During the 2022 General Election analysis Dr. Kristina Hinds made the point that given the overwhelming mandate the BLP received from the electorate, citizens will have to be the guardians of our democracy – words to that effect. To be expected she was descended upon like the vulture having caught a whiff of the dead. Yet here we are several months later with no elected opposition and an ineffective dissenting voice in the public space. A space in which the government lead by larger than life leader Mia Mottley continues to suck all the attention.
The current predicament Barbados finds itself will only be constructively attended to if citizens become more engaged in the democratic process. What is civic engagement?
Civic engagement means participating in activities intended to improve the quality of life in one’s community by addressing issues of public concern, such as homelessness, pollution, or food insecurity, and developing the knowledge and skills needed to address those issues. Civic engagement can involve a wide range of political and non-political activities including voting, volunteering, and participating in group activities like community gardens and food banks.
ThoughtCo.
Barbadians like the majority of global citizens have become politically polarised which means the opportunity for good sense to prevail is lost. Given where we find ourselves, how can citizens of small Barbados swim against the tide to be persuaded we need to switch paths? We must become more engaged in the governance process and be less concerned about the cost of Netflix membership.
Here is a Democracy 76 bucket list put out by Brookings targeting citizens to assist with boosting civic engagement. Although made for the US market there are suggestions Barbadians should borrow from to make relevant to our environment.
1. Read and subscribe to daily local, regional, or national newspapers.
2. Facts matter: Is your news source trustworthy?
3. Fill your pocket with democracy. Pick up pocket-sized constitutions for as little as $1.
4. Get the facts on any politician or political candidate.
5. Talk with someone who doesn’t share your political views.
6. Attend a discussion or event in your community or school about an issue you want to know more about.
7. Shadow a public servant for the day to learn how our institutions work.
8. Visit a museum. Learn about local, regional, and national history, and about those who have taken civic action in the past.
9. Visit a library. Librarians can point you to important books on our American democracy.
10. Deep dive into the constitution.
11. Use a highlighter when reading news articles to note points of interest, subjects that you agree/disagree with, or questions that you would like to know more about.
12. Vote: Local, state, and national elections matter!
13. Make sure you’re registered to vote.
14. Make a voting pact with your friends or family. Collectively commit to register and vote. Remind each other regularly. Make a plan to go to the polls together!
15. Volunteer to register voters.
16. If you are a boss, give your employees time off to vote.
17. Volunteer to work at a polling place.
18. Offer to drive elderly voters or those without transportation to the polls.
19. If you own a business, offer discounts to people who provide proof of voting on election days. If you work at a business, ask your boss to consider this.
20. Prepare to vote by checking ahead of time what is on the ballot, your polling place, and what you need to bring. Many states require identification such as a license or passport.
21. If you are voting by absentee ballot, pay attention to deadlines and follow all the steps in the instructions.
22. Mark the date
23. Communicate with your elected officials to share your views on issues you care about. A letter, phone call, or visit are still the best ways to contact them.
24. Write an op-ed or letter to an editor.
25. Attend a city council or community board meeting.
26. Advocate for civic education in schools.
27. Join a political campaign. Volunteer for your preferred candidate.
28. Become an ambassador supporting digital citizenship education
29. Join the Parent-Teacher Association at your local school.
30. Get involved with the local school board.
31. Join a political party.
32. Run for office. If you don’t like the candidates you are choosing from, put on your shoes and run for office.Build community
33. Identify a problem in your community and work with your neighbors to fix it. Neighborhood street sweeps and playground refurbishment are just two examples.
34. Plant a tree or garden in your community.
35. Share the #WeThePurple Teacher Toolkit with teachers in your community for good ideas on civic engagement activities for young people.
36. Volunteer to serve as an officer or member of a group in your community.
37. Visit someone else’s place of worship.
38. Keep watch on children who play in your neighborhood.
39. Paint a mural in a public space (with permission).
40. Pick up trash in your or someone else’s neighborhood.
41. Start a book club and invite your neighbors to participate.
42. Serve as a juror. If you are called for duty, remember our judicial system can’t work without citizen jurors.
43. Collect food for those in need.
44. Visit a nursing home or hospital.
46. Take a first aid class.
47. Clean up the local park.
48. Clean up a local river or lake.
49. Start a bowling league or another activity that you enjoy that might bring people together.
50. Help others in an emergency.
51. If you own a gun, participate in a gun safety course.
52. Host or be an exchange student. Rotary Youth Exchange is a good place to begin.
53. Shop local and support small businesses.
54. Contribute financially to a cause, even $5 can help.
55. Support the teachers at your local school.
56. Volunteer at a museum.
57. Volunteer at a public library.
58. Volunteer at a pantry, soup kitchen, or food bank.
59. Volunteer at a community garden.
60. Volunteer to coach a youth sports team.
61. Volunteer to lead a youth group.
62. Volunteer at a community center.
63. Volunteer to help veterans. The USO is a good place to start.
64. Volunteer to help teachers. Chaperone school trips to the local city hall and share your experiences engaging with your community and government.
