Government will be forced to decide the fate of Barbados very soon as the decision to enter into another International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme will be publicly known in some days ahead. In my analysis the Prime Minister may seek to table the proposed changes in legislation before September 30th 2022. In the press conference hosted by the PM she indicated that the NIS is not in crisis really but we must act now to save it. The rush to amend pension is the government following the dictates and timelines imposed by the BERT plan endorsed by the IMF.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley on May 13th 2022 told reporters at Ilaro Court that the current programme would end on September 30 , 2022 and discussions would begin once the mission report “passes the board” at the end of June.Mr. van Selm said Barbados had reached a staff level agreement with the EFF, following its latest review and once approved by the IMF Board in June, the country would have access to US $23 million in funding.
From the recent NIS political showcase with Actuary Derek Osbourne which caused serious civil & societal discomfort across the country . The GOB is going ahead to alter pension to meet the draconian proposals agreed to by signing the IMF program back in 2018. Pension reform is one of the major agreements the government agreed to enact and to date the government has not lived up to it’s end of the bargain with the iMF as the current IMF program winds up in 23 days and pension reform is still due.
The odd timing chosen by the Prime Minister to raise the NIS and pension reform conversation was not to sensitize the public about the NIS which she categorically stated is not in crisis but we must act now to save it was but a cliche is to hide the force and pressure being applied against Barbados to live up the agreement made with the IMF within the specific dictates and timelines imposed. This is why Bajans may have to work to 72 through no fault of their own.
My prediction is that the government may move swiftly to amend the pension before September 30th to avoid running over into the end of the IMF program. If no decision is made by then this will be an indication of the government’s intent to indeed enter into another IMF program come September 30th and pension reform will be a high priority requirement for the government to enact in the next program. The next program will be more difficult than the first including more cuts to jobs, deeper cuts to pensions especially non-contributory , cuts to SOEs, increased taxes and levies on government services, cuts in budgets to all ministries and to also privatize more government assets such as the GAIA airport which being leased out to an unknown we speak for 40 years and the water authority which is undergoing serious changes to it’s operations as we speak .
Prime Minister Mottley said that “From July, we will start discussing. Will we have a successor programme? If so, what type of successor programme? Will we go it on our own or is it time or is it right to go on your own when interest rates are rising globally? Or do you stay in the comfort of concessional interest rates by having a programme or working closely with the other regional development banks and international financial institutions . July and August passed and no discourse took place
The Prime Minister of Barbados mentioned the possibility of a roadshow in September to start to tell our story to the capital markets pointing out “whether we go back into an IMF Programme or not, we believe that our story, which is a credible story, has to be told, in order to be able to…get our way back to investment grade. Barbados was barred from capital markets because of the voluntary international debt default by the Mottley government in 2018 and in 23 days September comes to an end therefore the public should monitor social media over the next 23 days starting september 7th for comments from the Prime Minister surrounding Barbados’ fate in regards to signing another IMF program and proposed NIS reform.
Don’t worry worry yourself
Stupid white boys doing what stupid white boys do, just fucking with you
here is some jukebox music
Pain in My Heart
“I hope some fairy godfather or mother turns up and gives us 5 billion USD so that such nonsense will not be written anymore or anywhere else by anybody.”
first said fairy godfather or mother will have to ask them….wuh dey did wid de 5 or 6 BILLLION DOLLARS OR MORE MISSING FROM THE ECONOMY….and if they can’t answer that…..NOT A DIME..
@ Donna September 11, 2022 7:02 PM
It’s nice that another person has realised that we can no longer get out of the debt hole by conventional means.
The next debt cut is only a matter of time. We will never again raise hundreds of millions in the capital market in New York for public financing with our current debt level and the poor outlook. Who would be so insane as to invest their money in wage increases for unproductive civil servants and in order to fake a certain degree of civilisation through electoral gifts?
If a raise is given to the public sector it will be at the expense of the few that will be sent home.
So in simply terms out of 100 or so, 10 will go home so 90 can get a 5% raise. When you hit groud zero you can’t get blood from stone. The IMF has clearly sent the message when they spoke to the need to now “consolidate government and its expenses.” They could not of made it any simpler than that for us.
P.S. Africans did communicate in their own languages. We were not mute beasts who needed to learn English to survive. In fact, the first university was in Africa.
Asshole!
Who let this loose foul mouth animal out of her cage.
Thinks cursing anyone is her ticket on the blog topic after topic
Lawson,
The Canadian companies must be trying to climb over the Murcans to get piece of the Guyana action, nuh?
Murcans get there first.
Brits musse blue vex they missed that boat. I mean, after installing Buurnham they missed all this oil!.
Oops.
Hahaha.
Lawson,
Looks like a couple of Canucks made it in. John Cullen. Have to do some reading on his background.
https://oilnow.gy/profiles/companies/jhi-associates-inc/
Source: Nation
Source: Nation Editorial (12/9/2022)
Ronnie Obama and Newspapers are missing the point
here’s the joint…
“BRB is doing well..”
.. in it’s debt management program
it’s head is still underwater but is still managing to breathe and survive
and needs to remain being careful and frugal in spending
extra funds are needed for
infrastructure investment
maintaining debt repayments
a safety net for any unforeseen problems
The Glamorous Life
Pacha…ah heard world leaders are BANNED from flying private jets to UK for Elizabeth’s funeral…..ah guess economy class and first class on commercial planes will have to do..
take them down a couple pegs, no showing off they wheeled in on their best friends jets, no bringing in friends family and buddies, only leaders and their SPOUSES are allowed…
that must have put a dent in a lot of elaborate plans….
wait until things really get going, am sure we will hear much more..
@ Donna
Suck it up girl, the bottom of the barrel is getting closer, only then when the POPULACE starts to starve, like the African homeland, will changes “start” to appear, these changes however will likely not be to your liking.
There is going to be a new tax on the media if the Nation keeps running editorials like the one above.
Or possibly they learned from a prior admin of the GoB, all the odd places and tactics to conceal Debt.
Do they really think that if we cannot produce relatively simple reports on the financial condition and activities of so many entities, that a report on the nations Debt status will be forthcoming?
good warning…..cause along with a one world government in process…..someone just brought to my attention the pending re-evangalizing to a ONE WORLD RELIGION…and they are running around everywhere putting that in place…
it’s up to the continent and Afrikans worldwide to accept or REJECT THAT NASTINESS…
Possibly one of the many trained economists who make themselves heard via the media, could tell the people, as a reminder of course, exactly what the IMF caused to be done, under the current program, other than providing funds to shore up our Fx reserves (avoiding devaluation).
@NO
It triggered pension reform DISCUSSIONS?
#help
@NO
Forgot a ceiling on government borrowing?
#help
“only then when the POPULACE starts to starve, like the African homeland,”
misinformation…there are 54 0r 55 contries in Afrika,,,only a percentage are experiencing….drought and famine…as is normal for certain regions for thousands of years…
any famine in Barbados is self-made….any drought is because they dont prepare, maintain and wont stop tiefing the water…
Earlier this year i saw rice PYRAMIDS in Nigeria….don’t know if it all of it reaches that vast region though…they got over two hundred million people..
