Solutions Barbados was not planning to field any candidates during this election – that may change. Our candidates repeatedly threw themselves at the wall when the public were not yet suffering enough to select a third party, because they wanted to help Barbadians escape from poverty.
Over the past 50 years, the policies of both established parties kept most Barbadians in a state of working-poor, rent-poor or house-poor poverty, with little disposable income. The main tool used to keep Barbadians financially vulnerable was the tax system, which prevented the majority from having enough disposable income to raise their heads from their labours long enough to consider that Barbados could be managed much better.
SLAVES AGAIN.
Our enslaved fore-parents were taxed at 100% of their income, but were provided with enough food, clothing and shelter to keep working. The threat of having those resources taken away intimidated most people from challenging that system.
In the current system, we pay for our food, clothing and shelter. However, taxes are adjusted to ensure that any disposable income remains at a level where people are intimidated into silent obedience. The cruel whip was replaced with the lie that our economy and public services were managed as best as they could for a small country.
NATIONAL PROSPERITY PLAN.
In 2002, Lynette Eastmond was director of International Business when Barbados was negotiating international trade agreements. To her credit, she invited private sector representatives to prepare Barbados to compete internationally. My assigned responsibility was to prepare the professional services sector of the economy to be internationally competitive.
I assembled and chaired a committee comprising leaders of 25 professional associations in Barbados and prepared a report detailing the strategies and action plans for Barbados to be internationally competitive. The plan worked as designed for those who implemented it.
I led from the front by becoming the first person to qualify as a Chartered Structural Engineer in 15 years in Barbados. Our firm became the first service company in the Caribbean to attain the ISO 9001 quality management standard and won the BIDC’s Exceptional Quality award. I subsequently: (i) worked on projects worth over $500,000,000 over the next 5 years, (ii) earned foreign currency in 10 Caribbean countries and (iii) was the winner of the 2014 National Innovation Competition.
NATIONAL PROSPERITY PLAN.
In 2014, the economic ruin of Barbados was foreseen. So, I prepared an economic growth plan for all sectors of the Barbados economy that resulted in a BD$1B surplus within one year: (i) without borrowing money, laying off public workers or reducing their salaries and (ii) while abolishing VAT and Land Tax. I tried to share it with the last DLP administration, but they would not listen – responding that only those in the political trenches had standing to offer the Government any advice on the national economy.
In response, I formed Solutions Barbados on 1 July 2015 to benefit the public, but the DLP still would not engage. So, I asked the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados (ICAB), the Barbados Economic Society (BES), the Barbados Bankers Association (BBA) and the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) to review our plan and give the public their honest opinion. The BCCI responded by passing a regulation that only members of Parliament could speak to their members about the national economy. The others declined.
WORKABLE PLAN.
Our plan was discussed with an IMF team that was meeting political groups before the 2018 General Election. The IMF confirmed that our plan could work, but doubted that we could tackle corruption since every party promising to do so failed once they were elected. We assured them that we could since we had no financial supporters to reward.
A member of ICAB to the highest grade of Fellow agreed to independently review our plan and make his report public. He reported that: (i) our assumptions used in costing our plan were ultra-conservative, (ii) our plan was workable, (iii) we could achieve a surplus of over $1B in revenues in our first year without austerity or land tax – VAT could be abolished in year 2 and (iv) every political party planning to go to the IMF needed to examine our plan.
After the 2018 General Election, I attended a Nation Talkback event at the Central Bank where Dr Kevin Greenidge gave a presentation and invited questions. I asked him whether he looked at our economic plan before Barbados decided to seek IMF management. He said no. I followed up by asking him whether he would at least look at our plan to allow Barbadians to prosper. He declined.
NOT VOTING.
Our economic growth strategies and implementation plans were first published on SolutionsBarbados.com on 1 July 2015 and have been upgraded to remain relevant. Any party in any country may use them as is, or modify them to suit their circumstances.
Since 2018, some party supporters near the trough can boast of seven years of plenty. But for most Barbadians, their limited disposable income poverty condition did not change. Many who recognised that their poverty condition does not change across administrations stopped voting. If my only 2026 voting choices are BLP and DLP, I will join them.
Grenville Phillips II is a Doctor of Engineering and Chartered Structural Engineer. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com
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