Hal Austin
Introduction:
Barbados is going through one of the messiest political maelstroms in living memory, if not in our post-war experience. It is now on an economic life-support machine. The DLP government is running around like a headless chicken, with its leader Freundel Stuart, arguably the worst premier/prime minister in our history struck dumb and unable to address the nation and incapable of sacking Chris Sinckler, the equally bad minister of finance. And at a time when the BLP Opposition, under its new leader, Mia Mottley, should be mercilessly hammering the government, the party is imploding in one of the most vicious and bitter internecine wars any political party in Barbados has ever seen.
In terms of damage, it is worse than the walk-out by Errol Barrow and his Young Turks to form the DLP, or of Richie Haynes and his supporters from the DLP to form the National Democratic Party. But I believe all these are symptoms of historic change. As most people will understand, history is not linear; it ebbs and flows, is volatile and calm, it can erupt like a volcano and be as reassuring as a moonlit night. The problem with adversarial politics is that it brings out the nasty side of people, the premium is to show the opponent is incapable, rather than to show that one on the contrary is more than capable. It is a feature of our hostile discursive culture, rubbishing opposing ideas, asking the adversary to justify his/her views, rather than putting forward positive alternatives and justifying one’s own recommendations. It is not unknown for opponents to resort to foul-mouthed, vulgar abuse as part of the process.
Ms Mottley’s recent call for an eminent persons committee, was rightly described by Arthur as a ‘gimmick’, what he did not do was to propose a viable alternative. To some people, an eminent group comprising of people of the calibre of ‘Professor’ Frank Alleyne, central bank governor De Lisle Worrell and a few well known names, may simply be kicking the can down the road. What are badly needed are new ideas, new approaches, new policies, a totally and radically transformative new paradigm, a new rescue plan for the nation. These are some of the new ideas, policies and approaches that should be coming from the BLP, its key advisers, its economic spokesman, Clyde Mascoll, and most particularly its senior economic guru and seasoned economic planner, Owen Arthur. This is their time, when they should be pounding the government, ideas and policies should be flooding out of Roebuck Street. Public meetings are in terms of educating the general public, but it must go beyond that to the formation of alternative policies.
The enormous problems facing Barbados are not just short-term cyclical business and economic ones, they are deeply structural, about our collapsing social, governance and decaying institutional frameworks. The rot started decades ago and continued to fester under BLP and DLP governments since constitutional independence without a word of caution from mainstream politicians, academics, the media, public intellectuals or rabble rousers. It was as if Barbadians were comfortable in a mess of their own making, fooling themselves that they were the best in the world: best educated, most competitive, punching above their weight and other self-deluding nonsense, or in the words of Marion Williams, we are a first world nation now. Nothing better illustrates this self-delusion than a regulator who allows some foreign-owned bank to smear the reputation of a local businessman without a word being said. As a nation, we prefer to play the man rather than the ball; we allow the principle to fall by the wayside. This is a classic example of the weakness of prescriptive financial regulations, a big rule book but the banks still drive a coach and horses through it. Even more scandalous is another foreign-owned bank offering loans to customers to invest in equities – a policy so ridiculous it should be a crime.
In the meantime, all the local commentariat has to talk about is what is allegedly motivating Arthur in his assault on the party leader.
Does the BLP have a president/chairman, others officers, a ruling committee, a rule book? In a party of lawyers why can’t they sort out this mess internally? What about issues of real importance: youth unemployment, the turf war between the police and customs, the collapse of our university, public transport, traffic congestion, the failure of management in our schools, housing, the health service, public servants not being paid on time, pensioners not getting their pensions on time, we can go on. What can the BLP do about these policy issues that it could not have done in 14 years of government?
Analysis:
On closer analysis, there is quite clearly an alignment of voices who are prepared to risk losing any forthcoming general election under an embattled Ms Mottley, than to remove a government that has lost its way. It is true, that there is a perception that Ms Mottley can be her own worst enemy, if true, this is not necessarily for the reasons her most vocal opponents – known and unknown – will have us believe. She is undoubtedly youthful and bright, confident with a very strong sense of her worth as a politician, which may cause a certain amount of resentment. Of course, Ms Mottley is a big ‘girl’ and if she cannot take the heat she should get out of the kitchen. The fundamental question for those of us on the sideline is: Is this childish bickering good for the nation? Does it provide the answers to our social and economic problems at this juncture in our history?
Although both the BLP and DLP have an over-riding social democratic politics, it is not sophisticated and finessed and the parties’ key strategists have not learned anything from political organisation in other reforming social democracies. Take, for example, the New Democrats, led by Bill Clinton, and New Labour, by Tony Blair, both of which used racist strategies (soft versions of Nixon’s 1970s Southern Strategy) to solicit white, working class and middle class voters, with an implicit message that they understand white working class pain about jobs, and middle class anger about taxation. It mistakingly assumes that Black and Asian voters in the UK, and Black and Hispanic voters in the US, have no real alternative but to vote Democrat or Labour.
In the muddy smear politics in which Barbados is mired, while the flood waters of economic failure are cascading down on us, we are missing the point that Ms Mottley indeed has a rather interesting background story. Not the one, however, that her political enemies want to talk about, but rather the one about how she got where she is in terms of her politics; what are her core beliefs, what kind of Barbados would she like to see, who are her key advisers? Some people believe that she has an open-ness to small, well-organised pressure groups which operate outside the formalities of democratic politics. Groups and businesses that operate like shadows in the night, subsidising preferred candidates here, doing the back office work there, and smiling and being nice when it suits them everywhere.
