Noam Chomsky opines that “it is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and to expose lies”. It begs the question do we have intellectuals in Barbados? Who are they? BU adds another question to the pile – is there morality in local politics?
During the last general election Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart was portrayed as a man of integrity when compared to Owen Arthur. Whether one agrees who won the integrity vote Stuart did not object to the comparison. One year later BU believes Stuart has fallen short of being a man of integrity. Before the political cackle begins it is instructive to lookup the definition of integrity, “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness”. Did Prime Minister Stuart and his Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite now appointed admit that they witnessed unsavoury (illegal) events during election day? The Prime Minister promised he would check every election law on the books and bring the matter to parliament to prevent recurrence and in the process finger the culprits.
On another front BU is reliably informed that the government had been in discussion with the NUPW to send home workers for several weeks before the recent announcement. One must reasonably conclude that Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart – who is the minister responsible for the civil service had to be aware of the decision to retrench workers a long time before it was announced. Remember when the SmartStream system was blamed by Stuart as the reason why temporary workers were not paid? We subsequently found out that temporary workers are not registered on this system for payroll. The decision to send home workers was not arrived at overnight. During the time the discussions were being held the Prime Minister suggested there was a computer glitch when many public officers complained about not being paid. We hesitate to call Prime Minister Stuart a liar BUT he has been less than transparent about government’s position on the tenure of public servants.
The other issue which raises questions about the integrity of the Prime Minister is a recent report by the Nation newspaper which highlighted correspondence related to Leroy Parris CIBC matter apparently shared with the Prime Minister. To date Prime Minister Stuart has not denied the report. An international bank would not have made the decision to close an account with a reported balance of hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions, depending on which Nation report you believe lightly. Why would the Prime Minister his Minister of Finance and Central Bank Governor allow themselves to be dragged into this matter given the CLICO connection? If Parris has a problem with his bankers giving him the boot let him resort to the law courts for resolution.
Part two of BU’s concern: why are our intellectuals not speaking out about the issues whether social or economic affecting the country? This is the country which has invested heavily in their education. There has been no strident discussion mounted by the Bajan intelligentsia to dilute the partisan political diatribe which continues to pollute the Barbados space. Why have they allowed themselves to be intimidated and be cowered into silence? There is no time like the present, a parlous period of our existence, that our brightest and best should not feel obligated to leverage their knowledge and expertise to give back to their nation. Instead what we have are intellectuals who have no backbone or are willing to compromise their intelligence because of partisan political leanings.
If the lack of involvement by the local intelligentsia to become immersed in the issues of the day to problem solve, it makes a compelling case for Barbadians to evaluate how tertiary level education should be funded in the future. The last 5 years provide ample evidence to judge relevance.
Lawson, funny you should mentioned Guyana, because I just met a Guyanese man who wanted to sell me a house in the land of my birth. I am not bias but I just founded it funny.
That’s because he probably moving on to Canada then after a few years Switzerland
Let me mek sometime straight: I am not a bigot, because I grew up around all kinds of West Indian people in the city area of Barbados.
Mark you are being very harsh, just like the Irish during the potato famine ,the refugees from the middle east ,the Vietnamese boat people etc, the reasons are varied but at some point people have to leave. When the eldest son got the property the young ones had to move on. Bajans leaving the island is natural and when they and their offspring return to visit that is what will bring some of the forex you need
“That statement by OSA signals the end of any hope I had for some slight recovery of the Barbadian economy in the medium term.
We in duck’s guts.
That public chastisement of Mia by OSA, even though in my view he is absolutely right in his analysis of the situation and the gimmickry of Mia’s solution, is the last straw for hope that the BLP can lead a recovery effort at this time. Owen full knows the effects of his quoted statements and his sentiments damns us all.”
