Submitted by Watchdog
Randolph Outram, Director of the Rural Development Commission
The potential to corrupt state and administrative systems leap to the fore when laws and regulations are ignored with impunity in the departments of government especially in parastatal units such as the UDC and the RDC. These agencies have always been abused by cunning and crafty political agents.
The establishing of the special funds to address the damage to those housing units that were affected by the passing of hurricane Tomas allows for such an opportunity. The justification for setting up such funds rested on the intention to have a rapid response to these circumstances, to conduct this effort in an equitable and orderly manner and to quote our Prime Minister ‘ to exercise discipline’.
If the words of our government speak to these virtues, how comes the Director of Rural Development Commission gets the authority to unilaterally make decisions to construct houses in the urban corridor of the country. Isn’t that what the UDC was set up to do?
The Rural Development Commission is now stretching and bending state laws in order to construct houses in a constituency outside the jurisdiction of the RDC. The constituency where this odour now emanates is in the St. Michael area particularly in the St. Michael East constituency where the RDC’ s director is Chairman of the DLP Branch.
It has now become public knowledge in the community that many of the houses on the RDC list, earmarked for repairs under this Project, are not homes that have been damaged by Tomas, but are actually homes belonging to DLP operatives.
How can a Minister or Prime Minister turn a blind eye to this malfeasance. This government while in opposition did not close its eyes to the then Minister of social Transformation Hamilton Lashley, who payed a friend $11000.00 to cut down a tree which the contractor never did. These social efforts are always tainted by unscrupulous public officials who are not committed to any principles but cash for themselves.
This is corruption especially when extortion is part of the design, and has always brought governments to their knees. The Minister and Auditor General must be more incisive in the examination of these departments. More evidence will be presented to give credence to this information.
Barbados Underground 
There you go again, seeing a monster behind every tree.
Like Obama the DLP promised change by freeing the statutory agencies from the scent of corruption.
Has anything changed?
What is the perception of the people if a poll were to be taken now?
That power corrupts some faster than others. but corruption need to stop from all.
Politicians tell the country that they create statutory boards in order to deliver services in a more timely manner than if those services were offered by central government. The unfortunate thing is that the country actually believes that nonsense. What they should be telling the country is that it is easier for politicians to get their hands on the funds of statutory boards than it is to steal money from central government.
Statutory boards provide a ready source of easy funds for crooked politicians, and also provide places to employ their friends, in high paying jobs, who could not meet the requirements of the Public Service. There are absolutely no other reasons for moving chunks of the public service into statutory boards or government-owned companies.
All the services supplied by RDC and UDC were already available from other government departments. If Government wanted to speed up the processes all that was required was a change in the supply rules and the Financial Rules.
@Caswell
Are you saying there is no benefit to decentralizing activities supplied by Central Government? i.e. by creating autonomous bodies
David
The benefits accrue to dishonest politicians. They create these autonomous bodies but in most cases they continue to use the General Orders for the Public Service to run them, literally creating a government department without the necessary audit controls. Barbadian statutory boards do not provide better service, just more expensive service.
If Government wanted to get expertise from outside the Public Service, they could employ advisory boards without power to employ staff like the National Insurance model.
How many of you realize that the NIS funds are managed by a board but the board has no authority to employ staff. Even though under the last administration politicians’ nieces and other relatives were employed by the NIS Board in temporary capacities and then sneaked into the Public Service.
By the way, haven’t you seen that politicians ensure that they have little or no oversight. How else can you account for the failure to fill posts in the Audit Department? The Auditor General is finding lots of maladministration but he is only scratching the surface.
Don’t forget to pay a visit.
http://www.facebook.com/carson.cadogan#!/pages/Bajans-against-the-return-of-Owen-Arthur/169948913020250
@Caswell
Seems like there is a role for the unions to play.
David
The unions have a roll to play which can be reduced to simply looking out for the best interest of their members. Since their members are the people of this country, they would be looking out for the best interest of Barbados.
But what do you have instead? Union executive officers looking out for the best interest of themselves and family. The nastiness that was recently revealed on BU about NUPW is not restricted to that union alone. If you have any doubts just check the financial statements of BWU, in particular, the overseas travel of the General Secretary.
Have you ever asked yourself how is it that almost all of the presidents and other executive officers of BUT quickly get promoted? That is with the exception of Ronald Jones, he has other plans.
Rather than fulfil their rolls, unionist in this country use those organizations to feather their nests while intermittently paying lip service to workers’ issues. Trade unions in Barbados need about a gallon of castor oil. My only fear is that it would be insufficient to remove all the SH** that has been clogging the system for all these years.
