The slavery experience of our foreparents has left a legacy that we still struggle with today.  It is a legacy that everyone who has tried to improve a situation has felt.  Over the past quarter-century, I have talked with many persons who saw something being done incorrectly, whether on a construction site, or at a social function, or in a business, and they said nothing.

Why are we so reluctant to identify a problem, or stop an injustice, or stand up to a bully?  Why do so few Barbadians speak or write or act when we see something that ought not to done?  The typical reason that people give is that they did not want to draw attention to themselves by getting involved.

Challenging unfairness or recommending improvements will get you noticed.  During slavery, being noticed could mean getting raped if you were a girl, or being beaten if you were a man.  So everyone learnt to keep their heads down and just try to finish their work without being noticed.  This attitude has persisted, and I have found that it requires a conscientious effort to change.

In my youth, I used to enjoy watching kung-fu movies at the cinemas.  There would typically be some unmannerly adults in the audience who would put their feet on the chair in front of them and shout obscenities and insults across the room, but no-one ever said anything to them.  I learnt to keep my head down in order not to attract their attention, and just enjoy the movie.  By this time in my life, I had seen numerous instances of injustices, and wondered why responsible adults were never around during those times.

In my late teen years, while waiting for a kung-fu movie to start, and listening to the familiar string of obscenities and insults, I remember making myself a promise.  I told myself that when I reached 30 years of age, I would be the adult that I was hoping for during my youth.  When I was 30, I kept that promise and continued to keep it for the next 2 decades to this day.

Over the past 51 years of our independence, Barbados has had no shortage of competent persons with high integrity.  However, we were starved of persons who were willing to actually do something meaningful to bring about the much needed change to the benefit of all Barbadians.  We have had political columnists, moderators, commentators and calypsonians who would entertain us by giving voice to what we felt, but were too intimidated to say.  However, their efforts rarely resulted in national improvements.

There are two likely methods of solving national problems.  The first is to convince a ruling political administration to pursue effective and economical solutions.  The second method is to form a political party, assemble a set of highly competent persons of high integrity, and provide the electorate with a competent alternative.

I have tried the first method for almost 2 decades.  It is akin to sitting up and being noticed, much like the columnists and calypsonians, and like them, I was tolerated to a certain extent.  However, like them, I have seen no national improvement from my efforts.  Had our arrogant politicians not brought us to the brink of economic ruin, I would likely have continued to simply sit up and lobby for change.

I am now back in the Plaza cinema, the unruly fellows have their feet on the back of the chairs and are shouting their now familiar string of obscenities and insults at their targets.  Most of the audience have their heads down, not wanting to attract their attention.  The bullies are arrogant because they have intimidated the crowd for the past 51 years and the audience’s fear has sustained them.  However, this time, I stand up, and turn around, and face them, and whatever will happen will happen.  Barbados, you decide whether I face them alone.

We arrived at a Government department before 11:00 am and the door was locked. About 9 persons were inside and it was rumoured that the staff were going to lunch after those inside had been processed.  The last person to be processed came out at 11:09 am.  Then some of the staff came out with cell phones to their ears, and walked through the line of customers waiting outside of the locked door.  They did not share any information with us, their customers.

At 11:22 am, someone stuck a sign on the door that stated “We are temporarily closed at this time.  Re-opening time: 12:30 pm.  We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”  A guard noted that they were short staffed, and it was possible that at 12:30 pm, it would be announced that they were closed for the rest of the day.

We who reside in Barbados are not surprised at this true account.  We are accustomed to the: long lines, delays, late responses, misplaced files, downed computer systems, critical person is at lunch or is not at work, non-payment by credit card, deadline of 3:00 pm for receiving payments, unwritten regulations known only to the regulator, inconsistent regulations, not-at-this-branch responses, staff shortages, broken equipment, supply shortages, potholes, water shortages, the same excuses, uncaring attitudes, and so on.

Our public services do not appear to be customer-focused.  But they think that they are.  They think that being polite is being customer focused.  It is not.  It is simply being polite.  Being customer focused is trying to delight the customer.  Most customers of government services simply want to access affordable quality services conveniently and quickly.  Politely apologising why this cannot be done does not deliver the service to the customer.