It is a politics that can only end in tears, on a personal level, or in the betrayal of traditional Barbadians who have invested heavily over the generation in the BLP in the hope that the party will lead them to the promised land of prosperity. If this is indeed the politics that her political enemies object to, and if it is an accurate perception, then it should form part of the public discussion. But character assassination by innuendo, the spreading of smut as a substitute for civilised debate and the crowding out of legitimate issues from public discourse, put us back in a primitive age we have long left.
Time will show that this bout of civil war in the BLP not only came at the worst time in the party’s modern history, but the loud mouths and muscle men and women now claiming the high ground will find themselves on the wrong side of history. The political issues that are central to Barbados are the issues so bitter to taste that people dear not say a word. While the economic mess – which started under the BLP government – will eventually be resolved one way or the other, the medium and long-term battles will be over our Barbadian-ness, who we are, who owns our precious island home, who should make key decisions about our collective futures. While we bicker and fight, the danger is that the New Barbadians are waiting quietly in the wings, master plan at hand, to take control. Somehow, deep in our collective hearts, there is a firm belief that Barbadian optimism will see us through. But is that good enough?
Conclusion:
Sometimes it is necessary for party political bloodletting, it is necessary to clear the air and allow progressive forces to dominate. This internal BLP feud between the Arthurians and Mottleyites is not it, however. It is a humiliating showdown in which the personal has become political, in which personal pride and vengeance have become more important than the national interest. The fundamental problem with the BLP, especially now that it is facing an open goal of DLP government ineptitude, is that its ideological nakedness is exposed, there is no under girding of ideas, beliefs, or vision. In its place there has emerged a flawed intervention by former prime minister Arthur, with what can objectively be seen as juvenile interference, at best to preserve an imagined legacy, at worst for other unethical reasons. The one thing anyone who aspires to leadership should remember is that if they expect people under them to be loyal, then they too must demonstrate loyalty. Equally, if members of any political party or even the general public have even the commonest iota of decency, they should turn their backs on anyone who wants to cause trouble for trouble’s sake.
In every culture we dislike troublemakers, gossips, people who refuse to play by the rules, plotters, conspirators, disorder. In a political culture in which evangelising and character assassination carry a high premium, and facts and careful analysis become boring, it is not surprising that ordinary people think that politics is about personal abuse and shouting to the top of one’s voice. It is a culture that first gained root in the mid-1950s with those late-night platform meetings and has continued ever since, growing by leaps and bounds with every succeeding generation. Almost just as interesting is, in the political demography of this culture war, the inability of the politically astute to form a third party, based on the kinds of principles that they need and want. Until such time, what honest BLP members must ask themselves in the quiet of their own heads is if this undignified spat is worthy of the oldest political party in the nation.
In time, this unappealing fight between two people who ought to know better, will be seen in the light of day for what it is worth, given the socio-economic storm battering the nation. On reflection, we are playing with fire. Out of the Weimar republic and the 1930s recession which followed, came Hitler and Mussolini; out of the Greek economic problems post-2007/8, came the Golden Dawn Party; out of Britain’s incompetent Coalition government came UKIP; the US gave us the Tea Party.
History has a funny way of not delivering what people expect or hope for.
@ Hal:
I do not agree with you that Owen did not provide an alternative to the eminent persons group. In the interview with the Nation Ricky Jordan, Arthur said that when he was PM there was a regional group of prominent persons set up to research and propose ideas for small island states on how they could increase revenue and improve their products. Noone including yourself pulled that info apart and distributed it across this nation.
In the same article Owen said that he led d the group..
In that same interview Owen mentioned what the country should look at and implement to curb the taxes on locals and place emphasis on foreign investors.
Hal:
Yuh know the Governor of the Central Bank spoke yesterday where are your views on his message. What you have above is currently stale. I trust this makes sense ‘currently stale.’
Owen and Mia will work out their issues as Owen sees fit it is as simple as that. Tell us about the foreign reserves the Governor said that we have.
@Hal
There is something these guys observed working up close to MAM which they don’t like and importantly do not think she has corrected.
Congrats to Toni, this is a challenging time to take over the BWU.
I don’t know what is expected of Owen, he already gave suggestions which were pulled down by the bigwigs of the DLP. I remember Inniss shouting across the floor and told Owen to shut up, he had his time, we don’t want to hear anything from you. I remember the MOF saying quite recently, he would not sit in the same room as Owen to discuss economics, not even in a dark room. What now can you expect from Owen. Yes, his last term of office was arrogant, but at this point in time, he is the best out of a bad group. WE NEED ED him long time ago, but the horse has bolted and that body he was invited to sit on is useless. Even the P.M tried in his glorified way to say the die is casted, 3000 persons will go home.
Brief
We are in the IMF hands right now, the IMF says we will record negative growth, the Gov of Cen Bank says we will record a small positive growth. While I hope as he goes contrary to the IMF that he is right, but this is not the first time he made such a statement that was untrue.
@ June Boy
Owen also said that the die was cast long ago and that both the trade unions knew. Owen said that the measures being used although they may not be IMF instructed they would have been a clone of expectations from the IMF.
We were given Owen’s views in the interview. Many ran with the ‘gimmick’ word and left everything else that he said based. He spoke of actions that would ease the poor and working class based on his experience as PM and economist.
The DLP will do as they see fit and the BLP will manage as they see fit. Although the polls were close they continue to behave as non-Barbadians and foreigners looking after the best interest of those residing outside of Barbados to make sure they get the best of Barbados.
We Bajans will tek wuh lef a sea bath and sun.
“Nothing better illustrates this self-delusion than a regulator who allows some foreign-owned bank to smear the reputation of a local businessman without a word being said.”
What businessman, what! Smearing reputation my ass. A lot of misinformed balderdash from you, Hal.
