A Time to Pause, Reflect, Change

Minister of Home Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams

The majority of Barbadians will awake to the news government paused its asinine plan to rename Independence Day to Barbados National Day. Although some of us understand the sterile rationale for the decision, how can our leaders forget the human considerations to making decisions that involve human beings? It is obvious the budding legacy of Prime Minister Mottley’s government will be the number of initiatives and projects which had to be paused, cancelled or were poorly implemented.

The blogmaster does need to be prolix to articulate the stupidity of the decision to rename Independence Day. It must be an insult for sensible Barbadians to be forced into having this kind of a debate. Perplexing is how the largest Cabinet in our history approved the decision – or did they. How is our government so detached from public sentiment to have mismanaged a simple matter of celebrating two important events on the national calendar?

It makes some of us wonder about the capacity of this government to govern in a post Freundel Stuart period. A government it bears reminding that won at the polls twice with an unprecedented result. If we cannot manage and execute on non complex matters, what about the weightier tasks required to manage a country? To be a fly in a room when members of Cabinet have to negotiate deals with foreign investors, representatives from the IMF and IDB to mention two. It is the season to recall bajanisms – lord, much belly.

Continuing a lowly blogmaster’s lament.

The many ‘UNsassembled’ steel houses imported from China, IDB survey, questionable assurances about the state of the NIS (unable to produce audited financial statements for how long)?, new national ID fiasco, continuing the tradition of ignoring Auditor General’s comments, spike in violent crime, escalating lawlessness on pothole roads, a deer in headlights approach to executing growth plans -how about a relevant Energy Plan to respond to a spiking oil import bill and waste to energy solutions?. ‘Cant name all’.

That said, fake outrage by some of us should not be allowed to flow under the radar. The buck stops with the people in the system of government we practice. In an environment where WE the people voted for members of a single political party, what better time than during the month of Independence to reflect on the best path to take to a Republic.

79 thoughts on “A Time to Pause, Reflect, Change


  1. Independence Day ‘back’
    Govt makes u-turn after public outcry
    by BARRY ALLEYNE
    barryalleyne@nationnews.com

    BARBADIANS COULD BE celebrating their traditional Independence Day on November 30 after all.
    And going forward, they will be the ones who will determine if this country will celebrate Independence Day, or Barbados National Day on that date.
    Government last night made an about turn in its decision announced on Tuesday to combine celebrations for the country becoming a republic with that of its national birthday, and will now take the issue to the public going forward, Minister of Home Affairs and Information Wilfred Abrahams confirmed.
    The minister said the recommendation that November 30 remain this country’s Independence Day instead of Barbados National Day would be presented to the Cabinet of Barbados this morning.
    “The response by Barbadians from all walks of life has been both swift and vocal, with the overwhelming majority of Barbadians not being in favour of the change, or in some instances, not being in favour of its timing,” the MP for Christ Church East said.
    “Having listened to the Barbadian public and hearing their sentiment that this is not a decision that should not be exclusive to the members of the Cabinet, I agree and I am prepared to make that representation. Public consultation must occur to collectively craft a meaningful and celebratory
    way to honour these two most significant achievements in our nation’s history.
    “I will make representation to the Cabinet that we pause this particular initiative, but for now the status quo with Independence being celebrated on November 30 and we call it Independence Day should obtain.”
    Abrahams, the chairman of the Cabinet sub-committee for national events, said the decision to combine the two was in no way meant to be divisive.
    “I’m a member of a government that listens, and as we’ve done in the past we’ve listened to the voices of the people. I have heard the voices, read the comments from people who are partisan and non-partisan. This has become a divisive issue and has stirred the emotions of the Barbadian public,” he said.
    He said the matter would be taken to Cabinet today with a recommendation that the decision on Barbados National Day be deferred, pending inclusive public discourse.
    The topic became a polarising one minutes after it was revealed by Abrahams on Tuesday that Barbados National Day would be celebrated on November 30. Social media platforms and radio call-in programmes in particular were heated, as the Barbados National Day change evoked outrage from many. Some even claimed the new move could have the effect of wiping away the legacy of the country’s first Prime Minister, Errol Walton Barrow, considered
    the Father of Independence.
    The country officially became a republic on November 30 last year, with the President the Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason becoming the first local head of state in Barbados.
    “This is something that needs to be discussed and fully ventilated,” said Abrahams. “We need to find a way to properly honour both our independence in 1966, as well as our attainment of republican status and our having a home-grown local head of state. While we appreciate those sentiments, this is something that affects all Barbadians and should be subject to a wider discourse, involving wide crosssection of Barbados possible,” he said.
    The minister said Government is committed to promoting a sense of patriotism and pride in the month of November. “We do not need a divisive issue now as we celebrate our first anniversary as a republic and as we celebrate our independence.
    We want all Barbadians to buy-in with a sense of nationalism and patriotism which was evident over the last two years as we battled through the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
    During a press conference on Tuesday, Abrahams had emphasised that the spirit behind the name change was to ensure that the full story of Barbados’ sovereignty was captured and the minister had urged Barbadians not to focus too much attention on the name and the day but rather the journey.
    Also on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, who is on official leave until today, in a statement stressed that Barbados’ independence from Britain was not being rewritten from this country’s history. “But equally, we have to celebrate the election of our first President,” she added.

    Source: Nation


  2. There’s an expression ‘you start bad, you end bad’. This name change was a part of the decision to become a republic on November 30.

