est. 2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

,

Walter Blackman’s Political Insights

It will be worth the time to study Walter’s brief odyssey into local politics to extract learnings; David, Blogmaster If we are going to extract learnings, we need to look at the dots and connect them. I have reaped no success in politics to justify the writing of a book or my memoirs at this…

It will be worth the time to study Walter’s brief odyssey into local politics to extract learnings;

David, Blogmaster
Walter Blackman,
Actuary and Social
Commentator Extraordinaire

If we are going to extract learnings, we need to look at the dots and connect them. I have reaped no success in politics to justify the writing of a book or my memoirs at this point in time, but there are a few revelations I can make exclusively on BU which would help Barbadians to understand the genesis of some incidents which extensively damaged Barbados, the lives of Barbadians, and the Barbados brand.

I do not know if this particular topic is the best place for me to start, but I am going to start. You, as blogmaster, have the right to package my writings and place them wherever you see fit.

I hope by taking this course of action that I will inspire other Barbadians who believe that they have a tale to tell to start doing so. William Skinner readily comes to mind.

The success of our oppressors stem primarily from the fact that they want to silence us and make us cower in fear. They want to make us feel that it is a sin for us to share our experiences. It is my deep-rooted belief that our shared experiences will help us to understand and appreciate each other more, and by so doing, will create a catalyst for change, however small.

These are my writings and I own them. I have attached my name to them so they are my intellectual property. I reserve the monopolistic right to use them as part of any book I decide to publish in the future.

Let me state, up front, that I have not been privy to any secrets created or held by any political party in Barbados, so it is impossible for me to divulge any. Almost all of the positions adopted by me arose out of deductive reasoning, or by analysis of events that stumbled into the public domain.

273 responses to “Walter Blackman’s Political Insights”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    Why do you assume the problem is being ignored? Some of you have already dismissed ideas being tossed out without waiting for the strategy or analysis. What is being probed is not novel. Let us ask questions, let us se the plan to support an informed debate.

  2. David Avatar
    David

    A Hal and GP collaboration because it suits you coggers to attack the blogmaster. Too childish for old men.

  3. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    “A ‘fast’ aging population and an unacceptably high rate of unemployment among the young who are expected to produce biologically at a steady state (replacement) rate of growth to keep the NIS afloat.”

    they don’t want to fix the unemployment problem, or the wages problem, they want to keep low or no wages in play and expect the young people to breed and provide taxpayers and voters for the society, without any assistance or benefits to make their lives and that of their children any easier….modern day slavery.

  4. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Let them import their 80,000, they will make sure most are white or other minorities, then we can sit back and watch them unseat their asses out of the parliament…,,one way or the other, those useless ignorant excuses for leaders gotta go..

  5. GP Avatar
    GP

    RE A Hal and GP collaboration because it suits you coggers to attack the blogmaster. Too childish for old men.

    NOT AT ALL SIR …….ITS THE OTHER WAY AROUND YOU LIKE TO ATTACK HAL & ME

    THE TRUTH IS THAT YOUR USE AND COMMAND OF THE ENGLISH IS VERY POOR
    I AM NOT ATTACKING YOU AT ALL
    JUST STATING THE OBVIOUS AND HAVING FUN DOING SO
    DPD IS THE SAME, AND HE THINKS HE IS SO SMART

  6. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ GP

    You have got this one right. It does not matter if you are right or wrong, it is the use of the language that helps us to understand what you are talking about.
    Sometime ago I had to tell one other person that I could not understand his use of language. This is the first hurdle, then there is the discussion about the subject matter, which if it is to be educative, there must be a basic understanding.
    However, if we cannot move from stage one, communicating in a common language, then we are wasting time. This is not a unique problem.
    Some people say pants, some say trousers; some say pO-ta-TOES, some say po-TA-toes; some say phial, some say vial, some use obscenities, others try to avoid them.
    Then there are the gotcha mob; people who wait for what they think is a mistake or a wrong answer, and instead of asking for an explanation, jump out and scream gotcha.

  7. GP Avatar
    GP

    HAL
    AS A BIBLE STUDENT OVER THE YEARS, I HAVE READ MANY BIBLE COMMENTARIES BY MEN WHO SOUGHT TO EXPLAIN THE NUANCES IN THE TEXT FROM THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF HEBREW OR GREEK. THIS HAS GIVEN ME AN EXTRA APPRECIATION FOR BOTH THE LIMITATIONS AND BEAUTY OF OUR LANGUAGE.

