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At the end of my Freedom Fighters entry in May, I wrote that "Barbadians will suffer in silence a long time, when we take action, it is well taken." Little did I know how well taken the action would be. On May 24, 2018, the island had its national elections. There were only three weeks of activity, but it was intense.
When the ballots were counted, history was made in Barbados. The island was swept by a political tsunami. The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) emerged victorious winning all 30 seats. For the first time ever since Independence in 1967, there was no opposition party to take a seat in Parliament. Also, for the first time, a female Prime Minister, the Honourable Mia Amor Mottley (large and in charge in the red dress) took the oath of office to lead the country for the next five (5) years.
Throughout the season, massive crowds followed the national meetings of the BLP. They were bouyed by campaign songs by the island's most popular entertainers, such as Lil Rick, the Mighty Gabby, Adrian Clarke and Edwin Yearwood. Indeed there is a delightful picong promoting one of the BLP candidates for fans of the genre by two of the region's finest exponents of the art form - Gabby himself and Gypsy of Trinidad.
Enuf Uh Dem! Lil Rick (BLP News, February 2018)
Known for her intellectual prowess, ability to ad lib on a wide range of topics and accessibility to the media (the latter characteristic which tended to be lacking in her predecessor, to the chagrin of a large segment of the population), she has engaged with the public via the media almost daily since being sworn into office on May 25, 2018.
However, she has inherited the worst economic situation in the island's history. As she mentioned during the campaign she would call on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a last resort. Following an analysis of the state of the country's economy, the last resort was sought and an IMF team will be in the island from June 5, 2018. Keeping true to her campaign pledges, she met twice in the first week with the social partnership [a combination of government, business and labour (unions)]. Following the final meeting, she presented a united front with representatives of these sectors in the background as she addressed the nation to inform them of the state of Barbados' economy.
Prime Minister the Honourable Mia Mottley Press Briefing
(Meeting of the Social Partners) - BLP News, June 2018)
The matter of an Opposition Leader has since been settled as the BLP member for St. Michael West, Bishop Joseph Atherley, decided to cross the floor and take up the role of Opposition Leader - to much condemnation by the masses of Bajans who did not understand that his move averts a constitutional crisis.
Leader of the Opposition, Bishop Joseph Atherley
One thing is certain, there was not a dull moment in Barbados over the last four weeks - first with the campaign action, then the public swearing in of the new cabinet, the Prime Minister's revelations about the state of Barbados' economy which really should have overshadowed the rants over the reduction of the Government by one member. This week the action continues with the opening of Parliament and the arrival of the IMF team. Then it will be the Crop Over season - and these past weeks' happenings are more than enough fodder for social commentary calypsos this season.
🍷 So here's to Barbados' newest Prime Minister, the Honourable Mia Amor Mottley Q.C. M.P. May God grant her and her finance/economics team the wisdom to steer Barbados' economy back to safer waters.
