Mariano Browne Fraud Allegations Take A Political Twist

Will The Barbados Courts Be Predisposed To Favour Mariano Browne?

Today, the Trinidad & Tobago Express is taking a look at the politics and political connections behind the Mariano Browne fraud allegations. Barbados Opposition DLP leader David Thompson is acting as lawyer for one of the interested parties – RBTT/CLICO.

On the other side of the case, the T&T Express newspaper is calling Mariano Browne “a financial supporter and close associate of Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur and his Barbados Labour Party (BLP)…”

Hmmmm…. makes us wonder who the “silent beneficiaries” of the whole aborted bank deal were to be if Mariano Browne had been successful in pulling it off without, ahem, “problems”.

Oh well, Browne doesn’t have to to worry – In the long term in any Barbados court action Mariano Browne is sure to have the secret support of an old BLP friend: former Barbados Attorney General and now Chief Justice David Simmons. (photo immediately above)

Here is an excerpt from the Trinidad and Tobago Express article The Mariano Browne Saga…

If Barbados Attracted More “Rich People”, Would All Our Tourism Worries End?

If Only It Were That Simple.

Yes! Barbados does reasonably well attracting ‘rich’ people but that is not how it survives in the real world of tourism.

St. Lucia is on the brink of surpassing Barbados in national annual tourism earnings with less rooms. Although they are adding more and more each year. Around 1,000 rooms this year alone.

Barbados has lost 27 hotels over the last 13 years, being either simply closed down or converted into condominiums.

Offering value for money accommodation in Barbados is difficult but not impossible. You only have to Google News ‘affordable Caribbean’ and you will see our small property has attracted substantial media coverage over the last month, including:

New York Sunday Times
British Daily Telegraph
Toronto Star
Florida Sun Sentinel

Our most expensive room in the peak winter season is US$109 plus tax per night.

That is why we are full until mid April.

We haven’t had to discount room rates or offer an up to US$300 per person taxpayer subsidy which has been the single marketing tool of the BTA for six years.
You only have to look at the TripAdvisor website to see where Barbados is failing, in terms of level of service delivery and value for money.

Filling your hotels with bottom end tour operator business may help maintain the arrival numbers, but it does not sustain meaningful growth and improvement.

Again, Google News ‘Air Challenge’ and you will find a story which appeared in the Barbados Advocate recently.

We have lost over 67,000 airlines seats in the first nine months of 2007, but here you have a Minister of Tourism stating ‘the jury is still out on condominium conversion’.
67,000 seats is the sum total of loosing a daily B777 or not having the benefit of British Airways at all.

Until you start listening to people with proven expertise and ability, then I honestly see further declines both in terms of arrival numbers and average visitor spend.

We are not even keeping up in terms of the rate of inflation currently.

Adrian Loveridge

The above was written by hotelier Adrian Loveridge as a quick comment in reply to another reader who suggested that “more rich people” coming to Barbados would be a solution to our tourism concerns.

We thought that it was so on point that we grabbed Adrian’s comment and posted it as an article. You can read it in the original commentary here.

Hey, thanks for the quick article Adrian!

Author Lester “Zoom” Headley Rages Against “Barbados Time”

“If you are experiencing Barbadian time may the Lord have mercy on our productive souls!” … from a blog article by Lester Headley. (link here)

Motivational speaker and author Lester Headley calls upon Barbadians to switch from “Barbados Time” to “International Time” where business events start when they are supposed to and when employees arrive at work on time and actually work.

Hmmmm…

Lester may have a few points, but before I read the rest of the article I need a beer and a nap… 😉

Further Reading

BFP: Barbados Author Lester “Zoom” Headley’s: A Blaze Of Tropical Sunshine

Will Barbados Punish Owen Arthur For Calling An Election Over Christmas?

“The ELECTION date will be revealed at Owing’s nomination later today.”

“Get ready BFP. The election will be declared today!”

“De BLP machine has been told it has started. What a dirty trick for Christmas”

What About Christmas?

Three different sources are telling Barbados Free Press this morning that the election is about to be called – presumably at Owen Arthur’s nomination meeting at 5pm today (Sunday).

One of the sources describes the election call now as a “dirty trick”.

What do you think folks?

IF Owen Arthur calls the election over Christmas, will ordinary Bajans of all political stripes feel resentment? Will it matter in the results? Could an election call over Christmas produce any negative backlash at all?

OUR COMMENT SECTION IS WIDE OPEN WITH NO MODERATION

Let’s hear what ordinary Bajans think about a Christmas election call.

Further Reading

BFP: Between A Rock And A Hard Place: BLP Insiders Advise Prime Minister To Call Elections NOW!

Note: Click on the picture of Owen Arthur to see the webcast of his nomination meeting. So far we have conflicting information that it is starting at 5pm and 6pm.

Family Of Sailor John Thompson Start Fund For Barbados QE Hospital

Sailor Spent Final Days At Queen Elizabeth Hospital 

Our prayers for the family of John Thompson, and for the hard-working and caring professionals at our Barbados QEH who tried their best to save the gravely injured sailor.

Northern Ireland family raising money for Barbados hospital

LONDON, England, December 14, 2007 – The family of a Northern Ireland QC who died after a yachting accident just off St Lucia are establishing a charity to raise money for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados.

That was where he was taken after he was hit by the boom of the sail last Friday.

John Thompson, 54, from Bangor, County Down in Northern Ireland, was participating in the 2,800-mile Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) race from the Canary Islands to St Lucia aboard his yacht, the Avocet.

… continue reading this article at Caribbean360 (link here)

Previous BFP story: Yachtsman In Critical Condition In Barbados After Accident Offshore – A Case For Coast Guard Rescue Helicopters