    YOU ARE QUITE CORRECT ABOUT Then there are the gotcha mob; people who wait for what they think is a mistake or a wrong answer, and instead of asking for an explanation, jump out and scream gotcha.
    THIS IS REALLY BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOTHING TO SAY—NO REAL ORIGINAL CONTENT RELATED TO THE CONTEXT., AND OFTERN NO CONCURRENCE
    I OFTEN MOCK THEM BY COMING DOWN TO THEIR LEVEL

    WHEN I WAS AGED 22, I FIRST ATTENDED A PLYMOUTH BRETHREN ASSEMBLY AND WITNESSED A BREAKING OF BREAD MEETING.. THIS APPARENTLY DISORDERLY MEETING WENT ON UNANNOUNCED , BUT VERY ORDERLY. THE SINGING OF THE FIRST HYMN SET THE TONE FOR THE MEETING. ALL SUBSEQUENT HYMNS CALLED BY THE PARTICIPANTS WERE ON THE SUBJECT OF THAT FIRST HYMN. THIS HYMN SINGING WAS INTERSPERSED WITH 5-10 MINUTE SERMONETTES ON SCRIPTURES WHICH ADVANCED THE THOUGHT GIVEN IN THE OPENING HYMN.
    MEN WHO DO NOT OBSERVE THE PATTERN ARE FROWNED UPON
    IT IS INTER ALIA A MOST DISCIPLINED EXCERCISE

  8. Miller Avatar
    Miller

    @ GP November 25, 2020 12:59 PM

    It seems that the hand of your Sky God has finally reached down to take home to Sports Heaven one of the great idols of football, Diego Maradona.

  9. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @WB
    re FOREIGN investments….your suggestion is mathematically possible. It would have entailed a near complete liquidation of the prior investments in early 2020, and then a buy, post the market slumps which occurred in March/April ’20. And in a different mix (more risky). OR, additional foreign funds could have been added to that area of investments. The latter seems more plausible.

    I get confused by the variety of general headings used….bonds-debentures-T-Bills-treasury notes. They are usually ALL fixed income instruments, which vary by term and security.

  10. Walter Blackman Avatar
    Walter Blackman

    NorthernObserver
    November 25, 2020 2:16 PM

    “@WB
    re FOREIGN investments….your suggestion is mathematically possible. It would have entailed a near complete liquidation of the prior investments in early 2020, and then a buy, post the market slumps which occurred in March/April ’20. And in a different mix (more risky). OR, additional foreign funds could have been added to that area of investments. The latter seems more plausible.
    I get confused by the variety of general headings used….bonds-debentures-T-Bills-treasury notes. They are usually ALL fixed income instruments, which vary by term and security.”

    NorthernObserver,

    With respect to the NIS foreign investments, instinctively I could not bring my mind to believe that the authorities had used scarce foreign exchange to put into NIS overseas investments at this time. They did not do it when the situation was more propitious. That is why I took a long shot in the dark. Honestly, my speculative shot did not impress me, so I have now moved over to your side of the argument. Additional foreign funds might have indeed been added.

    I try to simplify things in my mind by seeing it this way: Bonds (longer maturity) and T-bills (short maturity) originate from Central Government, Debentures (longer maturity) and T- notes (shorter maturity) originate from the Central Bank.
    Yes, they are all fixed income instruments.

  11. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Walter
    @Northern

    Two wrongs do not a right make. The NIS is not fit for purpose and its investment strategy, or what passes for a strategy, is awful. The board/investment committee has a duty of care to the beneficiaries and that duty includes making the maximum returns on investments for the minimum risks.
    The universe should be global and there should be no political considerations. If you want to see how it is done talk to the Norwegians.
    Norway and the UK discovered North Sea oil at the same time; look at how the two countries invested that black gold.

