BARBADOS has borrowed more money in less than two years than at any other time. And what’s more, people are paying more taxes than ever before. But what has made this situation so strange is that no complaints are coming from those who are feeling these and other burdens.
Dr. Derek Alleyne, a former head of the Urban Development Commission (UDC), made the comments as he tore into the Mia Mottley administration for the policies it is undertaking under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement.
In a hard-hitting address to a meeting of the St. James South Constituency branch of the Democratic Labour Party, Dr. Alleyne, who left the UDC last year, said that workers sent home through the BERT promotion were to be given first option. However, “new men and women have been hired in the debushing programme and not a boy said a word,” said Dr. Alleyne, a long-standing DLP member.
“The water, sewerage, transport delays and misinformation about the problem, costs and date of improvement, double statements about the economy and IMF, the closure of schools, misinformation about tax returns, to name a few, all point to an administration overcrowded with persons lacking adequate personnel and purpose because it’s all about Mia Amor Mottley."
In the address, Dr. Alleyne said that the present government has the largest Cabinet in the history of Barbados and he challenged the audience to name the composition of the Cabinet.
He said that Barbadians are falling victim to a situation where propaganda and images are passing as normal daily adventures, and that the Prime Minister appears to be micro-managing the operations of the Government.
Dr. Alleyne recalled that during the campaign for the last general election, the message that dominated the airwaves was that Ms. Mottley had all the answers to the challenges confronting Barbados.
The last government and its leadership was said to be inept.
However, he told party supporters that the DLP has a record of achievement during its last term and that they need to support it.
“I have already invited supporters and members to dust off the last manifesto and the performance guide book and remind those that lay claim to a lost decade of the work undertaken by the last administration,” Dr. Alleyne added. (JB)