Who is responsible for our poorly managed public services?  Not the poorly managed employees who are simply performing as directed.  Not their managers who are simply implementing a management system that is not working.  The ones responsible for setting the management standard are our elected politicians.

Both political administrations accuse the other of poor management when they are not in power.  Therefore, both political administrations understand what all customers of Government services understand in this regard.  Namely, that our public services are poorly managed.  However, is it fair to blame our politicians?  I think not.

Both political administrations have tried their best to manage Government services over the past 50 years.  Over the past 17 years, I have encouraged both administrations to improve the management of public services.  I have referred both political administrations to the customer-focused international quality management standard ISO 9001.

Barbados has been a corresponding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) since our independence, and a full member since 1999.  Yet both political administrations just cannot seem to bring themselves to implement this international customer-focused management system for our benefit.

This is the first election since our independence where Barbadians can finally decide on the quality of Government services they wish.  We pay for our Government services.  We elect politicians to set management standards and ensure that they work properly for us.  It seems that our politicians have defined themselves as the main customers to which public workers should focus on satisfying.  We have allowed them over 50 years to get it right, and they simply were not up to the task.

If you are satisfied with the present management of our Government services, then you should vote for either the BLP or DLP, because the result will be the same – for you.  However, if you want a customer-focused public service where you are the customer, then your only choice is to vote for the Solutions Barbados candidate in your constituency.  If you want better managed public services, and you still vote for the BLP or the DLP, then you finally have someone to blame – yourself.

Grenville Phillips II is the founder of Solutions Barbados and can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

As expected, Standard & Poor’s downgraded Barbados’ sovereign credit rating yet again, this time to CCC.  As long as the DLP continues to follow their developmental philosophy of high taxation, then further downgrades and eventual currency devaluation are certain.  So what is the solution?

First, we need to understand that the DLP’s developmental philosophy has benefitted Barbados immensely.  However, their philosophy no longer works when we have entered the death spiral.  Our problem is that the DLP continues to stubbornly embrace their failing philosophy, which will certainly ruin Barbados.  Pharaoh’s heart appears to be hardened to any good economic advice.

Some think that the solution is to simply change administrations.  That thinking is valid in normal circumstances.  However, once we have entered the death spiral, special measures are required to get us out.  The BLP and DLP are as inexperienced as all third parties in getting us out of this level of debt.  Therefore, the critical question that responsible voters need to ask those offering to manage Barbados’ economy is: how do you plan to get us out of this death spiral?

The DLP’s management of the economy has been continually examined by the international rating agencies. The now familiar downgrade announcements simply chart our progress to foreseen economic ruin.  However, would anything improve if voters selected the BLP?  To assess the likely outcome, we need to examine the BLP’s development philosophy.

The BLP’s development philosophy is to finance Barbados’ development through debt.  Barbados has benefitted immensely from this philosophy.  However, their philosophy no longer works when we have entered the death spiral.  Our problem is that BLP is also blinded by their developmental philosophy.  Even as we are racing towards economic ruin, the BLP’s solution is to burden Barbados with even more debt – they simply know no other way.

To get out of this death spiral, we need to understand how we got in.  All economic enterprises, whether they are households, businesses or countries, should be run within safe operating boundaries.  Banks normally protect individuals (and their families) and business owners (and their employees) from going outside of these boundaries, by limiting the amount of debt they can acquire based on their income.

Individuals or business owners may acquire additional debt from other sources.  However, once it reaches an unsustainable tipping point, then they enter the death spiral where their families will eventually have to vacate their houses, and their employees will eventually become unemployed.

Our elected politicians negotiate national loans on our behalf.  However, unlike individuals and business owners, international funding agencies willingly lend politicians any amount, but inflict punishing interest charges on citizens based on the risks of lending.  The IMF warned us citizen not to allow our politicians to enter the death spiral.  We enter this spiral when our debt exceeds 40% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The BLP took us from the safety of 30% GDP debt to approximately 90% GDP debt.  Entering the death spiral is deceptive, since there is very little change in the circumference or size of the circle in the initial cycles.  However, as we move from the rim and inevitably travel downward towards the eventual drain, then with each successive cycle, the circle gets smaller, the effects of each cycle become more noticeable, and we become more alarmed.

