We use to hear the objective was to build a society. However it has become all about the economy in recent months. Click on the image above to read the latest International Monetary Fund projection for the Latin America and Caribbean region.
Is the government levelling with Barbadians? Are we able to remove the partisan blinkers to have sight of the priority issues? Are we confident that the current suite of economic solutions on offer is appropriate?
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A heart patient having chest pain needs an experienced Heart Doctor not a lawyer to provide care and who is saying the patient is healthy.
Barbados needs Owen Arthur now more than ever. Politics needs to be put aside and the reality of the problem needs to be centre stage. A person with the capacity, experience and knowledge needs to take charge of this sick patient.
Barbadians need to open their eyes and get serious including the current leadership of the BLP and put the greater good of the island first ahead politics and personal aspirations.
It is only a mad person that continues doing the same thing despite the obvious results of his actions. Right thinking individuals in both parties need to act now and stop killing the patient.
The IMF’s bleak outlook for Barbados shows once and for all that this political economic depression in Barbados has been created by the backward inept monetary financial fiscal policies of DLP and BLP governments over the years, and NOT created by any international environment or any international recession.
Note too that the basis for their outlook comes from statistics information provided by the government itself.
PDC
Fellas just let me get a question in edgewise.
What is the definition of “Forecast”?
JUST ASKING.
Listen all wunna yard fowls, OWEN SEYMOUR ARTHUR CANNOT SAVE BARBADOS he cannot perform miracles! Barbados needs sound management now. When the economy was good no one was checking to see how well it was managed. Now we have a bunch of incompetents they don’t have the ability to manage AT ALL! We need people with a sound business management background to step forward to help us get out of this mess. BUT I am afraid of those who appear to have a sound business background may not be as sound as we need. Those who have not profited by Government graft, those who have brought businesses back from the brink. Do we anyone with CLEAN HANDS?
What is needed is a human ( having both strengths and weaknesses) with the will, the skills and know how to work on the problems. NOT and I mean NOT Mr or Mrs perfect nor do we need a miracle. Barbados simply needs restoration of confidence, informed decisions making and prompt action to get out of this situation. A person having experience with the ship would valuable for the job.
How de eager 11 go save de cuntry? Stupse. If you realise that de PM can’t touch a fellah cause he only got a razor slim majority in parliament, how any 11 go try to get rid of de PM as leader? Trying to change de leadership would lead to de govment mashing up. That is what some want. lol. That might be why C4 sah David playing politics. lol. C4 ting is I agree wid you.
Well! the vultures are out in full force doing what they do best i.e “talking down the economy” and this too shall past. ” deja vue all over again.
Practically every news item is showing that we are heading further down the precipice and that the external conditions is not to blame (see the table above). We can’t get back out with the current leadership and economic advisors. We can’t wait until 2018. Something has to be done soon.
Re. the Eager 11, as I said then, it would have been best for the country if they had prevailed. They didn’t. But It would be best for the country now if there were a non-violent palace coup or agreement which would give us;
a New PM and relegate the current one to intermittent vaporous speeches on diverse topics from a safe MInisterial portfolio like sports or culture;
a new Minister of Finance and deep changes in the advisors in that Ministry;
a new Minister of Tourism;
and last, but definitely not least, a new Central Bank Governor.
I don’t know how this can be arrived at (But I can provide several airy fairy scenarios that presumes that the parliamentarians on both sides recognize the parlous state we are in and a few have enough integrity to put the Country’s survival first) but it is absolutely necessary at this time for us to get out of the failed state condition that we are now surely in but that the international agencies are too diplomatic to say so in so many words.
Barbados has never passed this way before. It will take the unthinkable to get us through.
My last sentence should refer to Modern Barbados, not Barbados as in Barbados throughout its history.
Who go be de new PM? Who go be de new MOF? Man I can’t see any change in course coming from any of dem in govment. Who in de govment hint to any of wunnah that them would do things differently? If de change is to put in a PM that would talk more, how that go bring a change in de course we pon? If it is talk wunnah want, we does do enuff talking right hay pon BU. LOL.
