Leon “Bigger Biggs” Samuels still enduring spiteful attacks by SVG government

Above: Businessman Samuels protests his illegal arrest

“ULP members must learn that supporting your political party when they are inflicting wrong on any citizen is an acceptance and involvement in an evil act on your part. You are as evil as the inflictors. You must speak out. It is the obligation of any decent human being to do so.”

by Peter Binose

Mr Leon “Bigger Biggs” Samuels was in most people’s minds attacked and his business destroyed because he ceased supporting the ruling political party, the Unity Labour Party [ULP]. His changed support from ULP to NDP in the 2010 elections brought wrath, spite, hatred, malice from the ULP government two months later in 2011 – which turned out to be pure evil hatred poured upon him, his family and his work force.

“There were no boundaries considered in the destruction of the Bigger Biggs Enterprise, the man, all those around and connected to him, and his company.”

Bigger Biggs claims that the original reasons for cancelling his operator’s license to mine his land at Rabacca were  magnified out of reality. I believe they were trumped up by  government ministers in several ministerial meetings. His very words were, and still are “the government claims are bogus.”

Now after returning his license on his birthday last week – a license that supposedly sat on the desk of the Attorney General for three months, a license that has taken over three years to be returned or reinstated – the license is still worthless and unacceptable in terms and content. A week after delivering the license, the unelected family regime Senator says there are now new terms demanded by the government which affect his rights and ownership. Also that the license must be ratified by the Cabinet.

One of those being the claim that some of the land now claimed by Bigger Biggs is government owned. I believe that they are referring to the addition of land to that of Bigger Biggs adjacent to the river, an addition brought about by nature  [Avulsion].

“The amazing thing about “Bigger Biggs” is that he has remained a gentleman throughout the whole matter.”

Government favours Taiwanese over citizens

I write the following from British law, I hope it also applies to SVG…

I believe that the river bed and the water in the river is under the control of the government for protective reasons, not for commercial reasons, not for the extraction of income. Despite the governments control of the river banks and the bed of the river, the river bed, soil or ground there-under is owned by the adjacent land owners and is known as riparian ownership. If the river moves and land is added to the adjacent land owner, it remains the property of the adjacent land owner, not the government. 

Surprise! Barbados Constitution to be amended today with zero notice, no debate by news media, public

DLP Thompson Government picks up where BLP left off – ignoring citizens’ right to know

Like the previous BLP Arthur/Mottley government, the current DLP government will be quietly sliding through various changes to our Constitution whenever it strikes their fancy. Appearing on the Order Paper today is the “Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill” that will somehow change the legal foundation upon which our country stands. Will this change impact your rights or obligations? Why is it being done? Will any group or persons receive a special advantage because of this amendment? Why is it necessary?

Perhaps you’ll find the answers in the Bajan news media, but usually you won’t.

As citizens we have a right to expect to be notified IN ADVANCE of ANY and all changes to our Constitution – no matter how “minor” the government says the changes are.

The Arthur/Mottley government must have changed the constitution a half dozen times or more with no notice: once even changing it to allow foreign military on Barbados soil and providing foreign military personnel with power and authority over the actions of citizens. That was during the Cricket World Cup and the government quietly slid it in with no notice and the full cooperation of David Thompson and his DLP.

You can read the bill here, but where is the Barbados news media on this? Where is the reporting, the investigative journalism, the probing questions?

Awwww…. forget it.

Barbados Advocate: Parliament resumes after summer recess

Further Reading

April 13, 2008 – Does Anyone Know Which Barbados Constitution Is Law?

March 12, 2008 – What Went Wrong With The BLP Government – And How The DLP Is Heading The Same Way

March 15, 2007 – Constitutional Amendment 2007 – A Crime In Progress (part 3 of 3)

March 14, 2007 – Constitutional Amendment 2007 – A Crime In Progress (Part 2 of a Series)

March 13, 2007 – Constitutional Amendment 2007: Prime Minister Owen Arthur Engaging In Cover-up Of Immense Financial Scandal

March 10, 2007 – Barbados Dictatorship To Change Constitution With Zero Notice, No Public Debate, No Public Release Of Proposed Changes

The Failure of DLP and BLP Governments to protect Bajans from dangerous & drunk drivers

Former Useless Transport Minister Gline Clark, Former Useless Attorneys General Mia Mottley & Dale Marshall

Successive Barbados Governments all talk as drunken road slaughter continues

The first job of government is to protect the citizens, and successive BLP and DLP governments have failed to protect the citizens when it comes to people who drink and drive.

Six dead at the Joes River tour bus crash, four more dead in the Emancipation Day crash and others. But in these and other serious crashes since, aside from an autopsy, Barbados Police have no way of proving how much an involved driver has been drinking.

That is because our government has been negligent in providing the legal structure and the equipment that the police need to protect us all.