If Barbados has the misfortune of electing the DLP, or any party that shares the BLP’s failed philosophy, then Barbados is sunk.  Solutions Barbados is the only party that has published a non-austerity plan for getting Barbados out of this death spiral.  It has undergone over 2 years of rigorous public scrutiny and is available on SolutionsBarbados.com.

Essentially it comprises 4 proven main steps.  The first is to increase Government revenues by lowering taxes and making them fair, and easier to calculate, pay and audit.  The second is to increase productivity in both the public and private sectors by managing each Government service to the international customer-focused quality management standard, ISO 9001.

The third step is to effectively address corruption by fining those who receive and pay bribes up to 10 times the value of the bribe, and rewarding the whistle-blower with the full value of the bribe.  The last step is to depoliticise the civil service by ensuring that all public workers are promoted on merit alone.  The details are on SolutionsBarbados.com.

In the upcoming election, the choice for voters could not be clearer.  We either complete the death spiral by voting for politicians who embrace the failed philosophies of the DLP and BLP that have brought us to this point, or we get out of this death spiral by voting for Solutions Barbados candidates.  Decide Barbados.

Grenville Phillips II is the founder of Solutions Barbados and can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

After assessing the damage caused to buildings from Category 5 Hurricanes Irma and Maria, witnessing the heart-breaking misery of those who have lost so much, observing unrestrained looting of non-food items, and experiencing the halt to all national economic activity, I have returned to Barbados more convinced that we can avoid the foreseen national misery if we choose to.

The prevailing mind-set is that we cannot avoid such misery.  It is expressed in terms like: “what will happen will happen”, and “if the roof is to go, then it will go”.  This defeatist attitude that claims that homeowners can do nothing about foreseen threats explains the general absence of initiative to improve the resilience of our houses, which should be our primary shelters during natural hazards.

I bring good news. For despite the catastrophic building failures and the significant number of roofs damaged, there were many buildings that survived intact.  These buildings had several common features that can result in economical building improvements for all Caribbean residents.

If your roof comprises metal cladding on a supporting timber frame, then your roof is likely vulnerable to extensive wind damage.  Fortunately, you can simply strengthen your roof yourself, or you can get a carpenter to do it for you.  I have calculated the following costs for the 3-bedroom 2-bathroom house with a hipped roof shape that is shown in the 1993 edition of the Barbados National Building Code, which I will conveniently refer to as the Building Code.

The wind will try to remove the metal cladding first, which should be 0.5 mm thick to reduce the likelihood of it tearing.  The Building Code’s minimum standard is to secure the cladding with screws spaced 300 mm (1 ft) apart but spaced 150 mm (6”) apart at the eaves and ridges.

The roofs that survived Category 5 hurricanes exceeded this new standard by generally having one screw inserted between the existing screws.  Therefore, the spacing was 75 mm (3”) at the eaves and ridges, and 150 mm (6”) elsewhere.

Approximately 720 additional screws are needed, and each screw cost about 35 cents resulting in a total building materials cost of approximately $250.  A carpenter should be capable of installing the additional screws in less than one day for approximately $150.

If the cladding is secured to Plywood T1-11 boards, then the boards can be secured to the rafters with longer screws at the rafter locations.  Each longer screw cost about 55 cents each.

With the roof cladding and boards secured to the rafters, the wind will try to separate the rafters.  The rafters can be secured with BRC rafter connectors.  Approximately 80 rafter connectors are required, which cost approximately $1.21 each, resulting a total materials cost of approximately $190 including screws.  A carpenter should be capable of installing the connectors in less than one day for approximately $150.

The remaining roof connection is at the rafter and wall junctions.  If truss anchors were not used, then this connection can be reinforced with rafter/purlin connectors.  Approximately 120 connectors are required, which cost about 94 cents each, resulting in a total materials cost of approximately $230 including screws.  In masonry walls, concrete screws can be used for an additional $90.  A carpenter should be capable of installing the connectors in less than one day for approximately $150.

The total materials cost of securing your roof is then in the order of approximately $820.  Homeowners do not need to do all of this work at once.  They can start with the metal cladding and work their way down.  Most of the work is simple enough that families can do it themselves.  Of course there are other options.