The IMF forecast is a bitter pill, but I think it accurately reflects the impact of the austerity program over the next 19 months, and some unique competitiveness issues for Barbados ( strong currency and high wages). However, I support the austerity program because I believe the priority should be to protect the exchange rate peg and by extension the quality of life. Many of the countries growing faster than us or projected to grow faster have a much lower quality of life, and they are growing from a much lower base.
The policymakers needs to push through the growth oriented projects while implementing the austerity package. This will not be easy but we have to try.
Oilman; I can see where you are coming from and I totally emphathise with your sentiments but We are now practically dead.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Only a new path under new leadership in the important economic sectors can partially save us now.
We have to let those Parliamentarians know that we are onto them and know that their actions are totally self serving and that they will never survive if they do nothing as the people of Barbados will ENSURE that they will not get their pensions if they contrive to go on for another two years doing nothing and avoiding the hard decisions that might give the country a slim chance of bouncing at the bottom of the cliff. The pensions will be taken away retroactively if they are found to have acted against the best interests of Barbados.
Don’t just let them throw up their hands in the air and expect the populace to agree with them. They were put there to govern. Let them govern in the interests of the Country at large, not special interests only. Whatever is the position of those special interests.
Observer; I seldom agree with you but I think your analysis above is spot on.
David | October 13, 2013 at 3:37 PM | @ WHY WOULD THE I.M.F . FUND FRAUD ? DAVID
@Oilman and C4
It seems subtlety and tongue in cheek is wasted on BU.
Check it out said:
“Necessity is the mother of invention.”
“We have to let those Parliamentarians know that we are onto them and know that their actions are totally self serving and that they will never survive if they do nothing as the people of Barbados will ENSURE that they will not get their pensions if they contrive to go on for another two years doing nothing and avoiding the hard decisions that might give the country a slim chance of bouncing at the bottom of the cliff. The pensions will be taken away retroactively if they are found to have acted against the best interests of Barbados.
Don’t just let them throw up their hands in the air and expect the populace to agree with them. They were put there to govern. Let them govern in the interests of the Country at large, not special interests only. Whatever is the position of those special interests.”
________________________________
Check it out………………Now you are talking, politicians on a whole need to get it through their thick skulls that they are not their own bosses……….they have to answer to the taxpayers.
Man look! De people does have their say every five years. De system set up so that de politicians could do as them like. All this talk bout meking politicians know we elect them and them supposed to serve we, blah, blah , blah! Look, tell me how wunnah plan on meking these politicians do what it is wunnha want. Wunnah got control of de security forces? Wunnah mek plans wid de Trinidad army to invade and tek over? LoL. Look shut wunnah mout and wait till de next election call unless wunnah willing to tek a crack head.
@Oilman
Agree with you. Unless there is some kind of no confidence motion we have to support the government. Such is the democracy we live in.
On 14 October 2013 14:15, Barbados Underground
I listening to de PM on VOB talking bout de free movement ting and so on. He sound good. What I want to know is what we go do in light of this Myrie ruling cause despite all de long talk to my mind de immigration hands tied wid this Myrie ruling.
Drop out of Caricom!!!
JUST ASKING | October 13, 2013 at 5:14 PM |
I ask again …who blight this rock?@
As said before , the BLP got the Ball going on massive fraud and the DLP was to clean it up, but not, the DLP saw the mount of money and join in the Massive Fraud , so now the DLP is to blame for todays madness,
Both are to blame , we have the DEEDS and all proof needed ,
with the names of 90 % of both parties , The IMF, WB, Moodys , S&P and all other know the true numbers, as both parties lie to feed this MASSIVE PONZI with WORLD FUNDS,
VOTE BETTER GET BETTER , VOTE TRUTH NOT PARTY,
WE CAN NOT FIX NOTHING WITH LIES , LIARS , CROOKS AND SCUMBAGS ,
AT THE END OF THE DAY THE LAND RECORDS AND LAND DEED WILL SHOW THE TRUTH … VIOLET BECKLES WILL HAVE THE LAST OF THE LAST ON THEM ALL,,,,,,NOTHING CAN NOR WILL BE FIXED WITH LIES ,, WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES,
I was listening to the PM with all his lotta long speech about free movement. All his speech is based on reactive behaviour, what we want immediately is pro-active behaviour dealing with financial projections to uplift this gem of ours. I would like to hear his sentiments regarding Barbados being at the bottom of the chart.