… from the BFP article Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

The Barbados Labour Party had three terms and 14 years to deal with the slaughter on our roads and they did nothing. Barbados has no effective anti-drinking and driving laws. Short of a driver being falling down drunk, our police have no recourse because there are no laws to enforce. Even with a mass traffic death our police have no law to compel a driver to prove their sobriety, and no equipment even if such laws existed.

As Transport Minister in 2006, Gline Clarke talked about banning the use of cell phones while driving and of introducing breathalyzer laws and equipment. Mia Mottley and Dale Marshall both promised to introduce breathalyzer laws – but those promises were only words that came up every time we had a mass road death.

Nothing by shite talking, for sure.

As a matter of fact, let’s change the photos to reflect reality, shall we? Here is a photo of the three promising to do something about the road slaughter…

There. That’s a much truer picture of these three who pretended to care, who pretended to be doing something about the road slaughter. They are LIARS who promised breathalyser laws and hands-free cell phone laws for drivers. Check out their own BLP blog if you don’t believe us!

Now let’s look at the current bunch of do-nothings.

Minister of Public Works and Transport John Boyce has had almost two years to implement breathalyzer legislation and other needed changes to the road traffic regulations but has done nothing. Oh ya, in the weekend papers Boyce says he’s “talking” about changes with the police.

That’s nice.

That’s also what Mottley and Arthur and Clark and Marshall said once a year every year.

I guess it must be that time of year with the DLP government because they talked about these changes last year too.

Attorney General Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister David Thompson and Transport Minister John Boyce have blood on their hands and instead of action we see more of the same promises that we’ve been seeing from successive governments for two decades.

You can believe Stuart, Thompson and Boyce if you want to. I’d love to be proven wrong – but I don’t believe a word they say anymore.

Further Reading

October 4, 2009 – Nation News: Cops’ Call

October 4, 2009 – Nation News: Put brakes on cells

September 13, 2009: Which DLP Government Official wrote this Barbados Advocate Editorial?

November 22, 2008: Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

November 22, 2007 – Five Year Sentence For Dangerous Driver – But Still No Breathalyzer Law

October 30, 2007 – More Road Deaths Than Murders: Yet Barbados Still Does Not Have Breathalyzer Laws Or Technology

August 15, 2007 – Minister of Transport Gline Clarke Finally “Talking” About Driver Breathaliser Tests – As First Suggested By By Barbados Free Press Over A Year Ago

July 25, 2006 – Barbados Government To Ban Cell Phones While Driving

Which DLP Government Official wrote this Barbados Advocate Editorial? (or should we say “this DLP Advertisement”?)

“… At present, the government is doing all it can to improve road safety and traffic flow. However no improvement will have any effect if Barbadians continue to drive reckless!”

… from the Barbados Advocate newspaper editorial Slow Down!

The Barbados Advocate declares war on criticism of the DLP Thompson Government

That’s it folks. No further comment is needed about the government’s policies and actions concerning road safety, roads or traffic flow. The editors of the Barbados Advocate have looked into everything and declared “the government is doing all it can…”

Yup. That’s it right there. Might as well shut down the blogs, the competitive Nation newspaper and disband the Barbados Road Safety Association. The Barbados Advocate says the government has it all under control and “is doing all it can…”

Were Transport Drivers Drinking Or Hung Over? Barbados Police Lack Breathaliser Equipment & Laws To Properly Investigate The Accident

Strangely absent from the editorial is any mention of the absence of modern drinking and driving laws in Barbados despite promises by successive DLP and BLP governments over the last 25 years. Also absent is any acknowledgment that we pay our police officers so little that we are one hundred officers under authorized strength. Very few quality people want to be a Barbados police officer and that shortage means that traffic enforcement is neglected.

The worst of it is that when a serious motor vehicle accident happens, our police officers lack the laws, technology and training to determine if alcohol played a factor. Barbados Free Press has been calling for breathaliser laws and equipment for the police for approaching four years now. In that time we have seen some horrible accidents and even mass fatal accidents – but our law enforcement officers still have no way of testing to see how much those drivers had been drinking. Short of falling down drunk, there is no law against drinking and driving in Barbados.

As we said almost a year ago when we criticised the Thompson DLP government for doing nothing about the slaughter on our roads…

The first job of government is to protect the citizens, and successive BLP and DLP governments have failed to protect the citizens when it comes to people who drink and drive.

Six dead at the Joes River tour bus crash, four more dead in the Emancipation Day crash and others. But in these and other serious crashes since, aside from an autopsy, Barbados Police have no way of proving how much an involved driver has been drinking.

That is because our government has been negligent in providing the legal structure and the equipment that the police need to protect us all.

… from the BFP article Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

Attorney General Stuart, Prime Minister Thompson, Transport Minister Boyce

Three Men Who Could Have Saved Lives But Chose Not To

Prime Minister David Thompson, Attorney General Freundel Stuart and Minister of Transportation John Boyce did nothing in the past nineteen months to introduce breathalyzer laws and equipment to Barbados, or to stop the drunken slaughter on our roads every weekend that kills outright or cripples people for life and destroys faces, families and livelihoods.

