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Incredulous DLP Policy Options: Selling Citizenship, Paying for Visas, and Confusing Barbadians

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Submitted by George C. Brathwaite
George C. Brathwaite, founder and interim president of BAJE
George C. Brathwaite, founder and interim president of BAJE

Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and his hand-picked DLP Cabinet never cease to amaze me. Their twists and turns often prompt me to dig deeper in relation to the flimsy policy options taken by an administration clearly evasive of reality. More often than not, decisions classically appear to be ironic signs of either the idiomatic factors of a heavy blanket or camouflage.

In governance, politicians will sometimes use the heavy blanket to douse fires that are usually started from within. This tactic has been repeatedly used by the DLP Cabinet to cover the fire already blazing from the cowardly caprice which pays more attention to self-image and making excuses than to measures for pragmatic and national development.

In an unending quest to silence most criticism, the DLP Cabinet has found itself on the short side of effective alternatives and solutions. Hence, resorting to camouflage becomes convenient as the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, clueless for the most part, become daring in their giveaways and maintenance of social entitlements when the country can least afford to give away anything as clearly demonstrated in the 35 million dollars cutbacks proposed for the health sector.

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91 responses to “Incredulous DLP Policy Options: Selling Citizenship, Paying for Visas, and Confusing Barbadians”

  1. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    ‘seems to us that if you replaced the abbreviation DLP with BLP in your article, everything said here would still be true. Where does that leave us, as a country?

  2. George C. Brathwaite Avatar
    George C. Brathwaite

    @Pachamama
    Perhaps simplistic, but I await your answers since as indicated, both political parties from independence through ad up to at least 2009 were against economic citizenship for the country. Hence, it appears swapping BLP with DLP and vice versa in the article will serve no useful analytic or practical purpose. Deal with what is, and how as an individual you can support or denounce what is being contemplated. Still glad that you shared your opinion although I am less sure who was the ‘us’.

  3. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Simplistic ah, we are not normally so described. However, we have never seen anything so important about economic citizenship that there should be any inordinate proscription against this. In fact, all kinds of people, especially Whites and the moneyed, were always able to come and go as they pleased. But we were speaking to the deeper issues that this minor point seeks to avoid. Surely, there are much more important issues on which you could effectively interrogate this administration instead of dealing with them on the margins.

  4. George C. Brathwaite Avatar
    George C. Brathwaite

    @ Pachamama

    I certainly do not see the selling of Barbadian citizenship as unimportant or deserving less treatment that those currently gripping the nation. Indeed, it may well show that the Stuart administration has lost its way over a series of things. Nonetheless, you will note the inclusion to what has been practiced (legally) and what was a proposed change coming out of the most recent budget (also a follow on from the 2012 budget). I do not agree with you, but I take your point.

  5. David Avatar
    David

    There was a time not too long ago when the other islands followed the Barbados model/way. Now it is our turn to follow Dominica, St, Kitts etc. What is this saying?

  6. poperinghe Avatar
    poperinghe

    David | September 5, 2013 at 7:09 PM |
    There was a time not too long ago when the other islands followed the Barbados model/way. Now it is our turn to follow Dominica, St, Kitts etc. What is this saying?
    ………………………………………………………………………
    That we now have ‘leaders’ who no longer lead.

  7. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    The articles I’ve read, quoted the PM as saying “some form of citizenship.” additional quotes attributed to him states that — “He suggested though, that such a form of citizenship, had to be carefully examined. “It is not something into which we can rush headlong; we have to look at all the implications. But obviously the world is changing very quickly; we are in a competitive global environment and we have to make sure that we always have a competitive edge, if we are to be ahead of the game, as it were, and therefore that matter is receiving our attention as well,” — WHAT IS THE PROBLEM with that?

    Now if the GoB settles on something similar to what the most powerful economy is doing, I cannot fault him. So what is the United States as the worlds most powerful economy doing that Barbados might want to emulate on a smaller scale? The Washington Post reports that Under the EB-5 visa program, immigrants who can demonstrate that their investment created or preserved at least 10 U.S. jobs after two years are granted legal permanent residency along with their spouses and children. The W-Post further states ….The number of foreigners willing to invest $500,000 to $1 million in a U.S. business in exchange for a visa roughly tripled in the past fiscal year, as dozens of cash-strapped enterprises and local governments scrambled to attract wealthy foreign backers through a previously obscure provision of immigration law.

