#BTColumn – The Prime Minister’s circus

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

by Dr Derek Alleyne

American educator and author Stephen Covey is quoted as saying that “you have to decide what your priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically – to say no to other things. When the announcement was made about a by-election, it struck me that this Government had its priorities wrong.

I wondered what was the Throne Speech all about because I thought it was to bring all Barbadians to one focus – the restoration of the Barbadian society following the ongoing effects of COVID-19

I took the time to read and digest the contents of the Throne Speech delivered so painstakingly by the Governor General back in September. Then I understood the modus operandi of this Government.

No disrespect to the Governor General but the contents represented the highest level of gobbledygook in the history of public pronouncements and typifies the parade, event and spectacle frame that describes the governance model of this MAM administration. It is all one big circus!

In its election publication, Future Forward, produced by the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), the now governing administration promised among other things to “revitalize established industries”.

The party specified: The revitalization of the sugar cane industry by manufacturing high value, specialized products, boost the medical sector through medical marijuana legislation, update fish markets to meet international phytosanitary conditions and facilitate a global center of excellence in tourism research.

One would have thought that with transportation challenges likely to increase thereby making a tourism rebound doubtful in the short term, some priority would have been given to the food security areas like agriculture and fishing and short crop revenue options like the medical marijuana.

In addition to making food available, providing jobs in these areas has the potential to redistribute ownership patterns and to build out new enterprises.

Instead the Government went right back to the tourism sector to produce the answers to the economic challenges. It had already pledged funding in its earlier budgets and tête-à-tête with the PM.

The strategy as outlined in the September Throne Speech now known as the BEST Programme, in keeping with a government of acronyms: “Will be a maximum of a $300 million scheme for hotels and tourism facilities as a response to COVID-19”. The Government boasts that it is the “largest fiscal stimulus package being offered to the country”.

The MAM team has asserted that it will protect jobs, support the balance sheets of our companies in the tourism sector and those of direct tourism services, and ultimately, ensure that our physical infrastructure remains fit for when some level of normalcy returns.” In addition there will be a Green and Digital Innovation Fund and the Tourism Loan Guarantee Fund, will be refined because the government intends to invest to save enterprises. That is the plan and out of it will come “star Bajans”.

Sorry, there was more. The Government regurgitated the following: “The Hyatt Ziva, a $400 million hotel, which will employ 1800 construction workers and 1200 full time staff thereafter; Sam Lords Castle will be refurbished and built out for $400 million, employing 1000 construction workers and 1200 full time staff; Sagicor Estates is a construction project of $200 million, which will engage 900 construction workers and later approximately 200 full time employees.”

The speech emphasized that these new investments of over $1.4 billion, approximately 4500 construction workers for 2 years and 3275 additional jobs thereafter, speak to there still being tremendous confidence by investors in the government and people of Barbados, the tourism industry and those who work in it. All of this was said in 2018 before COVID.

Not even the most critical among us will deny that COVID-19 has interrupted what the government had started. But crises provide opportunities to create new directions and to encourage new players to become leaders and active participants.

In the Speech there was reference to agriculture and marijuana. The Speech noted that legislation for medicinal marijuana was already in place and the regulations would soon be finished.

More will be said about marijuana legislation later but the Speech went on to say that ICAR will be provided with land at Bath, St. John to grow “herbs, aloes, roots and tubers such as sweet potatoes, cassava and yams.”

All this sounds good to the ears of the gullible and members of the Mottley assemblage. But even if we were to swallow it, where is the urgency? What has been done since the announcement of these empty plans to get Barbadians busy and focused? The Throne Speech was just another show.

The next show, a by-election in St. George and quickly have sprung to the fore a new set of empty, un-researched promises at a time when Barbadians ought to be glued to a reformation of the Barbadian society.

For the next month Barbadians will be caught in the cut and thrust of an unnecessary election campaign with the “skipper “parading up and down a stage beating her breast about how great she is. Miss Mottley ought to know that priorities are never what you say they are. They are revealed by how you live. Oh, for this land we all love!

Dr Derek Alleyne is a trade unionist, social commentator and member of the Democratic Labour Party.