India stopped the exportation of cut rice as feed, some countries use it to feed their population, they are only allowing the more expensive rice to leave….they know what’s coming….got over a billion people to feed..and preparing…
From memory, and not being a trained economist, it began with the SD and focused on repaying the mountain of Debt accumulated locally in the GoB and SOE A/P entries. Many were offered haircuts to settle, and the larger amounts were bundled into J Bonds and moved from one book entry to another.
They scratched at pension reform, given that includes both public service pensions and the NIS. They never got to SOE reform, though the PM suggested much of the leg work has been done.
There was also that messy Tax situation and grey lists, though am unsure of what role the IMF played.
Similarly unsure of their role in establishing the new Trust and Sustainability Fund (?), essentially more funding under “concessionary” terms.
It is unknown to me what role the IMF has played in advice relating to ‘growth opportunities’.
#littlehelp #notaneconomist
🇼 is on a cheese roll today 🧀
🇼 facts ✔️
🇼 opinion ❌
@ NorthernObserver September 12, 2022 9:47 AM
The word “devaluation” does not officially exist. We should better speak of “currency modernisation”.
The transition to the republic would really have been a good moment to simply add a zero to all banknotes, but not to increase salaries.
Waru
The preponderance of the scientific evidence clearly shows that Pachamama has the fix in.
That She seeks to bring us Earth into balance is clear. However, this writer remains unconvinced that Whitey has the propensity to take this matter seriously, beyond the ephemeral.
Case in point Ukraine. But we have hundreds of examples. During this NATO-Russia War, having started the war, then they determined that coal, nuclear and tar sands were green energy. These are the same people looking to steal carbon credits from the countries of the South while they do what ever the +uck they feel like.
It beggars belief. Weee done taking these White devils seriously. Regardless of the gravement of the issue.
“That She seeks to bring us Earth into balance is clear. However, this writer remains unconvinced that Whitey has the propensity to take this matter seriously, beyond the ephemeral.”
too superficial to work with people who have a very strong spiritual connection, the world has shrunk too small and information too easily accessed for complete success.
….but you have the forever idiots and forever Slaves who will always accept, rush to please, and bolt headlong into another era of generational traps…..so enamored of false representation, and other people’s sick fantasies and lying stories, too eager to involve themselves in systems of destruction prepared just for them, those are the types to avoid when they come spreading backward talk, regurgitating what others spout…lack of independent thought……the easy to indoctrination..
Pacha…wonder how long it will take for them to come to terms with the fact that they got left holding an empty bag…lol..and won’t see it until it’s too late, some won’t see it at all….
saw where Charles said he is making no changes to parliamentary traditions in UK, that should please the die hard Slaves no end….
@African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights ReservedSeptember 12, 2022 9:55 AM
You are correct to a point, how many of the 55 are operating with a positive debt to GDP, how many are not dictatorships etc. With terspect to Bajan water situation your correct, water supplies are not endless and island aquifers are exhausted. Barbados has/had a water resource protected land area plans, however these have been now devoted to housing for the poor. Good idea, now we have a house and no water.
Good plans, however follow through is non existent. TALK is cheap, results however take discipline.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/07/long-term-survey-reveals-chinese-government-satisfaction/
David
This maybe, maybe, maybe of interest to you.
Thanks Pacha but it is not an apple and apple comparison although a few interesting points can be gleaned.
Chinese people in a longitudinal study gives their government a 90 percent rating, believe that they have a practical democracy!
@ Pacha
“Chinese people in a longitudinal study gives their government a 90 percent rating, believe that they have a practical democracy!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No surprise there.
The Chinese came from ‘nowhere’ just 30 years ago, to become global leaders …by choosing a set of sensible leaders who were experienced in achieving success against the odds.
They also routinely executed the idiots, incompetents and crooked who sought to impede their progress.
If one is going to be albino-centric then one ought to do it RIGHT… like China did…
We on the other hand, promote failures and known crooks, and take advice from failures such as Petra….
Neither fish now fowl, we are ‘community-centric’ by nature, ‘albino-centric’ by adoption, and shiitehounds in practice….
We are destined to AGAIN become slaves of others- at the very least our children are..
as a result of OUR OWN choice of idiocy.
“Good idea, now we have a house and no water.”
that’s ya misleaders punching above their intelligence..
“We are destined to AGAIN become slaves of others- at the very least our children are..
as a result of OUR OWN choice of idiocy.”
I share a similar belief. It is somewhat frightening to see the ‘smartest men’ in the world dance themselves into a tight corner. When all the fancy footwork is finished, our children will own nothing.
Mr gloom and doom
Arent the the one who usually push the fact that wages and salaries have not kept up with the rate of inflation ?
Man u even gave classroom demonstration to show the effects
Now u coming scare tactics about what/ how a five percent will do even when that is not even close to keeping up with inflation?
Cant figure Out where u stand? After the raise is settled ask the BEC or whatever it name for the opinion on how much it is go to add towards gdp / gov revenue as against the expence it Will cost
Bushie
Well said never a truer series of words written.
But Bushie. How else are societies to deal with the type we have. Our corrective measure will always be anathema to the squeamish. Like David.😃
@David, absolutely it’s “not an apple and apple comparison” re China. This is certainly not an esoteric debate of governance or a shouting match about ideology but if we see that polling in what is ostensibly seen as free-wheeling do-as-u-wish western ‘democratic’ societies can depict shewed results from citizens being ‘conditioned’ towards certain results how on earth can we look objectively at any polling from an ordered almost regimented society like China!
I believe the blogger said in an earlier post to the effect that Chinese society unlike our own has worked towards definitive 10 or 15 to 20 years plans which are implemented by THE Central Committee regardless (I believe he said) of the Chairman at the helm … that is a truism to a significant degree of course, so with that in mind how on earth can one also so “artfully” throw up the term _”practical democracy!” to describe China.
Practical to what … a theory on autocracy?? What does that actually mean?? All political decision are made by ONE central committee which brooks no critical or purposeful opposing views … doesn’t a ‘practicing democracy’ mean varying ideas competing freely!
Ah hah … the term was “practical” not “practicing” !!! …. Anyhow as I noted this is not an endless debate .. I am simply sharing an obvious flaw in the reasoning above.
And to you @Bushman Griot, you speak so smoothly one can easily be bamboozled … how on earth would your heralding of “They also routinely executed the idiots, incompetents and crooked who sought to impede their progress have worked here in Bim!!
I also question the summary remark that “The Chinese came from ‘nowhere’ just 30 years ago, to become global leaders” yes of course in terms of economic prowess vis the US etc but China was always a great dynasty long before the west allowed themselves to be so completely infiltrated and essentially ‘colonized’ by her!