What businessman worth his reputation would have over $ 9 million of clean honestly earned money sitting in bank accounts doing nothing. There are so many opportunities to invest that kind of money in Barbados even if only in the traditional channels of trade. What about an enterprise in the new industries such as renewable energy?
The man is a just a foul-mouthed bullshitter and crook ,pure and simple.
We just wish you would get off this sanctimonious bandwagon you seem to want to place the con artist and call a spade a spade when it comes to the fraud. We are not playing the man here, just telling it like it is.
@H Austin
The DLP government is running around like a headless chicken, with its leader Freundel Stuart, arguably the worst premier/prime minister in our history struck dumb and unable to address the nation and incapable of sacking Chris Sinckler, the equally bad minister of finance
/\/\/\/\/*****/\/\/\/\
You have been beating that drum for a very long time but did your common sense desert you? A PM with a razor thin majority can’t afford to alienate any of his elected members, why would Stuart sign his own death warrant?
The truth is that the BLP/DLP is (one party) behaving true to form. Hal obviously has not followed our politics closely. Since the late 60’s , progressive forces have been warning that Barbados was on the wrong path. We have a mainstream media that is not receptive to objective writing or analysis. The decaying BLP/DLP is a manifestation of poor and visionless leadership, that is a feature of practically all Caribbean countries since independence. I am amazed that there has been no real critical offerings on Errol Barrow’s 15 year term. Equally, I am astounded that Owen Arthur is hailed as this great leader. When Arthur left office after a 14 year term: public housing in a mess; QEH in a mess; roads and public transportation in a mess; cost over runs to in excess of 7billion dollars !
So Between Barrow and Arthur , we are talking about thirty years and they still left more undone than they did. I am now convinced that Frank Walcott was probably the most outstanding public figure and perhaps leader that we have produced to date. Pity our historians have not found it fit to highlight Walcott because when we place him next to Barrow or Arthur, he comes out the better man as far as vision is concerned.In other words, Walcott had a clearer vision for the Barbados Workers Union and the the workers than Barrow or Arthur had for Barbados !
The Eager Eleven and the Arthur Mottley bachanal is really : wuh we come to ! Cant plant peas and reap corn. Never happen.
oops should read when Arthur left office………cost over runs to in excess of 700 miliion dollars ! Not 7 billion. (My apologies) Thanks.
William, I have one question for you sir: to whom are you comparing the leadership in the caribbean to? You have called them visionless, so you must obviously have some standard upon which to compare they performance?
William, can you show me a model of political excellence through the African continent, South America and the Caribbean that has met your standard of political excellence?
@ William Skinner
I have been a keen supporter of the PPM, and in particular of Leroy Harewood, but there has not been any electorally viable third party, with the possible exception of the NDP.
Even Leroy ended up in the NDP, given it was the only legitimate voice to the DLP/BLP.
A good example of this was the bye-election that followed David Thompson’s premature death in which only the BLP and DLP fielded candidates. Where were the independents?
I have also made the point about the quality of the media, broadcasting and print, in Barbados. Even so, I am most reluctant to criticise the press, but why can’t the nation employ a suitably qualified journalist to cover economics, or train up one?
What I do find puzzling is that in 1957 Barbados had seven publications, including an evening paper, now we have two print and one digital, two popular forums a state television station and a number of radio stations, mostly given over to pop music and phone ins.
About the DLP/BLP nexus, I have made the point, over and over again, that what separates them is not ideological, but personalities and managerialism, who can best manage the economy and public services.
This is best illustrated with the ease in which people can cross the floor and feel at home in the opposition ie Mascoll.
Your point about the Barrow/Arthur years is sound. Where are out academic economic historians to analyse these years?
I remember when the first DLP government came in there was a popular myth, still often repeated, that Barrow was a whiz at economics on the basis that he went to the London School of Economics; but he did law.
What I find most interesting of those Barrow years was that he wasd ast the LSE awt the very time when the greatest conventional Caribbean economist, Arthur Lewis, wrote his magnum opus, and it seemed not to have triggered any intellectual curiosity in Barrow.
This is not to deny that that the first DLP government hit the ground running. It did inherit a lot of things it had nothing to do with: the Deep Water Harbour, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the improvements at Seawell Airport, etc.
But it embarked on a widespread programme of Keynesianism, including filling in the Constitution River, the introduction of a fleet of fishing trawlers, the Harp Project, and numerous others, many of which, on reflection were not that good.
But we stimulated the economy and created jobs, which is what the economy needed at that time. The Barrow government also created the tourism industry as we know it.
One point of interest is that we have now reached a national state in which there is a perception that only the state can provide occupational and business opportunities, that economic progress and prosperity must be subsidised by the state – either jobs or contracts, grants or loan guarantees.
It is a form of welfarism that has stymied real entrepreneurialism and reduces choice.
The Arthur years were marked by as credit-based growth, which is now coming home to roast.
One or two other people have raised the question of the central bank and the statement by the governor, Dr De Lisle Worrell.
There is very little to say now about monetary and fiscal policy that has not been said before, unless there is a radical change.
The point is that Sinckler/Worrell have lost the economic argument. What makes it very difficult to have any meaningful debate with the central bank is that any suggestion must be definition be reactive since we do not know the methodological assumptions on which policy is determined.
This flies in the face of all the leading global central banks which make clear their macro-economic models on which their policy projections are made. So it is like a needle in a haystack trying to find out what is central bank policy.
Is part of the central bank’s remit inflation targeting? Does the stability remit include jobs? More importantly, is the central bank independent of the ministry of finance?
For example, how does the central bank measure output growth?
I still remember a former senior employee at the central bank telling me that the town and country planning department refused for a long time to cooperate with the central bank on the compilation of statistics for new builds.
As a result, the central bank speculated on housing new builds by basing its figures on new utility connections.
