Adrian Loveridge Column – Simply the Beast Game in Town

As we come to the end of another year, for many around the world, probably the most unpredictable of their entire lives, it is perhaps time to reflect, while trying to make sense and possibly attempt to plan for the future.

Even after a working lifetime involved in tourism, like so many others, we simply are not sufficiently qualified to proffer potential solutions post pandemic, but there are past experiences which tell us that until ‘we’ as a nation find any viable alternatives, that it will largely remain the ‘only game in town’.

Looking back 32 years, we can only admit to being extremely naïve when purchasing a closed semi-derelict small hotel on what was perhaps considered then, as one of the less desirable coastlines of the island.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing of course and despite all the odds including a barrage of bureaucracy (that continues to exist three decades later), uncooperative banks, who often simply did not understand what it takes to make businesses work, merchant traders and suppliers not willing to take any credit risks, we grew the business while contributing around $50 million to the local economy, directly or indirectly.

During that time, we employed people, paid their NIS and met every single Government tax and imposition, despite still being owed tens of thousands of confirmed VAT refunds, dating back from as late as 2013.

Was it easy? Absolutely not!

But if you have a vision that you share with a partner, believe in what you are doing and preparing to work 17 hours a day, seven days a week, then ‘success’, in whatever form you consider that word applicable, is possible.

As we now look on under the new owners and their extensive commitment to massive renovations, which have been underway for weeks, we have no doubt they will take the former Peach and Quiet to another level and build on any ‘success’ that we might have achieved in the past.

Clearly acceptable standards and guest expectations change over the years and our former small hotel reaching almost 50 years since construction, desperately needed upgrading.

The new owners with three generations of proven hand-on hotel ownership and management share our vision and have the sheer determination to ensure the re-named property once again reaches the award winning boutique hotel status we enjoyed.

Personally I have no doubt that our tourism sector will rebound and that we will learn valuable lessons from the pandemic.

What will be absolutely critical to its recovery is that those who have the vision and drive to invest in times like this are given all the support and encouragement to ensure this happens.

It is time for some of our banks to revisit their purpose and for our army of civil servants to carefully evaluate how they can contribute to the national interest.

From our personal experience, there are always notable exceptions to the ‘norm’ and our sincere thanks go out to the incredibly positive response we received from all involved recently at the Central Bank of Barbados.

88 thoughts on “Adrian Loveridge Column – Simply the Beast Game in Town


  1. It is 5 days away from Christmas and still no word WHEN OR IF the displaced workers of Barbados will be paid monies due to by Law.

    Their former employers with MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of dollars in their pockets ARE BUSY FPAPAREING FOR A WHITE AND MERRY CHRISTMAS for themselves and their families.

    Without a care for the poor unfortunate displaced workers.


  2. @ Carson

    Are the consultants being paid? By the way, a year ago this month we were told that White Oaks had reached a PROVISIONAL agreement with our external creditors. Has this agreement been finalised yet? Are we still paying White Oaks?
    One consultant was getting Bds$27000 a month; how much is Persaud earning? By the way, there are other wealthy Barbadian fund managers left out of the government loop, why?


    • The question/statement Adrian posits remains valid. Have we seen the shoots from policies sowed by successive governments to suggest production in non tourism areas will be enough to move the GDP needle?


  3. @Hal

    External creditors have not been paid, why do you think Barbados Scotiabank sale to T&T Republic Bank has not progressed. Scotia holding off on this sale until they receive the agreed to settlement.


    • @Wily

      You persist with your assertion when market practice in the financial sector as regulated by the FSC is that no entity should have more than 50% concentration of assets. This has been debated many times on BU.


  4. @ Wily

    It is clear that there is still a lot of unfinished business. What is really upsetting is that we have a government that treats the people with total contempt, they do not think they have any right to explain or apologise.
    Yet the leader comes out with obvious fabrications, rhetorical duplicity, as if politics outstrips honesty. This is true on every aspect of policy, and is totally different to differences about policy. There is no policy.
    Is anyone doing an audit on this government since May 2018? I have called for a total government balance sheet, but so far no supporters.