    It appears that Mia believes our history cannot accommodate her and another. Hence her desperate attempt to diminish and erase EWB from our history. It is sad that national initiatives are driven by jealousy and being petty.


  3. “I’m a member of a government that listens, and as we’ve done in the past we’ve listened to the voices of the people. I have heard the voices, read the comments from people who are partisan and non-partisan. This has become a divisive issue and has stirred the emotions of the Barbadian public”

    Don’t act and then listen. Listen, seek input and then act. This ass-backward approach is what causes our government to often change its course after announcing a policy.


    • Abrahams’ comment could be taken as serious and sincere if he apologized for the mistake STOP, hard as it would have been.


  4. This sort of thing happens when you have sleeping opposition parties and advisors too afraid to speak truth to power.

    These simple failings is why the DLP will probably hold another 30-0. This piece of rock is too small for them to not have heard of the day being renamed.

    As a layperson, the renaming to Barbados National Day makes no sense after one minute of thinking the thought through to its logical conclusion. What will we say to a tourist or school child that will not confuse them when they inevitably ask ‘What is the bank holiday for?’

    Barbados National Day can be declared as the day the new constitution is completed and proclaimed.

    I proclaim another feather in our PM’s cap for acquiescing to the cries of the people and another nail in the DLP coffin for missing yet another chance to prove they not still playing catch-up.


    • Critical Analyzer on November 3, 2022 at 6:11 AM

      This sort of thing happens when you have sleeping opposition parties and advisors too afraid to speak truth to power.

      These simple failings is why the DLP will probably hold another 30-0.

      ———————————————————
      Critical what do you want the DLP to do? The electorate obliterated the DLP twice in four years despite the party’s best efforts to explain to Barbadians the country needs an
      opposition in Parliament.

      The electorate in their wisdom gave Mottley’s party all the seats in 2 elections. It is criminal on your part to blame the DLP for the dictatorship traits the PM is revealing. The Independence change of date is the latest disregard by the BLP of voters who gave them all the seats. The DLP in fact should be applauded for trying their best to carry on as an organized political entity while having no representatives in the House or Senate.

      It is a despicable state of affairs the voters who voted overwhelmingly for the BLP have to deal with. The DLP did tremendous work to transform Barbados into a leading developing country punching above its weight. It is criminal to cast them aside without one parliamentary seat for the 40,000 citizens who voted for them. The snake oil leader basks in the glory of a one-party state flaunting the true colors the DLP warned about. Indeed, former boss Arthur and former colleagues Payne etc. also warned the electorate. The voters blanked the Dems twice anyway.

      You Critical know the electorate will forgive the foolishness, the mistakes the demagoguery of Mottley and give her another 30 seats next election. How can you blame the DLP when they are stripped of political strength and resources to even run their crumbling office. Their plight contrasts to the BLP’s squander of millions on overpaid ministers, consultants and spongers.

      Billionaires on and offshore fund the BLP. How can the Dems compete? Even so they try. They’ve agitated for the firing of the education minister over the IDB disaster and petitioned for the walk back of the Independence Day fiasco among other issues. Honest observers recognize the Dems make an effort to keep the government on their toes, but human and financial resources are thin. Mottley is in the drivers’ seat and the electorate take what she dishes out. After all it is the electorate who decided they wanted no opposition in Parliament.


  5. Indeed, this outcry was predictable, hence Mia’s promise not to change it in the first place. The is actually a reversal of a reversal.

    Unforced error.

    If the narrative is that we cannot trust our government, then this obviously would reinforce that opinion.

    If it was an attempt to deflect from the IDB violation of rights, then it may change the focus on that particular violation by introducing another feeling of violation and disrespect. So, it reinforces those negative feelings.

    It appears too that there may be a legal hurdle that has not been taken into consideration.

    This reinforces the idea that this Government thinks it is above the law.

    It was put over as a cabinet decision but an astute politician should have known that it will be read as a Mia decision.

    This does nothing to dispel the dictatorship narrative.

    FURTHERMORE, a government that is forced to “back back” so frequently cannot be touted as “a government that listens”. It is instead a government that is so far removed from the people that it needs a sound amplifier.

    Ah well, I guess it is still better than a Sleeping Giant administration.

    As I said long ago, we the people are going to have to wield some serious people power and show our polutitions which “God” they are serving. ( I decided to keep the ‘u”. It seemed the keyboard knew better than I).

    This should have been a non issue in my book. The change of our head of state was just a completion of our legal process of becoming INDEPENDENT.

    This was stated by the PM, I think. Therefore there was no need for a name change.

    I had no problem with the same day being chosen. I thought it appropriate to start and end on the same day.

    With nimble footwork and some timing this ball could have been smashed out of the oval.

    INSTEAD DUM OUT HIT WICKET.


  6. @ David
    Tek it easy Boss… you are beginning to sound like Bushie now
    – rather than the Blog optimist.
    How are you acting so surprised?

    Did Bushie not tell you that ANYTHING that Abrahams touches turns into jobby?
    …and,
    What did the Supreme leader EVER do that ended successfully?
    Edutech?
    Four Seasons?
    Radical vaccines?
    Hyatt?
    Housing?
    WE Gatherin?
    The Republic?
    The new Hero?
    Her damn LEC?
    Bringing back she friend to be MOE?
    Getting rid of Bostic and Johnny?

