Thompy’s Fatted Calf

Thompson’s address to the Party faithful at annual conference.

Not only has Thompy been a tremendous Piggy at the Trough but it is his intent to lay the trough open for all of the DLP yard fowls. This Blog has been able to get hold of a copy of his address to the Dems at annual conference and in that address he makes it clear that under David Thompson the fatted calf will be slaughtered and shared among them.

 Is this the kind of man we want to lead this country?

 When he has made it clear that under his watch all will be shared in a completely partisan manner and those people who may not be card carrying members of the Dems will be left to starve.

He has now been nominated several times over and proven beyond the shadow of a doubt to be the biggest piggy no hog at the trough.

Velzo / Trueblue  one and the same as the comments left are identical but under different names.  Are you  one of those who will feed on the fatted calf?

Debt Manageable

From the Nation

IT’S A MANAGEABLE DEBT PICTURE and is a move by Barbados that didn’t surprise Wall Street or cause alarm bells to ring in New York’s financial district.

That’s because the Government’s decision to borrow $130 million on the international money market, which would increase the debt burden, was expected on the world’s most famous financial district and it didn’t cause analysts and financiers in New York to press the panic button.

So said Richard Francis, Standard & Poor’s analyst in New York, who monitors Barbados’ economic performance for the leading credit rating firm.

“We fully expected the Government to borrow the money and although the country’s debt remains high, it is not alarming,” Francis told the MIDWEEK NATION. “We believe the debt is manageable.

“Yes, it’s high, but when you consider that the foreign debt portion of the total debt was 30 per cent, then you would realise that is manageable. It’s not a source of great worry for us. If it were we would have downgraded Barbados’ BBB+ (triple B plus) rating a few months ago when we had an opportunity to do so.”

In essence, Francis, who has made frequent trips to Barbados and has had discussions with decision-makers in both the private and public sectors, agreed with Minister of Agriculture Senator Erskine Griffith that “it was necessary for developing countries like Barbados to borrow on the international market to increase available reserves in order to promote and sustain national development”.

“Developing countries find it necessary to borrow,” Francis said.

The analyst explained that with Government’s expenditure for Cricket World Cup expected to “wind down” in early 2007 and with the nation expected to earn more revenue from World Cup, the economic and fiscal picture looked healthy and didn’t pose any serious problem at this time.

“I expect that the balance of payments situation would start to get better going into 2007. Given the fact that the Cricket World Cup would be taking place, there should be an increase in tourism and there should be a decrease in capital expenditure which would relieve some of the pressures we have seen on the balance of payments with a relatively high current account deficit,” he said.

“That’s why we gave Barbados a stable outlook a few months ago. It is not unexpected and it’s not in all really alarming.”

Obviously not the best news for Dr. Debt when an independent foreign institution can give Barbados an excellent rating and maintain that rating.

Drug Lords and Politics

From the Nation

SHOULD ATTORNEYS in Barbados, Grenada and their Caribbean neighbours who aspire to high political office be seen in court representing suspected drug kingpins?

That’s a question which people in the region are asking more and more these days as illegal drugs fuel the rise in crime and as some prominent attorneys, including well-known political figures, routinely appear in court defending drug lords.

Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell’s answer to this question is an emphatic: “No!”

“We have aspiring leaders who make it their duty to represent every drug person, every drug case in the country,” he told the DAILY NATION in an interview just after celebrating his 60th birthday at a gala at Astoria Manor in Queens, New York.

“Some of them live by representing drug lords. I have a difficulty with that.”

It isn’t that the prime minister was saying that accused drug dealers shouldn’t have the best legal minds at their side in court. Nor was he arguing that they shouldn’t be considered innocent until proven guilty.

Instead, what he was complaining about was a situation in which lawyers who wanted to be elected to parliament and ultimately become a country’s major decision-maker, such as a Cabinet minister, were earning a living by trying to prove that people suspected of peddling were innocent.

Lawyers who aspire to become prime minister, opposition leader, cabinet minister, backbencher in parliament or occupy any other high office should stay far away from major drug cases, he said.

His argument comes down to this: aspiring political leaders should not be seen by young people and other members of the public as being defenders of those charged with major drug crimes.

“While it is fair and true to say that a man is innocent until proven guilty and that everybody requires effective representation, my own view is that it is a wrong message to be sending to them,” he contended. “There are a lot of lawyers who are not running for political office, are not leading any political organisation or hope to lead any organisation. They are free to represent such persons as they see fit.

“But I think it is a seriously flawed message when people aspiring to be leaders and are likely to get into positions of authority in a country, be seen to be associated with so many drug lords and drug cases all over the place. I think it is sending a wrong message to the young people and I think we have some work to do there.”

But attorneys aren’t the only professionals who may be sending “the wrong signal” to young people, according to the prime minister.

