
URL of the Barbados Productively Council.
There are several definitions of the word PRODUCTIVITY, the one that fits the bill to support this message is “the effectiveness of productive effort, especially in industry, as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input”. Clearly if Barbados is to sustain a reasonable standard of living for our people we must adopt efficient processes to guarantee the quality of the production of goods and services for local, regional and international consumption.
A casual observation any day of the week in Barbados confirms that enough focus is not being directed at efficiently marshalling scarce resources (no this blog is not about the purchase of a luxury Mercedes Benz for the Prime Minister or is it two!). There are many visible examples, the long lines of people queuing from the early hours of the morning at the Licensing Authority in the Pine and the Barbados Immigration Office in Bridgetown, unemployed individuals who have to check-in at multiple locations to receive a ‘stamp’ on a document from a government department, inability to stagger opening hours to address traffic congestion and encourage flexibility to do business, a government apparatus that remains anchored to a paper based process to support how business is delivered.
Last year Minister Michael Lashley alerted the nation in the 2016 Estimates Debate that Barbados had allocated funds to implement an electronic system a la Bermuda to more efficiently manage the licensing of vehicles. With a general election rapidly approaching it is unlikely this initiative will be implemented in the current term.
For many years Minister Inniss has been touting the importance of improving business facilitation. Besides being able to download a few forms from the CAIPO website are we any closer to implementing egovernment in Barbados? Bear in mind Barbados has one of the highest Internet penetrations in the world. Given our high level of education it must be a disappointment that we have not been able to implement modern operating business models to drive productivity. We live in a world where newspapers are becoming obsolete by the minute as content migrate to the digital space. Many of us logon to websites to purchase our airline ticket consequently this has forced a change to how the traditional travel agency does business. This is 2017 and to read the Official Gazette and other important offiial documents one has to travel to the government printery on Bay Street to purchase copies. To pay monies owed to the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) the standard credit card is not accepted. As a key enabler of the Barbados space government must lead by example.
In most countries including the Caribbean, government agencies and officers own Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts to effectively disseminate information to the public. It was embarrassing to listen this week to the head official of the Meteorological Office urging Barbadians to listen to announcements from official sources i.e. via traditional media for legitimate weather reports. Why not open Twitter and Facebook accounts and post updates, social media subscribers would then be able to share ‘legitimate’ reports. Other government departments should heed the same advice.
One example of our token regard for productivity in Barbados is the Magistrates Court. A worker who has to appear in Magistrates Court to answer a routine traffic offense will experience the matter having to be rescheduled multiple times. Do the math as it relates to productivity for 200 Barbadians who appear at Magistrate Court at 9AM every day of the week to have 150 of that number having to be rescheduled. If we cannot efficiently manage routine processes to optimally drive national productivity how will we ever be able to move to the next level in in a competitive global market?
Up Dee Ting!
We do not go after tax defaulters or monies owed to govt and doing due dilligence on investors is unheard of e.g.
ESSEX PROPERTY MAN IN PATTAYA PROJECTS – CHARGED BY SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE
David Ames the boss of Harlequin Property and associated companies, who has allegedly defrauded victims out of several hundred million pounds has been charged with three counts of fraud.
http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2017/02/essex-property-man-in-pattaya-projects.html?m=1
Many others beside the above.
@The Blogmaster, one of the overarching debates re our all consuming web-based life is less security and privacy. This is a crucial aspect which must be carefully addressed.
I agree with your assessment that our Bajan facilities need to get more online particularly for matters like Met office reports, but frankly I am not dismayed that the Tax office is not credit card ready.
Unless that department can ensure that they web-architecture is as impenetrable as Fort Knox then they should hold strain.
As you highlighted the Bajan landscape is quite mature re payments online and related movement of data, authorizations and other ‘secure processes’…at least in the private sector.
Going back now 15-20 years systems were implemented which have been refined and developed to levels comparable to any first world systems/software….yet as you offer we continue to lag on government platforms.
