Gline Clarke wants an accounting! (OK, Mr. Clarke, start with yourself)

When the Official Opposition has no credibility, it is certain that democracy and the citizens will suffer from a lack of checks and balances against unreasonable exercise of power by the government of the day.

That is where Barbados now finds itself. Mia Mottley and the other fat piggies at the trough of the deposed BLP government are now the Official Opposition – expected to challenge the government and to keep those in power honest and accountable.

Ya. Right.

Corruption personified: Gline Clarke - Public Works Minister built house for mistress on expropriated land and NOW he's asking the government to be accountable? !!!

Former BLP Minister of Public Works Gline Clarke was going on a few weeks ago about how the guvment should be accountable for this and that (Nation News article here) – and all I could think about was the corrupt manner in which he conducted himself when he was a member of the government.

Think about it…

As Minister of Public Works, Gline Clarke was part of the government that expropriated private land for “public housing.”

Then, through some magic… POOF!!!!  Minister Clarke’s shiny new Mercedes was parked in the driveway of a home built on the expropriated land.

Neighbours say that Clarke directed the building of the home and paid the workers cash every week. Who owns the home (on paper, anyway)? Clarke’s mistress – so said fellow MP and party kingpin Doctor Duguid!

“I have made a few enquiries and have been told that this is not his house but belongs to his special female friend where he spends alot of time.”

…BLP Member of Parliament Dr. Duguid, commenting on the BFP article that exposed Gline Clarke’s corruption.

What a corrupt piece of work that Gline Clarke is… and now Barbados citizens are supposed to rely upon Clarke to hold the government accountable?

Spare us the sublime irony. We can’t take it.

Further Reading

BFP: Barbados Government Minister Gline Clarke – House and Mercedes On Expropriated Land

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Good Idea: Barbados Government ramps up strategy of buying positive tourism articles in the world’s news media

A Telegraph article “authored” by Barbados Tourism Minister Richard Sealy is only one of dozens of positive travel pieces published in the last few weeks throughout the world as part of a paid advertising campaign by the Barbados Tourism Authority. Judging by the number of new articles we see in our searches each day, the BTA is pulling out all the stops with the current campaign.

As we’ve written previously (October 2008 BFP article here), we think it’s a great strategy and we have no problem with our government paying or subsidizing journalists to visit Barbados – especially where the journalists and publishers are ethical enough to alert their readers to the fact that Barbados contributed to the expenses.

Tourism Minister Sealy - Well done!

This latest article is different in that it is penned by our Minister of Tourism, and whether written entirely by him or not, it communicates a personal warmth and heartfelt love for Barbados that is bound to inspire readers to choose our country for their next vacation.

In my opinion, the value of having a Government Minister speaking directly to an audience of prospective tourists should not be underestimated. Read it for yourself and see if you agree with me that a big part of the effectiveness of this article is because Minister Sealy comes across as highly credible – a person in authority in Barbados who is very sincere in his enthusiasm.

“…in every visitor survey we ever run, the answer to “What do you like best about Barbados?” is always: “The Barbadians so warm and hospitable.”

… So, you see, there are many reasons why we have the highest rate of repeat visits of any major tourist destination in the world, as high as 47 per cent some years, with many of those people returning 25 or even 50 times.

…even though we call Barbados a destination, for many of our visitors it has become a home away from home. People just get attached to the place. I can’t blame them.

… Barbados Tourism Minister Richard Sealy writes the Telegraph article It’s the hospitality of the people that makes our small island so special

The article gives a snapshot of Barbados as a tourist destination and also lays out some of the big plans that the BTA and the government have to build on our strengths with a new emphasis on sports tourism.

There is something about this piece that just seems to work. Previously I saw a video of Minister Sealy extending a personal invitation to visit Barbados (I think on the BTA website at some point) and he came across very well there too – so perhaps the BTA should consider featuring Minister Sealy more.

BFP Praising the Government? What the…????

As our readers know, Barbados Free Press has no problem being critical of the BTA, Tourism Minister Sealy or the government where and when deserved. Often BFP goes for some time without saying something positive about the government – but we don’t think that is doing anyone a disservice because, frankly, the Barbados news media publishes little but happy propaganda for whatever party is in power.

Remember folks… the primary purpose of the Barbados news media is to publish nothing that might curtail the government advertising dollars heading their way! In Barbados, the news media’s silence is traded for government advertising dollars. That’s just life on de rock.

We think that a web outlet like BFP that hammers the government every day is merely providing some balance to the “see no evil” so-called journalism of the local news media and DLP fansites on the internet.

And now, we take you back to our regularly scheduled programming…

Marcus