The Prime Minister of this country made a most remarkable statement during his address to the Chamber of Commerce at the beginning of the week. Looking forward to the economic outlook for 2010 he announced with great aplomb: “I have made it a point this year to meet with every Ministry and to clearly enunciate the rigorous fiscal programme that we will be pursuing but, more importantly, to get an overview of the way in which Ministries have prioritized their expenditures.”

We might be inclined to think this an admirable strategy, but truth be told - it’s a bit like the Pope suddenly announcing that he will provide spiritual leadership for Roman Catholics. It is a necessary and expected requirement of the job.

Had Thompson stumbled on this responsibility back in 2008, instead of leaving it to one third of the D-Team, he may, and we emphasize “may” - have had a better handle on what was happening around him in the Ministry of Finance.

Had he stayed in Barbados and paid more attention to the state of the economy over the past two years, instead of racking up an impressive record of frequent flyer miles, he may have been able to better direct those looking to him for leadership. Again the emphasis is on “may.”

Can you imagine any circumstances in which Tom Adams, Erskine Sandiford or Owen Arthur would have traipsed off to Cuba on an official visit four days before delivery of the Budget? We can’t! Thompson’s subsequent delivery showed about as much emotional or intellectual connection to the financial affairs of this country as Errol Barrow did when he replaced the annual Budget with his infamous fireside chat.

We are hopeful that the penny has finally dropped and he has taken to heart our entreaties to spend more time at his desk, giving more of his attention to the things that matter most. Being Minister of Finance is not a part time job. Neither is it giving flowery speeches that identify targets without a strategy to achieve them.

The other amazing thing about Thompson’s verbal bouquet to the Chamber is that his new departure for the economy in 2010 is a medium term strategy. So while the grass is growing the horse is starving. Just when we thought he had switched from waiting-to-seeing he flattered to deceive yet again with no plan to address the issues facing Barbadians today.

This so-called new strategy is the classic bureaucratic approach regurgitated by a Finance Minister who is unequipped to make decisions or give policy directives that will make an immediate impact on people’s lives.

Not surprisingly therefore, with a captive target audience, he failed to make the link or state a case for private sector led recovery. Except for his admission that the Town Planning Department needed to be in on new developments at the conceptualization stage, he was unable to offer a single policy initiative even in broad terms that would drive private sector activity today. And make no mistake, we needed a growth strategy yesterday and last year. Every day that passes without action puts us further in the hole.

He did use the opportunity to accuse his government’s future partners in the room of hiding their money overseas - a strange tactic not likely to win friends or influence the people on whom you will depend for the success of a “private-public partnership framework for sustained development.” He also forgot the principle of Ministerial responsibility when he attacked the officers of the Inland Revenue Department over the failure of Barbadians to get back their income tax returns in a timely manner.

The Prime Minster would do well to heed his own advice that success will only be achieved by a change in attitude.

In his case what is clearly required is a change in focus and attention to detail.

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