Government Of Barbados Has A Poor Record When It Comes To Paying Emergency Workers And Suppliers
When the Barbados Glendiary Prison burned down in 2005 it was the type of a national emergency that saw folks from all over the island helping out in whatever ways they could. Police, fire and and other emergency workers also called upon citizens and businesses to assist in ways that were only acceptable because of the immediate danger to life. Vehicles and special equipment – and even workers – were “requisitioned” by authorities with not a thought at the time as to rates of payment or when the equipment would be returned.
All that is expected – only reality as emergency personnel try to save lives in dangerous circumstances.
After the crisis has passed, the government should compensate people and companies fairly and quickly.
More Workers Unpaid By Government – But The Prime Minister’s Lexus 4×4 Has A Full Tank Of Gas!
We all know that this island has money problems, but it seems to us that those folks who were hired by the government to provide meals to prisoners at the temporary prison in St. Lucy in the aftermath of the 2005 riot should be paid for their services.
Apparently the government has a different opinion.
The most damning statement comes from the workers’ union – that in effect warned the prison workers at the time “You are suckers and the government intends to not pay you no matter what they say”
As I read the following story in the Nation Newspaper, I have to wonder about all the emergency workers and companies supplying to the Apartment Collapse rescue and recovery efforts. Will they be paid? When? And how much will they have to beg?
Still No Pay For School Meals Staff
SCHOOL MEALS WORKERS who provided meals for the inmates at the temporary prison in St Lucy still have not been paid.
Despite encountering this problem they have not spoken to their representative, the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) on the issue.
“We have not said anything because we would have warned them from up front early o’clock [about the arrangement],” said General Secretary Dennis Clarke recently.“My understanding is, and I’m fully satisfied, the Ministry (of Education) did give them correct advice as to what they should have done before they got into the entire exercise.
… read the entire article at The Nation News (link here)
Wrong Priorities And Corrupt Practices Have Left Our Treasury Empty
This government’s borrow and spend policies have virtually bankrupted our nation and we are to the point where various government employees and outside suppliers are not being paid regularly as the government struggles to keep up with the bills. (See BFP’s Is Barbados Going Bankrupt? Part 76 Of A Continuing Series… Attorney General Dale Marshall Comments From His Yacht)
We hope that the government pays folks and companies involved in the current rescue and recovery quickly and fairly.
But unfortunately, the best predictor of future performance is the past.
25 Comments
August 29, 2007 at 9:54 am
Some people will say that it is too early and disrespectful to talk about money or the causes of the deaths, or who 2 blame.
When the bus accident happened people said the same thing “dont try to lay blame” “Too early” “not respectful to the dead and families’
The bus deads are long gone from the news. Hush up rumours talking. Nobody asks about the brakes on the bus or that Barbados doesn’t have a safety inspection and safety standards programme for public vehicles.
I say talk about everything now while memories are fresh, while evidence and photos can be seen by all.
The most respectful thing we can do besides mourning is to not let the Codrington family fade from memory and the public record.
There are many who want this to fade away as fast as it can.
August 29, 2007 at 10:24 am
http://www.anticorruption.info/cost.htm
when any government in power is responsible for corruption at many different levels including no transparency and accountability, failure to pay those that sacrificed at a time of national crisis and on and on,
the cost to the economy and the average citizen is immeasurable.
August 29, 2007 at 10:41 am
Yes, they’ll get paid. Eventually.
Billed in 2007 dollars, they’ll get paid back, eventually in 2009 dollars – if they’re lucky!
Government’s “good for the money”
even if it devalues in that time.
August 29, 2007 at 11:01 am
We have been following the events of the cave-in on BFP because a family member sent a link, but it really is with a heavy heart that I have to say that as soon as things settle down I really don’t think I’ll revisit it. It hurts to know that Barbados has come to the point where imbalance is the norm. it seems that this blog takes every opportunity to lambaste government and blame it for all the ills of society, and that now the dust from the tragedy has more or less settled its back to scoring political points even through the same tragedy. all we ask for is BALANCE…kudos when it is deserved, brickbats when deserved. of course maybe i am completely wrong, and this government does nothing to deserve kudos. OR maybe i have missed all the plaudits previously published since i am a new reader – and if that is the case please point this out and i shall stand corrected. feel free to crucify me now as “a Bajan living overseas who is out of touch” but I feel that every person who purports to tell the news – even if it is through a non-traditional source like a blog – has a responsibility to tell the facts UNCOLOURED, and let the readers draw their own conclusions. i do understand that most of the people who leave comments seem to be anti-government and that is their right. however, the articles do have the same slant. it saddens me. it really does.
