Maintaining Our Position on the HDI
Submitted by Anthony Davis
IF BARBADOS, The Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago were included in a new global survey on social progress where would they have ranked? … Jamaica was 44th on the list of 133 countries which were studied for the progress they have attained in meeting the social needs of their citizens. The survey covers roughly two-thirds of the countries that belong to the United Nations (UN) but it didn’t include most of CARICOM’s top performers – Barbados, The Bahamas and St. Kitts-Nevis among them – when it comes to such things as education, gender equality and efforts to make people feel secure on the streets and in their homes – Nation Newspaper
Photo credit: Nation Newspaper
I forgive Tony Best when he surmises that Barbadians may be caught off guard if Barbados fails to make the list of the 50 most highly rated states under the Human Development Index (HDI) report due to be released later this year. He lives overseas, and is not living through the carnage which this Juggernaut is leaving behind as system after system is being demolished by this Government, but we are to believe that all’s well in beautiful Barbados. Everything which was put in place for the wider spectrum of our society has been demolished with impunity. The funding for education, health and welfare has been drastically cut, with the Minister of Finance stating that there is a “low cash flow”.
There is no low cash flow when it comes to the sweetheart deal given to sandals as the taxpayers’ money is handed over to a foreign hotel chain which has been given all manner of tax breaks and concessions amounting to millions of dollars yearly as it does not have to pay taxes even on goods purchased in Barbados as the farmers are left holding the nasty end of the stick once again. This hotel chain is being fawned over by all and sundry as if it is the best thing since sliced bread.
Can you imagine that the head honchos of this chain are allowed to purchase vehicles tax free when those of local hotels which are struggling to make ends meet are still to receive the same deal – 18 months after the three-week one was given to Sandals?
It is obvious that with such an advantage that hotel can bring more people to the island. However, I question how much the spend of the visitors will be seeing that that hotel is all-inclusive. This means that accommodation, beverages and food are paid for up front, and therefore they don’t have to venture outside their stronghold to get anything whatsoever.
Now we have a god called Sandals which is being worshiped daily either by the Minister of Tourism, or one of the head honchos he has put in place at the two tourism entities. Almost daily there is one of them expounding the greatness of that entity. It is Sandals which has brought in so many and so many visitors, as if the other hotels don’t do the same – despite the advantage which this Government has given to that chain of hotels. Usually it’s home drums beat first, but here it is the opposite.
What about the stand-alone bars and restaurants, watercraft operators and taxi operators, and all of the other things which people have been encouraged to go into as entrepreneurs?
What about all of the foreign exchange that is need here, but is being flown out on a daily basis to its headquarters?
Every day either the Minister of Tourism or one of the two head honchos of the tourism entities can be heard fawning over Sandals and/or its owner. They should gather some pride and act like other Barbadians. The Minister of Finance did not have the money to help the scions of the poor, the needy and the vulnerable to remain at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus, but he could take their parents/guardians taxes and give them to a hotel chain. He did not have enough money for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), but he could dump our taxes into Sandals. He did not have enough money for the mothers on maternity leave who had paid their money into the NIS Funds, but he had money for Sandals. What about the Welfare Department? He didn’t have any money for that department either, but we all know where the money they should have received has gone.
How about the Barbados Transport Board? Did he have any money to replace some of the aging buses so that the working populace – who do not have the luxury of being picked up by a chauffeur-driven high-end vehicle – can get to/from work in a timely manner?
No way!
Most of the things which they demolished would have redounded to the benefit of the female population as they are the ones who are studying most, they are the ones who have to go to the QEH when their time to give birth is up, and have to receive their maternity leave cheques from the Welfare Department. Yet the Prime Minister can say that the DLP put many of these things in place. However, he used the wrong pronoun when he stated that we did this and that. He should have said they did this and that.
If Gross Domestic Product figures are not a reliable gauge to progress, why is the minister of Finance still using them?
I have no problem with the term yard fowl as it is part of the Bajan dialect.
