Race Money and Politics In Barbados

The Caribbean Is One Nation.
                                                                 Race Money and Politics In Barbados

Barbados National Flag

By William Skinner

Our erudite Prime Minister, Mr. Freundel Stuart spoke the truth, when he said that there are powerbrokers that want to control black politicians but want no contact with the masses. As the Prime Minister said: “They don’t want to dirty their hands.” In other words, they avoid politics but want to be powerbrokers within the system. He also asserted that he is proud to be of the political class and that this class knows how to bury their differences when it is necessary.

Former Prime Minster, Erskine Sandiford, once reminded a group of corporate heavy boys that he was “not elected in a board room”; Dr. don Blackman reminded us that there were white shadows, whose main focus was to influence and control the black political management class and another former Prime Minister, Mr. Owen Arthur, called Mr. Harold Hoyte, a black power player, a “negrocrat”. When we examine these comments, we realize that Mr. Stuart is not that far off target.

On the heels of Stuart’s speech, we have the Mr. Ralph “Bizzy” Williams, informing us that wealthy business persons pump money into the elections campaigns of both the Barbados Labour Party and the Democratic Labour Party. The revealed strategy, according to Williams is to be equally generous to both parties. He boldly proclaimed that he supports the PIG, which is the Party in Government. We note the acronym P.I.G- those who feed at the public trough.

Serious observers will no doubt connect the dots and understand that Williams’ decision to go public with his comments is an act of premeditated corporate political slaughter of the black political management class. While Stuart, the present leader of the black political class was touting his qualifications and immense love and association for his group; Williams the leader of the entrenched white corporate class, slapped him down and reminded all and sundry who pays the bills and calls the tunes.

During the last campaign, citizens were concerned about the expenses incurred and wanted to know how the parties, BLP and DLP, were financing the elaborate entertainment packages, advertisements and dishing out of hard cash. They were told by Mr. Dale Marshall of the Barbados Labour Party, that their efforts were being financed by car washes and cake sales. Mr. Ronald Jones of the Democratic Labour Party said that the DLP received a “$500 here and there” from supporters.  We recently learned that candidates spent over two million dollars to finance their efforts. This represents a whole lot of cake sales and car washes. It takes quite a bit of ‘here and there” contributions to reach that level.

Well, Williams have exposed them. If Jones, Marshall and Williams are speaking the truth, it means that somebody is lying.  I totally agree with Mr. Peter Wickham, pollster and political scientist, who opines that unless we know the level of corporate and other donations, the figure of two million dollars that was given as the official sum spent by candidates, in the last elections, is useless.

The apologists and loyal defenders of the BLP/DLP, and those who support the corporate class should now realize that our country is about to undergo or is already undergoing, a very serious and dangerous shift, in its political/corporate culture. As the old people say: “Those who have eyes to see let them see.”

William Skinner is a social commentator