Weekly ColumnGiven his track record, it is a place where he seems most comfortable and we are therefore uncertain why he wants to give the impression that his is a homegrown plan.
Is it because Owen Arthur said that we should be charting our own future? Is it because Mia Mottley warned Barbadians as long ago as last year’s Budget Debate that that is where he was heading? Or could it be that he knows how Barbadians abhor the idea of our country succumbing to the dictates of a foreign organization?
Either way there is something unseemly about the Prime Minister of Barbados scolding the people he invited to discuss the economy for raising this issue, while at the same time beseeching them to help him and his Government out of the mess we are in.
Bajans still have vivid and painful memories of the last IMF plan. They well remember the massive layoffs when in some instances no one in the household was working. They remember the struggle to send their children to school. How the fortunate few who had mortgages had to fight to save their homes, not all of them successfully.
How contemptuous of Barbadians for the Prime Minister to suggest that the interventions of Sir Roy Trotman and Mia Mottley were ‘childish.’ Bajans of all walks of life have a right to be concerned and Sir Roy Trotman and Mia Mottley are certainly within theirs to intervene on behalf of the country.
There is nothing childish about the adjustment the Prime Minister is asking us to bear. $500 million of expenditure cuts and revenue raising measures in five years to please the IMF certainly is not child’s play. Five years of a wage freeze is serious business for Barbadian workers. Recall that the IMF does not dare ask the US, UK or others with bigger deficits to follow a plan as intolerable as this.
Severe cuts in government spending will threaten the viability of several businesses, large and small. Increases in VAT will affect every household. Further increases in licenses and fees in keeping with inflation will add another burden to small businesses and professionals.
Services provided by the Government will be reduced by cuts in expenditure, although no one is yet sure where and how they will come. We do know that the NHC and the BWA will receive no support whatsoever.
This is the plan that the Prime Minister is proud to trumpet as homegrown. So what if it’s similar to the IMF’s recommendations he said to the Social Partners. We seem to recall a similar attitude by another Prime Minister. Like it or lump it.
So what that this plan is draconian? So what if it is designed to appease the IMF? So what if it is based on contingencies like funds from the World Bank which does not lend us funds other than for the HIV-AIDS Programme? So what if it is based on the collection of arrears which were not paid in good times but the Government now expects to receive when the times are bad?
So what if it brings untold hardship on businesses and households already under pressure? So what that there are other solutions available?
So what if national confidence has succumbed to a backward self-consciousness? So what if self-awareness has been subsumed by a foreign prescription? So what if none of the Social Partners think the plan is achievable within the timeframe?
These are just some of the questions that David Thompson will be forced to answer in the fullness of time. Unfortunately for Barbadians the answers will not come without much pain and struggle on their part.
The Barbados Labour Party will continue to ask the tough questions on your behalf. We will continue to point out the pitfalls and the alternatives, because we believe there is a better way.
Past Weekly Columns
The truth is that the deficit has spiraled out of control since David Thompson has been in charge.
It is clear that the Prime Minister lacks both the confidence and the skill to make the leadership decisions required to turn the economy around.
She warned then too about the rapid decline in our foreign reserves.
Again they scoffed. But we now know she was right.
The deficit was recorded at 8.4% and the Prime Minister eventually had to admit he was worried about the falling foreign reserves.
In his case what is clearly required is a change in focus and attention to detail.
They had no plan.
They have no vision.
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The old saying that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink - was never more aptly applied than to this government.
If the inertia continues it is only a matter of time before the Prime Minister himself will be forced to cut jobs in the public service.
The dangerous thing is that the problems facing us are being felt in every sector of the economy. There is nowhere to turn for a man who has lost his job and has a family to feed.
Will the Minister tell the public what proportion of the annual $6 million budget for camps was spent on catering for the children and who was awarded the contract to supply catering services?
What did it cost per head to feed the children daily and what were they fed? Will the Minister tell the public how much the gala event at the end of the summer camps cost?
How much was spent on catering for this single event and who was awarded the contract to supply the catering?
The DLP does not have the vision or ability to take the programme forward successfully.
The rearrangement of the spending priorities of the Inland Revenue Department cannot include the issuance of tax refunds.
Surely the Prime Minister does not expect right-thinking Barbadians to believe that!!!
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She has already shown that she has a clearer understanding of how our economy functions that anyone on the Government side.
Her analysis of the economy and the shortcomings of this Government’s policies have been spot on so far.
In time our Leader will reveal the details of how she will accomplish her vision.
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They have to be taught.
And what of the rest of society?
These are issues that have been raised in several fora by our leader Mia Amor Mottley - the need to re-build the blocks of civility, civic responsibility and self-confidence on which our communities were founded.
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Only one problem with this hypothesis. The Act specifically refers to the date 1st August 2008. It therefore could not validate any collections prior to that date.
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What Ms Mottley as Chair of the Committee charged with regional security for the event did do was set up a system of pre-travel screening, which worked extremely well.
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As church members try to help their fellow congregants from losing their houses they too are fearful of their own prospects.
Confidence in the government and Thompson’s ability to turn things around is being eaten away by his silence on matters of substance.
The aura of gloom is in danger of becoming a volatile and destructive force.
Fear not friends, in a democracy you always have other options.