    OH WAIT!!!
    She got a loan and paid nuff young people to debush Waterford Bottom…
    …don’t mind it grow back already…

    Why do you not understand that the dog dead!!!?
    Stop calling the damn Vet skipper…. it is the SSA that we need.


  7. And Wilfred in true beta male fashion embarrasses and further debases himself by delivering the pause decree. No honour, no principles. He might as well take his wife’s last name, after all she is the smart one.


    • @Wily

      What about the format you do not like? You do realise the design of the layout is almost the same absent the images embedded on each blog? You may not be aware images can be a challenge for SEO? Anyway it is a work in progress.


  8. A gaggle of laywyers/liars in the slave master parliament and not ONE OF THEM KNOWS WHEN SOMETHING IS ILLEGAL…

    they have:

    no respect
    no prinicples
    no ethics
    no morals
    no integrity

    their time will soon come…ticktock says the clock..

    trying to distract from what is COMING FOR THEM and once again showed up their inefficiency, ineptitude, incompetence, uselessness…..

    even though the fake independence charade was just that…a mirage…..they should know some people indoctrinated as directed totally believe in it, and the stupidity of trying to change the storyline using sleight of hand to rewrite history for personal agendas was bound to backfire..

    colonizers cant even pull that off successfly and get away with it in this timeline…but the under-educated LOW LEVEL MINIONS believe they can…


  9. This is an example of an epic failure, much like “Lettuce Liz” ill fated budget, however it is smart politics that the Gov’t backtracked but if it was a Cabinet decision, how come the change is in effect prior to a Cabinet meeting? Mia saw which way the wind was blowing and instructed her Minister to eat crow by releasing the statement announcing the reversal.

    The Gov’t’s vaunted public relations team could have prevented this fiasco by putting out feelers to the Bajan public about the proposed changes months ago and observe public sentiment instead we have the Bull in a China shop approach and announcing it as a fait accompli.

    Gov’t by Fiat failed on this occasion.


  10. The story so far..

    An Independence Day Name Change was Announced
    A collective moan
    the New National Day Name Binned/Changed Back
    Another collective moan

    The Big Issue
    was the name changed once, twice or not all

    The Bigger Issue
    Seems like a Brain Booster is required
    Clear your mind and body with the nine cleansing breaths.

    The Nine Cleansing Breaths


  11. The vast majority of Bajans voted for the BLP ( not once but twice ) and had a reasonable expectation of very good if not great governance.

    PM MIA and the BLP needs more time to meet the expectations of the electorate.

    I will leave it to the BU maguffees to give PM MIA suggestions for a path to greatness.


  12. Lil ignoramus me. I just thought it was another distraction.
    Instead of issues within the MoE, to which they will not bend, or listen?, this is to show they do listen.
    Change the channel.
    Maybe I am too old? Nov 30 will always be Independence day. Call it as you want.
    While @Sarge pointed to the T&T experience, my memory says Republic Day there was of such significance, its celebration was actually discontinued for a number of years before being resumed.
    As pointed out the actual DATE in T&T was not the date they became a Republic, but, the date Parliament first met under the new Republic Constitution.
    So we still have time? Maybe many years?
    And does it matter?
    For our powers that are, have treated the existing Constitution with scant respect.
    Hence, another talking point to move focus away from the woes within the MoE.


    • @NO

      Have been hearing others making the point about distraction but as Donna and others have opined the cumulative effect of the many ‘back backs’ might create a spontaneous combustion of public distrust of the BLP before next general election? Another win by default?


  13. The majority of politicians and government ministers are of average intelligence but we expect them to do jobs just beyond their abilities.

    buh doan mine me. I just writing wha I really think.


  14. @David
    It is you, who reminds us sporadically, that a week in politics can sometimes feel like a year.
    No question there can be a cumulative effect. Yet that applies to those who pay attention and are not easily swayed by other factors.
    Even @Donna, my memory says, was in a voting quandary just prior to the last election, as she pondered and weighed various factors.
    D or B, the island is still suffering from “implementation deficit”. The current PM is on a trajectory for a significant int’l post. What is the island’s trajectory?


  15. ​@​​David, prolix you were… good on you 😇👏🏿

    But I’ll be brief as I take you up on the understandably facetious note re :

    >”Perplexing is how the largest Cabinet in our history approved the decision – or did they. How is our government so detached from public sentiment to have mismanaged a simple matter of celebrating two important events on the national calendar?”

    Think it out carefully and actually it’s very clear how this MAM cabinet approved the decision … 1- they are all beholden to a very popular leader (60 – 0 is no momentary swing of populist angst) and 2- to dissent purposefully is to ‘Toppin or Bostic or maybe Caddle’ i.e to be outside the inner circle of excellent perks and salaries!

    That may sound self-serving but as you asked me earlier about ‘queries to oneself’ … I do not see any of these ministers as individual ‘craftsmen’ of Barbados’ fate!

    Now, to the matter of how this and the ‘back-back’ plays to Bajans. As the Americans or Israelis would say: Meh!!! …. Netanyahu was just RE-ELECTED! Trump remains a possibility … better believe that a week is a long time in politics … a year or two is like a freaking century … so much transpires that this would become meaningless!