    Now, George supports a political party that wanted to open Barbados immigration floodgates to poor indic immigrants from Guyana under the pretense that we are all one; they also use the argument that labor should be allowed to cross borders as capital does. They dismissed the concerns about Guyanese indic leaders insularity, the racial divide in their home-country, the cultural attachment to things Indian more so than Caribbean, and concerns of displacement of Barbadians workers by this reservoir of cheap labor.

    In contrast; a program that rewards wealthy foreign nationals with “some form of citizenship,” in exchange for his/her direct foreign investment and employment of Barbadians, is to be frowned upon. Why is that that the BLP and its supporters like George are so against ordinary Barbadians getting ahead? Naturally, the BLP is the party of Bajan business people, the same people who were all for Guyanese cheap labor coming to Barbados, for as they say, “Bajans are lazy, they don’t want nuh work and the Guyanese do.”

  8. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Adrian Hinds | September 5, 2013 at 9:24 PM |
    “In contrast; a program that rewards wealthy foreign nationals with “some form of citizenship,” in exchange for his/her direct foreign investment and employment of Barbadians, is to be frowned upon. Why is that that the BLP and its supporters like George are so against ordinary Barbadians getting ahead? Naturally, the BLP is the party of Bajan business people, the same people who were all for Guyanese cheap labor coming to Barbados, for as they say, “Bajans are lazy, they don’t want nuh work and the Guyanese do.”

    Are you admitting in a surreptitious manner that the propaganda spewed by DLP acolytes likes yourself about the BLP selling off Barbados to foreigners was just a load of hype?

    With hindsight do you agree that Guyanese- your fellow Caricom brothers and sisters- who were gainfully employed in the economic sectors of Barbados like agriculture and construction could have been offered amnesty and resident status as long as they were law abiding instead of being deported like criminals?

  9. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Miller stop spreading shiite bout the place nuh!
    Name one properly documented Guyanese who was deported.

    It is about time that you started making some valid non partisan contributions here on BU.
    ….the damn elections done man…shiite!!!

  10. Alvin Cummins Avatar
    Alvin Cummins

    @Miller
    If I remember correctly the Guyanese were not deported or threatened with deportation. They, like all other caricom nationals, were told to “regularlise their status and they were given a number of months to do this. Barbadian employers who were exploiting the cheap labour, and taking advantage of their “dodgy” status, as well as subjecting them to atrocious living conditions, decided to get them out of Barbados as quickly as possible. It was not government’s doing.Meanwhile eheck Canada and its Entrepreneurship Visa program, and then come back to me.Include George Brathwaite in this also.

  11. Hamilton hill Avatar
    Hamilton hill

    On the head by Pachamama the nail has been struck.In almost every instance one can be substituted for the other.Barbados is in serious trouble and both parties share the collective responsibility for our demise.Yes the”Here And Now” trains its critical focus on the seemingly rudderless vessel that is the present administration,and heaven knows that it deserves every bit of the criticism it has gotten but the question remains.After what we saw in the last eight years of their rule,exactly what inspires confidence in the party in waiting? Politics and religion as currently practiced in Barbados continue to devide us.A careful listen to Al Barrack on brasstacks today lends credence to this thought.

  12. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Bush Tea | September 5, 2013 at 10:52 PM |

    Sorry Bushie for stepping on your sore corns.
    We forget you are anti-foreigner, anti-Caricom, anti-CSME and especially anti-“Trickidadian” investors.
    Keep living in your little Bush world unable to face “Reality”!

  13. Alvin Cummins Avatar
    Alvin Cummins

    @Miller
    What is the reality?

  14. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Alvin Cummins | September 6, 2013 at 12:07 AM |

    Ask Bush Tea. He is the one who has sole ownership of its meaning.
    But let us quote him verbatim:
    “The REALITY of life is that people, as a matter of course, tell you what you want to hear in an effort to bullshit you into giving them what THEY want.”

    Bajans must be real suckers for bullshit to allow people with less intelligence and education (So Bajans claim) to trick them into parting with their economic assets.

  15. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Stuart is just giving public voice to what the Arthur Gov’t was doing by subterfuge in the allocation of permanent residence to non- residents.

    This was a nuanced approach: Johnny Moneybags is the principal shareholder in Company X (an offshore outfit) and they set up business in Bim primarily for the tax advantages. He visits Bim a few times and falls in love with the island, nice weather, good beaches, easy communication with other parts of the world and a stable political climate. Johnny wants to build a mega mansion on the beach and money is no object but he wants to come and go as he pleases no junior immigration officer to stamp his passport with a meagre three weeks entry. He approaches the Gov’t and they recognising that any slight to Mr. Moneybags could mean that he would take his business elsewhere acquiesce to his demands.

