#BTEditorial – The power of influencers

It is pretty easy to shout from the sidelines when you are involved in opposition politics. The buck does not end with you, it is with the folks who have been given the power of office after the votes have been counted.

One recalls the extremely successful pressure campaign the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) waged on the then administration of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. Stuart was an old-school politician, not minded to respond to public sentiment, doing so in his own time; a tactic that many argued was to his own undoing.

Re-elected president of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Dr Ronnie Yearwood, who himself comes from the bosom of the BLP, has not failed to use every opportunity to lash the Bees over what he perceives as missteps, inaction, or wrongheaded decisions. That is the role of the opposition; keep the government on its toes. The fact that Barbadians overwhelmingly rejected the DLP on two successive occasions at the polls does not absolve them from being the voice of the man in the street.

Just this week, Mr Yearwood heaped criticism on the Mottley administration over its recently signed agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to borrow US$25 million (BDS$50 million) to refurbish the iconic Kensington Oval. The refurbishment is intended to ready the Oval for the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup in April next year. According to Yearwood: “Something does not smell right here. What is the precise breakdown of how this $50 million from Afreximbank will be spent? Does patching the roof and erecting the temporary seating cost $50 million? The T20 World Cup is only five months away . . . April next year. How can a $50 million upgrade be done in less than five months, considering design, spec, plan, procurement, tendering, and build? Where is this money really going?”

These are valid concerns expressed by the political leader. Neither the Prime Minister nor any of her representatives have responded to Mr Yearwood’s concerns. The Minister of Sport, Mr Charles Griffith has also been silent.

At the same time, there are some people in Barbados whose critiques hit the spot and get immediate attention. It may be the fact that they appear to be politically unconnected and thus their comments seem more authentic and cause them to get almost immediate results.

The other factor could be their online reach. We could mention personalities like Eric Lewis or the young man who goes by the moniker Jordan English. Both commentators who can be defined as local social media influencers tend to mix advertising, marketing, banter, and cynicism with cheerful commentaries in potpourris. As a result, they are being followed by thousands of people in Barbados and the diaspora.

Thus, when Jordan English ripped “whoeva responsible” for the “well” on the pothole-riddled South Coast Highway 7 stretch of road, we knew there was going to be a swift response. He lampooned the government over the deplorable state of the road, chronicled in real-time as motorists dropped into the cavern one after the other. Within hours, most of Barbados had seen the vlog, commented, reacted to it and reposted it on various social sites.

The following day, Highway 7 was teeming with Transport, Works and Water Resources officials, the Minister herself Ms. Santia Bradshaw, trucks, patching material shovels and other implements to fix the national embarrassment. The holes were filled in no time and Jordan was able to post an updated video praising the ministry and government.

Praise is due to the social media influencer for being the catalyst for urgent and necessary action by the state. One hopes that citizens are not required to shame government into speedy responses by posting videos on social media. This is not how our government is supposed to work.