est. 2007

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Closing Arguments

I believe that all candidates in this by election are accomplished persons, who can competently represent the people of St George North.  However, can they address the specific problems facing this constituency? The housing, drainage, roads, water, and transportation problems require engineering solutions – which I specialise in.  The unemployment problems require business development solutions,…

,

I believe that all candidates in this by election are accomplished persons, who can competently represent the people of St George North.  However, can they address the specific problems facing this constituency?

The housing, drainage, roads, water, and transportation problems require engineering solutions – which I specialise in.  The unemployment problems require business development solutions, which I also specialise in.

The Prime Minister wants Toni Moore to assist her with some heavy lifting.  The Prime Minister can easily get Toni Moore in her Cabinet, in the same way that she appointed Senator Lisa Cummins as Minister of Tourism.  Therefore, the Prime Minister can get Toni Moore, and the people of St George North can get their first Engineer.

WHAT IF?

What if the people vote for their party’s interests instead of their own?

Nationally, it does not matter how St George North voters vote.  Mia Mottley will still be the Prime Minister of Barbados, and the BLP will still be in Government.  However, it does matter to the residents of St George North how they vote.

If they vote for the BLP, then they will simply switch one BLP representative for another.  Therefore, they can expect their lives to remain the same.  This sameness can be described as being house-poor and/or working-poor.

If they vote for the DLP, then since DLP projects must be approved by a BLP Cabinet, voters can expect their lives to remain the same.  The UPP, BFP, and the PdP will face the same problems as the DLP.  Therefore, that is a vote for poverty.

Poverty can cause people to justify prostitution, stealing, selling drugs, or doing any other illegal activities just to survive, and provide for their families.  Voters finally have an opportunity to vote for prosperity.

Solutions Barbados does not need any Government support for our projects.  They are designed to directly benefit the residents of St George North.  Our no-profit construction company can provide all unemployed persons in St George North with a salary, to pay their monthly expenses.  Therefore, they can pay their family’s rent/mortgage, food, clothes, school fees, school books, medicines, etc.

We can train all families in St George North to start profitable businesses, with no start-up money.  Their products may be marketed on the Internet, to countries where Barbados has favourable double taxation agreements.

St George North has this opportunity to show the rest of Barbados what a prosperous constituency looks like.  On 11 November, we will know whether voters voted for the narrow interests of their political parties, or the interests of their families and the rest of Barbados.

Grenville Phillips II is a Chartered Structural Engineer, and the Solutions Barbados’ candidate for St George North.  He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

128 responses to “Closing Arguments”

  1. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Grenville is just looking for some big country ally to suck up to like somebody got the time….steupps…maybe he can help them pay their massive debts…

  2. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @Mariposa November 8, 2020 10:32 AM “… shuts out barbados economy from countries which barbados drpends on for forex…”

    Why don’t you let your good buddy Hal “educate” you on forex?

    Lol!!!

  3. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @Hants November 8, 2020 9:21 AM “no start-up money.”

    Grenville who is from a solid middle class, well educated professional family is unlikely ever to have experienced “no money”

    No money is when a person has no busfare to get to work that day, so get up long before dawn and walk 3 or 4 miles to work.

    Or no food that day, because the children had to get the little food that was left. No money means drinking a cup a ginger tea at lunch time and going right back to work pretending to be satisfied

  4. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @nextparty246 November 8, 2020 12:51 PM ” However, I cannot start such a company and still be a Consulting Engineer – it is unethical.”

    Can you explain how and why it would be unethical to start an NGO while still being a consulting engineer?

    Thanks.

  5. BAJE Avatar
    BAJE

    again , it was in the newspapers, no one have to make anything up…ya may as well give it up, cause everything ya post makes ya look dumber and dumber…seeing as Grenville and people on this blog and even on FB had a roaring fight over his bullshit policies for about a year…or more, Piece is still bitching about them…stay in ya lane..
    Xxx xxx xxx

    FINALLY COMING TO REALIZATION OF YOURSELF.

    IT IS ALWAYS GOOD TO TAKE A LONG HARD LOOK IN THE MIRROR.