They have no reasonable excuse for not doing so.

Further Reading at Barbados Free Press

November 22, 2008: Barbados Bus Crash Injures 59 – Police Cannot Determine If Drivers Had Been Drinking

November 22, 2007 – Five Year Sentence For Dangerous Driver – But Still No Breathalyzer Law

October 30, 2007 – More Road Deaths Than Murders: Yet Barbados Still Does Not Have Breathalyzer Laws Or Technology

August 15, 2007 – Minister of Transport Gline Clarke Finally “Talking” About Driver Breathaliser Tests – As First Suggested By By Barbados Free Press Over A Year Ago

July 25, 2006 – Barbados Government To Ban Cell Phones While Driving

Yet Another Example Why Mia Mottley And The Barbados BLP Cannot Be An Effective Opposition

“You can’t have buildings without taking care of them.”

“If we have a comprehensive maintenance programme . . . it will allow us to adhere to the best precepts that we have been taught as individuals, that a stitch in time saves nine.”

… BLP Opposition Leader Mia Mottley finally discovers a concept called “building maintenance” in the Nation article Mia Calls For Schools Upkeep Plan

Mia Mottley Dares To Lecture The Government On Building Maintenance!

After being Deputy Prime Minister in a government that had all power for 14 years, Mia Mottley has discovered that buildings need to be looked after or they fall apart.

Oh my!

Where to start? Police stations? The main library? A dozen schools off the top of my head?

No… let’s start with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Here is a photo of a patient washroom at the Barbados Queen Elizabeth Hospital after 14 years of Barbados Labour Party government…

Barbados Queen Elizabeth Hospital Washroom After 14 Years Of BLP Mottley/Arthur Government

Mottley says Barbados needs “a comprehensive maintenance programme” for schools and other government buildings.

You mean after 14 years of BLP Mottley/Arthur government, we don’t have an existing building maintenance programme already in place?

What the HELL was our BLP government doing for 14 years then?

Mia… Just sit down and shut up!

How Much Did Abdul Pandor Invoice Barbados For Re-Designing The ABC Highway?

Barbados Free Press received the following submission from an anonymous reader. As with all anonymous writings, including this blog, people should take a little salt, think for themselves and attempt to confirm or deny facts before coming to any conclusions. We have removed some information and sections from this piece.

Let’s see if anyone can come up with additional information that will assist the citizens of Barbados as they seek the transparency in the spending of their tax dollars – transparency that was once promised by the DLP but never happened.

Here is what we received…

In late October 2008 Mr. Pandor was appointed by Prime Minister David Thompson as head of the drainage unit our island’s newest new statutory corporation. This followed the floods of mid to late October.

Pandor was the Chairman of the National Housing Corporation (NHC) prior to his appointment to head the drainage unit; however, he did step down from this post following his move to the drainage unit.

At his press conference in October Thompson noted, “There are design problems that have come up recently in the ABC Expansion Project, particularly with this issue of drainage. I need him to work on the [design problems of the] ABC highway as well as the establishment of the drainage unit, a new structure for looking at these issues.”

Even before 3S was formally dismissed by Thompson Pandor was identified by the government as that person who would be asked to investigate the cost overruns relative to the ABC highway; additionally he was asked by MTW to redesign the ABC highway to reflect the removal of the flyovers.

Pandor submitted an invoice for the work required by MTW for (Amount Removed By BFP Editor). When the invoice was opened by the MTW civil servants; a few thought that their eye sight was playing tricks on them.

Not A Single Chartered Engineer In The Entire Barbados Civil Service!

“Do you know the principal reason why Barbados is experiencing so many flooding problems in 2008?  Perhaps this can help. In the 1970’s there were several Chartered Engineers working in the Ministry of Public Works. Today, there is not a single Chartered Engineer in the entire Civil Service of Barbados. It is a lack of knowledge problem.”

… from Grenville Phillips II’s article Dear New Drainage Minister

Is Barbados A Real Country?

Sometimes you come upon something so absurd that it just stops you cold. Grenville Phillips II’s statement “Today, there is not a single Chartered Engineer in the entire Civil Service of Barbados” did it for me.

Assuming this statement is true (and truly, Grenville is a straight forward person. I’d be very surprised if the statement isn’t 100% accurate) then maybe Grenville has found not only the root cause of the drainage problems, but one of the reasons that Barbados gets taken for a ride every time we construct a major project like the prison, the Oval, the flyovers etc etc etc.

You can bet the people we’re dealing with have a chartered engineer or five on staff!

Not to mention that Barbados lost an entire family in 2007 due to a lack of professional engineering knowledge.

What About It, Prime Minister Thompson?

Mr. Prime Minister… after a year, your government owns the mess. What have you done to ensure that Barbados has professional engineers supervising every design and construction project our country undertakes?

Oh… I see.

Nothing.

Yup… same old, same old.