Ho Hum…
On Sunday, Albert Brandford of The Nation News attempted to write an article on government corruption without actually mentioning any specifics about the government or the actions of it’s members.
Poor old Albert predicted that…
“Here in Barbados, we are into an election mode, and the faintest whiff of corruption emanating from this expensive cricket tournament could have serious consequences for the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) at the polls…
In the inevitable post-mortem of CWC 2007, one hopes that the long-called-for forensic audit of the staging of the tournament does not turn up any instances of corruption, especially involving the award of tenders or contracts from Government agencies.” (The Nation News: Beware CWC Audit!)
Albert – let’s get one thing straight, shall we?
There will NEVER be a forensic audit of Cricket World Cup government expenditures.
You know that, Albert…. so why bother to even pretend?
Just what is your agenda in writing such nonsense?
26 Comments
April 30, 2007 at 10:27 am
I lost respect fro Albert Branford as a journalist many years ago. Whilst he is well researched and has a good command of the English language, his bias is way too obvious. His dislike for David Thompson is quite clear and he never misses an opportunity to be critical of David. His love for Clyde Mascoll is greater than his love of THompson and hence he will defend the BLP as long as it means defended Mascoll.
Come on BRanford, why don’t your Nation Newspaper or One Media Corp, start to investigate WCC 2007 itself? The BLP will never do it. Arthur may come and shift around his Cabinet or even call election …… cause the tax payers must move on and face another issue.
April 30, 2007 at 10:31 am
Published and freely available, probably at GIS, financial reporting and detailed list of expenditures on all major projects is a MUST for accountability and transparency to be present.
A MUST.
April 30, 2007 at 10:35 am
There also needs to be a mechanism which ‘kicks in’ if deadlines for reporting are missed.
This could be investigation of the delay by the Auditor General and if information is not available then investigation of the project itself by Auditor General, along with a published report.
Mechanism can also be an enquiry by the PAC with the power to further recommendations to the DPP.
It falls to a matter of will by the ‘representatives of the people’.
Are they willing to put such procedures in place?
If not, then what is the obvious option?
April 30, 2007 at 10:39 am
I have a visceral dislike of would be Language mavens and usually ignore there silly mouthiness but When Albert Brand ford says:…..
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“His comments should also serve as a warm reminder to corrupt politicians, would-be politicians, and has-beens, some of whom are now operating fitfully on the periphery of politics, including a few semi-literate bandits who have struggled mightily over the years in the practice of journalism to get verbs and subjects to agree and tenses to be sequential. ”
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to whom is he referring, Ezra Alleyne?, Clyde Griffith?, David Commissiong?, Peter Wickham?, Hartley Henry?
….Question for you Mr. Brandford, I would assume that since you find it proper to dismiss those who “struggled mightily over the years in the practice of journalism to get verbs and subjects to agree and tenses to be sequential” That you have no problem in this area, and that your mastery of such has brought you and your news medium the recognition and respect that is accorded to similar organizations in other societies. It is becoming increasingly clear that in spite of your language and grammar prowess that you continue demonstrate a glaring deficit in originality in source for your columns, a bankruptcy of thinking and perspective that leads to the constant reference of someone Else’s ideas to strengthen your comments. It is good that you tell us what this Mckinnon person thinks and have said on the subject of corruption, but what are Albert Brandford’s ideas on the subject?? do have any ideas that you can call your own? or is Albert Brandford’s mind filled to almost capacity with a cacaphony (yes noise) of rules, of the English language thereby leaving little room for originality of thought? I challenge you Albert Brandford for once in your articles to draw on your own experiences as a human being in the Barbadian society to tell us what your thoughts are on anything therein. Surely you can achieve this minuscule task, for you have the complete laws and rules of the language at your disposal to so communicate.
April 30, 2007 at 11:35 am
The BLP does not have a good track record of full financial disclosure e.g. GEMS
April 30, 2007 at 11:44 am
What’s all the fuss about?
April 30, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Corruption Corruption Corruption Corruption Corruption Corruption Corruption Corruption
That is it in a nutshell we are living amonst a gang of crooks that while smiling with you and telling you that they love you and your vote they are driving the corruption where it really hurts.
BK that they do their background on honesty is almost in the negative just like our bank accounts.
April 30, 2007 at 1:55 pm
BK
April 30th, 2007 at 11:35 am
The BLP does not have a good track record of full financial disclosure e.g. GEMS
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ha ha ha ha ha as much as i hated how Mascoll was thrown overboard, i never supported his move to the BLP, and continued for a while to support him in spite of this move, it was always going to be a problem for me to support him on his silence now of the Gems affair, and hence i don’t, that is his cross to bare. It would be in Albert’s own interest, not support a cause for which he has little say in or control off. Oh, Albert i have made and continue to make many grammatical and spelling errors, demonstrate that you are not one to use such errors to belittle people, that you are altruistically concern about the offenses and show me my errors that i may learn from them.
