A GUY'S VIEW

You know that you are in trouble when the entire agenda of an incumbent Government is centred on the non-existent activity of a former administration which no longer exists and does not even have a presence in Parliament.

Given the demonstrated intention of the current administration to suck the life out of poor Barbadians, it was commonly expected that the budget would heap more pain on the already hurting masses of this country, but it was also predicted that the Prime Minister would deliver her bitter medicine and sit down, since there was no parliamentary entity to cause her to defend her decisions. But no. She had to punish Barbadians with empty hours of tasteless assaults on the past administration. Past. Gone. Wiped out. And yet the centre of her attention. Barbadians must now conclude that this Government has no clue about governance and is fully engaged in shadow boxing and deflecting attention from its incompetence.

While on the ground with my brothers, the first subject of discussion was bus fares. The Government was flying a kite for months now, trying to prepare Barbadians for the hike in bus fares that was coming. It was no secret. If there was one thing that was sure to come in the budget it was an increase in bus fares. So the 75 per cent increase that was slapped on Barbadians was expected. But even that was tied to the joke that the last administration was planning to increase fares to $5 or some such figure.

The last administration was in office for ten years and continued to subsidise bus fares for that entire period. If it intended to raise bus fares it would have. For all of its shortcomings, that administration did not seek to pull the wool over the eyes of Barbadians. Even if it failed to communicate effectively with the people, it did not mislead them...

It is truly unfortunate when one pulls a recommendation of the International Monetary Fund which the Government of the day bluntly refused to follow, and tell Barbadians that the past Government intended to bury them with a bus fare that was never contemplated. In fact, I have it on good authority that the IMF official who mouthed a $5 bus fare was told to his face, “Not in this country. If you had to live here you would never suggest that.”

The poor people of this country voted for you and they must accept what you are doing to them, until they have had enough and decide that they will take no more. Obviously that time has not yet arrived, so do your worse. But accept responsibility for your actions. With no opposition, you can do as you like but not as long as you like.
The Mighty Gabby said it and we may yet see it:

“One day coming soon
The people will wake up
One day coming soon
The people will shake up
And when they do
I telling you
It gine be heat
On the tormentors’ feet.”

The “X” is a powerful thing. It is like a two edged sword that swings both ways. Barbadians have long been taken for granted. When an administration that promised heaven delivers hell, it is only a matter of time before the people say enough is enough. The hope that was the theme of the election campaign has turned into hopelessness. The red dream has become a tortured nightmare. And more pain is to come.

The nightmare we are living is manifested in killings we witness at a rate of more than one every week. This is not a country with a vast land mass and a huge population. This is still a tiny 166 square mile rock with a few hundred thousand people. And the success of the Barbados Family Planning Association and our chosen lifestyles have convinced us that we should not have children, so the small population is ageing and declining. So when frequent killings are happening in our small space, the whole country is affected.

“Yesterday’s murder of another innocent brings the number of murders in Barbados to 18 thus far for 2017. For the whole of last year we had 21 murders.

In the last two weeks only, we have had four homicides.

This is not a numbers game, since each life lost through murder is one too many. However, the statistics do serve to paint a picture of what life in Barbados has come to, and that picture is very far from pretty.

Peace of mind, safety in our homes and the stability which we enjoyed as Barbadians now seems to be vanishing fast. The fear of crime has now reached crippling proportions, so much so that Barbadians are feeling under siege and, increasingly, feel unable to go about this country to work and play as they choose.

Peace and stability are also of significant economic value, since any gains made by any government will quickly be wiped out if we lose our reputation for being a safe place to live and to do business.

But in any national cause, the Government must lead. We therefore call on the Government, and especially the Prime Minister and the Attorney General to immediately set about prioritising the fight against illegal firearms on our streets as many of the murders committed involved the use of these weapons.

Our Parliament does not need another debate on law and order. What Barbados needs is action on the part of the Government. And we need it now, before another innocent life is taken.

The Barbados Labour Party has gone on record as being willing to support extraordinary expenditure in areas affecting the public health and the security of all Barbadians from criminal elements. I take this opportunity to reiterate this position.”

The above extract was sent to me and said to be the words of a Dale Marshall. Which Dale Marshall is this?