I have been trying Are-You-There to grasp the intent of your comments to no avail. Are you suggesting that the perceived confrontational nature of Mr Arthur’s statement might lead one to believe that the opposition is disunited and still not yet fit for leadership leaving governance once again in the hands of those who have up to now made a mess of it.? or are we saying that in the interest of some charade passing for party unity that a trained, tested and proven economist like Mr Arthur familiar moreso than anyone else in the intricacies of public finance should allow some ‘hairy-fairy’ suggestion to pass without comment especially in these most perilous times in our history where serious comment and not grandstanding or political expediency should be the order of the day. The question is what do we really want from our politicians? Integrity and honesty in comment or allegiance to moribund party norms.
“The only hope now for us is some sort of a coalition with both Stuart and Mia removed from leadership positions.”
Isn’t that what some have been hoping for?
Since we are looking for ways to rid ourselves of the tentacles of party politics and change must begin somewhere howsoever it comes.. The question is whether we really want change or business as usual to preserve an anachronistic party system. Last year I was very critical of Mr Arthur and his gang of five for what I perceived to be the uncharitable and despicable treatment meted out to party colleague Ms Mottley since i felt that a united BLP was necessary to make an impact at the polls and hold to account an ineffective administration as the action by the Eager 11 suggested.
Now I am viewing the maverick events unfolding in both parties in a positive light since without resorting to cracking heads these events might very well cause these moribund institutions to self-destruct and out of which might evolve a new system of governance should Mr Arthur and Mr Inniss and Mr Eversley continue to shoot from the hip.
balance don;t fool uh self osa is shrewd and calculating right now he smells blood in the economy and he has convinced himself that miais easy pickings and not strong enough to be a shark,,,,,
We dont see the Dollar going any where, for the fact that if we are locked to the US dollar and our debt is 4 Billion ,The USofA debt have a bigger gap 7 trillion now, than ever before with the Bajan Dollar , their debt move up 2.5 Billion a Day , We dont move that fast , We feel we still have room between the gap.
Caswell please note that it is only after the MOF said that he meeting NUPW that the TRAITOR Walter Maloney said any thing ,why did Walter not tell us about the secret meeting he had at Government headquarters and he parked at the back –well members has started to drop out and they are now trying to save faces—members donot pay any one to betray you —keep your $26 to buy food and pay bills –tell NUPW to cut their salaries by 25%because it is bigger that any public officer in they respective grades(Nupw clerk is paid more than a clerk in Government)
tell them to send home Dennis Clarke who has gone pass the retirement ago and has not seek or gotten permission to stay on from the member did he do such to betray the union members,
tell then to fire that crook Walter Maloney (cell phone,.credit card )
tell them to send home those members of staff who has retired from government,tell Dennis CLarke to pay the taxes on the$245000duty free car benefits -that could pay the salary of a clerk for a year or it can pay my pension
any how I am here in this cold place but will be home month end
Balance;
Arthur’s comment was bare boo whether you can justify it from your new epiphany of removing both the DLP and BLP from power or not. As I said, I agreed with the rest of his comment as reported but there was absolutely no need for him to bring in his perception of the gimmickry of Ms Mottley’s suggestion, which was already unworkable, in a comment to the media that in essence was showing that the situation is now practically beyond recall. That unforced comment on Mia’s gimmickry showed a continuation of the poor judgement he exhibited in 2007 before he lost the elections then and is a serious cause for concern re. his ability to lead in the event of new elections.
That is where I was going.
Rather than excoriating me for telling the truth as I see it which also, if taken on board by those that matter, the electorate, could aid in the chaos of the denounement which you say you seek, you proceed to pen a post replete with illogic.
Wheel and come again.
are-we-there-yet? | 07/01/2014 at 7:41 am |
OSA should be strongly advised to remove himself from the current debacle.
He should not allow his diabetic condition to make him accidentally put his numb foot in his gaping mouth.
He must accept he is now on the periphery of politics and by his own admission retire gracefully into the sunset of political history with his legacy largely intact.
What he should be taken up with is his pastoral role of elder statesman and adviser to the party hierarchy without jeopardizing his failing health or sacrificing the time he should be spending with his family.
What the economy of Barbados is currently facing is certainly beyond his physical and intellectual capacities to pull the cart back from the cliff.