    Why do you think that they never brought in legislation of the type “da beach belong to me”? They knew that these investors preferred to live on the beach and if a man is willing to invest some of his mega millions in the Island yuh can’t very well tell him “yuh can’t build yuh house on dat beach”

  16. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    So Alvin Cummins what did David Thmpson (that foreigner with the foreigner wife) mean when he said “ever so welcome, wait for a call”

  17. Tell me more Avatar
    Tell me more

    Read Page # 3 of Barbados Today http://epaper.barbadostoday.bb/ and then lets have a chat about why Mottley felt it necessary to Wire Tap even Arthur, we know she is a Sick Perverted Beast but we never knew she was such a low life to listen to people on their private call, or what they would have expected to be private calls, another Sin of CWC 2007 made worse with a power hungry beast like Mottley as AG

  18. David Avatar
    David

    @Miller

    Bush Tea is correct. There was justifiable concern that our open immigration policy was and had the potential to destabilize our little island. The call for immigrants to regularize their status was a sensible one. Like most issues in Barbados we have to go partisan.

  19. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    To compare Barbados with the USA is the height of ignorance! The professed intellectuals on BU ought to learn how to contextualize. One would have thought that St.Kitts-Nevis would make a better yardstick. Instead jack asses on BU braying about entrepreneurship visas in Canada. Pray tell us where in Canada, USA and the UK the recipients of “economic visas” settle and why? When that question is answered get back to me.

    @Sargeant

    It shows once again the type of deceit and hypocrisy we are dealing with regards to “Mr.Integrity”. If selling off land is selling out, wtf is citizenship for sale–whoring? By the way the OSA NEVER instituted a policy to facilitate foreign ownership of land; the DLP is about to do so. Look out for more u-turns, this economic citizenship policy is a sign of desperation as the government has adopted a by any means necessary philosophy to avoid the inevitable–THE IMF. The visa is all about FOREX what entrepreneurship what!

  20. David Avatar
    David

    A relevant link: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE81B05A20120212?irpc=932

    By the PM’s own admission this is something to be thought through. He is doing what OSA use to do, fly a kite. What it has done is to give insight into to how the government is thinking.

  21. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    @David
    Destabilize how? Where’s the evidence?

  22. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff

    Our argument is that if our open immigration policy was left unchecked it had the potential to erode social capital accrued by Barbados. One does not have to have evidence to be sensible about strategic planning. Immigrants living in pig pens, squatting in water zones, managing integration of a minority race into a predominant Black population etc etc.

  23. Cuthbert of England Avatar
    Cuthbert of England

    David

    Sometime you does write pure blasted ignorance tho. You aware that almost every country in the world does sell in one way or another citizenship, residency or visas to those have the money to buy them?

  24. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    “is citizenship for sale–whoring?”

    Enuff that is EXACTLY how I described it to a friend yesterday. Barbados is a nation of WHORES! Money is the preferred GOD of the population. Let us get real and stop pretending that we are a religious Christian community. Religion is a money making business and so is politics.

    Since Barbados Tourism has declined the government is sending the Industry to the plastic surgeon for a facelift. The diseased body remains the same but the face will look younger for a time. Now Barbados is selling its identity to the highest bidder. Let us face it we are too lazy and ignorant to work and develop viable industries when it is easier selling our poonannies and botsies. All we got to do is to lie down and open our legs.

  25. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    David
    Yes you do and that is our problem, we rely too heavily on emotions for policy making. Even your statement is not definitive. Come on those impacts are not gargantuan. Indians both Muslim and Hindus have been living in Barbados long before the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. By the way what were/are the benefits? Anyway the Guyanese left and access to tertiary education and health care still slowly being eroded.

  26. Cuthbert of England Avatar
    Cuthbert of England

    http://www.nationnews.com/index.php?print/index/1403

    Wire Tapping

  27. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    And by the way My Lords Hill is Zone 1 and people legally reside in that location and have been for years! What does that tell us?

  28. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff

    You are reinforcing BU’s position. The bottom line Canada and all the developed countries wh allow different class visas link it to gains. It s planned. In Barbados it was not.

  29. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    It tells us that those people were residing there before zoning was instituted in 1962.

    They have no other place to go.

    They had bought land in the area before 1962.

    They do not have the money to buy other land in zone two, three and four.

    Government (neither party) has ever offered to exchange the zone 1 My Lord’s Hill Land for land in zones two, three of four.

  30. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @enuff “Pray tell us where in Canada, USA and the UK the recipients of “economic visas” settle and why? ”

    Actually a lot of them don’t settle. They park their money, wives, and children in Canada (or the U.S). and hot foot it back to Hong Kong, Singapore or whatever to make more money. Meanwhile at least in the case of Canada they have access to excellent highly subsidized health care, and university education for their children.

