@livinginbarbados

For too long Barbadians have allowed themselves to be shafted by merchants. The conversation around fair pricing in Barbados needs to change. Too long the intellectual explanations and analysts have done nothing to advocate and or stimulate forward movement. Some how we have to dismantle the statis quo around how we intend to attack the drivers of cost of living in Barbados. The time for double speak and playing politics has past.

@Flower Power:

While some employees have attitude and productivity issues, there are those Bajans who will question if ALL restructuring is based on PERSONAL not PROFESSIONAL standards (i.e. those who do not kiss A**) and there are a good few places who could fall under the microscope…

Look how many Bajans laugh when they hear Brass Tacks’ promo for accountability and transparency yet when on the hotseat for the whereabouts of Scharon Millington there is more sidestepping than Fred Astaire’s cheek2cheek or Michael Jackson’s moonwalk

Dark night
THIS SEEMS LIKE AN APPROPRIATE PLACE TO PUT THIS;

‘DARK NIGHT, YA YARD FOWL’. CLUCK CLUCK.

The Private Sector took its cue from the Government which started firing long before 2009. How many have they fired since assuming office? The only difference is financial profit versus that of a political nature.

Sylvan,

What you need to realise is that the Parro In A Suit Greenidge is not educated enough to write half of this crap but instead it is written for him to which he attaches his name, or any of the number of names that it uses.

Both Greenidge and Bovell have used the taxpayers of Barbados to collect political goodwill and handouts, cast your mind back to their involvement at the NAB where Bovell would bring young women to his office in the early hours of the morning to have his way with them mean while with the promise that if they pitched up they would receive work a bit like Glyne Clarke’s WUK FOR WUK .

More recently it appears that his former boss maybe supplying him with his utter rubbish to submit, this conclusion can very easily be drawn from the fact when it wrote on another heading it listed Wood, Owing and Mascots as those that should speak for the BLP on matters financial with not the slightest mention of the standby leader Mottley, which strongly suggested that either Owing or Dale may have penned the submission.

Both The Parro and Henderson Bovell are empty, sad excuses that are both unable to do a day’s work for a day’s pay and find themselves clutching onto the coattails of the disgraced BLP for a livelihood, may I inform them the likes of Greenidge and Bovell that the time for consultancies are over and they need to return to the real world and work like anyone of us for a fair days work for a fair days pay.

@Anonymous (I guess you know which one you are).

For the record, I made it clear that there was no ‘secret’, when I wrote:

“@ ALL

If not seen already, http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-15467–4-4–.html. Big secret!”

Please read the threads carefully, it can save a lot of comment.

Blessed Easter.

As I watch those Samali thugs put their paws on those cargo ships, Wishin In Vain, aka hartley henry immediately came to mind.

I then switched to 204 (BBC world) and there was the PM of England firing a special advisor who did the same thing that henry is being paid $155,000 to do in Barbados.

That proves me correct when I said that each time that hartley henry aka wishing in vain writes – he serves as a reminder that the DLP is not serious about doing anything about corruption and racketeering.

Even Antigua now has higher standards
than Barbados. How could this country have slipped that far in such a short space of time?

Last year before his Budget, Thompson said that he will be consulting the small man, vendors, taxi men; ZR operator.

That has suddenly changed.

The small man is no longer important to the DLP or Thompson.

This year he is looking out for big business.

Having found himself in an “intellectual jam” he does not feel that the small man can tell him anything meaningful hence he turns to brandname people.

According to Thompson and the DLP the shelf-life of Vendors, fishermen, taxi operators and ZR people have expired.

But, having heard Standard and Poors recent report, shouldn’t Thompson be fired.

i

hartley “the klown” henry aka Wishing In Vain, says:

“I am a Barbadian who took offence to you and yours robbing taxpayers.
…………………………….
Well, david thompson introduced an inflationary budget and robbed taxpayers of $180 million in new taxes.

The DLP also attacked the piggy-bank of children by putting a $25 tax on their bicycles.

