“It will be up to frustrated independents to decide whether to punish what they may deem an incalcitrant government.”

Independents?

On the talk of integrity, the glaring lack of integrity by the Nation newspaper is despicable.
A paper that claims to “call a spade a spade” has refused for 4 1/2 years to give anyone associated with the DLP a column or a voice in the Nation newspaper.
If Caswell Franklyn was singing the government’s praises, there is no way in hell he would get to write a column in the Nation but he is constantly criticising the government and surprise… the Nation newspaper finds a space for him on Sundays.
It is so obvious that the Nation newspaper is on the BLP payroll slanting its commentary to promote the BLP and refusing to print anything that puts Owen Arthur in a negative light.
It is the Barbados version of Fox news.
When Harold Hoyte left , balance and fairness at the Nation left also.Kaymar Jordan, Fred Gollop and Vivian Ann Gittens are a national disgrace.

@waterman

It is a never ending debate where we need to draw the line but we need to start and politicians and those from private sector who do business with government is a good place to start.

@ National BLP Newspaper…I am in agreement with much of what you have said.However the fact remains that your party (and mine) seems hell bent on gifting away the reign of office.What is patently clear is that they need no help in this regard.

@Onions

You seem to think this is a matter to revel in and it only demonstrates how the political parties take us for fools.

Unfortunately most Bajans do not care about FOI and integrity legislation. The DLP will not implement it because it was introduced by DT and PM Stuart has not embraced it.

Having sanitised their assets during the last 4 years led by Owen and Mia’s example, the BLP can safely implement FOI and integrity legislation if they are elected.

So comedy central is in season starring the usual characters coming to a neighborhood near you spewing vacuous crap in the full knowledge that he who buys the most corned beef, biscuits and DESIGNER BACK PACKS has the best chance of being elected.

@ waterman
“It is not only politicians that are crooked but also civil servants in the various departments across the ministries especially customs”
******************
Actually – the politicians are more inept, lazy and greedy, it is the civil servants who are REALLY crooked. This is why the ONLY government that can change things in Barbados must be The coop team, strongly influenced by Caswell.

No matter which party is elected, the civil servants manage to continue along their merry paths. The VERY SAME crooks get the contracts, the SAME shady deals occur and the same complaints from the auditor general go unaddressed.
.
Is it any wonder that FBI reports disappear? Known dishonest officials are promoted, the courts are a waste of time (literally), and we are falling deeper and deeper into the doo doo?

Caswell would surely lock up some of these crooked public servants as chairman of the National Supervisory Committee (the new role of the waste-of-time Senate)

Caswell would definitely keep the lower house in line as chairman of the NSC – from PM to backbencher.

….wunna feel that Caswell easy….?

Barbadians were ready to change the government last general election for several reasons, an obvious third term lethargy at the top of the list.
————————–
I DO NOT AGREE WITH THE ABOVE STATEMENT.
————————-
Barbadians changed the Government because we take people for granted and do not value their contributions

We believe therefore that things –the good times –would continue under the DLP. HOW SO VERY WRONG ?

We believed the DLP lies
We were Stupid

TIme to redress the matter
BLP = 29 SEATS
DLP = 0 SEATS
INDEPENDENT = 1 SEAT

A group which needs close scrutiny is the Customs Officers. Enough said!

“Transparency Legislation” Every Bajan presently alive will be DEAD before any such legislation is passed, more likely the COUNTRY will be DEAD also.

“Barbadians changed the Government because we take people for granted and do not value their contributions”

100% agree on that.

“Barbadians changed the Government because we take people for granted and do not value their contributions
****************

What a load of crap! Politicians can’t be turfed out of office? Perhaps one of the elements that is missing from Bajan politics are term limits at least it would stop a few of them from loitering in the House and doing nothing (how about that MP who took a vow of silence because he was sent to the back bench by the PM).

As to valuing contributions here is more proof that sitting on a computer and writing crap doesn’t make someone knowledgeable. In 1945 the British electorate sent Winston Churchill packing mere weeks after the end of WW11, what was his contribution to Britain?

