Like a cautious batsman on a sticky wicket, Prime Minister David Thompson today began his first budget presentation to the people of Barbados by framing the island’s economic outlook for 2008-2009 within the context of a lethargic global economy. Indeed, he had no other choice. Based on current estimates, Barbados’ economic growth is expected to peak at 2.5% in 2009, limited by an inflation rate that is set to reach 7.9% by year-end, while public debt is to rise to almost 8% of the Gross Domestic Product. Figures, he says, are subject to review if the global economy performs even more poorly. In other bleak news, the trade deficit is set to increase due to a surfeit of local manufacturing output, while tourism and other key sectors are also expected to see declines.

Labeling this budget as one of restraint, the Prime Minister made it clear that this was not to be the typical ‘honeymoon’ budget of previous incoming governments, while at the same time curiously unveiling incomprehensible plans such as building port facilities for private jets and ships in the north of the island, as well as plans to reclaim land from the Caribbean Sea in a bid to address increasing shortages on the mainland. Indeed, the budget of restraint was, in many ways, very unrestrained; it came to include all the key buzzwords and concepts from a development textbook, while being overly optimistic about the island’s financial ability to meet them. Yet, this remains a feature of all budgets; grand projects with grand ideals, often emotive and compelling, thrown in to inspire awe and suggest moves to ‘modernity’ which we are largely ill-prepared to take.

In the end however, this budget will not be remembered for what it can’t deliver. David Thompson has managed to tap into the pulse of the people in a way that the former administration somehow forgot how to, addressing - on paper - the key issues of social and economic concern for the majority of Barbadians. Indeed, he has boasted of his success with ‘participatory governance’, having held extensive focus group discussions with Barbadians to gauge the public’s concerns and perceived needs.

Key elements of the budget are as follows:

• Controversial capital-intensive highway flyovers - a hand-me-down from the previous administration - have been canceled.
• Integrity and freedom of information legislation is actively being developed by a cross-sectoral board of advisors.
• Statistical collection methodologies are to be modernized through technical assistance from the Inter-American Development Bank, with the aim of producing new, accurate data on controversial unemployment and public debt figures.
• Affordable access to higher education is further being facilitated through an increase of over 300% on loan amounts from the Student Revolving Loan Fund, while repayment periods are to be extended to 30 years, with an interest rate fixed at 1.5% above prevailing bank savings rate.
• Free public transportation for school children has also been introduced - both as a means to cull the divisive ‘minibus culture’ and reduce costs to poor families. Projected savings start from a minimum of $400 per annum for single-child families.
• The National Housing Corporation is being put on target to provide 2,000 low income housing solutions per year. Meanwhile Value Added Tax on building materials will also be refunded to first-time home buyers with a gross income of up to $42,000 and for houses up to a value of $150,00, in a creative means-tested approach of alleviating the high costs involved in home ownership.
• Foreign land ownership has been banned from Pico Teneriffe in the North to Skeete’s Bay in the South in a move to ‘protect the patrimony of Barbadians’. Tourism development is to continue when it is not deemed to be ‘in conflict with the aspirations of the population’.
• Government is expected to liquidate $200m worth of shares in the Insurance Corporation of Barbados and the Barbados National Bank to fund the expansion of the Queen Elizabeth hospital. Further fundraising is expected to be sought through philanthropic donations and corporate sponsorship.
• Government’s income is to be shored up by increased tax rates on banks, insurance companies and new-car dealerships, as well as tax hikes on lottery winnings, alcohol, tobacco products, road and license taxes and a monthly tax on mobile phone top-ups.
• New taxes will add $104m to the Treasury, while benefits are expected to cost $82m, leaving a net revenue gain of $22m.

While moderately impressive on paper, it remains left to be seen what impact these new amendments will have on the cost and quality of living in Barbados in the trying times ahead, even as fears are already mounting that newly heavily-taxed companies will pass on increases to consumers, thus negating any dent in living costs.

