THINGS THAT MATTER – Mia and the Power of the People

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” (Attributed to Edmund Burke, Anglo-Irish statesman, orator and philosopher, (1729 – 1797)

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (Lord Acton, British historian, 1834 – 1902)

The long overdue 2018 election in Barbados has finally taken place. And what an election. Marred somewhat by the kind of confusion and delays that we’ve become familiar with, the results created history. While a change was expected, and reliable pollster Peter Wickham predicted it with a considerable swing, no one expected a thirty to zero “Red wash” with the brilliant red of the Barbados Labour Party. Prime Minister Stuart, keen on creating history, has not done so in the way he might have hoped, but in unusual ways including the most crushing defeat in history.

After the ridiculous delays in counting, due to the equally ridiculous delays in dealing with the Commonwealth citizens’ votes, the very first box counted revealed a humongous swing that even Mr. Wickham could not have expected. Barbados Labour Party candidates thrashed DLP candidates by anything from three-fold to ten-fold in the case of Ms. Mottley’s defeat of Patrick Todd, the DLP’s sacrificial lamb. And so Mr. Stuart conceded defeat in the deserted party headquarters, like a good ship’s captain “standing alone on the burning deck” while his ship sank, accepting “full responsibility for the defeat”.

And so Mia Mottley became the first female Prime Minister of Barbados, following our CARICOM neighbours’ leading ladies, Janet Jagan, Dame Eugenia Charles, Portia Simpson-Miller and Pamela Bissessar-Singh. (It’s perhaps typical of conservative Barbados that we’ve waited so long.) Ms. Mottley has received a commanding mandate, and we need to analyse how and why this extraordinary, overwhelming victory, resulting in an unprecedented, unopposed government has come about and its implications for us all. Never before has a government won every seat, or by such huge margins in every single constituency.

Many columnists and political analysts, editorial writers and the proverbial man in the street have commented on the many reasons for the government’s unpopularity – more than a dozen. The most obvious are the big three that have occupied a great deal of media and public debate – the economic crisis and 20-plus downgrades, the high level of taxation, and the distressing sewage problem. But almost as pervasive are another big three: the underlying under-performance and inaction on many fronts including the decay of national treasures, the covering up (of the economic problems especially, for so many years) and corruption – publicised, perceived, inferred, alleged or denied. On this erosive, demoralising, corroding issue, it’s important to recall the famous dictum above, attributed (perhaps incorrectly) to the statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” And it’s the turning of a blind eye to so many issues that obviously destroyed the trust of the people in the leadership. Will lessons be learnt?

Another major issue was the 10 per cent of salary “sacrificed” by parliamentarians as a public gesture of patriotism, goodwill and generosity to help the economy, but taken back last year, converting goodwill into massive ill will. The consequence, totally predictable, was immediate demand by the unions for major pay rises, kicked down the road by our bankrupt government. A blind man sitting backwards on a trotting horse could have seen this coming, and it must have converted thousands of DLP votes into red votes on Thursday.

Other issues with more recent impact were the epidemic of pot holes, the deteriorating environment, garbage collection problems, transport problems, and most recently the bizarre intervention of Mr. Owen Arthur, which back-fired badly; the obsession with trying to bring down Ms. Mottley, mocking her with talk of an anxiety to be Prime Minister; the obsession with” blood lines” and the idea that it meant privilege, rather than inheritance - and she clearly inherits the genes of a brilliant grandfather, father and uncle (Elombe, a much under-appreciated but brilliant exponent and preserver of our culture); the mysterious story of hurriedly selling the Hilton Hotel for way below its value; the apparent failure to recognise the issues of the youth and tertiary education; and finally the insults spewed out for hours at the campaign launch. Several people have told me it was this disgraceful behaviour that clinched their decision to vote BLP.

Clearly lack of self-awareness and insight, lack of consultation and extreme arrogance, political expediency and what Senator Sir Roy Trotman identified as tribalism, have all operated like a shroud over the demise of the Democratic Labour Party. Will the party learn the lesson and GENUINELY reflect on these issues? Or will it merely continue to make excuses and blindly say “We are the blood line of Errol Barrow; anyone who opposes us is the Enemy of the People”.

Mia and her team – with competent and accomplished new members like Wilfred Abrahams, Kirk Humphrey, Colin Jordan, Ryan Straughn, Ralph Thorne and others – will have their work cut out, but the big hope for the future – short, medium and long term – is that investment can be anticipated for development at every level, from local corporate sector, developers and overseas agencies and businesses, whose vision and sometimes project proposals were not approved for reasons unknown. There are nine billion dollars in our banks, I understand, and there are scores if not hundreds of off shore investors as well, who can be confidently expected to invest with the new administration. 

Meanwhile, with the overwhelming mandate given to the Barbados Labour Party comes a heavy burden of responsibility. Without a parliamentary opposition, and with the ridiculous composition of the Senate, with a mere two opposition senators, the media and THE PEOPLE – the people of Barbados, credited by Ms. Mottley with victory, must take on the responsibility of conscience of the nation – not an opposition but a vocal public. As Ms. Mottley said: “This is the people of Barbados’ victory”. But we must all be alert and participate as citizens in the original, ancient Greek sense – actively.

Part of the reasons for the disaster of the last few years was not merely the Baker’s dozen issues listed above, but the traditional, endemic FEAR of Barbadians to speak out... to whistle-blow ... to bell the cat, because of fear of victimisation. And with no opposition in Parliament now, and only two opposition senators, we the people have a HUGE responsibility to engage as vocal citizens and keep our government on its toes, honest, responsible and ACCOUNTABLE to the people. As my second quotation above says: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. That must never happen here again.

ALL auditing MUST be brought up to date ... corruption, nepotism, vote buying and other bribery must be eliminated by partnership between the new government and THE PEOPLE, who must be active and vocal. And corruption or incompetence in the public sector must be brought to book. Other countries are leading the way in bringing to justice those who rob the people, lest it be repeated.

The power of the people can, should and MUST operate to restore and rebuild our country. This is a new beginning, so the people must continue to speak out and discard the culpable conspiracy of silence that allows the triumph of evil.

Finally, this parliament will have the power, opportunity and moral obligation to review and take action on the Constitution Review Commission chaired by Sir Henry Forde some years ago, but never acted on. There are several no-brainers that need changing, including the urgent need to increase the number of opposition senators as called for by several of us in the senate.

Bouquet; To the Barbados Horticultural Society and its dedicated Chelsea team. They have once again won a Gold Medal at Chelsea, the world’s most famous flower show. The ingenious exhibit titled “Barbados, where the Rum comes from” was one of the best and most creative ever. BHS has a spectacularly successful record of 19 Gold Medals, 11 Silver-Gilt and 1 Silver in a remarkable sequence of 31 consecutive years at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The BHA, in my view, is one of our Sensational Six Global Golden Icons, joining Sir Garfield Sobers for cricket, Rihanna and the Merrymen for culture and entertainment, Dame Nita Barrow for international relations and development, and Sir George Alleyne, Director Emeritus of PAHO for medicine.

(Professor Fraser is Past Dean of Medical Sciences, UWI and Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Clinical Website: profhenryfraser.com)

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