The pace at which Singapore has achieved so-called first world status- in a generation- has ensured mention in case studies to be found in any management volume of standing. By every account it is a well managed country directed by a relevant strategic plan, disciplined society, adequate workforce with required skill sets to execute plans, routine enforcement of laws etc. You get the picture. It is a country serious about effectively and efficiently directing its resources.
One cannot recognize Singapore’s success without the mention of the benevolent dictator Lee Kuan Yew whose approach to governing is labelled authoritarian pragmatism. Whether a benevolent or malevolent dictator Lee Kuan Yew was able to operate above the strictures of a democracy therefore charting a course for Singapore from a personal vision. What we are seeing today is the legacy effect of his tenure from 1959 to 1990.
The preamble serves to introduce Rwanda which has been dubbed the Singapore of Africa. The average person will remember Rwanda for the genocide that occurred against the Tutsi group a short 25 years ago. It is reported that 800, 000 million were killed. The question that immediately springs to mind is how in a relatively short time Rwanda was able to undergo a transformation to be the Singapore of Africa.
“If you hear a voice within you saying ‘you are not a painter’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”
– Vincent Van Gogh
Enter former military leader Paul Kasgame. What is common is that both Singapore and Rwanda have been led by ‘dictators’. Both countries have scarified on civil liberties in order to advance the country on the economic prosperity index. The observation one can make is the key role transportation has played in the transformation to support being a significant business hub player.
Watch the following video to appreciate why we have to lift our game. The facile approach to policy formulation and execution will not significantly move the needle to achieve a model for success necessary to sustain our people by being competitive in a muy competitive world. The 65k question – what should be Barbados’ model for success.
The video is a short 13 minutes which aligns with the attention span of many on the blog.
“The question that immediately springs to mind is how in a relatively short time Rwanda was able to undergo a transformation to be the Singapore of Africa..”
don’t know about all the other accusations leveled at him, but the dude had a purpose, a vision, a focus for his PEOPLE and COUNTRY and he IMPLEMENTED…he REMOVED ALL COLONIAL SLAVE LAWS OFF THE STATUTE BOOKS, which by the way is STRANGLING other African countries…….i am presuming he figured out that democracy is just a pretty renamed and relabeled word for COLONIZATION. reupped…..and focused instead on the WELLBEING, happiness and ECONOMIC ADVANCEMENT OF BLACK/AFRICAN PEOPLE…who elected him, he did the job for which his people pay him…i can only imagine how many sell out negros he had to battle over a 20 year period…there is no end to those imps and pimps, walking cadavers..
all of the above is a tall bridge too far for CORRUPT SMALL ISLAND GOVERNMENTS who love to pimp for, collude with, rob their people and take bribes from racists and thieves like themselves…they are enablers, not fit for purpose.
i remember when this administration got elected by the people, just in case they think they elected themselves or that the minority class of criminals elected them, Rwanda was one of the African countries, can’t remember if they visited but was on their time table of taxpayer funded whirlwind tours, and in no time at all ya heard Morocco..a slave country, which is more their low class style, was in their wicked minds the land of opportunity for them.
dude in Kigali must not have been corrupt Enuff for what they had planned, which all turned to shit anyway, they could have connected with the dude in Rwanda instead, too late now…they are way too famous on the Continent and everywhere else for that.
It seems to me that all the CARIBBEAN GOVERNMENTS are doing is TALKING about the success of Singapore.
They have been TALKING about Singapore for DECADES..
they can achieve the same success without the strong arm dictator tactics, no need to in docile communities…but when they think of ALL THE BRIBES they will be missing out on, they prefer to SINK economically, all in the name of self-aggrandizement.
David
Have you gone to Singapore. There’s more to this story than popularly reported.
@Pacha
Please enlighten us. Have a very close associates who visited on observer team.
I wish people would stop comparing Barbados to Singapore as it is pointless. Forget the fancy buildings and clean streets and talk about what is practically a military srate, where chewing gum could land you in jail.
There you do as told and forget talk of unions. The country is a disciplined focus country with one objective and it’s to make money. Their per capita is one of the highest in the world and people live well. Of course that is providing you willing to do as told and not question the system.
My point is there success came at a price and I can’t see west Indians making those sacrifices. Also here we have this thing called politics Where the leaders say they want change, but of course they can’t upset things too much. Again not a problem the leader of Singapore has either.
So please stop comparing us cause bajan politicians will never risk the vote if radical change was the reason as did Singapore, where winning an election was never a concern.
@John A
You would have noted the question asked at the end of the blog?
What is the best governance/system of government to sustain success for Barbados. It is obvious to the blogmaster our current setup needs massive overhaul.
There is an appreciation that countries like Singapore, Rwanda fashioned an approach based on the uniqueness/nuance of the country.
@ John A
You are on fire. You are so tolerant of nonsense, which I admire. The Confucian cultures are prepared to trade democracy for economic progress. Are we?
@John A a few years ago banks were lending unemployed Barbadians money to buy costumes in order to take part in Crop Over. We are talking about discipline.
@ Hal
The level of discipline Singapore demands is not one that I see bajans bending to as they will lose too man rights, including the right of not coming work on birthdays etc. LOL
Don’t look at the success of Singapore and China without also looking at the price the people paid in terms of personal liberties.
@John A
You have entered a circular argument. Discipline is required. The reason Singapore and Rwanda have been able to transform in a relatively short time is because civil liberties have had to be curtailed. How do we demand the kind of disciple from our people given a way of living. If we cannot solve this issue all of the questions you repeatedly post are not solvable.
@ David
I agree with you 100% that we need to change our system, but i can tell you all the politicians talk they will never introduce a Singapore system as long as elections are held every few years and the risk of being voted out exist.
@ David
And there in lies the problem does the chicken come first or does the egg?
This where Pacha enters the discussion to shout #REVOLUTION.
https://webmail.excite.com/1759002b/gds/popout.html
Who tell you that these were right????
They might to get where they wanted to get. The people paid a terrible price especially the poor. Rwanda went thru a big massacre led by the same the same PRESIDENT.
Hundreds of thousands people were slaughtered. Is this what we are hoping for Barbados????
