Where is the Trust

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We live during a time there is a lack of leadership being observed in ALL spheres of endeavour.

ALL of the aged old structures of governance established to regulate the quality of life of people continue to be compromised and eroded. It is a global occurrence, those who confine critique to local affairs are being dishonest or live in a fish bowl.

Recently the blogmaster read about the ongoing Yorkshire racism scandal playing out in Britain. This comes after the Windrush scandal and George Floyd #blacklifesmovement episodes. We have allowed parochial interest to derail initiatives designed for the good of ALL human beings existing on the planet.

The following clip resurfaced in the blogmaster’s newsfeed featuring the late Colin Powell. As is customary, many commenters will proceed to attack the man for his politics, colour and past misdeeds, forgetting to dissect the message.

The Essence of Leadership – Late General Colin Powell

57 thoughts on “Where is the Trust”


  1. “Recently the blogmaster read about the ongoing Yorkshire racism scandal playing out in Britain. This comes after the Windrush scandal and George Floyd #blacklifesmovement episodes. We have allowed parochial interest to derail initiatives designed for the good of ALL human beings existing on the planet.”

    parochial

    adjective

    relating to a Church parish.
'the parochial church council'
having a limited or narrow outlook or scope.
'parochial attitudes'
synonyms: narrow-minded, small-minded, provincial, insular, narrow, small-town, inward-looking, limited, restricted, localist, conservative, conventional, short-sighted, petty, close-minded, blinkered, myopic, introverted, illiberal, hidebound, intolerant, parish-pump, jerkwater, hick

    GB has been racist for a long time since they captured Africans as their property and conquered world committing racial genocide for robbery

    The Englishman is racist and a basic baldhead

    Their justification for the likes of their racist hero Churchill is everyone was racist then and after world war II they set up Apartheid states in South Africa and Israel 1948

    They still don’t like Blacks and Home Office have been trying to deport Jamaicans who served prison time back but Court Appeals on grounds of Human Rights and Modern Day Human Slavery have stopped many who were on the plane departing at the 11th Hour before takeoff

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  4. Can I speak to a Supervisor. I wish to raise a formal complaint about the unacceptable breaches in Service Level Agreements where there has been an slow turnaround releasing messages

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  6. A very timely reminder to our leaders and our citizens. Leaders need to earn the trust of their supporters; and followers need to choose their leaders very carefully. Is he or she trust worthy? The answer determines the decision. We as citizens need also to remember that ,like us, Leaders are human and are subject to failure.

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  7. How a country could be so duped by a slick talking broad with a penchant for outrageous lurid scarves is beyond me.

    The Trinidad Express link in the top click list sent by Waru sums it up perfectly. Oh what a mess our country is in.

    The Cayman Islands once belonged to Jamaica who had no need for it and promptly handed it back to the mother country. You learn something new everyday.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/12/scandal-mps-greed-british-overseas-territories

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  8. Right now St.kitts Nevis is ahead of the pack when it comes to leadership
    The citizens are being well taken care of by the govt
    No big gust consultants given first preference to rob the treasury
    Anyone wanting to know what is happening under the St. Kitts Nevis leader should read on the many stimulus he has implemented to save the economy and the people from sufferation
    Meanwhile here at home govt and private sector locked arms to keep the people bound in safe zones

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  9. “Oliver Bullough is the author of Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How to Take It Back
    Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
    Grand Cayman. ‘The situation only persists because it is so profitable to so many well-networked people.’ Photograph: Jodi Jacobson/Getty Images
    Fri 12 Nov 2021 12.24 GMT

    Geoffrey Cox often has more important things to do than vote in the House of Commons, but one debate he did attend was back in 2018, when MPs discussed forcing Britain’s overseas territories to open up their corporate registries – the databases that reveal the actual people behind the shell companies.

    The proposal was controversial. Setting up an offshore entity is not itself illegal, but the secrecy offered is attractive to tax evaders, fraudsters and money launderers. On one hand, if passed, it could expose the secrets of the thousands of companies, and thus dissuade any sinners from routing their business through Britain’s offshore archipelago in future. On the other hand, if would involve London imposing its will on people to whom it had made a promise of self-government, and thus be an act of neocolonial arrogance. Cox knew which side he was on.”

    the thieves and crooks just retained control for easy access to commit MORE CRIMES against the Black/Afrikan populations and have their little parliament negros spewing shite and endless lies at the people for over half century…..but now the people can do what is necessary to remove the blights.

