IF WE’RE TO remain sane nowadays, we have to have a sense of humour. Although there are a few Bajans, as Eric Lewis noted in a recent Looka Lew column, who can’t see the humour in things, most have a great (one may even say unique) sense of humour despite undergoing the worst difficulties.
Like the other day when someone emailed Brasstacks to say Dominica had been hit by Tropical Storm Erika, a natural disaster, and people worldwide came to their rescue, so since Barbados has been hit by the man-made disaster, Hurricane Freundel and company, we should get the same level of assistance. When I repeated this to someone, they added “at least Erika left!” What else can you do but laugh, since all else seems to fall on deaf ears and 2018 is so far away.
But even in the face of a Government which behaves as if it has a monopoly on knowledge and common sense, it’s good to see more people thinking seriously about Barbados’ future, continuing to make their views known. It’s important as was said recently, “not to give up our responsibility for five years and limit our input to a vote at election time”. In the Cahill issue especially, we can’t let it slide, but instead must continue to reinforce our rejection of the plan, recognising that “the drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence but by continually falling”.
We may be told that we’re making “incoherent noises” when we speak out, or our peaceful march may be described as a “mob” and one minister’s response to an invitation to discuss a current issue on radio may be an emphatic “no, no, no”, but we mustn’t let our voices be silenced.
You wouldn’t believe this is the same Government whose 2008 Throne Speech acknowledged that good governance (i.e. participation, accountability, transparency, responsiveness to the needs of voters, effectiveness, efficiency, equity, authentic inclusion, minimised corruption, among other things), is essential for the sustained development of Barbados.
Furthermore, they said they would “put systems in place to reverse the trend of concentrating power into fewer and fewer hands as well as attempt to rekindle trust and confidence in the system of parliamentary elections and constituency representation”. What happened to all that?
Is this the same Government that said it would “publish essential details of agreements and contracts involving the Government and its agencies and issue formal ministerial statements at regular intervals on the progress of ongoing programmes and projects”? The Cahill and Sugar Factory projects seriously contradict those statements.
That’s why some people are demanding a change in governance, “not by becoming a republic but by the inclusion of the voices of the people in the decision-making process”.
Contrast this with Canada, which I visited recently and saw signs asking for public input into development projects and applications for change of use of land. Incidentally, there was an issue which I felt should be raised during the debates leading up to the general election due to take place shortly, so I wrote letters to the representatives of all four parties in the town where I was staying. Would you believe I received immediate replies from two parties? On the other hand, I tried to contact one of our MPs by telephone about a month ago, with no success, so I emailed him, but to date have not even had an acknowledgement, far less a response.
Barbadians also have to move away from the traditional partisan culture – this blind following of a party because your parents and their parents before them supported it. It’s as if people inherit allegiance to a political party like some genetic disease. Then, as Dr Agard states, “there are people who think an MP should be focused only on party supporters”. If she is indeed sincere in her response “my responsibility is my entire constituency”, we may be moving in the right direction.
Let’s hope that yesterday’s presentation by members of the Institute of Law and Economics of Jamaica, aimed at “cultivating awareness and building consciousness among Civil Society Organisation members of the importance of good governance, participatory democracy and the civic responsibilities of citizens as owners of their country” will be taken to heart by all Barbadians.
Dr Frances Chandler is a former Independent senator. Email [email protected].