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Can you imagine the howls that would have emanated from George Street if such an accusation had been made of the Barbados Labour Party?
The normally garrulous Minister is on mute.
Not even a murmur denying the charge.
As Leader of the Barbados Labour Party I can point to several breaches of the Constitution by the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation - from its failure to cover or broadcast our press conferences and constituency nomination proceedings to its refusal to accept payment from the BLP for broadcast time on the national television station, to its curtailment by half an hour of the People’s Business last Sunday night.
First, he is uncomfortable with his Government’s performance so far. Second, he is uncertain whether his much-touted social policies are having the desired impact on the electorate.
Third, he is so consumed with his re-election chances that he wants to get a head start.
Fourth, there is an element of political mischief in having the poll now and fifth but by no means least, his political advisor needs to show that he is earning his handsome salary in Barbados.
Just as distressing is the gaping fiscal deficit, which the Prime Minister seems powerless to control.
An additional $70 million in the space of a year with nothing in the face of declining revenue is like looking through the wrong end of a telescope.
The light at the end of the tunnel is a very long way off.
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Instead of meeting the problems of the economy head on, he is in retreat.
What are the Terms of Reference of the Oversight Committee? Why has the Oversight Committee not invited offers for the Sam Lord’s property from the private sector, when interest has been expressed in that quarter?
Arrogance is quickly becoming the hallmark of this government despite their sometimes warm and fuzzy words that bear no resemblance to reality.
The people are watching.
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Opposition Leader Mia Mottley was passionate in stating her position, that the Government had a responsibility to shield people from the proposed rate hike, until the recession had abated, since government is in a better position to do so.
Her research revealed the real possibility of price increases in every area of economic activity. Higher prices mean reduced spending power in the economy and the spectre of even further job losses. And so the cycle continues.
Or the fact that the Government has dismissed a number of persons who have been running summer camps for years without pay – only to replace them with DLP canvassers and supporters who will now be paid.
What are the Terms of Reference of the Oversight Committee established by the Government of Barbados to oversee the sale of the assets of the subsidiaries of Clico Holdings and their expenditure?
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They were against it from the start.
The decision to abandon the overpass bridges or flyovers means that the traffic conflicts at peak hours between motorists on the highway and those intersecting the highway at the roundabouts, is still frustratingly present.
if the Prime Minister had spoken to the ability of the Electronic Border Management Systems of both Barbados and Caricom - to track the movement of people when he touched on border security;
if he had identified the process which would govern the regularization of status;
if he had given the assurance that non-documented migrants would be treated in a humane way - then perhaps Barbadians would know that he is serious about implementing, “a managed migration policy.”
Despite protestations to the contrary, the evidence is there for all to see.
The unusual ‘walkout’ of the Parliamentary Opposition during the Budget Debate was apparently not considered newsworthy enough by CBC to warrant attendance by CBC at our Press Conference.
But maybe the truth would have dealt a mortal blow to the lie and this led to a sudden shortage of reporters having indicated that they were coming.
She was of the view that Thompson would have to return to the House before the expiration of the current financial year to correct the problems that he refused to address in the Budget. It was this delay that concerned Miss Mottley, given the history of 1991.
He has done so through an apparent lack of understanding of how our economy functions and he has done so with little regard for the needless hardship he has forced on what until recently was a supportive population.
The lack of a clearly defined message makes it appear as if Caribbean people are being targeted as the scapegoats in the immigration morass.
What evidence exists of his vision for Barbados let alone that he even has one?
Well, another opportunity exists for Mr. Thompson to display some semblance of a vision when he presents his Budget in a few weeks.
But more than anything else, we hope he rids himself of the ‘wait and see’ attitude that afflicts his economic policy.
There is an awful sense of déjà vu hanging in the air.
Would it be too much to hope for - that the Prime Minister relieve himself of the Finance portfolio and save us all the certain hardship we shall face by his present insistence that he knows what he is doing?
For Mia Mottley the role of a political party is equally about the good deeds it can do for individual citizens to inspire faith and hope in their lives.
It is why she launched a constituency-based Good Works Programme on assuming leadership of the Party. It is an obligation that all citizens need to consider if we are to return to a kinder, gentler way of life.
It is therefore in the spirit of that noble tradition that we remain focused and vigilant about the need to protect the interests of 40,000 Clico Policy holders and the 1600 jobs here in Barbados, notwithstanding the flippant manner in which the DLP treated that concern in the recent no confidence debate.
Overall the Prime Minister’s presentation of the Government’s revenue and expenditure for the coming year did very little to inspire any confidence in his ability to either grasp the key challenges facing the economy or to provide solutions.
They learnt what the Prime Minister knew and when. They were able to assess his ability, or lack thereof, to act in a timely and decisive manner.
They saw too his flurry of activity solely in response to the motion itself.
If for no other reason, the no confidence motion was successful because it jolted him into action – finally.
If only the Prime Minster had foregone one of his jaunts to London, Toronto or New York and applied himself to the tasks at hand Barbadians at home might be in a better position today.
The Opposition under the able leadership of Mia Mottley will continue to be vigilant in the protection of Barbadians, but the people must be vigilant too.
Calendar of EventsThis DLP government does not have any answers to the serious questions being asked by Barbadians or to the problems this country faces, which require urgent action and resolution. The DLP does not know what it is doing.
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