Not satisfied, thompson refuses to reduce the cost of living in order to rob Barbadians of more VAT taxes.

he refuses to reduce the land tax bands or adjust the rates and is price gouging Barbadians. More robbing.

the DLP is also robbing taxpayers by price gouging Barbadians on petroleum products get you say nothing.

You see why you are a ‘klown” who cannot justify that $155,000 which pensioners cannot get their cheques from this uncaring DLP government?

How can you get $155,000 when little old ladies cannot get their pension cheques?

Imagine!!!

David Thompson flying all over the world on private gets. He is now taking his wife to a Summit in Trinidad, yet Mrs. Obama is not going.

Talk about spending taxpayers money!!!

This is the main reason why Barbadians are now loosing their jobs: Thompson’s Poor Judgement and Bad Decisions.

BU Family, it is the poor judgment and bad decisions of David Thompson, which has resulted in a dangerous mismanagement of the Barbados economy.

Unfortunately, we are now seeing the result of his “governance by delay.”

It is, however, sad – that a “clueless” DLP government, which does not know what it is doing – is now trying to hide its “intellectual weakness” and political incompetence – by pointing to the global financial crisis and the alleged “mess” it had to clean up, as the explanation for the current drift and meltdown in Barbados.

But, what are the facts:

1. Instead of settling down and doing work, DLP Ministers were busy last year touring (trying to find out who are Bees so that it can fire them) attending school sports or engaging in frequent travel overseas, in some instances, with three Ministers and three different delegations, attending the same Conference.

2. But the drift really started when the DLP, which had stated that it will give maximum priority to a tightly managed debt accumulation strategy targeted at the reduction of in both domestic and foreign components of the national debt, and that it will also give priority to achieving and maintaining a balance budget while allowing for small manageable fiscal deficits – tabled the 2008 Estimate, in which it slashed government’s capital works programme, which immediately sent a negative signal to potential investors; put jobs under threat and triggered the melt-down.

3. The third act in which David Thompson made a difficult international environment worst – was increasing the price of petroleum products as follows:

Diesel by 77 per cent; gasoline by 24 per cent, kerosene by 10 per cent and bottle gas by 30 per cent. That resulted in jobs being threatened as well as an increase in the same cost of living, he and the DLP promised to reduce.

4. Mr. Thompson then introduced an inflationary budget, in which he sought to raise an additional $180 million in new taxes.

That has nothing to do with the fact that in the Estimates he presented in March 2008, his government projected to earn $108 million more in financial year 2009-2008 than it did the year before.

A confession that prices had to be rising. So much for the promise to reduce cost of living!

5. The fifth thing was his was failure to intervene when the land tax valuations came out.

He therefore continues to price gouge Barbadians on land tax and petroleum products.

For example, even though the price of a barrel of oil on the world market is significantly cheaper today than when we left office, Barbadians are paying more for diesel at the pump.

6. The sixth things was his reckless failure over the course of the last six months – to introduce a timely stimulus package to shield Barbadians and protect jobs, when – as a result of the international economic crisis – the credit crunch set in – in September of last year.

First of all, Thompson took two months to convene a national consultation on the economy.

But having convened a national consultation and set up a Special Working Group, that Report was available since the end of November, but Thompson did nothing.

DK’s Comment:

Nobody is blaming David Thompson the increase in the price of oil on the World Market!

Nobody is blaming him for the fact that for the first few months last year – coming out of the last six month of 2007 – there was an increase in food commodity prices on the World Market!

But what he is being blamed for – is his failure to act to protect ordinary Barbadians – in circumstances, where he had fiscal room.

And if you doubt that he had options or that he could have incurred debt for a good public purpose – David Estwick went to Parliament, and got approval to borrow US$150 million from Trinidad.

It is clear that the BLP is on the side of the masses while the DLP is on the side on the money or big business!!!

It was the DLP that wrote-off $19 for the Turf Club in return for campaign contributions.

The David Thompson administration also gave Clico $10 million, as payback for the $15 million in campaign contribution the DLP received from Clico.

I hope you people realise that part of the reason why Clico is insolvent, is because it purchased a number of government in the Caribbean.

Where ever Clico purchased a government, hartley henry advises the prime minister there as part of the deal.