April 30, 2007 at 2:26 pm
****Stretch**** Ahhhhh the first Monday after World Cup style fiasco…. It’s a good day for a resignation. Anyone feel like starting it off??? anyone BLP???? Anyone?
April 30, 2007 at 2:35 pm
J. Payne you must be kidding while one would expect this of decent people we are not dealing with decent people here let me remind you of that.
We have Hitler Arthur marshalling his troops for his next battle that being the next election with the likes of Mottley Lynch, Clarke, Liz Thompson, Marshall, Toppin, Wood, Payne, that joker Duguid, Simmonds, etal following in his wake with their tongues hanging out waiting on their orders for their next move.
April 30, 2007 at 5:42 pm
The problem with politics in Barbados is that DLP and BLP hardcore support spans the full social and economic spectrum. What I find interesting is that educated people that should be able to rationalize/reason align themselves with either party for the most trivial of reason.
April 30, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Is anyone aware that when the Kensington CWC fiasco finale was happening in darkness there was a cricket match underway under full flood lighting at the ground by St. George’s Church?
In Gline Clarke’s constituency – Was he here or there?
April 30, 2007 at 6:14 pm
The LOC was stealing from the very begining. Take for instance the consultancy that was awarded to Stephen Alleyne’s wife to conduct the Environmental Impact Assessment! Someone has to account for such conflicts of interests. Friends were helping friends.
April 30, 2007 at 6:43 pm
lights/darkness
April 30th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Is anyone aware that when the Kensington CWC fiasco finale was happening in darkness there was a cricket match underway under full flood lighting at the ground by St. George’s Church?
In Gline Clarke’s constituency – Was he here or there?
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Do we have a pictures? what a contrast.
April 30, 2007 at 6:52 pm
BK
and then again you said “Educated persons that SHOULD be able to rationalize/reason”. The final analysis may lead to the conclusion that there is a disconnect between a symbol “Educated person” and the thing it represents “partly the ability to rationalize/reason”. 
April 30th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
The problem with politics in Barbados is that DLP and BLP hardcore support spans the full social and economic spectrum. What I find interesting is that educated people that should be able to rationalize/reason align themselves with either party for the most trivial of reason.
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I have always been amaze by party diehardism. I think the problem is that no one has seriously question any of these so-called educated persons, on why they have always supported one party. The answers may lead to questioning their designation of “Educated”
April 30, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Perhaps if Peter Wichkam monitors this blog he can do some quantitative work to inform the proposition as to why there seems to be such a hugh block of hardcore support which cannot be explained by reason.
May 1, 2007 at 11:36 am
[...] Fat Barbados Cats and Soft Corruption – Barbados Underground Comments On Albert Brandford’s Article Jump to Comments A few days ago, Barbados Free Press published Message To Albert Brandford: The Owen Arthur Government Will NEVER Audit Cricket World Cup Governmen…. [...]
May 1, 2007 at 12:54 pm
BFP
You are selling Albert Brandford short.
Instead of pillorying Brandford, why not give him some support and encouragement. He has used the tools at his disposal within the limitations of the absence of freedom of speech in Barbados to broach the subject of corruption in politics and business and to subtly let those involved know that we, the people know that there is corruption even though it cannot be exposed in the national press.
By saying that he hopes an audit, which he KNOWS will not happen, “does not turn up any instances of corruption, especially involving the award of tenders or contracts from Government agencies” he is, in a backhanded way, alerting the general populace, the majority of whom do not have access to the enlightenment provided by BFP, that there IS corruption. Do you not see the positive in this? Cut the man some slack. His agenda, which you question, is likely the same as yours.
May 1, 2007 at 1:22 pm
This BLP Government must certainly be voted out Next Elections in Barbados, never again to be voted back into office in the country!!
The Kensington Oval Redevelopment and Environs Beautification Projects are just part of a trend that has been deliberately developed by it, since 1994, to, among other things, use these kinds of ventures (GEMS and Warrens NHC Offices Scandals plus the arbitrator’s multi-million dollar judgement, Greenland and Edutech Fiascoes, Golden Beach Baths, etc.) to engage in profoundly excessive expenditures; to create substantially more indebtedness for the country than ought to be the case; to use public office for private, ill-gotten gain at the expense of those who can on a fair basis do better at carrying out many of these ventures and their different aspects, but who probably for the lack of political power and connections are unable to become rightfully part of these government projects; and to unnncessarily allow for a certain elite set to continue dominating the politics and government of this country.The faster this elitist-oriented BLP Government goes, the better for the masses of people of Barbados!!
While we are sure that some bloggers do demonstrate significant levels of political consciousness by way of our own grasp of their blogs on this site with regard to their handling of pertinent political issues in Barbados, we are not sure that enough bloggers on this site as a whole need to properly understand and appreciate that this BLP Government, indeed, is the worst government in the post-independence history of Barbados; that this BLP, indeed, is the worst party right now in Barbados, and that this Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, truly, is the worst prime minister in the modern history of Barbados.
