The government has announced its decision to lead the country into an IMF program. Soon the citizenry will brace for the roll out of phase two, three and the several others that will be required – given the stasis state of recent – to kick start the economy and the social benefits that must be be sustained and improved. The
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The blogmaster has participated in three general elections in the decade since Barbados Underground (BU) was established. There was the memorable 2008 general election when a young David Thompson wrestled the government from a tired Owen Arthur. In 2013 Freundel Stuart was given a second chance to be his own man after taking over from David Thompson who died in
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Submitted by Freedom Crier Preamble If you want to look forward you first must know our past, where we are, what we are doing and the choices we are making, then we can see what the future may hold for we have seen the direction we are on. The future is easy to predict/extrapolate based on the above
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After 10 years of economic hardship there is the reasonable view held by intelligent Barbadians that at the top of the pile of campaign issues should be a full ventilation of economic plans by contesting political parties during the 2018 General Election. Given the flat trendline on the national productivity graph for the last 10 years and beyond- is it
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Every where one turns in Barbados the discussion is about when will the prime minister ring the bell. Is is unethical for the prime minister to have extended the traditional 5 year term to the 90 days allowed by the Constitution for what many believe was meant by the framers to address an extraordinary event? There is a view that
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Why is diabetes on the rise in Barbados? Is it the type of food we consume? Is it the lack of exercise? Is it the type of food AND lack of exercise?
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It is important for Barbadians to remember our history. The pictures in the BU gallery were captured from the Facebook Timeline of Dolores Grandison. The pictures vividly demonstrate the progress we have made on many fronts. The struggle is how do we continue to advance change in our little country that is positive and respect the struggle of our forefathers.
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The Barbados private sector agency has raised the alarm that their members have had to wait for foreign exchange to be released from commercial banks to honour purchase requests. This is not good news for Barbadians who have had to tighten their belts for eight long years. Have we not been boasting of record arrivals for the last two years?
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Months ago leader of the Opposition -in guarded language- hinted that all was not well with the South Coast Sewage plant. Barbadians on the ground who have interacted with the workers would have been aware of the unavailability of parts and tools to perform required maintenance on the plant. As expected the government remained loyal to its tried and trusted
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This report [attached] exposes the world’s worst corporate tax havens – extreme examples of a destructive race to the bottom on corporate tax which has seen governments across the globe slash corporate tax bills in an attempt to attract business. It calls on governments to work together to put a stop to this before it is too late – Oxfam
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The revelation in recent weeks that sewage (raw) is spewing into the sea on the South coast should be of concern to all Barbadians. Along with the health concern there is the potential to dent the good reputation of Barbados as an idyllic tourist destination. The members of the BU household are fiercely patriotic and it pains us no end
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Today’s Barbados Advocate editorial makes for interesting reading in light of Prince Harry’s visit next week – Barbados Underground We might be justly accused of being churlish hosts were we not to extend a warm Barbadian greeting to His Royal Highness, Prince Henry of Wales, familiarly known as Harry, on his visit to the island to represent Her Majesty in
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Barbadians have become fatigue under the the constant negative feedback from armchair pundits and professionals like S&P. Where do we go from here? All the experts have painted a gloomy forecast EXCEPT the minister of finance Chris Sinckler. Who are the citizens to believe Sinckler or all the other who are experts in the field. The report from S&P explains
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For OUR democracy to work effectively ALL stakeholders in civil society must participate, advocate, agitate, support … DISENGAGEMENT is not an option
Join the Poster War – #bajanswantchange
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When Government announced last year that it was passing a bill to allow the lowering of Value Added Tax (VAT) to 7.5 per cent for qualifying hospitality partners my initial thought that it was a wonderful opportunity to at least partially address the frequently quoted high costs of our tourism product. The criteria did not appear too ominous. That the
Read moreSubmitted by William Skinner In our midst, there are some very skilful manipulators of public opinion, who would like to give the impression that the trade union movement has only been in bed with the Democratic Labour Party. This is a great lie. The truth is that both the Barbados Labour Party and the Democratic Labour Party have enjoyed incestuous
Read moreHowever, a second driver for the interest in the performance and capacity of PACs has been the global interest in governance and oversight and in the role of parliament in curbing corruption – (Stapenhurst et al., 2006). What is certain about this time every year when the Auditor General releases his report is to expect the same trite remarks to
Read moreIntroduction: In a recent essay on how small economies cope with a volatile world economy, Jeffrey Frankel, professor of economics at Harvard University, referenced Costa Rico, in Central America, and Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, as two nations with interesting growth models. Both nations, he pointed out, had outshone their peers and, noticeably, they had also been innovative and, of
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