“Without trust, words become the hollow sound of a wooden gong. With trust, words become life itself.” – John Harold
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Anthony Davis
When will you wake up? You are behaving as though you do not really know what is going on in this country. Sandals will get everything that it wants and more because it is not averse to paying bribes. Do our struggling players in the hotel and tourism sector have the wherewithal to pay any significant bribes? The answer to that is “NO”. That is probably why they are having such difficulty accessing the same level of concessions.
I could be wrong, and if so, I am very willing to be corrected but before you do Google Sandals Corruption and see if what I am saying makes any sense.
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From Senator Boyce’s mouth Barbados is able to withstand austerity measures for a longer period compared to others because of a better infrastructure and standard of living.
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You for give Tony Best ? Dam crook living outside Barbados as an out side Guard to the crimes against the people , CARIBNEWS IN NEW YORK. They will come soon a time when People ASK what none of this news ever made the papers? At this time he wil be exposed as an Agent of Fraud and not a real papers man.
He can stay where he is for he is not welcome in BIM, We will the World know he have no Creditability in NEWS or in Man or in Barbados, He can live the Ranks of Crook Lawyers and Ministers to be exposed for what they are ,
Long Live the King
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We were told that of necessity SANDALS had to be given preferential treatment, namely a wash pan of concessions so as to jumpstart our lifeblood which is the tourism industry. That same all important industry is now being choked by an onslaught of seaweed and rather than provide money for cleanup, we are asked to volunteer. Are you kidding me? That YARDFOWL BRIGADE inclusive of the cadre of clowns that are asked to gather in George Street today would better serve this country by leading the charge of volunteers.
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If you wanted to inspire and instill civic responsibility in a people, would it not make good sense to lead by example? Then again we talking bout the present DLP.
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Another example the government can lead by example is to shave its cabinet including parliamentary secretaries.
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David
That is alright for you to say but those parliamentary secretaries stayed the course and are now entitled to a share of the fatted calf. The Government will shave many things but not the long suffering fatted calf brigade. Think of other areas to cut like the QEH, Welfare and School Meals.
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Position on HDI?
LOL
Listen folks, we have a MUCH bigger problem on our hands hear?
WE HAVE BEEN CURSED.
Wunna take this for joke, but ah nah joke Bushie ah joke….
It is a National CLICO Curse….
Anyone who thinks that such a gross and blatantly disgusting act of dishonesty, perpetrated and covered up at the highest possible levels, could pass “just so” into history, …without consequences gotta be mad in their donkeys…
The shiite that we have been seeing so far is but the START of consequences.
…from the death of a young leader deep into the gross scam
…to the disgrace of those remaining members of the gang
…to failure in almost every possible area
…to a plague of smelly, mushy sargassum on our prized beaches
…to crime – much like that seen in the homeland of our new tricky Massa
…to unemployment in one of our most successful companies
…to downgrades, sugar industry disaster, education cutbacks, taxes upon taxes, promises upon promises, police scandals, court scandals, land scandals,
What the hell will it take for wunna people to wake up and smell some roses? The whole damn place has been condemned and found wanting….
Imagine in Baltimore police kill a man, and within one week the whole world is MADE TO SEE that those people will NOT tolerate shiite.
Imagine in Barbados, an esteemed non-leper killed many widows and widowers with heartbreak, destroyed many “should-be” pensioners, devastated multiple dreams of hard-working Bajans….. and not one shiite…..
Not a march….
Not a strike…
Not a shutdown…
Not a boycott of the shiite government protecting the guilty
Not a censor of the shiite DPP who can find no charges to bring….
Not a boycott of taxes against a stinkliar who can bring shiite taxes, but has no interest in taxes on a $3.3 million transaction involving the previous owner of his Jag.
Just a lotta shiite talk and the devil himself parading bout the damned place like he in charge…..
What a damned place!!
BBE had NO CHOICE but to slap a curse in our asses…
Letmuhtellwunna now!!!!