I have also been told by a recent employee of the bank that he was given some research to do and was more or less told the outcome before he had even started.
If all these are true, and I have no reasons to doubt either person, it says quite a lot about the legitimacy of central bank projections.
One reason why I have not mentioned the latest statement from the central bank is the opening statement: “Compared with recent economic downturns, the Barbados economy has performed appreciably better during the current economic recession.”
This is supreme optimism bias verging on the hocus pocus. It is like saying someone was murdered gently or it was a savage attack.
Who can honestly say they believe the inflation rate in Barbados, based on the retail price index, is two per cent?
Finally, the minister is now claiming that growth in 2014 will be about 3 per cent, the governor of the central bank is projecting it below one per cent. Who is right?
History will not absolve these present parliamentary jokers of Barbados labour Party for failing to provide the leadership required at this critical time in our history of Governance and I dearly hope by some strange occurrence of fate that our economic misfortunes take a positive turn such as would allow the parliamentary Democratic Labour Party jokers to take credit and Barbados Labour Party to be consigned to the political dump heap forever for putting self above all else and abandoning the people of Barbados in their time of need. .AWAY WITH THEM AND RELEASE UNTO US BARABBAS .
To repeat, there is a strong case that Arthur making MAM’s life uncomfortable is not about a pier grab. Some people for reasons which have not been made public, officially, will do everything in their power to stop her from becoming PM.
@ David
They must trust the people.
@ David
Share it with the public. We ought to know who our leaders are. Barrow had an affair with Nina Simone for a long time and the first I knew of it was when rteading her biography.
When I asked senior politicians and journalists in Barbados they were all aware of it.
We must trust the people.
the problem MAM is having is that she is trying to strike a balance between “people: and “corporate” and is this harsh political and economic climate this kind of balancing act flies in the face of those who have the economic power,,,
@HAl
the public knows.
The question is if the public is willing to look the other way
@David
Arthur must shoulder some blame for a lack of “proper” succession implementation. If he has difficulty with the deputy he appointed then what happens after it is his fault.
Just observing
@ Observing
There is gossip, which should be beneath serious people. Let us get on with devising new policies to rescue the nation. This is a very serious moment in our history, not a time for juvenile behaviour.
The nation needs its brightest and best to come forward with solutions.
@Hal
I need to separate your post into some parts.
“there is gossip”
true, and there are also facts from horses’ mouths, as dated as they may be.
“beneath serious people”
What makes a person “serious”?
“Let us get on …”
Agreed!
“not a time for juvenile behaviour”
agreed, but, what do we do when juvenile behaviour directly impacts on policy implementation at the grassroots or social level, and, when it even exists at the level of the policy makers and government/Parliament?
“The nation needs its brightest and best”
Agreed! Now, how do we realistically encourage them to step forward in the present climate?
.
Just observing
@: Observing
There is very little separating us on this issue. Just that I want people to put nation before self, however bruised our egos.
@Hal
“I want people to put nation before self, ”
They need to be given a reason. The days when that selfless principled value was automatic and ubiquitous are long gone.
We’re not seeing the type of leadership needed for this to happen, neither are we seeing the courage required for the “movement” to occur.
This is a good place to start if better is to be found.
And yes…we concur on the basics.
Just observing
…..And Tom Adams affairs were oranges compared to Barrow’s apple…. Tom Adams built a house for woman and told her husband not to step foot in his house. And Adams visited this house morning noon, and night; don’t ask me what he was there for. I am quite ya’ll remembered the female news broadcaster he had at CBC?
@Hal.
“Barrow had an affair with Nina simone” so what? the question should be was he good for Barbados? If the answer is yes then the “affair” is of no importance. Why bring it up now? Look at French politics and personal relationships of its leaders.
In terms of damage, it is worse than the walk-out by Errol Barrow and his Young Turks to form the DLP, or of Richie Haynes and his supporters from the DLP to form the National Democratic Party.
/\/\/******/\/\/\/\
What a load hyperbolic overkill! Why is it worse? Arthur and Mottley may have their differences but there are still members of the BLP, why would a disagreement between them be termed as “worse” than other disagreements? Barrow actually left the BLP and took a group of influential members with him who formed the nucleus of his Gov’t in 1961 after Adams ill fated foray into Federal politics.
Intra Party rivalry has always existed, everyone wants to be the ‘Alpha Dog” or Akela (don’t want to be sexist here). In the country where you reside in the last generation there was Thatcher and Heath, Gordon Brown chaffed at the bit as Tony Blair wouldn’t leave 10 Downing. In the US we see it every 4 years as the politicians go through the Primary process, Bush went to war against McClain and Obama made Hilary cry. In Canada Trudeau made John Turner quit early in his career, Mulroney sidelined Joe Clark; Jean Chretien stayed around long enough to deny Paul Martin a long stay at the top.
Comparisons are great but there should be some validity to them.
Why wunna don’t take it easy with Hal nuh?
…think it easy coming up with such a long title every damn week…..
…and then having to find material to write around it?
….especially when your experience is thousands of miles away;
…in a different culture;
…based on childhood memories;
…and yuh cold as shiite?
Give the man some slack Sargeant…you should be able to sympathize with him….
LOL
Besides, who reads the posts?…BU Bloggers will comment as they intended anyway….whatever Hal or anyone else says…. LOL
Sweet fuh days…..
Sargeant ….yes agree and disagree .on the political campaign trail when there is severe compettion and such actions are expected and tolerated by the public.However in this recent debacle the dynamics being seen is a hard line attempt to remove MIA without Her parliamentary colleagues involvement
Practically every system is broke.
