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The World of the Political Class, Jamaican Style – Can it Happen Here?

During that time, Robertson, a member of the conservative Jamaica Labour Party, has survived a political career that would have derailed many. He was reelected in 2012, when a backlash against the JLP’s association with a drug trafficker forced the prime minister to resign, and the rival People’s National Party (PNP) nearly swept the elections.…

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James Robertson
James Robertson

During that time, Robertson, a member of the conservative Jamaica Labour Party, has survived a political career that would have derailed many. He was reelected in 2012, when a backlash against the JLP’s association with a drug trafficker forced the prime minister to resign, and the rival People’s National Party (PNP) nearly swept the elections. When he tried to push out his party’s leader in 2013 and lost, he kept his deputy leader position in the party anyway. But those episodes were child’s play compared to what he faced in 2010. That year the U.S. State Department revoked Robertson’s visa for reasons never made public. Then he was accused of murder.

Barbadians were informed on national radio by former Chief Justice Sir David Simmons that gangs are present in Barbados. He quickly clarified that the gangs are not as organized as those in Trinidad and Jamaica, BUT, local authorities must not make the same mistake as Trinidad in the early 90s by refusing to act on evidence in their possession.

Many of the gangs in Trinidad and Jamaica are affiliated to political parties and manage ‘store fronts’ to receive government contracts. Control the money and you have the power to control the people. The story of Jamaican politician James Robertson of the Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) makes for a riveting read. What is scary is that many Barbadians have become very complacent to believe – it can’t happen here. A weak fourth estate means that society’s protective shield is not at full force.

The scourge of corruption is known to have destabilized societies through history. One pillar that a politically stable Barbados has built its reputation has been on law and order. In recent years a rising level of corruption now threatens to erode all the gains accrued on the backs of our forefathers.

All those who aspire to lead Barbados whether from the political or the NGO class MUST address how we intend to stave off the scourge of corruption.

Have a read of the story:

Jamaica murder yarn has political ties, with a Scotland Yard twist

29 responses to “The World of the Political Class, Jamaican Style – Can it Happen Here?”

  1. Violet C Beckles Avatar
    Violet C Beckles

    The scourge of corruption.?former Chief Justice Sir David Simmons. You as a former AG and Ex CJ of Barbados need to get back on the radio and tell Barbados the role you played in building the high court and where you find land , By Deed alone how you move to end land fraud ? You have a lot of nerve to even act like you crimes are dead, You crooked ways help Barbados to reach this level of madness, Did you even think that someone would be put in place to keep your crimes alive ? Tell the truth about your other Sir in crime Richard L Cheltenham and the role the police fraud squad played in the information cover up that was handed to them , It seem you will rather Barbados hit number one in the world of corruption as the Bajans suffers ,

  2. David Avatar
    David

    Now that we have the respected Sir David dropping his view that we need to seriously have a look at corruption maybe we will see some urgency from civil society. He also made the point that there is no political will to introduce integrity legislation.We are condemned or so it seems to follow the path of Jamaica and others because of the pigheadedness of our leaders.

  3. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/84520/shun

    As a then sitting chief justice David Simmons should have taken his own advice regarding advising the criminal Peter Harris, sitting on the board of directors at CGI robbing bajan policyholders while CJ, corrupting and compromising the integrity of the supreme court which still cannit recover from his and Harris’ nasty, greedy actions combined with the other demons who destroyed the court. system..

    Has Simmons seen the damage he helped Harris visit on the judiciary, he also needs to bring the DPPs involvement with Harris to the attention of the public.

    I am sure they all go to church every Sunday and pretend respectability while singing lustily.

    They have no souls.

  4. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Why did Simmons not push for integrity legislation while a sitting politician, why did he not clean up the corruption in the supreme court while chief justice and one of the main corrupters instead of feeding it and helping it grow and soread into the malignant cancer it is today on the island, why is he still advising Peter Harris and working against injured claimants, ya cannot be corrupting a society for decades and then now ya old, giving advice on how to stop it.

    Is Simmons understanding the damage his greedy, corrupt actions visuted on injured people, the elderly and others who lost land in Barbados because if his corrupt actions.

    Hiw dies he plan to make amends and redeem himself.

    Only the corrupt respects a fellow corrupter.

