RISE OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL CLASS

Like countless other Barbadians we to were shocked to read in the DLP’s column for Friday, April 20, 2007 of the charge that this BLP Government was responsible for the institutional framework that created a new class of “working poor” Barbadians. The many calls we received from persons expressing their views on the comment ranged from the very angry to the absolute pitiful for the DLP. We were not aware of the level of anger and disgust Barbadians still harbour for the way they suffered in the early 1990s. One would have thought that with the passage of time the hurt and pain would have subsided but that is not the case. Clearly the DLP has underestimated the extent of the damage which they had inflicted on the Barbadian psyche.

 

What is even more politically damaging for the DLP is the fact that to this day they have not once said sorry for disrupting the lives of so many ordinary Barbadians. In a very angry and forceful manner one caller said, “Every time I see David Thompson I remember the morning when my wife and I went to our respective work places to be greeted with the sad news that we were being made redundant”. He continued, “I spoke to my superior and carefully explained the dilemma that my wife and I would be faced if we were both made redundant”. The caller further said that he had informed his superior that they had just taken a mortgage on their new home and requested that some consideration be given to their circumstance. Everyone they spoke to, from Parliamentarian to Department Head, promised to get back to them. The rest was history.

 

In 1998 that gentleman returned home from the USA where he was forced to seek alternative employment illegally since 1993. He and his wife now have a second mortgage on their second home and two children. There are terrified at the thought of a DLP Government and worse yet one led by David Thompson, who incidentally was the Minister of Finance during the period of their hardship. What this young couple did not know then was that while they and hundreds of other Barbadians were being hunted like animals by Bailiffs and Court Marshals, Thompson is reported to have told a number of his close friends that the only thing a Bailiff can ask him is what is the time of the day. Where was the empathy from the man whose economic policies disrupted so many innocent lives?

 

The DLP hate us whenever we remind Barbadians of the salary cuts and the thousands of public servants sent home by Thompson and the DLP. Who created the “working poor”? Certainly not the BLP. In fact public servants now enjoy salary increases of the magnitude unheard of in Barbados before and rather than losing their jobs this BLP government as its commitment to workers took to Parliament a Bill that made every temporary post in government permanent. This BLP government also returned the 8% salary cut .

 

Thompson and the DLP would do well to drive around Barbados and see the kind of homes being constructed. Rather than having a “working poor” we unapologetically submit that we now have, according to a recent study done on our underground economy, a New Entrepreneurial Class made up primarily of those said persons who formed the “working poor” under the DLP. That group now boast of revenues representing a third of this country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Opposition admits CWC a Success

From the Nation

That was the message Dr David Estwick told members of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) at a St Michael West branch meeting yesterday, as he claimed the Caribbean might get less then 25 per cent of the millions regional governments spent on hosting the 2007 Cricket World Cup (CWC).

This is significant because it shows that from just the first event and just one event held at the new Kensington Oval we have been able  to recoup 25% of the costs. What a tremendous success. This is akin to building a house and recouping 25% of your expenditure from the first tenant in the first month. What we have to do now is to continue to use it as a sporting and cultural venue and host many world class events in the caribbean.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

A letter we received

 Dear Editor

Despite the fact that an election date has not yet been disclosed, and elections are not constitutionally due until sometime next year, ‘silly season’ has obviously been declared open. In the spirit of the season, DLP candidate for St. James South Mr. Donville Inniss has decided to play fast and loose with his credibility, again. He has publicly requested the sacking or resignation of an M.P, again.In 2005, he told his DLP colleague Mr. Kellman M.P to ‘…pack up and leave.’ Apparently, Mr. Kellman refused to compromise what he rightly felt was DLP tradition to some Procrustean bed of revisionist dogma that Inniss was promulgating at the time. Soon thereafter Mr. David Estwick M.P was indicted as a ‘dissident’ and unceremoniously lumped with those who ought to resign. They were told to ‘shut up or ship out’. In 2006, right on cue, Mr Inniss was prominent in the bid to oust erstwhile DLP leader Mr. Mascoll M.P from his position. The ritual humiliation to which the redoubtable Mr. Mascoll was subjected is a matter of public record. Having thoroughly extirpated or suppressed all evidence of originality and independent thought from his own party, Mr. Inniss has cast his jaundiced eye on the benches of his opponents. Now in 2007, indeed, just last week, he demanded the resignation of the Minister of Tourism.

