If we in Barbados ever decide to be honest with ourselves when it comes to matters about the economy, we would have to admit up front that various Governments of the past have mismanaged the country’s affairs but the resilience of our people eventually saved the day.
For example, who among us dare to recall the gloomy days of the early 1990s when the Barbadian economy was thrown into chaos mostly as the result of poor economic choices made by the then Erskine Sandiford administration? Who can recall all the economic and political upheavals of those days and the scorn heaped upon the shoulders of the then Opposition members of the House of Assembly for the role they played in bringing to the attention of the people some of the plans of the Government with respect to the engagement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – an engagement by the way that was denied by the Government but which turned out to be absolutely true.
Who can remember all the statements made by the then prime minister after it became clear that the IMF had indeed taken control of Barbados’ economic affairs for the next several years. Is it the case that Barbadians do in fact suffer from the convenient memory syndrome or are we so uncaring as a people that Governments and others in authority can say anything, do whatever is pleasing them, and speak wrongly to the nation on economic and financial matters only to eventually receive a tap on the shoulder?
If the complete opposite to the picture painted in the preceding paragraph is true, it would suggest that Barbadians have some serious adjustments to make when it comes to their participation in dialogues on issues of high national importance. Are we going to sit back and accept Governments continuing to tell us that all is well when we know the statistical evidence produced and disseminated to us by the same governments can say something to the contrary? Are we prepared to continue to accept from Governments that our economy is stable and balanced but the same Governments then turn around and implement austerity measures designed to stabilise the economy?
Having heard for years that someone’s policies and strategies had ruined a foreign country’s economy and that his proposals for rescuing the Barbadian economy – proposals contained in his then party’s manifesto on two years ago – were “reckless” and designed to “ruin the economy, destroy our foreign reserves and raise the fiscal deficit”, are we now so repentant that we can allegedly now consider that same individual as a possible leader of our economic advisory council?
Further, when as a people would we finally stand up and demand more responsible reporting on the performance of the economy every quarter by the Central Bank? Are we not yet fed up with the poor quality of those quarterly reports, particularly when it comes to the pronouncements on the future growth of the economy?
People of Barbados, it is time to wake up. We have been asleep for way too long while those charged with the responsibility of leading our country out of its present economic and financial stress continue to strategically mislead us with fales promises and ridiculous claims about the economic health of our nation, only to fulfil some weird political goals.
Going forward, let us agree to one thing: that we will send a strong message to the likes of Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Professor Sir Henry Fraser and Trevor Marshall that we as a people will never forget the past when it comes to our country’s economic and political history if only to avoid repeating some of our most conspicuous errors on record.
After all, your humble servant knows of no other feasible alternative that will allow us to return to the good old days of “plenty” which we all yearn for.
