#BTColumn – Don’t just talk keep your promises

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

by Michael Ray

There are a number of quotations on picturequotes.com worthy of deep thought and reflection that can make a difference in the lives of present and future generations of Barbadians.

Among them are:

Don’t make a promise you cannot keep and don’t say something unless you mean it.

Don’t ever promise more than you can deliver, but always deliver more than you can promise. (Lou Holtz)

Three things you should never break: promises, trust, and someone’s heart.

Don’t talk, just act. Don’t say, just show. Don’t promise, just prove.

Over a period of many years, Barbadians have been promised many things, some done, some undone.

A comment recently published in the print media stating – “The traditional approach of hiring consultants and big firms is not going to happen this time… We got too many people in this country who are not working and who need help,” – is a promise many unemployed should eagerly look forward to.

Sadly, a Jamaican company is about to be engaged in managing Harrison Cave within a number of weeks and it is quite possible dozens of individuals will be joining the ranks of the unemployed.

Another statement was also recently made suggesting that persons will not be to reap large dividends and that money can be spread as far and as wide as possible. Additionally, the National Insurance Scheme was carrying the biggest burden in its history.

The short, simple and sure solution apart from the promises being made is for the present government to ensure that as many native Barbadians as possible are available to enter the labour market and make significant Pay-As-You-Earn and NIS contributions.

Alternatively, we can injudiciously import migrant workers who will repatriate earnings to the lands of their birth.

It is also discomfiting to read in the midst of the current rampant and ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, there will be new policies carving out local market space for Barbadian manufacturing and agriculture. Such policies should have been already in place and operating at full steam, but the mass of unemployed must keep fingers crossed and look forward to promises being kept.

Furthermore, we need to keep hope alive that “Barbados must be managed by putting our people first at every step of the way. We have to be able to put jobs at the top of the list; we have to be able to support Barbadian production.”

Yet a reality indicates that local jobs are on the line and likely to be lost even before the Jamaican company arrives to take over the management of our premier tourist attraction.

Promises are being made, so let’s keep hope alive.