69th Annual Conference

Wonderful crowd.

Excellent speeches.

Tremendous conference.

Excellent leader. 

Electric atmosphere.

The Candidates are ready.

The Canvassers are ready.

The Organisation is ready.

The BLP is ready.

Wickham Mistaken

Pollster Peter Wickham is clearly mistaken when he claims that Prime Minister Owen Arthur has not produced any major improvements in the quality of our governance during his thirteen years in office. Yes, Arthur does have political savvy, this I will acknowledge, but I refuse to accept the other claim.

In debunking this piece of foolishness, Wickham is advised to peruse the following:

(1) Over the past 13 years the Owen Arthur’s administration has consistently received the commendations of rating agencies like Standard and Poor’s for its prudent fiscal management. The steady capital inflows is a clear indication that investors have confidence in the mangers of the local economy.

(2) He has increased the membership of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to ensure a quorum can be formed on the basis of the presence of opposition members at meetings.

(3) His government has liberalised the telecommunications sector in an attempt to lower the cost of doing business locally.

(4) He has established the Fair Trading Commission and enact pieces of legislation to ensure that there is a level playing field in the commercial sector.

(5) The critical importance of law and order to economic development has been recognised with the recruitment of additional judicial officers and an increase in the number of courts. No businessman wants to invest in a country where law and order has broken down.

While sister territories in the Caribbean have to wrestle with kidnappings and gun related crime, Barbados continues to be an oasis of peace.

(6) The Owen Arthur administration has been a major player in the establisment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). With the establishment of the Caricom Single Market and Economy(CSME), this court is expected to adjudicate on trade disputes in spite of opposition claims that it was a “hanging court”.

(7) The enactment of anti-money laundering legislation which stipulates that deposits of over Bds $10 000 can be questioned by bank officials.

(8) The Owen Arthur administration has maintained  the integrity and independence of the civil service.

(9) It has enacted pieces of legislation which seek to protect the buying public from unscrupulous businessmen.

(10) The administration has established venture capital facilities to assist small businessmen who have an idea but lack the capital. 

Cry Baby

Opposition leader David Thompson has now become the cry-baby of local politics.

At this stage of its history, the Democartic Labour Party is assuming the role of the local clergy and pretending to be embarking on a moral crusade.

In the last edition of the Sunday Sun, Harold Hoyte argued that there must be an aspect of “rascality” about poltical leadership, but political neophytes who are unfamilar with the nuances of language and realpolitik have taken it at its literal meaning. No commentator in his right mind would welcome skullduggery and scheming in our poltical culture. It is an accepted fact of politics that leaders must display a degree of coldness and toughness in the execution of their duties.

Meanwhile, playing to the gallery, Thompson has asserted according to the Nation of Monday, October 22, that “he will not lie, cheat or steal to get to the top in Barbados”.

He further pointed out: ” That goes against everything that I stand for and seek to instill in my children. If today I am being told that I have to become Machiavellian and that I have to develop traits of rascality and that what I say does not necessarily have to be what I mean, then I have to ponder long and hard on this.”

Thompson is too intelligent to interpret Hoyte’s observation in this way, but now seeks to play on the emotions of the Barbadian public who generally align themselves with the underdog.

As a leader of a major political party he would have to be familiar with the sentiments expressed by former British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, who is reported to have said:” The first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher”. In other words, leaders must be cold and clinical if they are to protect the interests of their country in a world where every nation is fighting for space and the betterment of its people.

It is kindergaten politics to bring the writings of Machiavelli into the current debate about leadership of the country. No one wants a leader to be corrupt and untruthful. In any event, in his book, the Prince, Machiavelli was addressing the issue of realpolitik. In fact, leading academics the world over have all hailed Machiavelli as the founder of modern political science and modern historical analysis. It was not Machiavelli who is reported to have said that a country does not have permanent friends, but permanent interests.

Poll Response

The most recent poll by Cadres for the Nation Newspaper continues to affirm the indisputable fact that the people of Barbados hold true to their belief that the Owen Arthur lead administration continues to be the best Team for the Times in Barbados.  