@Oilman
Thanks for mentioning, the PM has come out firing on the matter. See the link below:
I heard bits and pieces of the PM’s oratory to his flock. My reaction; pure poppycock.
Getting back to the topic under discussion. I used to think that it would be in Barbados’ best interests if the present Government served out its 5 year term. I don’t think so again. I think Barbados would be unrecognizable if we continued under the present leadership until 2018 or thereabouts.
A simple vote of confidence could trigger an election that should remove Freundel if the Barbados electorate is a thinking one. It doesn’t really matter too much which party wins if the current leadership is removed. That leadership is toxic.
Wunnah don’ understand. Barbados definitely gone through the eddoes.
Check it out…Do you believe right thinking bajans are in the present government? They have a bunch of miscreants who are just looking out for themselves and not for Barbados.
“A simple vote of confidence could trigger an election that should remove Freundel if the Barbados electorate is a thinking one. It doesn’t really matter too much which party wins if the current leadership is removed. That leadership is toxic.”
NO ONE GOT DE BALLS TO DO THIS! They rather drown with the sinking ship. That is the stupidity that is rampant with party loyalty. They are doing more damage to the credibility of their party when they keep supporting lying incompetent leadership.
@Island Gal,
Are you a party loyalist?
Oilman ask a question.What is the simpleton Stuart going to do about the Myrie ruling.The PRIZED GOAT Carson responds in typical DLP act-first-think-afterwards fashion”Get out of Caricom”Only a PRIZED GOAT can think like that.
As for the fool that is leading Barbados at the moment I repeat GOD HELP BARBADOS AND DELIVER US FROM THIS EVIL THAT IS UPON US.So mote it be!
@Gabriel
To be honest wid you I believe strongly in integration but if these other caricom countries only in this thing to tek advantage of we I have no problems entertaining debate about leffin caricom. I want to know what was de reason that Trinidad kick out them Jamaicans.
You are so right, Gabriel.
What a load of political hogwash spewed from the mouth of Fruendel Stuart yesterday. I have concluded that it is better for him to keep his mouth shut.
He carried on that OSA signed Barbados into this revised Treaty without the knowledge of Barbadians. This is how the Dems play politics. They were never interested in what was going in government while they were in opposition, they were only interested in getting power…..winning an election at all costs. It is very clear that the DLP has always been anti Caricom judging from the way they treated the Guyanese as soon as they got power…ever so welcome, wait for a call. If I was one of these Guyanese, I would sue like Myrie!
If he is so anti Caricom, why the hell is he going to the annual heads of government meetings for…….just to show off that he is a PM? But what the idiot we have for a PM does not realise is that the same thing he accuses OSA of, he and the dead king did. He admitted that he told the dead king to go to the heads of government meeting and let them know that Barbados would give three months up front and then if the person wants a further three, the would have to apply for it. Wait, why none of us realise that this is what is the new policy.
What goats we have leading us!!!!
What the hell, Freundel, what
And by the way, Freundel………………….you really think that people are chomping at the bit to come and live in Barbados? Do you realise that you and your inept, incompetent, obnoxious, arrogant Minister of finance have this country on a path to hell going down into a black hole? You really think that Barbados at this point is a catch? You are delusional, PM!
“Things fall apart the center cannot hold” Yeats
We are circling the drain folks….. My poor Barbados………………..
Interestingly PM Stuart choose himself not to reveal to the electorate the same Caricom information until AFTER the Myrie verdict, that is what happens when you do not confide in the taxpayers….
David
You are trying to set-up the down fall of the DLP by encouraging all those who would listen, most importantly, DLP member, that a removal of Stuart as PM is a viable solution. Juvenile but crafty, so A for effort.
@C4
Nonsense!
David,
Are these not your words?
“Some of course will not believe it but BU has no patience with this BLP or DLP BS many like to play. We read what the tea leaves tell us. We have become firmly of the view that it is time for Operation E11 to be mobilized AND with haste!”