Through hiking taxes on key services, increasing demand on an already-ailing public transportation system, expanding social services in a time of economic restraint and increasing cost burdens on the private sector, uncertainty prevails among skeptics as to whether this seemingly all-encompassing budget will live up to its mandate to deliver relief where it really counts.

Downloads & further links:
Prime Minister’s budget speech 2008

The electorate’s changing of the old guard of government on January 15th came with new hopes and aspirations for Barbados, most notably with respect to our social development.

Previous mention was made of the fact that the former government was not axed based on Barbados’ economic performance. We have long boasted of our economic success and resilience relative to the world’s developing countries, and could find little fault in our macroeconomic indicators. In contrast, families and households saw increasing individual poverty, high costs of living, underemployment and prohibitive housing costs which ultimately negated our macroeconomic boasts, and called for closer attention to be paid to our social policies.

While the new administration came with an overarching theme of change, there needs now to be specific dialogue on the social policy plans of the new government for its first term of office. Whereas much has been done by way of the bureaucratic formation of new ministries to replace the former Ministry of Social Transformation, little clarification has been given to the precise objectives and scope of the new ‘buzzword’ agencies of Community Development, Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Family. Neither has there been mention of a revamp of the long-bedeviled bureaucratic procedures involved in the dispensation of social care under the agencies of the last administration.

Given the dynamics of policy planning, a comprehensive review of the policies which existed under the old fourteen-year administration needs to be urgently completed if the new government is to seriously effect improvements in the standard of living for the majority of Barbadians. As social change is without a doubt intrinsic to development, a continuation of the flaws of the previous administration’s social policies would inevitably render January 15th’s vote for change, pointless.

The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. David Thompson has announced his cabinet of ministers. It is a very lean cabinet, with some ministries being removed and others merged. Below is the full list of cabinet members. There has been no mention of Deputy Prime Minister, and it appears the Social Transformation Ministry has been disbanded, with new ministries of Community Development, Social Care and Family being created.

Rt. Hon. David Thompson – Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Development, Labour, Civil Service and Energy.

Hon. Freundel Stuart – Attorney-General and Minister of Home Affairs.

Hon. Christopher Sinckler – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business.

Hon. Donville Inniss – Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and International Business.

Hon. Dr. David Estwick – Minister of Health, National Insurance and Social Security.

Hon. Ronald Jones – Minister of Education and Human Resource Development.

Hon. Dr. Denis Lowe – Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Urban Development.

Hon. Patrick Todd – Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Urban Development.

Hon. Richard Sealy – Minister of Tourism.

Senator Haynesley Benn – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Hon. George Hutson – Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce.

Hon. Michael Lashley – Minister of Housing and Lands.

Hon. Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo – Minister of Family, Youth Affairs, Sports and the Environment.

Hon. Steve Blackett – Minister of Community Development and Culture.

Hon. John Boyce – Minister of Transport, Works and International Business.

Senator Maxine McClean - Leader of Government Business and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Senator Darcy Boyce - Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office with special responsibility for Finance and Energy.

Senator Arni Walters - Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office with special responsibility for Employment, Labour Relations and the Social Partnership.

The results are in and a new Prime Minister and cabinet is to be sworn in. Bees out, Dems in. It is a state of affairs that many Barbadians would not have thought possible just a few months ago: fourteen years of rule under Prime Minister Owen Arthur’s government have finally come to an end.

From today we officially welcome the Right Honourable David Thompson, Prime Minister, former underdog and much-maligned leader of a party that was thought to be too ineffective and weak to command popular support. Political pollsters have recanted, the incumbent has admitted its downfall and the public lies in wait for what is ahead under the new administration. Arguably, all that has remained constant in the wake of the election is change, and it was the electorate’s indulgence in the temptation to change that led to the incumbent’s defeat: at least, that’s how the former government sees it.

Yet, the 20-10 parliamentary split in favour of Thompson’s Dees suggests much more determination and effort on the part of the electorate than what would normally characterize a mere flippant desire for change. In fact, given the stunning defeat of seasoned BLP parliamentarians and ministers by relatively new DLP candidates, the decision on January 15th appears more to reflect a complete rejection of the incumbent party and the status quo it came to represent.

