During the recent press conference held by Prime Minister David Thompson he was asked by a member of the studio audience what he intends to do about the PSV sector. The person who asked the question expressed the concern that despite the effort to clean-up the PSV sector, it continues to be a law unto itself. An example to show that the ZR culture is alive and well is the lewd and sexually explicit lyrics which they continue to play on their illegal audio systems.
Prime Minister David Thompson in his response to the member of the studio audience promised that he will be addressing the vexing issues which continue to emanate from the PSV sector in the upcoming budget scheduled for May 18, 2009.
The perennial lawlessness which has been displayed by the PSV sector, specifically ZR’s, has been the bane of successive government’s regulatory and social policies. The inability of the PSV sector to self-regulate combined with the lack of political will by successive governments to ‘calm’ the sector has created a monster which now threatens to destabilize our society. John Public has known for a long time that a major contribution to the problem in the PSV sector has been the concentration of ownership by politicians, lawyers, prominent businessmen etc.
This group of owners have become very influential which has led to wide spread corruption by officials responsible for regulating the sector.
The policy by the current government to allow free bus rides on the public transportation system for school children has been heralded by most Barbadians. Besides the economic benefit to families many (BU included) believe that the social good to be derived will be the winner. By encouraging (extracting) our young minds from under the unruly influence of the ZR culture, some Barbadians are hoping it is not too late. Ironically, the Jamaican government has recently initiated changes to laws to crack down on its own rude boy culture specifically targeted at the smutty lyrical content of the music played on the airwaves and elsewhere. This is relevant to what is happening in Barbados because the music which underpins the ZR culture and played with gay abandon on our airwaves of Barbados is mainly derived from the smutty Jamaican music.
The time has finally come to fix the PSV sector at this juncture in our history. Barbados is fortunate to be able to use the Jamaican experience as a crystal ball to foresee what will develop if we continue on our current path. It is not enough to remove our children from the PSVs and pat ourselves on the back that the problem has been solved. The ZR culture permeates our culture in many ways, to retrieve our society from this ban of misfits who can be compared to the Taliban in Afghanistan where a few people are allowed to terrorize the majority of the population, enough is enough!
The PSV sector plays and important part in the transportation system of Barbados. It employs hundreds of people. It is a source of significant taxes to government. We are aware that the government proposes to role out a Transport Authority which has a mandate to offer solutions to the problem, one of which is to integrate the PSVs and public transport. We support the initiative in theory for what it can deliver but remain sceptical and a cynic to what it will actually accomplish.
Mr. Prime Minister the country is at the crossroads. Those who want to see can observe the cracks which are widening by the day in the social landscape of Barbados. The country needs LEADERSHIP now more than ever. Hopefully if we get the LEADERSHIP from the political directorate the non governmental stakeholders will follow.
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