It is the turn today (16/06/2015) of the Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley to reply to the 2015 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals. BU has little doubt the four hour period allotted will be used to poke holes in many of the proposals the minister of finance delivered yesterday. […] One wonders why in a 2×3 country we allow adversarial politics to to get in the way of commonsense – key players appear not to see the value in collaborating and therefore avoid the charade and grandstanding we will be be subjected to for the next two days. This is the weakness in our system of government.
Could it be the leader of the opposition will surprise us all and instead of engaging in the predicable, use her four hours on the public stage to deliver a message that will resonate and give hope to Barbadians?
There is a vacuum of leadership on the political and other fronts in Barbados, will somebody please stand up?
243 responses to “2015 Barbados Budget Reply…”
ha! HA! now the nation newspaper is categorized as having actual facts, i remember in one of the debates 2012 mia got up in parliament and purported to have ;Actual Facts about BNOC only to look like a fool when confronted with govt documentation the Blp cannot be trusted with govt information so instead they have to rely on hear say from political pimps and some of followers who use covert action laden with half truths and misinformation and bring them to the public as facts,
@Miller
We pointed the light at the BLP in 2007/8 and we have done the same with the help of the family at the DLP. Like MAM stated we suffer from a small island phobia which prevent ordinary citizens from coming forward. Let us continue the fight!
Obviously this guy Sealy was rattled by MAM. He also has his skeletons in the closet.
What has Mam said in the four hours that would make a difference to this country ..Absolutely Nothing. plenty zingers and pot shots that made for good gossip and entertainment, now the curtain has been closed for the nite and mam in her predictable style failed what a waste
Who would have thought a DLP government would have become embroiled in allegations of corruption. MAM has stunned the government with her prosecution good sense suggest the government side will respond if innocent with information for the public to reconcile what is truth.
If what Mia Mottley has revealed in the House of Assembly tonight can be credibly refuted then like David Thompson and the infamous IMF letter she will be in the political backwater for at least 15 or more years. I believe she knows this and would not have spoken in such a definitive manner if she does not have the hard evidence. Barbados has never been in such a perilous state as it is now.
@ David
Why depend on someone who herself has been previously embroiled in allegations of corruption to supports charges against others. It is a twisted logic. The system as a whole is corrupt.
@Pacha
The point you never get is that any system can only be changed by those acting in it. We are hopeful MAM by epiphany or for other reasons will be a change agent.
What MIa demonstrated is stealth MIa and the usual ammo which the govt has been prepared for and had seen coming,,,,Notice that the govt (chris Sinckler) steered clear of Cahill in the debate knowing full well that MIa was going to do the political party dance but stirring and muddying the waters in reference to WTE /Cahill which in her closed mind would make her look like a champion now that she has done the predictable it has given the govt a better chance to see what she has and to respond in the harshest and most appropriate way by laying out with “actual documentation” facts that would embarrass her and decapitated her chances of being PM.
Unfortunately for Mia her desire to become PM would always be undermined with political hat tricks and dogma resulting from hears say and the inability to separate truth from fiction.
That’s were logic deserts you! To be change a agent she will first have to prosecute herself. That point of departure will never come.
Which system anywhere has been changed by actors operating within the very system? It is ALWAYS outside forces and outside forces alone that make change happen. MAM and the rest are all too compromised.
Because of your position that change you always talk about will never happen. All you do is to constantly make appeals to Satan about the Devil.
ac
Deal with the facts MAM presented. Moron! Hypocrite!
MAM said one of the 4 signatures on Cahill was a man from the ‘other place’, the lobbyist for Jada.
@ ac June 16, 2015 at 9:00 PM
You are losing the propaganda battle. With the Speaker Carrington Affair and the CLICO scam and cover-up still fresh in their memories there is nothing you or the other damned lying pimps (dlp)can say to change the people’s mind about that nasty piece of work called the DLP administration.
I suspect 90 % of the people are pissed off with Fumble and his corrupt lying ministers.
Why don’t you use your last piece of ammunition and attack MAM’s lifestyle? Why not promote her as all for same sex marriages? That’s all you have left; gossip, innuendo and ad hominems.
@ Power Adapter June 16, 2015 at 9:08 PM
Most likely Jepter Physical Deficit or Darcy Quisling.
Lordy Lordy …Uncouth semi-literate white business men being enriched by the Black Govt!
