Submitted by Alex Fergusson
The nonsense now occurring, as regards attempts by the UDC to fire those appointed workers from pensionable posts (some with ten or more year’s service) – demonstrates exactly how weak and disconnected from the Barbadians reality, David Thompson is as a leader but more than anything else – it shows just how short on good talent the DLP actually is. But, that the DLP is downsizing at the UDC and elsewhere within the Public Service but seeks to lecture LIME and other private sector companies on the importance of maintaining jobs, is brazen. The Government of Barbados is firing people from the Public Service at will but is doing all in its power to protect the workers at CLICO, which has a $54 million Statutory Fund deficit.
Already PM Thompson has had to reshuffle his extremely weak Cabinet, within ten months of forming the government and even after making four people who did not face the polls, Ministers. This is extremely rear for a party that won 20 seats.
On August 22, the findings of a DLP commissioned/Wickham Poll were made public. It showed that the portfolio of David Thompson is in chaos, prompting Barbadians to say that they are concerned about the economy; cost of living and unemployment – all of which are areas Mr. Thompson has ultimate responsibility for.
On the question of leadership, the DLP/Wickham Poll showed that while the portfolio of Prime Minister Thompson is in crisis, Christopher Sinckler is on the ascendency and is already more popular than Deputy Prime Minister Freundel Stuart – within the DLP and also at the national level.
But, here is where it gets interesting and how you know there is serious trouble brewing within the DLP. The reason advanced for wanting to fire those workers at the UDC (according to Sinckler) is that they are not qualified (paper qualifications) or competent. However, Freundel Stuart, who Sinckler now outshines – referred to the Public Service Act, as: “a horrible injustice,” and said that there were a number of officers who had entered the service without qualifications and had performed their roles admirably, professionally and with dedication.
Mr. Stuart remarked that it was an injustice such people should be side-stepped for promotion or appointment to various posts in which they were acting, because they did not possess the basic qualifications.
Deputy Prime Minister and Attorney General Stuart – seems to be saying that experience; length of service and performance at a high level without qualifications – is as important. In contrast, even though the workers at the UDC are qualified, Sinckler – who now asserts his dominance – says paper qualification is the ONLY currency he is looking for, even though the UDC sought to replace qualified workers with a taxi driver and a barman. In all of this “DLP Industrial Disharmony,” and bashment – the Minister of Labour remains silent, confirming why Barbadians are concerned that his portfolio is in crisis. It is comical that the DLP, which crashed the Barbados economy in less than two years – would have the courage tell anybody about being qualified and competent.
But while both PM Thompson and Mr. Stuart are on the decline in the eyes of Barbadians, Sinckler seems to have convinced himself that it is time to make his move since his light is beginning to shine even brighter than when he was fired because he was outshining the Prime Minister, when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs. It is why one cannot be faulted for saying that the DLP has a serious leadership crisis on its hands. The crack in the DLP’s weak armour is widening and the DLP’s coalition is crumbling even faster than the economy has – under DLP rule.
Many are beginning to say that the UDC fiasco is simply Sinckler recognising that he is far more political savvy than even Thompson and that (based on Wickham’s/DLP Poll) he has convinced himself that now is the time to make his move.
The apparent political interference at the UDC; the NAB and the Welfare Department is about Sinckler asserting his dominance as the emerging leader of the DLP at a time when Mr. Thompson has manufactured the meltdown of the Barbados economy and seems incapable of fixing the problem at LIME.
Imagine! In the 2008 General Election, it took 2,230 persons to select Sinckler as the MP for St. Michael North West. But with the enormous power the Thompson-dominated-Parliament has given him – he alone has the power to appoint 450 persons to serve on Constituency Councils. With the UDC, the RDC, the Poverty Bureau, the Welfare Department and the NAB at his disposal – Sinckler seems to have convinced himself that he could flood those Boards and make his constituents happy and even if the entire DLP was wiped-out at the polls due to its dangerous mismanagement of the Barbados economy – by then he would be well positioned to become Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the DLP because he would win his seat.
Having defeated an intellectual heavyweight like Mascoll at the polls, Sinckler apparently has little regards for a David Thompson. Perhaps this may explain his urgency to have the Constituency Council Programme up and running. Sinckler is building his base, inadvertently – with the total support of the same Thompson who is far less politically savvy than he is. This entire scenario shows exactly how overrated Hartley Henry is as a political strategist.
Sinckler knows that Thompson cannot fire him as Minister of Social Care without shooting himself in the foot, especially since the DLP’ Cabinet is simply – logically incapable of being reshuffled again. The DLP therefore has an extremely serious leadership crisis to settle quickly. UDC workers are merely ponds in a horrible DLP political power game. The DLP’ plot thickens but while the internal struggle for relevance and power within the DLP continues, another bread-winner goes home with the sad news that he too has lost his job.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.