DISCLAIMER – I.A.N.A.E!
Like my old pal from Pull-Push, I also am not an Economist, but instead I wish to provide someways and means I have been mulling in the hopes Barbados would flourish once again, if they are used or adapted then at least progress is made – everyone is operating too close to the chest, as they seem to want to be the sole savior, Barbados needs to open up and thus advance in making the way forward as clear as possible!
DISAPPOINTMENT: BLP FAILS ALSO!
It is sad that David Estwick changed his mind so drastically from Saturday at 2 p.m. We may never learn what fair means or foul were used to achieve the base result which leaves more bitterness in many Bajans’ mouths already soured by the gall of hardships that continue to appear so odd when compared with the rest of the world, which appears to be mending at a steady pace…
Woody Allen once remarked in one of his comedies how the only difference between the Tsar and Napoleon was their height, it seems Barbados is now undergoing a similar conundrum? If a lawyer has many cases while still an MP, can they not afford to drop their salary, if not discard it?
The chance for either side of Barbadian politics to redeem itself saw the Grinch winning late last year when Mia Mottley failed to cut her own salary on Black Friday when the loss of 3,000 in the public sector was foreshadowed. She could have chosen to emulate, and even create a Bajan precedent, by doing like Nevis, Bermuda & St Vincent when their new leaders chose wage slashing as their first act in Office. Vance Amory chose to give his fellow Nevisians a savings of EC $70,000 a year for the next five years off of his salary; while Craig Cannonier in Bermuda did like Ralph Gonsalves in St Vincent – 10% for himself and 5% for the rest of Cabinet.
Why is it that when this MP holds a Press Conference, you feel to get a bell to clang rounds, keep some mouthguards handy and put a Referee nearby? Does the former CPDC member have no couth?
When Grinchler made the sop of 10% from his wages and docking 50% from his Travel (now that he went everywhere in his first 5 years), Mottley with her well-known cases from Caymans and elsewhere could easily have docked 20% from her own salary to shame this regime, but watch this video when I ask her why she did not?
I think it is very clear by now the late Sir Richie Haynes in developing the NDP around 1989 was extremely astute yet created the alternative 20 years too early, if it emerged in 2009 and was brought to simmer last year? He may well have passed away as PM, which certain has-been’s seem to desire at the expense of others yet again?
Be that as it may, it is clear neither Bees nor DEM’s will seek to overturn their own apple carts at least not before 2016 when 3 years would elapse and thus allow them to claim their pensions! Remember, when the Rebel Five rose against Sandi over the 8% pay cut, they got in by 1991 but did nothing until 1994 – they almost did not qualify for their precious pensions until certain Bees took sympathy; even if only to verify there’d be reciprocity if it was reversed…
This makes any true Bajan wonder, perhaps Politicians are the flaw, there is only Tweedledumb & Tweedledumber – what if Barbados was treated as a Company instead?
HARSH DECISIONS - AKIN TO RAPID BANDAGE REMOVAL
Ever had a bad cut with a Band Aid? When it was time to change the dressing, you’d pick at the adhesive? Didn’t that hurt more? If you pulled in a quick yank, sure it stung, but then it numbed itself and you apply the iodine to speed the healing… Government wants to woo the businesses yet pacify the populace and in achieving both, do nothing of any true import. Successful businesses and genuine entrepreneurs make difficult choices and enforce them rapidly, so as to find the next profit or dividend, is this not what Barbados really needs like a hemophiliac in search of “O” Positive? What can we do if Partisanry was removed and replaced with core plans, deeds and goals?
METHODOLOGIES: VAT, CIVIL SERVICE & REVERSING DOWNGRADES
Free Education & Healthcare need to be restored, this can only return rapidly and successfully if those with adequate incomes contributed via Levies and Tolls to shore up both UWI & the QEH. Why not place a Toll based on tonnage for every yacht that docks at not only the intended Pierhead Marina but at Port St Charles? Split operations with its owners so they are encouraged to help rebuild the island? Change our laws so foreigners can only Lease property here, if they insist on buying outright then a Levy of 2.5% is set up in a Trust where UWI can draw a portion of the interest based in the number of successful graduates and be entitled even further when a pre-selected quota of males earn degrees and so forth?