Maybe our government is deeply concerned about the ongoing security threats and more importantly the related recurring high cost to safeguard the data….maybe!
As an indirect corollary, one of the frightening things about this ongoing Russia/US elections debacle is the fact that despite the superior skills and systems in that country they were upended and torn apart like a ‘cheap’ inferior unskilled set of bumpkins…at the proverbial weakest link.
So electronic voting systems are all good but beware!
Putin’s regime salivates. What a training platform for their FSB (KGB) hackers.
It is worth noting of course that in places like Russia although they have solid web-penetration they also have pervasive censorship of citizens and tighter control of their governmental systems.
Yes, we need to reduce those long lines to register anything and also the nonsensical process at traffic court some of which surely online interface would alleviate ; but we also need to manage our tax and other financial personal data carefully & securely online.
@Dee Word
What is your point? There is downside risk attached to any process especially financial. Didn’t they catch a BRA cashier at the GAIA the other day who was charged with steal thousands of dollars? Accepting a credit card is standard payment option in 2017. It would s all about managing risk and it can’t be rocket science for the government to work with reputable providers to implement a good system.
I am under the impression that we are reluctant to move towards greater efficiency because we seem comfortable being inefficient. What sense it makes bragging about our 99.9% literacy if we are going to operate in an illiterate way when it comes to technology. It is a known fact that certain systems in Barbados are deliberately kept in the stone ages because it is expedient to certain circles who benefit from it. The moment Barbados becomes efficient, the more it will expose and uncover a lot of things that people do not want to be efficient in and who prefer that such systems remain backwards.
Owen Arthur was on the right track when he conceived that public sector reform was a prerequisite for an efficient public sector to work in synergy with the private sector. We should be discussing one sector working to move Barbados forward instead of this tug war between private and public sectors. No need to repeats Jepter and Sinckler’s idiotic digs at the private sector.
Sunshine Sunny Shine June 24, 2017 at 11:02 AM #
You have hit the nail on the head.Inefficiency allows the political class and civil servants to maintain control over many operations to the detriment of the average citizen.
It is time for the BU tribe to eschew the unsupported, broad-gauge conspiracy theories of the Vincent Haynes crowd.
The political class doesn’t need paper-based workflows to maintain its control over state power. In fact, most cutting edge technologies offer expanded opportunities for the concentration of power in the hands of a tiny elite.
The most likely reasons for technological backwardness in Barbados and other the Caribbean islands are (a) our poverty — modern technologies almost always require large front-end outlays of investment capital — and (b) the low level of technical skills and technical ingenuity in the general population. We are a nation of proud but badly educated lawyers, historians and teachers. Hard to find competent mechanics, technicians and engineers, etc. But with most of our state resources in the hands of (unproductive) lawyers, change will come slowly, if at all.
Vincent Haynes
That is my thoughts as well. It is about controlling, keeping information in the dark so that it can be continuously manipulated or altered before it is presented verbally. The renewing of a driver’s license online is not a feat in rocket science. Making bill payments or any payments online is now done through some very advanced pieces of technology that utilise scanning gadgets provided by financial institutions that you place on the face of the computer screen to give you a new pin number each time you make a money transaction. It is becoming increasingly hard to hack bank account information unless you are fooled by someone posing as a bank official. Even then you have to provide three or four pieces of identification to authenticate the person telling you that they are a banking representative. So what the Barbados government is doing, and has done for a long time was to find fitting excuses as to why technology is taking so long to be implemented or stupid reasons as to why it cannot be applied at this time. To sum up, it is just the crappy way that we like to do business, as we are big on incoveniences and excuses.
Chad999999999999
The poverty excuse will not cut it when you have multimillion dollar investments in dubious projects. Besides, if you can invest 7 million dollars (short by 5 million for a million a month) in 12 months of independence celebrations, then you should be able to derive a strategic plan that says the government will invest 120 million over the next 5 years to upgrade all aspects of government operations towards an efficient e-government system.
