Prime Minister Mia Mottley revealed yesterday that the government was in discussions with a local charitable trust to implement a program to train the youth of Barbados to write computer code, web design and other technology related programs. She was at the time addressing a standing room only Barbados Chamber of Commerce luncheon. She proposed that the program will be delivered from one of the many abandoned IDC buildings.
In response to the news local businessman Bizzy Williams immediately offered to fit the IDC building selected with photovoltaic panels and donate payments earned from the energy sold to Barbados Light & Power to assist with financing the initiative. The blogmaster is pleased this government is focused on educating and equipping our youth to compete in a world that has been turned on its head by technology. Especially coming a few days after the revelation that the prime minister’s office did not have Internet access up to a few days ago.
Say what you will, Bizzy is always prepared to assist the party in power!
On the 17 April 2016 BU posted the Ionics Freshwater agreement with the Barbados Water Authority (BWA). Many questions were asked but as usual taxpayers have been met with silence. However with a general election looming in less than 2 years expect to hear the political rhetoric levels rise and for sleeping giants to awaken.
BU received the following Excel spreadsheets which purport to support the 10% of BWA’s annual revenue paid to one entity Ionics Freshwater limited, a company owned by Bizzy Williams’ of Williams Industries Group. The huge slice of the national budget given to Bjerkham, Maloney and Williams continue to create disquiet in our tiny nation.
27,000 m3 x BDS$0.80 x 365 DAYS x 15 years = BDS$118,260,000.00 or BDS$118 MILLION DOLLARS.. Imagine being given the opportunity to spend BDS$18 MILLIONS DOLLARS to build a new water treatment plant with a no-risk contract with Barbados Water Authority where them would take all the water treated and where BWA would repay you […]
Submitted by DAVID COMISSIONG, President ,Clement Payne Movement
Bizzy Williams
Our nation will be celebrating 50 years of “Independence” next year, but there is overwhelming evidence that crucial components of the “Old Colonial System” are still very much alive and well in today’s Barbados ! And one particularly odious remnant is that aspect of the “Old Colonial System” that traditionally permitted elite white Barbadian businessmen to be granted and to enjoy preferential business and commercial arrangements that allowed them to feed on the substance of the Barbadian state and the mass of predominantly black taxpayers and consumers.
The sad reality in today’s Barbados is that 49 years after achieving formal political Independence, the predominantly black Government of Barbados is still holding on to old colonial practices and granting amazingly preferential government contracts to elite white Barbadian businessmen– contracts that they would never dream of conferring upon black Barbadian businesspeople!
But if you doubt my assertion, then let us examine in detail one example of this disturbing phenomenon that is at the core of the current public controversy swirling around the Private Waste Haulers and the Ministry of the Environment.
Many Barbadians may not be aware of it, but at the centre of this controversy is a company known as “,.” (SBRC)– a company that is intimately associated with that well known white Barbadian businessman by the name of Bizzy Williams.
SBRC is a 7year old company that was established by Mr. Bizzy Williams and four other directors for the purpose of providing waste management services. And it is this company and the truly amazing contract granted to it by the current Democratic Labour Party (DLP) government that is at the heart of the Municipal Solid Waste Tax and Private Waste Haulers controversies that have so wracked Barbados in recent times.
The whole depressing story surrounding SBRC and its contract with the DLP Government can be gleaned from the SBRC file at Government’s “Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office” (CAIPO) situated at Baobab Tower, Warrens, St. Michael. The file is a public file that any citizen is entitled to see upon paying a fee of $5.00. The Company number is 29864, and I would encourage everyone to go to CAIPO and read the file themselves.
The company file at CAIPO will reveal that Mr. Bizzy Williams registered SBRC as a company on the 24th of January 2008. And while this new company might have begun its life with some equipment, it initially had no land on which to carry out a national waste management function, nor the equipment required to set up and operate a national waste management facility. In effect, it was a new start-up company that had to be fitted out.
Furthermore, SBRC had been established in a Barbados in which the task of waste management and disposal had long been a public function entrusted to the Sanitation Service Authority– a statutory corporation that Government created in 1975 and mandated to “provide and maintain suitable places, buildings and appliances for the deposit, disposal or destruction of refuse.”