66. Choose to work at a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping others.
67. Become a substitute teacher.Get social
68. Host or attend a debate watch party in your community or university.
69. Host a Purple Conversation with family, friends, or in your school or community to discuss ways to foster civic engagement. Use the tips on facilitating open dialogue from Living Room Conversations.
70. Follow and like #WeThePurple across social media.
71. Host a picnic or block party in your neighborhood and (respectfully) talk about your views.
72. Use your consumer power to support companies whose values you believe in.
73. Go out and talk to people, use your hands, and your time.
74. Invite friends and neighbors to watch a documentary on a topic affecting your community.
75. Use your social media accounts to post uplifting information relevant to making our society more civil. The University of Virginia has a helpful guide on civil discourse when talking about politics.
76. Recruit a friend and start checking off items in the “Democracy 76” checklist together!
During the 2022 General Election analysis Dr. Kristina Hinds made the point that given the overwhelming mandate the BLP received from the electorate, citizens will have to be the guardians of our democracy – words to that effect. To be expected she was descended upon like the vulture having caught a whiff of the dead. Yet here we are several months later with no elected opposition and an ineffective dissenting voice in the public space. A space in which the government lead by larger than life leader Mia Mottley continues to suck all the attention.
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Scratch the Dr.
If she were a doctor she would have read the Constitution and realised 30- 0 is a nullity, not a mandate.
Citizens should therefore be trying to get rid of this unconstitutional “Government” and having all of its actions declared null void and of no effect as of May 2018.
The only mandate that exists is in the Constitution requiring the existence of an elected (as in chosen) opposition.
#StapleSingersStaxCollection
The Staple Singers – I’m Just Another Soldier (Visualizer)
Ronnie “barack obama martin luther king malcom x eldridge cleaver huey newton marcus garvey nelson mandela etc” Yearwood is probably overrated and underrated by BU posse home and abroad
PMMIA should approve.
@ David Bu
The BLP was returned to power in a free and fair election. That is what we define as democracy. The fact that those who voted were not impressed by the offerings of the other political parties ended up in none of them gaining a seat in any of the constituencies. Why are we beating this outcome to death? Should we not as citizens continue to communicate our concerns ,hopes , fears and approvals to the elected GoB??
We do not have to adopt a catalogue of democrat dos and don’ts from other countries/societies. We understand democracy. We therefore intend to practice our brand. Most Barbadians are not into optics that is why political forecasters often get it wrong. We do what we have to do as unobtrusively as possible. That is who we are. Life is what it is. We try to do the best we can with what we have . AND that includes politicians and public commentators.
@Vincent
Is the discussion about free and fair or more about how we can escalate citizen advocacy to improve our governance setup. Do you agree there is room for improvement in man made constructs?
@ David Bu at 9:11 AM
What gives you the notion that something is wrong with our “governance set up”? What exactly do you mean by governance?
No! I do not agree that there is room for improvement in man made constructs per se. They are constructs which deliver socially desired outcomes. When the outcomes are undesirable , or unachievable , man puts another construct in its place. Improvements? Never. Changes in social objectives ? Yes.
@Vincent
We may respectfully disagree.
@ David Bu
The real problem is that we tend to want the impossible. But if we do not really know, nor cannot agree on what is good and desirable we continue to spin top in mud. It is better to aim for what is SATISFICING to the majority.
@Vincent
Are you happy at the level of citizen participation in our system of democracy? Are you happy with the level of apathy and cynicism? Are you happy the degree the political class and its minions are controlling national narratives? If the answer is yes then as earlier advised we can respectfully disagree.
Mia Bob Marley Mottley is a better singer than Ronnie Obama Yearwood in my humblest opinion.. and who said Bajan politics was shallow
Bob Marley and The Wailers – Revolution
@David, this post is one fighting for relevancy and thrust, seems to me 🙏🏿😇
I get it that we need to keep engaged locally but you appear to be suggesting that due to the larger-than-life MAM personality and the missing parliamentary oppo that Bajans have somehow abrogated our ability (or rights, maybe) for serious and credible dissent.
That is unfounded and surely not evidenced by the reality around us.
Let’s forget that this is a US list … regardless, it’s truly bland and more Civics 101 instruction than meaningful and focused on realism.
Even in the US what is the modern and true relevance of “If you own a gun, participate in a gun safety course.” 😎🤦🏾♂️ … as it relates to electors and governance engagement!!
But anyhow, the important point to YOUR thrust of engagement is the second bullet: Facts matter: Is your news source trustworthy
Bajans and all others need obviously to adhere to that … in the main we tick most of the bland other bullets and with the angst generated on talk radio, social media feeds, rum-shop gatherings and such I believe we are super engaged on what’s going on.