If the Brits could send Churchill into Opposition why couldn’t Barbados bestow the same fate to Arthur?

@David
No I don’t but I will anyway the short answer is that the Brits felt that the Conservative Party was a good wartime Party but was not good to manage the country during a time of peace

Onions

You old weather cock, all along you were in favour of the Ax inquiry what happened on the Road to Damascus? You don’t have to answer a political opportunist never lets any perceived opening slips by.

For the record don’t know the price of milk as I don’t drink it, don’t you know that a large percentage of Black people are lactose intolerant? Many of them don’t realise this as the reaction to some products may be delayed and they blame their discomfort on other things.

And Onions you’re welcome.

@ NationBLPnewspaper | September 9, 2012 at 5:48 AM |

Can we take it that you read the same Nation BLP newspaper?
If you do, then explain to us why did the ‘Sun on Saturday’ published a brief write up about SMI Infrastructural Solutions with a photo of one of its principals named Bannister? The write up was about this man involvement with the redevelopment of the Bridgetown Cruise Terminal under a DLP Administration.
Could you tell us if this man Bannister is the same man involved with the construction of the Dodds Prisons that the DLP so vehemently vilified and determined it to be $700,000,000.00 (NOT $750,000 or $75,000) millstone around the taxpayers’ neck and confirmed by the Governor of the CBB? Is he the same man that the DLP called an OSA henchman in the art of corruption and squandermania?

Of course, like the Nation Newspaper, you would exclude from your contributions to this Blog any mention of the DLP’s volte face with regard to the same man “assisting” with the construction and financing of this new fly-by-night project. What has happened to the Pierhead marina project? Have Darcy & Banny jumped that leaky yacht sinking in the phantom marina with the undercover intention to cruise into the terminal in the dead of night?

@enuff

How can yo suggest this group is too small when we examine the margin of victories/losses in some constituencies?

@ Simple Simon | September 9, 2012 at 12:53 PM |

Look, Simple Aging Simon, read my lips:
These two fellas are not any innocent “niggers in a woodpile” but downright crooks and criminals that ought to be in a calaboose. Can’t you see or figure out the connection from the OSA/Mia prison to the getaway IBC redesigned yacht to St. Lucia to a cruise ending at B’town Terminal? If your Jesus C is for real then the next stop should be the home port called Dodds. What goes around comes around. After all you, Simple Simon believe that people should be punished for their evil ways called sins.

@ Miller

SMI did not build HMP Dodds. SMI was just a minor part of the the contracted team. The prison was built by VECO and its wholly owned subsidary, Commonwealth Construction. SMI is long gone (with a fist full of tens of millions) by the time construction starts, thats this mans MO. Most of the senior management of VECO ended up in prison in the USA for bribery, corruption, fraud and rackateering.

Don’t you remember early last year Sinckler said the Pierhead Marina would start in 9 months? What has happened since that pronouncement? BTI has paid out millions and millions of dollars to a company who cannot raise the financing for that project and is in breach of the agreement but wants to BTI to continue to fork out millions even though it cannot and will not build squat.

If you took this man, held him upside down by the ankles and shook him you might be surprise to find out that not only politicians would fall out of his pockets but also some very senior civil servants in Barbados and a few lawyers as well.

Royal Caribbean is just the cover needed to allow a significant quantity of money to be removed from the Barbados Port Inc.

Stupse. Barbadians make stealing from the Treasury a olympic sport. Poor people will always be poor in Barbados.

As an independent the annoucement of the spectacular looking cruise marina was a surprise mind you its a positive surprise with dredging expected to start in Nov. Lets see if the start up date is kept.

The downtown marina is the next we would love to see begin but the leeches for blp lawyers have put that in court where it will drain the taxpayers monies for at least a decade, Al Barrack fashion.

Hopefully there is an announcement coming soon on 4 Seasons and Almond village. Advances on transparency legislation and offshore oil drilling would further help to put the DLP in a good place politically speaking.