As all Barbadians are aware, the SSA had long operated a Landfill at Mangrove, St. Thomas, as well as a nearby Depot at Vaucluse, St. Thomas, and both the SSA and private waste haulers deposited refuse at the Mangrove Landfill free of any charge to the vehicles transporting the waste.
It is against this background that SBRC entered the national picture! And the rest of the story– as gleaned from the CAIPO file– is as follows:-
(1) On 11th June 2009, the Government of Barbados (acting through the Ministry of the Environment) entered into a so-called “Take or Pay” contract with this start-up company, by virtue of which Government undertook to lease SBRC some 35 acres of the Vaucluse property on which the SSA depot was located for a 20 year period; SBRC, in turn, undertook to “design, construct and operate” a waste management facility on the said 35 acres of land; and, to seal the deal, Government entered into a legally binding obligation to provide SBRC with a minimum of 360,000 tons of waste to be “managed” each year at a fee of $65 per ton, thereby guaranteeing that Government would pay SBRC a minimum of $22.6 MILLION every year!
(2) SBRC then took this wonderfully privileged “Take or Pay” contract to the First CaribbeanInternational Bank (Barbados) Limited (CIBC), and, on the basis of its wonderful guarantee of future Government payments of at least $22.6 MILLION per year, convinced CIBC to give them a loan of $55 MILLION !
(3) Subsequently, on the 30th of July 2010, SBRC entered into a Debenture/Mortgage with CIBC under which CIBC loaned SBRC the said $55MILLION for the purpose of “providing financing for the purchase of equipment to operate a solid waste transfer facility (on the said 35 acres of land at Vaucluse) under a 20 year Take or Pay contract with the Government of Barbados”, as well as for assisting in financing an existing short term debt.
(4) And the “security” accepted by CIBC for this massive loan of $55MILLION was as follows:-
(a) a promise by SBRC that when– in the future– it received from Government its 20 year lease of the 35 acres at Vaucluse it would execute a Mortgage of the lease in favour of CIBC;
(b) a debenture over a quantity of stationary equipment, mobile equipment and computer equipment owned by SBRC; and
Now, the questions that I would like to pose to all Barbadians are these:- “Which black Barbadian business-person would ever be given a Government contract that entitles them to a guaranteed taxpayer funded payment of $22.6Million every year for 20 years? Furthermore, which black Barbadian business-person would be given such a contract in circumstances in which their business enterprise is not even established yet? And which black Barbadian business-person would ever find themselves in a position where– on the basis of a Government contract– they could secure $55 Million in funding from a bank to establish the very enterprise on which the said Government contract is premised?”
While my white, black and mixed race Barbadian brothers and sisters contemplate these questions, permit me to finish the sorry story:-
(1) After SBRC finally established its waste management or transfer facility at Vaucluse, the DLP Government (acting through the SSA/Ministry of Environment) prohibited private waste haulers from delivering waste to the Mangrove Landfill and directed them to the SBRC facility instead.
(2) And then in August 2013 Government announced plans to create a new so-called “MunicipalSolid Waste Tax” to “pay for the costs of solid waste disposal”. This draconian tax was initially imposed on all Barbadian householders– no matter how impoverished they might have been ! The tax was designed to rake in $51 Million a year, and the rationale given was that the money was required by Government to pay SBRC!
(3) As a result of the popular protests led by Mr. Bobby Clarke and Ms Mia Mottley in the year 2014 the DLP Government ultimately determined that the Tax was too unpopular and that it had to be cancelled!
(4) It was against this background that the DLP Administration came up with the new ploy of requiring private waste haulers not only to take their waste to the SBRC facility, but to pay a new fee of $25 per ton of waste!
This is truly an “Old Colonial” story, the tragic outcome of which is likely to be :-
. the destruction of the business enterprises of many of the small private waste haulers;
. the imposition of additional taxes or fees on ordinary Barbadians for the purpose of paying SBRC; and
. the bestowing upon Mr. Bizzy Williams and his collaborators of a wonderfully successful business enterprise that will continue to bear guaranteed taxpayer funded fruit for many years to come!