The cost to replace the roof after the hurricane is approximately $40,000.  If you cannot afford this, then you should either start saving or obtain insurance.  If the house is insured, then the annual payments will be over $1,000 and you will be required to pay the initial $750 of any damage.

For both of these options, you would have lost your contents and will have to suffer through the misery of discomfort and reconstruction.  Why choose this option when a better alternative of preventative strengthening exists?

A customer-focused home insurance company can consider allowing one annual premium to go towards roof strengthening.   A caring Government can consider removing all taxes from hurricane connectors and screws, resulting in a price reduction of approximately 30%.  The Minister of Finance has another opportunity to show that he cares.

Grenville Phillips II is the founder of Solutions Barbados and can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

The Hon Christopher Sinckler is Barbados’ Minister of Finance.  He has a most challenging responsibility.  He must consider competing interests and prioritize the spending of limited funds.  He must also be careful to respect the concerns of sovereign rating agencies, creditors, and the International Monetary Fund.  Concurrently, he must defend his decisions in Parliament.

Mr Sinckler can be likened to a national boxer.  The main difference in this analogy is that whenever Mr Sinckler makes a bad decision, we suffer.  When he spends more than Barbados earns, we suffer.  When he increases our national debt, we suffer.  When he manages another downgrade, we suffer.  When he lays off productive public workers, we suffer.  When he will have no other option but to devalue Barbados’ dollar, we will certainly suffer.

At the end of each round, our beaten champion stumbles to his corner where he expects to find succour and strategic advice.  He finds us, all of us.  Our job is to fan him, to give him something to drink, to encourage him, to pray that God will grant him wisdom and understanding and keep him in good health.  Why?  Because he is the only champion that we have, and when he gets hit, we get hit.  We need him to succeed.  We need him to win.  So go Chris go.

The question that begs an answer is, why is he taking such a beating?  The answer is simple.  He is getting bad advice from his corner.  While I and others are encouraging him to keep his guard up to prevent getting hurt, and to make strategic jabs to advance Barbados’ economy, he is given the lunatic advice to simply go out there, put his hands by his side and take the blows.

The advice assumes that his opponent will either have pity on him, stop fighting and award him some climate change funds, or that his opponent will get exhausted from throwing so many unanswered blows, and award him reparations.

Why did he allow the European Union to beat him senselessly?  What sense is there in accepting perhaps the worst trade deal that Barbados has ever accepted, in the form of the Economic Partnership Agreement?  This deal will essentially give the Caribbean to Europe and return us to servitude.

Why allow Sandals to simply strike him at will?  Does Sandals automatically receive concessions that its competitors do not automatically receive?  If so, then they are permitted to legally and unfairly compete in Barbados’ market.  When he went up against Moody’s, and Standard and Poors rating agencies, it was a merciless slaughter, and they are still not finished with him.

Why won’t he defend himself, and us?  Why won’t he put up his guard?  Why won’t he even feign a jab if he has a conscientious objection to fighting back?  Why simply stand still and allow our opponents to knock him senseless in every round.  What are his trusted advisors hoping to achieve?

They seem to be hoping that the opponent will see that our champion has turned the other cheek and in response, will stop fighting.  So far, they have not shown any inclination that they will respect our supposed moral high ground.  They seem only intent on taking full advantage of our misplaced civility.

There is a time for Chris to turn his other cheek – but that time is not when he is fighting on our behalf.  Perhaps he needs to be aware of all of the harm that his passivity is causing Barbados.

We are currently in the 9th round of a 10 round match.  Our champion’s legs are wobbly from the constant unanswered barrage.  As he makes it back to our corner for one last round, we need him to fight back.  However, our Champion seems to trust the partisan bad advice that has not worked for us in the previous 9 rounds.

They are advocating a type of Muhammed Ali rope-a-dope strategy, where the opponent exhausts himself by punching a non-responsive target during the early rounds.  However, that will only work if our champion protects himself from the opponent’s relentless barrage.  It does not work if his hands were at his sides during the slaughter.

Right now our champion is reeling, he is hurt, he cannot think straight, and our opponents know this.  He needs to start protecting himself, and then fighting back.  But his trusted advisors are giving him contrary advice.

