Bajans, don’t lose heart

I was not sure what to write about this week. I was not sure if I should lash out at the Government because it tried to blame the SmartStream system for the non-payment of temporary workers throughout the Civil Service.
The inefficient system was a sitting duck because it has always been problematic and perhaps moreso on this occasion because it cannot defend itself.  
I was upset because it seems we could so easily diagnose the problem without giving assurances on how it would be fixed to compensate the hundreds of disaffected workers.
It amazes me that we could speak so easily about people not being paid without recognizing the numerous householders who live month to month, week to week on their pay cheques.
I have continually said there is an implicit assumption about how well we perceive Barbadians are living. There is one set of the society for whom missing a pay cheque would have no impact or the possibility is not even contemplated.
On the other hand, there are a whole set of us for whom missing a pay cheque is the difference between what, how and when we eat. I was talking to someone the other day who said she thanked God for free bus fares because at some points in the month, she was not sure how she would send her son to school if bus fares were not free.
This is not someone with a fancy car who goes out feting; this is a mother trying to provide for her children. There is a lived reality for some in our society which many of us pretend does not exist and about which many of us have no clue.
As the week progressed and we heard that some of the very same temporary workers who had fallen off of SmartStream were also given notice, I thought I would write about how unconscionable it was for Government to give these workers notice without ensuring that at the very least they went home with the pay due them.
I wanted to ask Government if anywhere in its programme it would take responsibility for the inefficiencies in the Public Service that had been left to fester. We are making cuts and trying to raise revenue through taxation in a system plagued with leakages, poor collection and at times questionable practices. It is like putting water in a leaky basin.
I would suggest that Government would find it very difficult (as has been proven) to effectively meet its projected revenue, through the current measures, unless it systematically addresses the perennial inefficiencies in the system.
I agree something has to be done but it has to be done with considered thought and not the seemingly blanket approach now being applied. Trying to heal the sore by applying the wrong bandage is an exercise in futility.
I also had a moment of reflection about the fact that we had become so distracted by the issue of students being made to pay their tuition fees that we had not examined the impact of the Budget measures as a whole.
I fear that it is those very same temporary workers who are being let go (I am staying away from saying laid off because the Government says they are not laying off anyone. I am just trying to play along), many without pay, who will also be the parents of students who will find it hardest to cope with the introduction of tuition fees. I wonder if the student loan scheme makes provision for loans to people without jobs.  
There was one moment, as I was thinking about what I would write, that I thought I would sound a warning that things will get harder. The Government at one point in time had asked the private sector to hold strain from laying off workers. To its merit, the private sector had not engaged in massive layoffs but seemed to take a measured approach to retaining workers.
Now it could very well be open season as it follows the lead the Government is taking. I anticipate that as more workers continue to drop off the SmartStream system, there will be more layoffs and as the other measures to reduce expenditure take effect, the real impact on the provision of Government services will be felt.
So with all that said, what am I writing about? A message of resilience! We unfortunately cannot do anything about the Government measures or rather, I should say, we choose not to do anything. However, what we do have control over is our individual spaces.
We need to exercise wisdom, exhibit compassion for our neighbour, curb excesses and importantly face the reality of our current situation with a level of maturity that will allow us to ride through this storm.
I have no doubt that the going will be tough but there is also an indomitable spirit about the Barbadian. We have always strived against our circumstances and we need not lose heart but remain resolute in our determination to overcome.  
• Shantal Munro-Knight is a development specialist and executive coordinator at the Caribbean Policy Development Centre; email [email protected]