Fellow citizens, this is not right! The “Old Colonial System” continues to choke us and to subvert the positive advances that we have made as a nation over the past 49 years. The purpose of this article is to expose the continued existence of aspects of the “Old Colonial System” and to urge all well meaning and patriotic Barbadians to demand their total abolition! Let us all operate on a level playing-field, and let the public purse not be treated as anybody’s cash-cow!
After reading the damning revelations contained in Auditor General Leigh Trotman’s report about the outrageously preferential taxpayer-funded contracts granted to a coterie of elite white business-people by the Government Ministers of our country, I am forced to come to the conclusion that the “Old Colonial System” is still very much alive and well in supposedly independent Barbados!
Similarly, after digesting Mr. Mark Maloney’s defiant assertion that his Rock Hard Cement company will be (and is) forging ahead with its construction at Spring Garden highway in spite of the fact that some six months ago the Chief Town Planner had served the company with an order to cease construction, I am compelled to recognize that the same old colonial power elite continues to exist and to call the shots in our supposedly independent country!
Clearly, some 50 years after we hauled down the British “union jack” flag, Barbados’ primary purpose as a society still continues to be the colonial-style facilitation of a lifestyle of opulence and comfort for a privileged few at the expense and on the backs of the masses of ordinary Barbadians !
Take, for example, the case of one Bizzy Williams, who, when asked to comment on the fact that Government’s imposition of a “tipping fee” for refuse delivered to the landfill had brought about a substantial reduction in the garbage processed by his Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre Inc. (SBRC), boasted that whether his company processed the garbage or not, it still had to be paid by our Government.
Bizzy Williams’ exact words (as reported in the Nation Newspaper of 3rd May 2016) were as follows:-
Financially, though, it is not hurting us. It does not make a bit of a difference to us because we have signed on a contract with the Government that we have to provide the facility to process 1,000 tons a day minimum. So whether the material comes or it does not come, that is what we signed on to.
For those citizens and taxpayers who may not be aware, let me bring the following to your attention: in June 2009, the current Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Administration entered into a so-called “Take or Pay Contract” with Mr. Bizzy Williams’ Sustainable (Barbados) Recycling Centre Inc. (SBRC), and under that contract, we, the taxpayers of Barbados, are obliged to underwrite a guaranteed minimum payment of $22.6 Million per year to SBRC over a 20 year period for the processing of solid waste, whether or not the company is actually called upon to carry out work of the requisite minimum quantity!
Thus, under this contract alone, we Barbadian taxpayers are saddled with a “minimum” payment of some $452 Million dollars to Bizzy Willliams’ SBRC over a 20 year period!
But this is not the only such Government contract that the several companies associated with Mr. Bizzy Williams enjoy !
Under the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) administration of Mr. Owen Arthur, another Bizzy Williams associated company known as IonicsFreshwater Ltd was granted a contract by virtue of which they were mandated by our Barbados Government to construct a desalination facility at Spring Garden, St. Michael; to operate and maintain the facility; and to be paid for supplying the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) with a minimum of 27,000 cubic metres of desalinated water every day over a 15 year period.
When, however, several years later, the Auditor General’s department carried out a special investigation into the workings of this outrageously preferential contract, they discovered that:-
The BWA had agreed to pay a price for the desalinated water that was substantially higher than was merited ;
The BWA had contracted to secure more water per day than it had the capacity to receive, and therefore had to pay the company – on an ongoing basis – for work that the company did not have to do; and
The BWA had entered into a contract that virtually guaranteed the company a massive 18 per cent return on its investment !
So here again, we Barbadian taxpayers ended up underwriting tremendous benefits for a private company– benefits that were contractually affixed for an extensive fifteen year period !
The sad truth is that successive BLP and DLP administrations have placed our nation in a deep financial hole by entering into unjustified, outrageously privileged contracts that oblige us – the citizens and taxpayers of Barbados – to make annual payments of hundred of millions of dollars for decades into the future.
Let us look at another example! There is the April 2013 so-called storage tank lease contract entered into by our Government with the Mark Maloney and Bjorn Bjerkham owned and/or managed company known as Storage Solutions Limited.
Under this contract, our Government-owned (and taxpayer-funded) Barbados Agricultural Management Co. Ltd (BAMC) is obligated to pay Storage Solutions Limited the sum of $2, 150,000.00 plus VAT every year for 20 years for the privilege of using three molasses storage tanks at the Bridgetown Port. Thus, under this contract, our Government (and ultimately the taxpayers of Barbados) are saddled with a payment of some $50 million over the 20 year period!
