BRING IT ON, FREUNDEL! That was the gauntlet thrown down by Opposition Leader Owen Arthur to the Prime Minister last night, as he urged him to call a general election as soon as possible in the interest of Barbados.
Speaking at Deighton Griffith Secondary School on the same day the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government held a major political strategy meeting at Queen’s College, Arthur said the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) had to offer Barbados hope and the promise and reality of a brighter future.
Describing Prime Minister Freundel Stuart as a “driver who couldn’t drive”, Arthur said if a general election were to be held early he would be glad since it could mean that “this national nightmare might be coming to an end”.
“I urge the Democratic Labour Party to press on with the plan for a general election . . . . Test us, test us, if you think that this party with 72 years of experience on which to draw will not know what it is to be ready whenever the bell is called . . . ,” he said.
Arthur stated he was not surprised that after only three years the DLP might be thinking about a general election. He said the party was “panicked”. He also said Barbados was in serious crisis and people were suffering.
The St Peter MP declared that Barbadians could expect more harsh financial measures in next month’s Estimates, but he warned that not all of them would be brought in March. He said the magnitude of the “mess” created by Government could not be cleaned up in one fell swoop.
“I suspect therefore that they would like to be able to go to the public without having inflicted the full pain that they will have to inflict, and therefore may bring an early election precisely to avoid the difficulties of having to deal with an angry electorate,” the BLP leader said.
He reiterated that the core problem faced by Government was that it had converted a December 2007 $2 billion surplus to a $1/2 billion debt, and every week Stuart’s administration continued to bring more and more expenditure to the House of Assembly.
Arthur said Government had tried to convince Barbadians that it had been working to ensure people were not sent home from the public service and that was reason for the $500 million debt.
But Arthur reasoned that if Government were only maintaining employment, it would be expected that the wage bill would rise by the extent of a wage increase.
He said that last year Government’s employment of temporary persons increased by 11.4 per cent but wages did not rise by that same percentage. He said Government was increasing its expenditure not to maintain employment, but to pad the labour force for politically self-serving reasons.
He charged there had been duplication of services in the public service to give party supporters employment, citing the Drainage Unit as one example.