Observations:
1. After being highly critical of BOLT arrangements, this government has now entered into one of these arrangements for the Pierhead Marina project
2. Consultants are prevalent throughout the public service and statutory boards.
3. National Heroes Day celebrations this year have taken a back seat to DLP celebrations. The heroes day lecture has been postponed (after ads were already done) because someone suddenly realized that it was scheduled on the same day as the DLP lecture.
4. The PM has adopted a rather dismissive tone
5. Can anyone say what is the status of the “gun in Parliament” incident
@Observing
On the point of PM Stuart being dismissive a read of the Nation fronpage last week which indicated Stuart will speak when he is ready is a case in point.
Mr. Franklyn
“All the services supplied by RDC and UDC were already available from other government departments.”
You are correct. The services that are presently being offered by the RDC and UDC were previously offered by the National Assistance Board, under the Housing Welfare program, from its inception in 1981. During this time, the NAB undertook the repairs of houses and provided “welfare” houses for the elderly and poor persons of this society; and I must add, they did so with much success. Every year the Housing Welfare program was allocated funds to provide these services. Post the change of government in 1986, and a new board in place under the chairmanship of Dr. Farley Brathwaite, many of the artisans were dismissed on the grounds that they provided shoddy work, which paved the way for the DLP to introduce their supporters. The staff of the Housing Welfare Department was dismissed on the grounds that they were not qualified, and Hamilton Lashley, who was then a Housing Officer, was reassigned as the Storeroom Keeper. The name Housing Officer was replaced by Technical Officer, which provided the opportunity for the DLP to employ their workers.
It is my opinion that the RDC and UDC were established by the former BLP administration to provide jobs for their supporters as well. It is rather ironic that during the Farley Brathwaite years, Derek Alleyne was a member of the NAB board of directors. The same position that DLP administration took with the NAB in 1986, this present DLP administration has taken with the RDC and UDC – fire the artisans saying they produced shoddy work, and replace them with their goons.
@ Carson
I visited your facebook….., whatever it is. After three years in power, all your ranting and raving on this blog, the insults, all your efforts, you mean to tell me that after THREE YEARS, you could only get 154 people to like it? I think you should probably take Charlie on board.
BU this is an absolute post. On the existing geographical designation for the rural development commission, a no so insignificant part of St. Michael East is in fact listed in the Rural area and falls under the jurisdiction of the RDC.
Similarly, a part of Christ Church South, Christ Church West Central, Christ Church West and St. James South are registered under the Urban Development Commission as part of the urban corridor. It is not the current government that designated the area, it was the last government that did so. The current administration have never changed it and so ever since the creation of these entities these have been doing houses and roads in these areas.
There is no corruption being perpetrated my the Director, he is acting within the four corners of the law. Check the facts before you write foolishness that could damage people’s reputations permanently.
Sorry that should be “an absolute rubbish post”
Josquin Desprez
Carson cannot lead me anywhere. I am an independent thinker and would not hold a party line on foolishness.
That said
It was Owen Arthur who introduced the UDC and RDC using the Jamaican model. In Jamaica they were used the same way that the BLP used them for, that was to repair houses and roads, give small loans and any other activity to win elections.
Why don’t you join me and call for the introduction of Integrity and freedom of Information legislation to stop any form of corruption by government officials in our country.
Charlie,
Your position on the introduction of Integrity and freedom of Information legislation has been consistent. I must agree, and join with you in calling for such. There must also be participation from special interest groups, who, if persistent in their lobbying, will bring about change.
However, you must agree that both parties have been using the RDC and UDC for the same purpose.
Josquin Desprez
A thousand mile journey starts with the first step.
OBSERVER
You should read this story.
http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/on-reflection-not-time-for-pm-to-speak/
@CCC et al…
There is an old saying… “It is better to keep your mouth shut, and be thought a fool, then opening it and proving it.
Personally, I don’t agree with that.
I argue, instead, that unless you regularly make mistakes you’re not pushing hard enough.
But another old saying is relevant here: “Nature abhors a vacuum…
The comments on a BU log posted 8 August 2008 Minister Denis Lowe Cites Rampant Corruption At Urban Development Commission makes for interesting reading, especially those of Cadoagn and Wishing in Vain two ardent DLP supporters. Three years hence can the DLP say it has delivered on the issue of dealing with corruption in government?
@ Little Angel
To clear up this claim, you should let BU know where exactly in St. Michael East these houses are being built. The only parts of SME that would be under the RDC are those areas NORTH/EAST of the ABC highway.
@ David
Interesting indeed.
Carson C. Cadogan | April 20, 2011 at 1:45 PM | Josquin Desprez
A thousand mile journey starts with the first step.
——————
And, if I may say so, that first step will decide the direction that the journey will take and the ultimate destination…Lol.
Sorry, could not resist.
