It would seem that Barbadians rang in the New Year quite joyfully and perhaps hopefully. I think that everyone is looking forward to 2015 bringing new and better things. Unfortunately, the end of December 2014 suggests that in some quarters we might be in for more of the same. The blame game was at fever pitch as we prepared to close out the year.
The National Petroleum Corporation (NPC) was suggesting that increased use at Christmas time by hotels (how surprising and shocking!!!) was primarily responsible for the recent West Coast outages. After all, it is inconceivable of course that such an event could have been contemplated and planned for in a country which depends on tourism.
The Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) was also quick to jump on the act and blame the public for the increase in unsightly garbage pile-ups of household furniture and appliances – at Christmas time. While I agree with the Sanitation Department that we should do better at waste disposal, there is no policy or incentives for householders on recycling in Barbados and very little education on the options available for bulk waste disposal.
After weeks of no service or very poor service, Barbadians most likely went into hyperdrive at the actual sight of their garbage being collected. The recent trend has not exactly endowed the Barbadian public with any confidence that reliable service is synonymous with the SSA.
At the other end of the spectrum we had a case where one Minister was publicly and unabashedly blaming his fellow Cabinet colleague for the delay in the completion of a housing project which started some four years ago. The Minister in question then blamed the delay on the change in the sewerage system. I am not sure how Cabinet meetings are organised but certainly there are perhaps neither productive nor amicable if the main means of communication is for fellow Cabinet colleagues to talk to each other across the pages of the newspaper.
One of the things that should be high on our wish is for 2015 to be a year when people, particularly those in positions of authority, take responsibility for their actions or, as is so often the case these days their inaction. Unfortunately, the early soundings suggest that this is quite unlikely and much of the impact of inaction will spill over into 2015.
Already, the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) is signalling that it intends to bring out workers to march over the slow pace of movement towards a settlement for the retrenched workers. There is, perhaps, a barrel full of people that can be blamed for the current situation but it is unlikely that anyone will take responsibility or be held accountable for the inability of the workers to have this issue resolved.
In much the same way, the failure to be decisive about the issues plaguing Parkinson Memorial and the Alma Parris Secondary school will undoubtedly mean that the threat by the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) to “wrestle the beast” as quoted in December 31 edition of the Nation will very soon spill over in the public domain.
Moreover, after the spending hype of the holiday season, everyone will have to once more face the stark reality of the current state of the economy. The decision by the Minister of Finance to delay the full slate of measures needed to bring the country back on stream means that for many the first quarter of 2015 will continue to be fraught with uncertainty and lack of confidence.
All of this suggests to me that unfortunately 2015 will not bring a new modus operandi in many respects but rather we should be prepared for more of the same directionless meandering that we have unfortunately been subjected to throughout 2014. I do apologise for not being optimistic but the signs do not suggest that we have awakened to the need to take a fresh guard.
We seem to believe that once we are able to see some signs of growth in the country everything will be once again be all right with Barbados. I would suggest however that even with renewed growth, if we continue to retain the current attitudes to governance, problem- solving, productivity and competitiveness and fairness and justice in this country the road ahead will continue to be long and steep.
Someone once said a society is much more than an economy and indeed it is made up of an amalgam of forces which have to be carefully balanced. A large part of that balancing act is highly dependent on the individual and collective choices and attitudes.
2015 will not be about whether we get more investment or see signs of growth in the economy. it will be about whether we are able to develop the collective consciousness that is necessary for us to ultimately see our futures as intertwined and together act accordingly for change.
Here’s looking toward an interesting year.
•Shantal Munro-Knight is a development specialist and executive coordinator at the Caribbean Policy Development Centre. Email [email protected]