Yet another such contract is the so-called housing construction contract entered into between this current DLP administration and the corporate entity known as Housing Concepts SRL – also owned and/or managed by the said Mark Maloney and Bjorn Bjerkham.
Under this contract, Housing Concepts SRL was leased a massive parcel of Government land at Coverley, Christ Church at a pepper-corn rent for the purpose of constructing houses for sale to the Barbadian people at prices ranging between $289,000.00 and $396,000.00!
But what makes this contract truly remarkable is that our taxpayer-funded Government has entered into a legally binding contractual obligation to purchase from Housing Concepts SRL any house that the company is unable to sell to members of the public! Thus, once again, we taxpayers are left holding the bag!
There is also the outrageously privileged contract that the Barbados WaterAuthority (BWA) entered into with Innotech Services Ltd for the design, financing and construction of the new BWA headquarters, and the lease of the premises to the BWA for 13 years. Our Auditor General, Mr. Leigh Trotman, recently detailed so many deficiencies with this outrageously preferential contract that we would require a separate article to list and discuss them!
And – truth be told – I could go on and on listing many other similarly outrageously preferential contracts that our compliant political directorate has conferred on a small group of elite white Barbadian business-people. It is no wonder therefore that our country now possesses a national debt that is as large as our entire Gross National Product!
Face the truth Bajans : the “Old Colonial System” is alive and well in our country, and will continue to remain alive and well so long as you continue to elect hollow, pride-less, self serving men and women to the House of Assembly and ultimately to ministerial and prime ministerial office!
And so our first order of business must be to vote out the self-serving charlatans ! But that alone will not be enough. We will also have to go on to reform the Constitution of our nation in order to establish structures and mechanisms that we – the people – can use to hold our MP’s and Ministers accountable in the future.
Are you prepared to take on this crucial battle, or are you content to continue to be used and exploited for the benefit of a privileged few?
Many Barbadians have been following the shouting match between Anderson Cherry who is the managing director of Jose Y Jose Liquid and Solid Waste Management Inc and Ralph ‘Bizzy’ Williams the head of Williams Industries and the other half of the Williams dynamic duo.
The upside to the public disagreement between the two is the public awareness it brings to the issue of waste management in Barbados. It is obvious the government of Barbados continues to struggle with building and executing a waste management strategy. The Cahill Scam provides confirmation for the doubting thomases. By the way, when will the government of Barbados show respect to the electorate of Barbados by sharing an update about Cahill?
Anderson Cherry will have to await the decision of Director of Public Prosecutions Charles Leacock to see if the challenge by the Chief Town Planner Mark Cummins has merit. Cherry has been accused of creating an illegal dump in an abandoned quarry as part of a business initiative to recycle waste. It is interesting to note that Cherry consulted with former Chief Town Planner Lennie St. Hill – now a town planning consultant – who has given the green light to the project. How a former Town Planner and the incumbent Town Planner are able to disagree on the interpretation of the applicable town planning law must be a worry to those who promote the high literacy of Barbadians.
BU will not become immersed in the legality of whether Anderson Cherry’s Project Recycle Limited is a legal operation. Whatever the outcome of the legal matter brewing BU offers hearty congratulations to Cherry for attempting to implement an approach to waste management that involves behavioural change at the ‘retail’ level. Obviously Cherry’s approach threatens Bizzy given his interest in Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre (SBRC). It appears the government entered a sweetheart arrangement with SBRC to sell waste to them at taxpayers expense. The imposition of the controversial tipping fee was meant to raise revenue to pay down arrears owed to SBRC by government. What is up with successive governments of Barbados entering agreements with private contractors and reluctant to be transparent about it? BU recalls the SSA contracting heavy equipment from Sir Cow, at great expense, to operate at the landfill while unable to repair government vehicles procured to do the job. Another transaction done in the dark.
It is also interesting to note the effort of another Black Barbadian who has been a pioneer in the recycle business in Barbados. Why is it Paul Bynoe and Anderson Cherry are being frustrated in the effort to implement projects that will help Barbados with its waste management problem and in the process generate foreign exchange? Why is it Bizzy Williams appear to be able to win projects from government with signed guarantees from government? The comments by the Auditor General about the Ionics project also comes to mind. Some thing smells rotten about the whole affair.
