LEADER?OF THE?OPPOSITION Owen Arthur has described as “callous” the policy under which the Government-owned Barbados National Oil Company (BNOC) is not selling its fuel to the Barbados Light & Power Company (BL&P) at a price to allow it to pass on savings to consumers when world crude oil prices decline.
The former Prime Minister Sunday night declared that if the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government was really trying to help the suffering consumers, then when the international price of crude oil fell, the fuel adjustment charge imposed by BL&P should also decline, but this had not been happening and instead had been going up, contrary to the world trend.
Speaking at a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Christ Church West Central branch meeting at Milton Lynch Primary School, Water Street, Arthur also blamed the BNOC action on Government taking “an ill-considered gamble” with oil futures which meant that even though consumers were using less electricity, because of the BNOC they were paying more.
Charging that this “burdensome” BNOC policy was but one example of the way in which Finance Minister Chris Sinckler’s recent Budget had failed miserably to connect with the serious issues affecting the daily lives of Barbadians and for which no relief had been given, Arthur rejected the idea that economic and financial matters were totally out of Barbados’ control, saying that such an attitude reflected a Government bankrupt of ideas as to make things better for Barbadians.
He said this failure by the DLP was easily seen in its inability to reduce the cost of living in keeping with its vow to make this goal its three top priorities.
So poorly had the Government performed in this regard, Arthur said, that since January 2008, the price of food had risen by 24 per cent, electricity by 53 per cent and the overall cost of living by 24 per cent, while salaries had been increased by only six per cent.
Meanwhile, Arthur said he had been informed that Government and the trade unions had “reached an understanding that there would be a wage freeze if public sector workers were not laid off”.
Arthur felt that Barbadians were not only worse off since 2008 but were suffering.
The St?Peter MP said Barbados was not only falling behind but was in very real danger of being left behind, to the extent that the possibility of it becoming a failed society was very real if corrective steps were not urgently taken.
Added to this, he said, members of the present DLP had chosen to point Barbadians to a failing country such as Greece for inspiration, unlike the party’s founding father Errol Barrow, who had preferred to ask this country to consider Singapore as a successful state.
Arthur noted that in the present challenging international economic climate, just as he had urged the DLP to do, Singapore used some of its foreign reserves to record 14.5 per cent economic growth.
He urged Barbadians to once more believe that their country could achieve great things no matter what and not to be fearful, tire, rest or be distracted since great causes were never won by doubtful people.
The greatest danger Barbados faced, Arthur said, was the crisis of political leadership, since diminished political leadership led to a decline in national prospects. (TS)