Unless there is NATIONAL REPENTANCE and a strong and SERIOUS commitment to JUSTICE …and restitution of wrongs to the weak and poor, wunna will REALLY see what a curse is…..
Wunna mind the Pharaoh Froon with his defiant shiite talk….
The one from Egypt talk nuff shiite too
….until the night of the passover….
Brass bowls.
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@Bushie
You on fire this morning.
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@ Bush Tea,
Well said. You’re sound like one of those biblical prophets.
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All Bushie is saying can be summed up simply by saying that you can’t expect to rob the poor and prosper. This Government is robbing the poor and giving to the rich like Bizzy and Sandals and those who can refuse to speak out. That makes them accomplices in the devastation of the poor so the country will suffer because we have not taken care of those that can’t take care of themselves. Even ISIS takes care of poor widows but not this DLP Government.
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@ Exclaimer
You’re sound like one of those biblical prophets.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Prophets are always with us…they are CHOSEN, not volunteers.
The bible only covered some in order to document the phenomenon.
…for example…
Do you REALLY think that Bob Marley was a natural phenomenon? 🙂
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@Caswell
Surely your position is flawed if we accept Errol Barrow’s DLP has always been philosophically aligned with the vulnerable in society.
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Recently there was a list of the world’s happiest countries, didn’t catch a whiff of Bim- time to bring out the sackcloth and ashes.
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David
My position is far from flawed. The DLP’s propaganda is that they are in business to better the lot of the poor. In practice, however, their policies have devastated the poor at the times when the poor needed protection most of all. The poor can’t pay bribes and kickbacks so there is no need for them outside of election time.
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@Caswell
Most disheartening is to observe how the DLP has followed the same path of all the others i.e. looking for a campaign financer. No Parris and CLICO in comes Bejerham and Jada. Don’t forget we wait for the PM and AG to address the issue of election fraud.
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David
Let’s face it, politics in Barbados attracts more than its fair share of crooks whose main goal in life is to feather their own nests. They get away even though this country has adequate laws against their behaviour. Unfortunately, laws don’t enforce themselves. And in most cases, the law enforcers appear to be more into politics than the declared politicians.
Sent from my iPad
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“This hotel chain is being fawned over by all and sundry as if it is the best thing since sliced bread.”
“Now we have a god called Sandals which is being worshiped daily either by the Minister of Tourism, or one of the head honchos he has put in place at the two tourism entities. Almost daily there is one of them expounding the greatness of that entity. It is Sandals which has brought in so many and so many visitors.”
This hotel chain has not created one new room; just been handed and fixed up an existing property.
280 rooms, which under previously operators probably had occupancy of 75%. At best. the foreign owned chain is bringing 140 additional guests per week (20 per day airlift) if it achieves 100% occupancy.
And where does the guest money go? When booking their stay, using their VISA/Mastercrd, guests payments go to a bank account in New York, or Miami, or Panama (where parent company Unique vacations is domiciled). Only forex to reach Barbados is transfers to pay salaries.
“I question how much the spend of the visitors will be seeing that that hotel is all-inclusive. This means that accommodation, beverages and food are paid for up front, and therefore they don’t have to venture outside their stronghold to get anything whatsoever.”
Right on – advertising says leave your wallet behind.
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David May 2, 2015 at 9:41 AM #
@Caswell
Most disheartening is to observe how the DLP has followed the same path of all the others i.e. looking for a campaign financer. No Parris and CLICO in comes Bejerham and Jada. Don’t forget we wait for the PM and AG to address the issue of election fraud.
AND. in came BUTCH – with donations to Panama bank accounts
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In came Karib Cable soon to be sold to FLOW.
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This DLP Government do not care about the poor. Some of the NCC workers cannot even change their cheques because they can’t or don’t have a bank account, so what do they do with a cheque? Can’t get the medication at the hospital for your Diabetes or heart disease, so one would think you just left to die? can’t afford to buy, because one is a pensioner, and even some of them have not received their pension cheques for a couple months, so pray tell me who cares?
