A member of the press corps asked the Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Kevin Greenidge a fair and obvious question at last week BIMpay press conference. It was a question that should have been anticipated by the Governor and his support team, yet he completely bungled the reply.
The reporter asked for the price tag of the national project BIMpay, Dr. Kevin Greenidge responded with a level of dismissiveness and arrogance that shocked onlookers:
As much as you would like to hear, I ain’t putting no figure on this. Everybody knows what matters. Are you going to pay for it? No. So why do you want to know it for? Read our financial reports and you’ll see it embedded in there.
What should be of interest is not just that a journalist did their job by asking the fundamental question; it is the immediate, strident public outcry that followed. The backlash from an offended public was so intense that Dr. Greenidge was forced to release a video apology, finally disclosing that phase 1 of the infrastructure cost approximately $6.7 million against a $10 million budget.
Governor Greenidge must be asking himself why a majority of Barbadians reacted so vehemently to his tone. More importantly, we have to ask: why did the political directorate feel compelled to ensure a swift apology for this particular misstep, when so many structual issues are routinely ignored by the same public?
What about the audited financials for the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS) that have been outstanding for over a decade?
What has been the outcome of the investigation into the Home Ownership Providing Energy (HOPE) program, promised by Prime Minister Mia Mottley since March 2024? Despite millions being funneled through the entity, it continues to operate without presenting annual financial reports. The administrative excuse that the government’s own probe has been “compromised” because the Auditor General is conducting a competing investigation is unacceptable.
Why has the government never offered a formal apology for obliterating the $4 million budget allocated to CARIFESTA by an astronomical 783%, resulting in a $31 million overrun?
What about the 83% ($23 million) cost overrun on the importation of 150 prefab steel houses from China? This was billed as a rapid delivery housing solution after Hurricane Elsa damaged homes in 2021. As at today many of those steel frames have never even been assembled and are on the ground rusting or parts stolen.
When Barbados became a republic in 2021, the Constitution was quickly amended to replace references to the Governor General with the President. A comprehensive, homegrown Republican Constitution was promised to the public by November 30, 2026. We are now in June 2026, and there has been little communication to the electorate regarding the status. Because the government commands all 30 seats in Parliament, the two thirds majority required for constitutional change is a non issue. Instead of structural reform, the constitution continues to be tweaked for political expediency, for example the passing of an anti defection law to stop MPs from crossing the floor.
A perennial favourite of the blogmaster is the empty promise made by Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce to investigate a slapping incident by a police officer, a case that has now gone cold after almost three nearly Grand Kadooments.
What is the status of the 2022 agreement with the Rwandan Government that promised Barbadians to create 4000 jobs over 5 years in a new pharmaceutical industry?
Finally, look at the repeated, failed promises from successive governments to reform the dysfunctional public transportation system. For over half a century (50 years), the PSV sector has been permitted to foster a lawless subculture that has actively disrupted the social fabric of our society and derailed the lives of too many young citizens.
Why has the public reacted with so much fury to force an immediate apology from the Central Bank Governor his BiMPay misspeak, while other failures are seemingly ignored by Barbadians?
The answer is obvious to a lowly blogmaster.
Are we there yet?
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.