The financial and public relations disaster called Cricket World Cup has come and gone – and with it hundreds of millions of tax dollars that will see our grandchildren still working to pay off the debt decades from now.
We were promised an accounting.
The time we were promised to have that accounting is now.
Barbados Underground has the story, but don’t hold your breath…
Prime Minister Owen Arthur promised years ago that we would have a “full accounting” of the GEMS Hotels expenditures and that has yet to arrive.
As Owen Arthur and company have proven time and time again, we stupid Bajans will believe anything.
Barbados Underground: Cricket World Cup 2007 Three Months Later~What Is The Final Tally; You Promised To Tell Us And We The People Have A Right To Know
16 Comments
July 31, 2007 at 9:39 pm
‘Unnuh too gullible!
Vote dum in agen!!
August 1, 2007 at 1:51 am
In the verbal garbageflow spewed by our politicians ‘accounting’ really means ‘kick in the butt’
‘Full accounting’ means both cheeks.
August 1, 2007 at 4:06 am
Oh, the “full accounting” of the GEMS!
Hell! Barbados knows the Prime Minister as having the “full accounting”, Mr. Mascoll.
Hey! since Mr. Mascoll ’stepped over to the other side’, GEMS, has gone cold. If you can’t beat um, join um or invite ‘DEM’ to join. The latter has happened.
Mr Mascoll is now on the inside, but doesn’t want to share it with you;.
World cricket has come and gone, gone, period.
The money has gone; it has to be paid back, just fine. Most Bajans can sacrifice a little for the greater good of us few….
‘tank yew’!
August 1, 2007 at 9:09 am
‘Legacy Might be Best Option….to recover World Cup Funds’
Advocate back page 1st August 2007.
‘Dealing with tourism, performance was strong, but just not strong enought. The wopping 15.6 per cent increase in long-stay arrivals over April and May, ushered in on the heels of Cricket World Cup, was only strong enought to raise tourist arrivals by a meage 1.9 per cent over the first six months of 2007′.
In reality, even the 1.9 per cent stated (but not supported) could not possibily make up for the losses in arrivals numbers and income for three critical months of the winter season (January, February and March).
And what about inflation?
Was it higher than 1.9% for the first six months of 2007?
What about all those people that borrowed money to renovate or build new rooms for CWC?
Again, the media leads us to believe we are currently having a bumper crop-over season, yet in the Business Authority last week, the manager of a newly re-furbished hotel in St. Philip says the property is empty.
This despite of extensive local advertising.
August 1, 2007 at 11:59 am
This is “the last laugh” predicted by Lynch the minister.
Not a belly laugh, but a sneeringly contemptuous
ha-ha-ha as his government arrogantly refuses to release the LOC accounts.
Reminding me of Superintendent Broome’s recent comment, basically you want we big-ups to account to you plebs.
What a Joke!
August 1, 2007 at 12:21 pm
This world cup was a bad world cup all over of the world.
August 1, 2007 at 1:04 pm
You can get a general idea by backing out the government financials versus past financial years.
August 2, 2007 at 1:26 pm
IT SEEMS THE GOVERNMENT IS NOW RUBBING SALT IN OUR WOUNDS. I HEARD THIS MORNING THAT THEY ARE PLANS TO SPEND ADDITIONAL MILLIONS ON KENSINGTON OVAL RE FLOODLIGHTS, A ROOF FOR THE STAND TO HOUSE REPORTERS AND THE LIST GOES ON.
BAJANS ARE TOO GULLIBLE
August 2, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Barbadians were promised sooo much you would think we’d stop letting ourselves get hoodwinked every few months.
August 2, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Re: #
Farmer
August 2nd, 2007 at 1:26 pm
IT SEEMS THE GOVERNMENT IS NOW RUBBING SALT IN OUR WOUNDS. I HEARD THIS MORNING THAT THEY ARE PLANS TO SPEND ADDITIONAL MILLIONS ON KENSINGTON OVAL RE FLOODLIGHTS, A ROOF FOR THE STAND TO HOUSE REPORTERS AND THE LIST GOES ON.
BAJANS ARE TOO GULLIBLE
Dat is a shame… And people don’t even know who’s stadium it is yet…..
August 2, 2007 at 4:06 pm
What stupidity we have when the ones responsible for the arranging the Pick of the Crop finals cannot get it right to print tickets for the oval and now the show is being moved back to the stadium, can anyone explain to me the logic of this nonsense ?
Sounds like no or very poor planning to me, but what do you expect from a gang of clowns that are using someone elses money to their advantage ?
Or better yet the inability of the organisers of the festival is unable to attract performers for Cobbolopot on Sunday night but yet they were able to book a Jamaican act well in advance but cannot find the time to book local acts ?
This is a complete let down to the local entertainment industry and the gov’t and cultural division of gov’t needs to take all the blame on this front, they have once again screwed up our biggest cultural event.
August 2, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Wishing in Vain
August 2nd, 2007 at 4:06 pm
What stupidity we have when the ones responsible for the arranging the Pick of the Crop finals cannot get it right to print tickets for the oval and now the show is being moved back to the stadium, can anyone explain to me the logic of this nonsense ?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
……. lets see ….two sets of tickets get printed!!!