  5. @ Hal

    They too busy worrying about what the new more contagious covid 20 will do to the golden child of tourism now in terms of recovery.

    If wunna had started 9 months ago with a diversification plan into agriculture and alternative energy we wouldn’t be at the devil’s gates now!


  6. Yes, a ‘beast” of a game! What a Freudian slip. Revealing the national subconscious.

    Where are the 11-plus boys and girls pretending as if linguistic police.


  7. Hal when one asked questions which are relevant to the financial governance of this country
    Some here says to “Stop it”
    Really can’t understand how one would not pursue good diligence from their govt borne out of accountability and Transparency


  8. @ John A

    It is painful that we have a highly intelligent government, at least on paper, that is lost in terms of policy and in terms of political ethics.
    There is nothing magical about a workable economic policy to drive the economy in a time of serious crisis. It is just that we have a leader who takes control of every decision, but not responsibility.


  9. @ David

    Former tourism minister Richard Sealy said the current BLP administration isn’t doing enough to revive to tourism industry.


    • @Artax

      The topic says tourism is the only game in town. What a way for Sealy to remain relevant as he test opinion to see if he can claw his way back from the political dust bin.


  10. CCC

    There is no law that say the worker must get their severance before Xmas or new year
    But we understand why they would they and you would want it to be paid by Xmas .

    Let’s be our brother keepers and put our money where our mouths is
    For every Bajan dollar you donate in will match it US $2

    Now let us see how much you really care
    Or if you are just an empty vessel

    You donation must be verified


  11. @Mariposa

    It appears as if there is an organised attempt to marginalise you by trivialising your sensible contributions. The problem is you are far better informed than your critics, judging from their various contributions on BU.
    If the attacks on you are not organised they are the obvious outcomes of learning by rote. You may also notice they also attack anyone who agrees with anything you say.
    I am sure you pay close attention to the various critics: those who are passive/aggressive, the nit-pickers, the cyber bullies, the cognitively impaired, those who are angry because of the limitation of their own education, etc.
    Keep on doing what you do. It makes enormous sense. I admire you.


  12. @Hal

    So far we have a basic shutdown of travel out of Europe with Canada following close behind them. forget the USA they never got covid 19 under control far less a new one.

    Just rememeber one thing Boris said and it was ” I know the country this new virus came from but will not say at this time.” This confirms the virus is already outside the UK and as a result spread has already started.

    I am just totally frustrated with the fact that 9 months into this dam thing there is no clear plan in place for diversification of our economy. On top of that we have covid 20 out there that is 70% more contagious and as a result has caused the closure of our major markets. So when will this goverment understand that we can no longer depend on tourism as our main money earner and act accordingly?


  13. @ John A

    The virus is outside London and the UK. At present, all we are hearing is that the president has magically got control of CoVid, but no-one is saying how.
    You may remember the CoVid economic task force, which had eight sub-committees and was given four months to come up with suggestions. Whatever happened to that task force?
    Instead of having serious discussions about policy, we prefer to drift in to personal abuse. Where is the opposition party, the media, the academics, the members of the task force?


  14. @ John A

    Politicians and medical scientists in the UK are frightfully scared of this new variant. You are right about it being 70 per cent more contagious, what is not clear yet is if the new vaccines will work against it.
    Would you believe that young people are still having illegal parties, not wearing facial masks and are generally behaving badly?
    Johnson is out of his depth. It shows that leading a country calls fora more than flowery speeches and hand waving. It calls for decision-making and an ability to reason. Sound familiar?


  15. @ John A @ Hal
    Archived copies of BU would note that I often described Stuart as indolent and Mottley as vacuous.
    Those words were not chosen lightly. I am still to learn what distinguished Mottley as a Minister. Will reserve comment about her as PM. It’s a bit too soon.
    So far, her leadership has been all PR. when it comes to the economy.
    The country is going no where at record speed.


  16. @ David
    Was Sealy a successful Minister of Tourism or not? That is the question. Whether he emerges from the political dustbin, is up to the voters.
    What are the main accomplishments of the one (Simmons)who held the portfolio for two full years after Sealy got kicked into political oblivion?