The Dees on the other hand remain disorganized, dysfunctional and deflated. They still have not proven to the people of Barbados that they are a viable alternative. They continue to be ill prepared, ill equipped and all of their policies ill conceived. From all of these polls in the current series one message comes through loud and clear and is reflected in the responses of the people participating in all of these polls. 

THE DEMS ARE NOT FIT TO GOVERN 

This is borne out with 44 % of people having this view  that they are not ready and only 25% to the contrary in support of the Dems ability to Govern.   

Thompson continues to run a distant second in the preferred leader category and their combined leadership is less than a third of that of the Barbados Labour Party. With both Mia Mottley and Clyde Mascoll adding to the preferred leader graph in favour of the Barbados Labour Party, showing the depth of high quality candidates in the BLP in contrast to the other side with only one candidate scoring above 1 % in the preferred leader category.

 People in Barbados have made up their minds about Thompson and although he has been in politics for over 20 years the majority of people do not see him as Prime Ministerial material. He proved his poor leadership qualities when he led them to their worst and crushing defeat in 1999. The writing is on the wall that he will lead them into another crushing defeat. He is no match for the style, audacity, cunning and tenacity of Owen Arthur and the BLP.      

Fig 1 Preferred Leader

Further when the Dems are not arguing over who should be leader now there is also a three way fight over who should be deputy leader.   The DLP or its leader has not convinced the electorate that they can chart a true and steady course for Barbados in the same professional and diligent manner that the BLP has been able to achieve often in hard and extremely difficult times for the last 13 years.   

The Barbados Labour Party retains and enjoys a strong, deep and resilient connection with the electorate and is in tune with their dreams, desires and aspirations. Although there has been a 5% reduction of  Party Support for the BLP and bearing in mind that this is just outside the 5% margin of error it is also interesting to note that the DLP has not benefitted from this and these people have moved into the don’t know / won’t say category. Thus this could be categorized as an increasingly cautious electorate rather than a swing away from the BLP. 

It is part of human nature that after a long period to have an increasing desire for change but this change may be achieved by changing the way Government does business or changes in the policies and programs Government is pursuing. This would be a passive change as it is clear that the people are uncomfortable with the DLP and are not prepared to enhance their support. 

Another interesting and statistically significant fact that is borne out in this poll is that 7% more of those polled believe the BLP deserves another term in contrast to the appalling 25% who feel that the DLP may be ready to govern. Good developmental ideas, political savvy, competence and experience in ascending order are the attributes most associated the Owen Arthur and by extension his administration.   

 Further the people are so happy with the Prime Minister that he retains a job approval rating that would be envied by most world leaders with 50% of people approving of the job done by the Prime Minister. It is also obvious that some of those who desire change will still not support the DLP. Even some of their own supporters think that they are ill prepared. They have no clear or decisive policies and the well educated electorate of Barbados will not blindly change to an untried inexperienced gang to manage their important affairs. Innuendo Gossip and trivia is not enough and has no substance for people to want to change to. They continue to prove themselves to be no more than a lot of froth and no mauby.    

The disastrous DEMS are waking up now facing the stark reality that eleven months later very few people feel that they are likely to win the next election as can be seen in fig 2. Further more than twice the number of people feel the BLP will be victorious at the next election. 

Fig 2

  This poll is clearly another body blow to the opposition that even with their heightened activity and coming off of their last conference their poll numbers still have not improved significantly. Their loser leader is accustomed to losing and in so doing continues to cause immense grief to his party.  He has never and it now seems likely that he will never lead them into an election victory after having led them into defeat on two occasions and now heading for a third as he has conclusively displayed his inability to win an election with a long negative track record. 

The smart, articulate and astute people of Barbados are not prepared or willing to put their affairs in the hands of a neophyte with an even less qualified team behind him.   The Owen Arthur administration remains committed to the people of Barbados. We have managed the affairs of this country from 1994 to the present time. Our record on job creation, improved infrastructure, help and assistance for the disadvantaged, management of the environment and support for our educational system are exemplary.  

The BLP is ready as there is still a lot more work to be done to achieve our stated goal of achieving developed Nation status in the first quarter of this century. The Barbados Labour Party is still on track to achieve this and the current poll confirms that with the help and commitment of the Barbadian people we will achieve it.           