According to Inniss, Mr. Lynch ‘…failed in his duties regarding the planning for [CWC] events in Barbados.’ Essentially, Mr. Lynch is to be held personally responsible for the precipitous departure of both India and Pakistan from CWC and the resulting cancellations by supporters from that sub-continent. Match fixing is immoral, and when last I checked, illegal. I know of no other way the Minister could have guaranteed their continued participation.

The rebarbative Mr. Inniss has further posited that ‘the minister had promised there was going to be about 90,000 visitors’. These will fail to materialise causing a catastrophe of immitigable proportions. By this tortuous logic, we are invited to infer that the minister was retained for his talents as an augury; here I was labouring under the misapprehension that ministers set policy. Surely, this number was a mere projection, generated in his ministry, and based on some legitimate evidence.

I will generously assist with some reality here. From all reports and observations, the CWC events in Barbados are progressing quite smoothly, all matters considered. The minister and other officials are responding satisfactorily to all complications that arise, and surpassing reasonable expectations. There are certainly no grounds for the sacking of the Tourism minister!

The contention to the contrary is completely misguided. Mr. Inniss is rapidly assuming the complexion and tone of a desperate man, who is watching the opportunity of ever forming part of a governing party, slither through his fingers [again!].

Thank you

_____________

Raquel Gilkes

FULL HOUSE AT THE OVAL

From the Nation

Kensington Oval was packed – barely a spare seat could be seen in the stands as 22 000 people came out to see Lara for the very last time.

Full house at the Oval a World Class facility.

Surely this is what the LOC had in mind when they redeveloped the Oval. They must be congratulated.

One can only imagine what the semi-final and final will be like.

Many Hoteliers reporting increased occupancy.

Those hoteliers who stuck to the contract were fully paid even if the Indians and Pakistanis did not come and they now have the opportunity to sell those rooms again. They have done very well.

The vendors and Taxi drivers are reporting good bussiness over the last few days and we have not even got into the semi-final and finals week.

Restaurants ,clubs and attractions having increased sales.

  

Lessons from Cricket

 

  It is no secret that governments around the region have spent much time and money in the preparations for World Cup Cricket. The plans presented and the advice given to respective governments from their Local Organizing Committees were that this World Cup was to be the best World Cup ever. We are well into the World Cup and after some earlier hiccups we are having a wonderful World Cup.

We do not intend to reflect on the comments of those who, from the outset, wished for the failure of the World Cup nor do we wish to reflect upon those who failed to plan properly and hence were left without oil in their lamps likes the five foolish virgins.

The planning of these games were in progress for sometime now, not that long and diligent planning eliminates errors, because anything that can go wrong will go wrong. We are of the view that the LOCs have done a fairly good job thus far in planning and executing the World Cup. Taking into account that this was the first major international sporting event of this magnitude being carried out in the region by the region it is an occasion for which we should all be proud.

In show-casing the countries of this region to millions around the world, a priceless marketing tool for which no tourism or investment specialist could have achieved in one go, Caribbean leaders have demonstrated the courage and boldness for which our peoples must embody if we are to truly take our place within the upper chambers of world politics. We are a people with a history and culture of which we are unashamed. We have conducted ourselves and our affairs in a manner that is the envy to many around world – as to how a people against such strident odds can do so well with so little. There is much that the rest of the world can learn from us.

We must however guard ourselves against those in our midst who lack the political creativity to persuade the electorate through enlightened policies and the intellectual capacity to grasp and understand the historical journey of the region’s people and our need to always show ourselves eminent in the international arena. We must never let our regional politics cloud the vision for our people or cast a doubt of our place on the world stage. To borrow the words of our beloved Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, “we should always strive for the gold”.

