The Barbados Labour Party for 14 years had the trust of the electorate.
They were given a blank cheque to the Treasury and they used it all. A portrait was emerging of a country heading for first world status from their utterances.
However, in the efforts of the Owen Arthur regime to take the country there, it was actually forgetting its people. Truth became a victim in the years under the BLP regime. The trust was broken, and in January 2008, the Democratic Labour Party earned that trust.
Why should a public trust a party that criticizes an improved fiscal deficit without dislocating the public service and the delivery of goods?
It is quite shocking to hear criticism coming from Arthur regarding the amount collected from the increase in VAT. In 1997, the BLP collected over
$200 million more in VAT, nearly four times the amount we recently collected. Let us not forget, their “secret tax” which was placed on fuel to assist the culture sector which went from bad to worse under his tenure.
The notion of trust and the political deceit of the Opposition must be exposed for what it is. There can be no economic or moral reason for the non-completion of the St John Polyclinic or the neglect of our leading health care institution by the Bees.
Public trust
Why should a public trust a party that criticizes the concerted effort at improving our health care delivery? The maintenance at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital became a reality after the Democratic Labour Party came to office. We upgraded the public bathrooms and refurbished the staff cafeteria.
The Accident & Emergency Department was paid extra attention both in its physical needs and human resource deployment. An electrical upgrade was undertaken while the Ambulance Service was placed in more comfortable surroundings.
The BLP is now asking the public to trust them once more against a track record of political rape.
We have accepted responsibility but not fault for unravelling the political carnage left by the Arthur-led Barbados Labour Party.
Why should a public trust a party that criticizes the construction of homes for low income people and accommodation for specially challenged persons?
The Democratic Labour Party has built more houses and handed them over in the first four years than the Barbados Labour Party did in its 14 years. When we left office in 1994, they were just 1 600 people on the list at the National Housing Corporation.
They produced four Ministers and left a list of 28 000 people by January 2008.
The approximate number of homes constructed by the four fulltime Ministers doing part time work was 594.
Trust between the electorate and a political party cannot be negotiated on public relations. The public has already caught on to the apparent attempt to please Mia, the new co-leader over Dale Marshall.
We all know that George Payne is not happy and the Prior Park Charter is under review.
As a party, we will not run away from truth or responsibility. We have begun the journey of restoring trust in public office and we have done it with the public’s help. We continue to show appreciation to you and give the assurance that we will not break your trust.
We say: don’t trust the Bees!
• Douglas Leopold Phillips is a pseudonym for the Democratic Labour Party.
