We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.Martin Luther King, Jr.
Fifty two years in the life of a country is short. In the coming days as the 30 of November approaches there will be a commentary about the what we have achieved as a country and the prospects for the future.
For the first time in our history the current state of things on the social and economic fronts appears bleak with the outlook uncertain. As a proud Barbadian it hurts like hell to look up from the hole we- an educated people- have dug for ourselves.
For years we have peered down our nose at Jamaica, Guyana and others in the region given the developmental challenges. As 2018 closes Barbados finds itself close to the bottom of the pile by the majority of measures on the scorecard. It really does hurt like hell.
As a country we boast that people are our most important resource. We have invested billions of the national budget in education since 1966. Instead of following a predictable path – that of becoming increasingly politically polarized – Barbadians have the opportunity to test the value of the investment.
As we continue to thrash about for our economic survival there are signs the social fabric is deteriorating with the appearance of heightened criminal activity and an inability to implement policies to care for the environment to name two strands of the many required to weave a durable social landscape.
Clearly the economic and decision making models we are using lack the utility to sustain a way of life we continue to aspire. Our lazy dependence on the fickle tourism and international business sectors and borrowing to support conspicuous consumption behaviour breaths life into BERT.
The concern of the blogmaster is the fact our people are locked into a belief that the austere policy initiatives being rolled out by BERT will stabilize the economy and serve as a springboard to usher in another era of milk and honey. The belief is being stoked by a parasitic class that serves at the pleasure of the political class- political scientists, yardfowls, media houses compromised by diminishing profits and a lazy academic and business class. The ability of Barbadians to unleash its full potential derived from the huge investment in education has been hijacked by educated Barbadians!
Where do we go from here?
Do we continue to tinker with the existing development model?
Do we have what it will take to introduce a new development model?
After six months of intently observing the roll out of the government’s policies there is growing cynicism by the blogmaster that as a people we lack the capacity to appreciate the perilous state of our affairs and what it will take for ALL stakeholders to contribute to the climb.
Is hope tangible or is it some nebulous pursuit like …
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