must be put in place and resources engaged to ensure the effective and efficient administrative of VAT.  More importantly, the government must continue to demonstrate commitment to fiscal prudence and containment of expenditure.

If our country fails, we all fail, as we have nowhere else to call home or to claim as our own.  It would be illogical not to state that no amount of preparation can guarantee a hitch-free implementation, and the introduction of VAT will not be perfect. The record shows that other countries have had challenges in spite of having devoted years to preparation.  We must be determined to make it work and co-operate with one another if The Bahamas is to emerge successfully from this fiscal crisis.  In the final analysis, the government will have to unequivocally convince the public as to why VAT is the best option at this time and confirm the implementation date.  One thing is certain: The urgency of now does not provide us with much time.

• Arinthia S. Komolafe is an attorney-at-law.  Comments on this article can be directed to a.s.komolafe510@gmail.com.

December 03, 2013

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International