Posted as a comment to the A Legal Challenge to the HYATT HOTEL is Looming by DAVID COMISSIONG
My further reading of the relevant statutory instruments has confirmed that the Chief Town Planner is OBLIGATED to refer an application for planning permission that relates to beachfront property on the coast of Barbados to the relevant Minister of Government— the Prime Minister— for his decision. Thus, even though Maloney”s / Visions Develop Inc’s application may have been addressed to the Chief Town Planner, it is Prime Minister Stuart who has to consider it and make the decision.
The Town and Country Planning Act also stipulates that in so doing, Stuart HAS to refer to the country’s Physical Development Plan and to any other material or relevant circumstance.
The problem is though that the Physical Development Plan was last amended in 2003, and this “new” 2003 Plan was ratified in or about 2008— even though the Town and Country Planning Act stipulates that the Chief Town Planner HAS to carry out a survey of the Island at least once every 5 years, and HAS to submit a Report and any recommendations or proposals for amendment or additions to the Physical Development Plan to the Minister (the Prime Minister). The current and operative Barbados Physical Development Plan is thus a 2003 Plan !
In 2011, some 8 years after the current Physical Development Plan was established, the City of Bridgetown was designated a UNESCO world heritage site!
How is Stuart going to carry out his statutory duty with an outdated Physical Development Plan that has not factored in the UNESCO designation?
I have drafted a letter about all this to Stuart and will be delivering it to him tomorrow.
111 responses to “The Hyatt Hotel Project Requires Prime Minister Stuart’s Approval”
David August 25, 2016 at 5:39 AM #
Do you have any real figures showing the net profit tourism has brought to this country since 2008?
Artax August 24, 2016 at 11:43 PM #
“In 2014, the Stuart administration took the decision to compulsorily acquire the abandoned Sam Lordโs Castle property for the development of a branded resort.”
BUT, did they pay for it in cash or paper?
Donna August 25, 2016 at 9:37 AM #
โWorse than that Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther! No amount of money and position could compensate me for looking so incredibly stupid in front of 270,000 people!โ
@ Donna
An organization is usually reflective of its membership or the membership usually reflects the culture of the organization.
You were able to conclude this administration continues to make itself look โso incredibly stupid in front of 270,000 people,โ Iโm sure you would form a similar conclusion, If you were to analyse the contributions of the ACs, Alvin Cummins, Bajanfuhlife, et al.
Passing thru 10.23 pm Aug 23
One seat saved your sorry asses in 2013.One seat and a mysterious box that turned up in the wee hours of the morning in St Philip South which had gone to the BLP,then that box turned up.One effing seat,out of the blue and you boast?
Artax August 24, 2016 at 11:43 PM #
โIn 2014, the Stuart administration took the decision to compulsorily acquire the abandoned Sam Lordโs Castle property for the development of a branded resort.โ
DD…a better question is…did they pay for it at all, is Sam Lordโs Castle not part of the CLICO scam, now under judicial management, paid for by government. ..with taxpayer’s money, under that scam, does it not fall under an acquisition.
An even better question is, exactly what is the Chinese paying for…ya never know with the liars in parliament., who have no negotiation skills beyond SELLING OUT people and country.
@Artax
Chinese law: socialist property instead of individual private propery, no rule of law, no independent judiciary.
Surely, the other big projects also rely on forum shopping.
What are we doing with the 1,000 lawyers and the many judges in Barbados who are only trained in Bimshire customs?
@ Due Diligence
My comments were based on an article in which it was stated government compulsorily acquired the Sam Lordโs property for the Wyndhamm project. Hence, I have no idea if the property was paid for โin cash or paper.โ
Also, recall former Minister of Housing and Lands Michael Lashley stated, Sam Lordโs was being acquired โfor housing purposes, tourism development and beach access.โ
However, according to the Land Acquisition Act:
The operation of a hotel โper seโ is not defined in the Land Acquisition Act as a โpublic purposeโ for which land may be acquired compulsorily. Publication of the Section 3 Notice prescribed by the act is an invitation for public objection and representation in respect of the purpose which โappears to the Ministerโ to be the public purpose for which it is proposed that the land should be acquired.
Unless included in the Development Plan (amended) by the legislature as designated subject to compulsory acquisition to be completed i.e. paid for within five years of the approval of the Development Plan (Amended), the minister shall not approve the proposed compulsory acquisition for submission to Parliament. However, land may be acquired for an approved โpublic purposeโ by private treaty i.e. (without coercion of compulsory acquisition) with the written consent of the landowner and all interested persons entitled.
