AN interesting aspect of political meetings that is pleasant to the eye and ear is how they have changed over the past three decades.
They are now major electronic productions, and the ability of the technical teams to coordinate, assemble, pull down and reassemble the necessary platform is a striking testimony to the productivity of Barbadians when they are intensively engaged in such activity.
Given the focus of the campaign on the economy, it is a major reminder too that the stage has to work every time, first time, if the political party involved is to extract maximum mileage from the effort.
If that kind of productivity could be replicated on a national scale, then our national output would be significantly increased and our standard of living would benefit, especially if that kind of effort was concentrated in an area of activity that could bolster out foreign exchange earning capacity.
The marketing of our offshore sector, if blessed with the application of this kind, would not easily lose ground nor business to any other sector since the ability to get things done in a proactive manner and to execute and deliver in a professional way within a short turnaround is precisely what is needed generally within the workforce of this country.
A sterling example of increased productivity is the Corporate Registry. Over the years it has changed dramatically from a desk within the Registry to an entire department in its own right and already it exhibits much of the industry and professionalism of which we are speaking – but more needs to be done.
The present department has outgrown its premises and if this country is serious about the offshore sector and quick formation of companies, then even more qualified staff will be required for that office as well as new premises. A comprehensive review of the corporate records as they exist electronically will also be necessary.
But any discussion of productivity brings us face to face with the ZR culture and the indiscipline that accompanies that trade as collateral damage.
These young men bring a phenomenal work ethic to bear upon the system of private transport. We may disapprove in the main of their style and manner of dress, but they get the job done. To a large extent their productivity appears to be more than ordinarily satisfactory because they manage, most of them, to keep their jobs and show some profitability in a highly competitive environment. If only they would straighten up and fly right!
The older generation often spoke of “picking peas out of mud”. We understood what they meant.
At a time when we are being challenged economically, we may be overlooking some homegrown examples of sterling productivity and commitment to duty that we could do well to emulate.
We do not need to adopt every aspect of the ZR culture to discern that there are some elements of their approach to work that we may well harness and bend to the public benefit.
If their industry and that shown by the election platform technical teams had been applied to the offshore sector, we may have had an International Arbitration Centre established here by now. Peas can indeed be plucked from mud!
