#BTEditorial – An embarrassing public lampoon

It seems all hell has broken loose on the matter of Barbados becoming a republic within the next three months. It is a matter that really should not divide us, particularly at a time when we are at our most vulnerable state since Independence in 1966.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has ruined our economy and undermined the plans not only of Government but many individual citizens who had set personal goals which have not materialized.

Government certainly had several targets, many of which would have paved the way for another blowout election victory. Not that we expect the Mia Mottley administration will have great difficulty achieving another win at the polls, constitutionally due in two years.

When it comes to big audacious plans, Prime Minister Mottley stands out. She and her team set about the huge task of restructuring our country’s runaway debt which, at the time, situated us among the most highly indebted nations in the world.

We as a country were spending so much on interest and debt repayments that the last administration had little left at its disposal to maintain our disintegrating infrastructure and services.

The current administration must certainly be praised for its swift action in addressing the untenable situation of sewage on the streets of the South Coast and the seeking to satisfy income tax rebates and other outstanding monies owed to citizens and businesses.

The year 2020 was supposed to be the big Gatherin’ of Barbadians from every diasporic community of the globe, coming home to celebrate all that we have achieved as a country.

The year-long Gatherin’ was also intended to be a major boost for our tourism sector, providing significant economic spin-offs. But, alas, it too was upended by the pandemic.

We have now borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign and regional sources to support the national pandemic response. There are reasonable fears that our debt-to-gross domestic product is inching right back to levels the administration complained were too high when they were on the opposition benches.

However, we will not condemn the Mottley administration on this front. The socio-economic destruction caused by the pandemic required an unprecedented response by the state. Any political leader in her shoes would likely have done the same.

But there has been one plan the administration does not seem intent on delaying, even though the conditions now appear to make the decision moot.

Earlier this year, Mottley stuck to her guns on a national minimum wage even when the usually pro-Mottley private sector voiced their displeasure at the timing of the wage hike for our lowest paid workers.

The minimum wage fight was an important “win” for the Prime Minister. The republican transition, however, has become messy, to say the least. Even staunch supporters of the shift to republican status are now lambasting the rush to meet what appears to be a wholly symbolic deadline of November 30, 2021, the year we celebrate our 55th Anniversary of Independence.

There will always be those who prefer the status quo and to maintain our colonial and other connections to England. But there are others who are simply uncomfortable with the lack of real consultation on the issue.

There is a belief that the shift to republican status and attendant but yet unknown changes to be made to the Barbados Constitution are being done with inappropriate haste. It has left many citizens concerned that come hell or high water, whether we understand the full implications of becoming a republic or not, the transition will take place, and a president will be appointed/selected on November 30.

It must be embarrassing for the administration to watch the Republican Status Transition Advisory Committee (RSTAC) and its chair Dr Marion Williams being trashed for the apparent lack of preparedness during a recent public engagement and the quality of the information provided by the Committee’s representatives.

To have the RSTAC described as “not fit for purpose” after a public lampooning by law lecturer Dr Ronnie Yearwood and Cynthia Barrow-Giles, senior lecturer in political science at the University of the West Indies, it would appear the RSTAC may need a complete reboot.

It is noteworthy that eminent historian and Professor Emeritus Sir Woodville Marshall, himself a big supporter of the move to republic status, has echoed the calls for a delay and for constitutional changes to be known first by the public before appointing a president.

Said Sir Woodville: “This is an occasion for public education. The leader of government should not just be announcing this thing, but she should really be saying to the people of Barbados, ‘I know you might have some reservations, so let’s understand something’, and get her colleagues . . . and there are lots of other people in the community who would be prepared to join in that process of public education.”

His advice on the matter is sobering and worthwhile.