The DLP now wants to finance government’s $745 million deficit by asking poor people to pay arrears to government.

Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados Dr. Marion Williams insisted yesterday that the island’s financial system and overall economy were not in crisis even after credit rating agency Standard & Poors (S&P) changed its economic outlook from stable to negative.

Yes Silly!!!

The Barbados Labour Party left a perfect batting wicket for the DLP, having started phase one of a complete restructuring of the Barbados economy, yet ensured that Barbados had the most developed economy among developing countries on planet earth.

Marion Williams: “The word crisis is probably not appropriate to the Barbados financial landscape at this time.

It is absolutely true that Barbados cannot be expected to be insulated from the global financial crisis and economic recession, but…even taking into account the global financial scenario and the global recession, even after taking the impact of the collapse of an insurance entity into account, I still would not consider that the financial system is in crisis,” the governor said.

Silly!!!

I think the concern among other and more intelligent Barbadians is – the length of time the DLP is taking to make important decisions compounded by the fact that because Thompson does not know what he is doing (especially given his bad judgment and poor decisions) he is making a bad economic situation worst for Barbados.

Marion Williams: Williams also told an audience of credit union representatives and economic experts that she was not worried about S&P’s change of outlook on Barbados, saying the island’s economy had grown over a recent three year period when a similar rating had been made by the Wall Street firm.

Yes silly, but Thompson is no Owen Arthur, Clyde Mascoll, Mia Mottley, Michael Howard, Frank Alleyne, Avinash Persuad; Anthony Wood or Tyrone Barker.

Is this the same Marion Williams who – along with David Thompson – travelled ll the way to New York and promised the same Standard and Poors that Barbados would reduce spending and cut it capital works programme in order to balance the budget and run a small deficit at the same time.

Marion Williams: “First let me say that the Barbados economy had this precise rating, that is BBB+ with a negative outlook during the period July 29, 2005 to July 25, 2008, that is for about three years. During this period, despite the negative outlook on our rating, the Barbados economy grew by an average of 3.5 per cent per annum over the three-year period. That is good history to note”

Yes Silly!!!

But Barbados had Mia Mottley; Owen Arthur; the Economic Team of the BLP and intellectually strong people running the country then.

Marion Williams: “Secondly, let me point out that this rating still puts us squarely in investment grade status and is still among the higher ratings in the Caribbean.

I believe the only other two (countries with higher ratings) are Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas.

Silly!!!

Trinidad rating has been down graded because of the mess CL Financial made which they are now trying to clean-up.

Remember also that Barbados’ economy was the leading among developing countries. We never bench marked ourselves against Haiti and Guyana – did we?

Marion Williams: Williams said the good news was that “the Barbados financial system has buffers that do not exist, or exist to a lesser extent, in many other financial systems”.

Yes silly!!!

But no thanks to Thompson or the DLP. In fact – by trying to prop-up Clico, Thompson, you and the DLP are putting Barbados at risk. And, all of this, just to get you contract renewed?

Marion Williams: “Despite a projected foreign exchange loss of $106 million in 2008, the level of foreign exchange reserves in terms of weeks of imports will still be the second highest in the last five years, the highest in the last five years.

Yes, the reserves increased and built-up under the BLP but are being depleted under the DLP. In fact they fell by $800 million in 10 months under Thompson.

Secondly, you have to also consider this country’s macro economic indicators, especially unemployment, the cost of living and foreign direct investment.

You may feel that $180 million is no big thing having given Clico $10 million while Thompson is not loosing any sleep about the $93 million statutory fund deficit he (David Thompson) the Central Bank and the Supervisor of Insurance is encouraging Leroy Parris not to pay.

But there are three entities Barbadians must feel they can trust: the Law Courts, The Police and the Central Bank. When the Central Bank appears to be engaging is scams, then this country has a crisis.

The brightest and most intelligent people in Barbados and in the world – want to know how would you – as Central Bank Governor – know that Clico Life is well run and that people’ money is safe, especially given that Insurance companies are not regulated by the Central Bank?

You mean to tell me: all of that just to get your contract renewed?

If things are not gloomy, then why tell credit unions to merge?