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
So these lowdown white Devils get rich off the Black majority that they despise! Wuhloss …the irony of it all.
The stupid black man. He was sold into slavery by his own to the white man, he got his freedom now he is selling us back into slavery. When are we going to learn? We will NEVER be FREE!
Let me see if in my current dotish state I can explain what Mia has done tonight.
She has detailed some of the actions of the CBG that would warrant his removal forthwith in almost any other Country.
She has provided chapter and verse and documentation on arrangements between a firm that has lucrative contracts with Government MInistries and their Ministers’ utilization of vehicles provided for their use by the firm in question.
She has provided serial information on a construction firm that has benefitted from numerous multimillion contracts that have been facilitated by a cabal of named Ministers, including the MoF.
And most explosively, she has detailed information on the dealings of 4 ministers of the cabal with Cahill Energy that has now left the Barbados Government with liabilities in the hundreds of Millions of dollars. The Cahill principal, from Mia’s presentation supported by documents which she indicated she will distribute widely in Barbados, appears to be trying to sell Cahill Energy for the very valuable consideration (perhaps billions) that the cabal has committed Barbados to in documents not seen by Cabinet and not signed off by the AG nor SG.
IN other jurisdictions, those ministers would be sending in their resignations by tomorrow. But we have reached such a sorry pass in Barbados that I would not be surprised if the PM and all his cabinet support the Ministers.
The timing of these revelations can only say one thing. Mia and the BLP are ready to do battle. now.
Plus ca change plus c’est la meme chose. No one (and certainly none of the current crop of elected members of parliament ) is interested in ITAL(Integrity,Transparency,Accountability Legislation) and a Freedom of Information Act.THE SAD TRUTH IS THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO ELECT CORRUPT INDIVIDUALS who see becoming members of parliament as a vehicle which ensures self-enrichment. Once elected, they care not one iota for those who elected them. The interest of the nation is of little or no concern to them. We,the electorate,are to be blamed for not “holding their feet to the fire” with respect to this most important issue …ITAL and FOI.
Could we have the USA do for us what it is doing to FIFA and arrest these criminals?lof
Dr Denis Lowe, Jesus Christ must be weeping. You have total contempt for the people of Barbados on the Cahill WTE. Hope, you remember that when the anteater is alive he eats ants but when he dies he is eaten by million of ants. Mr Lowe, you will not be able to hide from the hard questions for ever on your stewardship. Just cannot understand what would cause big men of the DLP to support Mr Lowe with this white elephant energy hog which will be a bigger disaster than Greenland.
The babyboomers have aided and abetted poor governance for their own aggrandisement however the millennials will ensure accountability in the near future. Thanks to Mia Mottley the public is now even more curious of the secretive Cahill deal in the absence of information as espoused under Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration.
Simple Simon June 16, 2015 at 7:53 PM #
“The Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) does not have the staff or technological capacity to prepare and deliver tax clearance certificates to all of the thousands of people who will now require them.”
Your assessment is incorrect. I have applied for tax clearances on behalf of clients, and based on my experience, applying for a tax clearance certificate is a simple procedure, which takes no more than 10 minutes to process.
All the applicant has to do is complete and submit the application form. The clerk would enter the applicant’s NIR number in the system to verify if they have paid taxes or not, and prepare the certificate accordingly.
If there are numerous applicants, the BRA could adopt a system similar to that of Immigration’s passport processing section, whereby applicants would have give the Authority 1 week to process applications and issue tax clearance certificates. If the applicant is desirous of obtaining his/her certificate before the designated period, then their request should incur a fee.
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David June 16, 2015 at 8:31 PM #
“Obviously this guy Sealy was rattled by MAM. He also has his skeletons in the closet.”
Sealy seemed to be shaken, which was reflected by the way he began his contribution and he rambled on to the end.
are-we-there-yet June 16, 2015 at 9:37 PM #
“She has detailed some of the actions of the CBG that would warrant his removal forthwith in almost any other Country.”
Mottley said she and her colleagues will make the “proof” of her allegations documents of the house and would also present them in the public domain for all and sundry to assess.
Let’s wait to see if she lives up to her promise, because if she does not, her reputation would surely be tarnished.
However, the onus is on the government to prove her wrong.
This Cahill Energy (Barbados) Ltd is a fly-by-night operation with no experience in WTE generation and I can not understand why this government will subject us to a 30 year deal with a company whose only client is its first client; at least when it was done with C&W they had a track record.