He complained about the lyrics in some of the popular songs composed or sung by many Caribbean entertainers. Mitchell didn’t cite any particular song but he charged that there were hidden messages in some of the music that in his words “glorified” drugs.

“The music, I think there are some terrible messages in it. There is not enough level of responsibility . . . on the part of the artistes in the region. People sing and they don’t seem to realise the effects it is having on young minds.”

As a nation we do not want drug lords associated in any way with politics. They should not be funding candidates, they should not be assiting candidates and they should not be using their influence with the young people to get a particular candidate elected. Should any of this start to creep in to Barbados politics we will be in danger of “Government Capture” as put by the OAS. Once this occurs the country by extension could be held to the whim and fancy of these drug barons. Is this the type of Barbados that we want. We think not.

Keep the drug money out of local politics.

 Who are the candidates in local politics who have strong working relationships with known drug Barons?

40 IMPRESSIVE YEARS

The Barbados Labour Party joins with all Barbadians in celebrating 40 years of nationhood for our beloved country, Barbados.

It is a most joyous time as we look back with pride and satisfaction on 40 years of solid growth and achievement for this small nation. The achievements of Barbados have proved the many critics and detractors wrong. This nation does not have failure as part of its vocabulary. We aim only to prosper.

There is no doubt that significant and impressive progress has been made since 1966, moving from a “village” to a proud nation which, in the words of one expert, is “fighting way above its weight class”.

There is no doubt that the rest of the world has taken note of our solid achievements and has ranked us in the top league. They are using this nation as a model for developing states to follow and our advice is highly sought after in the corridors of power all over the world. We are on the threshold of becoming a fully developed nation. We just require that extra effort by all citizens.

The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has been associated with all the major advances this country has made since Independence, as the party was in charge of its affairs for 22 of those years. The BLP can rightfully claim authorship or sponsorship for a great portion of the policy moves this nation has made, as the party has always put Barbados first.

This was evident even when in opposition. BLP Parliamentarians have always contributed strongly to issues, in and out of Parliament. Leaders of the BLP have always appreciated their vital role in the affairs of Barbados and always did their best to provide the sort of leadership that has enabled this nation to move from strength to strength.

It is both fair and correct to say that the BLP laid the foundation for modern Barbados. After all, in 1954 we formed the first Cabinet of Barbados with Grantley Adams as the first Premier. That experiment would have convinced one and all that this country possessed men with the talent, character and attitude that was needed for an independent state.

Not only did they start the transformation process by developing the tourism industry and the land industrial sector, but emphasis was paid to public administration that would prove beneficial in the years to come. Those who came afterward had an impressive foundation on which to build. We salute them for the way they have kept this country going.

Barbados will go into our year with plenty of satisfaction and enormous optimism. Many storms have been weathered in the past and the nation has always come out stronger for it. The international environment is more hostile than 40 years ago, but there is a tremendous reservoir of human potential that will enable the nation to prosper in the years ahead. We can thus afford to go for more achievements with renewed vigour and enthusiasm.

As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, all Barbadians are urged to support the many functions that are planned. The cultural creativity of our people, in particular our younger citizens, will be on show and demands our fullest appreciation. It will be gratefully acknowledged.

The BLP once again extends its best wishes for another successful year. We invoke God’s countless blessings on this nation. We recall the words of our National Anthem: “The Lord has been the people’s guide.”

Thompy Piggy at the Trough 13 Times

Again just before the 1994 election when Thompson was Minister of Finance he aproved the waiver of the Property Transfer Tax on 13 large pieces of property  costing millions of dollars so Clico could save all that money rather than pay it in legitimate taxes. All belonging to Clico and immediately after the election that he lost he then went right back to working for the same company. Where is the integrity in that and yet this?piggy has the audacity to call for integrity legislation when he  obviously has no integrity at all.

Waiver of Purchaser’s Property tranfer Tax when Clico  bought

1  Todd Estates

2 Wakefield Plantation

3 Hothersal Plantation

4 Clifton Hall Plantation

5, 6, 7 Three lots in Wakefield Plantation Yard

8 Pool Plantation

9 Durham House

10 Star Discount now “Club Extreme Complex”

11 Rendezvous Supermarket now “Trimart Rendezvous”

12 Penrith

13 Development Land

 Millions of dollars in Property Transfer Tax waived by Thompy. Lost to the Treasury. If this was for some good reason why was it not waived for the vendors as well but then only the purchaser benefited. He knows why.

OPEN LETTER TO LICK MOUT LOU

Lick Mout Lou in youR column in the Nation Newspaper for Wednesday, November 6, 2006 you wrote Now dat David Thompson back in de position e should be in, dah party mekkin good strides. Lou, we feel that it is either that you are not as informed as you should be or in Parliamentary parlance you were deliberately misleading the house. The house to the left of the rum shop opposite the standpipe that is.