Rwanda is a one party state. ‘ According to Human Rights Watch, these laws effectively make Rwanda a one-party state, as “under the guise of preventing another genocide, the government displays a marked intolerance of the most basic forms of dissent”.[83] Amnesty International is also critical; in its 2014/15 report, Amnesty said that laws against inciting insurrection or trouble among the population had been used to imprison people “for the legitimate exercise of their rights to freedom of association or of expression”.[84]
‘………..but also allege interference in the judicial system by members of the government, such as the politically motivated appointment of judges, misuse of prosecutorial power, and pressure on judges to make particular decisions’
THIS IS WHAT WE REALLY WANT FOR BARBADOS???????
A dictatorship??????
A despot ruling Barbados?????
That is what you are calling for?????
Did you take the time to read the blog? If you did the comment does not address the inquiry.
@Carson
In Rwanda it was not a massacre, it was genocide, ethnic genocide. And this brain dead president wants us to form relations with these people, who murdered nearly a million of their own people. What do you think they will do to Bajans.
Many people in Barbados have a romantic view of Africans, but those of use who live with them everyday do not. Why do you think the majority of black people in the Tory party are Africans? They should talk more to returnees.
But, according to our self-obsessed president, Rwandans want to learn to play cricket. Idiot.
*clickbait
“The video is a short 13 minutes which aligns with the attention span of many on the blog.”
Murdah. I suspect it is 10min too long.
HAL
i knew that you would see it in the right way.
Why do we need to be led by a DESPOT?????
It boggles my mind. Why do we want to follow these animals????? This sounds like something THE WHITE BAJANS and INDIANS of Barbados would want.
What is sure is you and your vintage will never be the force for change.
@ David
What is going to be Intersting going forward is that covid will force change because goverment will have serious revenue shortfalls to deal with. This will force them to make changes they will not want to make with elections closing in. The hotel sector as we know it will change as will the employment opportunities. It therefore can not be business as usual anymore. We can play with it as we are doing now for a few months and chalk up a massive deficit by year end, or we can implement radical change. The problem we have that Singapore does not is that we are 2 years from an election roughly so don’t look for no radical change. That’s why i say we will never be a Singapore as we do not have a dictatorships in the islands that could risk to say ” to hell with the vote these measures will be implemented regardless.”
That my friend is the price you pay for free elections. Now mind you I am not saying we can’t do better, of course we can. Look at places like Switzerland and you will see that growth and wealth does not only have to come in the form of a dictatorship.
@John A
What your comment reinforces from the blog is that the system of governing the country is not calibrated to deliver results. We know this and unless we are able to learn from other countries that have forced through transformational change we will continue to be mediocre. We have the examples of Singapore and Rwanda where authoritarian methods were/are used. What can be our equivalent? We know our culture does not have the appetite for the authortarian. While we ponder economic atrophy will continue.
Boy, my attention span is so short today I haven’t even pressed play.
The title alone turns me off. How about making Barbados the best Barbados it can be? I don’t want us to be a Singapore. These comparisons are irritating.
@David
Other countries have done well without forcing dictatorship down their people’s throats.
Norway is another good example where reform has been implemented without the need for a dictatorship. First we have to stop playing with the economy and implement changes to take into account the revenue shortfall. After the crash in 2008 countries that restructured are still holding their own even with the post covid economy, for example Germany. The countries that did not restructure after 2008 in any real way are the ones that will catch their tail today. It calls for an open discussion with the populace and the sharing with them of our reality. For example have you heard anyone in the MOF speak to what the deficit is at the end of September here in Bim? No and don’t look to have that discussion either, as what will follow 2 years before elections will not be seen as positive.
That is our reality. Last elections Sinkyuh kept printing so as to get to elections, let’s see if this group will Try to keep the civil service as is and in so doing run a massive deficit between now and elections as well.
After all 6 and half dozen is the same thing ain’t it?
@John A
Tell us what Norway has done that we can use as a case study for what it will take to undertake transformation. As a people we tend to latch to the problem and become turnoff by the effort needed to go to the root. Our culture will not embrace authoritarian rule. Our taste is to be addicted to foreign. We know from the national conversations that COVID 19 has not shifted from the old narratives. You are correct that with a general election on the horizon the BLP will do what political parties do by padding popularity even if it collides with national imperatives.
Maybe if Mottley wins in 2023 she can be the dictator some here believe her to be.
@ John A
Look closer at home. The Jamaicans beat us hands down.
Chukka Caribbean Adventures (Barbados) Ltd will be managing Harrison’s Cave from December 1.
This was confirmed by Caves of Barbados Ltd yesterday evening in a media statement, hours after a meeting was held with staff to inform them of the new development.
Chukka Caribbean Adventures is Jamaica’s largest nature adventure tour operator. The company has multiple locations in Jamaica as well as operations in Turks & Caicos, Belize and the Dominican Republic.
In the statement, Caves of Barbados noted that Chukka was selected out of four bids.
“Chukka was chosen based on the high quality of their submission which offered a strong proposal for investment and development of the attraction. The selection of a shortlisted bid was then followed by months of negotiation of a contract led by a Government-appointed college of negotiators.” ..(Quote)
Jamaica beat us using what measure? Certainly not by the yardstick of quality of society.
“Paul Kagame, (born October 1957, Rwanda), Rwandan military leader and politician, who, as leader of the Rwandan Patriot Front, defeated Hutu extremist forces to end the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In 2000 he became president of Rwanda.
Neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage in the war, and the Rwandan government led by President Juvénal Habyarimana signed the Arusha Accords with the RPF on 4 August 1993. Many historians argue that a genocide against the Tutsi had been planned for at least a year”
Carson…i don’t have the full story about the president at the time of the massacre, but i think you have the wrong president. these dudes seemed to have ended the massacre which mean they were not in power at the time…….stop panicking like a little girl…yall have so much mouth on a blog…but ya hear a little blood shed and ya ready to run…
@David
Norway and others have simply laid out for it’s people that life could not go on after 2008 as normal. It reviewed its state operations and tightened up on wastage and efficiency. Basically they ensured the state got what was owed it and preached efficiency as the only option.
In the meantime we forgave $400M in vat owed to the state and have a tax system with more holes in it that a big hole strainer. Talking about it don’t make it happen, we are grossly inefficient when it comes to state entities. You believe in either of the countries I mentioned you could have a NIS scheme that has not filed audited financials for years? You think they would tolerate such blatant nonesence?
We talk nuff and pontificate but are piss poor at enforcement and implementing any real change. We got away with it in the pre covid economy but will not going forward.
They only got 2 ways to make money legally that I know of. You can either spend less or generate more, there is no 3 option. Whether it is a private business or a goverment the same rules apply. So either spend less or close your revenue leakage from all sources. Dem ain’t no door number 3 to look behind neither.
Why is that Barbados has to like Singapore or Rwanda????
Why cant Barbados be like Barbados????
Being ruled by a DESPOT is out of the question. Especially one who wants to legalize same sex marriages. Who does nothing for BLACK PEOPLE. But full of a lot of flowery speeches, but no action to to satisfy the 97% of the population of Barbados.
Only know their worth every 5 years when it is voting time, then see you the next 5 years.
The WHITE BAJANS AND INDIANS who make 3% of our population and control the Barbados Labour Party must really think that we are idiots.
……….”.but also allege interference in the judicial system by members of the government, such as the politically motivated appointment of judges, misuse of prosecutorial power, and pressure on judges to make particular decisions”
hypocrite…who interfers in the judiciary more than yall low life ministers, did they not just allow a white sexual predator from UK to assault a black woman on the island and intefered in the case, letting him walk free instead of paying for his crime…what about all the other cases…..what about the recent accusations about 2 judges involved in the theft of an estate with the deceased body disappearing from the hospital and his disappearing bank accounts..
.who just installed the two judges….who better than you would know??
yall memories way too short.
@Hal
Yes I heard that yesterday but have to tell you i am disappointed it didn’t go to a local company. Having said that without seeing the tenders to comment further would only be a matter of speculation.
The Jamaicans have been forced to restructure after all their devaluations. You got to remember many young bajans that came along in the days or milk and honey under Arthur have never known hardship. This post covid reality is going to be a wakeup call for many.
Am sure over the years i heard news that those responsible for the masscre were up in the Haig, where a bunch of yall should be yaselves.
@HA
you must know it was rumoured for months that Chukka was taking over. So much so, one local bidder I am aware of, was hesitant to bid.
Based on the financials for the Caves laid before Parliament in recent months, where they revealed the annual GRANTS from the GoB exceeded the annual revenue, what will be interesting is the nitty gritty of the contract.
Better it be another Caricom entity, other than a local white or Indian operator?
I don’t get it????
The Black people pay their fair share of taxes. The WHITE BAJANS and INDIANS don’t.
Yet the Govt,. any govt., does go them and lock up some for misappropriating these taxes. That is why Barbados is always short of tax money.
@John
Fiscal discipline accepted, what else?
There are many developing/poor countries in the world and some of them are Singapore’s neighbours. They no doubt would like to emulate Singapore’s economic success. One would think if there was a magic bullet to achieve same, they would have already used it.
@ John A
What I find disappointing is that young, intelligent Barbadians seem not to understand business. I can give you a story, but will save the details. Sometime ago a young Barbadian with a very good business proposal emailed me and asked if I could find him/her some funding.
S/he was in luck. The first person I approached was very keen. I then asked the person to send me a business plan and three years’ financials. S/he refused.
S/he obviously thought that just pitching an idea was good enough for getting money. I put it down to the business culture and the banks’ failure to encourage a business environment.
I will repeat another story I have told here before. A few years ago I was invited by the ZR owners to attend a meeting in the Port with government officials.
During the meeting, the ZR owners complained about the high insurance rates they had to pay; I suggested that they should self-insure – either by establishing their own motor insurance company, reinsure for third party, fire and theft, and either enter a contract with a local garage or open their own.
A elderly guy on the government’s side, who clearly lived in Britain, almost choked: “You can’t do that”, he screamed. He did not say why not.
The other way I suggested was that they should pool their insurance and negotiate with a single provider. In that way they would carry a lot of clout.
I expected at the very least that they would ask to discuss the matter further. If I remember correctly, the ZR owners did not even say thanks to me. If I got that wrong I must apologise. They were happier discussing uniforms.
I was happy to spend the rest of the meeting talking to an old school mate who was one of the government’s officers. But the issue remains: why do ZR owners pay such high premiums (premia) to those motor insurers?
@ David.
That and Implementation are our 2 biggest shortfalls. We have a garrison of rules but have always had difficulty implementing them. Whether it is the ZRS or the vat frauds, we fail in policing our legislation. Stop and think on this for a minute the same year we forgave $500M in vat payments we raised $400M in New taxation! What sort of economic madness was that?
Now look at when we abolished license fees for cars and put the tax on at the pump how the state benefited. Vat is the fairest tax as if you don’t want it you can leave the item there. Problem is we don’t use the tool properly and enforce it. So why when the outstanding vat receipts were at $100M we didn’t move on the defaulters then? Why we had to let it reach $500M then to forgive them?
Talk talk talk dat is we specialty.
@John A
We need a dictator? We
@ David.
No thank you! We need our leaders though to embrace change and the reality of the post covid economy. We have at least 2 years to survive on lower revenue numbers so take wunna head out the sand and start implementing change. Also stop talking about what happened in 2019, we will not see those levels of tourism and economic activity for a while so stop dwelling on it. The 40,000 unemployed will not find work in the tourism sector either in the short to medium term so let that pipe dream go also.
What are the plans therefore for FX saving enterprises? What are we doing with agriculture and alternative energy as both can ease the demand for FX. Do we really need to import 40 brands of bottle water or should we just set up one plant locally for example? In other words what are we doing to help ourselves as a people rely less on FX imports?
@JohnA
door #3 is DEBT. Once $$$ are flowing into locals pockets, they could care less about source. Revenue less expenses is a long outdated measure. You need only observe that from 2006-2018, the GoB ran a deficit in each year. In 2 of those years, ’13 & ’14 it exceeded a billion dollars. All a’we still alive?
However we spin it, significant change must be led in an uncompromising unaccomadating way.
Canadian Lt. -Gen. Roméo Dallaire led the UN forces in Rwanda, and his warnings to the world about the violence fell on deaf ears. Within 100 days in 1994, supporters of the Hutu-majority government killed about 800,000 people, and Dallaire returned to Canada with PTSD and psychological scars he bears to this day.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/the-sunday-edition-for-april-7-2019-1.5086008/my-soul-is-still-in-rwanda-25-years-after-the-genocide-rom%C3%A9o-dallaire-still-grapples-with-guilt-1.5086075#:~:text=Canadian%20Lt.,he%20bears%20to%20this%20day.