I would be most surprised if Mia Mottley does not have the data. After all, we on BU have been discussing the Cahill Matter, the Maloney matter, the weird behaviours of the CBG, etc. for quite a while now and much of what Mia brought to the public domain is “old hat” on BU. But to me, what is different is that she has referred to more detailed info and provided some current info on the infelicities.
Her revelations would only be expected if
a) Her info is inviolate, and / or
b) An election is in the offing, and / or
c) She has reached the limit of outrage at the depths to which the cabal has sunk and is prepared to do what she thinks has to be done to rescue Barbados from sinking much further.
You also said:
Let’s wait to see if she lives up to her promise, because if she does not, her reputation would surely be tarnished. However, the onus is on the government to prove her wrong.
I suspect, if all the discussion on BU over the past several months is correct, that the Government CANNOT prove her wrong and that they will avoid the issues or misdirect the people in trying to answer them.
THis government, under Freundel Stuart, has never addressed any issue frontally and, even though it would be refreshing for Freundal to turn a new page on this issue, I fear that he will not and just hope it will go away, thereby leaving thinking persons with the certainty that Mia is right.
The other thing is that by ventilating the material in this manner, it has gone global and Barbados is more than ever painted as a most inept banana republic. Mia must have thought through this and must have a backup plan.
Re. the Cahill matter and the signature of the document giving away the family silver to Cahill. I wonder if the document will stand up to litigation, after all Mia said that the document she had was undated. Was this by design?
Could it be that a good law team could get the document thrown out if it was litigated as a real Sovereign document would be of a higher standard signed by the AG, SG and be noted as having the approval of Cabinet? Would the only likely casualties then be the Ministers who signed the document and that is what Mia is really after?
Rambling again!
@Are-we-there-yet
The key document is the MOU signed or unsigned there is a lot of explaining to do.
I like research and as usual I did mine so I am posting an extract from a study that speaks to the viability of Plasma Gasification WTE plants. Hope this helps perspective.
‘A number of facilities have closed due to operational problems, including Thermoselect’s large municipal solid waste (MSW) gasification facility in Karlsruhe, Germany and Brightstar Environmental’s flagship MSW gasification facility in Australia. Both facilities exceeded emissions limits for various pollutants during emissions tests. The Thermoselect facility’s parent company lost over $500 million due to repeated breakdowns and technical problems and was never capable of operating at expected capacity before it closed in 2004. Brightstar Environmental’s facility closed in 2003, and the company no longer exists.
Since 2003 numerous proposals for waste treatment facilities hoping to use plasma arc, pyrolysis, catalytic cracking and gasification technologies failed to receive final approval to operate when the claims of project proponents did not withstand public and governmental scrutiny of key claims. –
Incinerators in Disguise
Case Studies of Gasification, Pyrolysis, and Plasma in Europe, Asia, and the United States
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice
415-248-5010
http://www.greenaction.org
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)
510-883-9490
http://www.no-burn.org
April 2006
A careful check with the Embassies of Canada and the United States will reveal the visas that have been secured on behalf of these parties as they continue to put in place their escape plans to jump ship when the shyte implodes.
As we analyze this prostitution further one does realize that both parties rape the coffers of central government for personal gain whether it is for Syrup in the Ministry of Education or As Veco at the Office of the Attorney General.
The difference lies not in the ability to deceive, for they or both deceives, both the DLP and the BLP, and both have used scams to get money off island, in case of devaluation, but what separates tweedledeedee from tweedledeedumb is the absolute level of incompetence and idiocy in these current clowns.
They are a different category of rapists who are worst than the necrophiliac that Douglas Trotman defended for after fooling the corpse, these lot return to the scene of their crime and like a rabid carrion, proceed to eat the very sperm they deposited in the corpse.
This is not only the worst government Barbados has ever had, it is the most depraved…
From the time the Cahill project became public the consensus on BU appeared to be that Plasma Gasification was not suitable for Barbados and that it could not feasibly coexist with Tourism. In addition, Due Diligence was up front in providing Internet sourced data that Cahill had no experience in the area and that it was likely to be a scam.
Early on Darcy Boyce visited Guernsey to check out Cahill. Any information he gathered did not reach the public domain but it seems unlikely that such information could differ substantially from the BU public domain data and now the data that Mia Mottley has revealed tonight.
