#BTEditorial – Taking action to avoiding a tinderbox

It is easy to be a cheerleader for a person one admires, whether they be a family member, a boss, a friend who will be your ride or die partner or even a loved politician. The effects of cheerleading are even more penetrable when times are good. But it will take an enormous amount of cheer leading to get our population, particularly our young people and those with few prospects for improvement in their daily existence, through the next couple of months as we eagerly await the end of 2020.

The news just keeps getting worse, even though there are breakthroughs of positivity. On the tourism front, we are crossing our collective fingers and toes. Yes. The  situation is that desperate for thousands of laid-off employees in that sector who ponder their next move as a mere 15 hotels remain open and they are far from an adequate capacity to support full employment by their operators.

Of course, the country and those in the private sector are hinging their bets on the Barbados Welcome Stamp despite the mini-storm created by its open arms to those in same-sex unions.

At another time and under different circumstances, the evangelical community might have garnered more support for their moral and Biblical position. Were there not thousands of hungry mouths to feed and the state in desperate need of vital foreign exchange many more would join their moral crusade.

At this stage, however, we are convinced the majority of Barbadians are prepared to give the Barbados Welcome Stamp their nod of approval. With almost 1800 requests from persons around the globe wanting to telecommute from Barbados for up to a year, we really are in no position to snub any of these long-stay visitors who want to call Barbados their temporary home.

Also among the positive news was the recent announcement from new Minister of Tourism and International Transport Senator Lisa Cummins that for the first time in years, British Airways will commence daily flights from the bustling Heathrow airport.

“For more than 15 years, Barbados has been engaging British Airways on the re-establishment of London Heathrow as the gateway to Barbados, following the retirement of its Concorde service. We are thrilled therefore to see this finally come to fruition as it opens the door for us, quite literally, for growth opportunities in cities and continents that were once out of our reach,” she revealed at a recent function, noting that it will improve access for more British visitors. The Brits are really our kind of visitor, as they tend to stay longer and spend more during their holidays.

“Post-COVID-19, with British Airways seeing the contraction of various routes, the opportunity presented itself for this service and we were determined to secure it. . . . Understanding the challenges currently faced by our industry, it is critical for us to be both smart and aggressive with our growth strategy, and this represents that.”

The Minister’s tone is highly optimistic but she also accepts the parallel challenges that will come with having more visitors on the island at a time that many Europeans countries are experiencing what some experts suggest is the COVID-19 second wave.

The Mottley Administration, with its embarrassment of riches from the 2018 general election, will truly require all hands on deck as the coming months will require a quality of leadership that has not been witnessed before.

Ensuring that the social fabric of communities is not permanently frayed by this period of mass dislocation will be a feat in itself. If the national unemployment numbers are in the 40 percentage range, one can only imagine just how staggering the state of youth unemployment must be.

And as difficult these economic times may be, Government will have to find the resources to respond to the needs of this particular group and that of female unemployment. The sad truth is that when female unemployment is high, the entire family is disrupted given the large number of female-headed households in this country.

Head of the Barbados Private Sector Association Edward Clarke is not a man prone to panic, but his most recent comments on the unemployment situation are telling.

Apart from calling for an extension of unemployment benefits beyond the 26-weeks period offered by the National Insurance Scheme, Mr. Clarke has more than hinted that the country’s welfare could be at risk, if the right decisions are not made to protect the vulnerable and provide a cushion for those now on the breadline.