The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) government’s failure to cater to the needs of the average individual has left Barbadians tired and frustrated, says Democratic Labour Party (DLP) candidate for St James South Pedro Greaves.
He is questioning why various promises now made in the BLP’s General Election manifesto could not have been introduced before, including wider availability of the reverse tax credit.
The first-timer at the polls voiced his concerns on Tuesday night when the DLP’s campaign journeyed to Speightstown in support of St Peter candidate Jason Phillips.
Greaves said a major part of the problem in Barbados was the exercise of absolute power in a way that did not truly benefit the average man or woman.
“We hear the words leadership, but then we hear absolute power, and we all know what happens when there is absolute power. This absolute power has caused many, many of Barbados frustration. The people are frustrated. They are tired of the lectures. They are tired of the speeches. They are tired of the PR optics. This is a government of PR,” he said.
“They’re tired of all the loans and entertainment, but they’re also tired of the rising cost of living, because for all the loans that they have received, it has not filtered down to the ordinary Barbadian where the middle class is now the working poor.
“The poor is left to beg, and the well-off they’re seeing their legacy fall by the wayside. Barbadians are tired. Barbadians are frustrated.”
Greaves said that while the BLP was boasting of collecting $112 million from the National Health Levy, “that has not resonated in better health care”.
“The people are tired of the Barbados Labour Party’s philosophies, and they are wising up to the social media commentators who are being paid to pretend that all is well in this country, to pretend that everyone is still supporting the Barbados Labour Party,” he said.
Greaves also believed that the BLP announced various policies, including the proposed increased tax credit and public sector job appointments “as a political gimmick in order to get a vote.
“Why couldn’t we have these things all along? Why were they holding on to these things just before the election? [They] made you suffer for four years and now want to pretend that they care. But Bajans are getting wise, and I’m happy that the free education . . . is not wasted,” he said.
“I know the struggles that we are having, where we are fighting to determine whether we send our children to school without lunch or breakfast, and the struggles in Barbados continue to determine whether we will pay this bill or the next.”
Among the solutions the DLP will provide, Greaves said, was “transparency when it comes to housing solutions”.
“That is why we have announced . . . that there will be a pathway of rent to own for those who cannot qualify for a mortgage. This is what the Democratic Labour Party stands for in rebuilding the social infrastructure of this country,” he noted. (GBM)