And when you say “by choosing a set of sensible leaders who were experienced in achieving success against the odds” I suspect that’s short-hand for autocratic strong men who came to power by cunning and intelligence and retained that power by force of arms! Yes!
One must surely admire the awesomeness of the Chinese leadership experience as it has been and is absolutely stunningly successful but to parse it as you did above re any comparative process here in Bim is quite difficult to grasp … but it sounds sweet, though.
I gone.
Good to bad Britain has a heap of historical information about it’s slave trade past from the 16th Century, but in 21st Century is now shifting it’s narrative to say that it’s evilous people were truly wholly wicked and bad like devils and are no longer saying their heroes were good guys doing Gods work
Abolition Trail
2007 marks the 200th anniversary of the passing of the Act of Parliament that legally ended British involvement in the transatlantic trade in African people to serve as slave labour in the Americas, the West Indies and Europe. This Act did not end slavery in the British Empire, nor did it end the involvement of British companies in the slave trade. 1807 did, however, mark the moment when men and women – privileged and poor, enslaved and free – celebrated their initial success against a barbaric trade.
To commemorate this anniversary the National Portrait Gallery has created a new gallery trail that highlights some of the individuals in the Collection who have been associated with the history of the slave trade. It mainly includes those who profited from the trade in enslaved peoples, reflecting the reliance on slave labour to create wealth, position and influence in British society. It also brings together those who suffered and survived the cruelties and indignities of transportation and those who fought slavery, with those who were present in Britain due to its lasting legacies. There are many others who are a part of this story but remain unknown, although not forgotten, such as the young girl who appears in this portrait, and the many ordinary working men and women who took part in the nation-wide abolition campaign.
The Slave Trade
British trading in enslaved Africans became established in the 1500s. In 1562 Captain John Hawkins was the first known Englishman to include enslaved Africans in his cargo. Queen Elizabeth approved of his journey, during which he captured 300 Africans. He then sailed across the North Atlantic and exchanged them for hides, ginger and sugar. He returned to London in 1563. Thirsty for greater profits, he organised another voyage for 1564 to which Queen Elizabeth contributed one vessel.
Meanwhile, the African presence in England became established to such an extent that attempts were made to limit their numbers. Queen Elizabeth enjoyed the profits of the Atlantic slave trade and employed African entertainers in her court but she issued a decree to expel Africans from England in July 1596. Despite this, Africans were to remain a consistent presence in English life.
After abolition
The Act that was passed in 1807 was meant to end Britain’s involvement in the trans- Atlantic slave trade. In reality, British companies continued to profit from the trade, and some historians have argued that many Britons were able to reap greater benefits from the trade after abolition than ever before. The moment enslaved Africans gained their freedom in the British empire would not come until 1838, following the replacement of slavery with the apprenticeship system in 1834. In 1838 the British government agreed to pay slave owners £20 million compensation (the spending worth of over £800 million today). Those who had worked as slaves for generations were given nothing at all. The abolition of slavery released the formerly enslaved into poverty, and prompted the British to mine new parts of the empire for ‘slave labour’. The result was the, sometimes forced, migration of Asian men and women to the Caribbean. Here they were forced to work as part of an indentured labour system under which labourers worked under contract for an employer for a specified number of years.
When it comes to the divine spirit within
greater energy practices and systems
are found in the East not the West
Chinese Qigong Tai Chi Kung Fu
Indian Breathing Meditation Yoga
Keep it on the D-Lo
there are spies everywhere on the spider web net
BRB is such a small place with nowhere to run it’s people have always been soft and compliant
and cannot be militant like dread rasta
Fret not the lord of dance has come to break every chain and loosen the 7 seals thereof and nice up the dance in a style and pattern
Big rebel tune for slave minds
Gun salute for the General♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯ 🎼 🎵 🎶
I Shall Be Released
I see my light, I see my light come shining
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released
I see my light come shining
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released
Dylan
Warming up the Sound System Speakers
with a Big BU anthem Version Excursion
Round 1
That’s How Strong My Love Is (Tommie Young) versus (Candi Staton)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDFB374eqnc
Round 2
That’s How Strong My Love Is (Otis Redding)
That’s How Strong My Love Is (O.V. Wright)
Late Nite Blues Session
Round Tree (Adaptations)
Different Genres (Reggae and Rock)
That’s How Strong My Love Is (Judy Mowatt & The Gaylettes)
That’s How Strong My Love Is (The Rolling Stones)
Lord have mercy!!! Gabby firing wirh both barrels loaded.
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/09/13/no-apology/
Pacha…the Slaves are having a slave hissy fit over this…the good coming out of this, the ENEMIES WITHIN – Marcus Garvey……had to REVEAL THEMSELVES…
https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/09/13/no-apology/
“Cultural Ambassador Anthony Gabby Carter says he would give up his designation of ambassador before he apologises for a self-penned poem about the late United Kingdom monarch Queen Elizabeth II.
The poem Good Riddance to Rubbish was circulated on social media following the announcement that the 96-year-old royal had died on Thursday September 8. It addressed Britain’s, and the role of the Monarchy, in the Transatlantic slave trade, the wealth gained, inherited and passed down through the years, and the fact that victims of these atrocities have yet to receive reparations.
Referring to Queen Elizabeth II as a “quiet wicked woman”, the poem read in part: “She inherited millions of pounds from the gains of slavery yet she allowed each colony to wallow in poverty. Seventy-five long hard years this monarch Liz did reign, she made sure her colonies made no economic gain.”
However, some people have not taken too kindly to Gabby’s sentiments labelling them as “disrespectful”, “distasteful” and “uncivilised”. Others have even gone as far as to call for Government to revoke his National Honour status if an apology is not forthcoming.
Former Barbados High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Guy Hewitt has strongly condemned the poem, saying it has brought “dishonour” to Barbados.
Hewitt argued that it was not only in poor taste, but it displayed Gabby’s ignorance of the role of a constitutional monarchy, the history of the Commonwealth of Nations and the late Queen’s role in it.”
TLSN…….black people can be the most hypocritical disgusting trash when it comes to STANDING UP FOR AFRIKAN RIGHTS……
we see it everywhere….they are the enemies who would make sure Afrikans ARE NEVER FREE….they are the ones STOPPING PROGRESS..
..i keep telling people it’s the nigas NOT THE WHITES are our biggest problem….because they do what they must to SURVIVE….but the wicked niga mind is always in SABOTAGE MODE…
The Racism of GB and it’s 5 eyes 👀👀👀👀👀 of racist white majority settlement colonies
{The Five Eyes (FVEY) intelligence alliance of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States}
is the legacy that Queen Elisa has passed onto King Charles and Prince William of Wales to deal with
How do you stop Racist Fox News and Racist Politicians and Racist People thriving
ilk
a type of person or thing similar to one already referred to.
“How do you stop Racist Fox News and Racist Politicians and Racist People thriving”
REMOVE their NIGAS….their Slaves who prop it up….with their Judas, traitor bloodllines..