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  11. Did anyone saw the PAC in session
    Lawd hav merci tax payers monies at work
    in with a Bang out with a whimper
    Hope the lunch break server’s delivered much or better service that the committee
    RBPF there is nothing her fuh yuh to do u can take a lunch break as well
    Phew

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  12. @Vincent

    “ We as citizens need also to remember that ,like us, Leaders are human and are subject to failure.’

    Although a true statement, individuals will not rationalize in the way you suggest. There is a reason the saying came about that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”. Leaders are expected to deliver.

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  13. Dr. Kevin Greenidge the ImF collection agent got the tongue lashing which he deserved for sticking his two cents worth into Barbados politics and worse yet all but suggesting that the govt of Barbados did not owe Barbadian taxpayers an annual budget
    His two cents worth.of political nonsense was well heard and noted on social media and received a merit less dishouranable discharge for dishonesty

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  14. Also read a statement by which Clyde Mascoll was attempting to.put bandaid over govt failure to create an economic environment for growth as COVID places obstacles in the way
    Lo.and behold in that attempt he finally admitted that the global meltdown during the past ten years helped to weaken growth in Barbados economy
    All though an appreciation of his truth must be accepted
    His truth must also be measured by his bombastic past attempt to shrugged off said truth which was being told by past govt during the global melt down since the truth now measures up to his standard which helps to shield and cover present govt from all criticisms as govt wrestles the negative fall out from COVID
    Not easy when the crown is placed on the head thus said Mr. Mascoll

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  15. What a bunch of untrustworthy dunces

    Xxxx
    Minister of Maritime Kirk Humphrey stated
    Hell.No.not going to ask The Big Time Cruise Industry for Financial help in rebuilding the coral reefs
    No!No! that wouldn’t be fair or right after all it was not their fault gov gave the Industry all rights to destroy the reefs
    And as if Humphrey did not go far enough with his insane excuse
    His exit strategy was to further exhibit his knowledge of the reefs by stating the reefs had encountered damage previously
    Jesus hurry up and take the wheel
    When will this madness end

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  17. From BT
    “It is very interesting that people just came for boosters; lots of people were asking for boosters all the time; so it is very interesting that people came out and took the boosters. Once people are fully vaccinated, you wouldn’t have thought that that many people would have come for boosters.”

    He interpreted this development as a case in which the ones who got vaccinated want to be as safe as possible “and the ones who ain’t want it, ain’t want it”.

    His interpretation is incorrect, but his initial thoughts were wrong. People who are getting the vaccine are a completely different mindset/group than those not taking it. The vaccine takers continued interest in protecting themselves should not have been surprising (interesting).

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  18. @AC
    A link to the source would be helpful.
    Images, charts and quotes are just appearing on BU and it is difficult to just accept them at face value.

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  19. Elements of vax refusal undoubtedly due to widespread and deep mistrust. (And so hard to understand why!)

    Elements of Refusal
    by Charles Eisenstein

    Psychiatrist Norman Doidge, MD, has recently published a long, four-part article entitled Needle Points, in which he examines vaccine skepticism in America. The author, who got vaccinated “early and voluntarily,” is solidly pro-vaccine, yet he displays what is in these divisive times an unusual willingness to see the issue from the perspective of those with whom he disagrees.

    I don’t want to default to critique in responding to the article, which I appreciate for its peaceful intentions, diligent historical research, lucid style, and willingness to bridge a steep ideological divide. Instead I will meet in good will its implicit invitation into dialog around the core question enunciated in its tagline: “Why so many are hesitant to get the COVID vaccine, and what we can do about it.”

    As that tagline suggests, an assumption runs quietly through Needle Points that Covid vaccines are by and large safe, necessary, and generally beneficial for personal and public health. Therefore, opposition to them must be explained in psychological or sociological terms, because we all know that, scientifically speaking, opposition is baseless.

    Dr. Doidge devotes a long section of the essay to cataloging the crimes and cover-ups that pharmaceutical companies have perpetrated over the last several decades. He also describes the “regulatory capture” of agencies like the FDA, CDC, and NIH, whose officials often rotate into lucrative positions in the very companies they had formerly regulated. As a result, he says, public trust in the pharmaceutical industry is extremely low:

    As of a September 2019 Gallup poll, only a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic, Big Pharma was the least trusted of America’s 25 top industry sectors, No. 25 of 25. In the eyes of ordinary Americans, it had both the highest negatives and the lowest positives of all industries. At No. 24 was the federal government, and at No. 23 was the health care industry. These three industries form a neat troika (though at No. 22 was the advertising and public relations industry, which facilitates the work of the other three.)

