In recent days BU sense a quickening of the political pace in Barbados. We have had the statement floated by Minister responsible for economic affairs David Estwick about the necessity for a wage freeze and all hell has broken lose. Prime Minister David Thompson and Minister of Agriculture Haynesley Benn have declared support for the wage freeze initiative. To be predicted the cries of the unions, an IMF official, and the media houses have joined the fray, John Public has been given another reason to sit up and take note regarding the tottering economy.
What should be clear to most Barbadians on both sides of the political divide is the recognition the pace has quickened because the economy has started to spiral. It will take a a vision filled captain supported by a dedicated team to keep Barbados from running aground. Forget about restructuring the economy it has now become all about survival.
To add to the excitement, news reaching BU suggests veteran journalist David Ellis has resigned from STARCOM Network. Ellis has always attracted heavy criticism from BU because he is the lone journalist in Barbados who has the breath of knowledge and experience to qualify as a proper journalist. On the flip side, we understand he would have had to curtail and sacrifice his creative skills and dampened his journalistic curiosity at the altar of pure economic considerations during his tenure at STARCOM. Vic Fernandez along with his former Chief Operating Officer Alex Macdonald would have provided little wriggle room on that front. If our source is correct Ellis’ resignation seems the honourable thing for the veteran journalist to do. The fact he occupies the position as the only bona fide journalist in Barbados should still recommend him for a job. His former colleague Roy Morris seems to have bounced back with the recent launch of an online newspaper Barbados Today. God help Barbados if we are to assume Stetson ‘ the tueeesday edition’ Babb is the one groomed to fill Ellis’ shoes.
It will be business as usual on River Road, Vic will continue to drive his top of the line Audi to the office while his foot soldiers are sent home or harassed into leaving. Never a dull moment in Barbados.
Opposition Leader Mia Mottley has decided to make political mileage fuelled by the current confusion surrounding how the Thompson government has been managing the economy; and rightly so. The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has slated a national meeting for St. Patricks on Sunday at 7PM. Barbadians are being encouraged to attend the meeting to demonstrate concern about the plan to make civil servants suffer some more by enduring a wage freeze. Bear in mind Barbadians have had to accommodate increases from all the major utilities of water, electricity and telephone in a relatively short time. Additionally, the incumbent government has instituted a policy of passing on fuel increases to the consumer, a departure from its predecessor. We have even had the questionable situation where rum shops have seen the rum license moved to $1,000.00. Most Barbadians would agree the rum shop in Barbados serves as an outlet for Bajans to socialize and not only for people to get drunk. The timing of the meeting maybe an issue if the BLP hopes to attract young and middleclass Barbados, Super Bowl XLLIV is scheduled to start at 7PM! Some may opine the foregoing statement points to what ails our little country.
The meeting at St. Patricks may still attract a good crowd given how some Barbadians are attracted by the salacious. BU in earlier blogs exposed the fact Mottley has a centipede in her bed. In the last 48 hours Barbadians have been treated to the news that there is disquiet in the BLP camp, a constituency meeting in St. Peter on Sunday night has been cancelled in deference to the national meeting slated in St. Patricks. On the surface, the explanation by BLP officials seems reasonable given the need for the BLP to want to respond nationally to talk about a wage freeze. However the fact veteran BLP member George Griffith feels the need to go public about the cancelation suggests there is more to the motar than the pestle. Whatever happens BU remains convinced the Arthur versus Mottley struggle will make for interesting theatre in the coming weeks and months.
Never a dull moment in Bim!
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.