As to the low level of skills and techical ingenuity, the only thing preventing Barbados from show casing that is our backwardness. Most of our great minds are living abroad.
Computerising operation processes can lead to a faster turn around but is it more efficient? How do we define efficiency? Does it deliver to the customer the quality of service he is expecting? Is it at lower cost?
dp Dribbler has outlined the downside risks which many of us find unacceptable , time wasting and costly. Many consumers can share similar experiences. So I agree with the caption that for most of us it is just another rallying call- a new grail to be pursued.
On a philosophical note is employment only about efficiency. As an economist it is also a mechanism for sharing the social goods and services produced in the Economy. If machines produce goods and services will this result in a more skewed distribution of income in favour of those who own and programme the computers/robots ?
@Bernard
You have cherrypicked what to rebut. We are attacking the fact that we have to compete against others that are efficiently integrating technology into their operating models to reduce their cost base. We are discussing being able to store and share information across government agencies to more efficiently deliver services of businesses and individuals. This is just to start the discussion,
@David, the point is rather simple. One dishonest BRA cashier cannot be equated to a hack of tax or other such sensitive data. She was caught and even if she had gotten away to US the impact would have been minimal in real terms….not so a hack!
No dispute. Of course the government can “work with reputable providers to implement a good system”.
Yet based on the extensive operational success in the private sector I can only surmise that government must be otherwise concerned about bringing key aspects of their operations on line.
And let’s not conflate the ‘simple’ technological tasks of a MET office tracking, timely copies of the local ‘Hansard’, updated copies of parliamentary debates or legislation, or even traffic court appointments online and DL renewals with online tax data.
I understand the stance taken by SSS and Vincent but for all practical purposes any government attempts to forestall our development by keeping systems in the stone age is obviously counterproductive and nonsensical.
The likely reason for this slow online adoption rests somewhere along the path noted by Chad45…concerns on investment and most importantly the ongoing concerns re system security/management.
Nothing else seems logical for the slow adoption.
Yes CC acceptance is de rigeur. So too hacks of millions of CC data from many big financial houses.
And right here in Bim, Bajans developed the Magna loyalty program many years ago which was expanded regionally and internationally into LatAM; it moved from paper-based to a very robust online rewards and ‘payment’ solution and is/was associated and linked to several financial providers.
The point again Mr Blogmaster is that of course we can do this stuff and do it really freaking well too…
So why is government lagging?
Can’t be just a desire to keep us in the stone ages or maintain their abject inefficiency!
Maybe an expert current practitioner can shed some better light.
@Dee Word
No you are wrong. The reason why government has dragged its feet to adopt technology has nothing to do with what you and Chad have suggested. Do you know that government has spent hundreds of thousands to rollout a national CHIP ID card and it has had to be shelved because of mismanagement? This is one example.
China and India are the only major countries I can think of that have effectively used backward, labour-intensive technologies to effectively create substantial wealth, and provide a foundation for the adoption of more modern, productive, capital-intensive technologies. But even these two countries have had only very limited successes with this approach. Elsewhere, low-technology strategies have almost always produced more poverty, misery and failure.
So whenever you hear an economist recommending low-technology options, and justifying his backward-facing approach with egalitarian arguments, watch out. These are the kinds of people who would have kept most of our people doing back-breaking jobs in the factory and the field.
LOL, at David. I will not to go there on that one. So I will give you the first and last word on that item.
I don’t know what is the fundamental or principal reason for the slow adoption but from long term experience in the fray I would simply say you are correct re mismanagement but so too the concern and issues re maintenance/security and proper cost effective upkeep against cyber warfare is also in the mix….And too a pinch – but just a pinch- of the SSS/Vincent focus!
I look forward to a current practitioner providing more authority.
@Dee Word
This link is for you.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/parliament-hit-by-cybersecurity-attack-a3572456.html
SSS
The price of arithmetic (one-(wo)man, one vote) democracy is that leaders have to provide ice cream and circus entertainment for the masses. Trinidad, Barbados, and Jamaica waste millions of dollars every year, but woe to the politician who tries to wind up the party. Carnival is indispensable.