    SNIP

    Anti-vaccine parents have complained for years about doctors dismissing and ridiculing them. I’ve been following this issue for a long time; it didn’t start with Covid. A typical story is, “After my son’s 6-month vaccinations, he was up screaming all night and had a fever for three days, but was OK after that. My doctor said it was normal. The same thing happened after his next vaccination. Then when he got the MMR, the screaming went on for days. He was inconsolable. He had been an early talker, but after the screaming ceased he stopped speaking or making eye contact. The doctor said it had nothing to do with the vaccine.” I’ve read hundreds of stories like that. Thus, when I heard Kyle Warner’s story of the hospital doctor telling him his post-vaccination tachycardia was due to “anxiety” and referring him to a psychiatrist, I recognized a familiar pattern.

    https://charleseisenstein.substack.com/p/elements-of-refusal

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  20. re Jesus hurry up and take the wheel
    When will this madness end
    WHY DO YOU THINK THAT HE HAS NOT YET DONE SO?
    AS THE JAMAICANS SAY “SOON COME”

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  21. @David, yours is also a truism that “Leaders are expected to deliver.” as surely like @Vincent’s well formed remark that “like us, Leaders are human and are subject to failure”. They are just some of the biggest egos amongst us.

    In that context we seek to demean and destroy the leader who actively implements (when in power) the very qualities we loudly acclaimed when electing her/him!

    It’s amazing but also an elementary part of psychology : the qualities we adore are the same ones who often grow to despise.

    Is Mottley or Arthur or any others before fundamentally any different than Xi in China, for example.

    The locals all sought to consolidate power in their guise for as long as possible and the dynamic, hard-driving persona that got them atop the leaders’ ladder was eventually labeled autocratic and despotic, not so!

    In theory – if not in formal resolution – or biggest egos sought (and achieved !?) the status of one of our “country’s greatest leaders” … with that they ruled large and in charge (for very long periods) until another big ego replaced them!

    Xi has simply used the mechanism of his nation’s governance to prevent the ascendancy of another big ego … with the formal title as one of ‘the greatest leaders’…. Give Mia half an opportunity and bruggadung … she ain’t gine leff neither!

    “The resolution – […] elevated Xi to the same level as party founder Mao Zedong and the highly influential leader Deng Xiaoping,[…] “Comrade Xi Jinping, […] has set forth a series of original new ideas, thoughts, and strategies on national governance revolving around the major questions of our times.”

    “[It] sets the stage for him to next year pursue an unprecedented third five-year term as China’s ruler. […] Experts say that criticism of Xi could now be perceived as an attack against the party…”.

    Here our Supreme Leader’s party critics miraculously resign from elective politics.

    Different surely, but the control and supremacy over her party is remarkably the same as Xi, it seems!

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    • @Dee Word

      Agree with you for the most part, this is the ‘tension’ we have to live for as long as mankind exists.


  22. TheOGazertsNovember 13, 2021 8:32 AM

    @AC
    A link to the source would be helpful.
    Images, charts and quotes are just appearing on BU and it is difficult to just accept them at face value.

    Xxx
    Read Barbados Today i can’t be researcher for everything
    Usually my source is Barbados Today

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  25. re These are the voices of a people who are not going to be intimidated by a govt who insist and presist on stomping on their rights
    REALLY?
    THEY BETTER BE CAREFUL THEY DONT GET INTO CONFRONTATION WITH A CALLED OUT BDF WITH GUNS AS HAS BEEN DONE IN SOME COUNTRIES
    THEY BETTER BE CAREFUL THEY DONT GET PUT IN UN UNSANITARY JAIL WITH OUT BEING FORMLLY CHARGED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AS HAS BEEN DONE IN SOME COUNTRIES

    DESPERATE DICTATORIAL LEADERS DOES DO STRANGE THINGS
    SOME EVEN FOLLOW THE PLAY BOOK OF FOLK FROM BOTH THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

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  26. Going to agree with GP1.
    According to GP2 we have lost insurance against external enemies.
    That is not or was never my fear. My fear is of our Prime Ministers in the age of a Republic.