Thompson’s Retribution

Since the publication of the last CADRES poll, the comments of the DLP’s commentators on the call-in programmes, Barbados Free Press, Barbados Underground and the columnist in the Nation News Paper have been reduced to such political dribble and in some cases obscenity that it is quite pellucid that they are hurting and hurting badly. The emotional state within the DLP at this time is one for which many Barbadians can sympathize but which they also believe has been self-inflicted by the likes of Wickham, Hartley, Greaves, Sleepy and the lot.

The public’s distrust in Thompson’s ability to lead this country and the uncertainty Barbadians hold of the DLP’s readiness to govern, can easily be attributed to Thompson’s own making.  In fact, it is believed that he is his worst enemy and the time has come for him to heed the advice which he gave to the late Sir John Compton. He should stand down from the leadership of the party before he is forced out.  

This Column has repeatedly stated that when a man’s dream becomes his obsession then desperation becomes his guide. Thompson’s desperation or otherwise his power hunger has led him to commit a number of political errors for which working class Barbadians have suffered the worst. A careful analysis of the class structure in Barbados will reveal that persons of a working class background between the ages of 18 to 45 are persons among whom Thompson is most despised.  Thompson has failed miserably to maintain and improve on the working class support that the Rt. Excellent Errol Barrow had built up.

 Every act committed since becoming leader of the DLP has led to a haemorrhaging of the party. On every occasion that an exodus occurred they were working class members and for them they now see his political demise as retribution long overdue. That those members who left the DLP are today making their contributions towards the development of this country in the bosom of the BLP is testimony that they were not the albatross to the success of the DLP but the spring of political renewal and continuity.   

Thompson’s political career has been a dismal failure. He was one of the youngest members to have sat in a Cabinet. He was this country’s youngest Minister of Finance. As a Cabinet Member not a single idea to improve that Cabinet’s lot ever came from him. He was a Minister of Finance whose lofty solution to this country’s raging unemployment problem was “bus fare and lunch money”. Many recall his fleeting association with the Ministry of Finance as the darkest period in the economic life of this country.

The notion that Thompson has not yet served this country is misleading. What can be appropriately said is that he has served without distinction. This country is still awaiting Thompson’s proof of the St. John Development Plan, the IMF secret Deal, the reason for the abandonment of St. John’s Polyclinic and the information on the Hardwood Housing issue. Thompson is now under severe pressure to prove why the electorate should trust him over Prime Minister Arthur.   

There is absolutely no comparison between the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister and Thompson. Not in intellect or ideas. Barbadians have heard from Thompson in his address to his party’s conference. This weekend the BLP will open the doors of the Deighton Griffith School and welcomes all Barbadians to come and hear Prime Minister Arthur set the truth to the many rumours and innuendos of the party of Deception Lies and Propaganda (DLP).  

Increase Disposable Income

The investment in education by successive governments continues to bear fruit with the reluctance of the local electorate to buy into the brainless programmes being presented by the opposition Democratic Labour Party.

In a less sophisticated society, the concessions offered by Opposition Leader, David Thompson, during this year’s budget would have been seen as an offer that could not be refused. Fortunately over the years, Barbados has benefited substantially from inputs made by faculty members of the Economics Department at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies in matters related to the running of the island’s economy.

Spokesmen of the DLP continue to place the blame for the high cost of living on what they call “an uncaring BLP administration, o seemingly oblivious to the fact that this is a reality facing all of the countries of the Eastern Caribbean. Some critics of the administartion have suggested that price controls should be re-introduced to offer relief to the more vulnerable in the society.However, trained economists maintain that price control must be seen as a short term solution. They argue that a long-term solution can only be found with an increase in production in the exporting countries.They point out that corn is now being used to produce ethanol thereby reducing the volume used for human consumption. This results in an increase in the cost of the commodity to consumers in barabdos and the world. In addition, with the ever increasing cost of oil, there is a corresponding increase in the cost of freight. Economists also stressed that research has shown that the bulk of inflation in Barbados has been inported.