Our deepest PROBLEM is acceptance of the FACTS. Here and other places there are too many pundits (respected columnists, former respected pols, respected retirees, lettered experts etc) who perpetuate various variations of the local ‘big lie’ and bamboozle citizens into believing BS.
We don’t lack engagement; we lack integrity and purposeful intent to reestablish acceptable moral standards of what is just and viable for the majority and not what is
based on political expedient ideology!
I gone.
@Dee Word
You that is what you got from the post run with it.
@ dpD at 9;31 AM
Thanks for joining the call back to relevance and common sense. Political ideology( a man made construct ) must serve Barbadians . Barbadians do not exist to put into effect “flavour of the month” ideologies. Our national objective is to build a fair and just society.
@ David Bu at 10 : AM
Generally speaking? Yes I am happy.
Citizen participation? Yes. The low rate of turn out I interpret to mean :Stop bothering me . Your term is not up. You had interruptions in your plans that are outside of your control .Go back and attempt to fulfill your promises if possible.
Apathy and cynicism? Yes.
We the Electorate are not into political gamesmanship. Like the whale, in the Jonas Biblical story, we will deliver them back to Nineveh to do the work we elected them to do. We normally give administrations two terms to deliver.
Secondly we elected you to manage our affairs. We will not micro manage. We will deal with you at the next poll. What power do we need when we agree to cede it to GoB ( under specific conditions)?. Any thing extraordinary will be dealt with extraordinarily.
That is my take on the matter. No Politricking. We have no time for that.
David
The Brookings is the type of staid institution most likely to attract your attention.
Maybe you should first consider a few things before the cool aid is drank.
One, why has the Brookings for decades not been able to reverse the same or similar sets of forces bedevilviling American society? Forces which gave us Trump. For example.
Two you should seek to find out what was the role of Brookings has been within American foreign policy establishment giving rise to the decadence of socalled democracies worldwide.
Then we have to look for the fundamental causative reasons. These can never to located in some 75-point plan issued by Brookings and cast on the backs of the very victims of your false democracy.
Is Brookings itself not a beneficiary of the private money, the mother’s milk of politics which has corrupted the global political culture?
Brookings play well to your own thinking with the nonsense that ordinary people are to run around and do all these things without resources, as powerless as they are and within the shadow of political elites who serve their economic masters, who finance elections and themselves.. Populations never recieve any of the largesse.
This is a fool’s errand. Instead both Brooking and you should be seeking the radical transformation of what you called democracy before it evinces outcomes worse than the fascist tendencies already it’s characteristic of.
@Pacha
You have an issue with the initiatives floated to encourage citizen participation?
@Pacha
Further, the BU intervention must not be taken as a panacea for our issues. Who is to say we couldn’t do a better job at educating and implementing some initiatives as proposed if that is possible.
David
Yes, we have such an issue.
99 percent of education is miseducation aimed at keeping status quo in place or misdirection.
Have we not had education coming through our ears with far worse outcomes?
@Pacha
A case of damn if you and damn if you don’t.
Wow!
I see the BU stars are aligned.
You may understand the good a person is trying to do, but you may not agree with their methods
https://youtu.be/9ckv6-yhnIY
All I can say has already been eloquently said by the BU stars
Reminds me of when a local began to talk about our “founding fathers” and our constitution. Sometimes the parallels do not exist.
The challenge is that all of us are 100% what will not work but know not what will.
@ TheOGazerts,
Hope you listening to Brasstacks.
@ Vincent Codrington June 20, 2022 10:35 AM
(Quote).
Generally speaking? Yes I am happy.
Citizen participation? Yes. The low rate of turn out I interpret to mean :Stop bothering me . Your term is not up. You had interruptions in your plans that are outside of your control .Go back and attempt to fulfill your promises if possible.
(Unquote).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Very ‘commonsensical’ analysis there, VC!
Still trying to find a sound reason for the politically-immature calling of the last general elections as if the inevitable result was not known by any ‘politically-objective’ observer.
It was just a waste of already-scarce taxpayers’ resources which could have gone to the fixing of some ‘more’ roads and to pay the nurses what they genuinely deserve.
“Human beings lose their logic in their vindictiveness.” ⁓ Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Maybe we are all wrong and it was MAM herself who- like Alice peering into the Looking Glass- saw what was ‘deathly’ ahead.
Time!
“Everyone parts with everything eventually my dear.”
“For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” ⁓
‘Your’ Timothy 6:7.
What some of you need to do is counter the list to reflect what confronts us on the ground. It is not so easy coming up with a homegrown list is it.
@Vincent, well stated above re this governance matter. The blogmaster as @Theo notes surely means well but the methods often create a true Bajan conniption.
I am amused that as also stated the wise fellow @Pacha actually finds common ground that the points noted are rather inconsequential in this debate of citizen engagement … I called them bland and fit for a generic course guide at Civics 101 … and NOT truly meaningful. .
So @David, to reecho @Vincent: Bajans ARE engaged. It is ABSURD to think otherwise after the electorate spoke so LOUDLY by thrashing an ineffectual government twice as they said.