    It’s gonna be a new and different ball game. Exercise caution.

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  27. GP EX SCHOLAR REPORTING FROM MY GROUNDNovember 13, 2021 11:44 AM

    re These are the voices of a people who are not going to be intimidated by a govt who insist and presist on stomping on their rights
    REALLY?
    THEY BETTER BE CAREFUL THEY DONT GET INTO CONFRONTATION WITH A CALLED OUT BDF WITH GUNS AS HAS BEEN DONE IN SOME COUNTRIES

    Xxxxxxx
    Don’t belive govt can afford such bad publicity and one which can give reference to Barbados being called a failed state
    Furthermore the examples of protestors being handcuffed and thrown in jail in other small islands would be enough to give govt cause to pause and think on the fallout across social media
    Also don’t forget the rock has power e.g Ralph Gonsalves don’t remember the last time I have heard a peep out of his mouth

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  28. @David, re Powell: a good leader, had he ascended to the highest office in his nation I imagine that he would likely be now described as ‘a great leader’.

    His public pronouncements as a leader whether when Joint Chief Chair or as Sec of State were indeed based on his mantra of ‘trust’ as a corner stone of good leadership.

    Thus he was genuinely remorseful in apology when he incorrectly provided BS info presented to him as valid re the Iraq WMD … lying so blatantly can never build trust.

    Military folks have to make tough decisions which can invariably cause death and thus they must be measured and careful in being forceful and decisive but of course they are full of faults and emotive action like us all.

    That to say: his public decision to support a Black presidential candidate NOT from his party was a significant moment of leadership (that trust factor) also, in my view.

    His concern for his and family’s safety if he ran for President was valid but based on Obama’s two terms it’s fair to say he too would have survived such a campaign…. and as President (with HIS background) it’s doubly fair to say he could have been a GREAT President !

    The USA was at a different place then but still as fractured and one can only wonder if he as the first Black president tho on the Republican side would have caused the same visceral, hard core (seemingly racist in many ways) reaction that Barack Obama evoked.

    RIP to the excellent person that was Colin Powell.

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  29. So an annual budget is no longer deemed a necessity in Barbados. Surely the tax paying public has a right to know how their taxes are being allocated. As is the case in most democratic countries. The moral and ethical codes on Plantation Farm are being erased one by one. Apart from Angela Cox, the natives appear very quite. Donna comes out of her hutch on occasions to chastise the current party in charge however she will balance her anger with utopia does not exist.

    Meanwhile, Mia our esteemed leader keeps pushing for mass immigration knowing full well this will lead to ever greater levels of corruption on the island; which will have an effect of boosting our country’s GDP figures.

    It would appear we are playing catch up with the BVI.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/nov/12/revealed-geoffrey-cox-british-virgin-islands-villa

    .

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  30. It’s the people, the majority population, by sheer numbers have to PUT AN END T0 ALL OF IT…they are the ones with the power.come 2023…to shut the whole colonial shitshow down…been going on for far too long…..it’s illegal, criminal and geared toward the destruction of Black/Afrikan lives.

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  31. @TLSN
    Surprised?
    Not a single Report from the NIS in 15 years. A company is opened (CBL), and spends $124M and not a single Report. And I could go on. And we somehow ‘think’ this is NOT the new normal? Isn’t the lack of any publicly presented Budget, merely an extension?

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  32. lol…what about them? They retire and get a pension. NTSH.
    Erosion is piece by piece over time. Systematic.
    The NIS fails to report and? Nothing happens. So then a host of other public entities follow suit, fail to report, and? Nothing happens. A local company publicly notifies another sovereign Nation, they have bribed a GoB Minister and? Nothing happens.
    The Treasury is owed untold millions in unremitted VAT and? Nothing happens. The island holds numerous PAC’s over time and? Nothing happens.
    Any tool of accountability is slowly castrated.

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    • If you allocate the time to listen to the closing of the PAC meeting yesterday you got to hear the perennial cry of Auditor General Trotman that certain records were repeatedly requested with no success.


