Looks Like the DLP Playing the Long Game

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The blogmaster read Nation newspaper Barry Alleyne’s report De Peiza sticking with the process and was finally convinced the raison d’être the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) continues to go about a methodical candidate selection process. The system of governance and politics practised in Barbados makes it the business if ALL Barbadians to want a strong political Opposition. Say what we will about the need for a third party movement the DLP is the only current credible option in our political orbit.

The article reminded Barbadians that the DLP is sticking with a vetting process that sees ALL members of the party being “eligible to apply and all are subject to the same vetting process – no exceptions, not even for me” [Verla]. To date the DLP has announced only three candidates to run in the upcoming general election constitutionally due in 2023 – Verla De Peiza, Andre Worrell and Ryan Walters. Political pundits agree the DLP will not win the next general election and the leadership of that party is correctly playing a long game, that is; taking the necessary steps, now, to set yourself up for long-term success.

Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson of the UK is quoted that a week is a long time in politics. There are two years to go until 2023 if Prime Minister Mottley goes the full distance. President Verla De Peiza and the DLP has a rapidly closing window to line up the political ducks and allow sufficient time for those candidates with a legitimate chance of winning to deploy effective ground strategies. The raging pandemic will not help.

It should be obvious the biggest campaign issue in the next election will be the economy and jobs. By the time the bell is rung public transportation, garbage collection and water challenges in the North will be non issues. Coincidentally Chairman of the SSA reported yesterday the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) and the waste management arm of Barbadian company Innotech Services Limited will be implementing a ten-month project to change how garbage is collected and processed in Barbados.

For too long the blogmaster has been commenting about the lack of a credible DLP spokesperson on financial matters. The best research indicates President of the DLP Verla De Peiza is the ‘shadow minister’ of finance. This is a key area the DLP as it prepares for the next election will have to address. There is a reason the label Lost Decade has stuck to the DLP. It is widely accepted by the public the last DLP administration badly mismanaged the economy and for this reason former Minister of Finance Christopher Sinckler seems to be reluctant to show his face in public with any frequency.

This brings us to the other point to note in the Barry Alleyne article. David Estwick, Stephen Lashley and Dennis Lowe appear to be more than mildly interested in returning to the political fray. The blogmaster has commented many times were those candidates to be selected it will be a mistake. It would open the floodgates for the BLP to rehash 2018 talking points.

151 thoughts on “Looks Like the DLP Playing the Long Game”


  3. “Then I asked the paediatric doctor if there is a different way to get the COVID test and she told me no, and that they test babies by sticking the swab up the baby’s nose.

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  4. doctors insisted that based on the symptoms her son was experiencing, a COVID-19 PCR test was necessary for both of them.

    However, the mother said she asked that they receive an oral COVID-19 test instead of the nasal swab.

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  5. LWF

    I am not aware of anyone in Barbados getting stimulus money. I think you may be referring to the money that was paid out for the lost of income because of the lockdowns.

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  6. Here is where govt drops a fake version of a nugget
    Without even considering the woman has a constitutional right to say Hell.No

    Xxxxccccccc
    Meanwhile, a statement from the Director of Medical Services at QEH, Dr Clyde Cave issued today dismissed stories circulating on social media about the medical management of a child and family in the A&E at the QEH.
    He said due to the hospital’s commitment to patient privacy and confidentiality, the healthcare institution could not disclose any specific patient details.
    Dr Cave however maintained that the representation of the situation in various posts is inaccurate based on his investigation of the matter He pointed out that during the ongoing pandemic, doctors have to balance multiple responsibilities, but first and foremost is the duty of care to the child patient to ensure their well-being. The doctor said that respect for the wishes of parents is also taken into consideration but must be balanced with advocacy for any concerns affecting the minor, while the safety of the public, hospital staff and other patients is essential at this time.
    “We do acknowledge that an individual has the right to refuse a COVID-19 test. —-> However, to ensure public safety, clear national protocols have been issued by the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) and these protocols state that in the event that a suspected COVID-19 positive individual refuses to undergo PCR testing, the individual will be required to quarantine for a period of 14 days at a MOHW approved facility.
    These facilities are established and managed directly by the MOHW and the Harrisons Point Isolation is not one of them as it is solely for the treatment of confirmed COVID-19 positive individuals,” the Director of Medical Services explained.
    (anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)