But there is no money in the Treasury for IT projects.
dpD
David give you a typical example of of govt inertia/mis-management/inefficiency/call it what you will, the end result being back at square one with only two groups that will benefit….I rest my case ….QED.
Many more examples exist and all can be implemented with assistance from the diaspora if needs be as suggested by SSS.
Chad 45 creates his own illusions and is best left with them.
David
I have been told by employees of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission that the main impediment to the roll out of the CHIP ID card is the slothful attitude of the Minister of the Civil Service.
@Ping Pong
We all know this is a given. Imagine this man leads the country at a time when we need energy and dynamism to characterize our leadership. There are a few other reasons.
Chad99999 makes valid, relevant points in a succinct and often provocative manner that makes for interesting reading.
David
This inertia is the hallmark of the duoply as we recall the parking meters for Bridgetown and beginning of the crash of the judicial system which was to be computerised speeding up law courts and the taking of evidence by police.
Ping Pong
The most likely reasons for technological backwardness in Barbados and other the Caribbean islands are (a) our poverty — modern technologies almost always require large front-end outlays of investment capital — and (b) the low level of technical skills and technical ingenuity in the general population. We are a nation of proud but badly educated lawyers, historians and teachers. Hard to find competent mechanics, technicians and engineers, etc. But with most of our state resources in the hands of (unproductive) lawyers, change will come slowly, if at all.
………………………………………………………………………………………
What of the above is true?
Note SSS’ rebuttal citing the diaspora where our own Emtage resides and many more like him……we also have many tech savvy Bimmers on island.
Vincent
All of the above is true. SSS rebuttal is amusing at best. I am not aware of these “great minds” but what is needed is a certain level of technical expertise among the regular Joes and Janes. The low level of proficiency in STEM subjects by Bajan students I thought was well recognized.
@ David at 12 : 21 PM
Is there something wrong in cherry picking the aspects of an issue which I feel more competent to deal with? There was a spurt in the debate. Chad 9999 saw an opportunity to unload a broadside against the this opponent of the unequal distribution of wealth that could result from the roboticsization of production.
The fiber optics was introduced in the telecommunication sector. Getting on to the internet improved. What was not shared with the public was that if the electricity supply is interrupted the consumer cannot make or receive calls. Was the consumer made aware that his cost of electricity would increase since the system draws power from his domestic supply ?
Do all the households have access to computers to take part in the system of paying bills etc through the internet ? We are an aging population does this new modern system effectively serve the people who need these services ?
These are the issues which need to be addressed. Not this mantra that you must compete technologically by gaining more information. Information to do what? To create mischief and chaos?
My point ,just in case that you missed it ,is yes to improvement generating technology but not technology to keep up with so called competitors. The bottom line, cherry pick technology that advances the national objectives of Barbados.
@Bernard
The reason why subscribers cannot make calls if the power is interrupted is because the telecommunications companies were allowed to proceed without installing battery backups, it has noting to do with the rolling out fibre to the home. because there is a push to integrate technology it does not mean options cannot be made available to accommodate the 20% without access to the Internet. Further, improving systems by incorporating technology in the public service has to do with improving business/individual facilitation, nothing to do with the regular customer having to upgrade.
@David, re “We all know this is a given. Imagine this man leads the country at a time when we need energy and dynamism to characterize our leadership. There are a few other reasons.”
Don’t let us get to ‘trigger happy’ to lay blame on the sloth of the current ministerial incumbent. I would remind those here gathered that none other than Sen Goddard (businessman of repute, yes!) was the minister of record when the first serious chip ID and related DL card programs were proposed and tenders requested…way back when ‘Adam was a lad’!!!
Sloth indeed!
And re the 12:51 post. Can we surmise that we are some of the dumbest people on earth!
We built houses with secure locks and cloistered windows to protect our activities but we created this open medium called the internet and we put ALL we business out there in the open. Jus so!
