Barbados deserves economic action at the end of a long, hard summer
A week ago all were consumed with the worrying crime situation in Barbados, as within eight months the total number of murders had surpassed the 22 that were recorded for all of last year, amid a worrying situation with illegal guns on our streets. Of particular concern was the brazen nature of the recent acts, […]
Being ready when the tempest comes
The horror caused in Saint Martin, Barbuda and Anguilla by the monster storm Irma is heart wrenching. And the full scope of the damage is only just unfolding. So far, we know that four people perished in St Martin and, according to local official Daniel Gibbs, “95 per cent of the island is destroyed”. Over on […]
The evidence is out there, Mr McDowall
“The customs officers I know, which is practically all of them, are very honest, very sound, very fair, very firm people. They uphold the law of this country to the hilt.” Akanni McDowall, September, 2017 History recalls that late British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and his allies failed to take action in 1936 when Adolf […]
Singapore’s lesson of tough gun control
Perhaps because of the warm friendship which existed between the Rt Excellent Errol Walton Barrow, Barbados’ first post Independence Prime Minister, and Lee Kwan Yew, Singapore’s founding prime minister, a number of commentators over the years have held up Singapore as a possible development model for Barbados, given the similarities the two countries share and […]
Time to revisit the role of the CBC
Just a curious question on an issue which, naturally, ought to be a matter of public interest and concern, if we are talking about a level playing field where equality and fair play prevails in the context of our democracy in the run-up to the next general election, constitutionally due no later than the second […]
It’s time you address the nation on the crime situation, Mr Stuart.
There is an uncomfortable sense that things are falling apart here, and if we are not careful the peaceful and placid paradise that we call home could be lost in the twinkling of an eye. Equally disconcerting is that we will not be able to say we did not see it coming because the signs […]
Making healthcare sustainable and affordable
The 1989 calypso De Country Ain’t Well, penned by lyrical master Stedson Red Plastic Bag Wiltshire, remains unsurprisingly relevant for Barbados today, 28 years later. It is not merely an apt description of the economy that has been stagnated for the last few years, or the vexing almost daily incidents of violence playing out in communities across the […]
Let us never lose reason for optimism
Moments of joy provided by the West Indies cricket team have not been a prominent commodity over the past two decades. Indeed, most of the satisfaction provided by our regional side has come in the shortest format of the game – Twenty20 cricket. But West Indian cricketing purists brought up on the achievements of George […]
A more pro-active crime-fighting strategy
I stand accused before you I have no tears to cry And you will never break me Till the day I die. These cold, defiant words, apparently directed at the justice system by a criminal, are among the opening lines of a 1980s pop hit entitled A Criminal Mind, that was written, recorded and […]