#BTColumn – In our own backyard

Hi readers, I’ve had a wonderful hiatus from my column, but I’m happy to be back (bi-weekly this time) to lend my voice to the issues that we are facing in Barbados and the world. I look forward to hearing from those of you who will take the time to write to me and send comments.

The world has certainly changed since I last wrote and some of the changes have been devastating but, thankfully, some have been positive. One of the good ones is the great exposure that our Prime Minister, and by extension, Barbados, has been receiving globally. A colleague in England recently told my husband that Barbados is in the British press every day and great things are being said. No longer do we have to cringe and wonder what is going to be said about our nation.

Apart from the effects of COVID-19, it is astounding to see what is going on in the world. Aa a result of the horrific, catalytic murder of George Floyd, people are demanding justice, apologies are being made for racist actions of the past, films are being withdrawn, statues are being pulled down, even packaging is being changed and reparations are being made. Something unprecedented in happening. Let us not miss being a part of this move in Barbados.

It is said that Barbadians are passive (which can be good at times) so it’s only rarely that we protest against something beyond complaining on the call-in programs. However, we need to look at what is happening in our own backyard and begin to protest against injustices, wrong doings and inaction and we need to question things that we’re not satisfied with, particularly laws that are to be passed.

We need to question why the Integrity in Public Life legislation and Prevention of Corruption Bill have taken so long to be enacted. We’ve been told that COVID-19 is the culprit that has held up the Integrity in Public Life Commission, but COVID -19 has only affected us for the last four months so we need to see this legislation and the committee in place and functioning.

Workers in the private sector have had to take pay cuts and public sector workers have been asked to be part of the BOSS program because the country has been hit hard by COVID-19. However, year after year the Auditor General reports millions of dollars unaccounted for, written off and paid out over and above agreed contracts and no one has marched, no one protested, no one called to account the people to whom we gave stewardship of the resources of the country. We could certainly use that money today!

A few years ago there were protests during Town Hall meetings against the construction of the proposed Cahill gasification plant in Vaucluse. So I was astounded to see what a friend of mine referred to as Cahill 2.0, being talked about in Parliament. The proposal appears to be to introduce a bio energy plant (which sounds good) fueled by 20 per cent of local organic waste (also good) but importing 80 per cent of the waste required (not so good). I don’t understand why we would not build a smaller plant to handle the waste that we have rather than having to import material to keep it running. This is definitely something that we need clarification on.

While I understand the need to deal with our garbage, one of the other concerns that is supposed to be addressed by this proposed plant is the foreign exchange spent on the importation of fossil fuels. I would have thought that the solution is fairly obvious.

In my very first book, What Do You Have in Your House?, I share principles to increase revenue or reduce expenses using what you have in your house. What do we have in our “house” in Barbados? Is it not unlimited sunshine? Why would we not invest that $320M (the figure that was touted) in creating photovoltaic farms to generate power and reduce the importation of fossil fuel? I was told by a very reliable source that it would only take four per cent of the land area in Barbados to produce all the electricity that BL&P now sells, plus power electric vehicles as well.

Why would we not put photovoltaic panels on all our schools? For those householders who can afford to put them on their own roofs, we should encourage them to do so, and for those who cannot, they should be able to access solar power from central farms connected to the grid. If we are really serious about being green and environmentally friendly and saving money, why would we not utilize the free sun and make the investment in the infrastructure to capture it?

This is the era in which we need to speak up and let our collective voices be heard without fear of victimization or recrimination. Because of our political situation, where we have no real opposition, it is also important for the people to voice concerns and for those concerns to be listened to and taken seriously. I believe that we have a government that is open to listening to the people so let our voices be heard. Many voices raised in protest have the power to bring change. Let’s make sure that we use our voices to bring change in our own backyard.

Donna Every is an author, international speaker, and trainer. Visit her website at www.donnaevery.com or email her at donna@donnaevery.com.