But Lou we do not know you to conceal information from your standpipe friends so we would accept that you are honestly unaware that the infighting within the DLP is far far from finished and that rather than good strides being made, some good blows and falling outs are taking place. To put it properly the political haemorrhaging within the DLP continues unabated.

Clearly Lou, you are not aware that in the space of three weeks a number of serious incidences occurred, which has placed further strain on the already fickle marriages of convenience within the DLP family. Why were you not told about the cuss-out between Thompson and Rice-Bowen that almost came to blows at DLP headquarters and which has now led to the rupture of a relationship that was once referred to as A a match made in heaven@ ? Who could have been so tardy in not telling you about the resignations from the party including two of the candidates from the last election?

 

And Lou, we deem it gross negligence on the part of your informants not to have informed you that Phillip Greaves and Thompson are now Barbados’ newest strange bedfellows following some unpleasant exchanges. No excuse can be offered to you Lou for not being told that recently George Street was the place to witness one of Barbados’ traditional forms of a village fighting. It was a disturbing sight – Rocks pelted left right and center and people only scampering for dear lives.

 

Lou, we felt obligated to tell you about these things since, firstly, they run counter to what you were led to believe was happening within the DLP and secondly, they reflect the real state of affairs. That the only recognized opposition party in Barbados is about to implode once again heightens the fear of Barbadians that the DLP is losing their political relevance thus erasing forever the highly significantly contribution of the late Right Excellent Errol Barrow.

 

That the DLP’ s current leadership has detached itself from Barrow’ s philosophy is bad enough but to allow the party to go under is unpardonable. Can anyone imagine a debate in our Parliament with on a development strategy for Barbados, with Mr. Barrow’ s present and not participating? Unheard of! He was far too serious a politician to be accused of negligence. Yet Thompson, a man with little to rely on between his ears has been allowed to walk proudly in and out of George Street without explaining to the party’ s membership why Barbados was not privy to his views, however slight they might have been on our draft National Strategic Plan.

 

His none-performance in the debate was matched by his performance on the election day of 1994 when he was allegedly busy arranging deals for the sale of land at Bushy Park and Royal Westmoreland instead of looking after his party’ s business and the interest of Barbadians as a whole.

 

Lou, just in case you were thinking about it we think we should let you know that trying to sell Thompson is like selling a drivers license to the visually impaired.

 

 

Hither thither and yon

THAT WATER FINDS its own level is not only a saying of the old folk but a fact of science. This adage or fact of science is certainly most fitting to David Thompson’s most recent rantings as he tries desperately to close the political gap between Prime Minister Owen Arthur’s popularity and his own. Like a rudderless ship, Thompson has been darting about hither, thither and yon seeking a new water level. In his early days as Minister of Finance, Thompson tried his head and hands at economic and financial matters only to discover that his academic water level could not rise to such a functional height. He actually admitted on the floor of the House that economic and financial statistics meant nothing to him.

Since the bad old days of the early 90s when Thompson conceded that an attempt to find a berth in such academic waters was beyond his ability, much internecine fighting took place within the Dems resulting in the ousting of the only qualified student of economics, Mr Clyde Mascoll.

It is no surprise that Thompson now shadows his shadow ministers, having earlier attempted to upstage Michael Lashley on the floor of the House on housing matters. More recently, while trying to find an acceptable political level, he again upstaged Mr Lashley by rushing to the Press to speak about matters pertaining to the National Housing Corporation, leaving Lashley, once again to ponder on his political future in that party.

This crass and naked approach by Mr Thompson to find his political relevance has driven him over the last weekend to push aside the Shadow Minister of Health Mr Richard Sealy and to insert himself. If ever, you thought that Thompson had difficulty finding the required academic level, then his utterances on health issues this past week would best explain the rationale.

In an attempt to impress the public that he was on top of the situation at the St John’s Polyclinic, Thompson mixed up everything. What a potpourri. He spoke of fungus virus, bacterium, and moulds as one and the same. Thank God he only confused himself and not the public. He even coined a new Thompsonism – bacteriological virus.

Thompson expressed anger about the temporary closure of the polyclinic but how else can spores and fungi be removed from the premises? Industrial and environmental cleaning of this nature necessitates the removal of staff from the immediate environs. The growth of fungal moulds as with Aspergillus (the culprit identified in causing the allergies), the rapid breakdown of fruits and vegetables, are problems which we in the tropics have to put up with because of our hot and humid climatic conditions.

Does Thompson remember the problem which plagued our furniture manufacturers some years ago when in an export drive our products were deemed unacceptable in the North American market? The reason given then was that the moisture that was retained in the wood came to the surface of the furniture and caused fungal growth once it was containerised. The solution? To place the product or raw material in a special type of oven to ensure maximum removal of moisture.

