Don Crawford deserves better
Dear Editor,
Your article appearing in the Sunday Observer of November 29, “Crawford labels financial meltdown holocaust” leaves me elated. The aspect of that article that I was most elated about was the sentence, “Noting Davies’ call for the former banker to appear before the commission and tell the truth, Crawford told the Sunday Observer that he has been summoned to appear before the commission and that he will.” I am also happy with your clarification on the following day, stating that he was invited and not summoned to testify at the inquiry. An invitation and not a summons is an indication that Don Crawford has not lost the will to continue his 14-year lonely battle against Finsac, that albatross around the necks of Jamaicans.
I was further elated by Mr Crawford’s declaration, “I consider it a serious and critical obligation to the (former CNB) shareholders and the people of Jamaica. I intend to tell the whole story without malice, and without prejudice. There is much to be disclosed.” Kudos to Mr Crawford for taking that position.
Mr Crawford’s battle with Finsac over the last 14 years was phenomenal.
In those 14 years he spared no effort to educate Jamaicans and the world that the economic meltdown of the 90s was a result of the economic policies of Dr Omar Davies and the previous administration. The astronomical interest rates unleashed on the local entrepreneurs could be safely equated with the brutal ones imposed by loan sharks.
While I hold no brief for Don Crawford, I must hasten to say that it is sad to see that first-class, real Jamaican savvy entrepreneur, indigenous banker and philanthropist reach the stage where he has to be living in self-imposed exile. While he has been vilified over the years, it should be noted that he was never charged for a crime, despite a statement from former Director of Public Prosecutions Kent Pantry some years ago, during the heat of an election campaign, that he would be imminently charged with a crime. What was his crime, Mr Pantry, and why hasn’t he been charged as of now?
My heart goes out to Crawford, his family and the shareholders of Century National Bank. Don Crawford rose from the ashes to become a pacesetter that Jamaica should never have lost to North America. He was the leader of Century National Bank – that indigenous bank that meteorically rose to be ranked the third largest. We should all have been proud of that son of our soil rising from the ashes and making it to the top rather than tearing him down.
The hundreds of job losses as a result of the collapse of Century National Bank left not only hundreds jobless but many dependents deprived of the benefits accorded by the existence of the Century Group. The adoption of many schools by Crawford and his many donations to needy school children in Jamaica represented philanthropic moves that have no parallel. The seizure of Century National Holdings was a mafiastyle grab. Crawford deserves better than what was meted out to him, his family, the shareholders and his workers.
George Lawson New York, USA