  12. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @HA
    in reading @WB’s comments….it has little to do with what you are alluding to…rather….the MoF has dotted line control of the NIS and its funds. It is what another blogger termed ‘interference’. I am not suggesting you are wrong, simply there is a divergence between theory and reality.
    You may recall, when the issue of ‘home grown financing’ was being proposed and executed, with the NIS heavily involved, did one ever hear a peep from the Minister of Labour under whom the ‘solid line’ responsibility for the NIS fell. We can argue it isn’t/wasn’t right….but it is what it is/was.
    And you have already noted prior, the rapidity at which the default occured and the preparedness. You already know the “transition” occurred well before the election. Is it any surprise the then players within the NIS were so warmly welcomed into the operations of the new administration? One hidden outcome of the time vacuum created in the calling of the last election. One side was trying to find money, the other was preparing to take over, and the operational people knew who was who.

  13. Walter Blackman Avatar
    Walter Blackman

    Based on the link to the NIS investments, provided by NorthernObserver, all BU readers can now sing from the same Hymn sheet.

    Here are the facts, and the questions to be asked:

    The unemployment Fund is broke. Not a cent is left. No bonds, no cash. Nada. Zilch. Rien.
    Where will the money come from to pay current and future unemployment benefits? Remedial action has to come down the pipeline very soon.

    Government owes (i.e the politicians misused our money) $2.8 billion to the National Insurance Fund, and $0.1 billion to the Severance Fund. There is no cash in the Severance Fund. Where is the money currently coming from to pay the workers’ severance that employers are refusing to pay?

    Is the law being broken with respect to the payment of unemployment and severance benefits?

    The only way Government can repay the money owed to the NIS is through taxation. Who will the Government tax to get the $2.9 billion for the NIS?
    The Baby Boomers have started to retire and will do so by the thousands every year until 2033. How will their retirement benefits be paid? Something has to be done very soon

    At the beginning of 2015, the NIS was paying roughly $40 million per month (just think about the multiplier effect this has on our economy) in NIS retirement pensions. That amounts to $480 million per year, and $960 million over two years.
    We can therefore understand what the Chairman of the NIS meant when he said: “there are sufficient funds there that we can see this through at least for the next two years.”

    However, the Chairman went on to say: “So there is no cause for concern.”

    Every BU reader can now look the Chairman of the NIS fully in the face and say: “We do not agree with your assessment of the NIS, Mr. Chairman. There is great, great cause for concern, and in fact, we are very, very concerned. Next time you speak, please tell us what is the Board’s solutions to the massive NIS problems we face.”

  14. Walter Blackman Avatar
    Walter Blackman

    …what are the Board’s solutions

  15. UNEMPLOYMENT Fund is Broke, Time for Straight Talk Chairman Leslie Haynes | Barbados Underground

    […] following was posted as a comment by Walter Blackman to the Walter Blackman’s Political Insights blog – David, […]

  16. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @WB
    You really need to be a little more confusing and general in your posts. We prefer entries which leave multiple possible interpretations beyond the obvious. We need to know who to blame!!!

  17. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Have anyone noticed how agreeable David is with Walter position
    When i read the tea leaves of WB positions being built on a fault line of excuses for present govt
    The obvious flash across my mind a disgruntled throw off neglected and rejected WB by past govt
    Most of the time his responses comes across as a pathetic sissy looking for a place to rest his head
    How can a man of low moral standards to be a judge of any thing

  18. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Northern

    I am not sure what you mean by what I am ‘alluding to’. Don’t put words in my mouth. If you are not sure plse ask me to explain. I am not alluding to anything. I say what I mean.

  19. David Avatar
    David

    The blogmaster’s hero is MICHAEL CARRINGTON.

  20. 555dubstreet Avatar
    555dubstreet

    Agents of change will never see their goals achieved they just pass the baton on.
    From Marcus Garvey to MLK to Bob Marley their children as beneficiaries reap benefits from their efforts.
    If you aim for goals that will be achieved in your lifetime then you are not aiming high enough.

    10 Steps to Africa, 10 Steps to Dub

  21. UNEMPLOYMENT Fund is Broke, Time for Straight Talk Chairman Leslie Haynes – News

    […] following was posted as a comment by Walter Blackman to the Walter Blackman’s Political Insights blog – David, […]

  22. David Avatar
    David

    DFECTIONS NOTHING NOTHING NEW
    By Colville Mounsey
    colvillemounsey@nationnews.com