@ Northern
That is true but how many defaults you feel we could risk to call when the day of reckoning come next time? We went to the lenders once already and told them to swallow some debt we owe. That can’t happen again or we will never be able to go to an international lender to borrow a cent. Plus remember the debt restructuring was pre covid before the revenue ship the SS Tourism get cat straddle by covid. So how we plan now to deal with what we still got to pay with revenue down 20% at least on 2019 and 2018? We going back now and hire WO and beg for more forgiveness?
I keep saying our leaders need to have a ” come to jesus” discussion with the populace and make them understand the doo doo we in.
“The Importance Of Discipline
Singaporeans place a lot of importance on discipline, and corporal punishment is widely accepted.
Caning is not only used to punish criminals but also as a disciplinary measure in schools, the military, and in the domestic scene. Do not be surprised to find canes sold in grocery stores. They usually cost around 50 Singapore cents and are made of thin rattan with a plastic hook at the end to serve as the handle.
They are made for the sole purpose of parental caning. Make sure you respect the local culture and adhere to their strict standards of proper behavior.”
@Hants
We have to mirror the model with a home grown flavour.
John A,
Just last week I told David that this is an opportune time to level with Barbadians. They know we cannot go on this way. They aren’t stupid. He asked me how that worked for Bree St. John. Now he talks of discipline and dictatorships.
Bree St.John did not have the pandemic and the consequent global economic collapse to excuse him. Bree St. John had tourists coming in.
You think Bajans are stupid?
Bajans are addicted to consumption behaviour. Read the recent Stability Report to see the exponential growth in household deb, credit card accounts for 300 milliont. During a pandemic with all the uncertainty new motor cars are being sold, customs department is very busy clearing packages from ordered from Amazon and other sellers. Barbadians will not curb their behaviour based on self discipline. Listen to the political rhetoric in the SGN platform.
http://www.centralbank.org.bb/news/article/10054/household-debt-is-up-what-does-that-mean-for-financial-stability
In addition: what legitimacy does a 23 member Cabinet have to beseech Barbadians to hold strain? Change must be led in words through inspiration, action through efficient execution and last not least a crystal clear plan.
Hants
Why you don’t buy a cane and use it on yourself?????
‘Change must be led in words through inspiration, action through efficient execution and last not least a crystal clear plan.’
That’s what the Barbados Labour Party Govt. don’t have.
They only know to do the bidding of people who don’t look like us .
Steuspe
The first order of business for barbados to become like Singapore is to find an AG who has first hand Knoweldge of crime and violence
While Marshall snooze or take a vacation robberies are going on at schools
Well we know how Singapore deals with criminals
yes Bim need to change. and of course we can do it. we were once a discipline society notwithstanding what lurked beneath and with the advent of TV and unscrupulous politicians we are what we are today- want every American consumer item with mauby money. we are now corrupt and corruptible. the govt that could convince the public it is the least corrupted gets elected. but they all are at some point.
Singapore model is based on non corruption in govt affairs. that is where it started and then all the so called discipline sprang form there. can we do that. i dont know.
the Rwandan model is a modern day version of the Singapore model. despite Kagame’s role in the genocide Rwanda seems to be working.
what can we take from both of them-
stamp out govt corruption by politicians and the civil service
stamp out crime by modernising the police service, the judiciary and engaging young people
generally talk to Bim about crime and how it can cripple a society
the same goes for talking about healthy eating
ensure the politicians and citizens understand how government works
improve the work ethic in govt across the board
ensure that the civil service is manned by people who understand and can demonstrably carry out its functions
modernise the civil service making it easier to do interact with them
make it easy to do business in Bim without compromising laws and values
heavily invest in citizenry
ensure a vibrant honest business sector which is the engine of any successful country
get the black community involved in business ventures
ensure that fair regulations are set and understood that govern business to business and business to people interface
concentrate on sciences, agriculture, robotics and other vocational studies in schools
restore person to person civility among our citizens
i am sure there are a lot more that can be added. i am equally sure that none of, or very few of these items will be tackled by any politician because they will not generate votes.
so in other words unless we get ourselves a successful politician or party to be honest with bajans about the myriad of issues we face and how to address them or get a dictator who can do so we are headed for failure and it will come fast
Never met so many cowards and sissies who can only type shite…….the idea is to USE THE MODEL used in Rwanda….to REBUILD THE ECONOMY to benefit the BLACK MAJORITY….to rebuild INFRASTRUCTURE….TO REMOVE SLAVE LAWS OFF THE STATUTE BOOKS, to make it easier for BLACK PEOPLE to do business, build generational wealth in their own country seeing as they are the ONES WHO FUND IT……..am told Rwanda is one of easiest places to do business on the Continent because the GOVERNMENT made it that way, they don’t allow a bunch shitehound corrupt local and foreign whites, indians, syrians to dictate who shouild do business nor INSIST that the majority population CANNOT, NOR PASS on generational wealth to their beneficiaries as has happened in Barbados for the last 60 years…..
not interested in the social model used to contain and control the people as used in Singapore……….docile societies like Barbados DO NOT NEED dictatorial strong arm tactics….
The only ones who will need to be CONTROLLED and CONTAINED on the island are the corrupt, racist, tiefing crimiinal minorities in order to accomplish all of the above, they are the problem and willl ALWAYS BE THE PROBLEM on the island if strong arm tactics are not used against them TO PUT THEM IN THEIR PLACE…., what they have going in their favor is that they can tell the ministers lawyers etc on the island that…yall are just as thieving and corrupt as us, so ya cant tell us ANYTHING….and that is the REAL PROBLEM currently confronting the majority population in Barbados…i know everyone will want to AVOID THAT TOPIC.
i await the shite talk..
@JohnA
don’t worry about the lenders, they will take care of themselves. Note the Chinese don’t lend $$$, they provide financing (and labour and materials) secured by the asset they finance. Default = they become the new asset owners. We love ‘home grown’ ideas, recall your buddy Sinkyuh told people how we would borrow from ourselves. All good, once the lender ‘buys into’ whatever is offered. The days of no collateral Sovereign loans, based on the Sovereign’s ability to tax its populace, is on ‘life support’. The “easy” loans from the international bodies will become ‘less easy’.
