BY GEORGE ALLEYNE From Caribbean Life

With Barbados continuing to wander as a nation without a parliament, the leader of the main political party outside of government, Mia Mottley, has written a public letter to prime Minister Freundel Stuart appealing for elections to restore the island to normalcy.

Mottley sent the letter Sunday evening, almost 50 days into the 90-day period that the constitution allows for Stuart to call elections since the automatic dissolution of parliament on March 06.

The Barbados parliament was dissolved on that date because it had come to the end of the five-year period for which its 30 members had been elected.

But Stuart has so far not named a date for the poll.

“While you refuse to set a date for elections, every artery in the country’s body is malfunctioning and many of our people are suffering as a consequence,” Mottley stated in the letter to Stuart.

“In the estimation of the people, your mandate has expired. I feel compelled to draw to your attention the fact that our beloved Barbados is literally crumbling and grinding to a halt as a result of your tardiness, indecisiveness and inertia.

Mottley spoke of recent newspaper headlines on “sick [public buildings] buildings; mounting garbage; the Supreme Court shut down; few buses are on the road,” and added, “our farmers are crying out, retailers and Bajans all over are choking to death under the strain of the NSRL (a controversial tax), hoteliers are not making ends meet, trade unions are on their knees begging for action on matters affecting their members who are buckling after no salary increase for eight years”.

She said that the Central Bank is now seeking to have the National Insurance Scheme repatriate funds to shore up faltering reserves.

“Our international rating has been downgraded 23 times and we are unlikely to avoid a further one, as the assessment is about to be done in this 90-day period and your government has done nothing to fix our condition and stem the haemorrhag­ing.”

But the island continues to recognise the former colonial ruler, the Queen of England, the Crown, a fact which makes her representative in the form of the island’s governor general the overarching power of government.

In spite of the governor general’s position being regarded as nominal, the holder of that office has the ultimate power, which is never used.

But with the 90 days running out two veteran lawyers have made public calls for the current Governor General, Dame Sandra Mason, to step in and either instruct the prime minister to call election, or call the poll herself.

“I am asking you, in the name of all that is good and righteous, call the election and stop the bleeding,” Mottley pleaded.

IMAGE: Photo by George Alleyne