But there seems to be a strong attempt at correcting the problems at BFA under the new Leader who took over from Ronald Jones. See below:-
http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2014/01/16/money-trail/
New Leadership was essential to positive action being taken in that case. So too will new leadership of the Country be essential to a drastic correction of our current trajectory.
Freundel must go now and Chris Sinckler be reassigned from the MoF. Neither of them can get us out of this situation.
Of almost equal importance to the country is that Owen should be somehow helped to realize that it is time for him to go and operate as advisor to his party on economic matters.
Wunnah get fooled that the FIFA corruption problem was only in Trinidad and by Jack Warner.
Time longer dan twine!
@ are-we-there-yet? | January 17, 2014 at 9:54 AM |
Wow! No wonder certain people wanted to hold on to the reigns! No wonder he so quiet nowadays!
Has BU not highlighted questionable behaviour by our politicians over the years and what? They all feather the others nest. Why does anyone think both Bees and Dees hate BU? Time to ‘Dodds’ some people or at minimum embarass them.
@ Alvin
That is exactly the point I was trying to make, Unless personal behaviour is criminal or impacts on a person’s professional performance then the question is does it matter?
I believe in morality in public life, but we do not want to take it to extremes. Personal envy is something else.
.
@Hal Austin
Thank God the Canadian Banks on behalf of the Canadian Government have rules that they follow. Yes they are foreign owned. Keep in mind they hold the mortgages and title to the vast amount of real estate and things like automobiles in Barbados. Can you imagine if they were Barbados owned. They would be the biggest money launders in the world. Would highly recommend that you suggest people read the account agreement they sign to open a bank account and then ensure it is followed. Without Canadian banks Barbados would not have a banking system and you can rest assured they are not going to lower their standards for anyone including the GOBB who might ask them to.
DLP + blp= DbLP government Barbados New World Order,
@ Sith
How about unfair contract terms. It is a legal myth that two partners to a contract are always equal. That is why we have consumer protection.
The problems that confront this country are greater than B or D the greter the influence the larger the control beyond BUP or any new political part to manage. As for people hating BU a fugment of David.s imagination what is happening is a public trying to give a balance on a forum ..nothing to do with hate
@Hal Austin
The Canadian banks have millions of customers who find the contracts fair. They conform to Fintrac. Are you suggesting transactions that do not conform to Fintrac should be allowed. Get a grip man, there is no consumer protection for money launders but there certainly should be some for Clico investors. That is where the down fall is. We are dam lucky to have the integrity of Canadian banks who can stand on their own two feet.
@ Mark Fenty; ” William, I have one question for you sir: to whom are you comparing the leadership in the caribbean to? You have called them visionless, so you must obviously have some standard upon which to compare they performance?”
Fidel Castro will be my answer, as a sincere leader and one who leads by example. I also believe that Eric Williams was a visionary in some regards.
@ Hal,
I am an unapologetic disciple of Leroy Harewood and John Cumberbatch. We are (still in the present) great friends and comrades. I concur with ,most of what you wrote this week.
HE $143 MILLION which Government expects to save by laying off more than 3 000 workers is less than a quarter of what’s needed to stabilize the Barbados economy, says economist Dr Clyde Mascoll.
Noting that amount of savings was projected by the Minister of Finance when he announced public sector cuts last month, Mascoll said that figure made no sense because it would mean that the average public worker being sent home was earning $4 700.
“I know that the average public sector worker does not earn anywhere close to $4 800 per month. Therefore, again, the truth is not really being told in relation to the extent of the adjustment that has to be made.
“ . . . . $143 million is less than a quarter of what is required to get us out of this dark hole. Barbados is in its darkest hour,” said the Opposition’s economic adviser.
VETERAN TRADE UNIONIST Sir Roy Trotman last night warned Barbadians they should be prepared for the possibility that some of the 3 500 public servants who are about to lose their jobs will end up in prison and the Psychatric Hospital and some of their children on welfare.
Sir Roy also said he was devastated “by the idea of so many people who have got to surrender their jobs”, but again stressed his union did not see strike action as the right course to take. In fact, he said he was not sure the union could provide for the workers if it called them out on strike.
“I will be frank and say that I don’t know of anyone who has a strike fund big enough that we will be able to take care of the needs of those people in the long run.”
At the same time, he acknowledged that the future for Barbados looked bleak and that the private sector had to step up to the plate and create new streams of employment.
All this stuff about Owen Arthur being the architect of prosperity in Barbados is not quite rubbish but it certainly does not tell the whole story. Almost every country in the world did well during the period when the BLP Government was in power – the reason being that the world economy was fuelled by cheap and massively available credit. The moment that came to an end in the financial meltdown, the Barbados economy ground to a halt then fell over. Its a familiar story; in times of plenty its easy to run and manage a country or a company. It’s in bad times that it becomes clear whether someone really is a good leader. The current difficult financial position has certainly not done much for the reputations of Fumble or the Monster of Finance.
The above post feature the words of two eminent Barbadian men
The words are the words of these men, not my words
BUT THEY ARE SAYING EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE SAID ALREADY..
“”””””””””””At the same time, he acknowledged that the future for Barbados looked bleak “””””””””
————Sir Leroy————
“”””””””””””””””””””“ . . . . $143 million is less than a quarter of what is required to get us out of this dark hole. Barbados is in its darkest hour,” said the Opposition’s economic adviser.””””””””””””””””””””””