  6. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Am yet to see any of these half-assed politicians on the island open a food pantry to help the starving with 3 squares a day, or open a homeless shelter or 2 for those sleeping in parks and public spaces in the city and DYING ON THE STREETS, we are only now hearing about a new care home for the elderly now it HAS BEEN EXPOSED, hope there is no plan afoot as is the norm to STEAL these vulnerable people’s properties and ROB their beneficiaries of their inheritance………they do not intend to ever serve the people…ONLY THEIR DUMB SELVES..while pretending to be world class and punching above some delusional obese weight….only the dimwitted would see them as having a leadership qualities…i won’t encourage anyone to vote for any of them, but the reality is, the shite system was set up for this exact destruction..

  7. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @GreenMonkey November 8, 2020 5:39 PM “UK government to provide elderly and vulnerable with Vitamin D supplements. Millions of elderly and vulnerable will get free Vitamin D from government as evidence grows that it helps in battle against Covid-19 People shielding will be sent enough supplies of the vitamin to last four months It comes after Matt Hancock decided to act fast due to evidence about benefits Study found 80 per cent of Covid-19 victims in hospital were Vitamin D deficient.”

    But GreenMonkey in Barbados vitamin D is also free. It comes from the sun, or as our friend Miller would say from God the Sun. All a Bajan has to do to get enough Vitamin D any day of the year is to spend an hour everyday in the sunshine.

    Now how difficult is that?

    But of course government offices harass WOMEN especially for wearing “armholes” And all religions practiced in lovely sunny Barbados were born in the Middle East and matured in cold grey Europe, Judiasm, Christianity, Islam and Rastafari DEMANDS that women cover up. This covering up is an idiotic idea foreign to the tropics and should be thrown out the window.

    Into the life giving sunshine.

    P.S. I have heard on that all covid19 patients in Barbados are made to sit in the sunshine for at for at least one hour each day, and if they are not tied to a ventilator they can actually spend all day outside.

    Outside is good. Going outside now to work in the ground. Bones as strong as those of a 18 year old.

  8. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    @GP@ “The penalty is part of our constitution, which was unanimously agreed. All of our candidates signed the contract. The contract expired on the day the election results were known (May 2018). Members were then free to extend their contracts (which most agreed to do), leave and join another party, exit politics, or do whatever they wished – without any sanction.”

    A person cannot agree to sign away a constitutional right. The right to associate or not to associate is absolute.

  9. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    I can sign away my parents, spouse or children, but I have no right to sign away my constitutional rights.

  10. Cuhdear Bajan Avatar
    Cuhdear Bajan

    If I was in St. George North, and I am not,, I would not vote for GP2. He is too religious for my taste. I am not big on misogynistic Middle Eastern religions. All of them.

  11. robert lucas Avatar
    robert lucas

    @ Hal November 8, 2020 7:10 AM

    If he wins he will attract others. The two main parties are like swine at the feeding trough.

  12. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Robert

    I think his heart is in the right place, but he must control his ego.

  13. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Cuhdear Bajan,

    To be fair, GP 2 is not misogynistic. Before I became a cyberbully, he and I agreed against GP 1 about a woman’s place as described in the bible.

    He is not bound by the fundamentalist or literalist approach to gender roles.

  14. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    WURA,

    You are wrong. The problem was the big fines if caught in corruption.

  15. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ Cuhdear BajanNovember 9, 2020 7:20 AM
    “If I was in St. George North, and I am not,, I would not vote for GP2. He is too religious for my taste. I am not big on misogynistic Middle Eastern religions. All of them.”
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    You, “Silly Woman”, have waited a bit late to find that out!

    All ‘ME’ religions are extremely misogynistic except the Baháʼí Faith which is a direct descendant of Zoroastrianism.

    Now you ought to drop the Anglicanism BS started by Henry V111, a killer of women, and spread by a coterie of homosexual men like King James to brainwash control blacks like you.

  16. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    “WURA,

    You are wrong. The problem was the big fines if caught in corruption.”

    first of all YOU WERE NOT ON THE BLOG YET WHEN ALL OF THAT WENT DOWN..

    that’s why I REFUSE to mix up the two,

    we know all about Grenville’s DELUSION teenage plan to deal with corruptioin through FINES.. which did not make sense then and STILL DON’T NOW…..that has nothing to do with what am speaking about.

