The General Election date has been announced, but if Barbadian voters are not yet ready to support a third party, the results are foreseen. They will continue to: (i) load us with unsustainable debts, (ii) increase taxes to pay for those debts, (iii) poorly manage our public services and (iv) strip our freedoms until we are enslaved with chains of intimidation.

Barbadian voters may be ready for a better party when they can no longer afford to: (i) pay their mortgages, (ii) maintain their houses or (iii) repair their cars. To maintain our support, we are taught that for a small country, our public services and national economy are being managed as well as they can be.

When Barbadian voters are brought to the edge of poverty they may finally recognise that: (i) public services can be managed much better and (ii) it takes no special competence to spend borrowed money.

WE CAN DO BETTER.

Most voters understand that both parties are the same and stopped voting. They observed beneficiaries of past elections being supporters of the winning party who loitered around the trough expecting spillage as their political masters fed.

For the avoidance of doubt, the basic international standard of management for our public services is the International Standard Organisation’s ISO 9001 Quality Management Standard. The management of our public services are sub-standard. We do not need any more resources – we just need to manage the existing resources much better. The additional cost to manage them to the ISO 9001 standard is $0.00 – it just requires will.

Also, for the avoidance of doubt, it has been independently verified that if public services were better managed, Barbados’ economy can be run with a surplus without VAT and land taxes. Both of those taxes contribute to the unnecessarily high cost of living in Barbados and both major parties have been given multiple opportunities to do better, but have not.

The majority of voters seem ready to force their family, friends and neighbours to endure another 5-year term of poorly managed public services and high taxes. We can survive this period while eating affordable meals. My healthy protein-heavy meals are exceptionally tasty and cost $1.60 each, including VAT – which gives you more disposable income. You may give it a try and give me some feedback since I am continually improving my recipe.

INGREDIENTS.

One 400g pack of Lentil Peas ($2.55). One 12oz pack of Quinoa ($12.00). One 9 oz of Bajan Seasoning ($6.00). One Broccoli ($3.00). Two Carrots ($1.30). One can of Corn ($3.00). Two medium Onions ($1.00). Salt ($3.00). One 6 oz bottle of Pepper Sauce ($3.00). The total cost is $35.89.

For each pot of food, use all the lentils, broccoli, carrots, corn and onions, but only one third of the Quinoa ($4.00), one tablespoon of seasoning ($0.75), one-half tablespoon of salt ($0.10) and pepper sauce to taste ($0.25). This results in a total cost of $15.95 per pot and it makes 10 plates. That is $1.60 per plate.

The kitchen equipment is a: large pot, cutting board, measuring cup, large fine strainer, knife, large spoon and tablespoon.

RECIPE.

Put the lentil peas in a measuring cup and note the volume. Then put the peas in a strainer, wash them with flowing water and put them in the pot.

Put: (i) the same volume of water (as the peas you noted in the measuring cup), (ii) one flat table spoon of salt and (iii) one heaping tablespoon of seasoning in the pot. Wash and cut the two onions in small pieces and put them in the pot. Put the pot on a high heat until the water boils.

While waiting for the water to boil, pour one third (4 oz) of the Quinoa into the measuring cup and note the volume. Then put the Quinoa in a strainer, wash them with flowing water and put them in the pot of now boiling water.

Put the same volume of water (as the Quinoa you noted in the measuring cup) in the pot, mix everything together using the large spoon and cover the pot. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat to as low as possible (simmer) for 15 minutes and set a timer to check.

During the 15 minutes of simmering, wash and cut up the two carrots and broccoli (including the stalk) into small pieces.

The cooking times depend on the type of cooker; therefore, every 5 minutes check if the lentils are still nutty. When the lentils become soft (normally between 15 to 20 minutes), place the cut-up carrots and broccoli on top of the lentils and quinoa mixture and let them steam for 2 minutes. If the water is gone, then add one large spoonful of water.

During the two minutes of steaming, open the can of corn, pour the corn into the strainer and wash the corn. Then put them in the pot, mix everything together and turn off the heat. Put two heaping large spoons of food on a plate, add pepper sauce to taste and let your tastebuds sing.

Once the pot has cooled, place two large spoons of the food in one zip-loc bag or other container and freeze them. You should have nine remaining portions. When you are ready for another meal, take the frozen food out of one container and microwave or heat it in a pot. Never microwave it in a plastic container.

HELP IS ON THE WAY.

Over the next five-year term, you may have to tolerate terribly managed public services and difficult-to-pay taxes. But you may do so while eating affordable, nutritious and delicious meals.

_{Grenville Phillips II is a Doctor of Engineering and Chartered Structural Engineer. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com}