I figure the GoB can skin the locals likely twice more before that game is ovah.
@ David BU
Change must also come relative to politicians no longer being able to engage in ‘buying votes.’ Whether it is distributing cash, jobs, mobile phones, tables, computers, iPads, flat-screen television sets or paying utility bills …………. I’m sure we’re all aware politicians from both BLP and DLP have, at some point in time, ‘bought votes.’
We had a situation where, immediately after the 2013 general elections, then PM Stuart and AG Brathwaite said they witnessed instances of ‘vote buying’……….. but didn’t do anything thereafter, to address the issue.
I suspect ‘a lot of’ vote buying went on during the 2018 general elections, because candidates from both political parties were fighting desperately for survival………… either ‘recapture’ their seat or win a seat.
@Artax
So many things we have to get right. Greene mentioned we must have a system where there is zero tolerance for corruption.
Under Singapore laws criminals would not be allowed to run rampant on the street
Question why is the AG silent on the high level of crime affecting barbados
This is the second school for the year that has been affected by criminal activity
The worse part that nobody seems to care any longer
People attention focus on the mundane like fake debates controlled by govt and fake a..ss journalist
Sh.ite like this would never happen in Singapore
Barbados needs to get its house in impeccable order and stop star gazzing in Singapore backyard
Our problems are ours fix them
@Northern
Wuhloss you mean more taxes in my old tail again and again!
More electric buses and garbage trucks
Meanwhile bridgetown is looking like a dump
Come to think like the prison bajans will be holding the financIal bag for the repayment of those trucks and buses
@ David BU
That’s true.
Since 1979 or 1980, for example, successive administrations and the authorities have been confronted with the challenging problems caused by mini-bus and ZR operators. How do we attempt to bring some level of discipline to the PSV sector, especially when, in several cases, the owners are influential people, police officers, politicians and their friends?
What about illegal vendors who, in addition to squatters, do not have any regard for the law? We’re ‘talking’ about Singapore, where one is faced with hefty fines for littering. I could only imagine the amount of fines those coconut vendors on the highway would incur.
Barbadian society is one in which it’s the norm to ‘drink and drive.’ The penalties for committing ‘drinking and driving’ offences in Singapore are extremely high. So too are the fines for sneezing, spiting, urinating and chewing gum in public. I’ve read the “chewing gum penalty fines for first-time convictions may range up to $100,000, a prison sentence of up to two years, or both. Plus, penalties rise with each subsequent conviction.”
“In October 2014, the Supreme Court of Singapore upheld the government’s ban on male homosexuality, effectively ruling that gay men must stay ‘in-the-closet’ or face a two year prison term. These laws were designed to defend what Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described as traditional Singaporean family values.”
“Driving is a privilege in Singapore, something most can’t afford, with only 1.56 cars per every ten people. The government wants to discourage drivers, so along with expensive import duties and tariffs, a car comes with a mandatory 50% down payment and a 10 year license which starts at $45,000 USD.”
@Artax
This is true, we have the ongoing PAC sessions of the Transport Board which have exposed what successive governments have done, mismanage public funds. We have many years of auditor general reports that expose malfeasance, incompetence and mismanagement. There is enough evidence to support the conclusion successive governments have lacked the will to address. What is disturbing is that the average Bajan seems happy to tolerate it. Governance issues on this blog hardly get the activity compared to the usual political blogs where partisans are happy to throw punches at the other.
@ Hal
@ John A
@ Donna
The best economic news we have had for sometime is the expected increase in sugar cane production due to the high rainfall levels.
It was Errol Barrow who started this Singapore nonsense. We are constantly ignoring basic facts and being led into discussions by people who hear stuff and start running with it. Old people used to say: As monkey see monkey do.
The only salvation for the entire Caribbean is to develop CARICOM. I make bold to say that there are no current leaders now to drive such an undertaking as rapidly needed.
We don’t need any dictatorship; we need leaders who put people before poor rakey politics.
Where there is no vision people talk pure crap and we all perish.
There is a reason why after all the castigation @ Hal is slowly being understood. Truth hurts.
@William
We know what we need. The problem is that the people we need are not motivated to be involved in political live. The policia class attracts the bottom feeders.
For the upmteem time, the blog is not about the search for a dictator for Barbados. If you read with understanding, you will discern the reference identified the discipline enforced under that style of managing the country compared to the lassez faire approach in most western democracies. The video posted was very clear to point out it was not positioning an authoritarian system above a democracy. The takeaway is that transformation must occur and underpinning that transformation requires decisive and sustained actions fueled by a relevant plan.
“Come to think like the prison bajans will be holding the financIal bag for the repayment of those trucks and buses.”
It has been proven you’re spreading ‘fake news,’ each time you brought that propaganda to BU. Yet, you still continue with your folly.
You need to desist from lying just to score cheap political points.
This should make some very interesting reading for you, especially #2, which becomes applicable to you each time you come to BU spreading false information about ‘government’s’ response to COVID-19…… as well as #s 5 and 6.
Singapore has POFMA (Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act), which POFMA prohibits the communication of false statements of fact in Singapore.
Under POFMA, a “false statement of fact” is defined as a false or misleading statement which a reasonable person would consider to be a representation of fact.
In particular, under section 7 of the POFMA, a person must not commit any acts, whether in or outside of Singapore, to communicate a statement which that person knows or has reason to believe that it is a falsehood, and the communication of that falsehood in Singapore is likely to:
Individuals in breach of section 7 will be liable to a fine up to S$50,000 and/or a term of imprisonment up to 5 years. For non-individuals (e.g. online media platforms run by tech companies), a fine of up to $S500,000 will be imposed.
So who will be paying for the buses and garbage trucks
Care to tell
@ David
Kindly go and read or listen to the Throne Speech. Where was the the creativity; the innovation. Listen to all the bankrupt ideas coming from the mouth of those who lead no philosophy or ideology.
Look at the DLP , after the deserved thrashing it’s refusing to be bold and innovative just no ideology or philosophy.
Borrow and spend economics.
Since the information about the SSA trucks and TB’s electric buses has been in the public domain for months, I’ll advise you to do the necessary research.
We were reminded you’re much more intelligent than several of us on BU. Therefore, looking for the information should be an extremely simple task for you.