———–Dr. Clyde Mascoll———
Your Honour
I rest my case
BARBADOS NEEDS OWEN ARTHUR NOW MORE THAN EVER
BARBADOS ALSO NEEDS THE PRESENT PRIME MINISTER
BARBADOS NEEDS ALL OF OF US
FROM THE TIME THE RESULT SAID 16-14
MATURED PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE SAID
“LETS HOLD HANDS AND WORK FOR THE GOOD OF BARBADOS”
THE ONUS WAS ON THE GOVERNMENT TO SAY THOSE WORDS
WE ARE TALKING TOO MUCH AND NOT ACTING
THIS BLOG WANTS CLOSING DOWN
TOO MUCH TALK
MAYBE IF THERE WAS NO OUTLET TO WRITE AND TALK SHITE , PEOPLE WOULD HAVE MOUNTED SOAP BOXES IN HEROES SQUARE AND MOVED TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
——————–CLOSE DOWN THIS BLOG—————-
Hal Austin
Can we have your comments on the CBB Press Release at
http://www.centralbank.org.bb/WEBCBB.nsf/(hpNews)/5740291C8CF8255204257C5C004370BA?OpenDocument
Every now and again BU will respond to ignoramuses who take pot-shots at BU posters and others when citizens exercise their right to post anonymously. It matters not what commenters say he remains ‘tieup’ about the fact some make the decision to use monikers, a decision which millions take posting to blog/websites on the Internet.
What should concern Carl Moore the dinosaur is to appreciate many of the issues we comment on show the BU family is attuned/aligned to what is happening in our little society.
BU can list list list to make the point. Instead we have a jackass who has been blowing a horn about noise pollution since many in this forum wore short pants with little results and he would grudge citizens the right to protest using non traditional means given the type of society we know exist. Mr. Moore you can keep harping on anonymous bloggers but here is the catch, you would be surprised to know who post on BU with monikers, ministers of government, journalist, doctors, policemen, firemen, academics, engineers, athletes, housewives…
Do you get the point yet? Now do us all a favour and continue to send your cryptic notes to the traditional media and forget about BU and social media.
What is this “our”? At which point does an exported emigrant who’s lived and made her entire life in a country outside the country of her birth, an emigrant who affects to see racism EVERYWHERE in her host country, start deciding that it’s time to make comments on the economic management of the country from which she self-exported?
We won’t even try to start with your grasp of economics, Mr. Austin, because that would do credit neither to your mind nor to the institutions in your childhood home that you constantly rubbish.
In 2014, your childhood home of Barbados has choices, but the choices are not limitless. The government can fire very large numbers of government employees. And the country can export people, as you were exported. What the government can’t do is make a living for large numbers of non-exportable people.
Europe and the environs of Brooklyn and Toronto are already saturated with not-too-bright carriers of bricks and waiters on tables, no matter how much the entire country deludes itself about the wholly imagined glories of its education system. In that respect, at the very least, history has already passed Barbados by. The number of people on the planet who care about what Adams did with a mistress or a national economy is so small as to be negligible.
Every now and again BU will respond to ignoramuses who take pot-shots at BU posters and others when citizens exercise their right to post anonymously. It matters not what commenters say he remains ‘tie-up’ about the fact some make the decision to use monikers, a decision which millions take posting to blog/websites on the Internet.
What should concern Carl Moore the dinosaur is to appreciate many of the issues we comment on show the BU family to be attuned/aligned to what is happening in our little society.
The judicial system: note recent editorials and pronouncements from parliament form Attorney Generals, current and former.
The indiscipline on our roads: minibus/ZR problem now joined by private vehicles – ask Roy Morris
The collapse of our education system and its irrelevance: of course he respects Peter Laurie who uttered same last week.
The irrelevance of our system of governance – again he should refer to 20 veteran former PS Peter Laurie
The graft and malfeasance which manifest itself on a daily basis in public and private sector: see decades of Auditor General reports. If it is happening in public sector it means the private sector is complicit.
BU can list list list to make the point. Instead we have a jackass who has been blowing a horn about noise pollution since many in this forum wore short pants with little results and he would grudge citizens the right to protest using non traditional means given the type of society we exist. Mr. Moore you can keep harping on anonymous bloggers but here is the catch, you would be surprised to know who post on BU with monikers, ministers of government, journalist, doctors, policemen, firemen, academics, engineers, athletes, housewives…
Do you get the point yet? Now do us all a favour and continue to send your cryptic notes to the traditional media and forget about BU and social media.
@ David | January 17, 2014 at 8:04 PM |
Love it! Love it to shreds.
Poor Carl doesn’t even appreciate that some of the greatest unfettered minds contribute to BU. Some in the Diaspora and many in the small-minded island that breeds the likes of Moore and that miniscule band of pseudo intelligentsia mis-educated misfits who would like to dictate its morality and cultural ethos.
Carl, travel broadens the mind but living overseas develops a small-island intellect like yours. We can see right before our very eyes both lost opportunities being sorely missed as you find great solace in the company of the PM.
David there are some people who should be told to visit eff u dot com.
BU anonymous bloggers are exercising the FREEDOM afforded us on your blog and we thank you.
There is no compelling reason why your detractors need to participate.
@ Hal Austin on January 17, 2014 at 6:28 AM
“@ David
Share it with the public. We ought to know who our leaders are. Barrow had an affair with Nina Simone for a long time and the first I knew of it was when rteading her biography.
When I asked senior politicians and journalists in Barbados they were all aware of it.
We must trust the people.”
What I do know is that no one seems to want to talk or discuss MAMS LASTNMAME MOTTLEY. My opinion is that’s the problem. OSA and his gang is not prepared to let that name ever takeover Barbados again.
@Unbiased
Rubbish, what is the role of a journalist?
Policy
Make persons use the polyclininics or pay extra at private pharmacies for medication
Problem
http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/out-of-drugs/
@David
Carl seeking relevance again? uh tell ya.
I gone fuh now, yuh hear….
Observing
In his in the Daily Nation, Thursday, January 16, 2014, Dr. Clyde Mascoll, was reported to have written that “there is nothing wrong with a government employing more people if the economy is growing”, and that “where there is growth there is more revenue for the government”.
