Faced with the very real and strong possibility of imminently becoming Barbados’ first ever one-term Government, an insecure and panicked Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is desperately scrambling around for propagandizing ways to lift the spirits of its steadily dwindling band of supporters.
And true to history, it has resorted to a sordid political trick that has persistently characterized the DLP’s behaviour from its very formation in 1955, namely, information distortion and invention of its own “facts” to crassly win political office.
That is why, as ridiculous as it would seem nowadays, the Dems resorted to the “big political lie” device in opposing the construction of the Government Headquarters Building; the Deep Water Harbour (“it would cause the drowning of hundreds of people in Cheapside and Fontabelle”); the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (“it would sink into a swamp”); the ABC Highway (“drug pushers would land private jets on it”); the offshore business sector, the Tenantries Freehold Purchase Act, the Barbados Defence Force, the Central Bank building, the creation of the Barbados National Bank and the Insurance Corporation of Barbados and recently the building of traffic flyovers.
Its latest campaign is an all-out effort to distort, discredit and devalue what it has labelled “Privatization”, a concept and approach over which the Minister of Finance himself admitted on national radio there were “no fundamental philosophical differences” between the DLP and the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). No wonder BLP political leader Owen Arthur described as “irresponsible, amoral and wrong” the DLP’s policy to publicly “demonize and vilify in the public domain” one of the Government’s major proposals for bringing about needed change.
The DLP has been spouting (usually in the confining exclusivity of branch meetings of its faithful) its twisted notion of “privatization”, in marked contrast to its near deafening silence on a national vision, reducing ever-rising energy prices and the cost of living, our true economic situation and prospects, CLICO, the Alexandra report and several other presently burning national issues.
On the other hand, the public has welcomed the BLP’s inclusive approach of public meetings and its recently launched People’s Forum series, in which the party will be engaging ordinary Barbadians in frank, open and informed discussion on both current matters and some of a new BLP administration’s proposals. If the enthusiasm and contributions of the hundreds at the Springer Memorial School for the first forum are anything to go by, the Arthur-led party is satisfying an enormous public need caused by a DLP just ‘’awakened” but still not communicating and connecting with a highly deprived community.
Thus Arthur was able to directly assure that “we are not advocating selling Government-owned schools, health facilities and social amenities. Rather, we are seeking to ensure that Barbadians continue to enjoy access to such facilities”. Undoubtedly buoyed by the BLP’s outstanding record of bringing about prosperity and progress.
Arthur observed that Barbados’ need for “creative engagement” and “intellectual enterprise and innovation” spurred the People’s Forum initiative. Meeting this need began at Springer Memorial and will continue tomorrow at the St James Secondary School at 5 p.m. when the next forum will explore Tax Relief And The Cost Of Living, very important for those burdened with increased taxes and prices, while having much less money in their pockets.
• Beresford Leon Padmore is a pseudonym for the Barbados Labour Party.