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  7. The woman’s concern were relevant after all she takes care of the child and would know about what can cause discomfort to the child
    The long and short of the storythe officials tried taking up the role of parenting and obvious did not want to hear or listen to what the mother was saying with her relevant concerns for her child
    Heads should roll for causing the woman and child fear and physchological pain and discomfort
    To quote Martin Luther King
    Let freedom ring

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  9. “Here is where govt drops a fake version of a nugget.”

    It’s hard to imagine someone who was not present to witness whether or not the allegations are true, could come to BU and make a definitive statement to dismiss Dr. Cave’s version of the events as “GOVERNMENT dropping a fake version of a nugget.”

    The resident “fowl slave” is essentially POLITICIZING the issue by implying Dr. Cave spoke on behalf of the Health Minister and, by extension, the Mottley administration, rather than as a representative of the QEH, which clearly questions his integrity and credibility as a doctor.

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    • Whistleblower legislation call

      https://www.barbadosadvocate.com/sites/barbadosadvocate.com/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Verla%20De%20Peiza2web_0.jpg

      One political leader is calling for the creation of whistleblower legislation in Barbados.

      This was the view of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) leader and spokesperson on finance, Verla De Peiza during a virtual Facebook Live event on Sunday. She explained that without this critical piece of legislation people will not come forward.

      She also highlighted other pressing issues, including the bad practices in the private sector and she proposed that there should be integrity in public life legislation and this should encompass the judiciary arm. For transparency, De Peiza also said there is a need for Freedom of Information legislation.

      Campaign financing legislation needed immediately

      But with great urgency, the DLP leader wants the formation and enforcement of campaign financing legislation before the next elections.

      She cited the Caribbean Court of Justice’s (CCJ) ruling against the Dominica Labour Party (DLP) for the 2014 Treating Case. The political leader, Roosevelt Skerrit and the party were accused of hosting free concerts around election time.

      Treating is the act of serving food, drink, and other refreshments in order to influence people and to gain benefits not easily obtained in the free market. De Peiza used this case as evidence for Barbados to change the way it manages political campaigns during general elections.

      De Peiza also spoke about other challenges with modern political campaigns. She noted that political parties are not legal entities and can not earn money and this makes them dependent on donations. She is suggesting that there should be the implementation of campaign rules and structure for campaign financing for political parties and candidates.

      Due diligence for political figures

      During the final hour of the panel discussion, De Peiza responded to a question on if the DLP will commit to a code of conduct for political candidates and agents. In her reply, the DLP party leader said that it is important for those operating in the political arena to hold each other to high standards and it is important to have due diligence for political figures. She explained this process was being undertaken for all candidates including herself.

      “I am not speaking in terms of propaganda or innuendo, you always have to fight that down in the public space but speaking in terms of getting to the nitty-gritty, doing due diligence not that someone wishes to run, that they are popular in either in a national context or a colloquial sense or they have a parish presence, it is not just that but an investigation into what they have done with their lives to this point,” said De Peiza.

      She explained the objective of this process is to produce a slate of candidates who can confidently face the public.

      No mechanism for discipline with Auditor General’s reports

      The DLP Spokesperson on Finance also commented on the role and responsibility of the Auditor General’s Report.

      De Peiza said that the Auditor General in a report will document poor accounting practices and the department’s inefficiencies. But she stressed there is no mechanism in place to ensure that the recommendations from the Auditor General’s report are enforced. She recalled past Auditor General’s reports and noted that there was no follow-up system. She insisted that the Auditor General should have some authority to make changes to the issues highlighted and not only write a report.