  17. (Quote):
    You may remember the CoVid economic task force, which had eight sub-committees and was given four months to come up with suggestions. Whatever happened to that task force? (Unquote).
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    That’s a valid question which many might wish to avoid or describe as another attempt at “throwing shade”.

    Aren’t the electioneering of that much touted principle of transparency and the call for “all hands on deck” to save Barbados relevant anymore especially with the strong possibility that there will be NO winter ‘tourist season’ which represents the annual harvest of the country’s forex earning efforts?

    Would BA & VA be bringing in the thousands of those much needed forex-spending snowbirds out of the UK now threatened with a more potent strain of Covid-19 which, it seems, has been given a new pair of wings compliments to the ‘invisible’ Red bull with 20:20 vision?

    Wouldn’t such a forex crop failure pose a tremendous challenge on the country’s ability to defend its much vaunted 2:1 currency peg to the greenback?


  18. Fellows all we know is that according to the BBC the new virus is 70% more contagious. Whether the vaccines will work on it and if so for how long is an unknown. What percentage of people catching it will be asymptomatic they also don’t know.

    What we know is Antigua and Grenada are closing their doors to flights out the Ok in the next few days. We also know the UK is under lock down and they are our most profitable destination.

    So again I ask what is plan B based on what this means to our tourism revenue this winter. Also will we be following our neighbours and closing the doors to the UK or will be use the wait and see approach?


  19. @ Hal

    Yes that is what the medical experts reported in the BBC report, everything else is an unknown in terms of resistance to vaccine etc. at this stage.


  20. @ John A

    Boris is giving a press conference in about 15 minutes. Forty countries have now banned movement from the UK. Things are looking very bad.
    Barbados should package and sell their epidemiological model. It is the politics of over-promising and under-delivering.


    • There you go throwing shade on Barbados per usual. It is not only Barbados in the region managing a Covid flatline.


  21. @John A

    Only London and parts of the South East. The tier levels vary all over the country. But Boris is out of his league, battling between saving lives and saving livelihoods.
    The vast majority of Londoners are not native Londoners; they come from overseas and the provinces. So, if we have a new variant in London, then it will almost certainly be not only in the provinces, but all over the world. Sydney is also on lockdown.
    Have a look at how the president is trying to save tourism and lives, something has got to give. I am still waiting to see the monthly mortality figures for 2019 and 2020.
    I am waiting to hear the latest from Boris. The lesson: politicians who talk a lot but do nothing are not reliable leaders.


  22. Alarming ? Yes

    But I don’t see why Barbados cannot continue its course with the protocols they have in place that are successful so far. And we seems to be well prepared for a worst case scenario.

    I don’t think anyone expected a “full” winter season this year


    • The blogmaster listened to Boris and the takeaway is that this variant although more easily transmitted current treatments will apply.


  23. Hal i do not watch Tv hardly read news unless it is something of real importance
    Most of my comments are influence through observation
    Hence some on BU finds it hard to understand my sense of reasoning
    As the pandemic increases across international countries and small islands
    I remain steadfast an opponent to opening of borders
    Movement as such rapid pace does not decrease the contagious effect of the virus
    In as much as barbados contains the virus in limited form
    The financial fall out is going to a reality this small island cannot bear


  24. These INDIANS are something else.

    A young Lady worked for them on Sunday 20-12-2020. From 8.00am to 7.00pm and they looked at her and gave her $60.00 Barbados dollars for all her hard work.

    “NICE INDIANS” exploiting BLACK BARBADIANS.


  25. Hal

    All the “consultants” have been paid their exorbitant salaries for the YULTIME SEASON , MIA AMOR MOTTLEY made sure of that They can buy whatever they want for Christmas. They can enjoy their WHITE CHRISTMAS to their heart content.

    But THE BLACK BARBADIAN SLAVES are yet to be paid their just dues by law. And probably they never will be paid. Their former employers WITH MILLION S OF DOLLARS in their refuse to pay them on the Eve of Christmas. They will have a very bleak and despondent Christmas.

