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He claimed that having presided over the rapid social and economic development of Barbados during the 1960s and 70s, the electorate denied him a fourth term in office when they unceremoniously voted him out of office in 1976. Barrow was`replaced by the scholarly and politically astute, Tom Adams.

However, if an accurate record of the mid-1970 period is to be told, Historians would have to report that the Arab/Israeli War of 1973 triggered the first major hike in oil prices, an event which continues to destabilise the foundation of the world economy. The steep increase in the cost of a barrel of oil presented major challenges to the administration of the day.

Objective observers of the period would acknowledge that the 1973 hike in oil prices led to non -oil producing states recording massive trade deficits. Non oil producing states were asked to shell out scarce foreign reserves to pay for oil imports. It was during this period that rumours were being circulated that the barrow administration was experiencing some difficulty in paying thye islands public servants on time.

It is generally accepted that the oil crisis of the mid-1970s contributed in no small way to the fall of DLP administration of the period. Barbadians may recall that it was a period which irrevocably changed the life style of Barbadians.

Heads of government departments were instructed to draw up energy conservation plans; ordinary citizens were encouraged to conserve energy, while clerics were encouraged to to hold sessions of worship during daylight.

However, one disturbing aspect of the episode to emerge at the time was the charge that governemnt had set up a privileged pump for the top brass of the DLP administration.

The oil crisis of the mid 1970s was a new experience for the Barrow administration and it led to some dislocation in the society.

During this period of high fuel costs, with the cost of a barrel of oil hovering around US $99, the Owen Arthur administration has introduced a 12 per cent cut on all domestic bills.

It is now accepted that the oil crisis and the disclosure made on the floor of the House of Assembly by Tom Adams led to the collapse of the Barrow administration.

During the disclosure Adams produced a number of cheques which were payable to leading members of the Barrow Cabinet. Amazingly, one of the beneficiaries of Sydney Burnett-Alleyne's largesse claimed that his cheque was for the purchase of health food.

It should be noted that Barrow's name was never mentioned during the disclosure and he remained a respected political figure his death in 1987.

Barrow however lost the support of the electorate in 1976 because even though they recognised that over his long political career he worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor, there were some within the ranks of the party who were not averse to wheeling and dealing with questionable personalities.

It is therefore patently false to say that if the highly respected Errol Barrow could not record a fourth term in office, who is Arthur to achieve such a feat. Unlike Barrow none of Arthur's ministers has ever been found guilty of involvement in corrupt wheeling and dealing- notwithstanding the spurious charges being brought against Mascoll by Thompson. Athur's unblemished record and those of his Cabinet members over the past 13 years will ensure thathe records afourth term as Prime Minister of Barbados. Barrow's associates brought his administraion to its knees. So far that is not the case with the Arthur administration.

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