The modern Bajans are too undisciplined a people to ever become even close to Singapore.
The opportunity to be even better than Singapore, in socio-economic terms, has long passed since the early 1990’s.
There are too many laws on the book which are rarely or never enforced.
When Bajans are able to remove the detritus taken from the drains and gutters- and then placed on the pavements and in roads- within 48 hours like the old-time Bajan workers with only their donkey carts and shovels, then you guys can talk about comparing Bim to a former fishing village turned into a British trading and colonial outpost in South East Asia.
What information .a lot of double speak and both hands telling different stories
Like the prison the public would never know the truth about the cost of those buses and garbage trucks until this govt is thrown out of office
So far transparent truth on those buses and trucks are fully lacking
“Transparent truth on those buses and trucks are fully lacking,” because that’s what you’re hoping and forcing yourself to believe, so you’ll have something to criticize Mottley for.
What you could do, is present examples of the “a lot of double speak and both hands telling different stories.” without your usual generalized statements
But, then again, as I mentioned previously, information on the trucks and buses is in the public domain for the public’s perusal. So, whatever you believe is actually unimportant.
@Artax October 21, 2020 7:35 PM “Barbadian society is one in which it’s the norm to ‘drink and drive.’ The penalties for committing ‘drinking and driving’ offences in Singapore are extremely high. So too are the fines for sneezing, spiting, urinating and chewing gum in public.?
If there is drinking and driving on Bajan roads I would bet anything that is largely Bajan men who do so.
If there is peeing in public, I would bet anything that it is SOLELY Bajan men who do so.
I honestly don’t see much public spitting, although long ago and far away i was horrified to see my Macau born and raised colleague spit in the communal KITCHEN sink at work. Wunna know izza a Bajan and that I NEVER used that sink again. I have NEVER seen a Bajan spit in the communal kitchen sink at work.
Chewing gum in public is ok, as long as people remember to do it with their mouths shut, and to wrap the expired gum in a piece of paper before placing it is a bin.
How do we self discipline?
We self discipline by disciplining our selves. The government cannot do it for us. As regards the filthy habit of peeing in public, by age 3 my children already knew the drill, pee before you leave home. pee before you leave your grandparents home, pee before you leave school, pee before you leave your friends home, pee before you leave the babysitter’s home, pee before you leave the daycare center, pee before you leave church. I’ve seen a Bajan woman pee in public just once, and she was a lady with a serious permanent polio related disability.
Most 5 year old girls know and obey the pissing rules. But I have seen senior MALE officials pee in public. A sight that i did not really want to see. And by senior I mean Permanent Secretary grade, or Deputy Head of this and that. All male. Can’t hold their wee-wee, even though 5 year old girls can.
@Greene October 21, 2020 5:45 PM “the same goes for talking about healthy eating”
Politicians must not only talk the talk, they must also walk the walk.
Haven’t you noticed how many of our politicians then and now are big and fat and whopsi?
And it would help if they literally walked too. Outside of an election campaign when last have you seen a politician walking anywhere? How many go for regular walks or regular jogs or or regular bike rides or regular swims?
@ Cuhdear BajanOctober 21, 2020 10:33 PM
“Most 5 year old girls know and obey the pissing rules. But I have seen senior MALE officials pee in public. A sight that i did not really want to see. And by senior I mean Permanent Secretary grade, or Deputy Head of this and that. All male. Can’t hold their wee-wee, even though 5 year old girls can.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It seems that you know rather little about the male biological and anatomical makeup, don’t you, simple Simone? But then again you might see it merely as a source of painful pleasure for you dolls.
Males have prostates which, like some uteruses, tend to enlarge overtime.
The difference is that in males they tend to press against the bladder next to which they are located; hence the proclivity to urinate at most inappropriate of occasions.
A condition which the old folks of your parents’ generation used to call ‘Stricture’.
Maybe those senior “socially-respectable” guys you saw exposing their willies wanted to show off and to impress you with the size of the weapon they were packing.
Or maybe they were just ordinary Bajan ‘pissy bulls and ram-goats’ dressed up like big men of false respectability.
Ever had six pounds of baby and a couple more of fluid in an enlarged womb pressing on your bladder?
I guess the Miller does not know much about the pregnant female’s anatomy.
When that happened to me I did not pee in public.
Besides, many of the men I see peeing are too young for enlarged prostrates more like PISSING DRUNK.
DO THE OLD MEN OF SINGAPORE NOT HAVE ENLARGED PROSTATES?
Perhaps you guys need to find out why not.
Always an excuse for nasty behaviour. Like the BLUE BALLS EXCUSE.
Prostates not prostrates.
@ Donna October 21, 2020 11:53 PM
Maybe those (young) guys exposing themselves in your ‘view’ were trying to impress with their heavy artillery; just like peacocks strutting their plumage
or the bower bird building a nest to impress a plain jane.
After all, men are mere dogs of zoological interests pissing against a tree to mark their territory.
https://youtu.be/qv6EQnpdLHM
@ William
You call for greater CARICOM unity. However, the second-rate politicians we have fear losing power and influence, and as a result the people suffer. Just look at the EU/OECD blacklisting. That alone tells you everything.
Simple fact: a properly constituted CARICOM will punch the weight of the Nordic countries – easily. We have the natural resources, a well educated work force, agricultural land and enormous potential.
But our politicians will not even harmonise their regulatory and fiscal policies. We must pressure them from the bottom up. How often do politicians campaigning talk about regional unity? I rest my case.
Here is an example: two police officers from Barbados have just gone to Trinidad to assist in an investigation and had to be sworn in. Why?
@David
“How do we demand the kind of disciple from our people given a way of living”
The answer is SIMPLE…..
INITIAL DEVALUATION TO 5:1, STAND BACK AND WATCH THE CHANGE’s OCCUR, TOUGH LOVE FOR ALL, PARTICULARITY THE CORRUPT AND INEFFICIENT GOVERNMENT SYSTEM.
AFTER 18 MONTHS TOTALLY FLOAT THE CURRENCY.
Results will not be PRETTY, however it will be effective and make the necessary populace attitude changes that are desperately needed.
I know that the Blogmaster will come back with his usual “what about the poor people” and the CRIERS will be out in force, it’s time to take ACTION and stop all the BULLSHIT.