Knowledgeable individuals have recalled that the Price Control regime introduced by the DLP in the 1970s resulted in shortages of basic food items and the closure of several village shops. They also recalled that major distributors gave priority to long-standing customers. Trained personnel have suggested that the consumer arm of the Ministry of Commerce should be re-activated and encouraged to publish results of market surveys to assist shoppers in making the correct choices in the market.

Contrary to opposition charges, in an attempt to cushion the effect of rising prices, the Owen Arthur administration has sought to increase the disposable income of the poor with the introduction of the reverse tax credit and the the lower of land tax. Can the opposition improve on these concessions?

The recent poll shows that the electorate is not as gullible as the opposition believe. An analysis of the recent poll carried out by one of the island’s dailies said:” One aspect that may surprise some is the fact that voters -almost half of the people questioned -43 per cent to be exact, said they did not expect any fundamental change if the government changed hands.”

This is a clear indication that the average citizen has reached a level of sophistication that has escaped the consciouness of DLP stategists. What an oversight.

Arthur Leading Well

Thompson’s poor showing in the recent poll must be a source of concern for party members and supporters anxious to have friends at court.

Following months of heightened political activity by the Democratic Labour Party, the recent poll has shown that his support has increased marginally by a mere one percentage point -up from 28 per cent in February to 29 per cent in October. The poll further indicated that while 48 per cent of the electorate felt that the Barbados Labour Party was likely to win the next elections, only 20 per cent felt the DLP would make it into the winner’s enclosure. Surely a sad reflection on Thompson’s ability to rally the masses around himself and his pary. Why can’t Thompson pull himself and his party out of the 20 per cent range?

In the recently concluded Jamaican general election, we saw the opposition leader, Bruce Golding and Prime Minister, Portia

Simpson- Miller, in a neck and neck contest before Golding emerged as the winner. After three terms of Barbados Labour Party government, Thompson should be giving Arthur some cause for concern, not presenting some puerile rationalisation which says that no leader of the opposition in Barbados has ever scored more than 32 per cent in a poll prior to an election.

Thompson must accept the lessons of Barbadian politics and recognise that the local electorate shows a distinct disinclination to vote for corporate lawyers as their leaders. In addirion, in a globalised setting, the era of the lawyer/ politician seems to be fast fading and that of the economist/politician seems to be in the ascendancy. China has recently identified a 54 year old economist as the heir apparent of that vast country.

Shame

Shame on you!

The opposition Democratic Labour Party has sought to destroy Clyde Mascoll’s credibilty over the assistance offered to Anthony Murrell of Hardwood Housing Factory Inc. in accessing venture capital funding from the Enterprise Growth Fund to provide housing solutions for the island’s poor. 

However, a more enlightened party would have recognised that in the new global setting, governments the world over have established similar funding agencies to assist persons from “inner cities” who displayed an entrepreneurial spirit.

Addressing a similar situation in the inner cities of the USA an award winning author said: ” That is why I would encourage the venture capital fund started in 1999 for low-and moderate-income neighbourhoods. Known as the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, it gives start-up financing to businessmen ready to make risky investments in underdeveloped districts , where they see the market possibilities.- for anything from private day- care centres, to low-income housing to a beauty salon to entertainment facilities- but where venture capital financing would not normally be made available.”

Where is the vision, David Thompson? 

Thompson Unbelievable

From the depth of our hearts, the family of the Barbados Labour Party would like to thank the people of Barbados for their continuing support for Prime Minister Arthur and his BLP government. We pride ourselves not as a government that is perfect but a government that is willing to listen to the people, learn from and correct our mistakes and to say sorry when the cause arises. One of the hallmarks of our Prime Minister is that he has always admonished his Ministers that any time they are confronted with a problem within their ministry “they should face it and fix it”.

You and I know that anything that can go wrong will go wrong according to one of our most noted philosophers. In the same way that a teacher will never have absolute control of every student in their class so too will a Minister never have absolute control of every member of staff of the Ministry. However, we accept that a teacher is ultimately responsible for the students under their watch as the Minister is responsible for his Ministry, Essentially the point that we wish to make is this. The results of the recent poll have demonstrated the level of confidence that the people of Barbados continues to repose in the government.