It is unfathomable Minister Denis Lowe has been allowed to preside over a ministry which has been afflicted with a level of ineptness hitherto unknown to Barbadians. It is unacceptable the issue of B’s Recycling predates this government. It is unbelievable Bizzy is on record admitting to pledging financial support to BOTH political parties – why does anyone think he does it? In our 50th year of Independence a Black government of Barbados cannot continue to give most of the ‘cake’ to a few. The high colour Bizzys, COWs, Maloneys, Bjerkhams always appear to win the deals from government while the darker Cherrys, Bynoes struggle with bank overdrafts. BU understands that Bynoe purchased a piece of equipment to enhance B’s Recycling operation and it has been unused for several years. If Barbados continues down the current path there will come a time when Mugabe type decisions will be the only course of action i.e. the call for the redistribution of wealth.
A word to the ignorant and the greedy should be sufficient.
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘glory’ “, Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. “Of course you don’t -till I tell you. I meant ‘there’s a nice knock-down argument for you’!”
“But ‘glory’ doesn’t mean ‘a nice knock-down argument’ “, Alice objected.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean –neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master -that’s all.”
Alice was much too puzzled to say anything… Through the Looking Glass… -Lewis Carroll (1871)
Language, especially the English language, is notoriously imprecise. And, therefore, it is highly likely to confuse, bemuse and sometimes amuse when employed in its principal function -that of communication. This need for clarity might partly explain why lawyers and scriveners of old were much given to the use of the doublet expression (or the pleonasm as they are sometimes pejoratively called nowadays). These are phrases such as “to have and to hold”, “cease and desist”, “let or hindrance”, “aid and abet” and “null and void”.
A more mercenary and hence more popular explanation though is that since lawyers were then remunerated according to the number of words in a drafted document, the legal doublet became de rigueur in order for the attorney to earn a sizeable fee.
Of course, the relatively recent thrust towards the “plain English” mode of drafting legal documents has now rendered this style largely superfluous (no pun) and, too besides, the degree of difficulty in draftsmanship of the document has significantly replaced the number of words in it as the principal tariff of the attorney’s fee.
Even with plain English however, imprecision persists and the hoary principles of the interpretation of deeds and statutes yet maintain contemporary relevance. Imagine then, the bedlam that may ensue in lay communication when a speaker or writer attempts to convey information to the public. And add to that the Barbadian context whereby the identities of the speaker (especially if a politician) and of the reader or listener assume major relevance. More so, where the topic is one as sensitive as race relations or of what should be considered preservable local heritage; two matters that are swiftly becoming indistinguishable here.
In parenthesis, it should be recalled that Barbadians are rather ambivalent about communication. While English is the official lingua franca, and the use of more popularly spoken dialect is frowned on at times by some, it is nevertheless seemingly accepted in the media so long as there is a perception that the writer or speaker is, I suppose, otherwise proficient in the use of Standard English and simply being light-hearted or engaging in mimicry on the occasion.
For those of us writing in Standard English however, we are often enjoined to write for “the common man”, a fiat that entails using a range of words and expressions that should be familiar to the average third form student at secondary school. Thus, any usage that may not be grasped without using a dictionary (!) is considered as gratuitous ostentation or “showing off” by the author, although to be fair, there are some who have remarked favourably on the periodic additions to their vocabulary.
Both of the phenomena referred to two paragraphs earlier have entered the public domain in recent weeks. First, Mr Ralph “Bizzy” Williams, a lighter-coloured national, took umbrage at the Prime Minister’s public reference to Barbados as being the “freest black nation in the world”. Second, the historian, Mr Trevor Marshall, is reported as having expressed displeasure at an official reference to the late and eccentric public character “King Dyal” (aka “Hog Food” in my youth) as a “leading cricketing icon” and a “legend in his own right”.
With regard to the first issue, Mr Williams’s objection appears to be primarily based on the fact that it is a misnomer to describe Barbados as a “black” nation, given the presence and contribution of many whitish Barbadians over the years. I read a later clarification where he would have preferred a description of modern Barbados as “multi-racial”.
