Seeing he has just about screwed up all other sources of gaining foreign exchange he now has to go cap in hand to the wealthy west coast gang and give them whatever they want in permissions because the inflows of foreign currency will dry up and his problems with explode into a disaster zone if does not do as they request.

I give this information to Mascoll for what its worth: The man’s real name is not B Khan. Check the immigration files. He was declared a prohibited immigrant many years ago and deported for having a firearm and one DLP candidate, I am sure, knows all about it.

He then married a Bajan and got his papers.

Why are the hard-working honest citizens who can never rise top being treated so badly in our country? We have no sense of morality or integrity anymore.

The question still stand why would Mascoll seek to engage in corrupt behaviour with a 2 million project when he has input to projects with millions and millions of dollars.

Some say that Mascoll’s only folly is his desire to make a difference but in the process made several blunders. It does not mean that he is guilty of corruption.

The personal vendetta must stop between Mascoll and Thompson

So you are still waiting concrete evidence with information regarding a feud/vendetta between these two wealthy St. Thomas residents? This I am still awaiting.

Nevertheless you opt to threaten the writer by stating Am I wrong Senor Goodenough? Or you want me disclose to the public your ultimate motive.

To DISCLOSE TO THE PUBLIC WHAT? and when?

If you are still seeking or looking for this evidence how can you threaten to disclose something you do not have?

That was simply my point you issued threats that were uncalled for!!!
With regard to the Keltruth blog this is of little substance to me or to most of those listed on her site, actually do you know that property is being sold as we speak? So how tied up could it really be ?

Anyway, unlike you, I have been bashing Bees, Dees, and the I-would-like-to-be’s. I have been constantly bashing the ruling party with the Cost of Living, I have been bashing the Government about the massive wastage on the ill-conceived flyovers, the Prisons, the BOLT agreements etc. etc. I dealt with issues, not personalities, I dealt finally with the Vaucluse issue, not because of the wealth of the developers, but the main ingredient within the bloggers statement leaves a lot to be desire, and until I get the real facts, where I can show my venom, I will remain a grass snake. You on the other hand prefer to deal with any sort of information, just to get at the Government. That, I will never join with you. So if you thing I have issues. Enjoy your feelings.

You speak of towing the line, my neutrality will not permit me to be political bias, unlike you, it is impossible for you to deal with a simple issue without being politically blind. Be like the other DLP writers, deal with issues.

By the way, the only blog you have not shown your colours is the Keltruth blog, because two influential party members are included in the charges. Am I lie?

Opposition Leader David Thompson made the announcement last night at a Democratic Labour Party mass meeting in Fitts Village, St James.

And to a roar of approval from those who turned up for the meeting, he further announced his intention to table a resolution on integrity legislation, freedom of information legislation and an amendment to the Defamation Act.

“I promised earlier this week that I would draft the motion and put it before the people of Barbados, before tabling it in the Parliament of Barbados,” he said before reading the text of the draft to the crowd.

He added: “I do not expect anything earth-shattering to come from the actual debate in Parliament. There are 24 of them and six of us.

“But the bringing of a motion of no-confidence is one of many weapons at the disposal of the Leader of the Opposition and I will utilise my option to ventilate the issue relating to Hardwood Housing through the medium of a vote of no-confidence on the floor of Parliament.”

Hardwood Factory Inc, a company promoted by Government as the answer to low-income housing, came under intense public scrutiny six weeks ago when Thompson called for a probe into its financial operations.

Then, at a DLP mass meeting last month, he gave Government 30 days to investigate the company, failing which he would bring a no-confidence motion against Mascoll on the ground that he was aware of the operations at the company.

He acknowledged that the Opposition did not have the numbers in Parliament to win the no-confidence motion, but said the wider issue of “transparency and accountability will be highlighted”.

In this way, he added “the people of Barbados will get an opportunity to see how public funds can be misused”.

As far as the proposed integrity legislation is concerned, Thompson said that in order to “facilitate accountability and eradicate corruption”, there should be a requirement for the declaration of assets by ministers of Government and public officials.

In examining electoral chances for the two major political parties in our imminent general election, and commencing with the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) this week, I will choose their weakest link: Christ Church.

For the purpose of finally assessing the chances of parties, I have arbitrarily divided Barbados’ 30 ridings into five determining groups: St Michael – 11 (all ten St Michael seats, including Bridgetown); Christ Church – 5 (all its seats); East – 4 (St Philip’s three plus St John); West Central – 6 (St Thomas, St James’ three and St George’s two); and North – 4 (St Lucy, St Peter, St Andrew and St Joseph).

Statistically weaker

In my view, while the BLP is statistically weaker in Christ Church and the East than in other parts of the nation, I categorise Christ Church as more vulnerable because the parish’s five ridings are homophonous, and in their similarity, a unit that may be vital in the outcome of a close election.

So what’s the unprepossessing picture the current Christ Church scene paints for the BLP?

I base my view jointly on the previous size of the BLP’s majorities, in the Christ Church constituencies they won in 2003, coupled with the margin of swing that would be required for them to fall to the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).