Of course then we relied on one set of smart fellows like Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman (RSA) to place secure authentications locks and shutter our windows to protect our activities….
As if other very smart guys and gals were not going to try to break those locks and find a way to pull back our window blinds.
If I didn’t know better I would say that this is all a really, really bad game of gotcha…
So back to the link what’s new: today UK Parliament, yesterday Sony, Bank of America, Yahoo, Theoplaus, Millicent and Mary.. Hacking into a government or private enterprise is like day following night..
Let’s all go to the cloud, why not!
‘ Hide Your Assets and Disappear’ , ‘Bullet Proof, How to Live Hidden, Happy and Free’….old books that may be cool summer reading! LOLL.
@Dee Word
Goddard was not the prime minister! Also if you need a reminder he was responsible for rolling out the technology that was required to facilitate CWC2007. To repeat the point: to make the public service more efficient we are not advocating implementing leading edge technology. What about basic database management to be able to index files, generate reports, badges/IDs, file forms etc.
@Bernard
Let us locate the discussing with the public service for thee purpose of the argument. It is the public service that requires a level of funding by taxpayers to be as efficient as possible.
David
The duopoly is too embedded with our IT and energy providers to allow them to do the correct thing by insisting on battery backups for solar panels which will be placed on all roofs through an IADB loan/grant. …..this is where we need to be.
Personally , I think Barbados has made good progress technologically. This has been the major drawing card for the relocation of foreign businesses to Barbados. This process takes time and money and the major drivers of this process has to be the private sector. GOB can only provide access to the basic education at our schools and universities which is the platform on which this progress will be built. We have done well. I can say that with confidence. I know of what I write.
Ping Pong June 24, 2017 at 1:10 PM #
Forgive this Dinosaurs ignorance…..but the old man craves your indulgence to explain…. The low level of proficiency in STEM subjects by Bajan students I thought was well recognized……..the meaning of STEM….unless it is the wish that old foggies like me have no right in these conversations and should STFU.
Vincent
STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Please never associate me with vulgarisms like STFU.
Would it not be better if we simply continued to go outside and compete with the elements to use our outhouse pit latrines than sit in the comfort of our homes and enjoy our water bourne toilet facilities that only waste water when flushed? Should we not have continued with the typewriter and plenty of rubber or whiteout instead of using the modern day computer that corrects mistakes in a flash and offers us suggestions to our grammar and spelling mistakes? Our maybe we should go back to the days of lighting candles or oil torches to bring us light in the night instead of electricity. Or, why not let us reintroduce a new donkey cart instead of driving our fancy cars. We could incorporate in it a super poop scoop engine that collects all the bup to fuel a motor and an automatic lift-the-donkey elevator that activates the driving force into locomotion. My point is that the world has been moving forward, and everything that was difficult in the yesterday years is becoming simplified because a few great minds dare to venture into the unknown to make it known for the benefit of the world. A few households that do not have a computer is no excuse to say that we should not venture into making online transactions. Also, an ageing population is also no reason to say that modernisation of our ill-efficient systems would not serve in the best interest of these persons because of their ability to comprehend or understand. I am certain that none of the younger generation knows what a rod of potatoes is, but they still eat them.
Ping Pong June 24, 2017 at 2:19 PM #
Now that we have clarified certain issues…..let me once again disagree with you on your perception that Bimmers are deficient in STEM and make the point that what may be lacking on island can be found in the diaspora.
In todays Nation the case of 50 recently qualified Doctors not being able to find jobs in Bim and having to go and find work overseas at a cost of 18M taxpayers dollars to the UWI,which is now lost to us……I posit that many similar situations occurred in all the STEM areas with names like Wade,Sandiford,Carrington,Emtage springing to mind but the list is extensive as around 4M bimmers reside in the diaspora.
Sunshine Sunny Shine June 24, 2017 at 2:25 PM #
As you rightly pointed out this country has moved forward from the Donkey cart stage to the top of the line Benz for our worthy PM.