But then, we are all travellers in this world and others, previous and subsequent….no?
So, the journey is a continuum. So, maybe, just maybe, it does not matter, as long as we each experience according to our own….journey.
Lol.
ROLES
NOT
ROLLS
Caswell
Admirer
Thank you.
I am very happy to see that work is being done far and wide around the island to assist our Barbadian people.
There is no issue with the relief offered to the people of St Michael East or any other constituency but I am indeed happy to see you acknowledge that much repair work is going and rightly so.
Also to those of you that are not aware there is a large part of St Michael East which falls under the control of RDC so full marks to them for taking care of the old folks homes that are in need of repairs and attention.
I should also add that were that idiot Trevor Prescod doing what he should have been doing ie representing the people of St Michael East they would not now be having to work on as many houses as they have been working on, but guess he Prescod was too busy extorting money form innocent people to mind the constituency.
I am very happy to see that work is being done far and wide around the island to assist our Barbadian people.
There is no issue with the relief offered to the people of St Michael East or any other constituency but I am indeed happy to see you acknowledge that much repair work is going and rightly so.
Also to those of you that are not aware there is a large part of St Michael East which falls under the control of RDC so full marks to them for taking care of the old folks homes that are in need of repairs and attention.
Well done to you Mr Kenny Best you have come, you have seen and you have rectified issues that the former MP refused to see, refused to address and refused to do anything meaningful to correct or to help the people of St Michael East.
Keep on with the good work for the people of St Michael East and do not stray from this the right path.
Seems to me that some would rather see nothing being done to help the less fortunate around us for their own selfish reasons.
WIV. Do tell the people of St. Michael East what Kenny have done in this constituency since winning his seat? Also. why all the hype about building high rise homes when NHC give away over 2000 homes to existing tenants. No other country ever/never give away state homes. So what we are seeing is the replacement of homes, maybe tenants will get these new homes free during the next election.
Are you too happy to see the people who are in need of getting their homes repaired having them repaired or are you too blinded by red to be happy for our own people ?
Carson.
I went on the Facebook page and it is simply a copy and paste among less than ten of your friends. How come negative comments are published and not one is positive.
Are you too, happy to see the people who are in need of getting their homes repaired having them repaired or are you too blinded by red to be happy for our own people ?
Elections are around the corner hence the hype. Kenny Best has done nothing since he surprisingly won that seat. In fact, his constituents have hardly seen him bearing in mind, when he is not plastered, he is driving his ZRs. Only Dems are getting their houses fixed, not an Independant or a BLP supporter. Yet I am happy that they are using the funds they got to fixed houses. Their supporters are happy feeding on the fatted calf.
There is obvious confusion about what is happening at rural because rural can do work in any constituency although there is a demarcation. What should be the issue is whether the work was sanctioned by the Board, met the quality standards and did not break any rules. Sometime ago i was in Dash valley and heard that a house in that district was owned by the urban and I called to be told that urban had houses in St. Thomas, St. George and Christ Church and that some special circumstances were involved. I do not know the details in these cases and somebody should check them out and get the facts I sure will and report to the blog. What I hope is that these two the RDC amd the UDC do not get back into bad habits so if there is any smoke it is good that the alarm has been sounded.
Here is the Act.
In the not very distant past DAVID used his common sense in choosing topics.
Nowadays he is reckless, thrown caution to the wind and in his attempt to do great harm to the Democratic Labour Party Govt. he is just posting whatever the Barbados Labour Party operatives are giving to him without even checking the information.
I mean it is simple, if it comes from the operatives of the Barbados Labour Party view the information with extreme suspicion and stop posting these things and looking real foolish.
Let me sum it up by saying that the mismatched bunch of misfits that make up the BLP are in total disarray and confusion and are at a loss to repel the work that is taking place all around this island and they have resorted to mistruths and some irresponsible media to spread their lies to cover their short comings and I am not talking about the short runt Owing alone.
No wonder he and Pain came to high words on Sunday because he Arthur found out that Pain arranged a meeting with Eastmond, all the while they want to kill Eastmond all Eastmond is guilty of is grooming a DLP person to fill his shoes, not one of them Owing or Muttley wanted to impose on the people of St James North has found favour with Eastmond hence his decision to slide a DLP person into St James North, that way he has the final laugh at Owing and the dismembered BLP.
I have no doubt that the BLP and its supporters are going to do thir best to introduce anything gthat can through the DLP in a negative light but while that is true thoise who support the DLP hav a responsibility to ensure hat any thing raised by the BLP is checked for truthfullness and reliability. I am sure that some incident took plac in the rural and it was not properly investigated. However all of us will benefit if we investigate any charges because we all pay taxes and want them to be carefully spent
@ WIV
Tell us where is this “large part of St Michael East which falls under the control of RDC.”
