The Politics of Collusion

Truth and Reconciliation Laws that require improved governmental transparency in how they spend the peoples tax money, improved government accountability with legal consequences for unethical behaviour, lower political term limits, effective use of IT to support freedom of information reform, education reform that improves the old and out of touch system we have, redirecting of millions from projects that only service the elites to service backlogged social services….. for starters – BU family member Austin

Prime Minister David Thompson (l) Political Strategist Hartley Henry (r)

The current Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government is over the hump of a five year constitutional term in office. There is no doubt the perception by the Barbados electorate that the Barbados Labour Party had become a fat and corrupt party played a significant part in their defeat. The disgust by the populace was enough to overcome the fear of voting for an untested David Thompson, a man whose reputation had been tainted by the early 90s when he served in the infamous Sandiford “8% Cut” Administration. Not to forget the wrestle between himself and Mascoll for leadership of the DLP which had the potential of propelling the Barbados system of Government into a tail-spin, and which still has cause for Kellman and Estwick to sit uncomfortably behind Prime Minister Thompson.

At the crux of the campaign message delivered by the Government on its last campaign trail, they promised how they would hold those in the former Government accountable for what they knew were corrupt practices which had occurred. Many Government projects, Government officials and supporting cast were fingered on the election trail prosecution of the then BLP Government. How can we forget VECO, the company awarded the BOLT contract to build the prison with no track record? How can we forget the ABC Highway contract which was awarded to a company name 3S which had no track record of building a prison? The story of Hardwood Housing, Clyde Mascoll, CEO Murrell was used to good effect in the last campaign by DLP political strategists. There were the alleged clandestine dealings at the UDC, SSA, RDC, NHC, NCC and several of the statutory and quasi-Government entities, and the list goes on.

We are over the hump of a DLP Government and not one person in the last Government has been put before the law courts. Instead what Barbadians have had to tolerate is the constant accusations and reminders by DLP officials and surrogates of the alleged corrupt practices which occurred during the last Government. Frankly, the people have reached the point where they are fed up with the constant references to corruption when it is obvious the DLP Government cannot deliver on their election promise, or they have decided to continue with the status quo which says, it is our turn to slaughter the fatted calf. We believe the latter is the case.

Contained in the message how the DLP Government would manage was the promise of laws which would improve the governance framework of Barbados. The fact that well into the DLP term in office Barbadians appear to have forgotten the promise reflects a society which is happy to be manipulated by its politicians and supporting cast. The next general election should be an interesting affair. The blogs no doubt will help to remind the public of the issues. The traditional media seems to have drawn lines at this early stage. The Barbados Advocate is in the pocket of the Government, the Nation Newspaper appears to have taken an anti-government position on most issues, although the strings are being tugged from Port of Spain. The Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation remains the perennial political football manipulated by Government, and the latest online newspaper Barbados Today is busy trying to establish its circulation. However, given the shadows behind Roy Morris it will be hard for him to maintain editorial control come crunch time. We wish him luck.

The Government has removed the issue of transparency from the front burner. Yes, it is currently consumed with managing an economy deep in recession but it has found the time to execute other priorities. Given the platform message of the last campaign, onlookers would have anticipated that a Thompson Government would have moved with haste on the matter of transparency. The government does not have to implement Freedom of Information and Integrity Legislation to be transparent. They just need to make some files public such as, tell the public who owns the PSVs. Tell the public who is on the CLICO Oversight Committee. Tell the people the qualifications used to appoint Board Members. If the Prime Minister knows what happened within the precincts of Parliament concerning Estwick, there is no need to wait on the Speaker or Committee of Privileges – fire that person.

The time has come for Prime Minister David Thompson to shape the legacy of his first term in Office. So far, on the issue of transparency in Government and prosecuting persons fingered by them during the last election campaign, we score them 3 out of 10. The politics of collusion is alive and well. How else can the Government’s backing of Senator Liz Thompson’s candidature for the job of Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change be explained? Only last month Government Senators viciously attacked her performance as Minister of Housing when a contract was awarded to her husband’s company during the last Government. She has also been attacked for overseeing the Greenland Landfill placement in an Eco-sensitive Scotland location. Finally, her role in the famous golden showers has also not escaped Government critics. Are we saying that she has under-performed as a Government Minister but we have no problem with recommending her for a job at the United Nations? Performance is performance is it not?