    All of them should have their US visas pulled and they would be taken down a nioch and stop being so uppity,

  5. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    “Now that we have the respected Sir David dropping his view that we need to seriously have a look at corruption maybe we will see some urgency from civil society. He also made the point that there is no political will to introduce integrity legislation.We are condemned or so it seems to follow the path of Jamaica and others because of the pigheadedness of our leaders.”
    There is another level of corruption and it is called intellectual/professional corruption. Now do you seriously expect any independent thinker to listen to one of the major political players in our country? Why do you assume that the gentleman is”respected”? Respected by whom-the same adherents of the system he helped spawn over the last plus forty years?
    He was there all along as a matter of fact he became the defacto legal guardian of the system. The program was good comedy.

  6. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    He is respected by the ‘system’. The same system that has been critical of BU and social media raising the issue of growing corruption in Barbados.

  7. Freedom Crier Avatar
    Freedom Crier

    DAVID YOUR HEART IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE .

    D. COMMIE IS A POLITICAL OPPORTUNIST WITH A SOCIALIST /COMMUNIST OBJECTIVE, WHO WILL USE ANY METHOD HE CAN TO CLIMB TO THE TOP…

    THE DEVIL IS AN EXPERT AT QUOTING THE SCRIPTURES TO THE CONVINCING OF MEN BY MIXING A LITTLE TRUTH WITH A WHOLE LOT OF WHAT IS NOT OBVIOUS TO THE TRAINED EYES AND EARS.

    DON’T BE FOOLED!

  8. chad99999 Avatar
    chad99999

    What is the point of identifying “corruption” as a problem if nothing can be done about it?
    Arithmetic democracy raises the leadership aspirations of people who do not have a penny to their name. Trade unions and idealistic volunteers can help some of them mobilize resources to launch election and re-election campaigns, but even the trade unions cannot usually provide enough of what is needed, and neither can volunteers.
    We should be thinking of new ways to finance the expression of legitimate political opinions and interests. That would not solve the problems of personal greed and megalomania, but it would address the most common reason politicians become “corrupt.”

  9. chad99999 Avatar
    chad99999

    Incidentally, Sir David is one of the freeloaders taking far more from the depleted Treasuries of small Caribbean islands than any man of integrity, decency and good conscience could possibly bring himself to do. He has been paid many hundreds of thousands of dollars by the governments of Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Grenada to carry out various investigations into official wrongdoing. A lucrative racket. He should be ashamed of himself for lining his pockets in this disgraceful way.

  10. David Avatar
    David

    @chad99999

    Your recommendation is to throw hands in the air?

    Why attck Simmon. How will you approach solve anything?

  11. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    I am with Chad on this, Simmons has information that can help with cleaning up the corruption in Barbados, he opened his mouth knowing that locally domiciled bajans will not call him out on his knowledge that can end the criminality practiced among politicians and government ministers, the dishonest lawyers, or the criminality practiced by the business people aka local and foreign whites, indians, syrians and lebanese….all crimes against taxpayers on the island

    ….and Simons did line his pockets investigating corruption in other islands, while participating in and allowing corruption, theft of land from the elderly, disenfranchisement of injured people and theft from policyholders by CGI’S Peter Harris and fraud to flourish in Barbados….he never said a word against any of it..not once, until now.

    The destruction of the supreme court by Simmons and others involved cannot be overlooked or forgotten.

    Well Well & Consequences August 16, 2016 at 12:07 PM #
    Who says Simmons plans to purge anything, maybe he is trying to purge the competition and in so doing make himself look good.

    When he calls for the resignation of the DPP, calls for Peter Harris’ arrest., name all the politicians in DBLP who he has knowledge of being corrupt, gives them names of the money launderers, drug dealers and gun runners of the minority business population and the politicians involved to international agencies so they can start issuing arrest warrants. ..

    ….then I will belive Simmons is not just trying to bullshit the electorate pre-elections, until then he only has credibility for idiots, pimps and yardfowls.

  12. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    Sir David,Sir Henry,Sir Bree,Sir Johnny,Sir Louis,Sir Maurice, are all respected heavy weights into the legal system that is Barbados.As it is written…..he that is without sin,pelt the first rock……

  13. David Avatar
    David

    @Gabriel

    Agree with you, we need those who have operated as insiders to lead the cleanup. Like Bushie stated Sir David appears way more intelligent than the current lot.

    >

  14. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    The pimp title holders with the most information about corruption should lead the charge in cleaning up that corruption, seeing as they all had a hand in corrupting the judiciary and the island by extension and made many thousands if dollars doing so,, as it now stands David Simmons have the most information, was in the lead as CJ helping corrupt everything…..he should lead the charge in helping with the cleaning up.