Of course the government now has the 1,000 watt sound system that blasts the narrative … HOW ELSE would you expect it to be!
But many citizens have 100 watt speakers, don’t they! So why do you continue this lament that much noise is not being heard therefrom … it appears you want a cacaphonous noise JUST SO … Why … and when has it worked like that really!
Lata!
@Dee Word
The blogmaster finds comfort when some of you disagree.
@ Blogmaster
Right motivation, wrong approach.
Bajans are as engaged as they are permitted to be; as they care to be.
What else do you expect from Bajans given the corrupt status quo?
@Dullard
Huh?
Really, David? Some shitty list!
@Donna
Should be interpreting the list literally or accepting that we need to find ways to light a fire on the citizens to persuade them the importance of upping engagement level.
@ Vincent Codrington
“Time will tell”
That list fits adequately into a full fledged democracy
Most barbadians now living within their means would make little attempt to take that list with all seriousness
Truth being that many things on that list requires time and money to execute
Social media is about the only hope for barbadians speaking out clear and even( then) many are hesitant to do so because of ramifications which can be a cause for losing jobs
Interested in
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/06/19/btcolumn-reflections-on-the-throne-commission/
(Throne=Thorne)
Have to reread … the editorial made me feel that the money could have been better spent
Who should all the outcasts underclass and unrepresented in the underbelly of Barbados vote for
such as the girls at GIS, the motorcycle gangs, the victims of lawyers, the gun criminals, the poorest of the poor, the minibus riders, the rastas and herb smokers, the higglers, the street traders, the beach sellers etc
David
Please find some new topics.
@Enuff
Focusing on governance issues and advocating civic awareness makes you uncomfortable?
@ David
Bajans are as engaged as they ever will.
Nothing short of a catastrophe will change Bajan thinking, attitudes.
Look at the COVID pandemic for example. Rather than use it to reassess to take fresh guard, what do Bajans do?
Bet the house on the same failed thinking, approaches and behaviours that they’ve been recycling for decades
There will be no miraculous step change in engagement.
Au contraire, there will be major apathy and resentment.
@Dullard
Gotcha. It sure seems that way. Even to suggest how we can encourage citizens to think about the democracy we practice is an effort.
There is no democracy that is perfect, it will continually call for vigilance and measure to tweak accordingly.
It is a process and not a solution wrapped in a bow.
@David, the list itself is bland and loses significance because it attempts to cover all bases. In any real situation one can trim any such local civic engagement to 5 top of line items with ‘facts’ as one of them!
In my view, Bajans cover any and all the necessary engagement metrics.
Nonetheless here is a headline out of Israel which no doubt you noticed; ‘The election, expected in October or November, would be Israel’s fifth in three years’
That surely should top part of your expectations of civic engagement, correct !
But that’s just crazy … turbulent governance can’t be a good thing … in effect it means that there really is an ‘entrenched insider govt’ (of senior civil servants and elites) that must keep the engines of governance properly functioning!
Six of what is despised and half-dozen of what is supposedly desired 🤦🏾♂️!
Lata.
@Dee Word
To repeat, with great difficulty. The list is meant to provoke discussion to what is relevant for Barbados, not to be consumed by rote.
Pick up pocket-sized constitutions for as little as $1.
THE LAWS OF BARBADOS
Printed by the Government Printer, Bay Street, St. Michael
by the authority of the Government of Barbados
1 L.R.O. 2002
The Constitution of Barbados
perhaps the people could get involved in the formation of the Republics constitution project as “happenings” of counterculture protests and civil rights movements
Politicians, Civil Servants, Lawyers don’t work for free
“Guardians of Democracy” as Stakeholders in interests of “The People” should be paid for input into the processes
@ David
You seem to be more optimistic than most.
Even though I think your efforts on that front will ultimately be in vain. It is very commendable and also necessary that you keep chipping away.
David
Why would it make me uncomfortable? Maybe you could start by promoting FACTS on the blog. There’s nothing more beneficial to civic awareness than ventilating robust debate rooted in truth.
@enuff
You have been around the blog long enough to know falsehoods are challenged by commenters.
David
See wuh uh tell yuh bout France. Yes, Macron won the presidential but he just loss the legislature. A no confidence vote looms as demonstrations spread.
People like the Brookings, as gatekeeper for empire, have no language for the turmoil right here, right now.
Theirs is the false master narrative about democracies verses autocracies. Such a narrative cannot describe this historical moment.
@Pacha
Not withstanding Macron’s as an actor France is a basket case. Since the days of Francois Mitterrand.
Bajans love to moan and groan and whine and grine and is a sport and national pastime
The Law Way
Constitution of Barbados Constitutional amendments proceedings are slow and has disappeared up the backside of the Shitstem
Barbados, Barbados – We Be High
What happened to the laws to free up the weed
Barbados Attorney General Dale Marshall is set to decriminalise the possession of up to 14 grams of cannabis
but fines for getting caught are around 100$US to 200$US
@David, that you did brother 🤣!