Dr. Mascoll seems not to know that government is the most unproductive, unrational and inefficient sector that exists within the political economy and services industry sectors of this country.
This fact is evidenced not only from the constancy of extensity and intensity of mal doings and wrongful omissions with the context of the scope, structure and culture of its apparatuses, but also from its implementation of criminal evil wicked TAXATION, and of nefarious Interest Rates Regimes, sick so-called compulsory Land Acquisition legislation, etc.
As for Taxes, Mascoll must be told in no uncertain terms that Taxes are not any revenues, but are the proceeds of the government of Barbados stealing robbing from the remunerations of the relevant people, businesses and other entities in this country.
Also, the fact is that it is the government sector and the financial sector – the latter the second most dysfunctional commercial sector after the same government sector in the country – that – because of the nature of their operations – are the principal causes of persons and machines on the whole lessening substantially their levels of physical output and services – when contrasted with what was greater provided in, say, 2006, in the country.
So, the logical argument must be that in spite of evil wicked abominations like TAXATION, Interest Rates, so-called Public Debt, there is continuously still -even during this prolonged depression in Barbados – the fuelling of growth trends (and even the propensities to do so) in the material production and distribution services sectors in the country – which altogether points to clear evidence that until the government sector and the financial sector rein in themselves this depression here in Barbados will not end.
Again, Dr Mascoll is truly egregiously wrong on the facts!
PDC
@ Hal Austin
If you are the finance wizard that you hold yourself out to be how come it has taken so long for you to offer your services to your adopted country and help prop up its ailing economy ? You can even go one better . I am sure the World Bank Or the IMF or some such organisation can do with your expertise.
You need to move beyond a mere talker and become a doer. Until then your views will remain very empty .
@Unbiaed
This what happens when people put their views out there, others are free to agree, disagree, challenge. What we know is that there are no journalists in Barbados who have demonstrated the capacity to posit the level of analysis which Hal has brought to the table. To disagree with him is health but to suggest that he can’t make a contribution with his pen is arrant nonsense.
@David
Rubbish !!! He holds himselt out than much more than a journalist . His postings hold him out as a financial expert who uses journalistic skills to put them across . I am sure from the criticisms made of him on BU that he is not seen as a journalist but , in the views of many , as a know-it-all .
@ David
I am asking him to do more than “make a contribution with his pen”; I am asking for DIECT contribution as the expert he is perceived to be . Do I have to remind you of the adage “HE WHO CAN DOES; HE WHO CANNOT TEACHES” ? Maybe for present we can say …HE WHO CANNOT WRITES .
@ Unbiased
I think the Government should make haste and cut the excess public sector jobs. It’s my view. It doesn’t mean I have to do it myself. That’s what we employ politicians for – to represent us and carry out our wishes.
@ Unbiased
I have said before, and I will say for the last time. I am a financial journalist. Nothing more. I am not an expert on anything, not even in my own house.
Anything else must be your own assumption.
David
‘To disagree is healthy”
Dr David, I hope you will remember that and treat all your patients equally.
H Austin’s posts are good value and thought provoking irrespective of their originality. He must spend a lot of time on them. But I do think Unbiased has raised a fair issue and particularly when, in previous H Austin posts, some commentators have identified him as some kind of savior. Do we then describe him as a ‘mere journalist’ with no formally credible expertise? And does this mean that H Austin will now stop pontificating on legal matters and professing expertise on legal theory AS IF he IS an expert?
@ Hal Austin
Please enlighten what is a “finanCIAL journalist” .
Here comes the nitpickers with one agenda or the other. Carry on smartly…lol.
@ Robert Ross
I am not a lawyer, but a member of the public with a view. That is called the democratisation of ideas.
If it makes you feel better, I could not even spell legal theory to save my right arm.
Why do we have such strong views about new ideas?
@ Unbiased.
I am just someone who writes news and comment about financial matters for a living. But I am no expert.
WHAT A GRAND WASTE OF TIME
After seeing the development, why should the rest of CARICOM join this court ?
A judge with the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has said there is no mechanism to enforce the judgement following the recent ruling in the case involving the Jamaican national Shanique Myrie.
Myrie successfully sued the Barbados government after she was refused entry into the island in 2011. The CCJ awarded pecuniary damages in the sum of approximately J$3.6 million. Speaking at the workshop for regional broadcasters on the regional integration Justice Ralston Nelson said there was no order to implement the court’s ruling.
He said there is also no power in the national laws for a CCJ order to be treated as a national order. Speaking with the Caribbean Media Corporation after his two-and-a-half hour presentation, Justice Nelson said the situation is not one that is unusual.
He noted that the regional economic integration treaty is an aspect of international law and there are many tribunals that do not have coercive powers to enforce their judgements. Justice Nelson said that in international law, the sanction is disapproval of other members and ultimately economic sanctions.
@ Curry Soursop
Along with what you have disclosed , Aie there is no scope for enforcing judgments , add to that the fact there is no scope for appealing a judgment. These two anomalies make the court somewhat of a bogus court , a waste of time and money .
@Alarming
I think they should scrap the dam court and put their tails between their legs and crawl back to the Privy Council. It has reputation. No wonder Adriel Brathewaite, Minister of Home Affairs had said that the judgement (Shanique Myrie) was not earth shattering. David Simmons, Mia Mottley and P.J. Patterson , I hope you all are seeing your handy work unfolding.
David
You really don’t like the idea of people crossing you, do you? How are you at home?
H Austin
Then stop pontificating about it as if you are a pompous, fat assed, know all – even if you are.