August 2, 2007 at 6:27 pm
One has to ask how does Lynch feel when he is over and over again exposed as a joke and liar. Central Bank governor Williams pulls no punches:
“The wopping 15.6 per cent increase in long-stay arrivals over April and May, ushered in on the heels of Cricket World Cup, was only strong enough to raise tourist arrivals by a meage 1.9 per cent over the first six months of 2007′.”
The word MEAGRE should be in bold letters for dunce head MM Lynch to read.
August 2, 2007 at 7:09 pm
I THINK I AM CORRECT THAT OUR RIGHT HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER IS MINISTER OF CULTURE. I UNDERSTAND HE IS OUT OF ISLAND FOR OUR NATIONAL FESTIVAL. THAT IS COMMITTMENT FOR YOU.
THE LORD IS REALLY SPEAKING TO OUR COUNTRY, BUT WHO IS LISTENING???
August 3, 2007 at 3:35 am
when Goddards Enterprises give up the catering business at KensingtonOval after CWC officals decided to let patrons bring their own food,that was the first sign that the big boys were not going to get much out of it.Secondly,the whole world cup was design around the fact that only a percentage would benefit from it.In contrast,the summer olympics is design around the man in the street.That is discount rates are given to its citizens and non Chineses have to paid the full amount.That is a concern approach for you.But here in Barbados,the man in the street does not matter. How could a project like the Oval be approve without floodlights is beyond me.When there is such a thing as night cricket and the World Cup being an international event would OBVIOUSLY required it.Ordinary match days are okay,you have reserve days but the final is different THERE IS NO RESERVE DAY and one OBVIOUSLY have to compensate for rain delay if any.I guess the Lord really show who is capable of moving heaven and earth.
August 3, 2007 at 12:13 pm
It cannot be simply described as reprehensible, revolting and abominable the fact that up to NOW there has been NO OFFICIAL FINANCIAL REPORTING to the people of Barbados by Chris DeCaires, who would have been heading up the Local Organising Committee, and by extension this BLP Government, on the total monies earned and spent by them as the country’s hosted its leg of the recently concluded World Cup.
For what makes this situation very aggravating is that it was the Minister of Finance who in 2006 had the gall to recklessly blurted out that heaven and earth would be moved to make sure that Kensington Oval was ready in time for the World Cup. This utterance must have implied that if the LOC or Government had seen it fit that the Kensington Oval Redevlopment Project had at the time been in urgent need of more money, men and material, in order to see it ready in time for World Cup – and given that the project was actually some what behind schedule – then almost every thing about the country’s affairs had to subordinated to these objectives. And, so it appeared that the LOC and government had to get their way and in fact got their way!!
Too, what makes this situation more aggravating and perplexing is that millions upon millions of dollars of public finance would have been poured in the Kensington Oval Redevelopent Project and other World Cup related projects like the politically partisan Kensington Environs Beautification Project, meaning that there there would have had to be and must be serious accountibility and transparency to the people of Barbados on how, where, when, and on what these elaborate and gigantic sums were spent and from where, and how and what were the relevant incomes earned basically, given the investments made by the LOC and government. Yet when it comes to the reporting, accounting, and transparency aspects, there has been NO OFFICIAL FINANCIAL REPORTING to the public on how or not these things were done by Mr. DeCaires and Mr Arthur!!??
Barring any of these public figures being forced to appear soon before the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament to deal with, et al, how the finances of the public were dealt with concerning this said Kensington Oval Redevelopment Project, Mr Arthur and the BLP must be made to pay the price electorally and politically for blatant refusal to properly and in a timely manner report, financially, to the public on how these great amounts of public money were spent.
Moreover, this situation of there being NO OFFICIAL financial reporting by the LOC and this BLP Government on World Cup-related Income and Expenditure, has really become part of a bigger, more unsavoury and disgusting trend that has been established by this BLP Government of wilfully and recklessly violating and undermining the public trust and confidence in the governance and direction of the country, even to the point whereby there has been evidence made available to the public of impeachable instances whereby BLP cronies and acolytes have constantly been fleecing the finances of the people of Barbados under all kinds of pretexts, and NOTHING OR HARDLY ANYTHING BEING DONE by the Prime Minister or his Deputy.
Since acceding to governmental office in 1994, this BLP has been unfeelingly and unconscionably ransacking and pillaging the public treasury in relationship to the mismanagement and misexecution of many absolutely unnecesary and ill-concieved projects like the same Kensington Oval Redevelopment Project, the Greenland Landfill Project, the GEMS Project, EDUTECH, the Airport Redevelopment Projects, the Golden Beach Bath at the Silver Sands. In relationship to these and other offending projects, there has also been little or no financial reporting to the people of Barbados by this inept and insensitive BLP Government!!
Finally, Mr. DeCaires and the BLP must be condemned in the strongest terms for not reporting financially, and in a timely manner, as yet to the public on matters related LOC and governmental World Cup-related income and expenditure. And this BLP Government must be condemned in the strongest terms, too, for these unending and horrific instances of absolute squandering of the finances of the people. For, just as the BLP had rightly accused the last DLP Government of squandering the people’s money on many ill-conceived and inept projects, and had successfully helped the people to remove them from office in 1994, for precisely those same and other reasons, the BLP must also be accused of and found guilty of squandermania in regard of many ill-conceived and inept projects and driven out of office by the people Next Elections.