“REMOVE their NIGAS….” ❌
You should TEACH the NIGAS ✔️
Less is more.
I Shall Be Released
#BLACKLIVESMATTER
Easy Squeeze
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCROL3wWFUc&list=PLo5KN6HwJRSm8-l6GqyKk95Q9XGKhswzj
Never Stop Fighting / Johnny Osbourne
When will we ever stop our fighting
Can’t you see us standing up that we could all just start uniting
They’re asking for peace yet they never stop fighting
Will there ever come a time when mankind be united
I’m a just a passerby singing and rejoicing
And if you listen with your heart you can hear angel voices
They’re always singing
You hear the angel voices ooooh
You hear the angels singing in harmony-eee
You hear them singing in the morning so early-eee hee hee
But only Jah-Jah gonna help us
Yes only Jah-Jah gonna help us no-how
Time just keep on slipping right into the future
Brotha tell me what you gonna do for the nowadays youth sir
You see I’m a just a passerby I’m still singing and rejoicing
But if you listen with your heart I know
You’re really gonna hear children voices
They’ll always be singing
Now can’t you hear little children singing tra la la la la la loo
A can’t you hear little children voices la la tridle dee dee ooh
A can’t you hear little children singing tra la la la loo
Only Jah-Jah gonna
Help us now
@dpd
I believe the polling results are likely quite accurate.
My kindergarten level understanding of what is a very complicated electoral system, suggests the only level your ordinary Chinese citizen has a vote is at the lowest local local levels. Hence their lower approval. They have some say.
Many similar polls in say the US or Canada, are affected by Party affiliation. And a general misunderstanding of which level of government is responsible for what.
So in an environment where the electorate are split roughly evenly between Tweedle Dum and Dee, getting Dum to approve when Dee rules and vice versa, is tough. And many local candidates, do not run under a ‘party’ banner. This produces higher approval, even though some are known to be ‘affiliated’.
Today, I visit annually, in Florida, with several people I met during my time in Cuba in the 90’s. Nobody in Cuba I dealt with, ever voiced disapproval. Now they have left, it is a different story.
If this Dwert is a black man and was more outraged at my outrage at the disgusting stinking racist liar known as Lawson’s remarks than he/she was at the disgusting, stinking, nasty, racist remarks, then I have proved my point.
You are brainwashed!
Now GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!
ASSHOLE!
@Northern, your clarification is absolutely spot on. When you have a choice of many but in fact the, “many local candidates, do not run under a ‘party’ banner. This produces higher approval, even though [ALL] are known to be ‘affiliated’…[and directed by the single party entity]
Quite perfectly detailed as indeed in the Cuba of your visits or in Russia or Belarus. I am thus completely amused when shrewd pollsters play these games with stats as they do in our neck of the woods (North America) so continuously !
BTW, that’s an impressive kindergarten level analysis …are you another Bajan savant or some such like your other school mates who excite us here daily 😎
And there you have it! Lawson, whom some of you so-called Afrikan warriors indulge, has told you without any hope of plausible deniability, what he thinks of your ancestors!
Not a boy says a word!
Wunnuh got talk fuh Donna?
BRING IT!
To the nasty piece of shit known as Lawson,
Where did I beg for anything, you illiterate?
I said, reparations, though morally due, will do us no good until we can reverse our brainwashing. Soon we would be back at square one.
Also, I said that I would gladly accept a drop in so-called living standard than for our leaders to walk the globe begging for assistance.
So…. your disgust is sadly misplaced and as twisted as your version of the white man’s enslavement of Africans.
You are cursed with what ailed them. Greed! Greed! Greed! And a feeling of entitlement to other people’s property by virtue of skin colour.
As you have displayed here, you would have done the same if presented with the opportunity.
A nasty, filthy, greedy savage beast!
As I have always said, poke the beast enough and he cannot hide!
But pray tell, have you ever read one paragraph of true African history?
I bet not, because it would not allow you to promote white supremacy!
Consider yourself out smarted by this inferior beast! It is amazing what a few “cusswords” can do!
P.S. The Africans were so beautiful in their “underwear” that your lot could not keep their filthy hands off them.
@dpd
School mates?
Because our parents made choices as to where we would go to school, and that several of us went through the same “gates” each day, makes us mates…lol. Cause I know you are not referring to Hants or TheO, whom I believe went through the same ‘gates’.🤣
The Drums Call You
Out of a population of 287,371 (2020)(🇧🇧) there is a disproportionately high number people who are prejudiced against a population of 1.402 billion (2020)(🇨🇳). I blame their brainwashing on x-masters from 🇬🇧 UK 🇨🇦 Canada and America 🇺🇸
Elizabeth I made the money in the slave trade Elizabeth II kept the money.
The End!
But the whole world is in mourning! Only Donna is out of step!
Only a shite man with his head buried in his own shite could think that.
I see that The Mighty Gabby agrees with Lil Donna that “diplomacy” is not what is needed here. We do need to be more courageous and speak the truth. Even many blacks in Britain are speaking the truth all over social media and on online media.
Elizabeth I made the bloody money. Elizabeth II kept the blood money.
We cannot allow these false narratives to win the day!
This is why the world is so confused.
One guy on an online programme said his Jamaican grandmother had been taught to respect the queen and kept a picture of her on the living room wall until the day she died. He, now living in Britain, has absolutely no respect for the queen.
Time to reverse the brainwashing! Yes, will be our own worse enemies until we reverse this damage.
Imagine that calling rubbish rubbish can be labelled as bringing dishonour to Barbados!
Guy Hewitt ought to know that most Barbadians do not feel the dishonour.
It is our mealy-mouthed politicians who bring us dishonour!
Certainly not!
Ramblings
@Donna,
You may not be out of step.
However, some Bajans take being called ‘Little England’ very seriously and will fight for their queen.
I believe the Mighty Gabby is one of the best Calypsonians there is. It will be interesting to see if they can bring about enough pressure to bend him. He may be surprised at the sources attacking him.
Lastly, I should be the last to give advice on this matter as I have fallen into the trap here a number of times. These guys sit down and figure out where the buttons to push are. They are good at it. “Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. ”
Have a great day.
Waru
Under the penalty of death this writer will never stop contending that Barbados will always be as Little England as it has always been. This talk about republic is merely perfunctory.
@Pacha
The process of change must start with a single step. Let this though propagate to blunt the pessimistic among us.
fake republic, shite republic, no amount of lying and pretending can change THAT TRUTH…
it will ALWAYS be a slave society as MANUFACTURED……and will NEVER be seen in the eyes of the descents of its DEVISERS AS ANYTHING ELSE….
let them pretend to their heart’s content…..Slaves are no threat to anyone but their fellow Afrikans..
no matter how long the delay….this must PLAY OUT…
@ Pacha
“ September 13, 2022 11:28 AM
Waru
Under the penalty of death this writer will never stop contending that Barbados will always be as Little England as it has always been. This talk about republic is merely perfunctory.”
Agree with you. We did give King Charles 111 our highest National award , the same day we “ broke away” from the so called queen ,and became a republic.