Anyhow, not to change the subject but I hope this is a template for ALL sporting bodies: “World swimming bans transgender athletes from women’s events”_! I find it incomprehensible that any transitioned female from male should be allowed into an athletic event against those born as females.
Oh and by the way, that’s a harsh indictment given to France … Why Mitterand? Post the supreme presence of De Gaulle my limited attention to French politics seem to remind me that he was the ‘next’ long time president of that republic and as such the changing nature of world events did make him the one on whom a lot of the current turmoil (immigration xenophobia, rise of La Penn’s National Front etc) became overtly topical/problematic.
So why him as to when that nation started to became a “a basket case”. I mean if we want to be harsh we could start with the collaboration gov’t under the Nazi WWII rule, couldn’t we! 🤣🤣🤣 Just wondering aloud!
@dpd
Wasn’t Mitterand the last Pres to lose the legislature (deputies) election?
What was interesting is the young voters stayed home, slightly less than 3 in 10 voted. The oldest voters were 7 in 10. There was a large shift to both left and right. This generally comes from youth. But not in this case.
TheOGazertsJune 20, 2022 12:59 PM
Interested in
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/06/19/btcolumn-reflections-on-the-throne-commission/
(Throne=Thorne)
Have to reread … the editorial made me feel that the money could have been better spent
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I always thought he was a D
Well, before the Thorne Commission report will be allowed to gather dust it’s real purpose will reveal itself with the announcement of at least one knighthood😁
Arise. Sir Ralph!
These as actors, all, are tooooooo predictable.
@dPD
Side note.
Caster Semenya should have claimed to be a woman.
Oops she did..
Perhaps it was her name …semen… Yes
The world is totally mad. Nothing makes sense anymore.
The only thing that refuses to bend to this madness is the truth.
IT KEEPS TAKING SOMEONE FROM OUTSIDE THE REGION TO EXPOSE THE PANDEMIC CORRUPTION AND SKULL DUGGERY FIRST DONVILLE INNISS, MARK MALONEY/MIA MOTTLEY AND NOW THE 2X3 ISLAND FAVORED TRADING PARTNER BHARATTJAGDEO GUYANA AND THE CHINESE.
EVEN WHEN THEY ARE CAUGHT REDHANDED WILL DENY DENY DENY
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
“Su gets all the support” – Jagdeo tells under-Cover Vice News reporters
“Everything in this country is under the table. The whole country is like that.” This is one of the many statements made during the Vice News documentary “Guyana for Sale” which premiered yesterday with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo as the main character.
Businessman, Su Zhi Rong
His Chinese tenant and “friend” businessman, Su Zhi Rong is heard in the interview accusing Jagdeo of allegedly accepting bribes for large developmental projects undertaken in the country. Jagdeo has denied the allegations and has since signaled that he will take legal action against the Chinese businessman and also promised to evict him from his property.
At his Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara home, the former head of state told the undercover reporter and her colleague posing as Chinese business investors that he gives his Chinese “friend” all the support needed to facilitate investment transactions and that he has no dealings with finances given his role in government. “No, no, no I’m not getting involved in business. Su is my friend. He gets all the support. Su deals with all the agreements. I don’t. The thing is that my thing is that I’m in government, so I assist from government side.”
The Vice reporter was told that Su was the man that could get her a meeting with Vice President and so he did to prove his connection with the government official, and that any money reportedly paid for bribes to the VP would indeed get to him.
When the Vice News team first met Su, he boasted about his relationship with Jagdeo and that he could secure the meeting since he has a close relationship with the government official. “If you want anything done in Guyana you have to have some connections,” he told the Vice team.
“You tell me, it should be no problem. I am very close with the Vice President and the other officials,” the documentary’s subtitle read translating Mandarin to English.
Sue described Jagdeo as his “boss.” “If we are doing business together, my boss is not going to receive money directly.” “It’s going to be a service a processing fee then he’ll share some with me,” Su stated. The reporter noted that after a few hours with some Chinese businessmen she was informed by them that if they were investing in business they could help out, “because they have really good relationships with the heads of state in this country.”
The reporter was also told that service fees charged by the middlemen are really bribes for deals. “The consulting fee is the bribe. So, they include it in the consulting fee because they don’t do any actual consulting.” An individual identified as the General Manager for China’s largest state-run construction firm also pointed out that the middlemen were very important. “With just one word we can get something done,” the Chinese businessman said.
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
In Su’s conversation with the Vice reporter, he claimed to have brokered among other deals, the Amalia Falls Hydro project reportedly won through the payment of a massive bribe. The VP recently told the country that the project would be sent back to tender since the Chinese company can no longer operate on the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model, but preferred the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model.
In an earlier interview with Jagdeo, he was asked a straight question, “do you take bribes?” to which he replied, “no I don’t”. He had added that reporters come from abroad and try to make leaders of developing countries look corrupt. But Su had told the undercover reporters after the Jagdeo meeting that the executives, “hands are very clean” and Jagdeo would never admit his involvement.
