Need to Ensure Consensus Candidate For Speaker Of Guyana’s National Assembly

By Lincoln Lewis, General Secretary Guyana Trades Union Congress

GTUC calls on combined opposition to eschew personalities and embrace acceptable principles in arriving at consensus candidate for Speaker of the National Assembly

On November 28 Guyanese went to the polls and voted to change the way business is conducted in this country. The majority have reposed their confidence in the opposition for the beginning of a new political culture towards the creation of a just society and this opportunity to make a difference must not be squandered.

The GTUC having followed the public discourse in arriving at an appropriate person to support for the Speakership has recognized the opposition departure from fundamental principles to create cohesiveness in arriving at a consensus candidate. The nation is seeing a rallying around personalities rather than principles agreed upon by the parties and this stands the chance of derailing the entire process.

Based on the plurality of the opposition seats in parliament, it is expected that the Speaker of the House would be an opposition consensus candidate who can rise above the partisan flair to put Guyana first. Therefore, it is imperative that this first act of opposition collaboration be successful and amicably resolved without public rancour, or fanning of each group’s sentiments to create animosity; for even as this is done it gives other forces an avenue to fan the flames of mistrust and capitalize on the animosity being created.

Stuart Is The King, Who Are The Pawns?

Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart

There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politics there is no honour – Benjamin Disraeli

Recent election results in St. Lucia and Jamaica suggest the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has been naughty.  The ‘gift’ to the DLP this Yuletide Season has been ‘The Letter‘.

Chatter on the underground suggest Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart will issue a statement perhaps as early as this weekend. The expectation by many political pundits is  that one or more in the camp will have to pay for the widely discussed treachery exposed by the NATION newspaper. The flipside is the parallel chatter that key players have been placed on election watch in the event Prime Minister Stuart calls a ‘snap’ election. If the St. Lucia result forced a few government MPs to seek audience with the Prime Minister – Sinckler admitted to the treachery in the NATION’s Big Interview – how  will the Jamaica result have exacerbated the concerns for those  on the government bench.

Some believe Prime Minister Stuart has taken too long to act but it should be  obvious he is not the type to react in the midst of the Christmas  season. Stuart is known to be a devout Christian and would not have  contemplated interrupting a significant Christian festival by responding  to what some believe to be political chicanery in his camp.

The disquiet in the DLP camp caused by concern at Prime Minister Stuart’s leadership style has effectively ruled out an early call to arms or has it? This matter was brought to a head by a poll allegedly undertaken by pollster Peter Wickham which was not complimentary of Stuart’s leadership of the government. Here is that name again Peter Wickham!

Barbados’s Imitation Democracy

Submitted by Caswell Franklyn

The Houses of Parliament, seen across Westminster Bridge in England - Wikipedia

At a press conference just prior to his 80^th birthday in March 2011, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said of his country Russia:

“We have everything – a parliament, courts, a president, a prime minister and so on. But it’s more of an imitation… We have institutions but they don’t work. We have laws but they must be enforced”.

With the exception of the reference to a president, those sentiments are equally true for Barbados. Our country is supposed to be a democracy which operates under the Westminster System of governance as practiced in England. We have copied all the major democratic institutions from England but our copy does not work. It seems as though when they were making our copy of the Westminster System, the copier was extremely low on toner.

One of the main planks of the Westminster System is a separation of powers among the three branches of government, namely: the judiciary, parliament and the executive (cabinet). In Barbados the separation that is vital for the effective functioning of the state is virtually non-existent. What passes for governance in Barbados makes a mockery of the Westminster System and is merely a parody that should be an embarrassment for an educated people.

Engineering Band-Aids Will Not Solve Road Woes

Warrens before the roundabout expansion

Those who listened to the parliamentary debate on a resolution to borrow 35 million dollars from the Barbados National Bank (BNB) earlier this month would have been surprised at the robustness of the exchanges. Unfortunately many of the contributions delivered by MPs and Senators centred on which government was responsible for roads built over the years. Regrettably politicians on both sides of the fence continue to insult Barbadians with the poorakey debate which spews forth from  parliament.

Is it unreasonable for some level of strategic thinking to be applied to the perennial issue of how to improve the road and traffic systems in Barbados? With 130,000+ vehicles on our roads is it a more sensible option to ponder if our narrow and dense network of roads can efficiently accommodate existing traffic flows?  Instead we cut down hundred year old trees, build gigantic roundabouts a la Warrens, create jambusting, triangular roundabouts and the like?

VOTE PDC Next Elections!!!

Submitted by The Peoples Democratic Congress (PDC)

PDC wants to be the voice of the people

The truth is that from time to time in Barbados as many as a hundred and fifty persons on average could physically come the PDC over any six month period wanting to know what manner of governmental system will replace TAXATION, whenever a PDC Government goes ahead and abolishes it.

And, so keen are these individuals on seeking out knowledge on this philosophy, that they – during the course of discussing with us this very fundamental question of the ABOLITION OF TAXATION – go on to pose several other related questions, like, how will the police, nurses, doctors etc. will be paid??

Sad thing, though, is that on innumerable occasions owing to the shortness of length of these discussions, the PDC is only able to little explain to some of them, the strategies and policies that will directly and indirectly make up such a governmental financial system.

On many other occasions, too, during the course of these said discussions, our party has had to direct many people, once they have internet access, to this BU blog site to read, as much as possible, the relevant articles and submissions that have so far been submitted to BU on this philosophy.

Did Someone Get Away With Killing Luke Bjerkhamn And Wounding His Father?

Submitted by Caswell Franklyn

Flashback to the burial of Luke Bjerkham

I have heard a lot of comments about the Director of Public Prosecutions giving Bjerkhamn a slap on the wrist for killing his son. Some have even called the DPP’s integrity into question. While I understand the sense of outrage that is being demonstrated throughout the country, I am not one of those that would jump on the bandwagon without a clear understanding of what transpired.

