THE SITUATION of four ministers of Government railroading the system to build the Cahill Plasma Gasification Plant is far from over, even if the Prime Minister says so.
What may have been a storm in a teacup within the present administration has exposed all the flaws in the present system of governance. However, it has not only created an opportunity to change the Government with a call for elections, but it also gives us the perfect opportunity to demand a change in governance.
Change has never been a permanent fixture on the Barbadian landscape. Since the British landed in 1629, the island has always remained an English colony unlike the neighbouring islands in the Caribbean. In 1816 Bussa began the unthinkable by trying to fight for change that meant freedom from slavery. His rebellion was crushed and change did not materialise.
The Emancipation Act of 1834 brought freedom. However, its forced social and economic changes to the lives of the slaves only occurred after a long-drawn-out four-year Apprenticeship period.
The Great Depression of the 1930s had a significant impact on the lives of the people in the British West Indies. The high rate of unemployment had created a state of poverty throughout the islands. This hopeless situation ultimately led to riots that swept across the entire British West Indies. Sweeping changes occurred after the riots, notably the development of trade unions and subsequently the creation of political parties.
The trade unions became the bargaining force for labour while the existence of the political parties paved the way for a change in governance through Independence. After Independence, change by force disappeared from the landscape and further economic and social changes which occurred were created through education.
Back to the Cahill fiasco which, if it becomes a reality, would in essence not only flout almost every law that is on the statue books, but would affect health of the living, health of the unborn, availability of water, contamination of water, air pollution, the environment, agricultural crops produced in the area, livestock, land use policies and the process by which Government can take over land.
It would also affect hazardous waste importation, transportation of waste, the laws governing what can be imported into the island, and health and safety training regarding fallout at the site.
Hazard insurance
The introduction of the plasma gasification plant would see king grass replacing sugar cane and create a need for a hazard insurance fund for nearby communities. The cost of electricity will increase, and then there is the question of the legitimacy of increased taxation to pay the owners of the plant. To build the plant without conducting an environmental impact assessment as well as addressing the above issues, would be a poor management practice on the part of Government.
It is therefore unfortunate, that the present political system of governance can allow this plant to be built. There is no response mechanism to counter Government actions in Barbados apart from the trade unions which deals with labour. The inherent functional flaws of the present system are in need of radical change, not just simple reforms. There are no built in mechanisms for review, recall or redress of the actions of the Government.
If such processes were in place, by now the Cahill fiasco would have been resolved. Ultimately, the lack of these mechanisms is responsible for the disenchantment of the people with the whole process of elections and governance because there is no accountability.
The Internet has created an outlet for the combined voices of the people that were never heard before and cannot now be ignored. It has taken three years to get a response from the Government on Cahill and in his response, the Prime Minister labelled the voices of the populace as making “incoherent noises”.
One wonders if the Prime Minister, in the rush to change the system of government to a republic, has had the foresight to understand that it is not a republic that is needed at this time, but the inclusion of the voices of the people in the decision-making process. Effectively, this would be the removal of the last bastion of colonialism.
Change is therefore required, [and] if the Cahill fiasco is not a catalyst for change now, will that change occur around 2037 when the backs of our children have been broken by taxation?
– Heather Cole,
The Barbados Lobby
