Barbados is a reactive society. We have mastered jumping from pillar to post. Last month it was about increasing violent crime. Last week it was about tinting windows on vehicles. Today it is about violence in the schools and whether to beef up security.
It is fair to expect that navigating the journey of life involves solving problems along the way. What is also true is that a robust governance framework is the prerequisite for the best outcomes.
A strong governance framework in government is crucial because it establishes clear structures and processes to ensure accountability, transparency, effective decision-making, and responsible use of public funds, ultimately leading to better public service delivery and citizen trust in the government by providing a clear framework for managing risks, allocating resources, and achieving organizational goals.
Source: Google
It is unfortunate that we (through our elected governments) have NOT determined that many of our problems can be solved by proactively addressing a failing governance framework. A top of the mind example is the lack of political will by successive governments to implement transparency laws. It is almost 50 years, going back to the Tom Adams era, Barbadians were promised enactment of Integrity and Freedom of Information laws.
The inability of Barbados and Democratic Labour Party (BDLP) governments to commit to greater transparency in government speaks volumes and suggest ‘collusion’. If a father or mother didn’t deliver on a significant promise to the family circle for 50 years, wouldn’t it lead to distrust and disappointment in the household? An increasing level of cynicism and apathy by the citizenry directed at government can be explained by the simple analogy.
Everywhere in the world we observe countries forced to prosecute elected public officials for violating codes of conduct. Yesterday the Mayor of New York, a former policeman, was charged with accepting $10 million in improper campaign contributions. Local former Minister Donville Inniss was sentenced (in the USA) to 24 months on a money laundering charge. Is it fair to surmise Barbados is a puritanical space where political actors and supporting cast are hardcoded to engage in righteous behaviour at all times? Even if elected our elected public officials were perfect citizens by avoiding fallibility inherent in humankind, in any case implementing sensible governance best practices is important to nature public trust in government.
It is disappointing (this is a PG blog) that in a post independence period the BDLP have failed to deliver on promise after promise, every election cycle, to execute initiatives that deliver greater transparency in government. How does Prime Minister Mottley sleep at night on strange hotel beds exhausted after some international exploit?
Barbados, sometimes referred to as Little England should try harder to implement best practices from over there. The following story published yesterday by the BBC is recommended reading. A word to the wise should be sufficient.
How many free sports tickets have Starmer and MPs received?
Daniel Austin
BBC Sport
- Published26 September 2024
- 3013 Comments
With debate around free gifts for MPs a running theme of the Labour Party’s annual conference, BBC Sport has looked into how many ‘freebie’ tickets to sports events ministers have received this year.
We looked at the register of MPs’ declarations of financial interests between 1 January and 2 September 2024 – the last time the list was updated – and found:
In this eight-month period, the Premier League gave out free tickets valued at £40,994 to MPs from several political parties.
Prime Minister and Arsenal fan Sir Keir Starmer received the most hospitality tickets of any MP for matches in the Premier League, Championship and Champions League totalling just under £13,000 – donated to him by the Premier League and seven English clubs.
The Premier League also gifted Starmer an additional £4,000 worth of hospitality tickets for a Taylor Swift concert at Wembley Stadium in June.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.