    That is how they TREAT BLACK BARBADIANS in Barbados While TREATING “THE BAJANS BY CHOICE” like they
    come down form HEAVEN. And the other 3% MEMBERS of the Barbadian population, THE WHITE AND INDIANS treated with total adulation.

    5 races


  26. @ Carson

    I do not believe in violence, but employees of the big hotels who refuse to pay severance should go the the boss’ home and picket it. Make their lives a misery.


  27. John2

    You think that all BLACK BARBADIANS want is a “hamper” , charity from others. They are working for their monies. If they wanted charity , they would have stayed at home. WHITE BAJANS AND INDIANS WHO OWE THEM THEIR MONIES SHOULD BE LET OFF THE HOOK as far as you are concern.

    Don’t pay them what you owe them , the other Bajans will chip in with a handout.

    That is all BLACK BARBADIANS want , they don’t want what monies are due to them. You can take that monies and spend it ON YOUR WHITE BAJAN AND INDIAN FAMILIES.

    I DONT KNOW WHY SOME BLACK PEOPLE HATE BLACK PEOPLE SO.

    I bet that MIA AMOR MOTLLEY and her pregnant and the former employers have all been paid the monies due to them for Christmas?????


  28. Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands have all confirmed they have cases of the virus to The Washington Post. The virus therefore is not only in the UK anymore. ITALY believes they have cases too which resulted from Italians returning from the UK over the past few days.


  29. MIA AMOR MOTLLEY spoke about the Tourism Industry, not a word about when DISPLACED BLACK WORKERS would get their monies or if they will ever it. She was only placate the Hotel owners.

    Jeffrey Bostic spoke to the Nation as well. Not a word about when the displaced workers would get their monies or if they will ever it. He was just trying to placate the Hotel owners

    These are the the BLACK BARBADIANS who went out in their number and voted the Barbados Labour Party into office. Now no one cares about their plight. They were only useful at General election and bye election time.

    However I hope that MIA AMOR MOTLLEY realises that 97% of people of this Barbados population is BLACK BARBADIANS. They are not enough of the 3% of the Barbados population of WHITE BAJANS AND INDIANS to return her to Govt.

    They can supply tons of Dollars because they have it to help out her but this will not always work.


  30. ccc

    I am all fir the workers getting their money plus interest

    I however would also like them to have a “white” according to you Xmas

    I they don’t get ther money at least they will have something – especially if they have children

    If the get their severance the day before Xmas then the will have a whiter Xmas

    Stop twisting this and trying to make it about me

    Lead by example
    Show where your heart really is
    Until then you are only braying because u can and is not making any difference to the rich whites or the poor unemployed black

    Time to $tep up or shut shut
    You are coming over as a fraud. Not much different from employers. Heartless


  31. john2

    You are happy they are not being paid dont try to fool the public.

    Their former employers are right to not pay them as far as you are concerned.

    You are hoping that they have a bleak Christmas. That their former employers do not meet their responsibilities,


  32. Ccc

    You are copping out and looking for excuses

    FRAUD

    If you think that is what I would like does not mean that you cannot give to at least one person

    Fraud u r


  33. It is said by the Govt. that former workers are owed over $300 million Barbados dollars. Do you realised what this amount of money can achieve?? Do you realised that this money can can pay all your bills and still have enough left over to stat many ventures??? These people if they walk into a Bank on Broad Street to borrow this kind would be treated with scorn and disdain by the Bank Manager but it would be given to white people with out batting an eyelid????

    That is why the former workers are not being paid. The 3% people see them as a threat to them. BLACK BARBADIANS ARE NEVER to have money. They must always be kept poor. You don’t see it??? Blind man???


  34. @ John2 December 21, 2020 1:08 PM
    “I don’t think anyone expected a “full” winter season this year..”
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Then you ought to be prepared to revise your overly optimistic forecast of an economic recovery =>7%.

    If airplanes loaded with tourists do not arrive from the UK it could be even worse than 20 20; vaccine or no vaccine available to the Bajan population already ridden with NCDs.