When I listen to the advice of boxing coaches during late rounds, they seem to understand that the time for niceties has ended when they are trying to get through to an exhausted boxer.  They tend to speak harshly in order to shock the pugilist into listening to his advice for one last round.  This is instructive.

Chris is our champion.  If he loses, then we all lose.  His trusted partisan advisors continue to whisper the same bad advice into his ear.  We need him to win.  Someone needs to shock him into the reality of what his continual losing means for us.  “Chris, put up your damn hands and fight!”

Grenville Phillips II is the founder of Solutions Barbados and can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

Dear Residents:

My Name is Francina Bourne and I am most honoured that you would consider me be your representation in St Michael South East.

Over that past 20 years, I have worked as a credit officer, then a legal assistant, and now a qualified para-legal officer.  During this time, I also worked in our family’s farming business.

For 2 decades, I resided in the neighbouring Sargeant’s Village, and was distressed at the rising levels of violence, crime, drugs, unemployment and underemployment within my community, especially among the youth.  The current educational and economic system is clearly not working for our youth.  Since they will eventually replace us, we must do a much better job at preparing them to manage Barbados.

I believe that God has raised up different leaders at this time to properly manage our economy, and responsibly prepare our youth for their eventual leadership.  I also believe that God has changed the planned direction of my life to be of national service to you.

We can improve our economic, educational, agricultural, health care, criminal justice, and other systems to the benefit of all Barbadians.  The system should equally benefit those who loudly complain, and those who suffer in silence and choose not to complain.

We have delivered a flyer and mini-manifesto to each house in St Michael South East.    It may be downloaded below.

A4 Flyer FB R2

Best regards,

Francina

Dear Resident:

My name is Wayne ‘JIBRI’ Marshall.  I look forward to meeting you, and championing your cause in Parliament.

I have 18 years of experience working in the Tourism industry, both in the crusie ship sector and the Grantley Adams International Airport.  I have worked as a chauffeur and a certified Tour Guide.

Four and a half years ago, I decided to pursue a broadcasting career.  I learnt about what was required, persevered through the training, and now work full-time on Radio.

I am the founder and chief steward of Teshuva, a registered charity to assist those in desperate need.  However, despite all that I have accomplished so far, my greatest responsibility is that of a husband and father.

I have frequented areas of this constituency for approximately 2 decades.  My greatest concern is the lack of compassion shown by so many in our Nation from all walks of life, and all spheres of education.

I believe that a representative must do at least 3 things properly: observe, listen, and make improvements that benefit everyone, including those who do not complain.  This is how I plan to manage Government services.

From the time Solutions Barbados was formed over 2 years ago, I have learnt a lot of new things about myself.  I have reportedly engaged in the most heinous acts imaginable.  The mystery to be solved is, why I am still walking about Barbados unrestrained.  Why are the police so negligent in their duty to protect Barbadians?  Why have they not come for me yet?

They are persons who see their service to humanity as spreading misinformation about political opponents, for the sole reason of getting voters to choose their candidate.  The clever method is to simply spread a half-truth.  I have come to both understand and despise this role of the political operative.

Political operatives will recklessly drop a mischievous half-truth, and then let an inquisitive person speculate into the realm of defamation.  They will then feign innocence for their role in harming both the defamed and the unsuspecting defamer.  I really despise this role of the political operative.

I have tried to live a good life for diverse reasons.  Foremost of these is that I do not worship God in vain.  I believe that He is, and that He rewards those who intentionally seek Him.  I also believe that God hears the cries of the oppressed, and that a certain fearful judgement awaits the oppressor, so I demonstrate my love for God by helping, and not harming others.

To try to divert persons who have heard half-truths away from dangerous speculation, I have decided to address the allegations.

Visitors to Her Majesty’s Prison at Dodds may have seen me in prison.  However, that is only half of the truth.  Releasing only half of the truth naturally leads people to speculate as to what I could have done to deserve such a fate.

Let me state that I have never been imprisoned for a conviction or remanded to prison for a charge.  I am a volunteer teacher at the prison.  I have taught inmates how to: supervise the construction of safe and durable timber and masonry houses, start and manage businesses with no start-up money, and play the keyboard by ear.  I have been doing this years before I had any idea that I would be involved in politics.