  33. The NIS fails to report and? Nothing happens. So then a host of other public entities follow suit, fail to report, and? Nothing happens. A local company publicly notifies another sovereign Nation, they have bribed a GoB Minister and? Nothing happens.
    The Treasury is owed untold millions in unremitted VAT and? Nothing happens. The island holds numerous PAC’s over time and? Nothing happens.
    +++++++++++
    …so you see why no referendum is needed!
    we are ALREADY a republic… of the plantain type.
    What is there to be asked? Mia just formalizing it.

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  35. DavidNovember 13, 2021 3:20 PM

    If you allocate the time to listen to the closing of the PAC meeting yesterday you got to hear the perennial cry of Auditor General Trotman that certain records were repeatedly requested with no success

    Xxxxx
    Also if u listened to.the end would have heard Lisa Cummins exposed the dog and pony show charade stating that full justice would not have been done to AG report giving the length of time and the witness needed to corroborate or deny what was written in the report
    Also the witness called would have been placed in an unfair position having to answer questions going back as far as 2007 since some of them would not have been employees during that period
    Xxxx
    Tax payers money at work

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  36. Bush Tea is that really you? Where have you been hiding since May 2018 when the dems got wash off in licks.Fractured, Carson Cadogan and yourself disappeared leaving Angela Cox to take all the licks.Anyway welcome back.
    Off topic having listened to Walter Blackman i am disappointed in him as a moderator.He has been allowing the dems like the trini dem, Alvin, Strakers tenantry and Mr Young to speak uninterupted but as soon as persons like statsman and tall boy comes on he tries to rush them off the air.So much for balance he needs to do much better.Heard the trini lady talking about balance.I wonder if she remembered the days when Ms Holder and herself every tuesday and wednesday used to attack Ms Mottley.I gone.

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  38. @BushT
    Becoming a Republic is not the issue. Booting a foreign head of state was inevitable. And not wrong? The question is, what TYPE of Republic should we be?
    This opens a can of worums. Because neither B, nor D, wish to dispense with a two party state, where one of the two are guaranteed (if they made the total constituencies an odd number) a majority. The only difference is who feeds at the public trough, when they govern.
    This is the real challenge.
    A two party duopoly is not unique to Barbados. The “hope” is they keep each other in line. But when both go rogue, the “system” is F—-d.

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  39. Mountain the DLP must climb

    By Peter Wickham

    No respectable analyst would deny that the Government is under pressure as it grapples with the local effects of a COVID-19 pandemic that has shaken the foundation of the strongest economies.
    This and other unrelated factors have led to numerous unforced errors, which would impact this Government’s popularity.
    In all this, it is interesting that the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) leadership appears convinced that this factor alone will cause a return of the DLP to Parliament en masse and perhaps, if the tide of anger is sufficiently strong, they could take the Government.
    This thinking is reflective of a superficial understanding of our politics and is couched in an infamous statement that “We don’t vote-in governments, we vote them out”.
    This might be true to some extent; however, my exposure to Caribbean politics has convinced me that the rise and fall of any government is best explained by a multifactorial analysis and not this flawed single-solution approach.
    Dire consequences
    As such, the DLP is yet to appreciate the mountain it needs to climb in order to return to Parliament (or office) as their failure to give “us” good reasons to elect any of them will have dire consequences.
    Candidate selection forms the foundation of our electoral process, and to this end the clean sweep the DLP suffered left it in a position that was both bad and good. The bad was obvious, but it was also good for them as they had no hindrance in terms of rebuilding under a leader who was free of the shackles of the ten years prior.
    Verla De Peiza sought counsel (elsewhere) regarding candidate selection and agreed on an approach that would give the branches a free hand in selecting the candidates they wanted.
    This strategy is not without merit. However, the larger issue is the need to have a fresh slate of candidates quickly presented, and the DLP has failed in that regard. The piecemeal approach, which De Peiza has argued is a strategy, reflects a lack of cohesion and, moreover, an inability to attract new and exciting talent. Worse yet, the fact that they have at the eleventh hour reached back into the heavily discredited [Freundel] Stuart Cabinet and identified the first of four candidates they plan to resuscitate confirms the reality of a candidate-deficit.
    Has done well
    To her credit, De Peiza has done well to attract some young and enthusiastic candidates that will have a bright future, even if not immediately. These persons could easily have formed the cornerstone of a new DLP ethos which could have been sold to Barbadians. Instead, the inevitable announcement shortly of the return of some of the most toxic elements from the Stuart regime will most certainly reignite conversations that the DLP would do well to avoid.
    Having spoken to the matter of candidates, the next question is the need for these candidates to get to know Barbadians, which will of necessity mean that candidates should have something constructive
    to say to people. This task has been handicapped by the incomplete slate.
    However, the matter of an organised programme to “rub shoulders”, whether physically or virtually, has been glaringly absent. Certainly, the DLP would not want to mimic the heavily criticised Barbados Labour Party (BLP) “rubbing shoulders” initiative. However, they have thus far failed to identify an alternative vehicle to create a level of familiarity with Barbadians.
    Led by example
    The matter of what the Dems say to Barbadians should not be taken lightly, and here, also, Mia Mottley led by example.
    The BLP’s Covenant of Hope expressed in broad terms the principles on which a future BLP Government would stand. It is arguable that the BLP didn’t need that document by 2018; however, it is equally clear that too many of us have no clue what the DLP stands for.
    The DLP was grounded in a desire for Independence and free education, among other things. However, the Stuart administration’s approach to tuition fees and De Peiza’s ambivalence regarding the republic have removed these philosophical pillars.
    Regrettably, the election timeline looks as though the DLP will have insufficient time to philosophically ground itself elsewhere and we will have to vote for or against it without knowing what exactly this organisation stands for.
    The DLP’s reaction to this critique is likely to be unsurprising as they call attention to the sins of Prime Minister Mottley and her Government, which is, of course, a conversation that we need to have. The voter will indeed consider the magnitude of these sins, but thereafter ask itself if the DLP is in a position to offer a better alternative and, sadly, this is a question the Dems have not helped us to answer convincingly since 2018.
    Peter W. Wickham is a political consultant and a director of Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES). Email peter.w.wickham@gmail.com.