    Whenever a member of a political party crosses over to the other side of the political divide, it has always stirred up much public discourse. This news often fuels public speculation within the rank and file of the party. There are times when cracks and fissures emerge in the shared ideology or cases when ambitions supersede loyalty, which result in members leaving the party.
    Despite a few fringe political parties that have popped up from time to time, for decades Barbados has been predominantly a two-party system, with either the Grantley Adams-founded Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Errol Barrow-established Democratic Labour Party (DLP) at the helm of the political landscape.
    Therefore, for people who can no longer see eye to eye with their political party of choice, the options are limited to joining one of the two main parties, joining a fringe party, be an independent, form a new party or leave active politics altogether.
    Just two weeks ago the country witnessed three members of the DLP, exercising two of the above-mentioned options upon their departure.
    It was revealed that Rodney Grant and George Connolly, two candidates on the DLP’s 2018 ticket, had joined the BLP. Days after, long-time member and administrative stalwart of the DLP, George Pilgrim announced he had resigned from the party and for the time being was out of elective politics.
    Since the late 1980s, the DLP has been the party most impacted by defections. With the exception of DeLisle Bradshaw and former Christ Church East MP Wendell Callendar, who both resigned from the BLP and joined the DLP in 1997, the BLP has not suffered major losses since the 1990s.
    The first slide came with the formation of National Democratic Party (NDP), which was established by Dr Richie Haynes, who broke from the DLP. The second was facilitated by the “politics former Prime Founded Democratic medical doctor, Government party to a alternative below $7 In the ran for the was able was able Miller, Edgar Prescod, who on the DLP administration. since the than the and Owen There was DLP, but politics of inclusion campaign” spearheaded by late Prime Minister Owen Arthur.
    Founded in 1989, the NDP was a splinter group of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). Haynes, a then 61-year-old doctor, was a former Minister of Finance in the DLP Government of 1986-1991. He is credited with helping that a landslide victory in the 1986 elections with his alternative budget, offering tax-free income for those earning 500 per year.
    1991 elections, Haynes and three colleagues who the NDP, lost their Parliamentary seats. Haynes to take back his seat in the 1994 election. The NDP to snag three DLP Members of Parliament (Peter Edgar Bourne and Richard Byer) as well as Trevor who had first left the BLP to contest the 1986 election DLP ticket and was a Senator in the Erskine Sandiford administration. The party in fact became the official Opposition new party had more seats in Parliament at the time BLP, which comprised of Henry Forde, David Simmons Owen Arthur.
    was also the case of David Comissiong, who joined the never sought office under its banner. He later shifted to the NDP. Comissiong was a DLP Senator at one stage and was considered one of the leading prospects for future DLP leadership. Prescod, who left the BLP at the same time with Dr Don Blackman. eventually returned to the fold of the BLP in 1997.
    During Arthur’s 14 years as Prime Minister, several linchpins of the DLP crossed over to the BLP.
    In 1998, Hamilton Lashley resigned from the DLP citing the reason that he was offered an opportunity by Arthur to act as a consultant on poverty alleviation. Lashley’s journey has been a bit of a seesaw ride as he re-joined the DLP shortly after they came to power in the election of 2008.
    However, Lashley was certainly not the last
    DLP member to fall into the welcoming embrace of the BLP. In 1999, bright political spark Kerrie Symmonds as well as two-time losing candidate, Rudy Grant, handed in their resignation from the DLP within hours of each other. Symmonds, 32 at the time and who lost in St James South, took issue with the management style and approach of then party leader David Thompson. The young attorney said he was also disillusioned with the party’s inability to contribute to the overall national development.
    Perhaps the biggest blow to the DLP came in 2006, when University of the West Indies- trained economist, Dr Clyde Mascoll resigned as the Leader of the Opposition. Mascoll became Opposition Leader after the 2003 general election. He was also elected president in 2001 when Thompson resigned as president and political leader.
    His resignation from the party came days after a letter of no-confidence signed by four Opposition members, and addressed to then Speaker of the House Ishmael Roett, was delivered to the Clerk of Parliament. The signatories to that letter were MPs Michael Lashley (St Philip North), Richard Sealy (St Michael South Central), Ronald Jones (Christ Church East Central) and DLP president and St John representative, David Thompson.
    Mascoll had a very brief stint as an independent MP before declaring that he had found acceptance with the BLP.

  23. BAJE Avatar
    BAJE

    SO WHERE DOES THE CHAMELEON DAVID COMMISSONG FIT IN ABOVE ARTICLE?

Older Comments
1 … 4 5 6

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

Trending

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading