#BTColumn – Shout in the mirror, Madam PM

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

by Roderick P Harris

I must admit that my suggestion today is not original. Indeed, it might just be an agreement to something that I had not contemplated previously. I read this week in one of our newspapers that Senator Caswell Franklyn had called for the resignation of Prime Minister Mia Mottley in light of Government’s handling of the Coronavirus pandemic and the debilitating effect it is having in this country, especially the loss of innocent Barbadian lives.

Let me stress once more as I have previously on the occasions you have allowed me to air my views in your newspaper. I have been a faithful supporter of the Barbados Labour Party for over 45 years. Fortunately, as a Barbadian, I have been a faithful supporter of Barbados even longer and will not be blinded by political allegiances in times of peril or when my country needs truths and for a spade to be called a spade.

I agree with Senator Franklyn that Miss Mottley should resign. And I will go even further. I believe that the senior member of the party, MP George Payne, should gather the majority membership unto himself and approach the Governor General and express their lack of confidence in her leadership and have her constitutionally removed from office. I believe that Mr Payne should assume the position of Prime Minister of Barbados, a role for which he is eminently qualified to fulfill. And I will give my reasons.

Barbados’ response to this pandemic should have been led first and foremost by medical opinion at every juncture. Unfortunately, it was initially led by political and economic considerations.

The fault of that rests with the Prime Minister. Government was given specific advice by the medical fraternity from the outset with respect to our borders and travel from the United Kingdom and that was ignored. The fault of that rests with the Prime Minister.

It is rather amusing that Prime Minister Mottley at every instance and at every opportunity she gets to speak to the nation, states that this is a crisis that should not be politicised. But she has failed to admit that had not the response been politicised from the start, and medical opinion allowed to hold sway, that Barbados would not be in a situation where it will have had 2 700 positive cases perhaps within the next two days and more than the 29 deaths currently recorded. St Kitts has a tourist industry and has fewer than 100 COVID-19 cases. Dominica has a tourist industry and its numbers arenegligible. Management!

Sadly, one of the latest deaths is that of a nine-year-old child who died of some rare form of disease which follows COVID-19 infection.

I will openly admit that I have been a great admirer of Tom Adams and especially Owen Arthur. I rate Mr Arthur as one of the greatest ever prime ministers in the Caribbean and on the same level as Errol Barrow, if not better. And Mr Arthur gave his verdict on Miss Mottley before he died. He warned Barbadians about her leadership style.

One of the great qualities Mr Arthur had was that he listened to people and took advice when it was prudent to do so. There is no way that one can be faced with a medical crisis and the advice of medical experts is not adhered to from start to finish. We failed to do that.

Regrettably, as our history has shown, Miss Mottley’s career as a politician has not been one of success, other than to win her parliamentary seat. From Edutech to this current situation, she has been a notable failure on the national level. And Barbadians must not be carried away by one-liners, slogans, cute sayings, use of acronyms, an ability to speak without a script, gesticulations, voice modulation, soothing tone, caustic admonitions, and the like, and interpret these as leadership.

Barbadians who have lost their loved ones because of poor response to the management of this pandemic will not be comforted by utterances of “This is who we are”, “We got this”, “No retreat, no surrender” or “Breathe”.

Bajans are dying. I feel a sense of annoyance that if I want to take my morning walks through Trio Path or Bawdens, or Walkers, or Shorey Village, I am now condemned to doing so with a mask on my face like a potential robber for an extended period of God knows how long, because a government mismanaged a situation and initially ignored medical advice.

It is ironic that Government, rather than apologize to Barbadians, and admit its error, is now seeking to cast blame on the wider Barbadian population. Miss Mottley’s tone at these press conferences offends me, especially when it seems that she is chastising Barbadians.

Yes, there are some who are still not complying 100 per cent with protocols, but I would suggest that the Prime Minister brings a mirror to the press conferences and whenever she seeks to scold anyone for their actions, she looks directly into that mirror and speak.

Even the use of social media has received a tongue-lashing. But this is the same social media the current government used while in opposition to launch wave after wave of attacks against the previous government, to augment its propaganda programme and to sway public opinion. What a difference three years make!

Freundel Stuart was a poor leader but I cannot recall anyone dying under his watch as a result of political decisions he made – the absence of a global pandemic notwithstanding. Now Barbadians are being asked to hold this government’s hands and ignore the peril it has placed us in.

I take this situation extremely personal. I am a cancer survivor and an insulin-taking diabetic and the current mess in which this country finds itself could lead to my death. I have lived with diabetes most of my adult life and have by and large controlled it with the help of medication. My cancer went into remission while I was in England. But my death at any stage from COVID-19 will not be less painful for my family because I had underlying medical issues.

I am sorry, but in the interest of this country I implore Mr Payne wherever you are to do the patriotic thing for this country.

Roderick P Harris is a regular contributor on national affairs. This guest column was offered as a letter to the editor.