Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne has delivered a blistering critique of the government’s Budget, branding it a “report card” on emerging ‘tyranny’ and accusing the Mia Mottley administration of presiding over a “political apocalypse” marked by crime, economic hardship and corruption.
Anchoring his response to Monday’s maiden speech by Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn on six horsemen of “our political apocalypse”, each beginning with the letter C, Thorne unleashed a scathing attack on both the Budget and the government’s management of the country and economy.
The opposition leader identified crime as “the most dangerous and omnipresent of those horsemen that are marauding across what used to be this fair democracy, now a tyranny in the making.”
Cost of living, a culture of moral decay, constitutional malaise, a crisis of competence in government and corruption in this administration were the other “scourges” he listed.
Outfitted in a black suit, dark blue tie and light blue shirt with a carnation corsage on his left breast, the political leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) said the Budget was a bad report presented by a good economist, whose government must take responsibility for the “scourges” adversely affecting the lives of ordinary Barbadians.
“These scourges,” Thorne told the House of Assembly, “all conspire to distort our concepts and precepts of what is good government and what is good governance. Those scourges are conspiring to ruin this society. There is a disquiet across this country, there is a groundswell of discontent across this country; and if the government made itself familiar with this groundswell, with that discontent across this country, this government may come to the realisation that all is not well.”
“There are individual lives that are being destroyed. These may be the worst of times. I heard a lot about this lost decade, but this is feeling like the last decade. It has never been like this where men and women are afraid to leave home at night.”
“This Budget comes at a time in our history at what appears to be tyrannical rule, and therefore the Budget must reflect that tyrannical rule. Quite often in life when we cannot make sense of the events around us, we create a myth. And we create that myth to ward off the fear and uncertainty that we feel when we do not understand the events around us, even the political events around us,” Thorne declared.
He also singled out agriculture for special criticism, contending that Barbados is on a path towards economic suicide as a result of agriculture accounting for only three per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The opposition MP claimed food security was under threat, pointing to what he viewed as intermittent shortages of essential food items.
He said while the cost of living continues to impoverish many in this country, “the cost of high living by this government is marginalising the people who are already impoverished.”
Turning to education, Thorne suggested that government must stop “the arbitrary practice of dislocating principals like if they are draughtsmen on a board.”
Thorne suggested adequate collection and use of data was missing from education.
He also argued there was over-politicising of schools and urged restoration of spiritual engagement, the absence of which may be one reason for violence in these institutions.
The opposition leader claimed life in education had been disastrous and expressed pessimism that things would improve under this government.
He said even though the Minister Straughn boasted in his Budget about improvements in visitor arrivals from the United States market, spend was not proportionate with numbers published by government.
Thorne said the crisis at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) needed resolving, complaining too many people were dying in emergency rooms rather than wards. He pointed out that Barbados was losing many nurses to migration and Ghanaian nurses were being imported to fill gaps.
He pointed out that a DLP government would restore proper hospital administration at QEH, even as he suggested more local professionals should be employed at that healthcare institution.
The lone opposition MP claimed a French tax adviser had been hired by the prime minister and was being paid $2m a year “to do something that a Bajan can do.”
Thorne complained Barbados had sufficient high-level, competent, legal draughtspeople.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
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