The actual acquisition of the Sam Lordโs property, in my opinion and based on my interpretation of the above information in the ACT, raises some concerns/questions as it relates to the validity of the property’s acquisition as a โpublic purpose.โ
However, I AM NOT A LAWYER (disclaimer), therefore, someone who is versed in law could perhaps explain for the benefit of BU.
Donna August 25, 2016 at 9:37 AM #
Here we go again! Total chaos! Permission has been granted. Permission hasnโt been granted. Construction will commence shortly. Is this government for real? Donโt they even care how stupid and bungling they appear? Worse than that Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther! No amount of money and position could compensate me for looking so incredibly stupid in front of 270,000 people!
This ‘gov’t’ has been every man for himself since 2009. No leadership, no common purpose.
Artax August 25, 2016 at 10:56 AM #
@ Due Diligence
Also, recall former Minister of Housing and Lands Michael Lashley stated, Sam Lordโs was being acquired โfor housing purposes, tourism development and beach access.โ
However, according to the Land Acquisition Act:
The operation of a hotel โper seโ is not defined in the Land Acquisition Act as a โpublic purposeโ for which land may be acquired compulsorily. Publication of the Section 3 Notice prescribed by the act is an invitation for public objection and representation in respect of the purpose which โappears to the Ministerโ to be the public purpose for which it is proposed that the land should be acquired.
Unless included in the Development Plan (amended) by the legislature as designated subject to compulsory acquisition to be completed i.e. paid for within five years of the approval of the Development Plan (Amended), the minister shall not approve the proposed compulsory acquisition for submission to Parliament. However, land may be acquired for an approved โpublic purposeโ by private treaty i.e. (without coercion of compulsory acquisition) with the written consent of the landowner and all interested persons entitled.
The actual acquisition of the Sam Lordโs property, in my opinion and based on my interpretation of the above information in the ACT, raises some concerns/questions as it relates to the validity of the propertyโs acquisition as a โpublic purpose.โ
Likewise the land at Waterford which is being leased to a private business which can never be ‘public purpose’. In that case the owner hasn’t yet been paid either.
But while you are at it can one of the blp yardfowls explained how under the blp govt land on bay street was used to secure a bank loan without full transparency
@ Due Diligence/WW&C
The following is an excerpt from page 47 of the DLPโs 2008 manifesto, under the sub-heading: โ22 Good Governance:โ
โThe DLP administrationโs attitude to ACCOUNTABILITY will be BASED on the UNDERSTANDING THAT AS SERVANTS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE THERE CAN BE NO SECRETS OR MATTERS TO BE HIDDEN FROM THE POPULATION. Consequently, a DLP administration will be ACCOUNTABLE for its ACTIONS and POLICIES and take the PUBLIC INTO ITS CONFIDENCE.โ
โUnder a DLP government, the people will be kept informed of what the government is doing on their behalf through:
โข Regular press briefings following meetings of the Cabinet of Barbados;
โข Press briefings by Ministries/Departments to inform Barbadians of major developments and changes;
โข The PUBLICATION of DETAILS of AGREEMENTS and CONTRACTS involving the government and its agencies;
โข Formal Ministerial statements at regular intervals on the progress of ONGOING PROGRAMMES and PROJECTS;โ
I do not believe Barbadians are against the development of Barbados or foreign direct investment. They are more concerned about the PERCEIVED LACK of TRANSPARENCY and the UNWILLINGNESS of this administrationโs to โtake the PUBLIC INTO ITS CONFIDENCEโ by publishing the โDETAILS of AGREEMENTS and CONTRACTS involving the government and its agencies.โ
Unfortunately, when anyone seeks to remind members of this administration of their commitment โAS SERVANTS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE,โ they are ACCUSED of being UNPATRIOTIC and operatives of the BLP.
The DLP seems to think they are beyond scrutiny.
That is what happens when ya are frauds and liars.
Here is how Leaders/ Politicians need to conduct themselves. Pols can adopt this thinking to truly LEAD the Nation.
Hereโs the conundrum: some of the most successful leaders in the world will readily admit that they arenโt any smarter, luckier, more talented, more beautiful, more privileged, or even more confident than their less successful peers.
So what is it that leads to their success?