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And out went the cable channels FLOW had no right to offer for sale ar broadcast
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In the good old days before the blogs, citizens were able to claim ignorance of the lotta wickedness.
NO SUCH EXCUSE NOW EXISTS.
Everyone now knows of the open sores that infest the whole country.
..Names have been called…
..Confessions have been aired…complete with tears…
..Checks have been published
..Transactions have been detailed
..affidavits have been filed in court
..court rulings have been made, some hidden, some delayed…
….AND YET BAJANS remain unmoved by the wickedness…
It is no longer wickedness in high places, …it has been condoned at all levels of the damn place.
the so-called “church” is lukewarm;
the law has become part of the problem;
education is a farce;
our youth are lost; the old are feeble and lost…..
our media are tainted
NOTICEABLY ABSENT has been formal denials of the multiple accusations from PUBLIC officials….Only threats to silence the blogs…
It is therefore NOT the leaders only who are under curse, but the whole damned place…
TWO earthquakes in the last week….???!!
forewarned is forearmed…
@ Sargeant
You don’t know HOW right you are about the need for sackcloth and ashes….
But Brass Bowls never heed good advice….
Hard ears we won’t hear….
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A fellow on the block asked me how can Bajans be expected to have felt the last two recent earth tremors, when the very bedrock of this country has been constantly under assault for the past 7 plus years, by the jack hammers of this inept government.
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Stop pulling down Sandals. I hope we get about two Sandals here in Barbados.
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re Colonel Buggy May 2, 2015 at 3:00 PM #
A fellow on the block asked me how can Bajans be expected to have felt the last two recent earth tremors, when the very bedrock of this country has been constantly under assault for the past 7 plus years, by the jack hammers of this inept government.
LOL YOU TWO GOOD MAN
YA MEAN THE BED ROCK SHAKING SO CHRONICALLY THAT AN EARTH TREMOR CAN HARDLY BE DECIPHERABLE? MURDAH.
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Last Monday April 27th about 1.30pm Corey Layne read an email on Brasstacks in which the emailer detailed a list of things this government fell down on.I would like Corey to send that list to BU for publication. (or Dennis can pass the message to Corey)but lets have this list on BU.
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While Barbados remains a front runner on the HDI in the Caribbean and the Western Hemisphere the news that we’ve missed is that oil rich Trinidad and Tobago has been downgraded by Moody’s. The Trinidad government is hopping mad responding that Moody’s is wrong. Kamla Persad and her cabinet have condemned Moody’s. It would be of interest to hear the all knowing gurus who populate BU weigh in on this matter. Do you think Moody’s mistook T&T for Barbados? What an amazing development the light of the economic star of the Caribbean’s has been dimmed. We await the gurus take on this downgrade of a country not named Barbados.
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@ Togetherness
Skippa, don’t Trickidad own Barbados???
If you own a dump won’t you expect to be graded accordingly…?
…besides, apart from oil money (which has been seriously devalued of late) T&T is one of the worse places in the western hemisphere….
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Togetherness
It proves Moodys was right about Barbados.
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What is this IMF assssment that places Barbados at the bottom of the pile, again!
“THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) has crunched its latest numbers and concluded that this year Barbados will have the worst economic performance among 12 Caribbean countries.”
http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/66947/imf-barbados-list
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Perhaps this administration need not only to lay claim to LIAT, but to demand that most,if not all of the Test Matches and ODI’s return to the cricketing mecca of the Caribbean, Kensignton. Make Reggae on the ‘ill a monthly thing. Keep Saturday night dances at all the Constituency Council Offices to raise funds for the treasury.
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@ Colonel Buggy
wuh boss…even if you did all that …you still have the problem of a fool and his money being quickly separated …
…how long do you think before the bulk of such money would end up Maxwell pond? ….after Bizzy and company get their share of course….?
Deal with the curse or die…..
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Which is the more desirable position, Mount Olympus or the bottom of the s*** pit.
Beginning to see why the PM has a bee in his bonnet about Bajans with WC’s
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