Politically, socially and economically the decline is evident. For those of us who have experienced living in Barbados and the wider Caribbean in the 70’s and most of the 80’s the comparison to the current state of affairs must be triggering all kinds of fears. What deserves special mention is the inability of present day leaders to develop policies which address the political, social and economic requirements of the region. We don’t have to make this piece “political” although some might say that politics envelops everything. BU remember vividly the Jamaica of the 70’s, Guyana, Grenada and Trinidad before the coup and attempted coup. The point which we wish to make is that many of the Caribbean islands which are unstable today were on a growth path in the 70’s and early 80’s. Today many of these islands are struggling economically and experiencing serious escalation in crime__it could happen to Barbados.
Our people must get and stand up!
In the last decade the specter of globalization has visited us and has caused our small island states to have to restructure their economies to operate competitively in a world economy. We have seen that globalization is unforgiving towards developing states. BU opine that the theory of globalization is built on a way for the developed countries to penetrate the markets of developing countries like Barbados with their superior goods and services. The sluggish response by Barbados and our Caribbean neighbors to repositioned their economies will probably spell the demise of a way of life to which we have become accustomed.The obvious inability of current day leaders to separate themselves from policies which have worked in the past identifies a group of policymakers brainwashed by our educational institutions which lack relevance. Our dear friend Bush Tea, a contributor to BU has written an excellent article which speaks to this shortcoming more eloquently than we can. Historically king sugar and tourism have been the fuel of our economies but in recent times it is tourism which has stood alone. The external shock illustrated by 9/11 has demonstrated to Barbados and our island brethren that our heavy dependence on tourism is a lottery strategy; one which cannot sustain our future development.
Minister Barney Lynch needs be kept on a leash.
Socially we have witnessed the decay of our societies previously built on “Christian values “ and now polluted by value systems posited by a developed world on our small and open economies. The unwillingness of our political directorate to legislate on social issues has seen our populations fully accepting the value systems propagated by the OECD concept called globalization. The consequential absorption of our cultures, blurring of our national boundaries and the erosion of our sovereignties heightened by heavy obligations as a result of the many international treaties signed by our leaders have created mendicant states. Decriminalization of homosexuality, acceptance of gambling initiatives as legitimate ways for governments to raise revenue, unwillingness of our governments to unequivocally commit to fund key sectors of the economy like health, education, transportation and key non-governmental agencies has resulted is unprecedented social fall-out. It has not occurred to the academics, politicians and the few social scientists that although change is a must our uniqueness must be guarded and not surrendered to mirror foreign lands.
Our small societies must protect against greed.
There is the blatant decline in the quality of political representation and the commitment of the current crop of political leaders to the ideals of our democracy. The forgotten idea that politicians are installed to serve the interest of the people must be resurrected. The successive expectations of our politicians in the last two decades that they need to become “fat cats“ has become a problem of unprecedented proportions. The current policies of our governments which have embarked on capital projects which cost millions of dollars, now afford opportunities for our leaders and associates to misappropriate funds with ease__a euphemistic term for stealing. The glaring examples of public funds being mis-managed was seen on the GEMS Project, there is the obvious conflict of interest with David Shorey, Chairman of HRL Ltd and at the same time a director of CGI. Recently we have seen the latest brainchild of the incumbent government, Sapphire Beach Project which is funded 51% by Growth Fund Development, again those names of David Shorey, Peter Harris (CGI) and others keep recurring. We have all forgotten by now Tradewinds; an insurance firm which is reputed to be majority controlled by Hallam Nichols. All those government vehicles purchased which have to be brokered by third parties; we say no more. BU have not forgotten the insurance deal which was given to CGI (David Shorey and Peter Harris function as directors of the Board) by Rommel Marshall when he was in charge of the Transport Board and despite public criticism of the contract the Barbadian public has been ignored. Again BU recall the reclassification of the water zone lands in St.James under suspicious circumstances which resulted in huge profits on the sale of those lands. Again one David Shorey is said to have been one of the purchasers in the deal. The transaction prompted an outcry on whether legislation is required to prevent such obvious exploitation of land speculators to the exclusion of the former owners of the land. To date we are not aware that legislation to protect ordinary land owners was ever passed.
The list is long!
This piece is not meant to be negative although we have deliberately painted a picture of a future state which will present challenges for Barbados if our current course is left unchecked. The concentration or obsession of our current leaders on economic matters while down playing implementing social and other relevant policies to maintain our uniqueness will continue to dilute our competitiveness in a global economy. Perhaps more of concern is the societal dysfunction which BU expect to escalate in the prevailing political climate which sees Barbados surrendering its independent thinking which has been the hallmark of our early leaders. Barbados although a small nation has stood tall on the world stage and was the envy of the world regarding how the country was managed. It seems to BU that in the last decade our rush to convert Barbados to a modern economy is coming at a great price.
We need to get it right!
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