Everyone wants to be more successful, so thereโs a lot of good research out there, and the research shows that the most successful leaders are:
Trusting and trustworthy.
Management theorist Simon Sinek suggests that great leaders make their employees/ populace feel secure and draw staffers into a circle of trust.
Emotionally connected to the work.
Author Robert Greene has interviewed and analyzed the lives of people he calls โmastersโ and discovered that the most successful leaders were emotionally connected to their work and their success. Success, he says, is often a result of resiliency and a love of what youโre doing.? love of country?
Sensitive and flexibile.
Researcher Jeffrey Pfeffer studied great leaders of history and noted that recognizing and being sensitive to the needs of others, and then being flexible enough to fit your position to match, were keys to successful leadership.
Creative.
Research shows that most people will do whatever is easy, but the most successful among us get creative to do what works best instead, and that is always the path to success. How do we ceate a more successful Bim?
Willing to fail.
Author Dan Schwabel notes that successful leaders have a willingness to fail โ in order to succeed. They donโt give up when faced with failure, but rather use it as a learning experience toward future success. Learning from the Failures of other people and Nation’s works even better.
Hard workers.
Author Richard St. John interviewed more than 500 successful people, and noted that all of them worked long hours. But they avoided burnout because they loved what they do (see No. 2). They would spend as much as 80% of their time doing work they loved, and only 20% of their time on necessary work they didnโt love. Focus on having the biggest impact.
Happy.
Harvard researcher Shawn Achor discovered that success doesnโt lead to happiness โ happiness leads to success. People who can raise their happiness level can also raise their level of success. It is helpful if you are NOT teefing de people’s $$$$$.
Early adopters.
Being first is expensive and stressful. But being an early adopter allows you to follow successful trends and the guy who starts second is actually more likely to win. Same for Nations.
10X thinkers. Astro Teller, head of Google X, said โItโs easier to make something 10 times better than to make something 10% better.โ Thatโs because you have to rethink everything from the ground up, rethink the entire process, and ignore the old rules.
Networkers.
The most successful leaders donโt go it alone; they tend to have a diverse network that they are connected to and whom they can connect. People with larger networks get better jobs, are more successful at those jobs, and are more creative. Pols who use this thinking consult with highly experienced people in diverse spheres.
The great thing about all of these traits is that you can work to improve them. Even researcher Shawn Achor has shown that he can train peopleโs brains to be happier.
So which of these traits will you choose to work on to make yourself a better, more successful leader?
@ ac
Donville woke up in a state of drunken stupor after his usual weekend sessions of drinking brandy at karaoke, to talk shiite. Imagine, he waited 20 years to mention the BLP used land on Bay Street as collateral to secure a loan, as justification for governmentโs conflicting shiite relative the Hyatt project.
He is essentially resorting to the usual political rhetoric: โWunnuh accusing we uh doing A, when 20 years ago wunnuh do AB.โ
If pressure was not brought to bear on the DEMS for their lack of transparency in these projects, Barbadians would not have known about the BLPโs โBay Street deal.โ
And Donville Inniss expects reasonable thinking Barbadians to take him seriously?
However, if Innissโ comments are indeed correct, combined with the mysteries surrounding DLP projects such as CAHILL, Sam Lordโs, Hyatt, BWA Headquarters, then the ACs have inadvertently confirmed a fact that many contributors to BU alluded to on a number of occasions.
Both BLP and DLP administrations are CORRUPT.
We are speaking of a 8 yearold manifesto which was written under the then leadership of the late David Thompson and much of its execution would have been relied upon by him having to administer much of its responsibilities and to deliver the promises made.
Needles to say his untimely death thwarted much of the decision making in some regards and aspects . However that being the case their are still many internal as welll as ongoing external factors that have played influential roles in slowing down or the prevention of govt acquiring some of the promises made in the manifesto which does not necessarily mean that govt have giving up hope in confronting or arresting the nation problems at the root core.
Was theire not a 2013 manifesto based on the same lies, you retards Thompson croaked in 2009, ACs…the government never changed, why should the 2008 manifesto change….just goes to show the intent of you frauds and liars is never to deliver on promises.
Am I understand or decode from the public pronouncements from David Commisiong that the chief town planner has recommended approval for Mark Maloney/Vision Development for the Hyatt without even a Environmental Impact Assessment?
If the chief town planner has indeed recommended approval without a condition being the completion of an EIA then he should be fired and investigated.