      “It has to be a frustrating job especially when you have to go back to that same entity and find exactly what you found last time. It has to be a frustrating job because it doesn’t have any bite, doesn’t have any teeth and it’s up to us, the lawmakers to give (the Auditor General) that authority,” said De Peiza.

      In his contribution, the Chair of the Integrity Group Barbados, Andy Armstrong stressed the importance of not having political parties being reliant on public donations during campaigns for general elections.

      He suggested political parties could receive some financial support through a substantial amount from the “public purse” for campaigns. These funds will need to be accounted for and the unused amount returned. He believed this would eliminate the issue of using money “with strings attached” or there will be less dependence on private donations and also help political parties to be more disciplined.

      The Chair of Integrity Group Barbados, Andy Armstrong was a part of the panel which included attorney-at-law and the evening moderator, Curtis Cave and DLP party leader, Verla De Peiza. The event was entitled “Integrity Matters: Good Governance for Prosperous Barbados”.

      Source: BarbadosAdvocate


    • Verla putting her all into service
      by JOHN BOYCE
      johnboyce@
      nationnews.com
      WHEN VERLA De PEIZA took over the reins of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) in August of 2018, she knew that it was possibly the biggest task she would ever undertake.
      That’s because she became president as the party faced its darkest days after losing 30-0 to the Barbados Labour Party in the 2018 General Election.
      Be that as it may, Verla said she is up to the task, describing herself as one who does not shy away from a challenge.
      “I said no too many times, because I knew it was a hard job,” the veteran attorney told the MIDWEEK NATION, adding that the party needed someone and no one else was stepping up.
      However, she is under no illusions about the realities of the road ahead: “It is tough and it will continue to be tough, but having said yes, you can guarantee that I will give it my all.”
      But for Verla, serving is nothing new, because she came up in a domestic environment in which it was the norm.
      In that environment, in Northumberland, St Lucy, she grew up with her grandparents and saw through the family how “working together can pull everybody along”.
      Free time
      Verla came from a strong educational background, with both parents being teachers – father Vere into music and art at Erdiston Teachers Training College; and mother Barbara, a primary school teacher and later a principal – readily giving of her free time to help those children “who fell through the cracks”.
      This assistance, she said, was given “pretty close to free”.
      Those examples, buttressed by her faith in God as a Seventh-Day Adventist, taught Verla selflessness and service.
      “The church is well known for both things and their outreach and charity were drilled into us from childhood.”
      This, she said, led her to believe that her purpose for being here is to work to make life better for others.
      As she grew older and understood what “Uncle Philip” [now Sir Philip Greaves, a former deputy
      prime minister in the Democratic Labour Party administration] was doing, Verla started to pay closer attention to politics. This journey, she said, started from primary school.
      Inspired by “Uncle Philip”, she was drawn to law and politics, both disciplines in which she knew she could serve.
      So, as the moment of truth came in 1991, Verla chose both courses of study at the University of Southampton in England.
      “You cannot do both disciplines at the same time at UWI [The University of the West Indies], but the universities in England are more flexible . . . . On reflection, I would not recommend it [doing both simultaneously] to anyone.”
      Reflected with pride
      But her desire to serve was overwhelming and the “committed mother” of two, Zhara, 19, and Ethyn, who will be 16 next month, was prepared to do the work.
      As she spoke of motherhood, Verla reflected on her dad with pride, sadness and tears: “He died when Zhara was three months old. The last day he sat up was the day I came home from the hospital with her. I know I stumbled when he died.”
      A 1991 Exhibition awardee, the former Harrisonian said the people of Barbados educated her and therefore it was incumbent on her to give back.
      Pointing out that she has been around the DLP since her teenage years, the political leader said that when she came back home from university in her early 20s she officially joined the party and immersed herself in its business.
      Now, with more than two decades as a lawyer, she described herself as multi-dimensional, fair, and one who likes to listen.
      No misconception
      However, she has no misconception about the future.
      “The job ahead is a tough one, but the road getting here was tough, too. A lot of people don’t know this, but I was a nominee in the 2008 General Election, but James Paul won the nomination over me for St Michael West Central.”
      That process, she said, was a learning experience.
      Describing her experience in 2013 while contesting “the most difficult seat for the DLP” in Christ Church West, Verla said though she did not win the seat her showing was the best the party had ever done in that constituency.
      Admitting that the DLP had disappointed the people of Barbados, Verla said
      that when one is in service and his employer sees fit to fire him, there has to be “at its very base” some introspection.
      She stressed that the party must ensure that “we are never, ever in that position again”, adding that if no one else learned that lesson, the DLP must.
      Verla said that several policy changes have been implemented and the party has heard the “hard truths”.
      Against this background, the president said they are satisfied that the party is now at a point where it can face the people while acknowledging its failings and show them it is bent on “facing forward”.