@C4
Yes those are BU’s words and in our next blog you will see mentioned ‘Gang of 5…lol.
Rather than notify us about the future why not tell us about the past. Precisely what your meant by calling for the E11 to be mobilized AND with haste?
@C4
It was a subtle recall to the point which many have made on BU over time. Stuart reacts with energy when he is under pressure. The E11 and the general election performances come to mind. If only he would sustain it more people would feel confident in his leadership a al The King Speech.
Plantings in subconscious mind?
David
Clever attempt but is hard as f_ck to peddle a bicycle backwards.
@C4
Not an impossible task if a simple adjustment is made to the gears…lol.
Here is a document authored by UWI Professor Andrew Downes titled – Strategies for Accelerating Growth in the Barbadians Economy. It is dated March this year and BU is clueless why he is not championing his alternatives.
Fumble Stuart, follow the path of Antigua and Barbuda: Antigua and Barbuda selling citizenship
Published: Monday October 14, 2013 Baldwin Spencer – AP
Antigua and Barbuda is now selling citizenship to wealthy international investors to drum up revenue, officials said today. Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer said the revenue will help put the country “on the road to sustainable growth and development.”
The twin-island nation of some 90,000 inhabitants started accepting applications last week for its citizenship-by-investment program. The programme is closely modeled on the one offered by nearby St Kitts and Nevis.
The government hopes to generate roughly $550 million over the next three years by attracting some 1,800 new citizens, who have to spend at least 35 days on the islands during the five-year span an initial passport is valid for.
All that is left is for Barbados to follow Jamaica and float a Diaspora Bond.
Did not know about that bond, however, I think the Jamaicans in the diaspora are that patriotic that they will subscribe to such. Not so sure about the Barbadians.
OSA a political Scamp. Have subjected Barbados to a life of Hell and DOOm. after 14years of failing to restructure the economy.while forfeting barbados national security to scalliwags ! crooks and drug mules. THIS man should be broiught before the INternational courts for high crimes and malfeasance what an injustice to his country and country men.. .
does Barbados have a Constitution any more . today PM STUART outlined the many rules and guidlines . terms and conditions signed by the visionless OSA to international Courts and other international treaties that in no way benefits Barbados rights to its own security…. God help us all,
Well, well, well. Look at this doah!!!!!. Where the DLP yardfowls and potstarvers now. I want them defend these figures because they’re are a SERIOUS indictment on the DLP and their CLEAR lack of control of this economy. WHAT ELSE DLP!!!!, WHAT ELSE !!!!! WHAT MORE IGNORANCE DO YOU HAVE IN STORE FOR US!!!!. Why is Bdos the only economy projected in this ENTIRE hemisphere projected to CONTRACT!!!.
The argument the DLP uses that the world recession is affecting our economy is officially GARBAGE!!!!!! It can now be said that Barbados is the laughing stock of an entire hemisphere!!!!
If anything. it is a call for Chris STINKLIAR to do the honourable thing and RESIGN and by extension for FUMBLE to resign!!!! and you could believe that they have the gaul to attack the BLP!!! when they (the DLP) are on shaky ground. The stupidity that comes from the DLP and its supporters is now is at the comical level . On Brass Tacks today one wanted to forward the argument that Bdos’ economy should not be compared to others!!!
Another thing, i want to remind those DLP supporters that want to talk a whole roll of shite about the Myrie case ruling, CCJ, CSME and CARICOM in general, need i remind you which Barbados PM signed the original Treaty of Chaguramas that established CARICOM in 1973??!!!
listen up DLP CBC>> >> THE DLP was handed a rock leaning on a cliff,, the DLP govt .. took measures to keep that rock from hitting roc bottom. THe BLP were the ones in charge of the rock for 14years,, the DLP is now in charge for six years … A mountain of debt was accumulated under the BLP govt. The hard part was handed to a DLP govt . now having to pay off the debts with no money left in the coffers, The DLP was handed a loaded gun and is being asked by the BLP to pull the trigger, THE BLP Govt should be put behind bars ,,,, what a wasted 14years of self interest and nothingness,,
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