With the scorched earth background of the world economic depression the DLP cannot be judged as if we were in the boom years of yore. Fact is they have done a lot in a short time with unprecedented scarce resources.

@Miller or “the artful dodger”

Deal with the point- The Nation newspaper chooses who writes their columns. If you can load a paper with the official opposition “spokesman”, and follow up with Albert Brandford, Pat Hoyos, Ezra Alleyne, Peter Symmonds and Sanka Price , all known associates of the BLP, then clearly the Nation newspaper has decided to slant its commentary in favour of persons who support the BLP.

When the BLP was in office, EZra Alleyne had a column up front in the Friday Nation putting the case for the government of the day. Nation readers could read his column and also Hartley Henry and get both sides.
Please tell me why the Nation newspaper has refused to engage anyone from the DLP to do a similar thing. The only reason is because the Nation newspaper under Kaymar Jordan and Vivian Ann Gittens wants to slant public opinion in favour of the BLP.

The opposition leader seldomly attending Parliament or calling a meeting of the Public Accounts committee but you will NEVER see that in the Nation newspaper.We have to read that on BU. WHY??
The Nation newspaper refuses to print any story that puts Owen Arthur in a negative light or the editor’s phone will ring.Yes, that is how the Nation newspaper is operating.

I repeat, The Nation newspaper has sold its journalistic soul and is as “fair and balanced” as Fox news is to Barrack Obama.

@ NationBLPnewspaper | September 9, 2012 at 9:46 PM |

@NationBLPnewspaper or “the Artful Dodger Senior”

Deal with the point- The NationBLPnewspaper who contributes to this blog still continues to avoid and evade the questions posed.

Please address the query repeated once more slightly reworded:
“Can you explain to us why did the ‘Sun on Saturday’ publish a brief write up about SMI Infrastructural Solutions with a photo of one of its principals named Bannister? The write up was about this man involvement with the redevelopment of the Bridgetown Cruise Terminal under a DLP Administration.”

When you do address the above matter we would entertain you complaint about OSA and the PAC which does indeed merit some attention. Maybe by addressing the ‘Bannister’ issue we the BU readers would be able to put things in a more “informed” perspective of one hand can’t tell the other to clap.

@ Hants | September 9, 2012 at 10:39 PM |
“Clearly he did not waste his time in Canada like Hants and he has the ability to pull together the resources to plan “Mega Projects”…”
He would have made a fine success of the Four Seasons Restart Project instead of the bluffer Avinash “Unpersuasive” Persaud!
Since he Bannister is lobbying down the South West Coast from Pierhead to Trevor’s Way to Cruise Terminal why not let him continue North and sit in the rusting lobby of the Four Seasons villas.
We are cocksure Banny would be able to put his foot up and get his Canadian mega contacts to buy into this profitable venture and take some of the load off the local NIS back.

@ Hants

OSA got a job for he is right. In fact he have a job for both members of the Gline and Darcy show, some weeding up a Dodds Prison in some custom made uniforms.

SMI have been turned down for financing from vitually every financial institution (local & otherwise) for the Pierhead Marina so the simple question must be, if he is such a good lobbyist and contractor why can’t he get the Pierhead Marina started some nearly 3 years after being awarded the contract?

Why did BTI pay out millions and millions to SMI to pay its consultants and then the same BTI had to turn around a pay the same consultants when it became obvious (to BTI) that SMI had not paid them?

Is the BTI and SMI not having some legal wrangling now about the Pierhead Marina?

I predicting by the end of the Gline & Darcy show, the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc and Barbados Port Inc would have collectively been relieved of Bds$20.0 million without the waters at the Pierhead or trevor’s Way being disturded one bit.

Wait and see.

The first politicains who should dwell in Dodds should be the politicians who built Dodds-duuuh!

@Hant

“Simon Cowell can have his villa built and drive to Sandy Lane for dinner and ride a Jetski there for lunch until the Hotel is built next door.”

so you are telling me that you would have Simon Cowell and company in his villa he pay millions for next door to a construction site?

i see, i really see…