… 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. Isn’t 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 don’t want association with a failure. But that doesn’t 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 thing…
-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 ’vocal’ 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 ”The Return of the Don”.
Seems to be a pattern, Ministers not knowing nor seeing some things related to their portfolios. More recently it was Bostic but Cummins set the standard.
Did Ms.Cummins not say GOVERNMENT i.e. CABINET had not yet approved anyone? Did she deny that the gentleman existed or the BTMI memo was false? Y’all gine create a monster I hope wunna can deal with.
Nothing this govt says would be respected as truth
How do you know a politician is lying? Their lips are moving
How can any one trust a govt who was exposed as dishonest on a historic day
A day which should be remember as the mark hall of Barbados having a President but instead a day which exposure in the most deceitful manner clouded the day history
@ Enuff October 21, 2021 3:49 PM
The only monsters that have been created are a bunch of liars with you as the prototype.
Who can ever forget Mr. Big-up Enuff the US billion dollar project manager working in that great metropolis called New York?
Isn’t it passing strange that a jump-up piece of crap like you can still find time to be at every political dog and cat fight while attending every ‘ram goat bring game cock event in the political barnyard called small-ville Bubadus?
So when are you going to concoct a story to explain the disappearance of the Hyatt scam the same way you tried to justify the two CoP deputies?
Here we go again. Attack me. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
A wasted 30 -0 won turns out to be cast in lies deceit and dishonesty
A picture speaks a thousand words. Congratulations to Barbados. Our first president is a woman. Aljazeera has taken note and has a wonderful photo of a regal looking Dame Mason eclipsing the Queen of the UK
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/21/barbados-elects-first-president-replaces-british-monarchy
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4 min read
Senator Caswell celebrating 63 years with ‘my integrity intact’
‘…if I see it, I will call it. That is me’
Loop Community October 20, 2021 04:30 PM ET
Senator Caswell Franklyn (FILE)
Senator Caswell Franklyn (FILE)
Senator Caswell Franklyn turned three score and three years today, on what is a monumental day in Barbados’ history, and finds himself in the hot seat.
However, it’s not some place he’s not accustomed to.
I personally have no difficulty with [Dame] Sandra Mason becoming the president
Doing an interview with Loop News on his return home after taking his leave from the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, he had no regrets.
During the sitting to elect Governor General Dame Sandra Mason to be the first president of Barbados once this country becomes a republic, Franklyn was the lone voice of objection when the Speaker of the House His Honour Arthur Holder asked if anyone objects to her nomination.
Franklyn’s objection saw the sitting suspended immediately and the two Houses separated to vote by secret ballot.
To Loop, he stressed, “I personally have no difficulty with [Dame] Sandra Mason becoming the president… my problem is I cannot sit down and allow things to go on around me that is wrong and I just say nothing. That is not who I am.”
He explained that he saw the Constitution (Amendment) Act before today and that is why he objected.
“So that it would go to the ballot and let people see what they are doing in our names.”
Referencing the constitution for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, he said, “You must have rules. The rules even dictate what must be on the ballot paper. Today, we had a ballot paper that only had a space for voting ‘yes’. So I asked about it. I asked, where did it come from? Which rule?”
Turning 63 years today, a feisty Franklyn said that they tried to hush his questions and criticism, “but I’m not taking that disrespect from him or anybody else. They find themselves embarrassed in this situation and in order to seek to assuage their embarrassment, they wanna shut me up. That ain’t gine work. They should have done it right. They should have took the time to consult with the people of this country and do a proper constitution.”
You young people need to take this country into your hands… I am not fighting for myself
Misunderstood at many turns, Franklyn urged that contrary to popular belief he is not opposed to Barbados becoming a republic. However, he wishes we had our own constitution first. But he argued that along this current trajectory Barbados will become a republic next month under an amended British constitution. Sounding exasperated, he said, “That is the same constitution we had from 1966 with a couple amendments. So we are actually declaring our republican status under a British constitution that they gave us. That sound right to you? But that’s what they’re doing. Then sometime down the road, we will get around to drafting a constitution. But yuh gotta do it right de first time!”
Franklyn says he just wants clear rules and he wants Bajans to know what power they have, when asked about the president nomination process in the future. “There were no rules for today and there are no rules going forward. The Act tells you who can do a nomination… In Trinidad for instance they show you the form and everything set out in the rules. We just had a letter signed by [prime minister] Mia and counter-signed by Reverend Atherley.”