It is in this context that we reflect on the World Cup. We see it not as an opportunity to browbeat and criticize each other for trying but as an expression of our courage to stand among the mighty and not fall. For if we use the results of this World Cup to see only the negatives then we would have missed the golden chance to learn from life’s greatest teacher- experience. There are many lessons to be learnt from the staging of this World Cup but unless we engage ourselves on its positive aspects rather than its negatives then any such future events will be doomed.

In all this we have a West Indies team to rebuild. In fact we have to put in place a plan for the full usage of the region’s newest assets, our stadiums. We must now zero in on all our sportsmen and sportswomen to ensure that they are included in a development programme to maximize the use of these facilities for their social and economic benefit. The world is in our grasp, let’s reach out and hold it.

 

CWC A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS

 

  

From the Nation

          BARBADOS has scored big with $24 million in ticket sales so far from Cricket World Cup (CWC).

Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), Chris de Caires, told the SUNDAY SUN yesterday that up to a week or two ago, this was the tally for confirmed sales.

But there could be more.

He said that with additional tickets sold that were re-issued last week, more revenue could be added.

Satisfied with the monies received so far, de Caires said the LOC was originally targeting $25 million to $30 million in revenue.

“From a revenue perspective, we have done relatively well. We had always targeted a high level. At the end of December 2006, 95 per cent of our tickets to the public had been sold. We were in a wonderful position.”

He also explained that with big events like the CWC, about half the tickets were reserved for sponsors who had the opportunty to turn them back in.

“What has happened is that a lot of sponsors lost a lot of their support out of India and Pakistan [who were surprisingly knocked out in the first round] and they had to return tickets,” he said, adding these tickets were now back on the market.

Some have gone to schoolchildren so they could see CWC action and add to the spirit and liveliness at Kensington Oval.

The chairman also said Barbados was able to reap the benefits because of its comprehensive package and significant investment.

Huge investment

“Everything was a comprehensive package and one of the reasons we got it [the final] was that we were investing in a very significant stadium,” he said.

He stressed there was much planning going into the development of The Oval and its future use.

“Some of this [World Cup] gives us some experience to move forward into the future and develop the stadium as a world class facility to bring additional events to Barbados for people who live in Barbados as well as visitors,” he added.

For a venue that has cost approximately $ 150 Million dollars to have sold $25M in tickets from just one event is truly a tremendous achievement. The money has been invested in the people and country of Barbados with a World Class Venue to hold major events both sporting and cultural. This facility can become an  engine to propel all of our Tourism and service sectors which can further drive this economy and propel this Nation closer to the goal of becoming a developed Nation by 2025. 

Arthur Capable

 

 The manouevrings and machinations have intensified over the past three years by sections of the media and the DLP, working assiduously to persuade Barbadians that they have the worst government. 42% of the population has indicated they wanted change, but 78% think that the DLP is not ready for the reins of government. This is despite the bombardment on the airways of how bad things are in the economy, despite the fact that a respected economist Dr. Frank Alleyne has stated that the economy is not in crisis and the policies of this BLP team are right.

Much of the criticism by the DLP operatives and moderators on the call-in programmes reflect a lack of understanding of governance and the importance of how to create wealth by investing in the productive sectors. Some of these investments will do well and others will fail but with persistency of purpose you will gradually translate the benefits to the social sectors while retaining sufficient revenue to continue to feed the economic sectors.

This Government’s economic and social policies, as presented by Prime Minister Arthur has given Barbadians a taste of what tremendous performance has been wrought over the past twelve years to reposition our economy. There have positively impacted on the lives of all Barbadian. We have created 33,000 jobs, there is more money in Barbadian pockets as a direct result of our income tax policy of reducing personal income tax to 20 %, increasing the reverse tax credits for low-income earners from $500 to $1300 by 2009, reducing land taxes and corporation taxes. This increase in disposable income has resulted in Barbadian importing more. Imports soared from $1.6 billion in 2004 to $3 billion by 2006. In 1994 the value of mortgages stood at $590 million by 2005 it had shot up to $1.3 billion an obvious case that Barbadians are buying more houses and land than ever before.