    Source: Nation

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  40. The contribution under Johnson is from Lorenzo just hit the wrong button apologies as i only blog here under one moniker.Thanks david bu.

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  41. I watch with pride and admiration as Barbados defence Force along with The RBPF exhibited a right of duty in the remembrance day parade to salute and pay homage to barbados fallen soldiers
    Much respect to them along with other dignitaries and govt officials our PM and GG
    Both which looked splendid in their appropriate attire

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  42. Peter
    Wickham
    Regrettably, the election timeline looks as though the DLP will have insufficient time to philosophically ground itself elsewhere and we will have to vote for or against it without knowing what exactly this organisation stands for.
    Xxxx
    Regrettably this govt has given the electorate in two years much food for thought
    Food that is veryb hard to digest in the form of policies
    Food which when gaze upon cannot be digested and accepted for human consumption
    Food that borders on inhumane treatment of the people
    Food which would be rejected at the polls
    As for Depezia Mottley has already done the job of handing the electorate a platter design with the words Enough
    What more must Deapezia say
    Your analysis leaves out the most important issue one of a people in suffering

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  43. My Friend,
    Don’t unmask yourself.
    The language in that contribution was quite different from the usual language.
    If it happens again, just move on
    There are some mistakes that you should not attempt to crorect

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  44. A video is telling a most disturbing story
    A story which unmasked deceit
    A story so horrible it tells the mistreatment of the taxi drivers at the port looking for a job but with much to their disappointment the tourist are advised not to leave the port unless registered with the tourist buses who would give them a tour of the island
    The video/ story is being told by a taxi driver

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  45. Yeah…i saw that video….ugly indeed…the intent is to disenfranchise, oppress and pauperize those going into the port to look for work…make sure they cannot make a dime to feed themselves and families……..the usual greedy minority savages jumping to the front to grab every opportunity fully armed and protected by the vote begging enablers…

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  46. What a dam shame the person in.the video cannot be accused of telling a lie
    So many times the truth is being drowned out by malicious chatter to protect the greed and self interest of the minority
    Meanwhile the majority cowers in silence unafraid to say anything
    The video is mind-boggling

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  48. Firstly, a bow to the presence of the Elder Bush Tea. Respect and good wishes.

    Now, on the NIS, you really want them to report? Seriously?

    You like looking at a disaster? Do you have masochistic tendencies?

    When they do, better give out a free brandy or two, along with the report.

