We listened to the announcement in the media this evening – 13 April, 2008 that the Honourable Prime Minister David Thompson will be addressing the nation at 7.30PM tomorrow night. One of the topics which we understand he will address is the runaway cost of living affecting not only Barbados but most countries around the world. Like most Barbadians we will be riveted to the television set come tomorrow night to hear what our new Prime Minister has to tell Barbadians in his first national telecast as PM.
If we were to use the blogs and call-in shows as a barometer to gauge what Barbadians expect to hear from our PM at this time, we immediately start to become worried. Barbadians have become accustomed to living a high standard of living, and in the past when there has been economic downturn the government of the day has always been there to save the day. Our understanding of how the world has changed in the last ten years has sensitized the BU household that it is necessary to rearrange our expectation of government. Barbados can no longer survive on behaviours of the past. The traditional underpinnings of the economy of Barbados which historically have served us well is now under threat by a phenomenon called globalisation.
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We had hope that our economists friends who visit BU would have had their say on this issue. While we understand that the current government would have been caught up in election politics up to January 14, 2008, reality must be setting in by now. The level of subsidies which the current government has inherited and added a few of their own cannot continue. We are not saying that some level of subsidy should not be adopted by the government to buffer against ‘shocks’ to benefit its most vulnerable citizens. However decisions to sustain subsidies because of political motivation must be seen as not being in the interest of the country. Removal of subsidies will obviously expose the vulnerable in our society but we know that the two ministers in the social transformation ministry can assist by identifying those in need.
The reality is that Barbadians must start to demonstrate behavioural changes which suggest that they have become aware of the tough times facing the world. As we continue to observe little Barbados we see the cable antennae on the roof of the most humble abodes, the SUVs and double garages, the fully loaded supermarket carts, the high number of cars on the road, the lack of effort to engage in back yard farming because of the stigma associated with agriculture, no attempt to car pool despite the fact that 65% of Barbadians direct their vehicles towards Bridgetown each work day, the proliferation of cell phones, the crowding of KFC and Chefette fast food restaurants and the list could get longer. When we tally our observations we easily came to the conclusion that Barbadians need some shock treatment to open their eyes to the reality of the current times.
Tomorrow night we intend to listen to Prime Minister Thompson carefully. We hope that his pronouncements will force Barbadians to understand that they need to work hard to keep their feet planted on the ground. When Thompson is done Barbadians must be left in no doubt that if Barbados is to maintain its current economic standing every Tom, Dick and Harry must place their shoulders to the plough to raise the level of productivity in Barbados.
BU urge Prime Minister David Thompson to give the country the medicine NOW so that we can avoid possible major surgery LATER.
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