With many people putting dates under the microscope today, the Speaker of the House read his letter addressed to the President of the Senate today, before the proceedings. Laughing, Franklyn said that had to be done because Senate had not met since the announcement in the Lower House on October 12. Furthermore, he highlighted that at the last sitting of the Lower House it was said that the joint sitting will be held at Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre yet the proclamation by the Governor General that the joint sitting on October 20, 2021, will occur at the Centre in Two Mile Hill was not made until October 18, 2021. “You should not have preempted the Governor General making an order to sit at Sherbourne Centre, Lloyd Erskine Centre, but they were talking about it all over the place…and I’m not joining in their behaviour, today of all days.”
Preparing to relax and enjoy what is left of his birthday, he added:
“You young people need to take this country into your hands… I am not fighting for myself. I can sit down quite comfortably and take the offerings that the government has been giving me and I would be quite contented to get my salary but I chose not to. I chose to have some integrity…so if I see it, I will call it. That is me.”
And he said as long they keep him, he will continue to be a member of The Senate.
Asked if he has any birthday plans, Franklyn said on his cards for sure is an evening walk with Snow his dog, “when the sun goes down
A scam
A sham
And a dictator on the loose
Sadly Barbados elected first President had to be a witness to what Senator Caswell describe as a sham
@ TLSN October 21, 2021 5:52 PM
Maybe MAM is more clairvoyant than you think. Maybe that trip to Ghana to consult with the Bajan ancestors has been most fruitful in espying the inevitable ‘fall’ of the current British monarch.
That rush of a move to hastily become a republic in the same month of Independence might just be the right pre-emptive move before Her Majesty finds Herself lying on Her deathbed with that not-so-bonny King Charlie 111 having to perform the duties of signing the ‘Order-in-Council’ conferring republican status on ‘little’ England a former jewel in the British Crown.
What could be the coup de grâce of colonial apism in this whole republic pantomime would be to see if Bajans would be addressing the first presidential lady by the title “Dame”, DCMG after the 30th November 2021.
Then we will know that they are totally incapable of severing that monarchical navel string by not being able to tell the difference between their black presidential elbow and their white monarchical arse and vice versa.
Richard Sealy said it was “semantics”. And that is exactly what it was. Not lies but semantics.
Language, folks, language!
Thing is though, it had to come out, didn’t it?
What did she have to gain?
What we have to discuss is whether or not the man appears to be the best candidate.
What are expected to be the deliverables? What are the goals?
It cannot be amorphous.
And before anybody jumps out at me for promoting tourism, let me state that most countries are engaged in some form of tourism and I see nothing wrong with Barbados being one of them.
My problem is that being almost totally dependent on tourism leaves us desperate as a nation. Desperate people always find themselves holding the shitty end of the stick!
Miller
Then we will know that they are totally incapable of severing that monarchical navel string by not being able to tell the difference between their black presidential elbow and their white monarchical arse and vice versa.
Xxccccc
A gimmick
No one knows nothing not even the opposition
A Republic made up.of cart driving the horse
Worst govt ever leadership missing
Enuff October 21, 2021 3:49 PM #: “Did Ms.Cummins not say GOVERNMENT i.e. CABINET had not yet approved anyone? Did she deny that the gentleman existed or the BTMI memo was false? Y’all gine create a monster I hope wunna can deal with.”
@ Enuff
An article in the September 11, 2021 edition of ‘Barbados Today,’ made reference to a leaked document, purported to be a Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) Board of Directors memorandum, dated July 29, 2021, in which it was mentioned “the Interview Panel as assigned by the (BTMI) Board has unanimously agreed to recommend Mr. Jens Thraenhart as the candidate for the position of CEO” of the BTMI.
Please note, the article SPECIFICALLY REFERRED to Thraenhart……… and not ANYONE
In response to the media, Tourism Minister, Lisa Cummins, is alleged to have said, “So, any document in circulation CANNOT SPEAK to anyone who has been hired because Cabinet HAS NOT CONSIDERED any paper for any hiring of a CEO for the BTMI. Anything you are seeing has NOT been SEEN by me or by the Cabinet of Barbados.”
Although what Lisa reportedly said was true, as it relates to Cabinet’s role……… by dismissing the document, she essentially DENIED Thraenhart’s appointment to the position.
While the other ‘party supporters’ on BU usually rely on the unsubstantiated comments of other people or, as we would say in Bajan vernacular, what they ‘feel is true,’ you always present facts as the basis of your contributions.
That, in MY opinion, is the ‘thin line’ that separates you from the average ‘yard-fowl.’ However, you often skillfully manipulate those facts…………. similarly to what Lisa has done in this situation.
Perhaps you’re a politician.
@ Miller,
We have a lazy media in Barbados. The Aljazeera report with a photo of the Queen (Lizzie) next to the soon to be inaugurated President was priceless. The image was as much shocking as it was revealing. We are supposed to be approaching a new era in Barbados. As we say in my neck of the woods “Kiss my arse!”