    • Year four begins
      MONDAY, MAY 24, 2021 marks the beginning of the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) fourth year in office. Generally, in the Caribbean, this milestone signals the build up to a general election.
      Undoubtedly therefore, in the midst of observing the BLP’s responses to the immediate and pressing developmental and administrative concerns, Barbados will no doubt be witnessing the BLP’s process of subtle and deliberate electioneering.
      Given the present balance of political forces, it is safe to posit that, barring no major disruptive political event, it is unlikely that the BLP will lose the next election, given its 30-seat buffer from 2018.
      Thus far, there does not exist convincing evidence to indicate that the main opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has done enough to convince the Barbadian public that it has sufficiently negated the memory of its 2008-2018 governmental performance or has offered a viable alternative in terms of policy programme and personnel, to form the next Government.
      Despite this, it may be useful to raise some “red flags” (a bad pun if any), on the kinds of potential head-winds which the BLP might confront in its bid for re-election.
      In this regard, it is expected that the main threats to the BLP will come, not in the form of policy or programme challenges, but around
      questions of “governance” and “politics” in itself.
      Ironically, the BLP’s 30-seat victory will be its main challenge going into the next election. The main tactic of the opposition DLP will be to focus on reclaiming the seats in its historical strongholds.
      In this effort, it will be aided by abiding concerns about “fear of dictatorship”, and the “implications for a healthy democracy” if no formal opposition exists. In short, the DLP will appeal to Barbadians’ sense of “democratic sobriety”, while pleading directly to its traditional mass base.
      To counter this, the BLP will have to avoid any semblance of authoritarianism. It must demonstrate “political responsibility” by not appearing to use its office for self-aggrandisement and for “crushing opposition” for its own sake.
      The BLP’s PR must counter the claims that a 30-0 Parliament is undemocratic and must demonstrate how it has enlarged and safeguarded democracy despite winning all the seats. Unfortunately, a “snap” election, may be just the kind of action which may confirm the self-interested “dictatorship” narrative.
      The BLP must therefore “soften its political image” and assuage embryonic public concerns. Conversely, and this is the easier task, it must show itself to be the more mature and “professional” unit and the “safer pair of hands” in terms of policy responses to the present challenges, and its programme for a post-COVID world.
      The years 2021-2023 will therefore determine, not a BLP victory, but whether the BLP can repeat its 2018 performance. For the DLP, it will determine if they can, once again become a viable party.
      Tennyson Joseph is a political scientist at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, specialising in regional affairs.

      Source: Nation


  11. All sounds and looks good ON PAPER…but breaking that nasty corrupt practice that has BLIGHTED the political, financial and social landscape for over 50 YEARS…5 decades…with sardine, corned beef and BUYING VOTES election politics ..

    .AND..with the likes of covetous bizzy “gimme” boasting about financing/bribing BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES in the newspapers for years….and openly BRIBING THE POLICE with their own taxpayers money…during DLP blighted reign, is not exactly inspiring..

    and with no pause in the corrupt judiciary of VIOLATING BLACK RIGHTS….don’t even want to wait and see, that shit should be in the hands of international agencies, from bribery corruption to violation of human rights…..another lawyer spouting more of the same, does not resonate.