    Who the hell has time for asking for casting stones, use that same time and energy to clean up the corruption.

    As Usain Bolt said recently, time is nothing if not used wisely for a special moment.

    All the shit titles people like to stupidly respect, what’s the use of having them if ya cannot use them to clean up the corruption you enabled and condoned fir decades, ya can use the titles to create fraud and corruption, but cannot use the same titles to clean it up…why do ya even exist, just to tief…steupss.

  15. Violet C Beckles Avatar
    Violet C Beckles

    Well Well, I know from 1995 the role he played in the Massive land Fraud, If he wants to clean up , Violet Beckles Grandson will be more than happy to help him. As they have been working for him many years now, Keeping him close to his chest,

  16. c Avatar
    c

    http://i.imgur.com/ZzjzZ2U.jpg?1

  17. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Violet..when DLP ministers, pimps and yardfowls are not complaining about BLP ministers and their bribers being criminals and corrupt, BLP ministers pimps and yardfowls complain about DLP ministers and their bribers being criminals and corrupt…the tooing and froing has been going on for 50 years between both parasitic political parties…that is because they all KNOW about each others corrupt, criminal activities.

    Complaining about corruption will NOT end it.

    Spouting biblical bullshit will NOT end corruption and political criminal activities.

    Actions WILL end corruption.

    Exposing the criminals involved WILL end corruption.

    The crap Simmons is talking without actually doing anything WILL NOT end corruption….if his conscience is finally bothering him in his old age..he needs to do the right thing…karma is a bitch.

    Dumbville Inniss will one day get his….karma.

  18. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2016/08/16/sir-david-wants-action-to-speed-up-cases/

    Simmons has no shame….there are personal injury cases in the supreme court right now that David Simmons is advising CGI’s Peter Harris in to have them unnecessarily dragging through the court system, clogging the system, these cases can be ALL finished “wuth the stroke of a pen” but the lawyers wickedly and maliciously keep them going just so injured people do not get compensated…even if it means keeping the cases going fir 10 to 15 years.

    Why don’t Simmons tell Harris to stop bottlenecking the court system with his greed…..both these beasts are part of them problem in the judiciary.

  19. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    “Amused August 16, 2016 at 1:37 PM #
    @Gabriel. “I am demanding Sir David Simmonds be appointed sole commissioner to look into and expose all the dirty,rotten infelicities of the Froon cabinet and let the judges pronounce finality on all ‘o dem.”

    Are you serious? Man you need some serious meds bad. Simmons – the same who saw nothing wrong in going from AG to CJ without any break; the same who stacked the Bench with incompetent friends that have built of backlog of over 4,000 cases; the same man who landed us with an incompetent CCJ just so he could cap his career (and various pensions) by becoming a judge of it; the same man was was constructively dismissed. Etc., etc. And you expect Simmons (BLP politician) to be the sole commissioner to investigate solely one political party and not the other bunch of jokers as well?

    I fully endorse @David and @Old Baje, but @Well Well says it best. “….then I will belive Simmons is not just trying to bullshit the electorate pre-elections, until then he only has credibility for idiots, pimps and yardfowls.”

    For those who have doubts about the level of damage and case backlogs David Simmons and his lackeys have wrought on the judiciary….straight from the judiciary itself, only anither lawyer can explain fully what Simmons and his ilk have done….and are still doing to people on the island..

  20. Violet C Beckles Avatar
    Violet C Beckles

    David August 16, 2016 at 12:38 PM #

    @Gabriel

    Agree with you, we need those who have operated as insiders to lead the cleanup. Like Bushie stated Sir David appears way more intelligent than the current lot.@@@@

    Sir David seem to have instruction from higher up on a World level Masters to clean up , He may have made a deal and given time to correct what he knows of first hand,

    There is still a lot not said by me , and others looking and hoping to hear him speak before we do, This maybe the last time he have before the next steps are taken to those who rule this World in the wrong way, Rule of Law and amends is needed to save them.

  21. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    David August 16, 2016 at 12:38 PM #
    @Gabriel

    Agree with you, we need those who have operated as insiders to lead the cleanup. Like Bushie stated Sir David appears way more intelligent than the current lot
    ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
    To quote Prime Minister Stuart, “The Political Class looks after its own.” Sir David is still a member of that hallowed grouping.