And our PM just recently said that King Charles 111 “is a man ahead of his time.”
All we can do is watch as the apologists continue to trip up themselves.
It’s a fascinating spectacle.
Peace
@Pacha @ William:
a relative just wrote this:
“some slaves will never even free themselves, even when the master free them”
and that is what makes them SO DANGEROUS and only good to keep at a great distance…..cyberspace is the best place for them, NO CLOSER……..easy to shut them down and completely IGNORE…
that was in response to the article about Gabby’s DEFIANCE to the Slaves getting all up in their feelings…
Imagine i had to post it in some areas as when the Slaves can’t find it within themselves to free themselves, but working overtime to reel in and trap everyone into new age slave hood with them, and get violently abusive if you resist…
they deserve MASSIVE EXPOSURE WORLDWIDE…
can’t trust the negro…imagine that was the same jackass fell over himself claiming he is helping the Windrush victims, but in reality rushed into #10 like he was on fire, only wanted the recognition……..but everyone saw him very clearly for who and what he really is……..another pretender…..now he has made himself the head idiot…
TheO,
You really should rethink your advice. This slimy Lawson usually engages in quick, sly hit and runs, pretending that he is not racist. As such he gets away with peddling the mild white supremacist narrative. Only Artax has remarked on his racism so far. I am sick of his “palatable” racism
Now we got it on full blast!
I will react and respond as I choose. When somebody insults somebody’s mudda, they are considered fighting words.
Allow me to choose my own fighting words! Also, allow me to choose my weapons!
I am sure I saw Northern Observer get acid and cuss back Pachamama recently.
Nobody offered him any advice.
Wily Coyote,
As I have said, I am willing to take bitter medicine if I believe that it will lead to a sustainable future for Barbadians in the long run. I actually am a simple country girl who revels more in nature than glitz and glamour. I don’t need much. It would not be hard for me.
But I do not have confidance in our leaders that they are prepared to suffer any losses along with us while we rearrange ourselves.
I believe that a leader with clean hands and a mind cleared of European thinking would be needed to carry out any transformation. It does not mean that everything European is bad, it simply means that it is not a good fit for us.
As Bush Tea said, we are neither fish nor fowl and that is our biggest problem.
It does make us our own worst enemies.
Pacha…some are wondering if it’s the end of the commonwealth….just the name should give people PAUSE i say…….but not the slaves….
“Can the Commonwealth survive the Queen’s death – and should it?
“But, in the wake of her death, there will be some who will ask if it can survive in its current form – or even if it should.
The independence of India in August 1947 ushered in an age when almost all the former colonial nations switched to being Commonwealth members.
What is the Commonwealth of Nations?
The origin of the Commonwealth goes back to the British Empire, which at one point covered a quarter of the world’s land surface, and which subjugated millions of people for the benefit of relatively few.
Over time, as people in many of the empire’s dominions became increasingly self-reliant, there was a push for growing autonomy. The 1926 Balfour Declaration created the British Commonwealth, stating that all the dominions were designated autonomous communities. At the time, all the member countries had the UK’s monarch as head of state.
Paul Kagame’s Rwanda was the last country to join the Commonwealth in 2009
© Reuters
India, the empire’s most populous dominion and considered the jewel in its crown, wanted to become a republic and, following partition from Pakistan, gained full independence in 1947, with its own head of state, as did Pakistan.
In 1949, the London Declaration established a new form of relationship for the UK’s former colonies, with the word “British” being removed from the Commonwealth’s name and membership being based not on allegiance to the Crown but one in which member states would recognise the monarch as Head of the Commonwealth.
A slew of other former colonial territories gained independence in the following decades, many choosing to follow India in becoming republics, but still keen to retain links to Britain by being part of the Commonwealth. Some, however, retained the Queen as monarch.
Currently, 14 Commonwealth “realms” have the Queen as head of state, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand, but also some in the Caribbean. Most of the republics are in Africa.
Today, the Commonwealth says it is “a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries” whose “governments have agreed to shared goals like development, democracy and peace” and, as such, allows countries to join that were not part of the former empire.
i
© Reuters
The most recent recruits, in 2022, were Gabon and Togo, neither of which had a “historic association with the Commonwealth, with both gaining independence from France in the 1960s”.
In 2009, Rwanda, a former Belgian colony that has been independent since 1962, made the decision to join in the aftermath of its appalling genocide in 1994.
Every two years, except during the COVID period, prime ministers and presidents of member countries come together to discuss shared issues at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM).
Every four years, athletes from Commonwealth countries around the world come together to take part in the Commonwealth Games to underscore the links between the nations involved, as they did in Birmingham in 2022.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings provide an opportunity for world leaders to meet and talk away from the UN
© PA
What was the Queen’s role?
The Royal Family, possibly in a reflection of how the Queen viewed it and her role in it, describes the Commonwealth on its website as “a remarkable international organisation”.
She was head of the Commonwealth, having replaced her father George VI when he died.
In 2018, the organisation agreed that Prince Charles would take over the role of head when the Queen died – something that was not automatic, even though the Queen had taken over the role from her father.
Charles has visited many of the same countries as his mother and has spoken of how he was “deeply touched” to be named her successor.
The only Commonwealth countries the Queen did not visit were Rwanda, which only joined just over 10 years ago, and Cameroon.
Before her reign, she visited Lesotho, which at the time was called Basutoland, and Eswatini, which at the time was called Swaziland, in 1947.
At the time she took the throne, the Commonwealth consisted of just eight countries – with many more still under colonial control.
Now, the 56 Commonwealth countries contain two billion people, a quarter of the world’s population.
Can the Commonwealth survive the Queen’s death – and should it?
© PA
She went on to undertake more than 200 visits to Commonwealth countries, several of which were multiple repeat visits.
Many of those visits provided some of the most colourful moments of her reign, with the variety and often flamboyance of the cultures she witnessed on her visits providing a contrast to the occasionally staid formality of the ceremonies she often took part in back home.
And while the number of visits decreased as she became older, her enthusiasm appeared undimmed.
In 2020, on Commonwealth Day, she said: “On Commonwealth occasions, it is always inspiring to be reminded of the diversity of the people and countries that make up our worldwide family…
Barbados is among the Commonwealth Realms to have become republics as ties to the Crown weaken
Trouble brewing?
Signs of trouble ahead emerged in 2021 when, in the wake of the George Floyd murder and subsequent protests, some Caribbean countries became more assertive in their assessment of the role of the monarchy in their constitutional systems.
The first to eject the Queen as head of state was Barbados, which became a republic late in that year.
Many in other Caribbean countries had already expressed dissent that they were effectively ruled, if only symbolically, from London, in a hangover from the colonial era.
It occurred at a time of growing calls for reparations to make up for hundreds of years during which Britain effectively turned a blind eye to, or even supported, the system that allowed many Britons to build up huge wealth, literally on the backs of enslaved Africans.