The politics of collusion is alive and well, we tell you!

Europe Airspace Closed, Implication For The Caribbean

In the middle of a recession going on six consecutive quarters of GDP decline. The value of spend in our number one foreign exchange earner tourism down. Now we have this volcano in Iceland which has forced planes in the lucrative European market to be grounded. Yet the new Governor of the Central Bank was reported yesterday in the news as confirming Barbados needs to diversify our tourist product.

God help us!

10 Things Government Can Do To Fix An Intentionally Broken System

Submitted by Austin

1. The government of Barbados needs to implement contracting reform that allows greater transparency to tenders and contract opportunities that local non-elites can response too and win, and end bar side deal making with a few selected elites.  All government tenders, contract/consulting opportunities, should be centralized and made available via the web, not the case today.  Additionally, a policy should be implemented which require a percentage of all tenders to be fulfilled by Bajan small businesses as defined by adequate size standards. Bajans in key contract management roles need to be held to an ethical standard that end current non-ethical contracting behaviour.

2. The government via the BIDC should broaden it’s approach to attracting industries to Barbados by aggressively leveraging our educated masses, which is not being done properly today.  The folks at the BIDC are using a Bajan business methodology to attract international industries to Barbados which in large part is not working as they are either unwilling or not knowledgeable enough for the task at hand. They are slow to response and ineffective (from personal experience).  In large part new blood and thinking is desperately needed in all ministries with international facing responsibilities. Just try to open bidc.com which takes too long for starters and you will see what I mean.

3. Government needs to conduct an inward assessment of new goods and services that a renewed Bajan economy can deliver locally and on the world stage. With emphasis on creating sustainable good paying jobs, this has not occurred thus far.
4. The distribution of wealth in Barbados is out of control. With non-Bajans acquiring more and more as the years go by, simply not right. The previous government was so focused on attracting outside investment they left nothing for the average Bajan family. It has and is too easy for non-Bajans to setup shop at all levels to the exclusion of local entrepreneurs.

Irksome Realities!

Hartley Henry - DLP Political Strategist

Prime Minister Thompson said something in passing over the weekend that I think should not be allowed to pass. It is that for a country that did so well, financially speaking, in the late 1990s and first seven years of the 21^st century, Barbados should not have so huge a backlog of persons relying on State regulated social services.

24, 000 persons on the waiting list of the National Housing Corporation is scandalous, especially when one considers the hundreds of millions of dollars there were spent on dubious public sector projects during the so called ‘glory years’. Think about it! Do you realize the number of homes that could have been built and the number of affordably priced house lots that could have been carved out from the near $300 million that was pumped, or some may say dumped, into the Greenland Landfill?

Why should the list of elderly folks applying for help from the National Assistance Board be exceeding the 10, 000 mark, when during the period of their wait, this country had in excess of $300 million to spend on a bunch of run down hotels that to this day has provided absolutely no return on investment? We couldn’t afford to take care of our elderly, but we could have found money to enrich a couple of party affiliates.

Mrs. Holder’s Comments To Demerara Waves Were Ludicrous And Misguided And Should Be Withdrawn

Submitted by Rickford Burke

Guyanese Member of Parliament Ms. Shelia Holder

I am constrained to express strong objection and profound disappointment at comments made by Co-Chair of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Ms. Sheila Holder, on Sunday April 11, 2010, on Demerara Wave’’s internet radio program, “Periscope on Politics.” On several occasions during the interview with Messrs Dennis Chabrol and Lloyd King, Ms. Holder contemptuously inferred and stated that the 1997/1998 street protests in Guyana were designed to “terrorize” and have caused “injury and grievous harm to our ethnocentric society.” Ms. Holder then dismissively and derisively argued that “taking to the streets to terrorize and force the PPP to act is an exercise in futility, Mr. Hoyte tried it but what did it deliver?”

I hold Ms. Holder is good regard. However, for her, as a leader of the AFC who seeks the support of the said people, to denigrate them as “terrorists,” is appallingly ludicrous and abominable. Moreover, for her to state that former President of Guyana and Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Desmond Hoyte, tried “terrorism” to force the PPP to act is opprobrious and irresponsible, and must not be allowed to contend.

