… Powah [power] is a funny thing. Persons we may otherwise have seen as rational and students of sound governance suddenly do the oddest of things. Isnโt this the ongoing crux of the NIS? And it happens frequently in the private sector too. Despite all the protestations, did ICBL get contracts which were facilitated? What else did they get? The fourth estate has never seen fit to publicly question the Board of CBL? I know of situations where a subsidiary may begin sinking, and the Board changes like rats off a sinking ship. The big ups from the parent donโt want association with a failure. But that doesnโt stop the same persons who bailed from forcing their decisions upon the Board, sometimes even at the complete exclusion of the Board. Powah is a funny thingโฆ
-NorthernObserver
The blogmaster has been observing the strident views expressed by citizens of Barbados about whether to vaccinate. A few thousand were motivated to march during the pandemic. People have the right to behave as they like provided no laws are being broken. Local newsfeeds both traditional and and social media continue to be choked daily with news about Covid 19. There is so much information being shared that it is thought to be contributing to Covid 19 fatigue globally.
The environment is perfect for opposition forces to put ‘licks’ in the government to win favour with a general election due in 2023, the latest. It is the idealist who believes political forces in any country will ever see the benefit of working together in the interest of the public if there is political capital to be gained.
Does it make intelligent Barbadians ponder why political parties and agents are motivated to be โvocalโ about selected issues? In recent months there has been some noise made about the decision by the Mia Mottley government to replace the Queen of England (soon to be King) with a local daughter of the soil. The anecdotal feedback from a cross section of locals continues to expose a lack of understanding about the workings of the government. One suspects it will take a generation of educating the general public to meet the civic awareness gap.
If there is a lack of understanding about the basic workings of government is it reasonable to expect Barbadians to be motivated to march in thousands or flood daily talk shows about governance related matters? For years the National Insurance Fund has been managed like Babsie rum shop. Under successive government the embarrassing situation exist where our most important fund is unable to produce up to date audited financial statements. Through it all the Barbados public continues to be unaware of the accurate state of the fund.
Why has the public, including the Fourth Estate not vigorously pursued the Four Seasons transaction to hold political actors accountable? This is a transaction that exposes mismanagement and corrupt behaviour of both political parties when in government supported by senior public servants. We have Mia Mottley who was contracted to do legal work for Four Seasons now prime minister and one of her Mercedes driving financial consultants Avinash Persaud, former executive chairman. Not to forget a former dead Prime Minister David Thompson who hired both of them.
The political outrage directed at Mark Maloney for failing to deliver Covid 19 vaccine is interesting if seen in the context of a player who was heavily engaged by the former DLP government. The blogmaster does not condone the obvious lack of transparency surrounding the procurement of Covid 19 vaccine. What is being asked of our gullible Fourth Estate and Public Servants whose role is to serve the public for good of country – why have you vacated your responsibility? Some of us will not be fooled by those who seek to manipulate public opinion to satisfy narrow interest.
For more than a decade no audited financial statements of the National Insurance Fund, for more than a decade the Auditor General has been highlighting issues without redress by successive governments, for more than four decades successive governments have turned a blind eye to private transportation woes in Barbados, to the point it has developed a sub culture, for decades successive governments have pursued the lazy path to managing the economy by dumping our eggs in one tourism basket, for years we have asked successive governments to revamp the education system to ensure our people are adequately equipped to sustain our competitiveness in a fast moving world, for years we have asked for a fit for purpose waste to energy solution, a judicial system promising for years to crash under its weight …
Barbadians are some of the issues mentioned not worthy of your outrage? Are you willing to march if asked for any one of the issues mentioned? We know the answer therefore do not expect anything to change.
In 2023 the blogmaster will ask Donville Inniss to start a new political party to lead us to a different place. A suggested slogan sure to win favour with the public is โThe Return of the Donโ.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.