SIR Frederick Smith says that former Prime Minister Owen Arthur should have been kicked out of office when he acknowledged that undocumented workers had worked at his house.
In a wide-ranging address at the weekly lunch time lecture of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) yesterday, the first Attorney-General of Independent Barbados, said he was surprised that Arthur was not called to account for this.
Before an audience at DLP headquarters on Belleville that included party stalwarts Maizie Barker-Welch, Astor Watts and Frank DaSilva, Sir Frederick gave the DLP?Government a passing grade for its performance in a “difficult economic climate”.
“The Government is doing as well as possible in these trying circumstances. All of the countries in the world are suffering, England, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, to mention a few. There is no immediate answer to getting out of this crisis. We can’t honour all the promises made in the midst of the greatest recession known to man.
“Arthur is no guru. He is a trained economist and was a good Prime Minister. He did some good things, but he alone does not have the answer to the problems in this country and that has to be made clear to the public,” he said.
Sir Frederick, 87, the DLP’s first ever chairman, and the country’s most enduring former parliamentarian having been first elected in 1956, defended the leadership style of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.
“He has his way and he knows what he is doing. Some of the measures he has taken are working, there has been no major lay-offs and there has been some growth in the economy.
“What does he do with CLICO, which is a private company? What the Government is trying to do is to ensure that people don’t lose the bulk of their money. Some governments would have ignored this situation, but what the Government is attempting to do, considering that CLICO has assets here, is trying to help,” he said.
The former Member of Parliament for St Andrew and St Michael South Central said the Dems had a track record that had stood the test of time.
“We have a rich heritage. Errol Barrow set the tone. The people gave the Barbados Labour Party 13 years, why can’t they give us at least ten? This Government hasn’t done anything wrong.
“Barbadians should not get sidetracked by propaganda and Dems supporters need to stick together. The forces are against us,” he said.