    AGAIN…this has EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WHY the members of Solutions BAILED ON GRENVILLE went to the NEWSPAPERS and EXPOSED the fact that h was VIOLATING THEIR RIGHT TO ASSOCIATE with any other political party…am not the one put that in the newspapers….FOR THE WHOLE ISLAND TO SEE…

    he was chatting that fines shit right throw his campaign and no one left the party over it, while we beat him up on BU about…the straw that broke the camel’s back WAS VIOLATIING THEIR RIGHT TO ASSOCIATE….violating the constitution…

  17. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    AGAIN…this has EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WHY the members of Solutions BAILED ON GRENVILLE went to the NEWSPAPERS and EXPOSED the fact that h was VIOLATING THEIR RIGHT TO ASSOCIATE with any other political party…am not the one put that in the newspapers….FOR THE WHOLE ISLAND TO SEE

    that happened IMMEDIATELY AFTER the election in 2018…all the time they knew about the contract they SIGNED about fines and corruption and NEVER LEFT THE PARTY….until after election…if yall don’t know what ya talking about, allow someone WHO WAS AROUND in those times comment. WHO HAS A MEMORY.

  18. John2 Avatar
    John2

    Former members of the fledging political party Solutions Barbados have castigated the leadership style of their once boss Grenville Phillips II.

    A statement, signed by past members Alan Springer, Paul Gibson and Irvin Belgrave, itemised other concerns such as a contract used “as a control mechanism for keeping candidates in the party, lack of a democratic process and being punished if they failed to sign the original contract”.

    They said “there was no consultation process, members were simply given directives that had to be followed. Running of the party was subject to ad hoc personal decisions . . . . There was also continual refusal, in the face of requests, for the party to be opened up to membership from the wider public as is standard practice”.

    The aggrieved former candidates in the last General Election also charged there was “a preponderance of religious instruction given by Grenville, which greatly hampered the work of Solutions Barbados as a political party . . . . This created a deep-seated contention, conflict and distrust within the party”.

    Phillips’ leadership, “presented a certain stiffness, detachment and disconnect between the leader and the public at large. It was constantly made apparent that Grenville does not have the confidence nor the trust of the electorate”.

    The signatories said a “final olive branch was offered by those having challenges with the leadership style, putting forward certain conditions for us to carry on under the Solutions Barbados banner . . . . Unfortunately, Grenville refused that olive branch”.

    Phillips, in thanking all the candidates “for their brave decision to run with Solutions Barbados”, said the process and result affected people in different ways, “which is normal”.

    He also said most of the candidates had committed to the next general election but others wanted “us to re-evaluate our mandatory contract requirement for membership”.

    “I am only president for one year, and if the members are unhappy with my leadership, then they are free to vote for another to lead them.

    “From the time that we had members, issues were discussed, and if we could not come to a consensus, then the majority vote ruled. Most of my positions were voted against and there was never any repercussions for anyone who voted against my position,” said Phillips.

  19. John2 Avatar
    John2

    Posted on June 26, 2018
    No solutions for past party members
    Article by
    JOHN SEALY, johnsealy@nationnews.com

  20. David Avatar
    David

    Why did the ex members of Solutions Barbados go along with it?

  21. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Grenville can be too damn deceitful…

    there is a big complaint on FB regarding a Black dude from UK staying at Sandy Lane in Black MAJORITY Barbados and being profiled BY THE BLACK ASSES WORKING AT THE HOTEL for the color of his skin because in their slave minds he is too black to be staying there…glad he exposed yall stupid backward mentally enslaved nobodies…

    …..these are the types of things Grenville and Mia and all the other wannabes should be dealing with…removing the RACISM and APARTHEID AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND….but no, he is trying to convince the people of St. George to vote him in so he can continue a power trip and Mia is enabling these crimes against Black people…and when ya talk out against it, clowns want to pick up fire rage…

    all any of these half-assed politicians are looking for is …CONROL OVER BLACK PEOPLE to continue the slave society…

  22. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    WURA,

    I changed my mind. You are correct.

    Boy, Grenville is worse than I thought. Time to put back on my cyber bully hat??????

  23. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Where the hell does Grenville come up with these things????!!!!

    What planet does he inhabit??????

    No wonder he cannot present any members of his party!

    I am beginning to believe there aren’t any.