@ Robert Ross
Do you want to waste the principle of free speech? By the way, I am disappointed in your use of language. Are you one of those who become foulmouthed when you are losing an argument?
What have I been pontificating about that so upsets you?
@
Curry soursop; I might be wrong but didn’t Erskine Sandiford also have a conceptual and early role in the development of the CCJ. I seem to remember him as one of the champions for the court. If so, you should give him some of the credit also.
H Austin
The word ‘ass’ is foul-mouthed? What a precious little bimbo you must be. But let me put it this way. If you claim to be an expert and demonstrate you are an idiot then you are simply an idiot. If you claim to be Joe Public with views, then you can show off for all you’re worth with the effortless superiority you try to put over. Then you are merely misguided if you’re shown to be wrong. As we both know, it’s called a ‘cop out’. From now on, it will be known as ‘Austin’s Sinister Sleight’ (ASS).
@ Robert Ross
I think you are now showing the real you. I had you down as one of the better informed voices in this forum.
If you are typical of the brilliance we have at the local bar, then I shed a tear.
I think the problem is you have too much time on your hand. In the meantime, we still need a serious debate about issues facing the nation.
The comment of interest from PM Stuart last week went something like this:
The government has to keep its eye on the budget target and not succumb to the draw of humanity (words to this effect). The question is therefore why did this same thinking not apply 2-3 years ago when it was agreed that structural flaws existed in the economy and as they say one should not let a good crisis go to waste.
Amazing.
It was rhetorical Observing to expose where loyalty exist. The interest of the people who politicians are suppose to serve is expendable. Some need to appreciate what is reality.
H Austin
“Too much time”
LOL. Well you’re answering me sunshine.
“The real you” and “we still need a serious debate” – both examples of ASS.
@are -we-there-yet?
I will check to see if Erskine Sandiford was a part of the plot too.
@Hal
Here is some advise from a blogmaster of years standing. Some balls please let slide outside the off stump, the risk reward is too high a price.
On 18 January 2014 20:04, Barbados Underground
@ Robert Ross
By the way, calling a black person ‘sunshine’ is racist, even though I know you will deny this. You will claim, in your demented mind, is is a term of endearment.
What people want at a time like this is a free market of ideas so they can make informed choices.
Abusive language may make you feel good about yourself, but it does not take the Barbadian people any further.
Let us get back to discussing ideas.
This should be the BU anthem
“Sunshine is racist though I know you will deny this”
Double LOL. H Austin…your ASS’s get better and better.
But yes, it does occur to me that the exchange between Curry and Are- we might well merit a comment from H Austin masquerading as expert or Joe Public – or from anyone else for that matter – and even a post to itself.
@ Robert Ross
I do not understand your muttering, but I hope you do not come to Britain and call a young black man ‘sunshine’.
May I suggest you spend some of the massive spare time you have reading something that improves your grey matter.
Try some new ideas. Let’s discuss ideas.
H Austin
Now I understand your loathing of the ‘Sun’ newspaper. “Grey matter” – now that’s gotta be racist.
@ Robert Ross
You quite clearly have a lot of time on your hand. Two can play this game. I am waiting to see the ten o’clock news, so keep me entertained.
@David
“why did this same thinking not apply 2-3 years ago
An election was coming 🙂
@ David
The problem was that everybody was getting a bit of the action: the tourist industry, the big construction contractors were getting government contracts; those with connections were getting government jobs; the Cost-U-Less and Sandals of this world were getting tax breaks; individuals were getting knighthoods; ,
It was not in anybody’s interest to remind the emperor he was naked. But it has come home to roost.
As I speak, another British tourist has been murdered in St Lucia. We are killing the tourism goose.
Part of the structural decay is the criminal justice system. Let us talk about improving that.
RR I don’t know about sunshine being racist but here are a few other things you should watch when and to who you say it like
Pull your pants up
No I don’t want a taxi
Isnt that my wallet
do you know where I can score some weed
Quit grabbing your crotch
Lawson
Happy New Year. Yes…and how about “I like my chicken raw”?
Now the deep seated racism is coming to the fore in those people who claim to be lovers of Barbados.
The first principle is to show respect. Trying to make light of racism is not funny. Why not go back to the N word?
Scratch a liberal and a racist comes out. It follows as night follows day.
Oh dear……just trying to keep you “entertained” baby. It also follows as night follows day that if the sexiest woman in the world tickled H Austin’s balls he couldn’t find it in him to giggle. Oh what have I said…is H Austin….err….? Humourless Puritan yes, but not…….err
Here we go Hal….. I never mentioned black you are the one taking it that way…. I never mentioned Barbados …..you are taking it that way. You are the racist you have cried wolf so often you do not know what is racism and what is just an expression. Its guys like you that reveled in the hatred and derogatory terms used to describe COW’s wife without a second thought .If you are going to be two faced please use the other for your blog picture.
No need to attack Hal though he tried to insult me some weeks back. He means well, but, sadly, at times instead of writing what is, he writes what he feels it is. lol
I got it wrong. If the sexiest woman in the world tickled H Austin’s balls he wouldn’t remain silent. He would demonstrate his level of sophistication by moaning and saying “je t’aime” – but only because he’d heard Jane Birkin say it.
H Austin – seven minutes to go. Just time for a pee.
Robert …Happy New Year ….If some woman tickling Hal’s balls in bed …she is probably looking for the remote.
@Alarming
Aie there is no scope for enforcing judgments , add to that the fact there is no scope for appealing a judgment
There are some Courts where the judgment is final, perhaps the legal minds on the Blog can provide some input.
Lawson
LOL. Nice. But you are right about that nasty episode involving poor, dear whatever her name was. I thought he was just courting cheap popularity.
David,
This was written over two years ago and the analysis stands. I won’ change a word.