    And @Northern, like you ‘Independence Day’ will always mean much to me ..but like you I am an oldster… yet, as your fellow Bajan Roett said in a solid piece which Caddle echoed separately – quite interestingly so in the same impassioned ‘sense-of-self’ despite their fundamental differences as Bajans – modifying that naming convention would significantly alter the thinking of what INDEPENDENCE means within 1 or 2 generations. As you appreciate they are correct that it would have no meaning to any of your or my great grands or great, great nieces and nephews here on the rock by the time they reach adulthood!

    Peace.


  16. “The majority of politicians and government ministers are of average intelligence but we expect them to do jobs just beyond their abilities.”

    very true, they are basic, under-educated and backward, don’t understand the definition of TRUE INTELLIGENCE, live in a world of dependency and don’t know HOW to eliminate that blight…..can only foster further underdevelopment for the island’s population decades into the future….that’s the extent of their usefulness to those with slavery agendas…..because they are embedded in not using real intelligence to do anything …seeing that no one has really called them out on it, and those who tried were attacked..

    .that’s why many including myself are happy that they are now at the unenviable and perpetual stage of only delivering EMBARRASSMENT after EMBARASSMENT at world stage level…..because they missed the one thing they should not have…oblivious to the occurence…and now will pay..

    ..and unfortunately too many of the population were subjected to many. many decades of miseducation and don’t know what to do about their semi-literate misleaders..but they better learn real fast, this is the defining moment and THAT is what they VOTED FOR, so are now responsible for REVERSING IT asap……or go down with them and it..


  17. Bush Tea,

    Cheer up it could be worse. As the great Donna said,

    “Ah well, I guess it is still better than a Sleeping Giant administration.”

    We too love mediocrity in little England.

    Peace.


    • To THE GREAT BIG CHILD IN AN ADULT BODY,

      Your comprehension skills are sadly lacking! How could you interpret my comment as loving mediocrity?

      Any sensible person would have seen my words as a lament on the quality of our governments B and D.

      See how Northern Observer remembers my voting quandary last election day. He remembers because it was he who advised me to vote, since somebody was going to form the government regardless and it was therefore prudent to attempt to elect the better (or less bad) option.

      Reluctantly, I did so just a few minutes before the polls closed. This has been the case for the last three cycles.

      BUT your childish agenda is to pick at me for what reason only another poppet could understand.

      Have you nothing better to do? Well, I do. Out to the Garden of Peace. My sweet potatoes are huge and need to be dug. And the mealy bug at least has a good reason for attacking my eggplant leaves. I am off to dispose of what the ants fail to eat. Blue soap solution will take care of that issue.

      I do not know what will take care of yours.

      Signed,

      “The Great Donna”


  18. @dpd
    A slip? “your fellow Bajan” and not “our fellow Bajan” lol
    I am split on the issue. We cannot change that Barbados became an independent nation and a Republic on the same date in different years.
    For me, age?, Independence trumps Republic. Esp since a new Constitution, did not accompany the Republic. It was a PR event, lacking true substance. So we punted the Queen, while bestowing upon her son, the now King, a high honour, and we have those with training to help draft a new Constitution, bickering over whether they are QC’s or KC’s? Something has changed?
    My apologies, the mental chains of colonialism will one day be cut, and…….


    • Yes @Northern .. a bit of a ‘slip’ ! I was actually going to say your fellow school-mate but then I couldn’t recall if that was true or whether he went to Lodge or where ever.

      He has been in the public eye long enough that I recall it being noted in one of the articles about him!

      But absolutely quite right … OUR fellow Bajan … As I suggested he is just as much that at Ms Caddle is!

      And as @Donna has reminded us in the past so too were her school colleagues are WE BAJANS even though they so beloved Elizabeth to her eternal disdain… It’s just what it is!

      Let’s all be craftsmen/women of this island’s fate!


  19. Did yall get that, i put it on the wrong page, meant to put it where i answered Hants.

    Before i could finish type that comment, this was posted elsewhere and i quote….cause i just love to share great news, the highlight of my life…

    “The Caribbean Region now has an (sic) Criminal Indictment Authority.

    CARIBBEAN COVID CRIMES – CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRIBUNAL

    A word to all Caribbean Politicians, Lawyers, Doctors, Police Officers and all other Civil Servants including Company Employers!

    MAKE YOUR WILL!!!”

    and from what i do know, this is no idle threat IT’S A PROMISE.

    these people need to be taken seriously they got RECEIPTS.


  20. just so everyone knows, and they should by now, am not the sentimental type and for these types of anti-people and anti-Afrikan crimes coming from judas traitors, am all for EXECUTION and very, very LONG prison sentences.

    Nuremberg will set the stage for everyone else to proceed, saw a recent video where they are perusing evidence.

    le guillotine would be nice right about now, i saw people in one or two other countries building models for their useless governments…..but for me anything would work once the job is done….

    am sure Pacha will agree…


  21. Am taking it from the BU quiet barring a few intune and conscious people i know were very aware for all this time……wunna tellin we dat wunna dint know dis is where all of dat was headed..

    maybe too busy giving me my business.

    TLSN…these are lucky they have not put shackles and chains on them YET…..but it int too late, dem heads real far up in the clouds still so it will be a slam dunk.

    so clueless, it’s frightening..


  22. A Time to Pause, Reflect, Change

    The same way or path negative thoughts appear manifest and become actions they can be cleared and positive thoughts appear manifest and become actions

    i.e negative hate and anger can be replaced by love and compassion
    something
    appearing
    building
    awareness
    ripening
    manifesting into spontaneous action such as doing or say something hurtful or harmful

    the negative process can be reversed into a positive process with the help of being aware having some knowledge of simple non-judgmental awareness


    • It is official.

