DLP Manifesto Promises: 64 Days Left (and 1 Promise already broken)

One third of the 100 days have already gone! But doan worry… ’cause Bajans got short memories.

The Democratic Labour Party 2008 Manifesto made a number of promises to the people of Barbados should that party be voted into government. Three of them were promised “within 100 days” and five of them were promised “immediately”. The first official day of work for the new government was Tuesday 22 January 2008. It is now the night of Tuesday 26 February 2008 and there are 64 days left until the deadline of 30 April 2008.

One of the promises which was to happen “immediately” has already been broken.

The promises are:

PROMISED WITHIN 100 DAYS

Page 9. In the first 100 days of the new DLP administration remove VAT from building materials on houses valued up to $400,000.

Page 12. To this end and within the first 100 days of our administration the Democratic Labour Party government will convene a National Consultation on Education…

Page 42. The DLP Government will therefore: In the first 100 days introduce the Agriculture Protection Act that will require a 2/3 majority of both houses of parliament for a change of use of land from agriculture. We will reserve 30, 000 acres for agricultural use.

PROMISED IMMEDIATELY

Page 11. A new DLP Government will immediately embark on a health promotion campaign to sensitize the public to the dangers of unhealthy lifestyles;

Page 24. Immediately review the current Central Bank procedures for approving capital account transactions with a view to simplifying and speeding up the approval (or denial) process for restricted transactions.

Page 33. Additionally a new DLP administration will: Re-examine the Port charges with a view to significantly reducing these to manufacturers. Tonnage dues are charged twice – on raw materials when imported and again on finished products when being exported. This needs to be addressed immediately since it is a burdensome cost. Free along side charges (FAS) continue to be out of proportion with our competitors.

BROKEN PROMISE!

Page 36. Conversely, a new DLP government will move to immediately enact a comprehensive national Labour Rights legislative compendium which will include the following:

• A Full Employment Rights Act

• An Alternative Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Committee

• A Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act

• National minimum wages legislation

• Legislation fully recognizing Trade Unions.

Page 48. The Democratic Labour Party will also:

Immediately introduce integrity legislation requiring

• a declaration of assets by public officials,

• a Code of Conduct for Ministers,

• a new Freedom of Information law,

• amendments to the Defamation laws and

• new constitutional provisions to rationalise the powers of the Prime Minister.

SOURCE: http://www.barbadosvotes.org/pdf/2008_DLP_Manifesto.pdf

The people of this country are watching and waiting (some like hawks, some like vultures) to see how many of these manifesto promises will be fulfilled by the new DLP government.

36 gone, 64 to go.

De Standpipe Crew

New act to cover hairstyles. Well done Minister Ronald Jones!

De Standpipe Crew congratulates Minister of Education Ronald Jones for acting swiftly and vigorously in response to the recent blatant act of discrimination against the young people of this country who exercise their right to braid their hair.

Well done! You have our solid support.

De Standpipe Crew

http://www.nationnews.com/story/297632917106228.php

Published on: 2/26/08.

by YVETTE BEST

MINISTER OF EDUCATION Ronald Jones is hinting that the new Education Act will take into consideration the now controversial issue of appropriate hairstyles for school, which is currently left to the interpretation of administrators.

He said the new act and new regulations would be presented to Parliament as soon as the necessary review of the current act and accompanying regulations had been completed.

One interpretation saw five students being barred from classes at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) last week for wearing locks. But, deputy principal Merton Forde said the students would be allowed back in school if they presented documents proving they were part of the Rastafari faith.

“Generally the laws speak to people carrying themselves in a manner which is not injurious to the health of others, or injurious to themselves. And what had me aghast, is that what seems to be appearing is a conflict of what one might argue is traditional culture and modern culture, even though the modern culture is part of the ancestral culture of Africa in this context,” Jones said.

He cautioned that it was impossible for the act to cover everything and, of necessity, it must still be general.

“Common sense always must dictate what we do. Even though there are laws written down, common sense must [prevail] in circumstances such as those that confronted the administration at the school . . . . There must always be general terms used in education, because from the time you start to demarcate, you’re into a whole long troublesome process,” he argued.

He said he was “puzzled” by the SJPP development, because the students would have been in school for seven months with the locks and it only became an issue last week.

Final year student Andre Hall has since been readmitted. The 24-year-old student, of the air-conditioning refrigeration department, produced a letter from the Ichirouganaim Council for the Advancement of Rastafari saying that he wore his locks for “religious purposes”.

Minister Jones told the DAILY NATION last Thursday that as far as he was aware, all five students should have been back in school.

“One could not understand, or for that matter appreciate, the argument that a citizen of Barbados must bring any kind of document to any institution, asking them to prove if they belong to any religion, caste, sex or creed.

“That is trampling on a person’s civil rights [and] their religious rights, their democratic rights in our society, which holds up the individual as paramount, even though within the confines of the law. And there should not be any law in any educational institution which debars young people from getting an education,” he stated.