On the simplistic point of the various races present in the nation, Mr Williams is of course right, although I do not think that the Prime Minister was making a racial reference, erroneous or at all, by his description. In any event, it does seem particularly useless nowadays to refer to a country by reference to the races of its citizens. Indeed, given the incidence of forced and voluntary migration, there are currently very few nation states that may not be referred to as “multi-racial” by Mr Williams’s token.
However, while I thought that the Prime Minister’s statement was merely a harmless repetition of one of those idle jingoistic boasts that that we so much adore in this region –“a nation that punches above its weight” and “ the best beaches in the world” come readily to mind-, the geopolitical reality is that for those few individuals who may still want to describe a nation by reference to a colour, the principal cosmetic indicators are the race of the overwhelming majority of its citizens and the colour of those who hold economic and legislative power. An examination of apartheid South Africa provides a clear example; the majority race was African, although Whites controlled the laws and the chief economic indicators. How should one describe South Africa then? And now? How should the US or UK be described today ? Are we really a “monarchy”? A “Christian” society?
It is indeed remarkable that none chose rather to challenge the accuracy of Mr Stuart’s superlative.
Mr Trevor Marshall’s objection does carry some weight at first blush. To my mind, to describe King Dyal as “a leading cricket icon” oversteps hyperbole and “legend” [except perhaps in his own mind] is clearly a stretch. I have not seen the calendar to which Trevor refers, but his objection, from the press report, appears to be based on the odium that the late character displayed towards black people. If true, perhaps this is more to be pitied than anything else. My support for the assertion is based rather on the fact that the self-styled “King” was merely another local character, no more memorable for all that than “Gear Box”, “Bulldog” or “Town Man” and “Town Woman”, for examples.
There is enough evidence (documents) in the public space about Clare Cowan, Cahill Energy and Barbados connections to move the conversation in Barbados to one of accountability. In the documents attached Bizzy’s name is mentioned which explains why Voice of Barbados will not want to offend a major advertiser.
The following was posted to Facebook and credit given to David Comissiong who is President of the Clement Payne Movement.
David Comissiong – President of Clement Payne Movement
Our nation will be celebrating 50 years of “Independence” next year, but there is overwhelming evidence that crucial components of the “Old Colonial System” are still very much alive and well in today’s Barbados ! And one particularly odious remnant is that aspect of the “Old Colonial System” that traditionally permitted elite white Barbadian businessmen to be granted and to enjoy preferential business and commercial arrangements that allowed them to feed on the substance of the Barbadian state and the mass of predominantly black taxpayers and consumers.
The sad reality in today’s Barbados is that 49 years after achieving formal political Independence, the predominantly black Government of Barbados is still holding on to old colonial practices and granting amazingly preferential government contracts to elite white Barbadian businessmen– contracts that they would never dream of conferring upon black Barbadian businesspeople!
But if you doubt my assertion, then let us examine in detail one example of this disturbing phenomenon that is at the core of the current public controversy swirling around the Private Waste Haulers and the Ministry of the Environment.
Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler advised Barbadians one of the reasons government introduced the controversial solid waste tax was to repay several millions owed to Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre (SBRC). The man behind SBRC is Bizzy Williams recently confirmed on national radio government still owes about 30 million dollars. BU is forced to ask government how much revenue has the solid waste tax generated so far Minister?
At the mention of solid waste tax BU must also ask the government what is the status of the Cahill Waste to Energy project. It is unbelievable our government has publicly voiced its commitment to a major project which will use ‘young’ technology and feel no pressure to satisfactorily apprise the citizenry of pertinent details about the project, for example, environmental impact assessment, the capacity of the country to sustain an adequate garbage supply and the list goes on.
Bizzy Williams, “leader of the entrenched white corporate class, slapped him down and reminded all and sundry who pays the bills and calls the tunes“
Our erudite Prime Minister, Mr. Freundel Stuart spoke the truth, when he said that there are powerbrokers that want to control black politicians but want no contact with the masses. As the Prime Minister said: “They don’t want to dirty their hands.” In other words, they avoid politics but want to be powerbrokers within the system. He also asserted that he is proud to be of the political class and that this class knows how to bury their differences when it is necessary.