MoneyB. ..they are not going to do it, none of them, the politicians are too corrupt dishonest, lying, fraudulent, greedy and treacherous….they are vicious when they achive any status from the electorate.
Not that I care, but i could not remember if Thompson blew away in 2009-10.
….. goes to show the intent of you frauds and liars is never to deliver on promises.
Obviouly the intent from 2004 by DBLP was to defraud the electorate/taxpayers, policyholders…CLICO…destroy the environmet and give away the island to Clare Cowan to collect bribes..Cahill…..allow the minorities access to ALL government contracts going forward and disenfranchise the majority….to collect bribes…. .allow Maloney to break ALL the island’s laws so the ministers can collect bribes. …do everything that concerns the people with stealth and in secret….Hyatt etc…..o collect bribes….then you beasts should have put that in your 2004 and 2013 manifestos….instead of stabbing the people in their backs repeatedly. …while lying to them with a smile.
DLP = LIARS AND FRAUDS.
What a conundrum? We smooze lenders into believing that things are on the up and up, so they will lend more money, and government creates more taxpayer debt, so that the enfranchisement protocol can continue. What is needed is empowerment of citizens in order that they can make wise decisions without political interference.
WW&C
Do not forget the Del Mastros
As usual you spin dog sh.it. WW&C but does not have one iotta of evidence to back it up. Just like The ND website if your sh.it continues a day of reckoning would occur.
Those who have ears to hear let them hear.also one must be mindful that you WW&C was a daily and regular contributor to the Naked Departure blog talking the same shi..t
The point being that you have nestled yourself and found a comfort zone on BU from which you can hid and carry on more of the same allegations withhout having to show any proof even while you slam and denegrade with an essence of exquisite authority
DD…the list of corruption is growing so much I am losing track.
ACs…pimps, I dont have to show any proof, every time a government minister or Fruendel opens their mouths…out pops another lie that any man, woman or child in the street knows it’s a lie…that’s all the proof the people need to vote yall OUT.
BTW..since ya mentioned it, I heard on the NY grapevine that Naked Departure will come back for yall rougher than ever, seems that it’s still on ya’ll mind…there is no telling what she is findig out.
Do you think that I am the real problem. .you should be glad for me and BU…just wait.
The Hyatt Centric Hotel and the force ripe corrupt nature of that project makes it, hard as it is to be believe, even more corrupt that Cahill. Remember all of these corrupt deals with the DLP are coming from up North in St.Lucy and is Marky Mark Mamoney is really just a front for Edghill, Bjerkham, Simpson, Williams??
@ AC
You seriously presented the above shiite as a response?
Your comment: โHowever that being the case there are still many internal as well as ongoing external factors that have played influential roles in slowing down or the prevention of govt acquiring some of the promises,โ IS A POOR EXCUSE and SHOULD be DISMISSED as SHIITE.
By your response, you are essentially saying David Thompson WAS the ONLY MEMBER of the DLP RESPONSIBLE for DELIVERING the promises made. And after his death, NO OTHER MEMBER of the DLP was CAPABLE ENOUGH to take the INITIATIVE to complete those programmes?
Shiite, no wonder Barbados is in shiite street under these wild boys who AC, by their comments, has admitted since the other members were INCAPABLE of ACHIEVING the manifesto promises, they are also INCAPABLE of managing Barbados.
You are also implying that rather than IMMEDIATELY pursuing those policies, as determined by Thompson, for the BENEFIT of Barbadians, Stuart IMMEDIATELY PURSUED PERSONAL BENEFITS, by HASTILY MOVING into Illaro Court IMMEDIATELY after being APPOINTED as PM.
Additionally, the promises I always allude to, as identified in the 2008 manifesto, would not have taken any FUNDS to EXECUTE, including integrity legislation, ministers signing a code of conduct, and all the other policies proposed under โ22 Good Governanceโ on pages 46 to 48 of the said manifesto.
Art….ya see the idiots that are the ACs….they actually admitted that after Thompson’s death Fruendel & Co had absolutely no intention of adhering to the manifesto and delivering any of their lying promises preelection 2008, they were a part of and would have helped draft some if not all of the lying promises…after the ACs admitted all that…then they want to get vex with me, like I am the one typed the crap they posted. ..lol
I leave them to Naked Departure, Del Mastros and Maloney..lol
The contract of trust between gov’t and populace has been broken.
It cannot be rebuilt other than by another general election.