@Wily
The blogmaster is not an oracle, just a person with an opinion with a view from his prism like you.
Just in case the small island shitehounds and fake leaders get any ideas…
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-police-violence-protesters-nigeria-20201021-itqsiv4z4rfjxcvhjmxkfyqby4-story.html#nt=pf-single%20chain~new-left-chain~recommender~automated~lower-headline-stack~ITQSIV4Z4RFJXCVHJMXKFYQBY4~2~6~5~5~art%20yes
Gives us quite an insight into the SELL OUT black mind, Nigeria is clearly the resouce wealthiest African country on the Continent, yet they have learned NOTHING after 400 years of SLAVERY and colonization..they are still slaves ready to kill each other and sell out until they themselves are killed by their masters…or dragged off to the Hague for human rights abuses.
the sell out nig*a mind never learns anything other than to sell out….
Although never having visited Singapore and from what I have read and seen in videos, I believe Singapore to be a very admirable country with many features to be emulated by Barbados. That said, can we name one Singaporean or product (other than Singapore Airways) that compares in terms of world wide brand recognition with say Rihanna, Bob Marley, Usain Bolt, Garfield Sobers, Brian Lara, Mount Gay Rum, Sandals, Angostura Bitters, Blue Mountain coffee, Tia Maria, Derek Walcott, V.S. Naipaul, Arthur Lewis, the Mighty Sparrow and the list goes on? We need to be careful to recognise the significant accomplishments of the Caribbean people before we lose them to others while we wallow in self deprecating angst.
The best in class airline is often highlighted because of the critical role it plays to support business facilitation.
Nope! These men knew too well I wouldn’t be interested in anyone who behaved like that. In those days I was known as “dah great girl”.
Comparing Singapore to Barbados…a wise man once said “location, location location is one of the main keys to success.
The Suez Canal had a major influence on the success of Singapore. Check a map and see what happened to trading routes with the opening of the Suez Canal.
It also has a free floating/trading dollar that has a value established by trading against a basket of currencies. It also enjoys a free trade agreement with the USA. Without these 3 things Singapore would not remain competitive.
Barbados is unlikely to become another Singapore but it can be the best in class tourist destination. The keys will be keeping it competitive, keeping it safe and keeping it clean. Currencies in source markets have taken major declines over the last 10 years making US$ based currency destinations expensive. That is a major hurdle to overcome. The Barbados dollar has grown by about 35% in value against many of the countries that are major suppliers of tourists. On the other hand the Brazlian real has declined by abut 400%, Jet planes and the internet give consumers a vast choice.
Apart from sun, sea and smiling locals, what is unique about Barbadian tourism?
David
We have done some Singaporean things since 2018 but the intelligentsia on BU knows so much, they know nothing. By the way, who owns Chukka? But then again, the know it all from London inferred that because the Hutus slaughtered the Tutsis, forming a relationship with Rwanda would lead to them doing worse to Bajans. No historical, social or economic context, just bilge. Interestingly, the same know it all lives in a country with a history of civil war, racism, classism and religious bigotry. How long ago the Irish were “slaughtering” English people? I am sure the BNP or MET is more likely to “slaughter” him than Rwandans running rampage in Bdos.
In Rwanda it was not a massacre, it was genocide, ethnic genocide. And this brain dead president wants us to form relations with these people, who murdered nearly a million of their own people. What do you think they will do to Bajans.
Many people in Barbados have a romantic view of Africans, but those of use who live with them everyday do not. Why do you think the majority of black people in the Tory party are Africans? They should talk more to returnees.
But, according to our self-obsessed president, Rwandans want to learn to play cricket. Idiot….(Quote)
@Miller October 21, 2020 11:14 PM “Males have prostates which, like some uteruses, tend to enlarge overtime. The difference is that in males they tend to press against the bladder next to which they are located; hence the proclivity to urinate at most inappropriate of occasions.”
Most women are pregnant at some time. Then their uteruses enlarge to accommodate one baby, or two or three. These infants also press against the bladder. Yet I have never seena pregnant Bajan woman pee ‘longside the road.
My words above still stand. ALWAYS pee BEFORE you leave wherever you are.
End of the Infants A lesson.
Barbados, unlike Singapore, has remained a banana republic, because we did not have a tough leader and abolished colonial punishments (death penalty, flogging).
Just look at the murder rate in Jamaica and Singapore before and after independence: Under British rule no difference, after that Jamaica became the most criminal country in the world and Singapore the safest. The citizens of Singapore owe all this to their authoritarian leader and the whip.
Now we have such a leader, our Prime Minister Mia Mottley, and a one-party democracy. Like Singapore. If Parliament now pays homage to the whip, we will overtake Singapore in 10 years!
Rwandan government minister will participate in the upcoming economic forum.
http://www.centralbank.org.bb/news/article/10042/regional-and-international-government-officials-to-talk-digital-transformation
@Hal Austin October 22, 2020 11:30 AM “Apart from sun, sea and smiling locals, what is unique about Barbadian tourism?”
Sand?
Food?
And don’t tell me i don’t know food. I have eaten in restaurants, upscale, down-home, fast food, pubs, rum-shops supermarket counters, office cafeterias in London, New York, Paris and dozens of other cities in the world.
I like food. No. I LOVE food.
Barbados’ chefs and mixologists can hold their own, and can exceed those in any of the world’s great cities.
Who doesn’t like good food while on vacation?
And don’t talk about the rum…
@Tron October 22, 2020 6:52 PM “Barbados, unlike Singapore, has remained a banana republic, because we did not have a tough leader and abolished colonial punishments (death penalty, flogging)”
David. You can’t drop some hard lashes in Tron? I think that his parents did not beat him enough.
@Hal Austin October 22, 2020 5:07 PM “In Rwanda it was not a massacre, it was genocide, ethnic genocide…”
What the British did to our fore-parents over hundreds of years was not nice. Millions of people died. It was a genocide. An ethnic genocide. Yet we have had to form relationships with them, you even keep one in your bed to keep you warm on wintry nights We know that the British don’t love us but we do business with them. We can do business with the Rwandans as well. As long as we don’t do business with any individual who is on the wanted list for their complicity in the genocide.