During a trouble-hit visit to the region by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in March 2022, Prince William signalled that any decision by Jamaica, Belize or the Bahamas to break away from the British monarchy and become republics would be supported with “pride and respect” by the UK.
Despite this, angry voices, reflecting on generations of inequality between Commonwealth countries and their former colonial rulers, continued to question the existing system.
Many even questioned whether the Commonwealth was appropriate in the modern day and age.
Some academics have even asked whether the Commonwealth – despite its call for human rights to be at the core of what member states are expected to uphold – works against the interests of countries in the so-called Global South, because of the way those rights and humanitarian values tend to be defined and established by the West.
The future
Experts on the Commonwealth say that, despite the pressures on it and claims that it is becoming irrelevant, or even harmful, it has a lot to offer that is likely to mean it will persist – even with the so far much less poplar Charles as its head.
Out of the academics who study international relations Sky News spoke to, all believed it would continue to exist after the Queen’s death, but they were split over what it would look like, and who might lead it into the future.
Dr Meera Sabaratnam, Reader (Associate Professor) in International Relations, at SOAS London University, says having a member of the Royal Family as head in the future is not assured.
She told Sky News: “The Commonwealth has to deal with a central tension within it: On the one hand, people find its spaces useful for discussion and coordination; on the other, all its members are keenly aware that it represents something in the past that nobody wants to return to, namely an imperial structure.
“As we’ve seen in the Caribbean, people are more and more keen to get away from that history and then forge their own futures – they might want to do that in conversation with each other, which means that there’s still a space for the kind of talking shop that the Commonwealth has become. But they may want to entirely redefine the nature of that relationship.
“Obviously, the Queen was the monarch during the time of empire so there’s been a lot of continuity. The idea that the Commonwealth would have chosen another head during her lifetime would be unthinkable.
“In her passing, that question is open. And I think that will give rise to thinking about a different kind of organisation if it indeed survives. It’s not at all clear to me that the next head of the Commonwealth would be a member of the British Royal Family.”
‘Tough act to follow’
But the Head of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Sue Onslow, told Sky News she still sees a place for the royals in the future.
The question is how the organisation will change after the Queen – and whether it still has a place in the modern world.
“The accusation that the Commonwealth is simply Empire 2.0 is fundamentally wrong,” she said.
“It’s a soft power organisation which may seem irrelevant in today’s brutal geopolitics. But, actually, soft power organisations have a resilience, a flexibility and an informality which can provide policy space to help resolve world issues.”
Ms Onslow noted that the Commonwealth has carried out a parallel democracy that has focused on such issues as climate change or the respect for human rights.
She stressed, however, that it needs to reform.
“It is at a crossroads at the moment.
“Its future will continue to evolve, but in which direction?
“There’s a waiting list of countries that want to join the Commonwealth, so it is likely to change as the links with the former colonial relationship will change.”
“Also, the links which helped to bind the Commonwealth together in the mid-20th century – sentimental, legal, education, trade and investment, etc – have all weakened.”
Pacha, William, TLSN etc…….How is Afrika and Afrikans, particularly on pauperized islands ever expected to benefit from this GLORIFIED TALKSHOP…
this is all they get..which amounts to NOTHING…..and climb all over each other like CRABS to get there……can’t even call it a JOKE….
“”Although there have been regular rumblings about whether the Commonwealth, as a modern organisation, should do away with the British monarch as ceremonial head, actually, there are a number of plusses: the Commonwealth gets free publicity, the Queen/Charles provides free hospitality and the Royal Diplomacy and Information Network. Also, what would be the alternative?”
@ WURA
We like joining clubs with no benefits.
Peace.
“……can’t trust the negro…imagine that was the same jackass fell over himself claiming he is helping the Windrush victims, but in reality rushed into #10 like he was on fire, only wanted the recognition……..but everyone saw him very clearly for who and what he really is……..another pretender…..now he has made himself the head idiot…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have to AGREE with WARU.
Perhaps Hewitt was ‘riding on the back’ of the ‘Windrush’ situation as a means of self promotion…… to demonstrate to he possessed leadership qualities…… and enhancing his CV during his quest to become president of the DLP.
Anyway, his actions revealed he is actually just “another pretender.”
Given enough rope, those Guy(s) usually ‘hang themselves.’
@TheO
Just this past weekend I calculated (or my spreadsheets indicated) that if I bought back in, it would be on the whole 18% lower than when I sold my portfolio.
I opted for only a 60% return. Luckily, I was able to cancel my buy orders this morning before the market opened.
So I’m back to watching. But ready to pull the trigger soon.
The Commonwealth is more about British settlements business and influence around the world, where nations have adopted aspects of British culture through it’s history of colonisation.
The strongest links are in manufactured nations like America, Australia, Canada where the people are in fact British people abroad and are one and the same.
Re: Colonised Planet 5, Shikasta (1979) – A secret history of Earth from the perspective of the advanced Canopus civilisation that is thinking in eons rather than centuries. The history spans from the very beginning of life into a future World War Three. It includes the trial of all Europeans for the crimes of colonialism.
This book had a proud African girl in the trial speak about Rhodesia, where the agreement made in the formation of Rhodesian state in 1965 was that the indigenous people would be fairly treated and protected by the Queen as the constitutional head of state following independence from UK.
However when they were abused they expected and waited for the Queen to come in an save them to free them from oppression, but they waited in vain and she never came to their rescue.
“@ WURA
We like joining clubs with no benefits.”
now everything and MORE will come out about these EMPTY suits and dresses…..frauds pretending to be leaders, in parliaments they WILL NEVER CONTROL totally….without handed a script of oppression, suppression, racism, disenfranchisement and THEFTS……against Afrikan people…without which they will get NO RECOGNITION…
William…..the Slaves are so perturbed and restless about what Gabby said they dug up an old photo with him in a yellow and gold costume, don’t know if it was in the 70s or 80s, sometime ago when Elizabeth visited……they showed he was up front and in line, but everyone knows they too love to trot out the writers/poets and singers…cause they are not creatives themselves…….and call their names at every occasion, like Bob Marley’s, when they want to impress their masters and carry out another SCAM AGAINST THE AFRIKAN POPULATION…..
they really have no shame, when they want to RE-ENSLAVE THEIR PEOPLE….to benefit others…
correction:
they dug up an old photo with him in a blue and gold costume, don’t know if it was in the 70s or 80s,
Pacha……….while REALITY IS SPRINTING IN….the REAL POWERHOUSE Goldman Sachs is about to “fire 1% of their employees”…..watch the DOMINO EFFECT as it MUSHROOMS……..it never fails…..we have seen and witnessed this before…
“Russia and China Agree Over ‘New Reality’ – Kremlin
According to Kremlin spox Dmitry Peskov, a unipolar world has started to “seriously creak and wobble and a new reality is emerging.”
He noted that Moscow and Beijing agree that it’s “an impossible situation” when “the so-called ‘Golden billion’ (the US, EU and other Western nations) is claiming the right to invent rules in economy, in politics and the right to impose its will on other countries.”