If UWI is also seeking entitlements to the new dispensation, it too must seek to encourage youth with curricula based on Film Industry, the IT sector and developing Apps with requisite classes! Businesses which employ such qualified young Bajans would then earn rebates in Tax forms after 3 to 5 years of employing such qualified personnel, minimising turnover and boosting tenure!
What many hotels and restaurants fail to grasp, is if VAT is only 12% and applied equally, then room fees can drop which means more guests staying and a higher service charge which in turn boosts staff morale via improved salaries?
Value Added Tax should be a flat 12% inclusive of Hotels & Restaurants, thus removing any need for Duty Free days or the concessions for any overseas franchises as all hoteliers would be on an even keel. The Basket Of Goods which would have Zero Rated foods should be a mix of both Diabetic supplements like Glucerna and locally grown fruits and vegetables… Such as? Cherries, mangoes, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and carrots – even go so far as to exempt not Pick Up Trucks but fertiliser, tractors, pitchforks and shovels used for cultivation of same local edible plants! Encourage local farming and prove it!
This new 12% VAT can have portions allocated towards Police and Nurse wage increases based on Productivity levels assessed through audited Social Media inputs, one click per user and more Like’s make for higher raises, thus ensuring Officers and Nurses treat patients and alleged perpetrators with more consideration and less aggression…
The Civil Service can stay as they are, only if they ALL agree to a 10% reduction in salary regardless if temporary or of tenure, their week is now four days, while Standing Orders are openly revised to allow them to moonlight on their extended free time. Shifts would be from 7:00 am to 1:30 pm and 1:00 pm to 7:30 pm with alternating weeks of Monday’s to Thursday’s and/or Tuesday’s to Friday’s. This creates a much need overlap so Licensing Authority and other revenue drawing agencies would be open earlier and longer to allow average citizens to complete forms and transactions at their convenience, not the current Public Sector who start packing at 2 o’clock!
Since both Bees and DEM’s have been fired and allowed to go on an enforced vacation, WHO will preside over Barbados’ decisions and how?
BYE TO 30 MP’s: HELLO TO 11 CHANCELLORS!
Barbados used to have 20 MP’s altogether and successive regimes gerrymandered the parish lines to pimp for their alliances to secure temporary fiefdoms, now it is a ponderous 30 MP’s with a suggestion of even more? Revert Barbados to its number of parishes an the same way Nevis’ government has a few handling a variety of Portfolios? We can do similar! Ten Chancellors who answer to an Executive Chancellor similar to Singapore’s CEO organising the country as an entity, they would have a mandate of 18 months to ensure efforts in Barbados are achieved to bring us back up 2 notches on both Moody’s as well as S&P and if this does not happen? Look at which Chancellors were excelling and which were lackadaisical and replace the slackers immediately with a reset of the clock for another year and a half!
Certain members of the business community (not necessarily those depicted here) would have to be kept as an Ultimate reserve, since if they were given first shot they may seek to do what Tweedledumb & Tweedledumber did but even more insidiously? Therefore selection of Chancellors would be very concise and transparency a must…
Who would be the Chancellors? Let 11 members of the business community be selected, 5 would be women and all members would be gathered from the Hindu, white as well as black Bajan community and let them rip! This is not an exact science, but I know many Barbadians like myself are tired of both sides waltzing and not securing matters to ensure a proper return to what we are all accustomed to…
Barbadians have kept quiet too long and this tacit approval of skulduggery instead of halting it as it happens, has brought us to where we are – we can no longer be stiff upper lip when others fail simply to keep peace or if we complain then avoid calling names, being more conservative than the British who founded here when the UK has long since progressed is an exercise in madness!
The time has come to bell the cat, pay the piper and smell the coffee – all at the same time… It is not IF but WHEN, do not tease the bandage, yank it sharply! Who’s with me?