Why the fuss?

I am going to ask a few questions, and see if I can adhere to the notion being expressed that everything is under control and we should not concern our collective ‘pretty little heads’ about anything which is affecting this island, at present.

Let me start by congratulating the thousands of young students who took the recent Common Entrance Examination known as the 11-Plus. What seemed to have set some of the detractors of the examination off on their usual scorched earth responses, was the fact that Queen’s College emerged as the school of choice for many students.

The irony is that for years, Harrison College, Foundation, then even The St. Michael School, were at the top of the list for students of schools to attend. Full disclosure: I am a proud graduand of this school which has often not earned the accolades from many in this society. Despite, the school moving from to fully integrated one, with males and females, the perception remains very distasteful about the school and the fact that males who have graduated from the school are in key productive areas of this society. I guess the small-minded remain among us.

The attacks on the Common Entrance remains puzzling. Standardised testing is something which we should start preparing our children for, from very early. It is what they have to face when they leave Barbados for the major international universities and colleges – but yet we cry, does an examination which provides the best possible assessment of a child’s academic skill to then allocate them based on grades to secondary schools? Next I will hear, to hold hands and wait for the utopic flying of doves and peace on earth, to magically emerge, from this non-sensical abdication of rational thinking borne from a disdain from the concept of top schools.

That argument about the historical assessment of certain schools, where higher marks in the examination, lead many high-scoring students to attend, seems personal for many. Our previous Prime Minister attended Graydon Sealy, as well as other Ministers, and no one doubt his acumen. The reality is that with focus, anyone can succeed anywhere. The real question would be to look at raising the standards at all schools, with the same syllabus and let our students thrive.

Before I leave this thread, I want to congratulate Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, a QC alum, who has created history as the island’s first female Prime Minister and securing the first 30-nil win in a General Elections.

Let me move on. We have heard about the challenges facing the Bridgetown Sewage Plant. We heard that it was on the verge of collapse, and that the Minister responsible, gave a two weeks deadline to bring the sewage tanks back online, after a thorough cleaning. If some of the information is not as detailed as normal from this writer, it is because it came from other sources, since this newspaper did not get the invite to that tour. Maybe the call or invite was lost in the mail? However, as a professional, I move on. Question: Who has the management contract with regards to ensure that the sewage tanks remain clean and operational? From what was reported, that information was not included. Therefore, would it not be the case of the company who has the contract not doing the job for which it was paid? I await some answers.

Hold on, what has become of the South Coast sewage project? This newspaper, as we have done throughout the challenges on that coastline, covered the visit of officials looking at the connections of businesses on the system. When will this be done with relation to the Bridgetown Plant? When will we prosecute those who are on the system illegally and have contributed to the challenges? How much will the new plant cost taxpayers and when will work start? Is Government entertaining the possibility of reimbursing affected residents and businesses – as was suggested when in Opposition? We need to know.

On the issue of taxes, is it reasonable to give the BWA, what in effect is a water rate increase, given its series of poor performances? Every homeowner must pay $1.50 per day to facilitate the work on the South Coast and Bridgetown plants, which did not take into the equation the other variety of increased taxation which homeowners will face between July 1 and September 1. Only a blind person could not have seen that if you increase water costs, the industries which depend on this commodity would find it hard to maintain prices in a more challenged economy. So we heard chicken and egg prices will go up. What about the feeder industries, like bakeries, so bread and related products will go up? Anytime you increase the cost of a commodity, you by extension, increase the costs which producers face.

On the issue of pay raises for public servants, I smile when I see the collective embrace of union leaders on the matter. With increased water rates, electricity, phone, online transactions, all at the same time as the increase, can you with straight faces look your members in their faces and argue that you did what was in their best interests? There will be a net loss on their monthly salaries, occasioned by the increases announced in the Mini-Budget. Yet, there has been silence on the possibility of civil service job losses as the economy contracts, with less disposable income.

For the Private sector, how can you guarantee lower prices, with oil prices still unstable, and the online fee for overseas transactions?

This country becomes a more expensive destination as soon as the departure fees go into place. With room fees, what would make Barbados competitive? With Cuba opening up, this country has to remain competitive, so where are those who cried out for this only last year.

Then again, why the fuss?