Hours after the Vice documentary was released Member of Parliament and Shadow Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde called the revelations “explosive by damning”, calling out what he said appears to be, “privileges, connections and a relationship with the Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo” by Su.
“Also, the report reveals the apparent improper use of Government office to engage in lobbying.”
He said while the Government is attempting to fail the reporter in her attempt to find linkages between the Vice President and Su’s questionable dealing and arrangements, “the fact that the Vice President acknowledged his relationship with Su demonstrated by his warm welcome of the Chinese businessman and the journalist posing as his secretary and his conversation with them speaks volumes.”
Furthermore, the fact that Su can actually say the things he said about Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, is not only extremely worrying to every law- abiding citizen but has enormous potential to negatively affect the national image and reputation of Guyana. “This situation cannot be decoupled from recent international assessments about the rise in corruption in all sectors of the country since the People’s Progressive Party Civic return to government.”
The Opposition MP said it is not a question of whether Jagdeo is linked to these corrupt practices, but it is about the fact that Su can boldly implicate the Vice President. To this, the MP said the revelations want an investigation as, “no amount of denial, on the part of the Vice President and or by his government, and amount of public relations spin can remove or wash away this odious National scandal.”
“The recent unilateral appointment of The Integrity Commission and other suspicious moves of the government have compounded the institutional weaknesses of the State which facilitates such corrupt practices and arrangements whilst concomitantly disabling the State from competently respond to this scandal.”
Forde said has thus prepared an appropriate Bill to be filed and tabled in the National Assembly to suppress and eradicate lobbying. The MP called for an immediate independent investigation, and the resignation of the Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.
https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2022/06/20/su-gets-all-the-support-jagdeo-tells-under-cover-vice-news-reporters/
DPD
ALL solutions that my son and I reasoned out weeks ago. Pretty simple. I have absolutely no beef with transgender persons but no transgender male to female person who has undergone puberty as a male can compete fairly with women. They have to be reasonable and not seek to unfair women. Women have suffered oppression and discrimination just as they have at the hands of men. We do not need transgenders to join in.
David,
Doan get tie up! I know that you are fed up that things have not worked out under this government as you hoped. But unlike the Emotional One, I figure, not that you have been deployed to deflect blame to the people, but to light a fire under their backsides so that they can in turn, hold this government’s feet to the fire.
Obviously, if Monster Malmoney is now Procurer-in-Chief and Decimal Dude, Destroyer of the Lost Decade is now comfortably repackaged and deployed on our behalf, it is business as usual among the political class and who cares what the people think!
I see that you are desperate and clutching at straws, realising that a new approach by citizens is needed because cuss and bluster en wukking too well.
Don’t give up David. Hang in there my Brother. We are not going to allow any shit to happen ’bout hey. We in dis tageduh. We got dis !
@Northern, I am not deeply versed in French politics and as I noted my attention over the years has been scant (particularly after de Guadelope girlfriend thing didn’t work out 🤣).
However, my minimalist recollections of Mitterand’s tenure were 1) its length, thus the de Gaulle comparison, and 2) the left-right political turbulence endured.
So yes what you noted is likely 100% accurate … and maybe that is part of the blogmaster’s ‘basket case remark, one presumes.
But France is an interesting nation and are facing their nativist comeuppance a la US/Trump. These last elections were expected to be something of a ‘bellwether’ event for La Penn and moreso Macron and undoubtedly it seems the ‘bell’ has forebodingly tolled much, much louder than most expected!
The months and years ahead will be challenging for the recently reelected President.
@Theo, we really need to place Semenya in a different category … she wasn’t trans atall. In non medical jargon basic Bajan she was a very masculine tom-boy. The doc GP has provided his expert medical analysis on that athlete’s hormone issues and all that!
Peace all.
“The reporter was also told that service fees charged by the middlemen are really bribes for deals. “The consulting fee is the bribe. So, they include it in the consulting fee because they don’t do any actual consulting.””
the difference between THEN and NOW…..everyone knows….they all look so good, all across the region..
“These as actors, all, are tooooooo predictable.”
tiresome and boring like their supporters.
“Brookings play well to your own thinking with the nonsense that ordinary people are to run around and do all these things without resources, as powerless as they are and within the shadow of political elites who serve their economic masters, who finance elections and themselves.. Populations never recieve any of the largesse.”
or without PROTECTION/SECURITY much needed in holding the dangerous and treacherous accountable……..while governments have the armed forces and criminals at their disposal…to torment and terrorize citizens who get in the way of their corruption…..don’t get set up…
David BU let me take this opportunity to wish PM Ms Mia Amor Mottley a speedy recovery from covid 19 and all my best wishes to her family, friends and herself.I gone.
@Lorenzo
The blogmaster adds his get well also although it was reported her symptoms are mild.