Later this week Putin and Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan. It’s going to be Xi’s first trip outside China since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
@ WURA
Gabby will survive the attacks. I have known him for many years and his poem is his genuine response to the Queen of the Slavery Kingdom.
However, we have already given the King of the Slavery Kingdom our highest National award.
@ Pacha is right: we just believe in colonialism.
Some also believe in modern day agricultural slavery in all its disguised forms. Produce more they shout; grow more food , but you are to never own the land.
More to come, we are now realizing after all the pretense and trying yo marginalize those who speak the truth that we are broke.
Running around suddenly finding there is no escape from the truth.
Two gems stand out
1.Slavery was a “ dominant mode”( Mottley)
2. Four hundred years of slavery was a “ great friendship” ( High Commissioner)
Before those two :
“ slavery was a mere intermission” Guyson Mayer’s ( Barbados Advocate) some years ago.
Add to those @ David’s view of diplomacy defending the High Commissioner, and try not to believe in 2022 people can be so …. whatever.
Peace.
@William
The blogmaster agrees with Artax who is always driven to call you out. People disagree, it is what people do to demonstrate their right to freedom of expression. The blogmaster has forwarded a point that a 2×3 island with a legacy relationship with the UK that has economic benefit took a decision to recognize Charles in his role as UK figurehead. There are arguments for and against. Next.
“However, we have already given the King of the Slavery Kingdom our highest National award.
@ Pacha is right: we just believe in colonialism.”
am waiting to see what cousin Charles does with that freedom award that he did not need…….but can now turn into FREEING AFRIKANS.
only the “civilized”Slaves believe in colonialism in all its UGLY, they can’t envision that anything else exists…
“Some also believe in modern day agricultural slavery in all its disguised forms. Produce more they shout; grow more food , but you are to never own the land.”
the Afrikan population better CLAP BACK AT THAT….grow their food to FEED THEMSELVES ONLY and let the lazy ass minorities and their drug addled children and grandchildren learn how to take some 34 degree CELSIUS SUN… on their heads and backs…
they can’t hide the broke island designation anymore, only the sellout THIEVES and their partners in crime have any money…and it won’t be long before that too DISAPPEARS given the UNSTABLE external happenings……
if the Afrikan population whom they all depend on to RoB daily, yearly and generationally has any commonsense, they will make absolutely sure the THIEVES all end up AS PAUPERS AND NEVER RECOVER…..
I support Dr. Carter’s poem
I oppose Guy Hewitt’s response to it.
However, what’s the real difference with Hewitt heaping praise on the mother and we giving the highest National honor to the son ?
What really is the fundamental difference here since both are symbolic of the same atrocities committed.
Peace.
@ David
I don’t want to distract from the substantive topic, but I have some concerns about something I was told…… and saw, as the saying goes, ‘with my own two eyes.’
Constituents or any other persons seeking to meet with the duly elected representative for the City of Bridgetown, Corey Lane, have to call his Constituency Assistant, Riegina Hinds to request a meeting.
ZMs. Hinds would send a link to the person, via WhatsApp, for a ‘City Of Bridgetown Constituency Meeting Request’ on Google Form, which is essentially an ‘application form,’ the person must complete with his/her ‘Name, Address, Contact Number and Topic of Meeting,’ and submit.
A notice is displayed acknowledging the form had been received…… and, BASICALLY, states Lane is not making any promises to meet anyone, because “A PROMISE IS A COMFORT TO A FOOL.”
There is an ELDERLY individual who is DESPERATELY in NEED of ASSISTANCE and contacted Mr. Lane’s Constituency Office, on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 seeking to meet with him.
Ms. Hinds sent the person the link on Monday, September 5, 2022, which they completed and submitted.
Today is Wednesday, September 14, 2022, and the person HASN’T RECEIVED any RESPONSE from either Ms. Hinds or Mr. Lane, to SIMPLY INDICATE whether or not their request for the meeting was APPROVED or DENIED, which I believe is COMMON COURTESY.
For any duly elected political representative for any Constituency in Barbados, and even moreso if that representative is the Minister or Parliamentary Secretary of a Ministry such as People Empowerment and Elder Affairs……
…… to force Barbadians to ‘APPLY’ for a meeting and AWAIT approval…… and include ‘a promise is a comfort to a fool,’ in the acknowledgment notice…… no MATTER the CIRCUMSTANCES, is not only a DISRESPECTFUL and CONDESCENDING gesture…… but a BLATANT INSULT to poor people as well.
I am disappointed in Corey Lane.
@Artax
Have no issue with Layne automating the ‘request for meeting’ process to asses with prep work to resolve the issue BUT the process must be flexible to accommodate those who may find it a challenge.
I suspect the blogmaster will never get it.
Automating and disrespect are different sides of this coin. I don’t use 2×3, but how long is too long before a reply.
The ‘A guy’ is on point.
Artax,
Please confirm that the communication from the office actually states that Lane makes no promises to meet with anyone because a promise is a comfort for a fool.
Am I understanding you correctly?
Elections are not due for another five or so years.Lane is learning
fast.
Peace.
Number of requests for an appointment — 100
Number of appointments granted 0
Number of appointments missed 0
Zero (0) missed appointments means we have a 100% rate in meeting with our constituents.
No appointments
No disappointments
Lane again in 27
@ David
Despite how you may want to ‘sugar quote’ the issue, you’ve NEGLECTED to ADDRESS the fact that, no matter the circumstances or intentions, including the ‘saying’ “a promise is a comfort to a fool” in any correspondence, is CONDESCENDING and DISRESPECTFUL.
Additionally, YOU may NOT “Have no issue with Layne automating the ‘request for meeting’ process to asses with prep work to resolve the issue.”
‘Fair enough.’
But, I have an issue if the SAME technology is NOT being USED to FACILITATE an EQUALLY IMMEDIATE RESPONSE to an impecunious individual seeking assistance…… and is AWAITING an APPROVAL or DENIAL of their request, THREE (3) WEEKS AFTER their INITIAL ‘application’ for a meeting.
What also upsets me in Barbados is the fact that several Barbadians are DENIED social services, simply because they are DEEMED to be TOO POOR or OLD, while favour is extended to young women who are NOT actively looking for employment.
For example, I know of a situation where the Urban Development Commission provided a house to an unemployed, able-bodied young woman who sells “weed,’ ahead of an elderly lady.
It is totally UNFAIR, UNACCEPTABLE and DISRESPECTFUL.
I’m extremely disappointed in Corey Lane/Layne.
@Artax
Did you read the blogmaster’s comment it it’s entirety? Have you considered the ‘a promise is comfort for a fool’ is suggesting Layne is committed to delivering on promises made by his office?
Donna September 14, 2022 4:08 PM #: “Please confirm that the communication from the office actually states that Lane makes no promises to meet with anyone because a promise is a comfort for a fool.,”
Donna
I’m NOT someone who engages in the habit of “making up things just to make things interesting.”
