BLP legacy: introduction of flexible retirement age under the National Insurance Scheme; increased contributory and non-contributory pensions; increased maternity and funeral grants; and increased personal tax allowance from $13 000 to $25 000.
Barbadiabs are understandably greatly relieved that at long last all the students of the Alexandra School were able to return to fully functioning classrooms.
However, we should not allow indulgence in the national sigh of relief to distract us from a much larger and more protracted problem of the abject failure of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) to convincingly demonstrate that it is truly in charge of the country’s affairs.
For rather than Prime Minister Stuart’s belated involvement in the Alexandra fiasco truly being the “decisive act” the DLP is desperately trying to turn it into, it graphically represents colossal management failure by Education Minister Ronald Jones of “Demons” fame in particular and the Government.
How else could taxpayers describe Stuart’s embarrassing admission that it was only since the work stoppage at the school around January 3, 2012, that he became aware of the existence of a Government-ordered report that had been at Jones’ ministry since April 2011.
The big question has to be what could have prevented Jones from being in charge of his ministry’s affairs, particularly involving the long drawn out issues at Alexandra with obvious potential for an industrial relations explosion.
Was Jones too distracted by his demanding presidency of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) and his involvement with the notoriously scandal-plagued CONCACAF and FIFA?
But this failure to be in charge is not unique to Jones. It applies to Stuart, most recently over his still long awaited disciplinary action over the “Eager Eleven” and other preceding issues and extends to the rest of the Government, be it Minister George Hutson’s mismanagement of international business and the OECD, Stephen Lashley and the offensive Antiquities Bill and above all Chris “Unclear” Sinckler and his myriad missteps with the economy.
The most glaring example of Sinckler’s disconnection is the smokescreen that continues to be generated over economic matters through the persistent and short-sighted determination to make people believe that things are better than they are, despite contradictory statistical and human standards of living evidence.
Thus in an economic make or break year, Sinckler still has not said how he will provide: $800 million for a new QEH; $300 million to settle CLICO; $120 million already guaranteed and $270 million from the IADB for Four Seasons; $50 million for the Erskine Sandiford Centre; $26 million for the sugar industry; $60 million for the pierhead project; $40 million to redesign a marina; and misstatements over investment in Four Seasons by other regional countries.
Barbadians know of the “face it and fix it” decisiveness of Owen Arthur with economic and social problems, such as the burning down of the Glendairy Prison by inmates and the Arch Cot tragedy. Then we saw and felt a government being positively in charge. That is the BLP way.