A cursory look at Barbados’ socioeconomic profile and the latest international reports on development belie the defeat of Arthur’s government. After all, our dollar is stable, unemployment is below Third World levels and our human development indicators put us above all other countries in the developing world. Still, the incumbent government did not perform well in the popular vote, making it clear that the election was not won or lost on macroeconomics.

The two parties’ campaigns also had significant points of departure . The incumbent BLP exalted the former Prime Minister to almost messianic proportions in a bid to convince the public that they needed “Arthur now, more than ever” because Barbados was now, “better than ever”. His economic savvy and the statistics to back it up were as much as the public was treated to during the short campaign.

The DLP, on the other hand, steadily mainstreamed relatively new issues of transparency, accountability, democracy and a spiralling cost of living which resonated more with the public than Arthur’s praises and statistics.  Introspective voters no doubt juxtaposed their current state of affairs next to the incumbent’s assertion that Barbadians were having the best times of their lives, and voted accordingly. In the end, the poor and middle-class voted on micro rather than macro-economics, and opted for a government who appeared to have their individual interests at heart.

While it would not be fair to discount Arthur’s contribution to Barbados, it would also be inaccurate to say that the majority of Barbadians are in a position to agree that life had gotten any easier coming on to the end of Arthur’s third term. Many voters may not have known the intricacies of his economic management, foreign relations sucess and whatever else was touted on the BLP campaign platform as much as they knew their individual hardships and concerns.

For the past term Barbadians saw skyrocketing food costs next to severe overruns on capital works projects; closure of small, black enterprises next to competition from monopolistic conglomerates; exclusion from referenda on unpopular and unwanted policies such as the CSME next to a government that resisted criticism; dwindling hopes for housing next to large-scale land sale for multimillion-dollar condominium developments and the inefficiency of poverty relief next to elected officials who appeared to be far-removed from the plight.

The electorate did not vote for change on a whim. Rather, there were a bevy of issues which, to their minds, demanded it. To many Barbadians the incumbent had lost its touch with the people, and their campaign did little to engage the public’s trust and support for the extension of the status quo into another five years. In the end, a desperate electorate voted with faith and hope that better days could come under a new government. What is now left to be seen is whether those hopes bear fruit.

The Right Honourable David Thompson was today sworn in as Barbados’ sixth Prime Minister, following the climax of yesterday’s general election which brought 20 seats to the former opposition Democratic Labour Party and 10 to the incumbent Barbados Labour Party. Freundel Stuart was also sworn in today as the island’s new Attorney General.

Our election headlines conclude this week with features on:

▀ Change for change’s sake, or resentment of the status quo?
    — Barbados election results revisited.
▀ News and commentary on Prime Minister Thompson’s new cabinet.
    (Due on Saturday, January 20 according to media reports) 
▀ Hopes and expectations for policy and governance in the new administration.

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Update 8:14 am Barbados time - Recounted constituencies have gone to the Barbados Labour Party as expected. The final split of parliament is as predicted ealier; twenty to the Democratic Labour Party, ten to the Barbados Labour Party. Result commentary is here.

The results of the 2008 General Elections in Barbados are in and the former opposition Democratic Labour Party has clearly won twenty (20) seats in parliament, with the Barbados Labour Party clearly winning eight (8). Two constituencies, St. Andrew and St. Joseph, are pending a recount and are expected to go to the Barbados Labour Party to bring their tally to ten (10) seats. The Prime Minister-elect is The Hon. David Thompson, who will lead Barbados into the next five years.

The Bajan Dream Project has provided real-time results throughout the vote counting process, and we thank our five hundred odd visitors who chose us as their source for Barbados Election Results 2008. Commentary and other updates are to follow later in the day, with our hopes for Barbados under this new administration and commentary on today’s results. Thank you for linking to us today.

Click below for complete results.