Nor, would I present information to BU, without verifying its authenticity or credibility of its source.
I need to get a hook-up with the Kool aid.
Number of promises made 0
Number of promises not kept 0
Therefore we have kept 100%of our promises.
Lane again in 2027.
This kind of thing is nothing new. An older trick is to have two telephone numbers; one number is given to those seeking favors and is never answered.
The other number is given to the special folks in the constituency and that one is answered and messages returned rather promptly.
This piece by @ Artax clearly demonstrates that this toying with constituents is being enhanced by the use of technology.
Wunnuh tink duh sweet ? And I mean both parties .
Peace.
@Artax
Possibly you need to find who the weed seller BUYS from. That may explain how she got to the top of the heap.
“Have you considered the ‘a promise is comfort for a fool’ is suggesting Layne is committed to delivering on promises made by his office?”
David
As I mentioned previously, including ‘a promise is a comfort to a fool’ in an acknowledgment notice…… under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, in MY opinion, is CONDESCENDING and DISRESPECTFUL to those persons seeking assistance.
That’s just my opinion.
Over the years, people are known to visit their parliamentary representative’s constituency offices to either discuss their problems with the Constituency Assistant or make an appointment to see the representative.
What we have now…… and, according to Mr. Skinner…… is a situation where politicians “toying with constituents is being enhanced by the use of technology.”
@Artax
It is a clumsy message but the blogmaster is willing to give Layne the benefit of the doubt given his body of work to date.
@ Artax
Lane is following the same strategy of using technology to escape responsibility and the delivery of service.
They are saying to people in their late 70s; 80s and even 90s that they need to “‘go online “ when we have people just out of school who can’t even turn on a computer.
As for “ giving out” houses and thing , you are more than correct.
But the sugar coaters do have their jobs to do.
Lane now realises that talk is cheap and to be a representative you have to be available and he needs to get in contact with the old hands and they will tell him that you have to find a couple of hours to meet people face to face.
You just can’t tell them that if they can’t use a computer their chances of an appointment are bordering on zero.
Peace.
Artax
I agree.
That statement should should be removed immediately. I am sure he can find a more appropriate statement and just leave it off
J2 is correct.
Promises (often unkept) happens to be one of the main tools that politicians employ.
When a politician attempts to hide from his constituents behind empty and insulting phrases or indicates that he is not making any promises to his constituents, then he needs to be censured and brought back to earth.
As WS points out “Lane is following the same strategy of using technology to escape responsibility and the delivery of service.” He wants to avoid doing anything by promising nothing.
Distressing is the fact that some think they can turn straw into gold. Rumpletiltskin they are not. Less is more.
John2 September 15, 2022 7:56 AM #: “That statement should should be removed immediately. I am sure he can find a more appropriate statement and just leave it off.”
John2
That’s exactly my point.
Although I understand Layne’s intentions, I believe parliamentarians should develop empathy between themselves and their constituents, or any other persons who are seeking their assistance.
A more humane statement would’ve achieved that objective.
Instead, using that ‘old saying,’ suggest he’s being intolerant and contemptuous of them.
Mr. Skinner
What concerns me is the fact that, during an election campaign, politicians go into constituents’ homes, pretending to be friendly and concerned about their well-being, sitting on their floors, eating food, drinking drinks and promising ‘the moon and stars,’ because they’ll do anything for a vote.
After ‘winning the seat,’ the “duly elected representatives” immediately becomes inaccessible to the people who elected them, while surrounding themselves with ‘pimps and yard-fowls’ who take pleasure in treating constituents with contempt and ‘doing the dirty work.’
I remember during the 2013 election campaign, the representative for our constituency and his entourage were canvassing one afternoon.
The politician’s brother asked the few of us who were gathered together, if there was anything we wanted.
A friend of mine said he wanted a job. The politician’s brother said he ‘did not know if MTW, Drainage Unit or NCC wanted people.’
When the representative came, he spoke with my friend and told him to visit the constituency office.
When the guy visited the office, the representative gave him a recommendation letter to take to a particular state owned agency that was under his portfolio.
After leaving the office, he tore up the letter. I agreed with him because that letter was only a convenient gesture to say the representative was doing ‘something’ for the guy.
If his INTENTIONS were GENUINE…… and the guy was a member of ‘the inner circle,’ the politician would’ve either sent or taken him to the SOE…… and he would have gotten a job.
A guy and girl who canvassed for the politician and are members of his constituency branch, were REWARDED with certain jobs at NCC and Constituency Councils respectively.
@ Artax
You’re correct.
It also amazes me, that there are some people who you never see campaigning; scarcely attend a political meeting and their political allegiance is unknown.
However, after the election and the goodies and upper level jobs / positions are announced, these people are given all types of high paying positions while the real workers cannot as you said get a little wages job.
I know of a certain former MP., who had captains throughout the constituency, who reported to him on the needs of the constituents and they were given all types of assistance. However, it was never made a public spectacle.
So to pretend that you can only see or help constituents by some fancy online presence is pure nonsense and arrogance.
The irony is that most constituents do not pressure MPs ; it’s really a minority that can’t really do any better.
I can tell you of instances where even opposition MPs got things done and got jobs for the less fortunate.
We have a new brand of MP out there , who really don’t give a damn , once they can get to the eight or ten years that guarantee that prize known as pension for life..
Peace
One has to feel sorry for the people of Zambia. We are not too far behind them. As Bush Tea would say..
.. start stocking up on the Vaseline.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/16/zambia-debt-lenders-urged-to-cancel
@ TLSN
Vaseline would have been useful for the pain targeting the donkey…. PREVIOUSLY…!
But now…
With the SUPER PERFECT STORMS, clearly on the horizon however, vaseline is a waste of time…
It may be better to save that vaseline money …to buy a few more drops of fuel….
Most amazing has been the EXCITEMENT shown by our supreme leaders as they continue to RACK up more and more debt, to more and more strangers … EVEN AS WE SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OTHERS who went before…
A CURSE is serious thing hear..?!
ghosts
As Barbados is about to go into another IMF program
It is imperative that the Gov’t of Barbados examine / scrutinise their functionaries in the public service.
Oral Williams and his team must be commended for the report at the GIS and their recommendations based on their investigations.
Hard earned taxpayers money being ‘lick out ‘ by public officers at GIS.
Another government department that needs investigating is the Government Printing Dept
I work at Cot Printery
Imagine Ms Griffith the Government Printer – convinced this government to buy a $ 3 million digital press
Struggling to buy supplies to operate it, now.
Then on top of that take up supplies ( Imaging Oil ) that Bajan taxlayers dollars BUY and gee them – free of cost – to my bosd at Cot Printery ?
Why ?
Because my boss Mr Worme went on Brasstacks wid David Ellis last year and warned the country that the Government Printing Dept made a $ 3 million dollar mistake in buying that digital press
Investigate the Government Printing Dept, too !
Go Wilfred Abrahams and do some more investigations.