Submitted by Anthony Davis
Blame me! That was the proclamation from Minister of Finance, Chris Sinckler, in a close to two-hour news conference from Government Headquarters, broadcast live on national radio this afternoon. He told journalists that he was taking full responsibility for ‘any and all failures’, including the ones that he was ‘not responsible for’ within the Ministry of Finance. – Painful decision SINCKLER SAYS GOVERNMENT TRIED DIFFERENT SCENARIOS TO KEEP BARBADOS STEADY AND AFLOAT” on page 3 of “Barbados Today” dated 06 January, 2014
Whom do you think that we should blame for the mess you have gotten us into, Mr. Sinckler? Owen Arthur? He got his share of blame when he was Minister of Finance, but he did not make such a song and dance about it! Or do you expect us to blame Dennis the Menace, or gremlins?
There already seems to be gremlins at work in the NIS Department as they have been having a “technical difficulty” since November, and the IT Department cannot find the problem and solve it up to now. Stand up and take your medicine like a man, instead of resorting to such theatricals. We do not need your crocodile tears.
Mrs. Redman, head of the BUT, stated that you as Minister of Finance gave her the assurance that none of her members will be among the 3000 public servants who will be fired by Government between this month and 15 March. At your press conference yesterday (06 January, 2014) you did not refute her statement, so one can only come to the conclusion that once again this Government has made a sweetheart deal with her. The teachers who went on strike at the Alexandra Secondary School last year didn’t act as if they needed the work so I do not see why some of them should not be sent home. On top of that this Government paid them for striking. Who is to say they wouldn’t walk out of the class room again, and leave students at some other school – and their parents/guardians – up the creek without a paddle again? They were uncompromising about not teaching our children then so why should we have compassion on them now?
Is this not discrimination against the other public servants?
Is discrimination not illegal, as laid down in our Constitution?
Are the nurses, doctors, police/immigration/customs/prison officers, life guards, NCC workers, SSA workers and the horde of other public servants less valuable than her and her members? Appeasement didn’t work then, and we see that it isn’t working now, as she is the only union leader threatening to strike. Don’t you think that we have friends/relatives in the other departments also?
Don’t the other public servants pay taxes also? Don’t they have to pay rent, mortgages, bills, go to the supermarkets, clothe themselves and their scions, pay bus fare, run vehicles, etc. like her charges? Do you really expect us to believe that your relatives will also be fired? Has the Minister of Drainage fired his brother who is employed by the Ministry of Drainage? What do we need a pier head marina for? So that we can see the rich and famous display their wealth, and the populace of this country can be pushed off another beautiful stretch of beach?
Do you still have money to burn?
How will you transfer the coral from the Bridgetown Port to another location and expect it to continue growing there? Would a floating pier, which is being “put forward as a potential solution to the economic and environmental challenges of building cruise berthing facilities in Grand Cayman,” not suffice for the extension of the Bridgetown Port, instead of causing extensive damage to the coral reef there?
If things are not so bad in Barbados, how come Paul Doyle, a staunch supporter of Barbados and things Barbadian, owner of the Crane Resort and Residences, decided to launch the raising of $80million via a private placement of 8 million preference shares in Jamaica? Why did he have to face tough questions from investors there who were worried about the current state of the Barbados economy? The shares will be offered in Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago afterwards.
Mr. Minister of Finance all you did on 06 January, 2014, was to regurgitate the same thing you said in Parliament. As usual there is a deafening silence coming from our Prime Minister.
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