January 6, 2014

Dear Sir,

Ideas turn the world and indeed it’s ideas that have turned our world. Over the last 30 years the idea of captive insurance generated trillions of dollars worldwide and a boom that transformed our local economy.

It was that single idea of captives that caused a series of structural needs and variety of services, the idea is still working but its needs have changed. While we feel the economic downturn resulting from the reduction of service needs in IB, the reality is we need another idea, yes, a whole new idea and not rely solely on efforts thinking that we are reviving an industry that is truly metamorphosing and spreading its wings. We need another idea that taps into the global market which can stimulate local development, that requires local services and brings foreign exchange to our economy.

In my view, how Singapore evolved could be a model we need to emulate. They, like us, lack natural resources, but with ingenuity notwithstanding their lack of resources have become a successful top rate global economic powerhouse as a regional hub for financial services and transshipment of goods. Political stability, low tax with strong anti-corruption attitude helped to make it a safe environment for business and investment. Bermuda at a smaller scale can do similar by capitalising and regaining our maritime relevance to the world which we lost by the base closures in 1990. We can regain our relevance by becoming an Atlantic transshipment hub as well as utilising our current infrastructure which is ideally situated to facilitate financial and management services for numerous global projects.

Similarly in real terms, politically we are also moved by ideas or vision. All ideas come through persons, and over the last 50+ years in a political context I can see the evidence of two ideas activated by individuals which have had consequence. It has been the volition and vision of two leaders, they being that of Sir Henry (Jack) Tucker and Dr Ewart Brown that has created movement in our community good or bad. If I were to paraphrase their ideas and motivations, I would conclude that the vision of Sir Henry, enabled by his position as political leader and role at the bank, less dramatic but similar to the equation of South Africa, it was to bring Bermuda into the modern era of racial integration by guiding it through an economic agenda and process that created a form of democracy, yet preserved the status quo.

The aim and vision of Dr Brown, enabled by his role as Premier and two ministries, was to change the economic power nexus by what was thought and accused by many of his detractors as wilfully redistributing wealth using government assets and services as the means. Dr Brown’s agenda became the most contentious because he had no wealth to socially and economically engineer that idea, unlike Sir Henry who had both the private and public means to accomplish his agenda.

When we compare similar jurisdictions we can credit Sir Henry for a relatively smooth transition from segregation to a fully integrated and prosperous country, but in the process he engineered the destruction of a vibrant burgeoning black economic middle-class, which was replete with businesses and businessmen, which had evolved from the mid-1800s up until the early 1960s. Their demise and the rise of another community simultaneously, was not a natural occurrence. Dr Brown gets the credit of having a great vision but his method and attitude was naturally questionable and may have set back the very cause he claimed.

Even though Sir John Swan was perhaps the most popular leader over that period, I did not include him among the idea makers because he was rightfully part or continuation of the idea fostered by Sir Henry. The bigger question for our times is not what we had as ideas from our leaders, but rather, what do we need from leadership for today. Many of us saw the movie ‘Mandela’ and we have witnessed his death and listened to the debates that have ensued. The thought of the country going forward with an idea and vision that is both compassionate and progressive is ideal, but understanding that idea needs openness.

While we want to move the country forward without the motivations and inclinations of revenge, we still cannot avoid the issue of justice. Justice is not revenge, nor can it be contrived without wisdom. We cannot re-engineer the marketplace or engage in reproportioning the status of wealth distribution in the country without a legitimate economic vehicle along with time and patience.

No idea will appear from the clouds, ideas come through persons. Partisan grandstanding is no substitute for clear guidance; unfortunately we have too much grandstanding and too little guidance. Hopefully our turmoil will cause us one day to reflect, in the meantime let’s listen to each other and think of new ideas that will bring foreign exchange.

KHALID WASI