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  50. Atherley: Generate revenue; cut borrowing

    GOVERNMENT NEEDS to reduce the amount of foreign borrowing it is now doing and focus on generating more revenue at home.
    Leader of the Opposition Bishop Joseph Atherley said this was necessary, especially in the context of funding Barbados needed to undertake infrastructural development.
    He was speaking yesterday as the House of Assembly debated the Customs Bill 2021, which, among other things, is seeking to make the Customs Department more efficient.
    “We have to improve revenue generation; we have to improve revenue collection because we want to change the dynamics in the domestic economic space. Not every piece of infrastructural development capital works has to be necessarily funded by foreign dollars,” Atherley said.
    “We have to borrow [and] pay back in those same foreign dollars over time, but some of this could be generated from local domestic capital once the capacity of the entity in the front line with a responsibility for so collecting is able to collect and therefore we can generate in the domestic space those additional dollars.”
    Atherley said he accepted that borrowing from overseas sources “is necessary”, but added: “If you are going to strategically reposition the economy, you can’t think about that and talk about that without reference to what you do about your profile when it comes to foreign borrowing.”
    He said that the Mia Amor Mottley administration and its predecessor “relied heavily on borrowings from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and from the Central Bank of Barbados that has landed us into some difficulty.
    “This Government came and in a sense by reneging on the debt to the NIS, reneging on the debt to the Central Bank, indulging in this tax restructure, in a sense is reflecting the same type of disposition that administrations feel we can borrow and we can borrow,” he said.
    “That is the economic model of the past and it needs to be seen to be receding into the distance behind us . . . . And we need to be able to position ourselves such that we can derive more foreign dollars from earnings of revenue in relation to borrowings.” (SC)


    Source: Nation

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  51. Economic strategy ‘in doubt’

    OPPOSITION LEADER Bishop Joseph Atherley is not convinced Government has an economic growth strategy.
    He wants the authorities to say how they are going to make Barbados more economically competitive and to reduce the reliance on imports.
    Atherley was speaking yesterday in the context of improvements at the Customs Department as the Customs Bill, 2021, was debated in the House of Assembly.
    The St Michael West representative said Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn, who initiated the debate, suggested that part of the reform at Customs was in the context of the strategic repositioning of Barbados’ economy.
    However, Atherley said while a viable vision for growth was necessary for all governments, he was “yet to be convinced that this Government is possessed of a sense of a viable vision for growth”.
    “And a Government without a viable vision for growth in the Barbados economy is not likely to have a fully and properly conceptualised vision or framework for the operation of Customs in Barbados towards the end of repositioning the Barbados economy,” he asserted.
    A requirement
    Atherley said improved competitiveness was a requirement for an improved economy, adding that the days when trade preferences helped Barbados in this regard were over.
    “Globally we have left that era behind so we are not benefiting now. It’s not expected that we can rest upon a premise
    that suggests our economy, because it is underpinned by a privilege position of preferences with reference to trade, be viable,” he said.
    “So if we are going to talk about repositioning strategically the Barbados economy, you have to tell us how we [are] going to improve our competitiveness.”
    Barbados’ limited exports and high dependence on imports was another challenge he believed needed to be overcome.
    “If we are going to strategically reposition the Barbados economy, we have to treat to the matter of export efficiency. Barbados’ economy is characterised by high import orientation; we are an importing jurisdiction.
    “The slightest cough anywhere in the world, the slightest shock, causes a trauma for us, and the exposure to which we are subject as a vulnerable economy in a very competitive global world suggests to us in very clear and distinct terms that we have to engage ourselves in the serious business of facilitating export efficiency.”
    (SC)

    Source: Nation

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  52. Financial sector withstands Covid-19

    The following article was submitted by the Central Bank of Barbados.

