Government told let CBC go; reduce Cabinet

by Marlon Madden

The Mia Mottley administration is being urged to get rid of the state-owned Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
and trim its Cabinet.

This advice has come from Honorary Consul for Belize in Barbados John Beale, who said the country was too small for the current number of ministers and statutory entities.

He shared the thoughts on Thursday while addressing a regular meeting of the Rotary Club of Barbados, on the topic Issues Facing Barbados in a Global Context.

“We’ve got statutory corporations here that surely should not exist. I mean, do any of you know how many statutory corporations we have in Barbados? I thought it was about 15, but I am sure it was more than 75. It is sheer nonsense, believe you me,” he said.

Beale, a former Barbados Ambassador to the US and the Organisation of American States (OAS) opted not to go into detail about what other state agencies should be disbanded, but singled out CBC, saying that although it had reduced the amount of money it was “losing”, it should go.

“CBC could be very important to us. If they got the right technology, we could do with it here, but a lot of parts to CBC – and I think the new administration understands that – really need to go. Every Prime Minister, before becoming a Prime Minister, says it should go but when they get in power somehow
it seems to stick around,” he said.

This is not the first time that calls have been made for Government to give up The Pine, St Michael entity.

Over the years, several calls have been made for successive administrations to privatise the public radio and television broadcaster due to the level of debt racked up over the years.

So far, the Mottley administration has started the process of merging some entities but is yet to indicate which, if any, would be disbanded.

Beale also suggested that having 24 Ministers in the Cabinet was simply too much for Barbados, given its size.

Prior to the July Cabinet reshuffle and changes to some portfolios, there were 26 Ministers.

“How can a small country like us have all these ministers? It makes no sense. It cannot work,” insisted Beale.

He also criticised part of the structure of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), suggesting that the change in chairmanship every six months was too much.

“How in God’s name can you have CARICOM that changes management every six months?” he said.

“There is no unity. I can tell you stories about CARICOM. It is serious but it is farcical. I will tell you this, we run the risk that someday a president calls the prime ministers in the region and says . . . ‘the next time I call the Caribbean I am speaking to one person; if I can’t speak to one person I won’t bother to speak to anyone’. We really have a hard time dealing with CARICOM. I don’t have the answers, but something needs to be done,”
the diplomat said.

Beale, who spoke on several matters, also insisted that the Barbados Stock Exchange was virtually non-existent because “realistically speaking, there is no depth and there is no breadth”.

(marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)