  24. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    As the dude put it on BLM UK and other platforms, everyone in UK and everywhere else will hear about the illiterate Black and white racists in Barbados, who are to be treated like the pariahs that they are, that tourism shite wanting SHUTTING DOWN PERMANENTLY…

  25. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    “Boy, Grenville is worse than I thought.”

    you have no clue what we went through with Grenville…Piece is PERMANENTLYA PISSED at him..

    i give him some leeway sometimes but ya always have to be on guard with that type of retrograde mind…..the only grace, if ya want to call it that…THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME LOWGRADE, wannabe slavemaster mind..

  26. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ Donna November 9, 2020 10:51 AM
    “No wonder he cannot present any members of his party!
    I am beginning to believe there aren’t any.”
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Why did it take you that long to figure out?

    If you want a ‘rationally insightful’ evaluation of GP11 (aka Bedroom Police) political persona just read Piece de Prophet’s assessment of the man.

    You only have to read GP11’s proposals on taxation and you would see that the man belongs to another solar system.

  27. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    There is hope.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/pfizer-says-early-data-indicates-covid-19-vaccine-is-effective-1.5794899

  28. nextparty246 Avatar
    nextparty246

    Cuhdear:

    Re: Training Families.

    Please note that I am the 2014 winner of the National Innovation Competition. Since 2015, I have been holding free workshops (8 weeks) where we start businesses, with the aim of getting their products in the US market, and taking advantage of the very favourable double taxation agreement and the 5% withholding tax.

    All of this is done without any start-up capital. The workshops were advertised and were always free to the public. You are encouraged to attend the next one.

    Re: Pension.

    If we won the Government, our plan was to abolish the lifetime pension arrangement. Parliamentarians would simply receive a contribution to their RRSPs while they serve.

    Re: Being a Consulting Engineer and a Contractor.

    It is unethical for me to evaluate tenders, recommend the awarding of construction contracts, and certifying the work of contractors – while competing with them. In the interests of fairness, the no-profit construction company will limit its work to houses, rather that compete on projects where I have supervised the work of medium to large contractors.

    Re: Constitutional Right to Associate.

    The Constitution of Barbados states: “Except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of assembly and association, that is to say, his right to assemble freely and associate with other persons and in particular to form or belong to political parties or to form or belong to trade unions or other associations for the protection of his interests.” (Section 21.1)

    So, we are free to associate “except with his own consent”.

    We are free to join Solutions Barbados, the BLP, DLP etc. Each party requires their candidates to “consent” to give up their right to be members of a competing party while they remain candidates. This is normal.

    You can join Wanderers cricket team, and when you are finished, you can then join Empire – you cannot play for both. You can work for ScotiaBank, and when you are finished, you can then work for First Caribbean – you cannot work for both. You can be candidate for the BLP, and if you wish, you can end your membership and join the DLP. You are not hindered, but you “consent” to work exclusively for only one at any one time.

    Some Solutions Barbados candidates wanted the freedom to join Solutions Barbados and another competing party at the same time. They interpreted the Barbados Constitution as giving them this right. They were given two weeks to convince all members of their interpretation, and as normal, a vote was then held to decide the matter.

    The majority voted for exclusivity (as is practised in all competing organisations in Barbados). Those who disagreed with the majority then left the party, and some later wrote untrue statements in the press – which were copied here.

  29. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    We need Piece de Prophet. Hope he is ok.

  30. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Not being in power is one thing, Solutions exmembers probably thought if they captured the parliament they would just ignore all Grenville’s shite, but they didn’t and then he decided he would capture THEM instead and they weren’t having any of it…that kind of backwardness played out in 2018, the 21st century…

    it’s a he said he said scenario…. Grenville said they are lying although one of them had some kinda paper in their hand , and they said Grenville is lying which makes none of them fit to lead anyone….it was a back and forth with Grenville translating the constitution to suit himself…either way, you cannot take away anyone’s right to ASSOCIATE..with any group…blah, blah, blah.

  31. BAJE Avatar
    BAJE

    We need Piece de Prophet
    Xxxxxxxxx

    A MAN WHO HAS LIED THAT MIA MOTTLEY AND HER PEOPLE TRIED TO FIREBOMB HIS OVERSEAS HOME 3 TIMES BECAUSE OF HIS CRITICISM OF HER AND THE BLP.

