In recent weeks two issues have surfaced above all others which have served to vex the BU household. There is an unwritten rule in Barbados if one has to be critical of the legal community or Mrs. Ram instinctively you breakout in cold sweat and may even shiver. Mrs. Ram is said to be a lawyer and has judiciously picked her battles with others through the years. The legal community with its several parts always seem to be able to intimidate all-comers because of the intimate knowledge of the court set-up which remain a mystery to most; others may add that our government and ancillary governance systems are controlled by members of the legal community.
In his most recent article Henry felt pushed to pat Mrs. Ram on the back when he wrote …I take my hat off to Mrs. Ram Merchandani and her team at Casa Grande. She could have thrown her hands up in despair, but rather she has gone outside of the box and established a family oriented entertainment centre that’s like a God send for thousands of persons, visitors and locals alike, each week. Why can’t others get up off their hind and do likewise?
From all reports Casa Grande which has been converted to an amusement centre continues to be a big draw card for entertainment starved Bajans. Originally constructed to be a low budget hotel located strategically 5 minutes from the airport, the owner to prevent a financial disaster has demonstrated some quick thinking to save the enterprise. A visit to the widely read TripAdvisor listed a litany of woes which visitors to Barbados experienced while staying at the Grande. Of late on any weekend hundreds of people can be seen visiting Casa Grande to drive bumper cars, amuse themselves in the arcade and believe it or not, to bowl.
Here is the problem BU has with Henry bigging up Mrs. Ram. Has the Furniture Limited building in Bridgetown been remodeled by the astute Mrs. Ram to reflect the fact the owner is concerned with ensuring that many Barbadians, especially Black work in a decent physical environment? It begs the question what have our unions and inspectors from the Barbados Fire Service been doing over the years. BU will not touch how the Liquidation Centre continues to operate on Lower Bay Street. Yet we have the government’s leading political strategist bigging up this woman? Perhaps an opportune time to ask for campaign finance reform!
Woe betide anyone who crosses this woman it seems!
The other matter which blew all of BU gaskets was caused by the recent utterance by Justice Elneth Kentish …the courts are being held to ransom by accused persons and by lawyers for accused persons. They are running the show,” she declared. In fact, the judge feels the Sessions in her court have all but “ground to a halt. Obviously this state of affairs if we follow Justice Kentish has been occurring for some time. Bear in mind former Chief Justice (CJ) David Simmons recently retired to glowing tributes from all and sundry. How can the person responsible for the efficiency of the judiciary be given an A for performance by his peers and others in his charge and a few weeks later a Justice of the High Courts of Barbados is driven to issue such a damning statement?
In the same way we can’t get the PSV sector to work so too the Judiciary?
Recently the acting Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart in a response to criticism that the CJ position needs to be filled, he indicated that no pressing matters were being held back because of the CJ vacancy. Hellooo, earth to Staurt and BU quotes,…I do not know what has transpired or what has changed that culture but the culture we are at now is where this system is grinding to a halt. In fact, the judge said, in the past few days, in this court, this system has ground to a halt.” Justice Kentish was yesterday expressing her displeasure after a number of accused appeared before her and offered a range of excuses as to why they were not ready for trial. Does the above paint a picture of an efficient court system Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart?
If we are to understand the root of the problem according to practicing Attorney Hal Gollop Sr., Barbados has too few lawyers practicing criminal law. As a result of the paucity of criminal lawyers who find themselves under pressure to serve all the Courts where they have matters pending this has led to the gridlock Gollop opines. BU says this is bullshit. Read the flimsy reasons in the media report which don’t mesh with Gollop’s position which he offered on a talk show recently. Please tell BU why the Barbados government is continuing to finance tertiary level law students to feed an inefficient judiciary?
BU notes with interest that Justice of Appeal Frederick Waterman who acted in the post of CJ when Simmons retired has indicated no interest in sticking around. Will Prime Minister Stuart appoint Justice Williams which would be seen as maintaining the status quo? For a government which sailed into office on the wings of change what would be left to say by the appointment except, the more things change the more they remain the same!
Much more can be written about the gridlock which is currently afflicting our Judiciary, it is enough to remind all parties that justice delayed is justice denied.
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