She will no doubt be missed in Rwanda.
i REPEAT MARK MALONEY / AVINASH PERSAUD / MIA MOTTLEY ETC ON THE 2 X 3 ISLAND
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The Vice Report “Guyana For Sale” should not be overlooked
Jun 22, 2022 Letters
Dear Editor,
For far too long many of us here in Guyana have shown scant regard for corrupt practices. We live in a society where it is so common to pay a bribe to expedite a service and for those in authority to turn a blind eye that we fail to understand the serious effects of corruption on our economy and livelihood. So much so that we take little to no interest in or make a mockery of issues and allegations of corrupt practices in the highest offices of our land.
Allegations of corruption should be dealt with in the same manner as allegations of rape, murder, kidnapping etc. but then again in some instances the handling of some of these cases are also marred by corrupt practices.
The recently released VICE report “Guyana For Sale” which highlighted allegations of corruption against Vice President Jagdeo should be considered a serious matter by the authorities and pursued with the independence and professionalism that is needed for such matters. Fact is every exposed act of corruption starts with an allegation, hence when I see Government Ministers and those on both sides of the main political fronts treat with allegations of corrupt practices in a nonchalant manner it is worrying. When you have a Minister of Government after viewing the VICE report saying “What a flop! The man you hope will sink Jagdeo says with ease and in clear language, “his hands are clean!”
If you were waiting for fireworks, for the expose, for something… you must have given several long suck teeth-s at the nothingness of that “investigative” piece. I coulda done better and I’m not even a journalist. I say we do the Vice/Yeoung Challenge…” it gives a clear sense of how seriously the Government treats allegations of corruption including millions or probably billions of taxpayers dollars. The level of idiocy in the post by the Minister is appalling; 1. It is not up to a news agency to present incriminating evidence of corruption against anyone. The VICE report provided more than enough information to warrant a thorough investigation. 2. The Minister makes a mockery of the report and attempts to invalidate its seriousness by quoting Mr. Su who said “his hands are clean”. In this same report, however, you can hear the Vice President admitting that Mr. Su is his close friend and he looks after all the agreements and gets his (Jagdeo) full support as a Government official. To think that the Minister does not see anything wrong with that is frightening. Is it that we are so corrupt that our view of corruption and corrupt practices are skewed?
Imagine a Vice President meeting with foreign investors at his home at the behest of a man that calls him the boss, a man he (Jagdeo) stated has his full support as a Government official, a man who walks into his home to introduce him to a man he is seeking to help get a business deal in Guyana and some folks would want to brush that aside as if it’s nothing. Note, Mr. Jagdeo didn’t ask why are you trying to bribe a government official, nor did he say that’s not how the Government interacts with investors, nor did he make it clear that bribery is a criminal offence, much less report the matter to the authorities. Instead he pointed the man under the guise Mr. Chan to Mr. Su the man who handles the business and gets his support. That in itself tells a damning story. Mr. Jagdeo’s simple but profound utterance clearly points to the issue of trading in influence, which is covered under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption to which Guyana is a signatory.
Further in the report by VICE it was explicitly outlined how the deals go down. Fact is only immature and foolish government officials would directly collect bribe monies. It was outlined that monies are collected as part of consultation fees and then funneled to the boss. This kind of revelation should cause us to take a look at past and current contracts, especially those that involved Mr. Jagdeo. What were the consultation fees for similar projects in Guyana and in comparison with other countries? If you were to take some time to understand the workings of corruption you’d want to investigate all the seemingly over-priced projects and the ones that are being increased. The issue of bid rigging schemes should also be investigated especially since we have had a number of locals complaining about specific contracts that are only being awarded to friends and associates of those in Government.
In closing, as a people we need to take allegations of corruption seriously. Mr. Su’s tenant- Landlord relationship with Mr. Jagdeo alone presents a possible avenue for Mr. Su to pass on the ill-gotten gains in the form of rent for the property he is living in. This alone would ensure that his (Jagdeo) hands are kept clean since we don’t know the cost of the rental. But this is just one way in which Government officials who are involved in corruption around the world maintain their clean hand stance because monies received from rent is seen as legitimate income. So what you find world over is Government Officials being involved in various types of businesses that are used to accept the gains from corruption under the guise of legitimacy. Some officials while not being directly involved in business may have family members or close associates in business who will front for them and receive gains from corrupt practices on their behalf.
I do hope that our local journalists use this info to conduct further investigations. Frankly speaking I do not have faith in the authorities to conduct any sensible investigation into these allegations and while it is not up to the news outlets to present evidence to incriminate anyone on any matter I do hope that they take keen interest in investigating and exposing corruption wherever it exists and that as a people we demand that these allegations be properly investigated.
https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2022/06/22/the-vice-report-guyana-for-sale-should-not-be-overlooked/
David
Preliminary results of yesterday’s general elections in Grenada, indicated the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won nine (9) of the 15 seats, with the remaining six (6) going to former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell’s New National Party (NNP).