      Update – Cabinet reviews decision; Independence Day remains
      Article by
      Barbados Today
      Published on
      November 3, 2022

      https://barbadostoday.bb/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wilfred-Abrahams-press-conference-Jan-23-2021-730×456.jpeg

      “November is our month; our time to celebrate the very best of Barbados and the Barbadian personality. Let us all join in this celebration of Barbadian pride and industry. Let us do so for the entire month, culminating on Independence Day. Let us do so in the words of our National Anthem – inspired, exulting, free.”

      Below is the full statement from Wilfred Abrahams, Minister of Home Affairs and Chairperson of the Cabinet sub-committee for November 30 celebrations.

      “November 30th is indelibly etched in the hearts and minds of Barbadians as the day when Barbados broke colonial ties and began the journey of charting our own destiny. Nothing can ever change that. It is also the date in 2021 on which Barbados transitioned to a Parliamentary Republic.

      “In response to the many queries as to the new name for November 30th celebrations, the Cabinet decided on the title Barbados National Day.

      “I made that announcement two days ago during a press conference at Illaro Court. Your response was swift and clear; a significant number of Barbadians voiced their disagreement with the recommended title, citing lack of public consultation.

      “We came to office as the government that cares, consults and listens; over the past 48 hours we have listened to Barbadians and, upon reflection agree that more public engagement is necessary to come up with the best way to celebrate our transition to a Parliamentary Republic.

      “This Cabinet will not shy away from reversing a prior decision when such a change is merited. This is such an occasion. The celebrations on November 30th must be such that all Barbadians wherever they are, feel proud to be Bajan.

      “Today, the Cabinet of Barbados met, reviewed and has decided that November 30th will continue to be referred to as Independence Day. There will also be a national consultation to come up with the most fitting way to celebrate our transition to a Parliamentary Republic.

      “Rest assured that just as you overwhelmingly reposed your trust and confidence in us, we are equally responsive to your concerns. This Cabinet commits to wider public engagement on matters of national importance such as this.

      Source: Barbados Today


  23. Barbados National Independence Day

    It will alway be independence to me like spring garden and Julie N will always be that to me


  24. Playing Devils Advocate for “the People”
    “the Peoples'” “Victory” is “not a Victory”

    There should be a holiday on 20th April
    call it Music Day ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯Music Day 🎼 🎵 🎶
    Rub A Dub All The Time (aka If This World Were Mine)


  25. Do you know how Spring Garden gets its name?

    Two reasons.

    First it is the site of springs (Freshwater Bay).

    The Garden is because it was a former Quaker Burying Ground!!


  26. There is no greater embarrassment in the game of checkers than attempting a ‘huff’ and having to put the checker back on the board. I can only pray that our politicians are equally embarrassed.


  27. Why the reversal?j
    Why the back-back?

    Why? There was a petition gathering thousand of votes in a very short time.

    So what?
    Do the maths.
    A landslide with about 47% of the voting population participating, can be reversed (lessened) with a few thousand ‘strategically’ placed voters.

    If we assume that the same voting proportions exist in the poll, then this level of discontent could easily signal 11,000 disgruntled voters. Not a number to sneeze at.


  28. Just landed at Piarco. Despite years of complaining I end up here (again).

    😄After 32 years of complaints, 2023 will be the year I put my foot down.

    Vague memory: the last time I put my foot down, it got stomped 😂

    Have a great night y’all.
    Tired.


  29. Some of us are not stupid for wanting to discuss Barbados’ debt situation. Here is a head from a regional NGO.

    NGOs worry over external debt level
    Local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are deeply concerned about the level of Barbados’ external debt, warning that society’s vulnerable are likely to pay a heavy price socially.
    This is according to Officer-in-Charge of Caribbean Policy Development Centre, Richard Jones, who said that the country’s foreign debt was climbing beyond internationally accepted levels and his organisation believes that social spending is likely to be a casualty of any ensuing adjustment. Jones also expressed concern about the level of consultation as it relates to external debt acquisition, calling for NGOs to have representation at the Social Partnership table.
    Challenges
    “We are always concerned where the level of foreign debt rises above the internationally accepted standard of 60 per cent of GDP. We think that as it gets to that level there are challenges in the economy and challenges that emerge for the average person. This may lead to cutbacks in social spending and therefore impact the most vulnerable in our society. These are persons who are most in need and we have to find a way for them to cope with the adjustments that are imposed on us by the international financial institutions,” said Jones.
    He added: “We believe that non-governmental organisations need to be at the table. We certainly support labour and the private sector being there as two key engines of the economy but what is needed is a voice for those who are usually under-represented in those spaces. The NGOs can provide that input and give Government a grounding in terms of the information that it gets coming from the bottom up so that could be included when policy decisions are being made. Certainly, I would call for an expansion of the consultative process.”
    According to the Central Bank’s economic review of Barbados from January to September, the country’s external debt has increased 46 percent in the last four years, moving from $3.198 billion in 2018 to $4.67 billion.
    BERT programme
    Government borrowed about $930 million from the IMF under the first BERT programme and is expected to borrow another $586 million from that institution under BERT 2. The authorities also secured additional loans of $1.5 billion from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), World Bank, and CAF – Development Bank of Latin America during BERT 1. It is now contemplating financing BERT 2 mainly with “at least $1 billion in multilateral financing”, and another $1 billion “as project-specific funding” borrowed from the IDB, CAF, CDB, and the Export-Import Bank of China.
    “While we all acknowledge that there is a need to borrow and accumulate debt, the levels at which we are accumulating debt is becoming a concern. If you listen to most professionals in the field and the average Barbadian, you are beginning to hear more and more concern being raised on this front. This goes beyond politics because successive governments have been adding to the accumulation of the debt that we have today. I think this requires an overall solution in our model of development and how we approach growth,” Jones said.
    Collaboration
    In addition, Jones told the Weekend Nation that it has been drawn to the attention of the CPDC, through collaboration with its international civil society partners such as the Open Society Foundation and the Centre for Economic Policy Research, that attached to many of these loan programmes offered by the Fund and taken up by countries like Barbados are special “surcharges” which extract billions of dollars from borrowing members of the Fund. “These hidden surcharges in Barbados’ borrowing from the IMF could amount to millions of dollars and we don’t think that it is right for us to be paying those surcharges. Barbados Government needs to join with other developing nations under the fund to speak out against these charges.”
    “As we understand it, these surcharges are levied on loans which the IMF approves for countries and are imposed over and above the normal interest rates and other regular processing fees associated with the loans. Some experts have estimated that these punitive and unnecessary charges increased from 1billion to 2 billion between fiscal years 2019 and 2021 and could in fact reach a whopping 4 billion United States dollars by 2023 alone,” he explained. ( CLM)