The breadth of new proposals to take the Barbadian economy forward touch all the key sectors and introduces support for new initiatives. These initiatives will include programmes for youth in agriculture, including $2 million alone for the youth in St. John; vendors with malls – to be located strategically around the island to maximize and encourage brisk trade; the creation of a central processing facility for small processors to new ventures in high-end financial services in asset management with training to prepare 1000 Barbadian graduates with skills to deliver these services and earn mega-bucks.

So we must all be disturbed when we hear the DLP suggesting to the Barbadian public that ministers need not know how to govern and that civil servants will do it. Firstly the civil servants are not elected to govern they are trained to research and implement, a task which many of them do very well. The task of creating new ideas and developing strategies for the future development of this country falls squarely on the shoulders of the elected representatives of the people

Today’s world is even more complex than the dark days of the early 90’s and the BLP team have cut their eye teeth on that tumultuous world and built a wealth of competence and demonstrated high levels of ingenuity in managing the turbulent economic times under the capable leadership of Owen Arthur . The results of his excellent leadership can be seen in the performance of the Barbadian economy and the development of every ordinary Barbadian. But there is more work to be done and more challenges ahead. It is not the work for novices. What has the DLP to offer and who will lead them?

 

Ellis’ Blunder

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing in more common than unsuccessful men of talent. Genius will not: unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

 

Calvin Coolidge

 

There can be no doubt that that dastardly act by David Ellis, which took place in the studio of StarCom Network on the Sunday’s programme of Brass Tacks will find its rightful place in the law court, thus making the matter subjudice. Paddy will not interfere with the due process of law.

 

The Rt. Excellent Errol Barrow once admonished poor people to stay clear of the law courts for fear that they maybe abused by the system. We have come a long way since then and poor people have been engaging the services of the courts with much success. We wish Minister Noel Lynch well as he seeks to defend himself from the abuse of a very powerful but irresponsible medium.

 

The incident raises serious questions about the real role of the press in developing societies like ours. The press, both print and electronic, is a very critical partner in building and shaping a wholesome society. Every word spoken, every picture shown, impacts upon the lives of people and because of its powerful influence in shaping those mindsets there must be as a natural course of their responsibility seek to project the positives aspects of our society at all times.

 

In every society where the press has taking on a political agenda and where it has used its overwhelming power to negatively influence public opinion those societies became disruptive, democracy came under threat and the lives of their people were thrown into total anarchy. We must guard our nation against such reckless use and abuse of press power. When the citizens of any country has to seek legal recourse from a media that has become malicious, politically motivated and disrespectful to the basic human rights of its people then our democracy is in peril.

 

When the late Sir Grantley Adams laid the foundation for free education, which was later completed by the late Rt. Excellent Errol Barrow, never in their wildest dreams did they contemplate that the beneficiaries of that great social revolution would today be the subjects of ridicule by a politically lost DLP. There is no doubt that last Sunday’s fiasco had its origin in the DLP’s butcher stall at George Street and that Ellis was only the political surrogate.

 

The DLP has been for some time engaged in a politics of innuendo in which charges of corruption is continuously leveled but never backed up by a thread of evidence. It should be clear to all that after all the millions of dollars of investment in our social capital any success shown by our people is attacked by this new DLP lead by a man who best fits Calvin Coolidge example of an “educated derelict”.

 

The question for Barbadians is this. How do you treat to an opposition party that wants to lead this country in a competitively regional and global arena where the accumulation of wealth and financial resources of our people is critical to developing new enterprises and expanding our pool of entrepreneurs? The success of our people has been the bedrock of our society. Today the politics of Thompsonmania threatens that stability.

 

It is sad when the party that Barrow built can now find itself in a state where its lack of vision and foresight now causes it to see itself and its members suspiciously.