#BTSpeakingOut- A government we can trust! Is it even possible?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Sean St. Clair Fields

It’s been rumoured, but now it is a fact.

Barbadians will select a new government on January 19, 2022. Having served three years and eight months of a five-year term certainly does make me wonder what the heck is on the horizon.

What exactly is coming our way that there is this premature urgency to call an election? WHAT ARE WE NOT BEING TOLD? From our Prime Minister’s vantage point: “It’s time to recalibrate as a people behind one government. We need to unite around a common cause, unite behind a single government, unite behind a single leader and fight the threats to our safety, our development and our prosperity.”

I guess the “incoherent noises”, “dissenting opinions” and “wild accusations” have been affecting the government’s ability to get the broad buy-in it needs to manage our affairs and therefore it makes sense to get a renewed mandate from the people. The nation should therefore find calm after the election has been won, or at least that is what is expected.

There is little doubt that the road ahead will be an extremely difficult one for most of us. But no matter how difficult things may be, I believe that “trust” is the foundation that allows us to endure and prosper. When a government has lost the people’s trust, that government will find it very difficult to get the broad support and buy-in that are so critical to a functional democracy.

For me, the most salient question this election is – Who can I trust? With a vast majority of our young people in a heightened state of disillusionment, with our seniors drowning in the horror of what we have become, with the rest of us carrying extraordinary weight and pressure to make ends meet, what will become of us as a nation? Will the remainder of our birthright be sold at the next auction? Or will the next government ensure that Barbados remains for Barbadians? I believe that we are on the cusp of our next paradigm. We are truly at the crossroads of our very soul. To be honest, I also feel disenchanted, as “trust” is particularly elusive these days. Will we ever get a government that keeps its word, a government that retains our trust? Maybe it’s time for us to choose those who tell us the truth, no matter how difficult it may be to swallow.

Maybe it’s time we choose those who we believe will defend us. Maybe it’s time we choose those who we believe will stand their ground on principle. Maybe it’s time we choose those who we believe will not be bought. Will we trust our next government? Perhaps we need to take great care in our selections as the consequences could be dire.