Don’t know about you, Dear Reader, but I am eager to hear what Owen Arthur has to say tonight. I really hope he rises above traditional partisan rhetoric of ascribing all good to his previous Barbados Labour Party administration and all manner of evil and wrong doing to the current Democratic Labour party government. If Arthur does that, it would be a wasted moment in time.
Owen Arthur should use the occasion and the opportunity this evening to commence his long march to elder statesmanship. He has made clear that he has no ambition to lead his party or country again, and I believe him. Incidentally, I also believe that the moon is made of cheese!
Nevertheless, Arthur should be purposeful and constructive in his presentation tonight. He should not feel pressured into towing any particular line; be it party or profession. I make this point because, as a trained economist, he might be tempted to take positions that are theoretically sound, but he has had the benefit of 14 years practical experience at the helm of the Barbados economy and he therefore knows what is real and doable and what is not. By the same token, he should not feel pressured into embracing all the outrageous and outlandish positions of his successor at the helm of the BLP, Mia Mottley.
Mottley is politically green and inexperienced. She wings it a bit too much and does not understand her role as Leader of the Opposition. Surely, no one would expect Arthur to get up tonight and chirp that nonsense about doing away with summer camps and criticizing free bus fares for school children. Also, we would not expect Arthur, a former Minister of Finance, to espouse the theory that huge salary increases should be granted public officers, irrespective of the current economic situation. That type of political reasoning or lack thereof is associated with green horns like Mottley and Dale Marshall.
Arthur must demonstrate greater responsibility and political maturity this evening. There is nothing wrong with him conceding that the wicket on which Thompson has had to bat was a difficult one and that on reflection the policy in relation to energy prices was prudent. Also, I see nothing wrong in Arthur admitting the genius in the appointment of Dr Delisle Worrell as Governor of the Central Bank.
We know he will not support the clamp down on illegal immigration or the slowing of the process of creating a Caricom single market and economy, because these issues were near and dear to his heart. We would understand if he agrees with Mottley that Al Barack should be paid all his money, at once, because that fiasco is of their creation.
But, when it comes to walking the tight, slippery rope of navigating this economy over the course of the next 18 months, one expects that Arthur will rise above petty politics and lend his voice to the discussion in a meaningful and constructive manner.
Surely he will criticize the current administration on a few issues. The essence of our democratic and Westminster model of government is that opposing parties be given the opportunity ever so often to do and try things differently. Therefore, we expect the government to get a scolding here and there on what could have been done differently and what perhaps should not have been done at all.
Arthur is not a member or supporter of the governing party and therefore he cannot be expected to see the reasoning and wisdom in everything that David Thompson does. He is an economist and is minded to think and speak from that perspective. That is perhaps why Thompson has had reason on several occasions recently to point out that Barbados is not just an economy but that it is a society. If Barbados today focused only on arithmetical solutions to problems, the social landscape of this country would be destroyed in no time.
It would be easy in today’s economic environment for government to reverse the free bus fare initiative. But how would that impact the single mother with three children going to school? And what of the UDC and RDC home and house improvement programmes? The only way these initiatives have continued is because “the fat” has been removed from the equation. $40 000 is today doing what $100 000 did three years ago, because contractors wanting to do business with government have to sharpen their pencils and there is no one to whom they must “tithe”. Also, projects are coming in on budget and in some instances under budget. Can you imagine if we had fiascos like the 3S contract, Kensington Oval, the prison at Dodds, Gems and Jaws, the same Barack Building, the Grantley Adams Airport expansion and similar financial calamities, which doubled in price overnight, to deal with in today’s economy?
But we do not expect Arthur to credit the new government for any of this because it would reflect upon his tenure and his much cherished legacy. What the country would expect, however, is for Arthur to step up to the plate and assume the role of elder statesman. He ought from now to wrap his every utterance in the flag.
Prime Minister Thompson put it excellent in his address to members of the chamber of commerce a few weeks ago when he suggested that their actions should henceforth be motivated by a genuine interest in and their love of country. Arthur needs to reaffirm his love tonight for Barbados. He needs to reaffirm his confidence in the capacity of Barbadians to work together to weather the current economic storm.
Our former Prime Minister needs to call Barbadians to arms and to challenge them to change attitudes and approaches to life and to spending. He must advise and admonish them how to cope with unavoidable increases in the cost of living. Surely, he would squander the opportunity if he sought to score brownie points over the increase in water rates. The price of water should have been increased 10 years ago. The $1.3 billion expansion that is planned, will only come about if the Barbados Water Authority stands once again on its financial feet. Arthur would do well to bring closure to this needless debate by moving beyond the increase in rates and advising on how greater efficiency can be achieved.
Generally speaking, tonight can be a make or break night for Owen Arthur. He has to improve his game. He has to be measured is his analyses and his submissions. He will of course have words of caution and advice for the government but, given the state of play in Barbados today, he should also have words of advice for his colleagues in parliament who clearly have lost their way.
It is one thing to have a government that you do not support and cannot philosophically identify with. But it is a worse state of affairs to be part of a parliamentary opposition that is lacking in focus and direction, with a leader who knows it all and does not listen. I do not envy Owen Arthur.
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