  35. @ Miller

    Don’t get caught up in that 7 % growth in 2021 lot of talk. Well Cuhdear if 2020 was 30% down on 2019 and 2021 you hoping is 7% better than 2020 what you really saying at all?

    When all said and done you still would be down 23% on 2019 when you had the 40,000 that home employed. Them grand statements must be taken in perspective. In other words up 7% in relation to the worst year wunna had in 20 years, dat is what you happy bout? So the question then that must follow would be when do you expect to get back to the level of economic activity we were at in 2019 pre covid? Looking like 2024 then based on their projections and that is based on assuming the ecomomy can grow 7% roughly for 2022 through to 2024!

    Numbers without perspective is pointless.


  36. CC
    You could really hush! You forget how much (more than $300M) the government owed people 2008-2018 and what it could have achieved? From personal income tax and vat returns, to payment for services and court judgements. Back when there was no pandemic but Guyson Mayers was getting a $300,000 consultancy for 15 months. It is clear you on ambush tactics, but given your role pre-2018 you lack any standing to talk. Our memories are not that short. How many new hotels were built between 2008-2018? What did the then government, which you so staunchly supported do to create a more resilient tourism industry? Did they promote and encourage alternative energy, water efficiency and technology? Any new attractions or just $400,000 to a lawyer for work at the Cave? Established better deals for taxi and tour operators, vendors, creatives? Any work on improving access to funding for players in the industry? Any expansion at the airport and besides cement, what else at the seaport..certainly not scanners. Any new legislation or policies to cut some of the red tape that hinder tourism development, whether physically or in terms of operation? When the severance is paid are you going to talk about the building in Six Roads, credit union and your constituency council? Stupse.


  37. @ Carson C Cadogan December 21, 2020 2:09 PM
    “These INDIANS are something else.
    A young Lady worked for them on Sunday 20-12-2020. From 8.00am to 7.00pm and they looked at her and gave her $60.00 Barbados dollars for all her hard work.
    “NICE INDIANS” exploiting BLACK BARBADIANS.”
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Before you can convince us that you are genuine in your concerns about the modern-day exploitation of black people in Bim you must first explain why do indigenous blacks find themselves in the unenviable position of having to work for immigrants most of whom arrived in Barbados without two pennies to rub together and semi-literate.

    All over the Western world the reverse holds true where the immigrants do all the menial tasks and mainly work for the indigenous population until they find themselves in a position to ‘make it’.

    Do black Bajans emigrate to the USA, Canada or Britain and employ the natives or do they find themselves working for them until ‘retirement’?

    What’s really wrong with the psyche of black Bajans where they find themselves (like well-conditioned exploited slaves) working for immigrants who neither look like them nor share their cultural/religious values?

    You are clearly not so ‘smart’ an ‘educated’ people as you have been foolishly ‘led’ to think or believe.


  38. Heard on the news
    The vaccine may be easily adjusted for the new strain . The ones that’s using the new technologies


  39. Enuff and John 2 this guy Cadogan is a big FRAUD.He cares nothing about poor people.He could not reportedly pay the lady, s light bill when he was allegefly Mr Blackett, s right hand man living high on the hog.When 5000 persons were laid off just after 2013 elections the then PM asked if persons knew the meaning of temporary not a word from Mariposa or this joker CCC.When people could not get their income tax under Mr Stuart and Mr Sinckler not a word from them.When the beautify workers could not get their severance for years not a damn word from those two.All of a sudden these two frauds Mariposa andC adogan care about poor people .Give me rh break!.As for Austin you are a real comedian telling the dem jackass Mariposa that she is sensible.As Bush tea used to say oh ma shirt never heard so much shite talk in my life.You really need to be honest with Mariposa as a so called respected journalist.


  40. Lorenzo u come here talking crap
    I asked u what has Mia done for the poor people
    Yes the poor people she had march length and breadth of barbados
    Tell muh what has she done
    On independence day she promised front line workers those she made sitting ducks in the line if covid fire medals yes medals
    None of those medals aint going worth a dime if any one of them become ill and cant work
    Feel shame Mia talk about giving out grants
    How much she never said
    Poor black business catching hell and she hasnt opened the treasury to help them
    White business she offered the whole treasury
    Now u get here talking trash but cant show one thing Mia has implemented to help poor hard working black people
    Even the illegal squatters getting free houses
    Yuh need to go hide yuh face where u find comfort up Muttley arse


  41. Are the people being in for the “stay and work” program being tested properly for the virus?

    Or are they being slipped in to prop up the Govt. at the next General Elections????? We know that elections is always on the Barbados Labour Party’s mind????