    Source: Nation Newspaper


  30. Wait wunna surprise? Where was the referendum promised for a republic held? Hopefully the authorities have learnt now that bajans really don’t care about if we are a republic or not and genuinely have an interest in maintaining some semblance of the past.

    You can push and then you can push too far. Barrow did his part for this island, as did Adams and those that followed. Let us leave those that contributed alone and move on to contribute in a new way. If this government wants to put their stamp on their existence then do so going forward.

    Barrow was known for independence. Tom for the highway and Central Bank, Sandy for putting country first and saving the dollar, not sure what Freundel did and Thompson’s rule was short.

    If this government wants to be remembered then I suggest you do something memorable in the FUTURE and stop playing with our history and those that created it.

    Good I dun wid dat. David this new format print too small and you can’t see the contributors names easily either. Can’t say I favour it or find it easier to use.


    • @John A

      Unfortunately will not be able to please all, there is always trade offs. Increased the font, hope that works.


  31. “Good I dun wid dat. David this new format print too small and you can’t see the contributors names easily either. Can’t say I favour it or find it easier to use.”

    You should go to Specsavers

    @ Davy
    I like the previous version of smaller print it is more peaceful and calming
    and is not all shouty like GP RIP CAPS LOCKS

    Here is a Qigong Energy routine for your eyes only
    Our eyes are getting weak by looking at screens all day long when before computers we had to look all over the place which made our eyes naturally stretch and strengthen all day long. Now our eyesight is weakening because the fascia that holds the eyes all the way into the neck is weakening. The good news is we can strengthen that through Qigong eye exercises and massage which stimulate the eyes, stretch them and build elasticity in the fascia, and also works on the lens and fibers in the eyes.
    Using the eye massage and eye exercises as taught in this video along with dynamic Qigong exercises.

    Effective Eye Massage & Exercises To IMPROVE Eyesight 👀💫


  32. @ IT HELP / HINDER DESK Xtn 666
    You cannot speed read and understand the gist of long cut and paste jobs which spread over 100+ lines with 4 words per lines,
    that’s silly

    ABORT + REVERT

    Day 31 of the 31-Day Healthy Eye Challenge with Dondi Dahlin!


  33. During the IMF program of the 90’s, Barbadians were still resourceful and conservative in terms of their spending habits. Most middle class families had one car and credit card use was not widespread. That country could take a lash and survive, this country cannot. Austerity in any form will collapse the economy. The mild austerity the DLP tried brought the economy to its knees in 2017 and 2018.
    So the solution is to put the country in a holding pattern of begging and borrowing and whenever nature strikes shout climate change at the UN. Imagine world superstar Rihanna touring a hurricane ravaged Bridgetown and backing, along with her superstar friends, a campaign and investment fund to rebuild (and also rob) Barbados to be climate resilient. Billions would pour in for a climate resilient Pierhead project, a 21st century Oistins, windfarms off the north east coast and Barbados bonds would be in high demand.
    Problems solved, debt gone, country saved, all we need is one little CAT 5 hurricane.


  34. @David
    Unsure of your source for Mr.Jones comments, but an article in BT suggests he is ‘in step’ with other ideas
    “CPDC, through this advocacy campaign, is aiming to build a case for Caribbean debt relief as a priority, and also restructuring of existing debt based on the region’s inherent climate and economic vulnerabilities.”

    The niceties aside, debt relief/restructure = debt forgiveness. For those who miss it, this is the plan.

    To this end Jones said “wealthy, heavily polluting nations owe a climate debt to us, the Caribbean, and all other Small Island Developing States around the world”.