The period to which Ms. Holder refers is the days immediately following the 1997 elections, when the then Chancellor of the Judiciary, Mr. Cecil Kennard, knowingly violated the order of then Chief Justice Desire Bernard, and unlawfully swore in Mrs. Janet Jagan as President of Guyana, even before all of the votes were counted and before the election results were declared, in violation of the Guyana constitution.  The law requires that the votes be counted and the election results declared before the President is sworn in. This is fundamental in any modern, democratic society that upholds the rule of law.

Knowing Right From Wrong

How/Getty

Last weekend the sporting world witnessed a fairy tale ending to a fabulous story when Phil Mickelson won his third green jacket at the Masters Golf Tournament held in Augusta, Georgia. During an emotional victory speech, Mickelson spoke to the challenges his family has had to overcome for the last year. His wife Amy has had to endure chemotherapy as she continues to battle the big C, along with his mother.

On the flipside Tiger Woods had hoped to win his fifth green jacket after returning from a five month self-imposed exile. Lest we forget Tiger ran away from the game after his adulterous exploits were laid bare for the world to stare.  In one week which the world will never forget the pristine image of the once revered Tiger Woods vanished in the twinkling of an eye. When the final golf stroke was struck at Augusta on Sunday afternoon many would have breathed a sigh of relief; Michelson at the top of the leaderboard, and Tiger in the unaccustomed position of fourth.  Given all that Michelson has had to handle compared to the disgraced Tiger Woods, it seemed fitting the moral of this story should be the “family man” who triumphed over the “#1 player.”Whether we want to admit it, prominent people influence the way others think.

Some are saying the Government’s recent intervention to stop the Movada Kartel peace concert, followed by the announcement of a zero tolerance policy to filter smutty lyrics for the 2010 Crop Over season will lead to a nanny state. The idea that individual freedoms will be violated, some fear may lead our Government to not know where to draw the line. Every year we have Vic ‘the Parrot’ Fernandes and his sidekick Ronnie Clarke adopting a Pontius Pilate position when asked to explain Starcom’s contribution to the deteriorating moral base in Barbados. We have former Chairman of the National Cultural Foundation Al Gilkes whose remit along with his sidekicks is to flood Barbados with all the smutty Jamaican Dancehall artistes who are in need of money. The fact that a cloud of tampie smoke has seasonally descended on Farley Hill during Reggae Songfest appears to be of little concern to the organisers or the authorities. If our Fourth Estate and leaders in society have surrendered all for the sake of greed where will it end?

The United States Justice Department Presented Evidence Linking Guyanese Minister Of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy To The Murder Of Journalist Ronald Waddell

Submitted by Rickford Burke, President – Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID)

Guyana's Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

I have access to evidence and transcripts of testimony presented by the United States Justice Department in the trial of Robert Similes – Roger Khan’s Attorney. The Justice Department presented evidence linking Guyana’s Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy to the brutal assassination of Guyanese journalist Ronald Waddell. Waddell was gunned down in front of his Georgetown home by assassins from the phantom gang, which Khan operated as a murder for hire enterprise.

Former Phantom gang member turned FBI Informant, Selwyn Vaughn, testified in US Federal Court in the Eastern District of New York that he was the lookout man for Waddell’s assassination plot. Vaughn testified he saw Waddell arrive home on January 30, 2006, and disembarked his vehicle, which he left idling by the roadway. Vaughn attested that he then notified Khan by cell phone, that Waddell had arrived home, and that Khan in turn dispatched a gang of gunmen who arrived and waited for Waddell to return to his vehicle.

Vaughn testified that when Waddell returned, the gunmen unloaded a barrage of bullets as Waddell reentered his car. Vaughn also testified that immediately after the shooting he and the gunmen returned to Khan business place, the “Blue Iguana” and that, in their presence, Roger Khan publicly telephoned Minister Ramsammy and reported that Waddell was shot and was being taken to the Georgetown hospital. Vaughn stated that Khan then said to Ramsammy – “let him die.”

Accountability, Accountability, Accountability

The ongoing CLICO saga presents a headache for Barbados. The financial hole which CLICO can drill deep into the economy of Barbados makes for a sobering reality. This is at a time the Barbados economic remains firmly griped by a recession brought on by the global financial meltdown. Whether CLICO is a poorly managed company, a casualty of a contracting market or a combination of the two here is what we know for sure. The Supervisor of Insurance the government appointed regulator fell asleep on the job and as they say the rest is history. If the required competence does not exist within the Office of the Supervisor of Insurance to alert them that they need to become more efficient as the industry watchdog, here is an extract from the IMF 2009 Country Report.