  22. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2016/08/17/fix-it-2/

    Let’s see if any of the 2 governments do anything about fixing the judiciary now everyone knows it’s used as an election tool by both political parties to lie to the people….just another promise so they can be reelected…..just another opportunity to use lies, shamelessness and hypocrisy, as in David Simmons’ case….this piece of crap is helping Peter Harris clog up the supreme court and keeping it clogged for another few decades. …as we type.

  23. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    David Simmons has now publicly stated there is corruption and bribery among government officials and the minority business people, it cannot be the black business people because they are the ones being disenfranchised for decades while local and foreign whites, indians, lebanaese and syrians jump in front with the help of black government ministers, lawyers and politicians to hog everything, he should know, he has been part if it for decades, the DPP should know, his buddy Peter Harris has been in bed with both him and David Simmons for decades….desenfranching and locking up black bajans only.

    So which one of these corrupt people will do anything about ending the corruption.

    MoneyB. …as you keep saying, now it comes straight from the horse’s mouth.

  24. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2016/08/19/brathwaite-tells-sir-david-to-keep-his-advise-on-crime/

    Ha, ha…lol

    Here is Adriel Nitwit the attorney general who does not want to stop corruption on the island…telling off David Simmons.

    Now if David Simmons did not himself corrupt and destroy the judiciary, destroy hge peoole on the island by being in bed with the criminal Peter Harris for the last 20 years….he would be able to call all the names of DLP government ministers taking bribes from business people.

  25. pieceuhderockyeahright -INRI Avatar
    pieceuhderockyeahright -INRI

    Just to show you how illiterate all of the staff at Barbados Today are.

    The noun is advice not advise so it is technically impossible for the Nitwit Brathwaite to so advise

  26. pieceuhderockyeahright -INRI Avatar
    pieceuhderockyeahright -INRI

    Like many of the life shortening topics here we’re very afraid to speak to any parallels as such relate to past or pending policies of political persons to put permanently pause to people’s sojourn here in Barbados

    We sit and watch while certain people are permitted to do anything in this cuntry protected by our DPP, the so called justice system, the police, collusion between one’s lawyer and that of other litigants in your legal matters and other issues which, given their impact on our respective lives, are tantamount to someone putting a contract out on one’s life like this Jamaican politician

    Yet, because the blood does not flow so rapidly from entry wounds of bullets and knives or other mechanisms of death, the other than 25 commenters are quiet here because this is really where the shit his the fan.

    We can pontificate at length upwards of 500 comments on Trump and Hillary, Castro etc but when it comes to making one remark about the possibility of Barbados having its Night of the Long Knives WHEN OUR TROIKA COMES, we are curiously quiet lest it might be that, with the replacement of Nitwit Braffwit with Dale Smiley Teets the Marshall, that the new telecommunications amendments will secure our IPs and we, once known, will be marked for similar “executions ” either slow or not so slow.

    My buddy up north dun tell me that my pronouncements here mek me a marked man when Mugabe arrives but as I have hinted we are ALL marked men women or in betweeners, whether such is by purges, extirpation or the natural effluxion of time.

    I wonder where my colleagues in arms are? those who recently reminded me that “cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant only taste of death but once…” Of course they did not calculate the “second death, did they?”

  27. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Piece…I wonder how much longer any of them believe the corruption will continue to flourish…..it’s known that Peter Harris boasts nonstop that because of his bribery association with David Simmons, DPP Leacock and the police…he can never be arrested…according to him he can have other people arrested and whatever else he wants done with them…..because the politicians, DPP and police are all compromised, he can expose them at anytime…..so they are afraid of him.

    What Harris and his bribees dont understand yet is that some people are not afraid of him or those he bribes and that some people are just biding their time…..cause time longer than twine.

    How did they all get so vicious, nasty and bottomfeeding….hateful of their own people to please the lower class minority criminals.

  28. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Piece…I dont even acknowledge some commenters anymore, they only attack what they think is safe…in their ignorance…what can kill them and render generations of their offsprings paupers….they are afraid to comment on.

  29. Violet C Beckles Avatar
    Violet C Beckles

    David August 16, 2016 at 5:47 AM #

    Why do you have to wait for a crook to admit he/she a crook before you believe the people he/she crooked?

    Man , with so much wrongs in Barbados there have to a lot of crooks and their supporting crooks in may roles,

    A rapist must admit he raped before you believe a naked victim bleeding between their legs?

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