NEWS THAT BARBADIANS appeared to have had increased interest in spending over the just concluded holidays, that there is renewed interest in mortgage borrowing, and of course the presence of large numbers of tourists on the island since the start of last month must all contribute, along with other factors, to a sense that we are finally seeing light at the end of the long economic tunnel.
We are delighted with this apparent trending of some supposedly critical factors in the right direction, given the impact the recession has had, and continues to have, on so many Barbadians, and not necessarily the poorest among us, as one would naturally tend to conclude.
But while we join Barbadians generally in hoping that we can sustain this activity, it is vitally important that we not lose track of the depth of the hole from which we have to extricate ourselves. At this stage we choose not to offer comment or opinion on whether the losses we have suffered are more a result of the recession or the quality of management we applied to it.
Without doubt, however, there can be no denying that the quality and volume of public services delivered today are a far cry from what obtained just a decade ago. And while we accept that coming out of this recession we have to be far more sensible with public spending than we were going in, we cannot allow those who direct our affairs to believe we will settle for the current standards as the new normal.
The huge problems we have been having with the delivery of piped water to a huge swathe of the country can never be accepted as “what we can afford”. To do so would be to settle today for conditions that we found grossly inadequate back in the 1960s.
The inadequate collection of garbage around the country and the unsightly piles that have now become the norm along all our major highways and back roads cannot be allowed to become what we settle for, on the grounds that it is all we can afford.
All our major roads are littered with potholes or show ample evidence of the early signs of surface fracture and foundation deterioration. Even major thoroughfares like the ABC Highway, Ronald Mapp Highway, Charles Duncan O’Neal Highway and Highway 1 in the heart of the tourist belt are teeming with potholes. We should not allow those we have elected to tell us that’s how it is because that’s all we can afford.
Each day tens of thousands of Barbadian workers and schoolchildren depend on the state-owned Transport Board to get around this country, but it is now at least a decade that that agency has not replaced a single unit in its fleet. It does not have enough reliable buses to adequately meet the needs of Barbadians and in the absence of a replacement programme for so long the situation is likely to get worse. We should not allow those who “rule” to tell us this will become the new norm because it is all we can afford.
Across the island, except for the very sensible approach to the beautification of the ABC and Spring Garden highways, our streets are enclosed in a cloak of bush. We should never settle for this as the new normal for Barbados.
On Spring Garden and the ABC Highway for over two years now there have been more missing or non-working street lamps than there are that offer light. We should not let this become the new norm.
Since before Independence the delivery of education has been the pride and joy of Barbadians and the envy of our Caribbean neighbours. And while we have largely maintained our delivery standards at the primary and secondary levels and have made significant gains at the nursery stage, we cannot allow the huge setback at the tertiary level to become the new standard.
Those who are in charge of our affairs have to face the population with bold, sensible and creative initiatives to take us back to where we were – and then beyond. So while we take comfort in the light, we should not let our leaders believe they will get away with fancy speeches about growth, because growth can’t fairly be measured by movement from where we are today. We have to get from the bottom of the hole and back to the surface before we start singing songs of praise.