Submitted by Slyvan Greenidge, Press Secretary to former Prime Minister Owen Arthur
On January 18, 2008 Barbadians elected the Democratic Labour Party to manage the affairs of this great Nation. The DLP’s victory in that election could not be deemed a watershed by the stretch of anyone’s imagination. Indeed when one closely examines the number of extremely close margins of victory for quite a number of the DLP candidates, one can hardly call their victory a vote of confidence.
It is against that background that the DLP would want to pull back from the kind of arrogance and roundhead behaviour for which it has publicly been displaying since coming to office. The number of verbal attacks by Ministers on individuals and groups within the private and public sector has helped little in enhancing their ability to improve on their votes in the next general election, constitutionally due within a short three and a half years.
The fear of public servants to speak out on matters that effect them as they did under the previous BLP administration and the general lack of interest by the private sector to offer constructive criticism on critical matters effecting the country is evident that this Government has been left on its own to manage this country in the very difficult economic times. If the saying that “no man is an island” is true and I believe that it is, then this country stands on the threshold of the greatest socioeconomic and political challenge it will face since the 1930s.
The DLP won the 2008 election on the promise to change what existed then for what was expected to come. Their support was based on a number promises made verbally at public meetings in addition to what was inscribed in their manifesto. Barbadians, as was their right, opted for the two birds in the bush rather than the one in hand. Today when one listens to the call-in programs and the comments around the street the refrain is the same – what has changed?
Clearly Barbadians are not impressed with what has been delivered by the DLP thus far or put another way Barbadians are yet to see the change as was promised. Yet everyday vocal DLP supporters who now share in the fatted calf are incensing the ears of Barbadians about their great achievements. They now frolic in the fact that the people have given them power to rule and rule they will, even if the people who gave them that power are now suffering.
The level of failure of this DLP is pellucid and real and spreads across every sector. At the QEH patients care will plunged further into the mire as the last batch of the almost 40 Nigerian nurses take their leave. Their verbal abuse and mistreatment at the hands of this Government has forced their departure and yet to date no effort made to replace them.
The sensitive position for which the QEH now finds itself can ill afford to loss 40 nurses without having a serious impact on its ability to deliver efficient nursing care. Over 5,300 persons and the numbers are climbing have lost their jobs since Thompson became Prime Minister. Every revenue earner for government is now in decline and our foreign reserves are in serious decline. Ratings agencies now point to two dominant factors that have kept this economy afloat. Those two factors are the strong position of the NIS funds and the $2.6 billion in foreign reserves. Both of these fine examples of good governance are the products of the former BLP Government.
Tourism arrivals are down and investor confidence in our country has fled. Every sector now bears the mark of the DLP’s inefficiency and mismanagement. The attempt to convey the message that Barbados’ economic downturn is due mainly to the global recession is misguided.
The global recession has been brought on by a collapse of the banking system in the USA and some European countries. In Barbados the banking system is fully intact and has not been affected by the kinds of problem associated elsewhere. Although we accept that the financial crisis being experienced globally may have some effect on Barbados it is untrue place our problems squarely on the global crisis. The global crisis has not affected Australia and the question is why. One thing is certain, not every country must be affected by global financial problems.
Self Inflicted Crisis
In an attempt to respond to the external shock brought on by the failure of the private sector in the global market the Thompson administration executed a number public sector initiatives that has induced our own crisis and inflicted unwanted and unnecessary hardship on Barbadians.
The misjudgement on the part of the DLP that government was in a financial bind and needed fiscal stimulus lead to their inflationary budget of 2008. That budget, rather than providing financial relief to the private sector, which stood to be affected the worse as a result of the global crisis, extracted over $110,000.000.00 from individuals and companies alike. Government moved to boost its own revenue although it was not prudent thing to do at the time. To compound the problem the government borrowed heavily on the domestic market – crowding out the private sector from much needed investment capital.
This double whammy on the private sector has led to a contraction in the sector with the possibility that the cash flow problem that most of them now experience will deepen hampering their chances of rebuilding quickly following the end of the global recession.
None of the problems being experienced in Barbados to date has appeared on the DLP’s political radar. The only thing that consumes their attention is the fact that the electorate of Barbados has voted them to power. Every effort is being ceased to use that power to carry out their political vendetta. So for the moment the DLP has taken that one moment in time in January 2008 for eternity. One day soon they will learn that you should never take a moment in time for eternity.
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