8:21 AM - Barbados:  

St. Joseph won by Dale Marshall           

8:21 AM - Barbados:  

St. Andrew won by George Payne          

1:39 AM - Barbados:  

St. Michael North won by Ronald Toppin         

1:29 AM - Barbados:  

St. Philip South won by Adriel Brathwaite      

1:26 AM - Barbados:  

St. Andrew - a recount will be undertaken today at 10 a.m.

12:47 AM - Barbados:  

St. James South Won by Donville Innis     

12:40 AM - Barbados:  

St. James Central won by George Hutson    

12:31 AM - Barbados:  

St. Joseph - a recount of votes is currently being undertaken
Dale Marshall (BLP) vs. Randall Rouse (DLP)         

12:31 AM - Barbados:  

St. James North won by Rawle Eastmond         

12:31 AM - Barbados:  

 Christ Church East won by Dennis Lowe   

12:31 AM - Barbados:  

St. James South - a recount of votes is currently being undertaken
Elizabeth Thompson (BLP) vs. Donville Innis (DLP)         
12:47 am - Donville Innis (DLP) declared winner

12:31 AM - Barbados:  

St. Peter won by Owen Arthur         

12:31 AM - Barbados:  

St. George North won by Gline Clarke         

12:27 AM - Barbados:  

St. Michael East won by Kenny Best   

12:25 AM - Barbados:  

Christ Church West Central won by Stephen Lashley     

12:22 AM - Barbados:  

St. Lucy won by Dennis Kellman     

12:20 AM - Barbados:  

St. Michael West won by Michael Carrington   

12:20 AM - Barbados:  

St. Michael South won by Freundel Stuart       

12:15 AM - Barbados:  

St. Michael South East won by Hamilton Lashley        

12:11 AM - Barbados:  

St. Michael North West won by Chris Sinckler       

12:03 AM - Barbados:   

Outgoing Prime Minister Owen Arthur addresses Barbados, thanking Barbadians for the opportunity to serve as Prime Minister and conceeding defeat in the General Elections. Attributes his massive loss to Barbadians’ hope for change, among other issues. He says he will consult with members of his party before declaring who will be leader of the new Opposition.

12:01 AM - Barbados:  

St. John won by Prime Minister-elect David Thompson      

11:58 PM - Barbados:
Christ Church West won by Dr. William Duguid     

11:53 PM - Barbados:   

CBC News is reporting that outgoing Prime Minister Owen Arthur is due to make an address to the nation.

11:47 PM - Barbados:  

Christ Church East Central won by Ronald Jones      

11:41 PM - Barbados:  

St. George South won by Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo     

11:40 PM - Barbados:  

St. Philip West won by Dr. David Estwick    

11:38 PM - Barbados: 

Democratic Labour Party leads in 19 seats
Barbads Labour Party leads in 11 seats
This is the projected final split of parliament as all seats have been reported

11:36 PM - Barbados:

St. Thomas won by Cynthia Forde     

11:32 PM - Barbados:

The City of Bridgetown won by Patrick Todd    

11:29 PM - Barbados:

Christ Church South won by John Boyce    
 

11:25 PM - Barbados:

St. Michael West Central won by James Paul    

11:19 PM - Barbados:

St. Philip North won by Michael Lashley   

11:15 PM - Barbados:
St. Michael Central won by Steve Blackett  

11:14 PM - Barbados:

Democratic Labour Party leads in 20 seats
Barbados Labour Party leads in 10 seats

11:09 PM - Barbados:
 St. Michael North East won by Mia Mottley (BLP) 

10:48 PM - Barbados:

Democratic Labour Party leads in 20 seats
Barbados Labour Party leads in 8 seats 

10:46 PM - Barbados:
St. Michael South Central won by Richard Sealy (DLP) 

10:22 PM - Barbados:

Professor Ian Boxhill of the CHAPO/Boxhill poll just admitted the accuracy of the CADRES poll, and says it seems like quite a covincing victory for the Opposition Democratic Labour Party. Speaks of the ’superiority’ of the CADRES poll. (See related story behind the two polls here)

10:00 PM - Barbados:

Democratic Labour Party leads in 13 seats
Barbdos Labour Party leads in 9 seats

9:45 PM - Barbados:

It is far too early to declare a winner in any of the constituencies, but the Opposition Democratic Labour Party is off to an impressive start in the boxes counted. Again, all boxes are not in. However, of the fourteen constituencies partially counted at this time, the Opposition Democratic Labour Party leads eleven (11) and the Barbados Labour Party leads (5).