  35. Dedicated to that Dirty Cash
    💰💸
    Money is a tool
    Money is options
    Money makes friends
    Money breaks friends

    Takeoff was the most anonymous member of Migos by a country mile, the nephew of Quavo.
    After the tragic news of the killing of rapper Takeoff outside a bowling alley in Houston, many questions remain unanswered.
    “We [were] rapping about [Lamborghinis] and money and cars before we even had Lambos, and then we got Lambos,” Quavo explained.
    Quavo & Takeoff -Tools https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0q9_JXSe1E


  36. Then the articles on Mr Jones address, Nation vs BT come from a different angle. Your ‘source’ stated just Barbados. I ‘think’ the BT piece (Nov 3) may be more insightful into current thinking and direction.


  37. Broke Boys
    Privileged Rappers
    Major Distribution
    Rich Flex
    Pussy & Millions
    Mind on pussy and millions,
    mind on pussy and billions
    They say more money, more problems
    Bring on the problems (Will)


  38. No one here notices how brilliantly our Supreme Leader controls public opinion! The state and the country are drowning in debt, but the naive commentators on BU and other social media only lament about totally irrelevant bank holidays.


  39. Rename Harrison College , Republic College and rename Queens College, Sandra Mason College.
    In that way, we would honor our first President.
    Republic Day Awards should be as follows:
    Rihanna Fenty award for culture
    Sir Garry Sobers Award for Sports
    Alan Emtage Award for Technology and innovation.
    All of these awards should be for citizens under the age of eighteen.
    Peace.


  40. @William Skinner on November 5, 2022 at 6:16 AM

    You forgot Mia Mottley. No other person has shaped our island´s fate over the past 400 years as much as she has. Her tenure includes hurricanes, volcanic ash, IMF, DLP and other vermin.

    Therefore, Tron predicts that we will soon have a Mia Mottley Day and her portrait will decorate a $1,000 banknote.


  41. Given our horrendous foreign debt, one day we will receive a new currency, the “New Barbados Dollar”. The $1000 note will then be equivalent to the current $50 Barrow, so that all citizens will see our beloved Supreme Leader every day.


  42. We fully deserve to be made mock sport of, by bloggers such as Tron and Lawson.
    How a set of people in such a BLESSED place could find ourselves in our current predicament can only be explained in spiritual terms…

    To whom much is given, a lot is expected.,
    However when BLESSED people INSIST on modeling themselves on brass bowls, the spiritual laws of Karma have NO CHOICE but to step in with appropriate corrective actions.

    Owen in one of his moments of sobriety, warned us PUBLICLY of the supreme leader’s inclinations. Bushie also joined in expressing concerns…

    The records point to the dismally poor results out there for all to see, of her stewardship over the past 30 years in public life…. in EVERY endeavor – except for her personal enrichment and empowerment.

    Yet, like some brass bowls of old did, when they chose Barabbas over the most special bushman who EVER lived, Barbados has CHOSEN such leadership, now 60-0.

    It is easy to follow the multitude to do shiite, but having made up our shiite beds, we had better be prepared to sleep in it….


  43. That’s what they voluntarily, without any prompting voted for, although warned, if you don’t vote for these low class nobodies, you have no problems, because you will survive ON YOUR OWN anyway..but they went right ahead and voted for mediocrity, so that’s exactly what they are getting..

    i only feel for those innocents trapped in a dangerous go nowhere system for how many more decades….but…..not for the swollen headed idiots who continue to perpetrate it on THEMSELVES….and trying to lure sensible people into their misery loves company..

    they look good, no sympathy…and they ran out of apologiies and excuses…and are real quiet these days, seems they even lost the appetite to cuss me.


  44. In the 2018 elections, the BLP use of social media was superior to that of the DLP. I fear we will see the same in 2027.

    Ronnie O just put out a very nice message on the Wilfred (WA) Abrahams’s screw-up. But instead of using his own picture he uses that of WA and so it appears as if the statement to was by WA. First impressions and the message are different.

    Old or new media, Ronnie O and company must use it more effectively. The message and its packaging must be in agreement.