    WHO EVEN TRIED TO PROMOTE A FRAUDULENT GOFUNDME SITE ON BU THAT FAILED TO GET OFF THE GROUND.

    THAT IS ARDENT AND SOLE SUPPORTER OF PDP.

    THAT IS THE INDIVIDUAL SOME OF YOU ARE CALLING FOR.

    NO WONDER THE 2X3 ISLAND IS F**KED UP.

    I DON’T SUPPORT EITHER DLP OR BLP AND WOULD LIKE A THIRD PARTY TO GET IN WHETHER UPP, PDP OR SOLUTIONS DOESN’T MATTER BECAUSE THE ISLAND NEEDS TO GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.

    @ HAL

    HAVE NO PROBLEM GRENVILLE PROMOTING HIS BACKGROUND I LIKENED IT TO MANY OF YOU PROMOTION OF YOUR OLD HIGH SCHOOL AS THOUGH STUCK IN A TIME WARP.

    WHAT I CAN AGREE WITH IS KNOWING OUTSIDE OF GRENVILLE THE ACTUAL NAMES OF ALL THE OTHERS ON SOLUTIONS’ TEAM IF ANY AS MANY TIMES GRENVILLE REFERS TO WE.

  32. John2 Avatar
    John2

    GP2

    Why are none of the KNOWN is SB, those that ran in the last general elections, speaking on its / you behalf ?

  33. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    There is an article in the Guardian exposing many crimes committed against slaves in the Caribbean, one of the those evil experiments involved BREEDING FEAR and SECRECY into them generationally, that one worked like a charm in Barbados…it’s still ongoing today..they still don’t realize that they are slave masters’ EXPERIMENTS….when they do, they can breed out the Grenvilles and all the other wannabe slavemasters who morph into slaves when they see anyone who does not look like them…and then end up selling out the people, the treasury, pension fund, supreme court..they sell out their people as THEY WERE BRED TO…

    welcome to reality..

  34. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    “Some Solutions Barbados candidates wanted the freedom to join Solutions Barbados and another competing party at the same time.”

    which is crazy, the constitution is clear, only crazy people would want to be members of two political parties at the same time…..which highlights my point, none are fit for office at taxpayer’s expense..

    Grenville will get away with that story because i can’t remember the exact circumstances leading up to that mess, too much has happened in the last 2 years..

  35. nextparty246 Avatar
    nextparty246

    John2:

    Other Solutions Barbados Candidates write frequently, especially on Facebook. They do not write here for obvious reasons.

    Please note that ten declared Solutions Barbados candidates for 2023 have been on our website since the 2018 general election.

  36. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Yall wont stop the nasty racist tourism against black people…ENJOY YA FAME, YA FAMOUS Enuff…couldn’t have chosen a better famous black person to be racist to..lol..lemme see yall blaming UK for that….black face racists, white face racists, all racist against Black people in a Black majority country……ah wonder how that will look on African Diaspora Channel. Told yall it will bite ya asses one day, been telling ya that for YEARS…

    http://www.loopnewsbarbados.com/content/tinie-tempah-accuses-sandy-lane-discrimination

    “British rapper Tinie Tempah accuses Sandy Lane of racial profiling
    KATRINA KING CREATED : 9 NOVEMBER 2020BARBADOS NEWS(Instagram) British rapper Tinie Tempah
    (Instagram) British rapper Tinie Tempah

    Award-winning British rapper Tinie Tempah has accused Barbados’ luxury five-diamond resort Sandy Lane of racism.

    Tinie, real name Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu Jr. touched down in Barbados to celebrate his 32nd birthday which was on November 7. He took to Instagram on November 8, to vocalize his outrage at the disappointing conclusion to his celebrations and criticise the management at the St James resort for their poor handling of the situation.

    Recounting the alleged situation, Tinie stated that he was racially profiled by the security at the hotel while walking into the gym.

    “I was stopped by a security guard and aggressively challenged about why I was there. He assumed I couldn’t have been a guest, despite telling him I was. When I tried to raise this and other issues with management, they were incredibly rude and condescending,” he said on his social media page.

    In an eight-second clip, you see management walking away from the Grammy-award winning rapper as he attempted to address his concerns.

    The rapper went on to tell his followers that the incident was a reminder that “there are still places where deep down they don’t think you can ever really belong”. He reminded them that “every human being deserves to be treated with respect”.