Until that day, nothing that the DLP administration attempts to do will be supported by the Bajan majority.
There is no way to get around this very simple fact.
David
There was never any doubt that the PM has the final say.
We don’t call him the Minister of Planning for nothing.
Very few things could happen in Barbados unless they have the blessings of this dictator.
All of these public consultations are mere window dressing, if they could be held.
But the PM and minister of planning does not have to listen to the people.
Any PM of Barbados is akin to God Almighty.
Money Brain August 25, 2016 at 11:33 AM #
In order for your above to stand a ghost of a chance of working the individual has first to feel secure about and within themselves…..only such a person can benefit from your script.
Vinni, exactly our leaders lead themselves to the trough to execute their Net Worth Enhancement Plan!!!
We have a tendency on this site to just criticise so why not tell them how it should work. This site needs to develop Solutions not just bitching!!!
Let’s hope this is the beginning of an honest debate about economic policy. But there is an elephant in the room – the enormous ignorance of opinion formers.
Government should introduce an honest and transparent policy of quantitative easing, based on infrastructural spending and the training of young people aged 16-24. Job creation is importing, and if these young people do not get in to the habit of getting up in the morning to go to work they will quickly become a lost generation.
We also need to develop a dynamic capital market and financial intermediation suitable for a small island-economy. We cannot continue to depend on wealthy local business people or investments from dubious foreign investors.
We also have to b honest with ourselves. The Barbados economy has been underperforming the regional and global economies for decades. From the dawn of civilisation to about 1820, the global economy grew by 1.4 times, from 1870 to 1913, it grew 1.7 times, from 1950 to 1973, 1.9 and from 1973 to 2003, 1.6 times.
As the late Eric Hobsbawn, the economic historian reminded us, the period from 1950-73 were the Golden Years, the period of the Marshall plan and when the main export from Barbados was its young people.
When Barbados became independent in 1966, an independent Singapore was a year old. It was a back water rejected even by Malaysia and used by Britain mainly to train its troop for guerrilla warfare.
From about that time to 2012, four years after the global banking crisis and the following recession, 800m people were living on US$1.90 a day, which misled Barbadians in to believing that the local economy was a middle ranking one.
I can even remember Ms Williams, the then governor of the central bank, talking nonsense about Barbados being a developed society.
Self-delusion was always a big part of the collective Barbadian self-image.
There is a big debate to be had about this development,compared with Barbados, but as a people we prefer political abuse and hyperbole, rather than rational and progressive debate.
How about this as an idea: we are addictive to tourism, inviting ordinary working people to Barbados when our people will serve them like domestics.
At the same time, we have a genuine world-class product, rum, which is not even discussed. How about that for economic leadership?
Pachy,
We are not convinced that we are unconvinced that you have located the location in the empire of the truism with the gravamen of that truism in the empire of its location within the truism of its context. Plus, all the ancient Israelites were black, really. It are a truism.
Boreman…..
Pachy,
Didn’t you find it easier being that idiot twat on BU whinging about dead joo-ish tourists on bajan beaches?
“Past Zone August 25, 2016 at 1:21 PM #
The Hyatt Centric Hotel and the force ripe corrupt nature of that project makes it, hard as it is to be believe, even more corrupt that Cahill. Remember all of these corrupt deals with the DLP are coming from up North in St.Lucy and is Marky Mark Mamoney is really just a front for Edghill, Bjerkham, Simpson, Williams??”
MoneyB. .if any of what you propose have a snowball’s chance in hell of happening, FIRST, they gotta get rid of ALL the parasites, some of whom been suckinฤฃ….since Barrow’s time…
Here are the recent additions….Maloney, Harris, Parris et al….nothing good will happen until they are all gone. ..no changes can happen until they are GONE,…no extortion, no bribing, no corruption.
B…tch you are a protege of Naked departure an0d expecting u to give or show proof of any of your salicious allegationss would be asking too much.
The proof of you having nothing of substance to verify lies in your long drawn out repititions and the exhausted amount of time you have dedicated to repeating them on B u
You are just as much a fraud as those you are accusing in your colorful mind.nothing much distinguishes you from them except thst you have been given free reign to say whatever flows from your mouth truth or false but be reminder your day of reckoning should soon come
ac
Is the PM going to give Mark Maloney et al the permission he seeks without the need for an EIA?
I have a question, does it cost more to get the PM’s permission if the permission is granted without the precondition of an EIA?