August 29, 2007 at 11:18 am
When the Nation Newspaper publishes photos of Minister Gline Clarke living in a house he built on land his government expropriated, we will expect some “balance” from BFP and other blogs.
When CBC does an in-depth reporting of how the Prime Minister deposits “campaign donation” cheques to his personal bank account, we will expect some “balance” from BFP and other blogs.
When the Barbados Advocate paper publishes an expose of how a Minister of Government went from nothing to a millionaire in three years on government salary, we will expect some “balance” from BFP and other blogs.
When the Barbados media list the Members of Parliament who have interests in companies that have been awarded government contracts, we will expect some “balance” from BFP and other blogs.
When the Barbados media start listing the people who have died because the Government doesn’t fund ambulance and emergency medical care. When the media starts listing all the folks who die in taxis and friend’s autos because no ambulance is to be found, THEN we will expect some “balance” from BFP and other blogs.
I could go on but I have to get to school.
August 29, 2007 at 11:39 am
of course blogs have EVERY RIGHT to expose wrongdoings, and in fact i would say they have a DUTY to do so. but similarly they also have a duty to present the other side. nothing is ever 100% bad nor 100% good(maybe i am an idealist).
Anonymous, at least you freely admitted that there is no balance. unfortunately you are falling into the trap that “if other media houses are doing crap and being vile, then hey it makes it okay for us to do it as well from the opposite end”. HOWEVER if you are saying that BFP PROVIDES the balance by presenting the other side not shown by the Nation etc. then I can accept that. what it does mean, unfortunately, is that one will have to read from many sources to get the full picture…..it would be nice if one could do that from one source, be it BFP or the Nation or Advocate.
August 29, 2007 at 11:53 am
bdabgi
Well said.
Unfortunstely BFP is not as free as they like to suggest.. any pro government views are immediately and harshly criticised. There is targeting of Ministers – in the recent past -of Tourism and lately of Home Affairs which have brough out the worst in blogging. BFP like Fox News would like to state that they are fair and balanced, but like Fox News nothing could be farther from the truth.
We have bloggers quoting figures from the wind and ficticious documents and others involved in the writing of serious fiction….
August 29, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Thanks ?? for the support. I have been out of Bim for 10 years now and where i live i am always boasting about the freedoms Bajans have and how smart and intelligent they are etc. i give Barbados and its education and social systems every credit for making me what i am today. i shudder to think that things at home are so bad that we can now so easily rationalize and justify responding to what we perceive as curtailed freedoms by being vitriolic and denying freedoms as well.
August 29, 2007 at 12:08 pm
??
Why do worry to continue to visit a site that irks you so much ?
If I were you I would stop viewing this site and rest comfortably by staying on my site of the BLP.
The BLP are and have been doing a lot of disgusting actions and you would rather no one wrote or spoke out about the rampant corruption, dishonesty of our ministers and PM lets remember the cheque , the prison, GEMS, JAWS, the Oval, the Carnival Destiny, the gift to Carnival to the tune of US $ 20 million,the slot machines and the list continues but know you would rather us sweep this corruption under the carpet as if it never happens to your people.
I have news for you they created the conditions to start the tongues wagging and they continue to give it fuel.
August 29, 2007 at 12:55 pm
?? Why because every other blogger hammers you and your party for the extent of your corrupt actions.
If I were you two or one I would stick to reading your sad excuse for a blog at the BLP site have you noticed that the DLP blogs has been getting more hits that your the ruling party.
Why because we discuss matters like the GEMS, JAWS, PRISON, the CHEQUE remember that $ 750,000.00 to Owing account, the slot machines deal, the FLYOVERS,the BATHS built by Liz Thompson, the US $ 20 million giveawawy to CARNIVAL co, the Noel Lynch sudden million dollar bonus that he bought his plantation with and his 90,000 arrivals for CWC, and the fiasco of CWC every inch of CWC was a disaster unlike his mouthings.
And you wonder why we expose them? they need exposing they leave you no choice these are a corrupt bunch as you will ever find.
August 29, 2007 at 12:58 pm
bdabgi
I suspect that you have missed the point of Barbados Free Press. Their mission is to uncover corruption, hypocrisy and other general ‘wrong-doings’ within the Barbados government, whomever the ruling party is at the time. If the real ‘press’ were doing their job properly then Barbados Free Press would have FAR less to talk about.