    What assurances can the Barbados Labour Party give the Nation that these “Bajans by choice” will not be voting the next time around???


  42. Christmas is just around the corner. It is just 4 days away from Christmas. BLACK WORKERS are to be paid their monies owed. Monies owed by their former employers. they are being treated as SLAVES.

    they will have a very bleak Christmas indeed. No fault of their own. If you travel to the homes of their former employers one lavishness as they prepare for a WHITE AND MERRY CHRISTMAS. THE CHILDEN OF DISPLACED WORKERS will have to sit idly by, their bellies growling from hunger because their parents can not afford to feed them. While the children of their former employers live lavishly.

    Can this be fair to BLACK PEOPLE????

    I ask you.


  43. Pride in crisis relief
    OVER THE WEEKEND, following months of political squabbling that preceded the November 3 presidential election, United States legislators agreed to a US$900 billion COVID-19 relief package for businesses and individuals.
    This came ahead of next month’s expiration of existing economic relief programmes, and with 12 million Americans facing the threat of losing access to unemployment benefits.
    As reported by the BBC, the new assistance will include US$600 direct stimulus payments to most Americans, and boost unemployment payments by US$300 per week. It is also set to include more than US$300 billion in support for businesses, and money for vaccine distribution.
    The latest US relief is a follow-on from March when that country’s lawmakers approved more than US$2.4 trillion in economic relief, including US$1 200 stimulus cheques, funds for businesses and money to boost weekly unemployment payments by US$600.
    The US still has the world’s largest economy. On November 25, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) was US$21.16 trillion. So purely from a dollars-and-cents standpoint, it is clear that the Americans can easily afford such assistance, hence why it is incredulous that politicians there should have been quarrelling about it.
    It is true that Barbados is a much smaller country, and hence the needs of its population would be smaller in a financial sense, but all Barbadians should be proud of the way Government, all political parties, the private sector, non-governmental organisations and individuals have responded during the COVID-19 crisis.
    This has left no doubt that Barbados remains a caring society regardless of what challenges we face.
    The National Insurance Scheme has its problems, but the fact that we even have such a social security programme to cushion the blows felt by 32 000 Barbadians is something much larger countries cannot claim.
    Efforts to keep households as whole as possible with monthly payments and other aid, and various forms of assistance for businesses, have helped to keep the society together.
    All of this has taken place simultaneously with fighting a pandemic that has threatened to overwhelm countries, including the same US. It is true that Government has relied on financing from entities like the International Monetary Fund and Inter-American Development Bank, but with our limited resources, this is understandable.
    Based on information from the Central Bank and the Barbados Statistical Service, Barbados’ GDP was about $6.68 billion at the end of September, down more than $1 billion when compared to the same period last year. Much of this is attributed to the $692.1 million fall in contribution from tourism over the first three quarters of this year in comparison to 2019.
    The battle is far from over, and no response is ever perfect, but all Barbadians should be proud of how they have aided their fellow citizens during a difficult time for all of us. We all have to continue carrying the weakest among us well into 2021.
    No doubt Barbados remains a caring society regardless of what challenges we face.

    Source: Nation


  44. When are the people going to get their NIS contributions
    Govt of Barbados gave in rapid. speed tax breaks and tax relief to businesses
    Still the poor black bajan household begging for their money


  45. Mariposa,
    once again you are so far from the whole truth.
    As stated in my column, we are still awaiting nearly $30,000 in due and acknowledged VAT Refunds dating back from February 2013. This despite paying over to Government more than $400,000 in taxes and VAT contributions within the last month.


  46. When are people going to get their tax returns before Christmas as promised by the Govt. ?????

    Oh yeah!!!!!