@ Hal
The major attractions were: the people; the cleanliness; very good hotel workers at all levels; safety ( previously low) crime levels; the climate ; then excellent roads and the general quaintness of the island. Of course the food , and beaches.
If you peruse the above , you would see a decline . I stopped once to have breakfast and I saw bagels! Check the food competitions and you will see spanish names creeping into the menu. We no longer want BICO we boast about imported ice cream. There are locals who never touch Pine Hill Dairy milk. We don’t want fuel efficient cars; we drive gas gazzling trucks.
There are no Lord Radios and great combo bands. The Island Inn on Monday nights with the entertainment was magic. The Pepperpot gone; Bel Air jazz Club gone; Baxter’s Road gone.
The product declined and we have ourselves to blame. We going to have a hotel corridor etc.
Peace
Rwanda is the best social and financial model so far to emulate. They have made significant progress in the advancement and progress of their RULING Black population, hopefully the blueprint is not being copied SOLELY to promote minority thieves in Barbados as is the norm…to continue the social and financial genocide, the sabotage, barriers and malicious, deliberate impediments directed at the majority for 60 years by the black faces in the parliament.
what is annoying is that Mia can get some really good advice and assistance in a way forward, but she refuses to PROMOTE BLACK PEOPLE who elected her and pay her salary, in her love affair with RACISTS and THIEVES…so the backlash will continue until she sees the light..
“This forum will allow us in the region to learn from Rwanda’s 20-year experience and to share with each other what the challenges and successful approaches have been thus far. It is also an opportunity for people across the Caribbean to pose the questions that are on their mind. I encourage everyone to tune in and to take advantage of that opportunity,” the Governor said.
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/10/21/handguns-seized-cincinnati-were-labeled-auto-parts/6004526002/
Customs seizes illegal shipment of guns in Cincinnati.
US Customs & Border Protection officers found 3 hand guns & 7 ammunition
magazines after opening a shipment labeled as automotive parts.
There were automotive parts in the shipment in addition to guns with
serial numbers filed off & the magazines.
It came from a resident in North Caroline & was bound for an individual in
Barbados.
https://www.nationnews.com/2020/10/23/police-playing-catch/
The guns are still coming.
Despite Government’s efforts to tighten security at the ports of entry, with new scanners and other state-of-the- art risk assessment customs software, Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith says that most of the guns, which wind up in the hands of criminals, are still getting through.
@NA
There was one other recent occasion where weapons en route to Barbados were intercepted, one wonders how many got through.
The authorities should know the prospective recipient and should take appropriate measures.
@ Sargeant
Here we go again. A COP admits an approach is not working. This is a direct negative on current policy. The AG needs to respond, that’s what we pay them both to do. Are we back to three or so decades ago ,when then COP Durant said his hands “were tied” as examined by Red Plastic Bag in a calypso.
Once more it’s time to be fair. Some on BU for about three years almost every day, leading up to the election of 2018, used to call for the resignation of the then AG. Crime , especially gun related , is now at record levels and not a word from them.
But that’s how we are, once it’s our party we in power we go silent. To paraphrase @Hal , it’s the BLPDLP condition.
When the guns are addressed to minorities from the cartel, friends and family, fowls and people on standby to commit mischief to help their political nastiness, no one investigates..
David
Rwanda gets nearly all of its perceived economic success by stealing the resouces of Congo in a conspiacy with Western governments and corporations.
Congo, the location of bountiful strategic minerals has been made unstable for this very purpose. It’s by far the richest country for cobalt, gold, gems etc.
Paul Kegame is and has always been an American agent.
Uganda acts as the main artery to transport Congo’s wealth to Western markets. We have personal knowledge of this.
There is no economic magic to it.
@Pacha
Rwandaâs turnaround and forward progress can be attributed to many factors least of which on a corrupt Congo.
……… We have personal knowledge of this…..(Quote)
Evidence?
I never researched Rwanda to understand the dynamics at play, but this is what they are saying…Pacha
Free enterprise is a great driver of economic growth, monopolies STIFLE ECONOMC AND SOCIAL GROWTH…Barbados is a prime example…of that backward stupidity…keeping entrepreneurship in the hands of a corrupt minority class only is always a recipe for disaster and a HUMILITATING ECONOMIC CRASH…as we are seeing right now…
“The economic growth in Rwanda has been primarily driven by liberalization in the agricultural sector—mainly coffee and tea, the country’s main exports. These reforms allowed producers to greatly benefit from an export boom, increasing incomes and boosting productivity through capital investments. Dynamic tourism and industrial sectors—mining and construction—have also contributed to the recent economic success.
Entrepreneurship, usually the main driver of economic growth, and innovation should lead this transition. In the Rwandan case there has been noteworthy dynamism in household enterprises, which are dedicated to nonagricultural activities and usually located in rural areas. Even though they only employ 10 percent of the labor force, more than 30 percent of families relied on these enterprises for income in 2006.
The country’s relative business dynamism would not have been possible without an improvement in the regulatory and institutional framework.”
HUMILIATING ECONOMIC CRASH…..a la Barbados…
Plus they relaxed restrictions for the return of Africans in the Diaspora by removing the coloniial slave laws from their statute books, which will cause an influx of investments, I understand it’s very easy to register a business there, housing is very affordable and really attractive………all of which will work in their favor and drive further economic success, don’t know about the politics though, i tend not to get involved..
Waru
Maybe we should look up the Congo, not Brazzaville, to see what Rwanda is doing there.
The reading of that piece seems self serving.
This writer was in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo over a year ago.
Tomorrow, i ‘ll check a reference for ypu.
Yeah Pacha…i need more info, it will be welcomed…here is some news on what they are doing there right now re Diasporans interacting in Rwanda…
https://youtu.be/1i-8YUQeVE8
https://youtu.be/sWvSjjYAw6g
https://youtu.be/d3pTaEsWs3c
Waru
It just came to mind. Check “Friends of Congo” website. They are in Washington.
Maybe on youtube as well.
They speak all the time about Rwanda’s hideous role.
Ok Pacha….thanks..
Pacha…some of the leaders, but not all, are realizing that ALL colonial borders in Africa….MUST BE REMOVED and permanently ERASED…..that is one of the main problems on the continent…the erection of borders that successfully DIVIDED AFRICANS…..and caused more strife that was already tribal affairs, hatred and civil wars…
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The DOW has started to rally.
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