The Nation and Advocate seem to only interested in silly little pro-government good news stories OR articles about Mrs Brathwaite’s enormous pumpkins (and I do mean vegetables by the way!)
I saw a small news story in the Nation (I paraphrase):
“Barbados not to become a police state”, which went on to explain that in new arrangements for crop-over, Rt Hon Owen Arthur would beef up security in 2008. So people are left with the impression that our champion RHOA has saved us from a police state!!!!
It is THAT SORT OF JOURNALISM which makes sites such as BFP all the more essential.
Since there is no transparency in government in BIM (the public accounts committee is a joke), it essential that blogs keep up the pressure for new legislation and once and for all to lift this ‘invisibility cloak’. (I’m a Harry Potter fan)
If BFP is not to your liking try some of other blogs over to your right there. BU is good, as are notesfromthemargin and barbadosreporter.
Basically though bdabgi:
IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE HEAT GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN!
August 29, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Sorry I forgot to delete that last line!
If BFP could do it for me
PLEASE
*******
BFP’s Auntie Moses says “done and done”
August 29, 2007 at 1:05 pm
bdabgi,
I really don’t understand your concern. The bottom line surely must be whether or not what is being articulated by persons on the blog is factual or not.
In your estimation what could possibly be the other side of Gline Clarke living in a house he built on land his government expropriated; the Prime Minister depositing a $750,000 “campaign donation” cheques to his personal bank account;
Noel Lynch accumulating millions in a short space of time on a Minister’s salary; and Mia’s biting escapades?
August 29, 2007 at 2:08 pm
bdabgi said “I have been out of Bim for 10 years now and where i live i am always boasting about the freedoms Bajans have and how smart and intelligent they are etc.” – but I fear he/she’s living in an idealistic dreamworld of the past.
Do you have any idea what has changed on The Rock, in ten long years?
You’ve been back twice, you say?
Oh Hurrah!
Listen up, STAY WHERE YOU ARE, okay?
August 29, 2007 at 2:26 pm
I will ignore YUM YUM’s “if you can’t stand the heat…” comment since i will not indulge in ad hominem arguments. just remember that me leaving the kitchen doesn’t stop the heat from doing damage.
Anonymous X i DO take your point and i applaud you for being able to engage in reasoned comment without attacking. i know how important facts of all types are because right now i am living in a place where corruption is rife but considered okay as long as it is us black people who are doing it, and blogs are bringing these things to the fore.
you will notice I said that a blog does indeed have a DUTY to expose wrongdoings (see above). watchdogs are essential in any society; however it appears that some people on this blog would blame the government of the day ( note i did not say ‘party’) for the fact that a day only has 24 hours in it! My only point is that i believe we also has a duty to expose RIGHTdoings (to coin a word). FACTUAL is the key word. i do believe that if we tell everyone everything then people will inevitably make the right decisions and come to the correct conclusions…again, FACTS can be good or bad. the advantage of a blog is that people are free to air their points of view and their news without necessarily doing due dilligence of investigation. mainstream media houses do not have that luxury.
Let’s just agree to disagree….as i said, i shall simply rely on many sources for a fair and balanced picture. if BFP sees its mandate as only to expose the ugly then that is its right in a democratic country.
in signing off for the last time let me say i just want to keep abreast with what is happening in my beloved country, the good, the bad, and the indifferent as granny used to say.
Nuff said.
August 29, 2007 at 2:29 pm
P.S. “Why is alcohol Legal?” i am not sure if you are reading properly…i NEVER said i have only been back twice! in fact i have returned home multiple times every year i have been away, probably about 25 times in 10 years. and i guess the ’stay where you are’ comment is typical of what i have come to expect.
August 29, 2007 at 2:34 pm
bdabgi, a breath of fresh air… Thanks for your contribution
August 29, 2007 at 2:45 pm
bdabgi
You won’t read this because you have thrown all your toys out of the pram and proclaimed that you are no longer playing. I guess the heat was just too intense.
I like bit of Latin, haven’t seen that in a long time!
You are evidently an erudite individual, so why not start your own blog: bermudafreepress, in which you can have a happy little collection of good news stories.
Most Barbadians love to moan. Hey with such a beautiful country, fantastic weather, great food and gorgeous women there has to be a balance man!