Former Prime Minster, Erskine Sandiford, once reminded a group of corporate heavy boys that he was “not elected in a board room”; Dr. Don Blackman reminded us that there were white shadows, whose main focus was to influence and control the black political management class and another former Prime Minister, Mr. Owen Arthur, called Mr. Harold Hoyte, a black power player, a “negrocrat”. When we examine these comments, we realize that Mr. Stuart is not that far off target.
On the heels of Stuart’s speech, we have the Mr. Ralph “Bizzy” Williams, informing us that wealthy business persons pump money into the elections campaigns of both the Barbados Labour Party and the Democratic Labour Party. The revealed strategy, according to Williams is to be equally generous to both parties. He boldly proclaimed that he supports the PIG, which is the Party in Government. We note the acronym P.I.G- those who feed at the public trough.
Before the advent of social media political bag men like Hallam Nichols, Rodney Wilkinson, Gline Harrison and David Shorey blissfully operated under the radar. An unsuspecting population were ignorant of the ‘deals’ made to the benefit of a few members of the political class and others in the private sector.
The traditional media has always been complicit during this dark period by playing the role of pariah to the establishment. Listeners to the exchange between David Ellis and Dennis Johnson on talk radio today (1/07/2014) experienced the timid DNA of our leading media practitioners. Moderator Dennis Johnson rightfully questioned, on live radio, why David Ellis – listen to the Brasstacks Show1,2 and 3, Manager of Programming at Voice of Barbados, had not taken the opportunity to probe Mark Maloney who called the programme on Monday (30/05/2014) about the level of political contributions by his company. A question made relevant by Bizzy Williams’ recent begging politicians statement. Ellis was provoked by Johnson’s comment to call the talk show and once challenged Johnson became convinced if he wanted to receive his next pay check he had to publically apologise. It was another dark moment for David Ellis to follow the Adrian Loveridge located in a separate studio Barney Lynch interview.
It is an open secret both political parties have attracted millions in contributions to finance political campaigns and have felt no pressure to publicly disclose monies received. Common sense suggests if a political party receives large campaign donations, when elevated to government, there maybe the temptation to show favour. Bizzy Williams’ revelation served to eliminate any doubt about how political parties have been operating in Barbados post-Independence. Why should the authorities leave it to companies to be ‘even handed’ when having to deal with political parties?
Local entrepreneur and the other member of the Williams dynamic duo Bizzy Williams has thrown his support behind Butch Stewart and Sandals/Beaches at the expense of local tycoon Bernie Weatherhead. Bizzy Williams letters to the local newspapers have gone under the radar this week but given the importance of tourism, the washpan of concessions to Butch Stewart and the success of Bernie Weatherhead as a homegrown businessman it is worthy of discussion.
The news this week that fast food restaurant Burger King had to pull ‘beef burgers’ from its UK outlets which were supplied by an Irish vender has alarmed many Barbadians. Why you ask? Burger King recently opened its doors at Sky Mall formerly Mall Internationale in Barbados. It is a bold move by Bizzy Williams the principal investo given the view that Barbadians are not regarded as burger lovers. Perhaps he is banking on the fact that Bajans have moved on from the McDonalds experience. Nothing wrong with eating horse meat though, the issue like most things nowadays is it is all about the lack of business ethics and public trust. If you say you are selling beef burgers how the hell does it translate to HORSE MEAT? Let us hope that the carcasses of some of those retired horses owned by Bizzy’s brother do not make it into the kitchen of Burger King Barbados.
What has provoked the interest of BU about the coming of Burger King is a statement made by President of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce Lalu Vaswani at the renaming of Sky Mall which coincided with the opening of Burger King:
“… Barbados’ food and beverage and agricultural sectors can greatly benefit from the opportunity to secure long-term supply partnerships with franchises. Equally, it is in the economic interest of franchises to ensure a viable local supply chain, since reinvesting in the localeconomy promotes economic growth and consumer demand,” he said.(Barbados Advocate – 1/28/2013)
Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler advised Barbadians one of the reasons government introduced the controversial solid waste tax was to repay several millions owed to Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre (SBRC). The man behind SBRC is Bizzy Williams recently confirmed on national radio government still owes about 30 million dollars. BU is forced to ask government how much revenue has the solid waste tax generated so far Minister?