For the benefit of our readers who are rapidly visiting our blog, please be advised that the best coverage is available on the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) website at www.cbc.bband the Starcom Network VOB 92.9 FM. We will however be providing close to real-time coverage on this blog.

Update: See how the boxes fell in our coverage of the elections here, as well as our result commentary. 

Anxious anticipation precedes tonight’s tallying of the votes in today’s general election in Barbados. The ‘fight for our future’, as it has been billed by both political parties, was preceded by three weeks of intense campaigning, coloured by themes of change, leadership, accountability and apparently, worship.

The seriousness of today’s election cannot be underestimated. International and domestic issues threaten the safety and stability of the Barbadian society and economy, and it demands a government that is capable, accountable and competent.

The electorate faces a tough decision. The incumbent party, which has been in power for a little under fifteen years, has been the only government that many young Barbadians would have ever known. Old habits die hard and truthfully, this government has not performed too badly during its three terms insofar as employment and certain human development indicators are concerned. In addition, the ruling party ran a tough and convincing campaign that challenged Barbadians’ natural predilection for change, no doubt bolstered by an intensive media presence over the past three weeks.

On the other hand, a new and re-energized Democratic Labour Party is at its closest taste of victory. Its solid performance in opinion polls and its mainstreaming of accountability, transparency, poverty eradication and democracy struck a chord with a number of undecided voters, causing this election to be inevitably too close to call.

Pollsters have predicted opposing victories while electors are taking no chances and turning out in record numbers. Barbados is witnessing a turning-point where it is widely recognized that the times ahead are hard, and our future depends on competent governance.

Today could be either party’s day for victory, but regardless of the outcome we believe that the voice of Barbadians who spoke so convincingly today will now play a greater role in shaping the quality of our leadership and governance. The wide public sentiment which has risen behind issues such as accountability and transparency will not easily die after tonight, as Barbadians continue to demand such from their elected officials.

What remains left to be seen however is whether the strong party support which we witnessed over the past few weeks will now take a backseat to what should be our first and only loyalty - loyalty to Barbados and the needs of the Barbadian people.

After nearly fifteen years of unbroken rule and the near-absolute power granted to him under our Westminster system, Prime Minister Arthur and his supporters appear to be under the impression that he is the Messiah, nay, the Jesus Christ of Boscobelle, St. Peter.

One only needs to take a cursory look at the ruling party’s campaign leading up to January 15th’s general elections to appreciate the gravity of these messianic themes. Whether it is that we are being told daily to “trust Owen with our future”, or hear him being welcomed in hymn to the strains of ”You Raise Me Up”, Arthur’s aura has been cunningly morphed into one deserving of reverential praise, submission and worship. Indeed, he has even taken to mimicking the original Jesus Christ, telling his audience in St. Peter “…I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come again to take you unto myself, that where I am, there you shall be also” (Barbados Nation, and ironically, John 14:3), to throngs of praise from his captive audience.

We should all be wary of this type of politics, whether it be poetic license or sinister sacrilege. People are not beholden to the Prime Minister; in fact, the converse is theoretically true. Arthur cannot have his cake and eat it. One cannot be the same ‘poor humble boy from Boscobelle’ in one breath and in another, the worshipped Messiah of Barbados. Lest he forgets, the original Messiah was rejected by his people and crucified among criminals. Arthur would do well not to follow too closely in His footsteps.

The Project Manager has taken the decision to postpone the Bajan Dream Project indefinitely.

As many of you would be aware, the Project began a recruitment drive in June 2007, seeking a new executive team to attend to the project management, financial and fund raising roles of the new NGO. The project’s model was also completely revamped to shift from its ‘charitable’ focus to a more ‘development-centred’ intervention, which would offer a basket of social services geared towards self-help and poverty alleviation.