Thompson’s stage performance this past week shows what he is best at – stage performing, drama and dance. He may even find success in writing his own operas. The suggested title? The opera of the Phantom, depicting this man who has formed a kingdom of shadows, as he attempts to reconcile the world of the Realpolitik with his phantom world as he rushes hither, thither and yon.

DLP Concessions Just Before Leaving Office

 

This is what Thompson was up to just right after the 1994 election was called when he was the Minister of Finance. You the voters must ask yourselves if he was acting in your interest or in his own interest when he bestowed these numerous concessions. He knew the writing was on the wall. He knew his party was going to lose and yet he was busy granting hefty concessions to a private entity after having presided over pay cuts, short weeks and thousands of Barbadians being laid off, losing their homes and furniture and appliances as hundreds of people had their property repossessed. 

Velzo’s Comment

What would Duguid publish that would be so sensational? He is a political mouse.

The Sandy Lane concessions in relation to property tax were nothing spectacular because all Thompson did was reduce the property transfer tax on vendors of the Sandy Lane units. Owen Arthur then brought a law – an amendment to the Property Transfer Tax Act – to remove the tax entirely in 1999!

Poor Velzo could not be more wrong or misinformed on this issue. Clearly that is not all that Thompson did.

Waived property tranfer tax not reduced for foreign purchaser.

Reduced property tranfer tax for foreign Vendor.

Waived withholding tax on interest ie what the banks deduct from interest on your money.

Waived import duties on all imports.

Waived all corporate taxes For TEN YEARS.

Waiver of duty on  Vehicles.

Waiver on duties on management fees.

He is famous for secret deals. Well this must be one of the most lucrative secret deals for him which is no longer a secret.

He must be instantly nominated for a piggy at the trough award by Barbados Free Press.

 Worst of all Barbadians at that time lost confidence in themselves. That confidence has been restored by the Barbados Labour Party. These are the facts in black and white. You be the judge.

BLP Delivers

As the curtain came down on a very successful Annual Conference a number of positive achievements and new milestones were highlighted during the very sterling address by the Party Chairman and Prime Minister of Barbados Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur. His presentation provided a wealth of information on the many policies and programmes accomplished by this BLP administration.

 

In is clear from the Government’s achievements during its third term that reduction in unemployment, creating an enabling environment for Barbadians to save, providing relief from land and income taxes, providing greater access to mortgages, increasing the number of beneficiaries of our tenantry land programme have been its major focus and have contributed to the increase in the living standards of working class Barbadians.

 

In 1994 the election theme of the BLP’s campaign was “Job #1 is Jobs”. It must therefore be of some comfort for the Prime Minister to report in 2006 that its job creation programme is still bearing fruit. He reports that, “Not only has unemployment been brought to record level (8.1%) in this our third term, but for the first time in our history it has been maintained at single digit levels for more than two consecutive years. It must count for something that the unemployment rate in Barbados is lower than in most European countries”.

 

That more Barbadians are at work has resulted in increased savings, higher investment and greater demand for home mortgages. The Prime Minister was able to report that during this third term, “Barbadians have saved and invested more than in any previous period. Between 2003 and June this year (2006) deposits held by Barbadians in commercial banks alone increased by $2.billion (from $5.1 to $7.1billion). With respect to mortgage loans the Prime Minister stated that, “loans by commercial banks for private dwellings have virtually doubled between the end of 2002 and June 2006 – rising from $386million to now over $720million”. It is noted that these loans amounted only $34million when the BLP assumed office in 1994.

 

Further, lower and middle income Barbadians, under this BLP administration, have benefited immensely from a far reaching programme of tax reform and tax relief. With respect to income tax the Prime Minister stated that, “That the combined effect of the raising of the threshold below which tax is not paid from $15,000 to $22,500 and the lowering of the tax rates on personal income has led to the removal of over 26,000 from the tax roll, including maid, gardeners, orderlies, messengers and the like”.

 

Small property owners with a property value of up to $125,000 now pay no land tax. Thanks to Prime Minister Arthur who stated that, “Over 50,000 homeowners have benefited from the lowering of land tax rates and the exemption of the first $125,000 from the payment of land tax entirely. A home owner with a house value at $250,000 was paying land tax of $500 at the start of the term. He or she is paying only $125 now”.

 

The Opposition can not stand or appreciate success. The above measures have put a substantial amount of money in the pockets of poor working class Barbadians. While the Dems parade across the country that they are the party of the working class, the BLP has been building prosperity among that class. How can a party that claims to be a party of the masses express disgust at a tax reform programme that puts over $100 million back into their pockets?

 

Estwick, Thompson and the full posse at George Street should hang their heads in shame.