What we are not seeing is the continuous motion of movement we seem to have stagnated as far as laying down our vision for the next say 25 years that will galvanise the young and the old to greater heights.
….we are educating the youth but have no jobs for them.
….we are building hotels but have no staff or new visitors for them.
….we have killed farming and have no replacement for it and our fields that are going to ruin.
….we have destroyed manufacturing,note the many idle BIDC buildings lieing empty.
….Our banking,energy and communication sectors are in shambles
….All for a lack of implementation by the duopoly over the decades.
Ping Pong
Every country in the world has citizens with great minds. What a country does to nurture those minds, provide them with exposure, and back them financially is what makes the difference.
Ping Pong
What is your definition of a great mind? Is it Bill Gates, Steve Job, Albert Einstein, the Wright brothers, What?
Vincent
your 3:01 post seems to me to be evidence of a deficit of technical know how and ingenuity in almost every area of the economy. Your argument (which is shared by others) implies that we must look to a political “saviour” who will make everything right. I believe we get the duopoly we deserve.
Sunshine Sunny Shine
it was you that first used the term “great minds” and Vincent brought it to my attention as a rebuttal to Chad99999’s assertion that there is “the low level of technical skills and technical ingenuity in the general population”. I therefore merely acknowledge that I neither know what is meant by the term “great minds” nor it’s relevance to the observation that the GENERAL population may not be as tech savvy as required.
Ping Pong June 24, 2017 at 4:04 PM #
I believe we get the duopoly we deserve.
…………………………………………………………….
I agree with your above.
…..If you were to peruse my previous posts I have stated too many times to count that the the future of the country lies in strong community based organisations that can dictate to whoever is in power,hence your attributing a political saviour concept to me is quite disingenuous to say the least.
….both parties after 50 years are responsible for our present state of disarray.
Why do are we expecting change to ccome from only the political class?
What about the NGOs like the Unions, Youth groups, Women’s groups and others.
David
Correct…..those are groups I am talking about with a strong community base.
@ David 5:02 PM
Change comes in response to supply and demand factors. When new technology is released ,it generally creates its own demand; when there is a demand; supply usually rises to meet that demand. It is an interplay between these two forces that has driven innovation in this country.
Vincent
I am not aware that there are 4 million Bajans living abroad. That is nice to know. I believe the intellectually gifted will be augmented further by the medically trained, computer engineers,etc. who cannot find jobs in BARBADOS . Is this an indicator that there is a deficiency of STEM in Barbados? May be the youths are behaving rationally when they decide not to stress themselves out by learning complex subjects of mathematics ,chemistry,biology and physics. Just playing devil’s advocate. But is there a demand for careers based on STEM in Barbados?
Bernard
The answer is no…thanks to the lack of creativity for the last 50 years, hence a diaspora of 4M inclusive of progeny.
…..but we like it so…wukkups have started….all is well.
Vincent
Mea culpa
Pardon me.You had actually answered that question at 2 :48 PM.
Probably out of my depth here.
There are only about 20,000 UK residents who were born in Barbados, about 35,000 Barbados-born residents living in Canada, and about 65,000 US residents who were born in Barbados.
Chad
We are talking progeny…..linkage…..going back over a hundred years.
The report that the unemployment rate is 9% is to be applauded . Johnnie Commisiong frivolous court action stop the rate from dropping lower . Without the commie’s assness hundreds of workers would be on the job at the lot next to Miss Ram constructing the Hyatt. The poster child for yard fowls david BU props up commie’s brassbowl .
Anyone know when the case will be called. Doesn’t justice delayed is justice denied apply anymore. The judicial system leaves a lot to be desired. Why doesn’t Commisiong meet with the Venezuelans who reside in Bdos as they request. Is he afraid to meet with them as he makes excuses for the havoc in Caracas under Maduro’s moustache . Commisiong we plead with you to go live with Maduro in Caracas leave poor black people to live in peace.
VH
Where does the 4 million figure come from?
