Some 48 hours after the announcement that Cabinet had immediately cancelled Independence Day and replaced it with Barbados National Day, one has to ask of Government: Was it worth it?
It could be argued that a SWOT analysis would have been appropriate in this instance to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of such a decision, not only for the people of Barbados but for the administration.
The process of assigning the new Republic Day on Independence Day last year was met with heavy criticism from opposition supporters who floated the idea that this was some plot to minimise the role of founding father and national hero Errol Walton Barrow.
The Prime Minister was able to fend off those criticisms and pull along many of those who were resistant to the idea of the double celebration of Republic Day and Independence Day. Frankly, the suggestion that going republic would complete the circle of true independence from Britain, made perfect sense.
The idea of seeking independence from Britain but still hanging on to the coat tails of the monarchy with the late Queen Elizabeth II still our head of state, was something most reasonable Barbadians could agree needed to be fixed.
The problem then, as is the problem now, is the manner in which the change was made and the feeling that edicts were becoming the general modus operandi for government.
The Prime Minister is a master communicator, and this has been demonstrated repeatedly. Why not prime the public with a well-coordinated communications plan outlining the reasons and benefits of the move? Even though there was still no guarantee that the decision would have found favour, but at least there would be an opportunity to hear directly from the people, as Government has been doing quite effectively with the Parish Speaks programme.
The current administration is filled with very intelligent, experienced, and savvy politicians and advisors. Someone should have anticipated that this move to cancel Independence Day for Barbados National Day, and to do so with immediate effect, would be a massive own goal.
Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams stated during his announcement of the change: “The Right Excellent Errol Barrow will always be the father of Barbados’ Independence. We can’t ever take that away from him, we don’t want to take that away from him, but we went a step further and became a republic. So, there was that toss-up: Do we call it Independence Day? Do we call it Republic Day?
“At the end of the day, November 30 was a day of national importance to us, it was a nationally important day to Barbados. In 2021 on November 30 was another day of national importance for Barbados and it is therefore fitting that it just be called the Barbados National Day.”
His sentiment is true, but this was exactly why commentators argued that Republic Day should have been on another day or even replaced one of the other public holidays.
This is now water under the bridge. The die has been cast, and the administration has to decide what will be its next course of action. Will it concede and reverse the decision? Will it allow citizens to vent but explain its current stand? Will it ignore the criticism and simply wait for the expected abatement.
The mood of Barbadians has evolved. This may be linked to the fact that there is no Opposition in the House of Assembly, and thus many citizens may feel compelled to be more vocal in their disapproval of the move. In fact, some suggested the mood has not yet settled since the Inter-American Development Bank questionnaire debacle.
As talk show host and attorney-at-law Sade Jemmott said in a widely circulated Tweet yesterday: “I honestly hate how this government insists on making unforced errors. Like why in this climate would you just up and rename Independence Day of all things?”
This reflects the sentiment of many people who are still baffled by the decision. It is what the Americans might term being “tone deaf”.
And so, we end where we started by asking the question, was this move worth the anguish and anger, and the erosion of goodwill? Could not a better solution be found? It is for the Government of Barbados to provide the answer.