    Since publishing the post on Sunday, November 8, Tinie has garnered support internationally. Additionally, Barbadians have flooded his comment section apologising for his experience. In 24 hours, the post on his Instagram feed gainedover 8,800 likes and more than 530 comments.

    When contacted by Loop News, management at Sandy Lane Hotel declined to comment but promised to issue a statement in response to the incident.”

  37. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Nasty, rude disrespectful piece of shit in Barbados who only want to see people WHO DON’T LOOK BLACK…and that’s what the black faces of parliament promote, maintain and elevate …OR IT COULD NEVER STILL BE HAPPENING in a black majority country in the 21st century….ENJOY YA EMBARRASSMENT.

  38. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Miller…if Mia and any other black faces in the parliament dont ABOLISH and CRIMINALIZE that racism against Black people now…then they will get a front row seat to see what BLACK PEOPLE CAN REALLY DO….they believe because they have used fear and secrecy to frighten black people in Barbados for decades, that all black people are afraid of them….MFs.

  39. John2 Avatar
    John2

    GP2

    Why don’t they write here ? The reason is not obvious to me

    Everyone is not on Facebook

    If they are on your website then they are already known. Why are they not vocal/ more active ?

    Most people can only name one member of SB from the top of their heads .

  40. Raw Bake Avatar
    Raw Bake

    FWIW:
    (~_~)

    The Contract

    1.1 Introduction of a contract as ‘accountability’

    A contract was introduced in December 2017 for all Solutions Barbados candidates to sign, sometime after the launch of candidates in November, after candidates had been members for approximately six months; after flyers had been printed and after candidates had already started their constituency campaigns. The contract therefore was not introduced as a condition of joining the party, but was clearly a control mechanism for keeping candidates in the party and a carefully enforced way of maintaining loyalty to Solutions Barbados and to Grenville Phillips II.

    1.2 Lack of a democratic process

    All decisions were made via a directive from Grenville Phillips II, as in the case of the contract. Grenville stated the purpose of the contract was to inhibit anyone from voting against Solutions Barbados policies or from crossing the floor and that it was intended to create “fear and intimidation”. Candidates were bound over in the sum of US$250,000 to Walbrent College or alternatively to “any other charity who were willing to hold candidates accountable”. When a number of candidates sought advice about the contract over a number of months, the advice was always not to sign as it was unethical and infringed certain statutory rights. The problem concretized sometime in April 2018, when candidates asked for the removal of those clauses which removed those statutory rights, in particular the right of freedom of speech and of freedom of association.

    1.3 Punitive measures

    Those candidates who challenged the contract were subsequently punished in being presented with a new contract whereby they were bound over only to Walbrent College in the increased sum of US$1million. Grenville Phillips is the sole proprietor of Walbrent College so in fact it was Grenville Phillips to whom everyone was being coerced to sign over their statutory rights, and Grenville Phillips who would be the sole beneficiary to any claim on the contract.

    1.4 Manipulation and Coercion

    By April, candidates were fully committed in their constituencies and to their constituents; having been campaigning now for five months. Therefore the only solution to the dilemma was to sign the contract under duress, so that we could complete the work started and to remain a candidate in the forthcoming election. This was a subtle method of manipulation and coercion.

    Leadership Style

    Grenville’s leadership style was to instruct, direct, manipulate and coerce.

    2.1 Singular and autocratic leadership

    The style was dictatorial and authoritative, circumventing all other positions and ideas, which were not listened to nor given any credence whatsoever. There was no consultation process, members were simply given directives that had to be followed.

    2.2 Lack of leadership structure, processes and procedures

    Running of the party was subject to ad hoc personal decisions made by Grenville. For example, it was his decision solely who was or who was not a candidate and this fluctuated according to his mood at any given time. There was a reluctance as well as inability to move the party forward by establishing the right facilitating structures and processes, for example, ignoring the call for a SWOT analysis of the election experience on the grounds that it is only applicable to businesses and not to the party. There was also continual refusal in the face of requests, for the party to be opened up to membership from the wider public as is standard practise.

    2.3 Single-handed religiosity

    There was a preponderance of religious instruction given by Grenville, which greatly hampered the work of Solutions Barbados as a political party. These instructions were given without any confirmation by others, the normal course when guided by spiritual consideration. This created a deep-seated contention, conflict and distrust within the party.