Chad
It stuck in my brain as 3M decades ago and I upped it to 4M……but will research the facts and let you know.
@Commentator June 24, 2017 at 8:50 PM “Why doesn’t Commisiong meet with the Venezuelans who reside in Bdos as they request. ”
But aren’t they anti-Mudoro activists?
@Chad99999 June 24, 2017 at 12:27 PM “The price of arithmetic (one-(wo)man, one vote) democracy is that leaders have to provide ice cream and circus entertainment for the masses.”
I don’t know about this.
Which came first the chicken or the egg?
I don’t know that the masses ask for ice cream(unlikely since most of us are lactose intolerant) and circus entertainment, rather I think that the politicians feel that they must provide these baubles. Most of us would rather that the politicians just get on with the job…and stop trying to stuff our faces with nonsense.
@David June 24, 2017 at 11:13 AM “Accepting a credit card is standard payment option in 2017.”
But dishonesty remains high while the security remains low. Didn’t some person or persons unknown hack the British Parliament today? The last 2 visits I made to the U.S. my credit card was compromised. I went to use it one night in Barbados to find that i could not, when I called my bank, they had shut it down not because of my non-payment but because somebody, not know to me was using it. Another Sunday morning I went to use my card only to discover that somebody in New Jersey was shopping at Walmart with my card. Please note that I have never visited New Jersey nor shopped at Walmart. Just last month Amazon.com debited my credit card for $100 USD for Amazon Prime. I have never asked for nor used Amazon Prime. Each time this nonsense happens it it is stressful when a vendor declines my transaction (even while a vendor in the U.S. is happily processing an illegitimate charge) and a hassle to have the bogus charges removed. As a result I have stopped doing business with U.S. merchants. If they cannot protect the integrity they do not deserve my business.
Oh for the good old days.
Modern electronic transactions has only made it easier for dishonest people to steal more, and to steal more widely.
@de pedantic Dribbler June 24, 2017 at 11:01 AM “Unless that department can ensure that they web-architecture is as impenetrable as Fort Knox then they should hold strain.”
If big U.S. companies cannot safeguard their customers data can you explain to me how the Barbados government will be able to do so?
A Simple Simon awaiting your response.
@Vincent Haynes June 24, 2017 at 1:41 PM “the meaning of STEM”
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
MIA on top.
“When respondents were asked “Which party will you support?”, the DLP garnered 11%, the lowest ever for a government in a public opinion poll, compared to 51% for the BLP, the highest recorded.”
Ping Pong
Where is the proof that there is a level of low and technical skills affecting the island? And, if there is, what part of Barbados long term development index has been contemplated to correct this? What Barbados lacks is the ability to innovate and create. The curriculum in schools does not cater to that. The government system and the private sector system are not interested in that. Hence, we do not have our share of inventors, innovators, and creators. A STEM that does not place research at the forefront to cross thresholds of difficulty towards discovery is simply a STEM contented with what is and what is usually accepted along with the lines of conventional thinking. The world’s best economies are fueled by minds who have passed the thresholds of difficulty and brought discovery into reality. What they have done is catapulted the demand for the new or improved advancements in technology (be it food, engineering, gadgets wallah). All the strong economies of the world are strong and remain strong because of the approaches they have used to utilised their various STEMs towards creativity, innovation, invention and design. At the forefront of their development is a high industrial climate, followed by their commitments to developing their agricultural mains. We have so many that have passed all the subjects in STEM. What have they done or doing at this moment?
I guess STEM is the new catchphrase. Implement STEM and then what? Insularity and fantasy will continue to be our downfall.
@ Enuff
STEM / straw …..
Same thing.
It is something that you grab at when you are drowning (in ignorance).
Hants if you were smart you would listen to the PM Stuart advise when he states that the only poll that matters is the General Election Poll
Recent election polls conducted proves that Stuart is right
Chad 99999999 sums it all up. Good points Well said
The rest can pick up bat and ball and go home
The one thing we all want in a job, we’re not getting: meaning.
