The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail. ― Thomas Jefferson
The dispute between the Waste Haulers is about to enter a second week and as the impact of the tipping fee on the public becomes clearer there is a disturbing observation a vigilant public must also be concerned about.
One of the principle players in the dispute was served an enforcement notice by the Town Planning Office. BU holds no brief for Mr. Anderson Cherry and Jose y Jose, if he is in breach of a Town Planning (TP) regulation the law should take its course. BU has good reason to question the timing of the enforcement notice. There is a further report another Waste Hauler was served notice by the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA). It begs the question why no similar audit has been requested by Commissioner of the Barbados Revenue Service Margaret Sivers on Leroy Parris for example?
The other interesting observation about the Waste Haulers protest is the report several drivers of the trucks were asked to produced licenses and insurance documents by police; this they did without incident.
One can be very naive and dismiss the interventions of the TP, BRA and Police as mere coincidences. This is Barbados and the sensible among us understand exactly what is playing out here. Who is it who once said eternal vigilance is the price of liberty? As citizens we cannot become so cavalierish when independent organizations are so easily manipulated by political appointees with the objective of intimidating those who elected them.
It is no secret former acting permanent secretary Commissioner Margaret Sivers is a favourite of this government. Her expanded role as head of the BRA bears eternal vigilance although it is probably too late. Whether we liked how former Commissioner Darwin Dottin executed his duties – especially as it relates to allegations of misuse of wiretapping equipment – we observed naked political intervention to see his removal and replaced by Tyrone Griffith who has a few skeletons in his closet also. Many questioned why the government appointed Guyson Mayers as head of the Police Service Commission (PSC) given his forays on Democratic Labour Party (DLP) election platforms. The PSC was responsible for giving Dottin his marching order.
Another key player in the Waste Hauler dispute is the incorrigible Denis Lowe. He has made blunder after blunder, told lie after lie, frequently delivering orchestrated statements with the proverbial forked tongue yet an explained unwillingness by the prime minister to censure him. BU listened to minister of foreign affairs Maxine McClean proffering a feeble defence on behalf of Lowe last week on talk radio. Minister McClean should leave her Goebbels inclination to the Senate! To clarify a statement made by her to the youthful and enthusiastic Corey Layne, Chris Sinckler was ‘ordered’ to remove the Solid Waste Tax because he is on public record admitting the cash strapped government now has to look for $40 million dollars. It was not removed out of the goodness of his heart after a review. By the way, does anyone know if Bizzy Williams of SBRC was repaid all monies owed? One of the reasons offered by the minister of finance was that the Solid Waste Tax was to be used to repay SBRC.
Back to Lowe: BU is not an admirer of Lowe after we discovered he was being financed by Peter Allard to be a political stooge. BU published several blogs which exposed Lowe for the disingenuous political fraud we know him to be.
Related Articles about Minister Denis Lowe:
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BULeaks#1: Understanding How Decision Makers In Barbados Are Manipulated By “Deep Pockets”
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BULeaks#2 – Denis Lowe On The Hook
Minister Denis Lowe has zero credibility given his personal indiscretions. His handling of the NCC matter inspires zero confidence when dealing with labour disputes under his purview. One year later former employees he tearfully promised at the LSCC would have received justice by the Employment Rights Tribunal are still waiting for their rights under law to be administered. To suggest BU is disappointed at the quality of governance by the Stuart government would be the greatest understatement. The media has done a good job highlighting the dispute however the fissures in our governance system exposed by the dispute merit greater coverage.
The time has come for People Assemblies to reconvene to ensure the views of ordinary citizens have a equal voice and the power of a manipulative political class is curtailed. a pipe dream some will say but there is an inevitability to it.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.