I do this because I genuinely care for prisoners.  I believe that every person has a genuine care for at least one group of people.  Individuals can identify the people group for whom they care based on their initial reaction to news of a member of that group.

If a student has been suspended for an infraction, then if your first thought is one of concern for the consequences of interrupting the student’s education, then you genuinely care about students.  However, if your initial thoughts were condemnatory, in that she got what she deserved, then perhaps there is another people group for who you truly care.

That is what separates a teacher who cares for students, from someone who simply sees their work as a method of earning an income.  We want our teachers to care enough to act, to help the slow learner, discipline the unruly, and protect the vulnerable student

Another common allegation is that I have outside children.  My question is always: where are they?  Bring them to me so that I can meet them.  To-date, neither child nor child-mother have come forward, and those who await their coming will wait in vain.

I have also been accused of being politically funded by large corporations in Barbados, will only do what the big businesses want, and am simply a naive pawn in their plans.  So far, the only group that has expressed opposition our economic plans are businesses.  They are concerned that we plan to tax their revenues.  They would much prefer to pay much less taxes by having only their profits taxed.

One persistent allegation that has extended to all Solutions Barbados candidates is that we are elitist.  By reason of our training and experience, we are indeed elite, but not elitist.  We genuinely care for all Barbadian residents, visitors, and businesses, and are willingly offering ourselves to represent you.  We are ready to serve you, not to be served by you.  If this means that we must bear the half-truths in silence, then we will.

Grenville Phillips II is the founder of Solutions Barbados and can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

Several very expensive solutions to Barbados’ gang and drug problems are available.  In desperation, the Government may be tempted to select one of them and unnecessarily push Barbados further into debt.  Given Government’s tendency to partially implement solutions and then realize that they are unaffordable, the money will likely be wasted.

Since we currently have ‘mauby’ pockets, an effective and economical (not costly) solution would more likely be implemented to completion.  In designing solutions for our youth, we should remember our responsibility to them, which is to provide an environment where they can be trained to receive the baton of leadership, so that they can responsibly manage this legacy which is Barbados.

Once this vision is accepted, then the solution reveals itself.  On the gang issue, there are three groups of youths that need to be targeted.  The first group is the current secondary school students who are being prepared to leave school with no marketable skills.

The second group is those who have already graduated from secondary school without any marketable skills, and are coming to the realization that the only employment opportunities available to them are within a gang.

The third group is gang leaders, who think that the only way that they can participate in Barbados’ economy is through recruiting others to engage in the illegal drug trade.  Permanent solutions need to be designed for each group.

In designing permanent solutions, it is important to address the root causes and not only the symptoms.  One root cause of our gangs is the secondary school curriculum, which results in many students leaving school without any marketable skills.  This brings us to the solution for our current students.

The existing school curriculum needs to be rearranged so that students spend their first three years learning the more exciting, easier-to-learn, and more marketable practical aspects of the subjects.  During this time, all students should be taught, among other things: conversational languages, applied sciences and arts, and music-by-ear.

All students should at least know how to cook, make marketable products from raw materials at home (eg: coconut oil from coconuts), perform basic accounting, perform basic maintenance on manufactured products, and speak and write well.  The final two years should be spent learning the more challenging theoretical aspects of subjects in preparation for the CXC examinations.

Those who have already left school without marketable skills will soon realise that as adults, they need money.  Individual counselling and group seminars may be useful for their personal development; however, it does not pay bills.  They are aware that they do not possess marketable skills to get anything but labourer positions, and in the current economic climate, those entry-level positions are already taken by those who left school before them.  Therefore, the solution is to give them the training to start their own profitable businesses.

Walbrent College conducts free practical workshops that train persons, with no apparent marketable skills, to start and grow a business with no start-up money.  The College used to teach the workshop to inmates in prison so that they could have had a legitimate source of income following their release.

The next free 5-day workshop for unemployed and under-employed persons will likely be held within one month.  Walbrent College is hosting a free public town-hall meeting on Sunday 10^th September at 5:00 pm at Combermere School, where participants may register themselves and others to attend the free workshop.