What’s the going rate?
But wait! Are the Hyatt people still even at the table? Surely by now they have realized the bunch of incompetent johnnies and tenth rate jokers they are dealing with and have lost all confidence in their ability to deliver. If I was a director of Hyatt International, I would have long since struck Barbados off the list of serious contenders for one of our hotels and be off looking for people who at the very least are capable of organizing an orgy in a brothel.
The PM should do what is in the best interest of the country and the citizenry as the purpose for which the govt was elected and not be deterred or steered wayward by influences and perceptions that are determined to undermine and disturb the progress of a nation.
This gov t was giving a second mandate and it is up to them to deliver and avoid being drawn into a contemptuous cess pool of political drivel
I am begining to sense that the backbone of this govt is begining to show signs of weakness and a not so desire to fight for that which is right for people and country coupled with doubt and dwindling self confidence. Not good.
@ ac
The PM should do what is in the best interest of the country and the citizenry …
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yuh mean …resign…?
..et tu AC?
@ the post at 3:50 PM
Oh Oh, thar be the chink we was did looking for
“…I am beginning to sense that the backbone of this govt is beginning to show signs of weakness and a not so desire to fight for that which is right for people and country coupled with doubt and dwindling self confidence. Not good…”
When she who is chief among the thieves can come on BU and voice those words then I am sure that even she now realizes that the voyage was not “precarious as she thought BUT THAT WE DUN GONE OVER THE PRECIPICE!! and on our way down to the rocks below.
ac
Is it dawning on you that your favoured DLP has decided to concentrate on ‘deals’ in the dying days rather to stand up, fight and do the hard work required to secure another term in office? THEY AIN’T GETTING NO MORE TERMS AND THEY WOULD BE LUCK IF THEM GET 4 SEATS IN THE NEXT ELECTION.
ac
The death knell for this DLP administration occurred when Mia Amor Mottley unmasked the PM by showing that he was the ‘chief dealer’ with the fact that the PM was the progenitor of the Cahill scam.
Cahill was first amjor ‘deal’ the people saw right through and could not stomach. God willing Hyatt will be the last.
WW
My offer to be Benevolent Dictator stands, would not take more than 18 months to place Bim on the correct, straight and narrow track. It will never happen otherwise.
@Hal Austin
The problem with quantitative easing (having the central bank pump new money into the economy) is that the government is already doing this to the point that many are warning against “printing too much money”.
Well Well & Consequences August 25, 2016 at 10:19 AM #
Artax August 24, 2016 at 11:43 PM #
โIn 2014, the Stuart administration took the decision to compulsorily acquire the abandoned Sam Lordโs Castle property for the development of a branded resort.โ
DDโฆa better question isโฆdid they pay for it at all, is Sam Lordโs Castle not part of the CLICO scam, now under judicial management, paid for by government. ..with taxpayerโs money, under that scam, does it not fall under an acquisition.@@@@
Sam Lords did not belong to the name above named , I was to be owned By CLICO , but even that was not true based on the History we heard and know of,
When you check the governments records on ‘compulsorily acquired’ you will not find no “clear title” nor History of payment of such place from the true owner,
https://www.facebook.com/alexmitchell.el/photos/pcb.681453232002490/681452508669229/?type=3&theater
This is a bit of a stretch, even for someone who’s already told us that “what’s interesting about the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela [redundant comma] is not what the coffee-coloured people are doing.”
In the case if Barbados, Mr. Austin, what the wearying user of tedious clichรฉ might call “the elephant in the room” is in fact the astonishing extent of barely functional literacy among such a substantial proportion of the younger population.
Your numbers are virtually meaningless in a world of intellectual honesty, and you have to be careful with Mr. Hobsbawn (note the spelling). He was a genius, of course, and unlike any living Bajan he wrote like an angel, but he did tend to think that the Russians won the Second World War.
Now, those coffee-coloured Venezuelan housewives streaming through the machine gun-toting robots of the border force in the, er, cough, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela can perhaps teach us a thing or two. My man Eric H. would have approved. You have read all that stuff, right, Mr Austin?
“At the same time, we have a genuine world-class product, rum, which is not even discussed. How about that for economic leadership?”
What is Hal talking about. I was at an LCBO in Toronto looking at a huge billboard advertising Mount Gay Rum from Barbados, only to find out months later that it’s now owned by Remy Martin…..in France…the owners sold it.