That the involvement of the Cabal in the MoU was based on proper due diligence and was energized by a desire to provide the best Energy mix for Barbados is therefore highly unlikely.
Other rationales must be invoked to explain why these individuals got involved in a transparently flawed scheme.
PUDRYR
I think your comment below (slightly modified) most aptly summarizes the situation Barbados is now in needs highlighting and repeating. A pity most of us are only now recognizing it despite all the clues that were present from at least 2009.
…..Both the DLP and the BLP have used scams to get money off island, in case of devaluation, but what separates tweedledeedee from tweedledeedumb is the absolute level of incompetence and idiocy in these current clowns……. This is not only the worst government Barbados has ever had, it is the most depraved…
To all and sundry.
Canada has a Freedom of Information Act and a lot of investigative reporters.
People in glass houses should not pelt bout rockstones.
@David 8:43pm
Huh?! What you talking about? You must be quite young, or have gotten caught up in this DLP frenzy of trying to deigfy their leaders. Corruption was rife under Barrrow.Ministers in his cabinet are known for it .for example The mercantile Bank cheque scandal. This thing about talking bout the poor black man and then kissing the asses of white people? Why you think they still have the support of the bajan whites in Barbados?
Oh wow. Wait, wunna folk actually needed MAM to tell you that a deal that focused on burning tamarind bush to make energy, costing hundreds of millions, actually made no sense??
Lol.
Oh dear………
Hey, I got a bridge…..
While the PDC has determined NOT to listen to any aspects of the 2015 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals by Mr Chris Sinckler, to listen to any aspects of the Reply by Miss Mia Mottley, and give ears to any aspects of the wider debate of the Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals and the Reply by the other members of the House of Assembly of the Parliament of this country, it is clear from what local reports by the particular media houses and what has been stated by some persons on these blogs on those speeches, that it must be further deduced by the PDC that Barbados will certainly become a virtual failed state in 6 to 11 years – a most unacceptable state of affairs for a country that is only into its 49th year of national independence.
So, whereas this very inept and backward DLP government – the worst government with the worst Prime Minister, in the post-independence history of this country – is contributing massively towards Barbados becoming this virtual failed state, this very inane and decadent BLP in parliament – the worst BLP parliamentary party, with the worst parliamentary leader, in the post-independence history of this country, is coming up with absolutely NOTHING ideological philosophical practical to help prevent this macabre reality, even after having been at the helm of the government of Barbados from 1994 to 2008, and thus having contributed gigantically then to Barbados becoming this virtual failed state.
So, whereas Sinckler seemed from those said media reports and blogs to have stupidly finally driven the bus with the passengers over the precipice, Mottley – being one of the passengers on the bus -showed stupidly she did not have a necessary vision, a required ideology, an indispebsible methodology for helping prevent the ill-fate of the hapless passengers in the bus.
Down with the Damned DLP and the Blasted BLP.
PDC
@Bernie Fields
The comment was made in the context of this government from 2008 using a campaign slogan of integrity and transparency which contributed to getting them elected.
When he Minister of Tourism got up to speak he looked like a man who had just witnesses his own death. Mr Moloney get some real body blows. Whilst it is widely reported that he is financial backer of the DLP the blows from Motley appeared to go below the accepted norm in Bim.
Well done MIA
The only thing you forgot is the millions needed for the infrastructure needed to take the electricy and to dry the kinggrass
What about the thousands of tonnes of coke needed for the AlterNRG plasma gassifer
Where will that come from and where will it be offloaded ????? Right next to the cruise liners if this bunch of idiots get their way.”Coke dust Coke dust everywhere and not a tourist to be seen “
@ David
Obviously this guy Sealy was rattled by MAM. He also has his skeletons in the closet.
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apples don’t fall far from the tree….
Did I hear it correctly or was it the GOB’s deathly silence on the Cahill energy deal indicative of what is happening with this nonsence this thing is 5+ years away from coming on line if it ever gets started. what happens between then and now???? 500tons a day for 5 years = 1million tons +- of garbage to get rid of
How is this good of the good people of our island the sale of Cahill Barbados is vindication of all those who said the Cowan woman is a fraudster and a con artist
What was he thinking?
““I listened to the Minister [of Finance] and he spoke of T-bone steak being in that basket, but what is wrong, are you telling me that the poor people must not want to eat T-bone steak? “
If proven to be true, are MAM’s allegations enough to bring down the government.