At the town hall meeting, Roger Husbands, who accurately predicted the current gang activity now described by the Police, has been invited to make further predictions based on an analysis of the current situation.  Solutions Barbados will explain their plan to effectively and economically address Barbados’ gang and crime problems.  All are welcome to attend.

The third group comprises gang leaders who control gang members.  Many of them wish that there was another way, but feel trapped in the hazardous drug trade.  They desperately need to manage the development, marketing and distribution of a safer product.

Fortunately, there are an unlimited amount of replacement products to which they can apply their unique management skills.  They simply need to see the resulting income in order to be convinced to make the switch.

When an area is being flooded by an open faucet, the first order of business is to turn it off and then proceed with the clean-up.  Changing the secondary school curriculum to give all students marketable skills is the equivalent of turning off the faucet.  This requires the support of the Ministry of Education.  It is to their shame that a new school term is about to start and the curriculum remains unchanged.

Grenville Phillips II is the founder of Solutions Barbados and can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados recently hosted economist Ms Marla Dukharan, who determined that Barbados’ debt to GDP ratio was an insane 168%.  This places us as one of the most indebted nations on the planet.  To put this in perspective, the maximum limit which the IMF warned us not to cross in order to avoid severe austerity was 40%, so we are on the brink of economic ruin.

The main conclusions from Ms Dukharan’s presentation, was that Barbados’ economy has been managed to such a level of extreme incompetence that we have now run out of all good options.  The only options available to us are so horribly bad, that the severe austerity can only be described as, to use her word, “poison”.  Barbadians will soon long for the days when all we had to suck was salt.

She gave a glimpse of the utter misery that awaits us, by noting that the National Insurance Scheme will not likely be in a financial state to help the masses of Barbadians who are expected to swell the ranks of the unemployed.  The previous nine years of austerity have slowly bled most families of their savings.  Therefore, most Barbadians are currently in the most vulnerable situation imaginable.  It is as if we are being set-up for some sort of terrible judgement.

Why did the BLP get us in this unsustainable debt where the only option was severe austerity?  Why did the DLP not take us into the severe austerity nine years ago when the NIS and our savings could have cushioned the worst of it?  Some say that we should not review the past, but focus on the future.  We are focusing on the future; but voters need to understand that the forecasted austerity was entirely unnecessary.

We have reached this point because of the failure of the BLP and DLP to properly manage the national economy.  We all need to be reminded of that fact just in case there is only one Barbadian who is lunatic enough to push Barbados’ economy over the proverbial edge.  He needs to be fully aware of what he will do to our children.  He needs to be entirely without any excuse, because his irresponsible decision will certainly result in weeping, gnashing of teeth, and hunger for many Barbadians.

Marla is partially correct.  Barbadians will suffer the poison of the most severe austerity, but only if they vote for the BLP or the DLP in the next general election.  Their development philosophies are no longer relevant to Barbados’ high-debt economy.  She recommended that we approach the IMF with dispatch and take the inevitable poison.  As the Les Miserables song goes, “Some will fall and some will live” – but how?

Ms Dukharan did not review Solutions Barbados’ plans.  This is most regrettable given her conclusions and recommendations.  Solutions Barbados is the only political party with an economic plan that does not include the forecasted austerity.  It was published for rigorous public scrutiny over two years ago.  Given our precarious economic situation, why would she fail to review the only non-austerity plan on the table before concluding that severe austerity is inevitable?

Mr Charles Herbert, leader of the Barbados Private Sector Association, explained their utter frustration with extremely poorly managed government services, and the lack of urgency in addressing Barbados’ critical management problems.  He made an impassioned plea for better management.

He is aware of Solutions Barbados’ plan to manage Barbados’ public services to the international management standard, ISO 9001.  The moderator, Mr David Ellis, reminded him and the audience that Solutions Barbados had been recommending this management standard for some time.  I reminded Mr Ellis and the audience that I had been recommending this standard to the Government for the past 15 years.  Why complain about poor management, and then fail to mention this obvious and proven solution to poor management in the public sector?

Since every objective analyst has concluded that voting for either the BLP or DLP in the next general election will trigger the most severe and poisonous austerity for us and our children, why would anyone even contemplate voting for either of them in the next general election?

Grenville Phillips II is the founder of Solutions Barbados and can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com