  31. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Why are we pretending that selling passports has anything to do with citizenship, patriotism, loyalty or other virtues? It does not. It has EVERYTHING TO DO WITH MONEY.

    Thomas Jefferson said “Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.”

    He was right.

  32. David Avatar
    David

    @Simple

    We pretend because it is the politically expedient thing to do.

  33. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ David | September 6, 2013 at 5:32 AM |
    “Bush Tea is correct. There was justifiable concern that our open immigration policy was and had the potential to destabilize our little island. The call for immigrants to regularize their status was a sensible one. Like most issues in Barbados we have to go partisan.”

    It’s rather difficult to separate from Bushie’s submissions any genuine concern for the overall or national good as far as policy planning and implementation and his rabid vapid anti-foreigner, anti-Caricom anti-Trinidadian harangue.

    Bushie makes his feelings pellucidly known as far foreign investment or ownership of assets in Barbados is concerned. His continuing reference to tourism as “Prostitution” is a case in point despite there is national consensus on the vital importance of this industry to the economic survival of the country bereft of tradable natural resources and with its main commercial agricultural sector in ICU.

    David I have no issue with the government managing its immigration policy in the interest of planned demographic goals for the country and its limited resource allocation strategies. However, this must be done in a transparent well planned and executed way. It must be done preferably at the point of entry and done in a professional way encompassed by a sense of decorum and civility. Guyanese were attracted to Barbados like other territories because high economic activity and concomitant demand for cheap immigrant labour; not to take away Bajan jobs and men as was popularly propagated.

    I could be wrong but it is felt that the new government played to the gallery of myopic xenophobic anti-immigration sentiments and responded to calls from certain sections of the Bajan society to “deal with the so-called Guyanese problem. The horror stories allegedly meted out to Guyanese immigrants have impugned a rather nasty stain on the image of Bajan immigration authorities and especially the government in the eyes of the people of Guyana and its government.
    I still believe a much better approach could have been adopted in collaboration with the Guyanese authorities to resolve the immigration influx. The attempts to blame the Guyanese for the social and economic problems in Bim have proven to be unfounded.
    On the contrary, their removal has witnessed an obviously significant fall off in spend in the small business retail sector.

    It would be interesting to hear from Bajans who have subsequently visited Guyana what are the reactions expressed to them by the average Guyanese to the Barbados’ government ‘forced’ repatriation programme of their fellow citizens.

    We must admit that Bajans are not at the top of the Xmas list when it comes to popularity among their Caricom brothers and sisters as a result of what has transpired immigration wise in the last 5 years.
    We know that countries -even from the times of the Egyptian dynasties to modern European states today- have the tendency to blame immigrants as easy targets and scapegoats for the social and economic problems prevailing at the time.

    Time will tell how the country is affected by the ‘temporary’ coldness in relations among the neighbours.

  34. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    well written essay filled with accusations and not one shred of supporting evidence. Chuspe!

    David how can I find the thread dealing with Darwin Dottin vs. PSC and Caswell suggestion that he had a strong case?

  35. Tell me more Avatar
    Tell me more

    This jokers Brathwaite should tell us why his party leader would be so nasty and Corrupt to order her bosses phones to be tapped,
    Mottley was indeed the person who provided the names and the numbers to Dottin to have those numbers,emails, text and voice listened to. Very sickly and reprehensible carried out by Mottley against Honest Barbadians

  36. Starwood Comet Avatar
    Starwood Comet

    Adrian
    Never mind Caswell. Darwin Dottin has seen the light and listen to the gospel and knows full well that he could find himself immersed in a situation which he could not manage and in which ‘friends’ put the knife in in other ‘friends’ to protect the political reputation and viability of those who aspire to higher office.

  37. Starwood Comet Avatar
    Starwood Comet

    David
    Why not get the affidavits of containing the accusations of wire tapping and the defense(s) and put them up ion BU?
    Stuart is merely toying with Mottley and when the time is right (of his chosing) he will inflict the moral blow on Mottley using this wire tapping issue.

  38. Starwood Comet Avatar
    Starwood Comet

    Despite her best efforts and attempts to manage every political issue to her advantage, the fact is she WILL NEVEbe a Prime Minister and chances are she won’t even lead the BLP into a General Election.

  39. PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS Avatar
    PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS

    look what so called crook and liar , Sir Allen Stanford did with his , and how much did he pay for his? ,Also add more crime in the Caribbean and spoil the name of said country island.Remember his friends are still here in the Caribbean , doing there business.