Other factors exist which are capable of affecting results, such as candidate changes on either side, as well as the quality of current representation. But those are not matters which should be measured or quantified for determining ultimate seat security at this time, however prudently undertaken.

There is no better rationale than that offered by CADRES (Caribbean Development Research Services) pollster and commentator Peter Wickham, when in February this year he wrote:

“The issue of seat safety is not a static concept, nor is it an entirely statistical enterprise. Seat safety is evolutionary and related to several factors arising from the human desire to keep or replace representatives. Though all human behaviour is subject to change in peculiar circumstances, scientific analysis can normally derive likely human behaviour and it is on such assumptions that swing analyses heavily rely.”

It is on the exclusive basis of a projected swing that I proceed.

The voting record shows that the 2003 Christ Church election successes for the BLP (Christ Church West excepted) were very narrow, representing a decline in support.

Even in Christ Church West, which remains the safest BLP seat in all Christ Church, the DLP’s Peter Barrow increased his tally by 512 votes, while Dr William Duguid (BLP) received 330 less than Sir Henry Forde did in 1999.

Battleground seats

See how the BLP majority margins have fallen, between 1999 and 2003:

East from 812 to 322.

East Central from 1 175 to -280.

West Central from 873 to 391.

South from 883 to 59.

West from 2026 to 1 184.

Of the four Christ Church seats won by the BLP in the 2003 general election, three of them fall among so-called “battleground seats”, in that the margin of victory was within the five per cent swing needed by the DLP to wrest the Government from the BLP.

They are:

Christ Church South where Jerome Walcott’s win over John Boyce was by one per cent.

Christ Church East where Reginald Farley’s victory over Dennis Lowe was by three per cent.

And in Christ Church West Central, where Joe Edghill’s margin over Lawrence Clarke was five per cent.

Rematches

There will be rematches in two of the three contests. Only Christ Church West Central has BLP incumbent Edghill taking on a new DLP candidate in Stephen Lashley.

The other two area ridings were won handily by Christ Church West’s Duguid of the BLP over the Dems’ Barrow by a large margin of 1 184, and conversely in East Central where the DLP’s Ronald Jones beat the Bees’ Rudy Grant by 280 votes, in a massive swing that saw late-entrant Grant throw away what had been a 1 400-vote majority.

This time Jones will be facing a new BLP candidate in Tyrone Lovell, while Duguid goes up against DLP newcomer Taan Abed.

A major weakness for the BLP lies in the fact that Duguid, its strongest candidate, doesn’t have the driving dynamism of a Henry Forde or a “Bree” St John to give impetus to the party’s Christ Church platform punch.

Indeed, the BLP’s two more experienced Christ Church candidates, Reginald Farley (East) and Joe Edghill (West Central), bring neither the necessary credentials nor the type of record to ignite the BLP torch of success for others in Christ Church. If 2003’s numbers are anything to go by, both candidates will be fighting for their own survival.

Clearly the halcyon days of BLP control of Christ Church, when it carried all five seats to the House of Assembly, are over.

At the start of the heyday of Sir Henry and Sir Harold in 1991, the DLP was able to have a presence. Then it held three seats to the BLP’s two, but fell away badly as the power of the two politico knights secured wins throughout Christ Church both in 1994 and 1999 for newcomers like Duncan Carter (East Central), Edghill (West Central) and Wendell Callender and then Reginald Farley (East).

From the bottom of the pit in 1994, the DLP began the climb back.

Moved steadily up

Its growth between ‘94 and ‘99 was nine per cent; then 15 per cent between 1999 and 2003. Its gross take of Christ Church votes moved steadily up, from 8 189 in 1994, to 8 895 in 1999 (at a time when the DLP was decimated) to 10 238 in 2003.

That is by no means to imply that the BLP did not also record growth, because between the 1999 and 2003 elections, the BLP increase also accrued by 15 per cent.

But in the last election, the DLP could have earned two more Christ Church seats if they had earned an additional 380 votes spread between South and East, or 450 votes spread between South and West Central.

In 2008 the BLP’s greatest Christ Church hope will be in West (Duguid), and its toughest fight will be in South against John Boyce (DLP), making his fourth attempt to win the seat. He is, statistically, the Dems’ best bet, if voters can be made to feel that after so many tries, he can at last be a winner.

Dr Walcott is struggling with only a one per cent margin to play with. In order to beat Boyce, he will be required to reverse the swing by six per cent. That will require surgical precision in the campaign operation.

Should be history

The DLP’s next shot will be for East where Reginald Farley staved off a strong effort by Dennis Lowe in 2003. With a current five per cent swing against the BLP, all things being equal, Farley should be history in the next election.

Edghill in West Central has won all his previous battles, although not spectacularly; but he too is within numerical range of being shot down.

So the challenge for the BLP in the hustings is to do its utmost best to repeat these three 2003 marginal victories in Christ Church.

Since statistics indicate that only Duguid is within the range of safety, the BLP’s challenge will be to pull back the three seats it stands to lose from among the Christ Church Five.

Otherwise it will be required to create compensating wins elsewhere in order to retain its majority.

The possible loss of this chunk of its Christ Church power-link spells trouble for the BLP.