    2.4 Imagery and representation

    Feedback on the public image of Grenville’s leadership, both externally and internally, presented a certain stiffness, detachment and disconnect between the leader and the public at large. It was constantly made apparent that Grenville does not have the confidence nor the trust of the electorate.

    2.5 Lack of consistency

    The inconsistency with which information was communicated was a concern, with the “facts” often shifting and vacillating. This was a growing concern from the very beginning.

    2.6 Lies and deception

    The leadership style was laced with lies, misrepresentations and deception, made worse when these were often aimed at the public. For example, for a time Grenville maintained a public face of 28 candidates, knowing he had demoted a number of candidates to the status of associate members over an internal dispute, so in fact there were only 22 candidates at that time. This lying to the public is capped by the recent press statement where Grenville stated that no one had left Solutions Barbados but were simply “taking a break to take care of business”, and that everyone intended signing the contract. This is patently not true.

    Moving Forward

    3.1 A change of leadership necessary

    As we see it, the way forward for Solutions Barbados as a political party in Barbados required leadership that demonstrated dynamism, engagement with people and a certain degree of charisma. Grenville’s leadership has been sadly lacking in this interpersonal skillset. For example, a mere two days after the election, at a meeting called on 26th May, each member was singled out and asked whether they planned to continue as members of the party, despite a plea from some members that this was not the time, and that a debrief was more suited. This pressure was followed up the next day with a demand to sign a new contract for those planning to continue. This brought matters to a head.

    3.2 Final Olive Branch

    A final olive branch was offered by those having challenges with the leadership style, putting forward certain conditions for us to carry on under the Solutions Barbados banner. It was hoped Barbadians could continue to view the party as a viable alternative to the established parties, and that we could build on the elections by ensuring a genuine voice of representation. Unfortunately Grenville refused that olive branch and instead took the step of removing members, who had tendered their resignations.

    3.3 Our commitment

    Moving forward, one thing that is clear for this group is our commitment to what is best for Barbados and our constituents. We will ensure that we remain a voice to the nation on matters of national importance and continue to give Barbadians a clear understanding of what is happening behind the political and governmental curtain. This will, we hope, evolve into something more concrete in the years leading up to the next general elections.

    3.4 Counter signatures

    The foregoing is countersigned by the following candidates on behalf of others who have had to take the difficult decision to part ways with Solutions Barbados. We hope also that we have been able to represent some of those left behind who sympathize, but for fear or other reasons, don’t feel able to say.

    Signatories to the Press Statement

    Alan Springer

    Paul Gibson

    Irvin Belgrave

  41. Raw Bake Avatar
    Raw Bake

    Just in case anyone is interested.
    https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-chase-files/full-statement-issued-by-three-former-candidates-who-left-solutions-barbados/1322781084521391/

  42. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Oh dear, dear me! This must have happened in a period when I had tuned out for a while.

    And the man had the gall to call me a cyberbully???????????

    WTH??????????????

  43. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    WURA,

    Re Loop News article. Nothing to doubt here. We shall await the statement from management and see what they manage to concoct.

  44. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Donna…we warned you.

  45. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    I remember when Grenville was hot to implement ISO in the civil service, he had this meeting with them and had the audacity to tell them if they don’t enforce the policies, he will fire them, am like, Grenville, ya can’t fire them, YOU HAVE NOT YET BEEN ELECTED TO PARLIAMENT….ya don’t tell them that BEFORE and expect them to vote for you…

    well apparently Grenville did not like my tone, so he thought he was dealing with a Bajan with all that entails, but ya done know am not the one…

  46. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    We shall await the statement from management and see what they manage to concoct.

    i saw part of the video…the piece of shit racist was nasty, uppity and dismissive…just as the black faces in the parliament enable and condone.

  47. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Remember they just made a big splash about dumping Elizabeth and her crown, they say they nah want no racist monarchy anymore sah….but ah been telling them since that day to give back Elizabether her slave system…..so they CANNOT say that UK is still forcing them to have the island infested and infected with the racism, apartheid, exploition and oppression of the Black majority on the island…..ah dare them to come with that bullshit story……

    they even made a big as brass video for African Diaspora Channel on the removal of nelson, like it’s some ritual…..ah only posted it yesterday……….🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  48. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    WURA,

    I picked up what kind of crazy Grenville is but I did not know the degree.

