Independent candidate says BLP, DLP have failed

Independent candidate for St George North, Melissa Taitt on Thursday urged Barbadians not to be distracted by the politics of “optical illusions”.

The political hopeful told a spot meeting at the Newbury basketball court that it was time Barbadians open their eyes and see what was going on in the country, and that the island’s two main political parties, the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), had failed them.

“From yellow to red, they publish large manifestos of lower taxes…they promise integrity laws which they never pass, they promise new roads and infrastructure. If not for elections, roads remain the same….

“…. The people in Boscobelle and other areas … cannot receive water through the lack of physical infrastructure. Ask the people in White Hill and those along the Martin’s Bay [bus] route about the poor infrastructure and those in St Joseph who are billed for water without a drop,” Taitt contended.

She insisted that Barbados was at a critical stage and challenged constituents and wider Barbados to think outside the box and look to create a better future.

Taitt, who described herself as a tradesperson, fish vendor, and a concerned citizen, charged that the country is “sick”.

“The country is not well. Our hospital is in need of repairs, our schools are in need of repairs, our roads have in potholes and swimming pools. Our government has amassed more derelict buildings than the citizens of this country, paying millions in for rent for private offices.

“Our water pipes are old. Our sugar industry has practically collapsed, our judiciary is in horrible backlog, my people, yet we are in debt. We are the sixth-highest taxed country in the world with the infrastructure of a third-world country. We are in a country that is practising the politics of optical illusions and keeping up of appearances. Barbadians, wake up my people,” the first-time candidate insisted.

Taitt also chided Prime Minister Mia Mottley for calling an election 18 months before it was constitutionally due.

“What possesses a government to fight for a mandate of their people, gain 30-0 in an election and make history, and then want a new contract? We watched them quit their jobs before they were finished. So why should we trust them when they quit in the middle of a global medical crisis and a looming economic backlash?” she questioned.

The DLP was also not spared Taitt’s scrutiny. Citing the party’s poor performance when it held office, she blasted St Michael South Central candidate Richard Sealy for feigning concern about the National Insurance Scheme during this election campaign.

“For how can Richard Sealy ask the BLP to recapitalise the [National Insurance] Fund when it was the DLP that brought the NIS to its knees?” she asked.

Taitt called on constituents and Barbadians not to be distracted by the fanfare of political rallies, as she offered her manifesto as a practical solution to the prevailing challenges.

“I have plans to encourage development through sustainable entrepreneurship schemes, through collectivity and pooling of resources. I have established the organisation of single parents which is a fund which allows us to go and pool our resources to achieve our means.

“If we as a community do not come together in these terrible times, who will survive? We need to face the truth and prepare ourselves as a people. In 2022, it is time to try something new,” Taitt said. (SD)