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  12. What Verla said would not be news to the private sector
    Bizzy was once quoted as saying he is a member of the PIG party which in my mind means he sits on any side as long as some as the political servings come his way

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  13. “All sounds and looks good ON PAPER…but breaking that nasty corrupt practice that has BLIGHTED the political, financial and social landscape for over 50 YEARS…5 decades…with sardine, corned beef and BUYING VOTES election politics ..”

    ‘Not a truer thing has been said on BU.’

    I’m wary of politicians from the BLP and DLP who seem to use ‘good governance, integrity legislation, freedom of information, code of conduct for political candidates, whistle blower legislation and references to the Auditor General’s reports, as ‘catch phrases’ to lure the electorate into believing they are serious about addressing these issues, when, in reality, the true purpose is a ‘political ploy’ to assist them in winning the elections.

    What DePeiza talked about isn’t any thing new. During the 2008 election campaign, she and other members of the DLP, travelled the length and breadth of Barbados saying the same things she is reported to have said during “the virtual Facebook Live event,” while promising to address those issues immediately upon winning the general election.

    They even dedicated three pages (46, 47, & 48) of their election manifesto to the topic….. “22: Good Governance.”

    “There is therefore a need to clean up politics in Barbados. The Democratic Labour Party has selected a team of clean, caring, competent and committed politicians WHO HAVE SIGNED ON to a code of conduct, that promises Good Governance.” [Page 46]

    “Immediately introduce integrity legislation requiring a declaration of assets by public officials, a Code of Conduct for Ministers, a new Freedom of Information law and amendments to the Defamation laws.” [Page 47]

    During the 2018 general election campaign, Mottley and the BLP engaged a similar strategy, which saw them won the elections.

    The DEMS used the excuse of a lack of financing as one of the reason they were unable to introduce ITAL and Freundel Stuart subsequently insisted the 1929 Prevention of Corruption Act was adequate, both of which were obviously endorsed by Verla.

    Both the BLP and DLP exhibited similar ‘pre and post election strategies.’ Now, as we are approaching the 2023 general elections, Verla has shown the electorate she’s seemingly not prepared to move away from the ‘tired rhetoric’ that dominated two the previous elections.

    It will take much more than political rhetoric during FaceBook virtual meetings to convince us the ‘DEMS’ are serious about addressing good governance.

    They continue to demonstrate there aren’t any fundamental political, philosophical or ideological differences between the BLP and DLP.

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  14. Both the BLP and DLP exhibited similar ‘pre and post election strategies.’ Now, as we are approaching the 2023 general elections, Verla has shown the electorate she’s seemingly not prepared to move away from the ‘tired rhetoric’ that dominated two the previous elections.

    It will take much more than political rhetoric during FaceBook virtual meetings to convince us the ‘DEMS’ are serious about addressing good governance.

    They continue to demonstrate there aren’t any fundamental political, philosophical or ideological differences between the BLP and DLP.

    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    SOME IDIOTS COME ON THIS BLOG ATTACKING @William Skinner FOR CONSISTENTLY BEING OBJECTIVE AND TELLING THE TRUTH.

    BLACK BAJANS STRUGGLING AND SUFFERING CAN CONTINUE TO BE USED AS PAWNS AND IDIOTS IF THEY LIKE BY BEING FOOLED AND FLEECED BY ALIBABA AND THEIR FORTY THIEVES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BLP AND DLP.

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  15. Here we go again around the mulberry bush!

    These people have no shame!

    P.S.. P.I.G stands for Party in Government. Perfect acronym for people who are greedily looking to government for fat contracts.

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  16. Donna…this is the reality, those who are NOT SLAVES will have to STOP voting for a Slave society…

    “Neo-colonialism is also the worst form of imperialism. For those who practise it, it means power without responsibility and for those who suffer from it, it means exploitation without redress.” Nkruhmah

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