It was an eventful week for the Government in ways they surely would not have preferred.Donville Inniss was caught well outside the crease by Mia Mottley for departing the island for a Mediterranean cruise at the height of an industrial dispute at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He scurried home to say he would be leaving the matter in the hands of the board and would be making no public statement. Bajans are asking why he bothered to come back.What does this say about his understanding of his role and duty as Minister of Health and his capacity to demonstrate leadership?How could Acting Prime Minister Freundel Stuart have given him permission to leave the country at such a critical time? And make no mistake; no minister of Government can travel, whether on business or pleasure without the Prime Minister’s explicit approval. What does this say about Stuart’s judgement and his ability to manage the Cabinet?Chris Sinckler tried to fill the silence created by his long-time friend and schoolmate Michael Lashley on Brass Tacks. He rambled on about Cabinet sub-committees, that only muddied the waters further. It seems that Chris is trying to win friends and influence people now that the vacuum in leadership is visible to the naked eye. We understand the DLP elders have said he is still too young and inexperienced for the top job and are sticking with Stuart. Poor Chris will have to wait for another election cycle if he is to have a chance and if he can retain his seat.After licking the wounds inflicted by his former chairman for over a week, Michael Lashley finally broke his silence and found the courage to bring the vesting of the land at Constant before the House.He was both shaky and subdued in his delivery as if the weight of his former chairman’s words were an anchor on his conscience. The Constant contract seemed to stick in his craw and he choked on it. He waffled on with a flourish about a financial contract with Clico Property Development Inc. It was a case of mouth open, story jump out.Nobody asked about a financial contract. The chairman was specific in her concern about the absence of a construction contract. It was the classic sleight of hand. It did not work. An alert Opposition asked for the contract, which was quoted by the minister to be made a document of the House. Needless to say the Government refused. So much for transparency and accountability!Michael Lashley’s credibility on the issue of a construction contract between Clico Holdings Ltd and the NHC has been seriously damaged. He is yet to say whether there is a contract with Clico Holdings Ltd as the contractor. He resorted to a finance contract as a smokescreen to avoid answering the charge by Mrs Rice Bowen that no construction contract had been signed.He spoke in a way that left the clear impression that Mrs Rice Bowen misled the public when she said that despite her “best efforts and alerts, (she) could not not ensure that a contract be put in place with the contractors, Clico Holdings Ltd re the ongoing work at Constant”.All Bajans are aware of the outbreak of dengue fever, but the Cabinet seems to have caught a highly contagious case of laryngitis on the important issues unless pressed. Perhaps it is a complication of poor judgment and a lack of leadership. Stuart looks intent on keeping above the fray, content to stick to the script at openings and seminars. He has not uttered an original thought since taking over the helm.Things are exactly as they seem. The Dems are falling apart – again. Two or three of them are trying desperately, in the words of Errol Barrow, to “submerge to the top”. Like our leader Mia Mottley, we shall try to make sure they do right by the people and the country.
•Beresford Leon Padmore is a pseudonym for the Barbados Labour Party.