  49. nextparty246 Avatar
    nextparty246

    I published the following article in June 2018 in response – which was also published here.

    Wounded Warriors.

    On 26 June 2018, three former Solutions Barbados candidates signed a press statement with accusations, each of which are easily proven to be false. The media requested a response, which I provided, but it was not fairly published. Hence, this article.
    I want to again publicly thank all 28 of our candidates for their brave decision to run with Solutions Barbados in the 2018 general election.

    Most of our candidates have committed to continuing to the next general election for which we plan to run a full slate of candidates. Others have decided to dedicate more time to their businesses and may rejoin us later. A few have decided that they have had enough of politics, and we thank them for their service. However, there are a few who wanted us to, once again, revaluate our mandatory contract requirement for membership.

    Solutions Barbados is organised in accordance with a Constitution that underwent 7 major revisions before it was unanimously adopted. Although I founded the organisation, I did not request any special place for myself in our constitution. I founded the organisation and then gave it away to all candidates. I currently have the same power that the most recent member has – namely, a single vote.

    I am only president because I was unanimously voted to this position at our annual general meeting. Like all other members of the executive committee, I serve for one year. If the members are unhappy with my leadership, then they are encouraged to vote for another to lead them. I will then remain faithful to the new leadership.

    From the time that we had members, issues were discussed. If we could not come to a consensus, then the majority vote ruled. On contentious issues, voting was by secret ballot. I have always respected the majority vote, especially when it went against my preferred position, which was frequently.

    The requirement for a contract is written in our constitution. Regardless of my personal preference, only the members can change our constitution. The members recently met and once again voted to keep the contract as a mandatory condition for membership, as they have repeatedly and consistently done. The contract is designed to keep us accountable to the people of Barbados, with a severe financial penalty if we accept bribes. The entire penalty must be distributed to all responsible registered charities in Barbados.

    I have served 3 terms as President of the Barbados Association of Professional Engineers, 2 terms as President of the Combermere School Old Scholars Association, 2 terms as the President of the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries, and now President of Solutions Barbados, each time by acclaim. I have never lobbied for a such leadership positions, and when elected, I have always tried to lead responsibly. I have never attracted such accusations before I entered the political arena.

    Once we had candidates, I tried to not only lead but shepherd them, since we were all new to politics and were aware of the potential harm to our reputations. I have done my best to shield them all from any harm. I covered them with my unblemished reputation when they were accused, and purposely attracted criticism to myself when they were attacked. I asked them to never defend me since I had neither skeletons to hide nor closets to keep them in. I tried to ensure that all of them finished this campaign with their reputations enhanced, and with no debts.

    I am aware that the general election results affected persons differently. Those of us who have chosen to continue saw the result in a positive light. We started with no votes and gained over 4,000. However, some took it personally, thinking that they were rejected by the public after canvassing so earnestly.

    I do not know their pain, or why they have chosen to lash out in this manner. It is fortunate that they have directed their disappointment towards me, and as their former leader, I accept this new role also.

    One should not publicly criticise a warrior who was wounded in battle, and lashes out during his recovery. In a similar manner, I will not publicly criticise any of our brave candidates who ran in the 2018 general election.

    Grenville Phillips II is a Chartered Structural Engineer and the founder of Solutions Barbados. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

  50. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @nextpart246
    “Most of our candidates have committed to continuing to the next general election for which we plan to run a full slate of candidates. Others have decided to dedicate more time to their businesses and may rejoin us later. A few have decided that they have had enough of politics, and we thank them for their service. However, there are a few who wanted us to, once again, revaluate our mandatory contract requirement for membership.”

    Merely my opinion from afar. This statement is what gets you in trouble. This “most”, “others”, a “few” and a “few”. Meanwhile what is SEEN, is ??? SB candidates from the 2018 election in Atherley’s ‘shadow cabinet’, one running against you in SGN, another in the party apparatus of the DLP. Obviously none of these ‘have had enough of politics’, so now add those who have ‘had enough’ to what has been SEEN, and the question is how many is “most” who remain?

    Politicians learn to avoid specifics. Some stayed, some left for other political opportunities, and some quit politics.

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