He should forget about doing a 1986 EWB return to the helm. “Death in office from exhaustion or stress” would not be a honourable epitaph of a once great man.
The current lot of senior civil servants alone would shock the living daylights out of OSA and deaden the man’s intellectual senses.
Your political reputation and image of an effective leader when compared to the current lot have been vindicated.
Don’t go and mar it now, please Mr. Arthur. Let the “younger’ brigade of BLP “turks” deal with the wild boys running the country into the ground. Barbados can survive, you are just mortal flesh and bone, my friend.
David;
To me Sinckler’s and the DLP’s policies are like the Old man whose two sons have been laid off and who he has promised to support fully going out and using practically all his savings to purchase two ramshackle houses for his sons without regard to what resources he would have to support himself in his old age, pay his regular bills or even support his son’s everyday needs in the forseeable future.
That man can’t prioritize and this Government also doesn’t seem to be able to prioritize. The time is not now to spend scarce capital on most of the projects that Chris is announcing will start soon while everyday needs are gasping for money. There needs to be a sensible mix.
Intellectuals and rocket scientist govys in Barbados …I wonder how they pronounce unionized. that is the disconnect
Yuh think so! OSA have friends in high places who see him as the secoond messiah waiting fuh him to hand barbados over to them on a silver platter .don,t expect him to retire any time soon from the polical landscaope try as he may all is not entirely up to him……
“are-we-there-yet? | 07/01/2014 at 7:41 am |
Balance”
Have now read your response. Must admit I did have difficulty in trying to put my thoughts together in response to your post and am prepared to bow to your erudite submission. Have always felt too that Mr Arthur’s positives in leading Barbados for 14 years far outweighed his negatives but having like Sir Winston Churchill been rejected by the electorate would have further enhanced his reputation even in the eyes of his detractors by assuming the role of elder statesman to party and country and leaving the shenanigans of party politics to more robust and lesser mortals.
The post has shifted from Truth v Lies. Pilate asked “what is truth?’ but didn’t hang around for an answer.
Consider Latoya and Tom. Latoya says to Tom before marriage ‘Tom I will always love you’. They marry. One week into marriage Tom has an affair with Shonelle. When she discovers this, Latoya tells Tom ‘I hate you. I always knew what you were’. Tom says ‘But you said you’d always love me.’ Latoya responds, ‘I must have been mad. I want you out of my life. I hate you.’
Relate, eg, to pre-election promises.
So true
Tom was telling his friends he was very embarrassed about his affair
Shonelle was a very old and dear Eskimo friend of his
When Latoya rushed into the bedroom and caught them in bed she started screaming… I KNEW IT…I KNEW IT.
And he had to explain to Latoya it is pronounced INUIT
Barbados needs courage, leadership and new thinking – Boos
<
p>
Government’s chronic crises of excessive debt,high fiscal deficits,falling foreign exchange reserves and overstaffed and outdated institutions for delivering public services are only a part of the deeper problem says Peter Boos.
<
p>Peter N. Boos FCA
<
p>BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Wednesday January 8, 2014 – Recent events and public pronouncements both locally and internationally have confirmed the very poor state of the Barbados Economy.
<
p>Government’s chronic crises of excessive debt, high fiscal deficits, falling foreign exchange reserves and overstaffed and outdated institutions for delivering public services are only a part of the deeper problem.
<
p>This is not a crisis like any we have ever experienced and it requires a response like nothing we have done before.
<
p>Waiting for recovery is not an option. Many countries already have strong growing economies.
<
p>In Barbados all of our productive sectors are under-performing.
<
p>Barbados is in a deep structural vortex and it will take great leadership, courage, new thinking and teamwork to dig us out a step at a time and build a strong sustainable economy. This crisis has been in the making for many years.
<
p>Whilst spending less is critical, our fiscal and monetary deficits are symptomatic of the many underlying weaknesses that retard growth and investment.
<
p>Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/opinion/1105517.html#ixzz2ptYTsEoE
Lawson
Exactly. Things are never as they seem but may not be lies – more little hiccups to preserve the status quo and the greater good.