When will some people get it that BU is not about party?
When the BLP was in government the submissions came fast and furious from ‘DLP Operatives”.
Now the DLP is in government the BLP is more active.
Do we see a trend here? Instructive indeed.
Many in the BU family do not suffer political rhetoric gladly.
DAVID
“When the BLP was in government the submissions came fast and furious from ‘DLP Operatives”.”
but they were true. you used to check them for your self before publishing them.
you, yourself said that you used to sit on information for long periods of time until you could double check them, but now “you dun wid dat” and that is my problem.
I do not know where enuf got his reference big part the urban goes up to the highway and St Michael East crosses the highway that I know how far an how big I dont know
Remember When Mia and Lucille Moe were in charge ? When Lucille and Mia were running Rural where were the houses that were fixed located? Are these old people not Bajans who have paid their dues?
@ Bossman
I don’t know what it is you are trying to say.
@ Ultimate Jokers
Get your facts straight!! Neither Mia nor Lucille Moe were EVER in charge of UDC as far as I can remember. How come all of a sudden it is whether people are old or not, rather than if the RDC operating within their mandate.
@WIV
You should also stop telling lies.
With all the glaring examples of White collar crime and acts against the public welfare Barbadians remain in denial refusing to accept that fire burns, and wrong doings exist in our public service .This is not unique to Barbadians it happens in my country as well .Our people do not learn from their own experiences .
When i first came to this small island, Barbadians were talking about a Minister who stole money from the Barbados Marketing Corp, and bought a Plantation in St Lucy. Since then another Government officer stole large sums of money from the Gems project and Yard fowls in the BLP strongly defended the culprit .Now the UDC and RDC is in the news again. This is an agency well known for attracting slick movers and the denial is surfacing once more ,It is clear something is amiss ,the people are saying so .
We are in situations like this because of yardfowls ,That is why David Thompson told us the untruth that Clico was sound and now innocent people who trusted him cannot get a cent from the same company that is responsible for all the stress investors and policy holders are experiencing .
L !
LORD HELP US!
@ W I V, CCC et al
This is not about old people’s homes being fixed, this is about only DLP operatives (whose homes weren’t even damaged by Tomas) getting their homes repaired .
Read the article again, apparently you suffer from myosis of the eyes.
It would be unfortunate if the management of the UDC or the RDC allowed any form of dishonesty into their programmes. It has been three years of good clean goverbnance and the Minister should investigate any such practices and have them stomped out. I dont have the evidence and am only saying if there is. I however want to make the comment that the DLP administration also have a responsibility to help people who supported it when it was in the opposition because there is clear evidence several eople were overlooked because of their “operativeness”. I say this as long as the person meets the criteria. I know the Dlpites will say that the BLP had no criteria but remember that is why they were voted out.
I have sympathies for te DLP and am not afraid to say but I am a Barbadian 1st and want systems in place that help those in need but do not pass out largese to party faithfuls and to tell me that because the BLP did lots of that gives the DLP reason to do it is not my understanding of good government. The DLP has been in the circumstances attacking the challenges and have made some mistakes which is natural but the things Barbadians do not want are arrogance, wastage, stealing and victimization. That is my read of the situation. I expect the BLP people to look for every crack to find fault, nothing is wrong with that and I do not expect to get any complements from them. The challenge for the DLP and its team is to ignore the BLP and concenntrate on doing what is right and in the best interest of this country.
@Anthony,
You made a brief point about corruption but it is at the heart of this entire debate . we must ensure as intelligent citizens that governments who are given our approval to govern don’t abuse their responsibility They are not giving a free range to corrupt a system simply because it is our party .
I am suspicious, the role played by the Director who is not only an executant of state policy, but a tactician in the party could be doing his master’s bidding .
As public watchdogs, we must expose corruption because we are the final victims. We pay the taxes to sustain government’s programme.
I believe that watchdog and those who have evidence can get the ball going by providing if not details himts close enough that the incidences can be investigated. I am confident that at either institution the chairmen and boards will deal with any hints of dishonesty,
Bossman,
I know you made a genuine request for information and i know you will receive it but the source who can give us has to think of his security .
We are aware of young men who are in our prisons today for simple things like having a five bag in their possession while the drug lords remain at liberty ,not even investigated by our Law and Order service .
At present officers will deny knowledge of this issue because their boss has power to dismiss them for some simply thing that might not be related to our concerns about honesty .
perhaps Mr Alleyne at UDC can tell us if the RDC started to construct homes in the urban districts for people who are not qualified for assistance .
Mr Alleyne is a credible public officer and i believe he can help us as he did in exposing Mr Maloney who abused his power at the N U PW .