    A promised by this Govt. is a comfort to a fool.


  47. I see from an article in Barbados Today that Sharmane Roland-Bowen, BLP henchwoman is alive and kicking??? I thought she was dead as she is not putting anymore FLAGS IN POTHOES as she did under the DLP administration. Even though there are more POTHOLES DOTTING the landscape of Barbados than ever?????

    She just wanted to ensure a victory for the Barbados Labour Party Govt. at all cost????Did she really care about POTHOLES?????


  48. You all notice the news article in the Barbados Today in Barbados about the cluster of Corona Virus in St. James????? In st. James????

    This is just the TIP OF THE ICEBERG as we welcome our “Bajan by choice””.


    • Trust you to enter stage centre at this point. We had a cluster in St. James a few months ago where a housekeeper caught covid from a guest and there was some spread, however because of aggressive contact tracing the cluster was circled. Once cases found can be tacked to the primary case it is not classified as community spread.

      You are one unhappy man.


  49. That is strange. No???

    A virus that does not discriminate, somehow chooses to bypass Bajans???

    Are we not lucky???

    Just like we got ANGELS FROM HEAVEN in the form of WHITE BAJANS AND INDIANS who can do no wrong , only Black people???? They dont have any people in Dodds only Black people they boast and beat their chests.

    Strange indeed.


  50. You go JEFFI BEAR let in as many tourists as possible with the virus from the UK. The others who close their Borders to protect their populations don’t know what they are doing. We will reap their MONEY from their ILL ADVISED actions. They don’t known what they are doing. ONLY US HERE IN BARBADOS.

    Kill off some of the BLACK PEOPLE. As we contract it.

    Go ahead JEFFI BEAR LIL ENGLAND is behind you.

    MIA CARES.


  51. Boy we have the WISEST govt. in the World.(certainly the biggest Cabinet))

    The other 40 nation of the world who banned travel from the UK, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. Claiming they are protecting their population from the spread of the Virus.

    They need to takea leaf out Barbados book and let in anyone.


  52. We must craft a new reality
    Many of us may say goodbye to 2020 with a sigh of relief, having managed relatively well as a nation. But there is no guarantee that 2021 will be better. Many will feel no relief with the change in digits of the year at all. Just because the country is managing does not necessarily mean that all of its citizens are.
    This is something I’ve always found strange about the economics focused conversation around the state of the nation. It often seems to have little to do with how citizens actually feel and how they are actually doing. A nation can be considered economically stable while a large number of its citizens are in shaky standing.
    I think one of the reasons some of our politicians seem to love this kind of economic discourse is because it can hide the true state of things or cover up governmental failings. Contrary to popular belief, numbers do lie. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that humans can lie with numbers and that numbers often do not tell the full story.
    From the beginning of this column I’ve been talking about the lie or the myth, or the partial story of “The Superior Barbadian Educational System.” The mythical number 98, as in 98 per cent literacy definitely hides much of the full story.
    I am told by some teachers that the disruption in schooling has opened their eyes to the difficult economic and social situations many of their students are in. Some parents have told me that having their children being at home has opened their eyes to what a difficult job teachers are tasked with.
    But as long as we are focused on magic numbers we can avoid seeing certain mundane realities. That is, until something like the COVID comes around and rips the veil off your eyes.
    However, do not underestimate the power of denial. A human head fits snugly in sand, especially when its tail is not touched directly by the cruel hand of fate. If history is any indication, many will find a magic number to satisfy them that all is now well. They might be watching the low infection numbers, for example, and telling themselves that we can get back to normalcy.
    Some of us cringe when we hear talk of getting back to normalcy. What the Richard Hoad is normalcy? For some of us, normalcy in Bim is living in denial while systems and structures slowly degrade. We don’t want things to get back to normal. We want to move forward with eyes open and a new vision.
    The irony is many of those who want to get back to normalcy are those who are the most fearful of and panicked by apparent social decay.
    They haven’t yet linked their ignoring and ignorance of certain realities to the problems that they are seeing.
    They have long feared change and now that change is forced upon us, they are holding on to dreams of normalcy as if COVID-19 knocked them unconscious.
    The dusk of 2020 is not time to go back to sleep. The dawn of 2021 is a chance to wake up to a new reality. It is a new reality that we must craft. We have focused on being strict guardians of certain heritage with too little focus on being craftspersons of our fate.
    Great craftpersons are not only born.
    They are educated and trained. A great nation is crafted by citizens, who are themselves crafted by the nations social and educational systems.
    Life has a sense of humour such that when you don’t want to face an issue, life will force you to face it while making the issue harder to fix. The systems that craft Barbadian citizens have been malfunctioning for a long time. We now are being tasked with fixing them under most inconvenient circumstances. God help us and the Minister of Education especially. We and she will have to find new ways to craft the citizens that will craft the future. That will mean reengineering ourselves as well.
    Don’t be scared of change homie.
    Take charge of it. While we may not be breathing a sigh of relief at the end of 2020, we should still face 2021 with a smile. For one, everything is better with a positive attitude. And secondly, I think we are up to the challenge of being and creating some of the most resilient and innovative Barbadians in history.
    Adrian Green is a communications specialist. Email: Adriangreen14 @gmail.com

