Public relations has a limit

Ladies and gentlemen, we have to find a way to break the stifling boredom and haplessness which people are facing in this national effort to control and overcome the spread of COVID-19.

Who would have thought that Government officials could have emerged to make comments which have left me speechless and just stunned. Either these officials are ‘tone-deaf’ or just unashamedly unaware of the angst that Barbadians currently endure as they navigate not having regular work hours, except essential services, or even worse, Barbadians have closely to realize that we are in much deeper trouble than is being communicated.

I am happy that our public health officials are not resting on their laurels, despite the fact that the numbers of recoveries from infection had increased.

The country accepts that once positive cases exist, that the risk of infections still remained high, but where there is a reluctance to state that Barbados is moving in the right direction.

Excuse me while I take a deep breath.

The reality of this disease is that the recovery rate remains relatively high, except in cases where there are pre-existing conditions, which impact the internal organs which depend on oxygenated blood.

What happens, if and when the quarantined numbers drop below 25? Would the island revert to Level 2 of its response, where gatherings of 25 or less are recommended? What about 10 isolated cases – does that trigger Level 1? The Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Anton Best, who is named in the Emergency Order, revealed that this island had to date, avoided the worst impacts, yet the overall tone remains dire. I applaud you, Sir, for giving some hope to a public desperate to avoid enduring the game of “who can out-dire the other”!

Lest some forget, Barbados is an expensive place to live and work, so the longer people are not working, the more fiscally dangerous the situation becomes for families across the island.

Small businesses remain shuttered. Barbers and hairdressers, and a whole host of others are not paid unless they work, so the argument that despite a reduction in quarantined cases and the fact that movement of the infected to the North Point facility has started, should aid the process of moving towards at least a sustained effort to restore a responsible path towards earning a living.

Barbadians have sacrificed, so what is the Government willing to sacrifice? No mention of temporary salary cuts to show solidarity with the people of this country. Ministers are still being paid as thousands of Barbadians had to resort to the NIS from this month.

The bloated size of this Cabinet should make us ask if we can afford it, as the unemployed rate increases and the economy is in a prolonged slump. There is no real economic growth!

Onto the Minister of Water Resources and Energy, Wilfred Abrahams. According to the Minister, the revenues of the BWA are tenuous and people need to pay their bills, despite the lockdown. The BWA then stated that bills should be paid at Post Offices or SurePay outlets or online.

How does it square with the Prime Minister’s directive that those who were disconnected for non-payment be reconnected? So people who have not paid are getting water while those who paid prior to the crisis are being told to pay up! Lunacy!

How can the BWA be struggling financially given the Garbage and Sewerage tax, which has been in place since August 2018? BWA retains a quantum of that revenue which also funds the SSA, so explain to the public, what is the amount of additional income that the BWA has secured off the backs of over-taxed Barbadians, since August 2018?

It is passing strange that when then Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, David Thompson, raised water rates, we were told by a certain Opposition that it was inflicting hardship. History is a pesky thing.

Perhaps the Minister could explain how swinging at the previous Minister or Government addresses the concerns of residents in eastern parishes, especially Sherbourne, St. John?

The solutions outlined omitted the reality that these are long-term, which means the problems which continue for a while longer in the short-term. A word of advice – change your tone!

If Crop Over and NIFCA are cancelled, what happens to the money allocated to the NCF in the recent Estimates? What happens to monies allocated for ‘We Gatherin’?

Finally, I watched a story on television related to the Port and hearing the Chairman speak about the wisdom of keeping the Port open while failing to address legitimate public concern over the potential spread of COVID-19 throughout ports of entry.

Of course, the main Port will have to remain open to move critical supplies, that is not the point. The point is why even after the destinations/ports of call for ships were places where the virus was rampant did Barbados still allow such widespread access to tourists? Was it a good decision? The restrictions are starting to test the patience of the country, so it makes the genesis of the crisis crucial. How did we get to this point and were decisions taken that contributed to this mess?

We have received no real answer that is worthy of a populace with over 90 per cent literacy. Oh and the comment of small providers being able to gain benefits from providing goods to those crew members on ships was interesting. I thought all non-essential businesses were closed during the curfew!

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