  40. balance Avatar
    balance

    Guyanese were attracted to Barbados like other territories because high economic activity and concomitant demand for cheap immigrant labour; not to take away Bajan jobs and men as was popularly propagated.

    I could be wrong but it is felt that the new government played to the gallery of myopic xenophobic anti-immigration sentiments and responded to calls from certain sections of the Bajan society to “deal with the so-called Guyanese problem. The

    I share your views wholeheartedly on this issue MR MILER.

  41. balance Avatar
    balance

    please do not let us be side tracked by the Dottin issue from the more important issue of the DLP’S unflattering management of the affairs of state.

  42. David Avatar
    David

    @Adrian

    Will have to make a search for you. If memory serves the letter was posted as an image.

  43. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Simple Simon | September 6, 2013 at 1:03 AM |

    So Alvin Cummins what did David Thmpson (that foreigner with the foreigner wife) mean when he said “ever so welcome, wait for a call”.
    ____________________________________

    DLP supporters tend to conveniently forget that neither Thompson nor his wife were born in Bim,, nor Liz Thompson for that matter, why these would be calling for tight restrictions on caricom citizens would be kinda strange, in Liz Thompson’s case, she wanted strict restrictions on Bajans who lived abroad if they tried to access housing services because of circumstances, what a bunch of idiots.

  44. alvin cummins Avatar
    alvin cummins

    @Enuff.In answer to your question re entrepreneurship visa/investor’s visa the following is part of the answer “What is the minimum investment that I would need to apply for a start-up visa?

    You must secure a minimum investment of $200,000 if the investment comes from a designated Canadian venture capital fund.
    You must secure a minimum investment of $75,000 if the investment comes from a designated Canadian angel investor group.
    Toronto and Vancouver attract the majority of Chinese investors who apply for these types of visas.
    With regards to your comment about people in My Lords Hill living in Zone 1 areas, it ells us that people are preparedd to ignore the law even if it is for their protection and good. The area designated as Zone 1 does not apply to the whold of MY Lords Hill, it applies to areas such as Blenheim, the back of Licourish village , in the area of The Belle, where a punping station is located the area around station hill etc.

  45. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    David I think you need to bring that Darwin Dottin vs. the PSC to the fore. I think a lot of “prophecy” and predictions were made in it; and good journalism would/should facilitate a revisit to recollect, and call to account those for and against. LOL

  46. Jimny Cricket Avatar
    Jimny Cricket

    All now fellas scammbling for cover from Dottin and he wire tapping activities. Depending on where the ‘instructions’ came from, if I was Darwin I would like to take an extended vacation outside of Barbados cause some reputation caught up in this criminality.

  47. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    @Alvin

    Thanks now answer the 2nd part of the question–Why Vancouver and Toronto? With regards to zone 1 it proves that you CAN live there with the appropriate toilet facilities and those people that are there legally do so.

  48. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff

    The idea of squatting is that people do so illegally.

  49. alvin cummins Avatar
    alvin cummins

    @Enuff. !. Vancouver is closest to China and Toronto is the largest city.3 already established Chinese communities are magnets for them. 4 since they are high (extremely high) on education, and since the University of Toronto is one of the best Universities in the world they gravitate there.
    The squatters at Blenheim are there illegally, as well as those at Gemswick, Station Hill etc. Any place where people are forbiden to live, and they live there they are there illegally.They have no right there and if the government had moved against them from the time the FIRST building was erected we would not have this problem. T^he concern with this illegal establishment of communities is not only the danger from bacterial contamination of the water in the aquiffers, but the chemicals in things like washing materials…bleach…soap powder, etc that leach into the soil and then percolate down to the water table thus endangering lives of people far removed from the original site.There is a scientifidc and health reason for Zoning. When people callously disregard these things it shows that they don’t care about themselves or their fellow man.

  50. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ David:

    What are your views on the FTC’s decision to place a very low cap on the amount megawatts Renewable Energy (RE) generators can ‘on-sell’ to the BL&P via the national grid.
    The RE Association are not too pleased about it and is arguing it would spell the death of the fledgling local RE sector. They also claim the FTC decision runs counter to the government’s much promoted RE policy position and Budgetary measures to incentivize the sector as a major element in the transformation of the local economy into a “green” economy and help reduce the fiscal deficit through saving foreign exchange and the need to borrow so heavily from overseas to help pay for oil imports.

    We suspect there is more in the mortar than just the pestle and the FTC has caved in to the rather more “persuasive” case put by the BL&P for its long-term viability as a profitable electricity generating business.

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