    AS WITH EVERY SEGMENT OF SOCIETY, the major players in Barbados’ financial system were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges it experienced, however, the financial sector remained stable.
    This is according to the 2020 Financial Stability Report, a joint publication by the Central Bank of Barbados and the Financial Services Commission.
    So how was Barbados’ financial sector able to withstand the fallout from the pandemic?
    First, it’s important to understand what the report means by stable. Carlon Walkes, senior economist at the Central Bank and head of its Financial Stability Unit explained: “Stable means that it’s working well. The financial infrastructure is sound, such as the payments systems. Financial intermediation is running smoothly – that is, the flow of funds from savers to borrowers is working well.”
    Unemployment rate
    The major threat to financial institutions during COVID-19 was what those in the sector call credit risk, or the possibility that borrowers would not be able to repay their loans. This was a concern because of the increase in unemployment caused by the pandemic.
    Indeed, the unemployment rate at the end of December 2020 was estimated to have risen to 13.6 per cent from 8.9 per cent the previous year.
    A major increase in non-performing loans (NPLs), which are generally defined as loans that are more than 90 days in arrears, can impact not only a financial institution’s profitability, but also its stability. During 2020, commercial banks, credit unions, and finance and trust companies all saw an increase in their NPL ratio, but it was not as significant as some may have expected because they were able to allow many of their clients to defer payment on loans through various moratoria programmes.
    Loans under moratoria were not considered to be NPLs.
    Sustain the shock
    Do how were local financial institutions able to weather the financial storm created by COVID? Walkes offers an explanation: “The first and most important factor that led to the system being able to sustain the shock of COVID-19 would be the liquidity in the system.
    It was well above the requirements. It was growing for commercial banks for quite some time. As a result, institutions were able to finance the moratoria programmes as well as their day-to-day operations.”
    By liquidity, he means that financial institutions have “enough cash for depositors to access their deposits. There is enough cash [for financial institutions] to engage in investments if need be, and to sustain shocks such as COVID”.
    The senior economist said liquidity has been high in the financial sector for many years, particularly at commercial banks.
    This is the result of a combination of an increase in deposits and a recent decline in loans being issued.
    “Barbadians have been saving and not borrowing as much,” he added.
    Walkes said another reason the sector was able to remain stable was because of the quick transition to work-fromhome arrangements.
    This allowed financial institutions to continue their operations almost seamlessly and in so doing, reduced the disruption to the local financial system.
    So why does all this matter?
    The news that Barbados’ financial sector, while challenged by COVID-19, remained stable in 2020 is reassuring. With the vast majority of Barbadians having savings or investments in local financial institutions – the Financial Stability Report reveals that the credit union movement alone has 222 000 members – we all want to know that, as Walkes said, we can continue to access our money should we need to.

    Source: Nation

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  53. A window for opportunism
    THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS of retirements of long-standing, successful candidates and Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Members of Parliament, has elicited much comment from political observers.
    In the past month there have been retirement announcements by Jeffrey Bostic (City of Bridgetown), John King (St Philip West) and Ronald Toppin (St Michael North). There has also been a retirement hint by Dr William Duguid (Christ Church West).
    In addition, there are at least four other constituencies (St Andrew, St James North, St Thomas and St Michael East) which, for various reasons, face the prospect of candidate replacement.
    While this can be viewed as a positive development in terms of political renewal and the blooding of new politicians, when taken in the context of the electoral prospects of the two main parties, the present moment has opened up a large window for opportunistic politics. A space has been created for those who wish to enter the political arena, not out of a desire for public service, but for personal aggrandisement and the occupation of high office for its own sake or out of careerist motives.
    It is widely agreed by most commentators that, based on current circumstances, the chances of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) winning the next elections are likely to be slim. With the BLP having won all 30 seats in the last poll, and with the DLP facing a moment of internal reorganisation from ground zero with little evidence of positive upward shift, a moment of one-party dominance is portended for at least the next election.
    It is this feature of the upcoming election which makes the moment particularly ripe for opportunistic politics.
    Ideological stances
    Opportunism, simply defined, is “the absence of principle”. Opportunists are disdainful of ideas and “ideological stances” rooted in belief and political conviction. They are motivated largely by self-interest. One feature of the opportunist is the tendency to seek the path of least resistance in the pursuit of self-interest.
    Had the last election been closer in terms of seats, it is very likely that persons who are eagerly offering themselves for election as BLP candidates, would be more circumspect. It is also true that the BLP leadership would have also been more cautious in risking seasoned campaigners for novices.
    There will also be several former DLP politicians
    making common cause with the BLP. Similarly, previously aloof “technocratic” types, who historically have had little connection to the mass base of the party, will be offering themselves.
    Ironically, seasoned political leaders are often vulnerable to johnnie-come-lately opportunists than they are to long-standing party loyalists. Perhaps, they feel less threatened by newbies. Perhaps opportunists are more skilled at sycophantic fawning.
    Whatever the explanation, amidst the whirlwind of candidate changes likely to occur in the BLP, the public should pay special attention to political motives of the “new types”. There will be opportunism at play.
    Tennyson Joseph is a political scientist at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, specialising in regional affairs. Email tjoe2008@live.com

    Source: Nation

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