A growing number of people think their job is useless. Time to rethink the meaning of work
The value of your work should not be determined by your paycheck, but by the amount of happiness you spread and the amount of meaning you give.
weforum.org
http://wef.ch/2sY18dF
When ever we start any discussion on productivity we go straight to the bottom and talk about the persons weeding the streets. This is the default smokescreen.
We need to appreciate that productivity is about building efficient processes, nurturing innovation and creativity etc all leading to a culture that is self sustaining.
Key statistics on diaspora from Barbados – Barbados – Connecting with …
http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/…/key-statistics-on-diaspora-from-barbados_9789264177949-gr...
Oct 5, 2012 – Key statistics on diaspora from Barbados You do not have access to this content. OECD. DOI: 10.1787/9789264177949-graph40-en.
Then add progeny to the mix from over a century ago….you are upto 3-4M.
Have a look at Trinidad’s meteorological service website. There are connections to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube channels. Why cant our local equivalent do the same to counter false reports in social media instead of issuing asinine statements like asking Barbadians to check traditional media for official reports?
http://www.metoffice.gov.tt
Thought this matter was fixed!
https://www.barbadostoday.bb/2017/06/30/sewage-stink-returns-to-south-coast/
David
When has this govt ever fixed anything?
@ David
When has this govt ever fixed anything?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
De monument…..
There is no point in even talking about productivity in Barbados.
It is a non-starter bout here.
In order to be productive, one needs to have a positive image of them self; a meaningful purpose in life; and to have refined some inherent talent to a point where it reflects creativity.
Barbados has become the very antithesis of these attributes.
We have become mendicant lackies whose sole purpose in life seems to revolve around transient pleasures involving base animalistic pleasures like wukking up, sex, violence, and lewdness…. the archetypical brass bowl….
The Productivity Council is the second most idiotic waste of resources in our history – exceeded only by the Public Sector Reform ministry.
These were created by Arthur in order to be able to say that he was ‘doing something’ about public sector reform, and national productivity.
NISE is running in a comfortable third position…..another Arthur creation.
‘Productivity’ is about contributing MORE than you consume in a society or community. It is an ATTITUDE of community centric altruism. We have cultivated a national attitude of trying to consume as much as is legally possible – while contributing as little as we can get away with…
This is the albino-centric selfishness that pervades our society.
…It is why we BORROW to the max.
…It s why we never seem able to GIVE …or even to LEND to others.
In order to address the concern of productivity, we would need to effect a fundamental CHANGE on national mindset….. and given the thinking of our LEADERS – from political, ..to business, …to sport, ….and PARTICULARLY to church ….. This AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN!!
So…. what productivity what?!?
Lotta shiite.
Trinidad has always been ahead of Barbados in some key areas such as encouraging foreign investment including publishing a booklet in the 80’s with a step by step guide to the process,the target market,concessions and the likely outcome.Furthermore,there are many tourism related facilities that outshine many in Barbados.Unfortunately even with its own airline, tourism in Trinidad is not a priority,while in Tobago which is more like Barbados minus our infrastructure,tourism is not very well organized and importantly the twin island state has a reputation for being one of the most unfriendly in the region to visitors. Both islands are affected by the apparent ease with which a life is lost to violence including visitors on Tobago.They are ahead of many with their current legislative acts of oversight of those in public life.
Bushie
Yuh shotting…..man dese days yuh wakin up pun de rite side reglah……yuh mussee got a new missy.
P.S. ….the monument was an erection not a fix…..big difference….need brain power to fix.
Overheard on Broad Street yesterday.
Vendor:Who say Freundel Stuart is not a leader.Man,I hear on VOB he leading a delegation to the annual heads of government meeting in Grenada.
Buyer:You serious?You call that leading?
Vendor:For me that is Stuart idea of leading and it is mine too.
Buyer: Are you a Dem?
Vendor:Bred and born in Culloden Road.
Buyer:Man,you just lost a sale.Lawd have its mercy.We in real trouble.