Persons who have been critical of the DPP’s actions in this case clearly do not know or do not understand the procedure in Barbados. It would appear that their understanding of the law is being influenced by American television programmes. The first problem for the DPP is that his office does not have an investigative arm. He has to rely on the Police to investigate cases and then they would forward their findings to him so that he can decide whether or not to file a charge. The public does not know what is in the police report, so the DPP could very well be taking some undeserved abuse for a situation over which he had no control. Before I can come down on either side, I would have to be privy to the police report.

This case clearly demonstrates that the evidence in matters like this should be made available to the public after the conclusion of the case, and after the time for the appeals process has expired.

Merry Christmas The Bajan Way

Submitted by The Scout

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There is always something special about this time of the year. Even for those who do not believe in Christmas still will have that feeling of giving and friendship. I remember, as a young boy, they were many little things each of us were designated to do be it scrub the floor, weed the yard, catch that special cock to purge for a week before it is killed, even bring marl to spread around the house for a “White Christmas” – making our own decorations from crape paper and post cards.

A few day before Christmas was time to cut a piece of “mile” tree or cherry tree to be our Christmas tree, the decorations were all handmade. Then that time for the tar ham or salted ham that was strung up in the house for months to come down and start boiling or baking. The smell of coconut bread and pound cake, and great cake, would lick you down as you walk through the village.

Christmas Eve was extra special for that was the time for carolling throughout the village, and households looked out for us and they would have eats and drinks prepared for us as we moved around the village. However, our activity had to come to an end for us to prepare for either mid-night mass or 5AM service. After service is visiting time to friends’ houses for a lime and eats again then home for that special Christmas lunch – green peas and rice, doved peas, jug-jug, pork, chicken (yard-fowl) and red juicy mixed with coconut water. By the time we were finished our little bellies were popping.

CJ Marston Gibson Has Mountain To Climb

Chief Justice Marston Gibson

… we have a lot of blogs [BU] on the subject, but don’t you think that two months has been enough time for the CJ to have clearly thrown down some kind of gauntlet?
…like a maximum time for a judgement to be completed or else….
…like an analysis of outstanding judgements and serious actions taken against the worse defaulters. When can we expect some kind of action? In 11 years or so…? – Bush Tea

 

Barbadians who expect the job of incoming CJ to be a breeze obviously have no appreciation for the  gargantuan task which confronts the gentleman. To those who expected significant changes or announcements after two months is like turning water into wine. The Barbados Judiciary has been decaying for for several years despite plaudits and conferral of knighthoods. The yardstick to measure the efficiency of Barbados Courts must be the extent to which justice is denied because it was delayed. Palatial judicial buildings,  wig clad QCs, smooth talking Attorney Generals, comparison to other jurisdictions mean nothing unless matters are processed efficiently and justice is seemed to be done.

If the task of the CJ was one hindered by the lack of resources, financial or human, Barbadians would have cause to be optimistic. The gargantuan task becomes vivid now that the CJ has had time to appreciate that key personnel in the judiciary and support government departments lack the know how to administer the system efficiently.

Here are a few examples to assist with outlining the challenge which the CJ faces:

Prime Minister Stuart’s Quandary Unravelled

Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart

In addressing the question of whether it is better to be loved or feared, Machiavelli writes, “The answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them, it is far safer to be feared than loved if you cannot be both.” As Machiavelli asserts, commitments made in peace are not always kept in adversity; however, commitments made in fear are kept out of fear. Yet, a prince must ensure that he is not feared to the point of hatred, which is very possible – Niccolò Machiavelli

Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart finds himself in a quandary as a result the widely publicised letter incident. It is a fact some members of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) felt it important enough to seek an audience with the Prime Minister. Whether all of them agreed to sign ‘The Letter’ is irrelevant at this stage in light of Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler’s interview with Editor in Chief of the NATION newspaper Kaymar Jordan.

Since the revelation that some DLP members are concerned with  Stuart’s leadership and the length of his coat tails with a general election looming the political chatter has gotten noisier. The current reality for the government is that having to manage in the harsh economic environment would have made being re-elected a difficult undertaking. The imbroglio caused by ‘The Letter’ has easily shifted the advantage to the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) its own perceived leadership issues not withstanding.  Why the disaffected group would have entertained thoughts of communicating with the Prime Minister in the form of a letter remains unfathomable at this stage. Some say it is as a result of political ignorance and naiveté. Others believe the plot is a sinister effort to reorder the political structure of the DLP.

A View Of The NATION From Underground

Submitted by WordSong

Kaymar Jordan, Editor-in-Chief of the NATION Newspaper

No Kaymar Jordan you did not tell the truth and stand justifiably accused by the general public. Your manipulations and distortions converted what could have been an otherwise great story into a scandalous piece of journalistic tripe. Now you and whoever helped you write that editorial would hoodwink the public (again) into believing that there was merit in what you did; all you have done in the editorial is to confirm the stupidity of the NATION’s newspaper policy. Technology has seen it fit that newspapers remain widely read. So what was the point you were making about technology again? No amount of spin doctoring will alter what remains a travesty.

You distorted the truth – for effect and commercial gain and possibly out of pure ignorance. You could not even give the public that your deliberateness in distorting was influenced by the expectation of more information and for that you apologize. I now say any decent newspaper would have fired you or put you on the back bench like they will put Sinckler. I for one will not buy another Nation or Sunday Sun newspaper. But what does it matter? Who cares? Not the Nation . Harold Hoyte I am ashamed of you too because I know you still have influence in what goes on at the paper.