The recruitment drive was successful and the Project Manager was able to choose a number of highly skilled and committed individuals to fill the roles required within the Project. We had also begun to head into some urban communities to identify persons ‘on the ground’ who would assist with the coordination of the project within their communities.

With personnel, a project model and community participation intact, the Project needed funding to get its plan off the ground. We have, from 2005, sought to identify sources of funding to finance the project’s operational budget but the finances available were always significantly short of the budget. You may appreciate this fact when you consider that the project was being billed as a home replacement/repair intervention (which, in itself, comes with significant costs), as well as skills training with micro-finance intervention (which further increased the cost of the project significantly).

What has always worked against us in funding the project has been our location. Simply put, a poverty alleviation project in Barbados is ineligible for grant-funding by most international donors. This was so from 2005 when Barbados was classified by the World Bank as a middle income state, but is now considerably worse when the island was recently reclassified as a high income state - sharing this ‘honour’ with countries such as Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Regardless of economic indicators, one has only to look at those aforementioned countries and compare them with Barbados to appreciate the difference between ‘high income’ and ‘highly developed’. Notwithstandnig this, our struggle for donor grant-funding has become even more difficult, when ‘economics’ says that a significant number of Barbadians aren’t struggling.

There are, of course, other lines of funding which the Project is not prepared to take. These take the form of loans, and the responsibility of repaying these loans (and their accompanying interest) would fall squarely on the Project Manager and executive team if any of the beneficiaries of the project should default on their end of the agreement. This is a risk that we are not prepared to take.

Another option, which is still being considered, is having the project relocate to another Caribbean island. We have been in talks with members of parliament in two other islands about this possibility, and we believe it would be a great disservice to the notion of Caribbean oneness if the Bajan Dream Project was to simply fold, rather than take the model to another island which is experiencing much of the same problems that we face here in Barbados.

The purpose of this post was to more clearly and adequately explain the difficulties that the Project has been facing. From its inception, the project was sometimes subject to criticism, often from persons who choose to do so anonymously and from positions of ignorance. This is to be expected in Barbados’ society, but we thank all of the supporters who over the years have tried to help the Project by volunteering their services and taking up community advocacy.

Please note that the project will not re-commence its charitable donations of funds and materials to impoverished persons. This was a fall-back during the project’s sabbatical phase, but in the end, this charitable giving does not redound to any significant or sustained benefit to the individuals involved.

We would also like to ask that those who link to our blog continue to do so, as a significant number of visitors do still come here for poverty-related information, and we will continue blogging as a means of  ’free’ advocacy.

Barbadians fear the worst as a family of five disappear into an underground cave, following the collapse of their apartment building today in Brittons Hill, St. Michael.

Officials of Miami-Dade search and rescue on the scene of the incident. On Monday, Attorney General Dale Marshall declared the switch from rescue to recovery mode, after cadaver dogs detected bodies in two areas of the cave. Rescue dogs have found no signs of life. It is highly unlikely that any of the family members survived, coming on to 48 hours since being trapped underground. Reports are that the family could be buried some 50 to 100 feet underground. Monday, 8/27/07. 20:00 Barbados time.

Remains of the apartment building after a section collapsed into an underground cave in Brittons Hill, St. Michael, trapping a family of five.

Update Efforts have shifted from rescue to recovery, though no bodies have been recovered as yet.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the individuals involved in the building collapse at Brittons Hill, St. Michael today.

A section of the apartment building pictured above collapsed at 4 a.m. this morning into an underground cave, trapping a family of five.

Recovery of a vehicle from the sunken garage. Compliments VOB

Up to the time of this post (1900), the family has not been retrieved.

A specialist search and rescue team is scheduled to arrive from the United States to assist in the recovery efforts.

The Prime Minister, members of cabinet, search and rescue officials and community members are to be lauded for their diligent efforts today, and we continue to hope and pray for the recovery of the family, and answers to the many unanswered questions surrounding this incident.

For more details:
Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation
Nation Newspaper