The lack of adequate supervision of the insurance sector exposes the sector to material risks. Profitability and capital adequacy in this sector are difficult to assess due to incomplete and inadequate data. Single negative events may significantly damage the reputation of a jurisdiction in an increasingly regional and global market. Although the mission noted the introduction of on-site inspections, the sector remains largely self-regulated owing to continuing shortages of qualified staff, inadequate regulation, and out-of-date financial reporting. Greater cooperation and exchange of information, particularly with the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago, are necessary to facilitate effective assessment of financial soundness and the protection of Barbadian policyholders by the supervisor.

Those not mired in the partisan cesspool of politics or influenced by agendas which run counter to national interest would have been aware that the Office of the Supervisor of Insurance was woefully ill-equipped to regulate the insurance sector of Barbados. Of interest in this case is that the deficiency would have straddled successive administrations.

The last sentence in the extract is highlighted because of its relevance to the CLICO matter. It is now 2010 and we are not aware that any major restructuring has occurred at the Office of the Supervisor of Insurance.  What this means is the multi-billion dollar insurance sector continues to be regulated in a less than acceptable manner. This obviously has wider implications for Barbados given the wide responsibility of that office. There is also the morbid possibility that Barbados could be struck by an earthquake given the unsettled tectonic plates located in the bowels of the earth and not to forget the 2010 hurricane season is rapidly approaching.

It all comes back to the degree Barbadians are willing to hold our politicians and civil servants accountable. In this regard BU family member Inkwell could not have sum up the situation any better.

Suggestions On How We Build A Better Barbados In These Troubled Times: A Bajan Yankee Perspective

Submitted by Bajan Yankee

1. Accountability: Bajans have to start using the power of the vote to elect leaders at all political levels who by virtue of their experience, education and talent can bring about significant reforms to restructure the economy of our nation. The current short sighted emphasis of electing “talking heads” who can’t execute meaningful reforms is killing us slowly. The Westminster form of governance in it’s native form is not working for Caribbean nations as a whole with major reform needed to encourage problem solving vs ridiculous academic and often endless debates the product nothing.

2. Leveraging our strengths: With one of the highest literacy rates in the world the people of Barbados need to be viewed as an underutilized commodity. Government must and can market our masses of educated people to demonstrate why Barbados is the best place for that next call centre or manufacturing facility, which is not occurring today at any meaningful level. They are great Bajan products that can be taken to a global stage, the import export business has been dominated by a few companies who are not doing the nation as a whole much, there is a role for government to play in assisting Bajan products in getting to the world market.

3. Education: Education should inspire innovation, which is the practical use of knowledge. We have an extremely rigid view of education which hinders true innovation.  Because a person has a wall full of degrees does not in itself mean they can transform that knowledge effectively in the real world.

Motion Of No Confidence In Guyana Minister Of Labour, Mansoor Nadir

Submitted by People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)

Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir of Guyana

The Laws of Guyana, particularly the Labour Act Cap. 98:01 and the Trade Union Recognition Act, Chapter 98:07 confer substantial powers on the Minister of Labour to take prompt and decisive action to settle cases of trade disputes and protect the rights of Guyanese workers. The powers include:

a) inquiring into the causes and circumstances of the difference;

b) taking such steps as to him may seem expedient for the purpose of promoting a settlement of the difference; and,

c) with the consent of both parties to the difference, or of either of them, or without their consent, refer the matter for settlement to the arbitration of an arbitration tribunal consisting of one or more persons appointed by the Minister.

In addition, the Government of Guyana is a signatory to ILO Conventions Nos. 87, 98, 135,154,158 and 163 which impose the obligation on the Government to protect and advance the rights and interests of Guyanese workers.

Armed, as he is, with these powers and obligations, we can only conclude that the failure of the Minister, to protect and uphold the legally entitled rights of the workers, under the 3-year duration (2008-2010) Collective Labour Agreement (C.L.A), between the recognised Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (G.B. & G.W.U.) and the RUSAL owned BCGI at Kwakwani, represent a gross and discriminatory dereliction of his responsibilities to the workers of Guyana.

In the circumstances, the PNCR has today submitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly the attached Motion of No Confidence in the Minister of Labour, Mr. Mansoor Nadir.