    • Power of patriotism
      Crafting identity from nostalgia or recalibrating it for the future?
      The following article was submitted by cultural practitioner Dr Denise J. Charles as a letter to the Editor.
      For as long as I can remember, I have always loved the end of the year for the celebration of Independence followed by the much-loved Christmas season.
      As a child, it held an almost magical fascination as we sang at my primary school,
      “I say B, I say B A, B A R, B A R B, B A R B A D O S: BARBADOS!”
      As I grew older and became happily “indoctrinated” with mottos like Pride And Industry, the National Pledge, the National Anthem and all the images, icons, memorabilia, and nostalgia surrounding
      Independence, I, like many Barbadians, was understandably hooked.
      These feelings of excitement and patriotism became deeply ingrained in my psyche and continue to play a very powerful part in my own self-definition and identity.
      Blue, yellow and black
      When I think and say “Barbados”, especially during the season of Independence, what follows is not only a tremendous sense of pride but the blue, yellow and black, the cultural expressions, the foods, the donkey cart memories, the fireworks of the 1970s when I was a child and the God Bless Bim On Independence Day, I Vow To Thee My Country and other songs of patriotism.
      A part of this cycle of nostalgia which I value is also borne out in my treasured collection of old Barbados stamps and old coins passed down to me by my now deceased grandfather, Ernest Toppin (1887-1987).
      Since I often use this time of national emphasis to reflect on the growth and development of this land that I love, several years ago, when November swung around, I questioned the overpowering role which nostalgia plays annually in our Independence celebrations. And for those who will “come for me” at this statement, let me assure that I am a bona fide student and lover of history who understands the role the past plays in identity formation. I am also as sentimental as they come and love ruminating on the past. From our past we should hopefully appreciate our struggle and where we want to go. But are we using the past as a vehicle for change every November, or are we just basking in the emotional comfort of the familiar and resting there on our national laurels?
      I also questioned then, as I do now, the value of being overtly nostalgic at the expense of progress or change. I agree that we need to teach the younger generations about coal pots, jukking boards, chattel house origins and the making of conkies.
      Added to these tangibles is our intangible cultural heritage (ICH), which includes our beliefs and practices, oral expressions, traditions, rituals, and festivals which shape our everyday living and define who we are, especially in an ever-changing digital, postmodern age.
      Innovative ideas
      These things are admittedly of great value and must be maintained. During our season of nationhood, how much emphasis are we placing on imagining and reimagining a future Barbados even as we cling for dear life and identity to the past? Where are the competitions which should challenge our youth at this time to use innovative ideas to reimagine a Barbados of the future, including its role in the metaverse?
      Where is the energy to craft new identities which are not only grounded in the distant past but which are positively influenced by new and present discourses and understandings of our place as a small island developing state in a dynamic 21st century world? This is no call to do away with our time-worn values but a call for greater national empowerment which can be accomplished by seeing ourselves outside the lens and limits of disenfranchisement, which in some respects overpower much of our nostalgic leanings.
      With each Independence season, it is as if Barbadians desire that Barbados parks itself at the altar of 1966 indefinitely. Yes, that year was significant, and we will forever be indebted to our Father of Independence the Rt Hon. Errol Walton Barrow, National Hero of Barbados.
      Shaping of a nation
      His role can never be minimised. When we lift him up that does not minimise the struggle of Sir Grantley Adams, also a Barbados National Hero, nor does it eclipse the sacrifices of the enslaved and then the working classes, who also sacrificed to influence the shaping of the nation we have today.
      Our future and who we will continue to evolve to become as a nation is not a competition between notions of Independence and now republicanism. These are different parts of one process or continuum towards social and economic enfranchisement. This discourse cannot be drawn along party lines as this great nation belongs to us all and is loved by us all.
      Let us, therefore, use this time and season of remembrance of our nation’s birth as a time to not only gather strength and emotional comfort from the past, but let us use it to galvanise us to march powerfully with purpose and without fear into a new future. As my primary school song referenced here ended with much gusto, let us all chant in unison “I love you, BARBADOS”.

      Source: Nation


    • TheOGazerts, you are not only doing a bad imitation of AC, yuh dun declare yuh is a DLP supporter.

      The thing that got me is that you always promoting and supporting the DLP, but duz get vex with Enuff, John2 and Lorenzo for supporting the BLP.

      Hypocrite!!!!!!

      Now you retire you on here more regular than the video man and the fake pan Africanist. Shyte man, yuh becoming a nuisance.

      Go on the DLP’s website and promote Ronnie Yearwood.


  45. I just heard some disturbing Caribbean news roundup by Win Callender that went as follows:

    “Lawyers in Guyana stage protest, their rights allegedly violated by police.”

    “Babies dying in Jamaica and those responsible and accountable not lifting a finger, only giving excuses and lies.”

    politicians lying, what a surprise…guess it happens everywhere.

    “Politicians publicly telling lies to the people about some mess re removal of one of their liars.”

    “Another gaggle of political liars in St. Lucia doing very little or nothing while the roads need repairs, people struggling, the usual blueprint found in Barbados and across the region.”

    useless politicians as usual, but it happens everywhere.

    and of course the local wicked distraction that backfired about independence day in Barbados…a mirage in and of itself anyway.

    so…yall been using a slave master system for 100 years post ongoing emancipation, don’t know how that makes sense, but it is what it is, you did not create said system, but pretend that ya did, now it’s KILLING YOU, destroying you, setting up evil plans for you and your children, grandchildren, future generations etc with the help of LYING POLITICIANS and you STILL WON’T ABANDON IT…so sentimental and nostalgic.

    people are fed up of you and your slavehood, now morphing into gayhood… oh well….not my problem..enjoy your much loved demise and destruction..

    but many, many have waken up and seen reality, those will definitely survive.


  46. “Politicians publicly telling lies to the people about some mess re removal of one of their liars.”

    that one happened in the BVI.


  47. The word is out and spreading like wild fire across the earth.

    “never trust your lying criminal governments ever again, it could mean life or death for you and your families.”

    does not apply to fowls, imps, pimps or Slaves.


  48. The Bishop of Canterbury, some months ago, warned the churches to stay away from governments, and he was right, when you are right, you are right.


  49. Hi Frank,
    “Now you retire you on here more regular than the video man and the fake pan Africanist. Shyte man, yuh becoming a nuisance.”

    I gave you 5 ⭐’s even though the part about “the video man and the fake pan Africanist” was hurtful.


  50. Page 16 BarbadosToday online

    ” The lighter side of Mr.Waldron ” by Rollins Howard

    Nice tribute to a good man. May he rest in peace.


  51. I called his name a couple of weeks ago!! When I left HC in 1975 he was a young rebel. When I returned many years later to assist with a Heart Foundation Fair, he was a dignified and potent officer of HC. Flakes was a great guy, very human.

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