    Source: Nation


  53. BAJANS WARNED
    Economists Stephen, Marshall: Expect more austerity
    By Colville Mounsey colvillemounsey@nationnews.com
    Barbadians are being cautioned that there may be more austerity as a result of the recent supplemental and concessionary financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
    This concern was raised by economist Jeremy Stephen, who said unless Government gets the foreign exchange earning sectors going outside of the flagging tourism industry, Barbadians must brace for a “reckoning” in another five years.
    His view was supported by head of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), Dr Don Marshall, who said Government must urgently build out small businesses that have the potential to earn foreign exchange.
    Stephen said he was not seeing enough evidence of a fast-growing productive sector and, therefore, it was likely that Government, in another five years, might be forced to raise taxes or do more trims to the wage bill.
    “Relief normally comes with a cost down the road and it depends on how long the IMF is willing to hold strain in order to allow us to sustain. The reality is that a reckoning normally does come, it is just a case of just how intense that reckoning is going to be.
    Would that reckoning come at the cost of social stability or social safety net?
    The IMF has said that they are more amenable to development targets, but it will lead to some bit of dislocation.
    It is just a matter of whether it is going to be the middle class that bears the brunt of any tax increases,” said Stephen, noting the funds were needed to contain the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    He argued that even though the IMF is not the same institution of the 1980s and 1990s, which imposed severe austerity in order to ensure the borrower’s ability to repay, the country still has to step up productivity in order to repay the funds.
    “The last time I checked, the IMF does not give away free money because the institution was never built on that premise. There is going to be this major onus on Barbados over the next five years, where the impetus has to be on production.
    You essentially pay back the IMF in foreign exchange, so at the end of the day the onus is to earn more foreign exchange than you are spending,” he said, noting that for the last 30 years Barbados has not earned large scale foreign exchange.
    Foreign exchange
    “Historically, Barbados, not since the 1980s, has earned substantial amounts of foreign exchange other than a major investment into the economy or through the IMF or sovereign to sovereign loans. It was never a case of registering a massive increase in foreign exchange because exports were that great. So, if we really want to avoid a reckoning, this economy has to be more productive and this comes down to whether private sector and the Government are willing to take risks. This is something that is not happening quick enough in my estimation,” Stephen added.
    Pointing out that Government had also adjusted its surplus target from six per cent to a one per cent deficit under the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme, Marshall said Government does not have the fiscal wiggle room to boost the productive sectors.
    “The name of the game right now is waiting on a tourism rebound. If we are going to drive our innovative industries you are going to have to use strategic investment targeting.
    We have to also bailout some of those small businesses that have the potential to export. We would also have to finance some of those start-ups in industries that have the potential to earn foreign exchange.
    Government will also have to engage in infrastructural spend. So while we hear being announced every time we do secure a loan, while it is a useful loan to have, one has to question what are the terms and conditions of these loans in relation to the payback and when they become due,” he said.

    Source: Nation

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