Letter of the Day | BOJ has no sway over Maroon bank
Published:Sunday | May 6, 2018 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
The leadership within the Sovereign Maroon State of Accompong is completely shocked by the recent comments made by the Bank of Jamaica's (BOJ) Senior Deputy Governor John Robinson regarding the Central Solar Reserve Bank of Accompong (CSRB).
The CSRB is located in the Sovereign Maroon State of Accompong. As a unique institution within Accompong's development strategy, which is led by Colonel Ferron Williams, the CSRB of Accompong is currently hiring staff to facilitate the needs of the community, and to provide qualified Maroons who are living in Jamaica and abroad with an incentive to bring their skills back home.
In my capacity as Accompong's minister of finance, I personally spoke with Mr Robinson about the bank at the time of its enactment in 2014 and, therefore, find it absolutely astonishing that the institution is now "unknown" to him. It would seem that not only did Mr Robinson forget our conversations altogether, but more regrettably, he has also forgotten the great history of this island and the sovereignty of our Maroon communities.
Financial institutions in Accompong are regulated by the Bank Act of Accompong and not the BOJ. Accompong's Deputy Colonel Melville Currie is, indeed, the foremost Maroon historian in Jamaica and he is dedicated to reminding people of our Maroon legacy and autonomy.
Contrary to the ill-informed legal source cited in last week's Financial Gleaner article, there is only one instance of limitation to Maroon sovereignty and self-governance, which is in the event of murder. As a sovereign African people, the Accompong Maroons are free to pursue a condition of economic well-being and will establish all necessary institutions, including our own financial authority, to fulfil those ends.
The CSRB of Accompong has been structured as one of the most modern and transformative financial institutions in the Caribbean, which is indicative through the issuance of its own currency called the LUMI. The LUMI is a non-fiat-bonded currency that uses solar energy as its underlying asset.
TIMOTHY E. MCPHERSON JR
Maroon Minister of Finance