This must be attributed to the prudent and skillful management of Prime Minister Arthur. At the same time, the results have shown a high degree of distrust towards the Opposition DLP which must be seen as the absolute lack of confidence in the Opposition Leader.  Since the return of Thompson, the DLP has led a campaign of corruption against the government. Every policy initiative and programme undertaken by this government has been met with the charge of corruption by the DLP. They have succeeded in garnishing the support of the moderators on the call-in programmes, the Nation Newspaper and its columnist Wickham, Hartley and Eversley.

They have even set up two blogs, the Barbados Free Press and the Barbados Underground and yet they continue to fail in their attempt to impress the electorate. So with “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men they could not put humpty dumpty back together again”.  But why with all this support has Thompson continues to flounder? We contend that the “Believability Factor” is at the heart of Thompson’s political failings. When you start wrong you can only end wrong. Those of us with good parental guidance can recall being taught that when you start with a lie you can only end with a lie. No one in their right mind would invest their life’s savings and valuables in the hands of anyone who is known to be a stranger of the truth.  A wife’s worst nightmare is a lying husband.

A country’s worst dream is to wake up and find its highest office occupied by a person whose spoken word cannot be trusted. Thompson would do well to use the results of the last poll to conduct an introspection of himself. It maybe too late for him to undergo any meaningful change of character that will effectively alter his perception in the public’s mind but he may be able to determine in which capacity other than politics he may be best able to serve his family and friends.   

Thompson’s somersault on the Harwood issue is unbelievable. Does he really want to investigate wrong doings? Many Barbadians are not aware that the AUDITED FINACIAL statements of GEMS have been late in the House for some time now and Thompson would have seen them yet he has not call for an investigation. Why?  

Loose DLP

Under David Thompson, the Democratic Labour Party has clearly come loose from its philosophical moorings.

 

This became pellucidly clear on Sunday night when Thompson literally lynched Anthony Murrell, a Barbadian of impeccable working class origin before a large crowd at Black Rock, St Michael.

 

Thompson had originally come to unmask Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Clyde Mascoll, but failed to carry out his threat. Had he presented documentary evidence linking Mascoll to any wrongdoing in his dealings with Hardwood Housing Factory Inc, Barbadians could have witnessed the end of Mascoll’s political career.

 

Conversely, had Thompson presented any concrete evidence Barbadians could have witnessed a spectacular improvement in his stature among the electorate.

 

However, once again Thompson cried wolf when none existed, but then proceeded to hold up Murrell to public ridicule, an act which would not have gone down well with several black businessmen whose operations were under-capitalised.

 

Having no clear evidence of any wrongdoing on Mascoll’s part, Thomspon who is a leading exponent of political invective in the House of Assembly and on political platforms, but who has repeatedly shown an aversion to rigorous intellectual pursuits, then targeted Murrell for a vicious tongue lashing.

 

At no time during his hour long presentation did Thompson outline an alternative developmental programme for the country, but engaged in cheap gutter politics, speaking ill of a man who clearly does not have the oratorical skills to mount a platform and defend himself.

 

Through the use of slides, Thompson exposed every minute detail of Murrell’s business transactions with corporate Barbados. How ridiculous and spiteful. Surely clear signs of a desperate politician. Last Sunday’s poll would have hardly given the DLP any reason to celebrate with their leader fighting hard to improve his standing in that poll.

 

Sunday night’s crowd was treated to stories of Murrell’s inability to fulfill his contractual arrangements with companies across the country. But isn’t this the plight of most black business men- undercapitilisation?

 

However, Thompson’s onslaught was later debunked on Monday night as it related to Mascoll and his wife, when they both acknowledged that they had retained the services of Harwood Housing Factory Inc to carry out repairs at a property in Perry Gap, the City, but stressed that they paid the company in excess of $3000 for the services rendered.

 

DLP candidate for the constituency of St Michael North West, Chris Sinckler, also engaged in political investive dismissing Mascoll as an ingrate having identified the many occasions on which Mascoll benefited from the kindness of DLP members and supporters during his early professional and political career.