She now has to bring a non confidence motion or her credibility is shot.
“She also questioned the price tag on two low income projects which she said were constructed at $540 per square foot at a total cost of over $20 million each to Government.”
What does the $540. include? It surely can’t be just the cost of construction of buildings.
Fractured BLP (soon to be changed to Fractured DLP), made the following contribution to the article, “Rush for Savings Bonds:”
“Fractured BLP June 15, 2015 at 6:49 PM #: A very riveting and revolutionary budget presentation so far, by Hon. Chris Sinckler. Barbadians in months and years to come will appreciate its significance……”
I could not agree with you more, DLP pimp, this was truly “a very riveting and revolutionary budget presentation so far.”
Had not for this “riveting and revolutionary budget presentation,” we would have known about the corrupt and under hand practices of this DLP administration.
Or about the ownership of two the vehicles being used by Lashley and Lowe, which, according to Mottley, she will make the proof of her allegations, documents of the house and available for Barbadians to read.
Yes, Fractured, the deeds of the “four rogue ministers” has revealed the fractures in the DLP, hence your new moniker, “Fractured DLP.”
When all the evidence has been presented, surely “Barbadians in months and years to come will appreciate its significance….”
Barbadians if you truly love your country you will have to be prepared to fight and I mean really fight to take it back from these rogues. DO YOU HAVE THE WILL? OR HAVE YOU SOLD OUT TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER?
@ Artax and Are-We, good stuff. And Pieces, that explosive indignation is shared by this blogger. I got very queasy from your expressive “these lot return to the scene of their crime and like a rabid carrion, … eat the very sperm they deposited in the corpse” but it surely captures the morbidly dark picture painted by our present and recently deposed leaders.
And David I amusingly applaud your optimism that ” We are hopeful MAM by epiphany or for other reasons will be a change agent.” That type of epiphany is called Machiavellian intent in other places. Pacha’s analysis of MAM is correct of course, so as long as we the public remember that her cup is a poisoned one we can imbibe under caution.
You are also wonderfully sarcastic (I presume) with ” MAM has stunned the government with her prosecution good sense”. As a former chief legal officer of the country what is this other than a political theater drama. Would she not have had that stunning prosecutorial keen insight to bring these issues to the courts (ministers use of cars from a private company providing services to their ministries) or otherwise before.
But all of that aside, as several other commenters have pressed here, how can our leaders contract our 166 sq mile island to a technology that could have absolutely disastrous consequences to our climate, water table, beaches, surrounding seas and thus our very existence?
How can we even contemplate this Gasification Plasma ting here? If there are problems from the emissions in the air or in the ground can we just ease back and wait till things regenerate!
This is absolutely, mind-boggingly unbelievable.
It is DEFINITELY not the thing to do unless we can look at proven results of upsides from other sites. There is little room for error on an island like ours.
So as Pieces said and echoed by Are-We and others this “is the most depraved…” group of leaders of this country. To put the entire island at risk for the filthy lucre is truly the behaviour of a depraved mentality.
BU has done an excellent job of ventilating this gasification matter and long may it continue. We must expose all of this folly before it exposes us to an unknown future.
Artaxerxes
You said above;
Yes, Fractured, the deeds of the “four rogue ministers” has revealed the fractures in the DLP, hence your new moniker, “Fractured DLP.”
Yuh certain there is a fracture? I don’t see any so far. They all seem to be supporting the “cabal” so far.
Let’s wait and see if any one of them says anything to suggest that they are unhappy with the possible ramifications of the disclosures, even something as inocuous as; “Yuh can’ be right as Cabinet wasn’t aware of any of the things that the Leader of the Opposition brought before this honourable house and I don’t read BU”.
There is no shame amongst them!
MAM Alert:
Today is be dedicated to you and only you from the DLP with love.
De Ingrunt word
Excellent post above! It captures the nuances that I have tried, unsuccessfully it seems, to express on BU over the past several months.
David, re. your 8:51 am post;
It should be very interesting.
We will see what MAM is truly made of if she can or cannot get her troops to back her fully. The ones who spoke after her last night did not appear to rise to the exigencies of the occasion. The fervour and thrust of their speeches today will tell us if we can hope for anything positive to come of the MAM disclosures, no less than those of the DLP members.
One person to watch carefully is Dwight Sutherland to see how he swings. I have my doubts about him.
@David,
Can we expect a counter attack from the DLP ?