NDC leader, Dickon Mitchell, is the new PM of Grenada.
A very interesting outcome. Seems as though Grenadians had enough of Keith Mitchell.
Remember, the NNP won all 15 parliamentary seats, in the February 2013 general elections…… and retained all 15 seats in general elections of March 13, 2018.
And, coincidentally, Mottley won all 30 seats in the May 24, 2018 and January 19, 2022 general elections.
Are the Grenada elections results an indication Grenadians “got up and stood up”……
…… and serves as a warning for Mia Mottley and her administration as well?
@Artax
There is a blog posted to deal with this matter.
Surprised that the election results are so similar …
I can just imagine a Grenadian going ‘two 15-0 in ya crutch’.
The Grenada elections provided food for thought. The headings are my own
Senate issues
“The appointed prime minister, cabinet, and freely elected Parliament representatives are able to determine the policies of the government. However, because of concerns over the lack of an opposition in the House of Representatives, three NDC members were appointed to the Senate after the 2013 and 2018 elections.”
Corruption issues
“Are safeguards against official corruption strong and effective?
Corruption remains a prominent issue in Grenada, despite safeguards enshrined in the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Integrity in Public Life Act. In August 2018, the Integrity Commission began an investigation into allegations that the Marketing and National Importing Board had misappropriated public funds over a five-year period. The investigation was ongoing at year’s end”.
Constitutional issues
“A number of suggested amendments in the 2016 constitutional reform package would have strengthened anticorruption safeguards, but all were voted down by significant margins.”
Is this our next step
“Grenada’s Citizenship by Investment Program (CBI), which allows foreigners to gain citizenship through an economic investment in the country, continued to trouble some analysts in 2018 due to the potential for fraud and abuse, despite the tightening of rules governing it in 2017.”
Separated little dingies all going in the same direction, lots of smoke, mirrors and misdirection.
Sorry, that was for 60-0.
I had a chuckle last night as I read somewhere that M.I.A. was recognised as one of the greatest Caribbean leaders of all time. It’s astonishing to witness her meteoric rise on the international stage. I believe sometime ago BU published a thread entitled: “What is Mottleyism?” written by J. Cole.
In this article, a commentator called Observer, stated that Mottleyism represented the highest form of yardfowlism. Since the empress claimed power, I have asked myself the question why does the international community accord such reverence to a leader whose levels of achievement on the domestic stage are minimal. Mia is in her mid-fifties. When she was a slip of a girl, she graduated with a master’s at the prestigious L.S.E. in London. Evidently, her time was wasted at this university, she has never been strong on detail. It would have been an anathema for her to have developed a theoretical social framework for governing her country in her younger days as she comes from an entitled background.
Contrast M.I.A with Tanzania’s first leader after independence. The difference is as clear as day and night. I have just watched the fall of Hosni Mabarak. Every dog has its day. The most powerful leaders in the world can all be brought down down.
Here is a wonderful critical overview of the great Tanzania leader: JULIUS NYERERE
Have you contrasted her with the leaders of Nigeria who are accused of rampant corruption?
@ David,
You have entirely missed the point – not for the first time. I have referenced Tanzania and not Nigeria.
Come back to me after you have viewed: Tanzania: The Quiet Revolution (Part 1/2)
Errol Barrow was a contemporary of Julius Nyerere. The difference being that Julius was a pan-Africanist and a giant. The exact opposite of Barrow who was no more than a socialite.
The point you are missing is that for every African country you select as a model of what Barbados should follow there are two that can be named that are basket cases. They are all dictators and wallowing in corruption. Some of you romanticize African countries to the point it gets nauseating.
@ David,
Sadly, Julius Nyerere policies did come into full full fruition and ultimately they failed. He had the good grace to step down. I wish Mia would follow suite. She is governing Barbados at a difficult time. However, half of Barbados problems have come from self-inflicted wounds. We should all be honest and demand for a silent revolution of Barbados. We have to dismantle and abolish the old order and cap it, as one would with an oil well.
There is no shame in Mia admitting that she is incapable of dealing with Barbados problems.
@ David,
Your ability to continue to misinterpret passages of sentences confounds me. I have REFERENCED specifically Tanzania at its time of independence. I’m not referring to any other countries. I have highlighted how great a leader Julius Nyerere was and contrasted that with our inferior Prime Minister. To be fair I have also highlighted his socialite contemporary Barrow.
Julius Nyerere, unlike Barbadian Prime Ministers and other African leaders was incorruptible.
David, let’s call a spade a spade. Barbados is absolutely corrupt with a constitution which is offensive to its black majority population which is enforced by a corrupted political class. Mia should lay down her shield and allow Barbados to become a true Pan-Africanist democracy.
What about the leaders who followed him? It the same way leaders followed Errol Barrow?
@ David,
You keep making excuses. Why should Barbadians not rise up to their leaders in a country which has refused to amend the corruption act since 1922 – I believe? That equates to one whole century!!!!!!!