BARBADOS SEEMS to be the only country in the Caribbean where a landline phone outside of the home (pay phone for individuals) is now unavailable.
The lack of such a service is disturbing our stability and progress in necessary entrepreneurship and social health at this dire time.
Without access to the reasonable cost of using payphones, some people are forced to use expensive cellphones. No one seems to be noticing, complaining and acting due to foolish pride.
This is negatively affecting the individual and the country as a whole, in entrepreneurship and social upward mobility – even playing a role in our international credit rating, for such a service is needed for entrepreneurship and national economic development.
There’s the awareness of email communications, but telephone communication is more instant, urgent, less expensive and needed in the entrepreneurship drive at a time when many are cash-strapped. This dire economic era calls for less expensive communication in employment search and other necessary tasks.
Email, fax and text communications are more expensive, for one must have access to cellular phone, computer, Internet and fax machine.
Barbados’ biggest problem is inertia – a failure by the individual citizen and the authorities to act in a timely manner. There’s still “a watch one another syndrome”.
How long will the “sleep” go on? For, in this regard, they know that we know that they know that such a phone service is absolutely needed still. And the “big man” will need it in time of “trouble” – unforeseen.
There’s no one that will use “the adult rod”!
– TREVOR HARPER