There are mounds upon mounds of evidence that in fact support the truth in these statements, so much so that to begin an attempt to outline others other than ones referred to already would be inappropriate and impossibly unwise to do, because the list of all such events in support of those three statements would be so long and because time and space is so short here in now.
Furthermore, Barbadians on the whole must understand and accept that they must act democratically and electorally to get rid of this very wicked BLP government. Enough talking and blogging have been done by Barbadians about this government’s pervasive dirtiness and nastiness. Still some more action has to be done by the citizenry to make sure that once and for all this BLP never again attains governmental office in this country.
For already Mr. Arthur, Miss. Mottley, Farley, and company may be correctly thinking that the broad masses are finished with them because of their gross and reckless mismanagement of the affairs of this country. Perhaps, that is why, according to what some bloggers on this site are alleging, Mr. Arthur and some other top officials in Government did not turn up at the closing ceremony, probably fully aware that they helped to make the World Cup a disaster, in many ways, for many regional cricket lovers, and the unfavourable reception that they would have got from many of those attending the closing ceremony. For them to have turned up would probably have left an entirely sorry and ugly sight to those there, esp. Barbadians, and esp. since thousands upon thousands of Barbadians are tired, sick and fed up with this government, so much so that they simply did not associate themselves with the BLP’s lousy 2006 open air public meetings, and this BLP government’s failed 2006 independence show at the stadium, which for them were intended by this embattled BLP to lure them into an entirely false sense of satisfaction with how this BLP has really been so incompetantly running the affairs of this country. Those Barbadians who stayed awayed from those two events were intelligent enough to do so and probably thought it would have been the height of absurdity to attend such ridiculously staged BLP events.
This government has taken many Barbadians for a ride with regard to this recently concluded world flop and many other national ventures in this country. It is surely time to send this BLP and Albert Burnford packing forever Next Elections, for pay back time is here!!
May 1, 2007 at 7:20 pm
As i said before i new from the beginning this world cup would be a fiasco , everytime i read about it i am amused , for instance the 90,000 visitors spouted by the tourism minister who by the way is not even qualified to be a check out boy behind a cashier in a supermarket , where were those 90,000 people going to the oval ???? hahahahaha the oval cant even hold half that , and now yall peoples really think we r going to get an audit of the money spent hahahahaha , i wont hold my breath for that and if even one was done could we trust it to be correct and not doctored ?? ?? lets get real peoples and get rid of this corrupt and lieing goverment
May 1, 2007 at 11:15 pm
I reading that post from the People’s Democratic Congress and the wording sounds suspiciously like Mia Mottley speaking
May 1, 2007 at 11:51 pm
The People’s Democratic Congress,
What is your plan of action after all the talk?
How do you intend to get the word on the street about these thiefing BLPites? Be careful because they will get you if you go public!
May 2, 2007 at 12:04 am
Warrior,
I assure you this is certainly not Mia. These guys are bright young boys..university graduates. Barbados is certainly a tale of about four cities. There are a group of persons like those who are members of the PDC who are not part of main stream Barbados. The businesses they operate are mass based and they do not to a large extent depend on the main stream Barbados to survive.
Some of them are members of the rasta community or wear locks and have been relatively successful in their respective businesses.
For some time they have been saying that all we doing is talking ……
I am afraid that one day they will get very angry and take matters in their hands. It is these people that Owen, Lynch, Wuk for Wuk, Mia, Atherley et al are breeding. They are simply fed up with the system.
I spoke to one of them recently and he said that the reason they do not vote is because the current political system in Barbados is only for the politicians and their friends….no one else benefits.
May 2, 2007 at 1:11 am
No-name
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:04 am
For some time they have been saying that all we doing is talking ……
I am afraid that one day they will get very angry and take matters in their hands. It is these people that Owen, Lynch, Wuk for Wuk, Mia, Atherley et al are breeding. They are simply fed up with the system.
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Now NN this is a serious statement – get angry – take matters in their hands.
This could mean several things, up to and including a riot or coup. Recently I heard some people discussing how the young people the campuses of Barbados are now dabbling in chemical warfare.
Not saying that this is their approach but you can understand why that bit of news coupled with your statement could cause some raised eyebrows even if nothing else
May 2, 2007 at 1:17 am
I intend to Vote its my constitutional right, I plan to whip them with my X.
Singing – T Leh muh go don’ hol’ me, leh muh go don’ blin’ fol’ me. uh gwine lick wid my X
made famous by the Mighty Gryner
May 3, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Adrian, for the first time in awhile I agree with you(re your blog of April30th about Branford). He cannot tell you what he thinks because he has become accustomed to stifling what little piece of conscience he has. And all the persons he criticises have come and left him tapping away behind someone else’s desk. His mind has brought him no gains, material, or otherwise. What he did have left was his reputation, which he has allowed to be sullied by his irrational bias when it comes to Mascoll. Sad. Mascoll is interested only in himself and using people like Branford is part of his agenda. Pity Branford allowed his distasteful hero worship of a political bandit to destroy the little image and reputation he had left.