August 29, 2007 at 2:56 pm
YUM YUM..man you know i had to come back to see your reply. stand firm, my brother (and thanks for picking up the toys LOL). and u hit the nail on the head…great food and gorgeous women…thanks for using the word BALANCE. i dont want a collection of good news stories…i want all of dem in the same place. gimme a shout at….(how can i send u my email address) so u can keep me updated. i dont mind a good argument and then a drink afterwards.
?? – you too if possible. i feel there must be a way to carry on reasoned discussion out of the blogshpere.
August 29, 2007 at 4:10 pm
bdabgi please don’t leave yet as you will not be giving the bloggers a fair shake. You see they live with two impediments.
Number one impediment is that it is dangerous to their health and well being in Barbados to be too critical of certain persons so the bloggers have to hide themselves. If you don’t agree just hand around our country and hear the viciousness and the effort the government is throwing at trying to stop the blogs.
Number two is that the tree papers (Nation and Advocate) seem to have a monopoly on all of the good news stories that are put out to the point where they receive advanced notice from BLP and DLP for these stories where the rest us don’t get them till we see them printed. How can a blog want to compete with that? We don’t want them to anyway better that they read between the lines and have insiders and observers telling the other side of the story.
I see BFP and Nation both available on line. Both have their angles and views and thank goodness they are not just repeats of each other. I don’t expect Nation, CBC, or BFP to have the same stories, or views would be disappointed if they did.
So for you if you want one slant pick one of them. If you want a full look read them all. But surely if you decide that because you don’t like a slant you don’t want to hear it instead better to expand your mind. We need more people learning to think for themselves and it sounds like you are a thinker, you care about Barbados and you have seen some of that is good and bad so you can help the country a lot by staying in touch with the good news and the bad news.
August 29, 2007 at 4:35 pm
this must make me seem like a hypocrite – posting again! but every time i say that i am only reading, i find a post that moves me to reply. Point taken Pogo, and that is all I ask for: a reasonable and reasoned attitude, explanation, and response. enjoy the rest of the day!
August 29, 2007 at 5:28 pm
HOPEFULLY THEY WILL GET WHAT’S DUE TO THEM.
August 30, 2007 at 1:46 am
the ministry of public works team that worked on the prison HAS NOT YETbeen paid.
August 30, 2007 at 5:29 pm
yr comments i find interesting.
i think all bajans love to look at the seamy side and begin to see in the so-called big-ups their own mortality/morality.
what i find ironic is the govt’s mouthing that it has done so much for the poor/people of bim when it cannot respond practically to hospital decline,squatters’ concerns, vendors’ requests, building codes,vehicle inspections and the myriad other concrete social and economic problems that refuse to go away. they trundle along press conference after press conference oblivious to the real people who should be their concern. it is symbolized in the whisky-drinking under the tent by voted-in officials as the remains of the hapless family are pulled from the cave and in the sunday reference to the displaced archcottians as “these people.”
all i can say to the people of bim is pray that your house doesn’t fall in a cavern at 4.30 in the morning as you see the time it will take to begin your rescue. also pray that your children don’t go to schools that have been subject to environmental pollution because there will be no recompense for you even when their illness is clearly one of the effects. i introduce this to point out that there is too much face-saving and dipsy doodling,while the nation flounders seeking answers to its failing systems. wake up barbados! start organising and re-organising the neighbourhood watches as rescue teams/support groups/action driven community networks/national leadership pools. only ourselves can free our minds.
August 31, 2007 at 6:37 am
WOW!!! I am overwhelmed by the news in Barbados. I have not lived in Barbados for a number of years because my family moved when I was a teen. I miss Barbados and hope to soon visit. As I review the news, posts, blogs etc I am truly distraught. I am at the point of disgusted to the going ons of this beautiful island I once knew. I am appauled to learn they are no safety standards for public vehicles, and I am flabergasted by the lack of emergency assistance. I really do wonder what is going on because I see rent for homes in Barbados are up to over $3,500 per month and some homes are in the millions. I read of the private beaches and golf courses and I always wonder….what is happening to the locals? Barbados is a small place, and there is only so much land to be bought and sold. I am truly disappointed. On top of this today I learned of the cave in in Brittons Hill. I could not suppress the pain in my heart or the tears from my soul as I read about this dismay. No one should have to die like this. Why in the world would a house be built on a cave. I read an article earlier (not sure how accurate it was) that stated this area was surveyed a month or two ago and cracks were discovered. Why? Why? Why? I don’t know what else to say. Why are the people of Barbados not being protected? What can I do?