Submitted by Mahogany Coconut Think tank and Watchdog Group
As we approach the middle of 2013, it is obvious that throughout the Caribbean, the collective political managerial class has been reduced to acting like chickens without heads. We are not going to dwell on the party based political arguments, which are relentlessly fuelled by two groups: those who want their party to remain in power and those who want their party to regain power. The situation in Barbados has now reached dangerously comical levels. Both the Democratic Labour party and the Barbados Labour Party continue to appear useless when it comes to managing our island state.
We however cannot be only critical of the DLP/BLP. It is equally dismal on the private sector side, that is now complaining about everything and embarking on the most alarming and bold faced economic blackmail imaginable. The private sector is saying to the government, it will breathe new life into the economy under the condition that we can privatize everything: the hospital, the ports of entry, the sanitation service and public transportation. It is saying to the government: send home the public workers and unleash massive suffering on the populace while we become the sole reapers of all the economic gain.
They want to keep their cake and eat it too. This is the very same private sector that: wrecked the agricultural industry; abandoned manufacturing; cannot get tourism moving and have been totally inept at adjusting to the changing world economy. The same private sector that can find money to invest in all manner of luxurious projects are now trying to convince us that they are technically broke. The sad and nauseating feature is that we have intellectuals and political opportunists, who are prepared to assist in the economic collapse of the nation in order to feather their beds. They are acting as if we have a level playing field. They are refusing to accept that there are still workers in this country earning wages of $200.00 per week.
